• Violent Attacks on Forest Service Staff Hit All-Time High
  
• East Coast Rains Trigger Coal Company Slides, Spills
  
• Fire Crews Battle Blazes Across the Southwest
  
• Occidental Chemical to Pay $12 Million for Damage to Lake Ontario
  
• Kern County Loses Suit to Bar Shrew From Federal Protection
  
• First Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument Expedition Departs
  
• Increase in Pacific Gray Whale Calves Seen This Spring
  

Violent Attacks on Forest Service Staff Hit All-Time High

PEER maintains the nation's only database of incidents against federal resource employees.

In 2005, the Forest Service experienced 477 assaults, threats or attacks on its personnel or facilities, a number greater than the totals for the previous seven years combined, according to the incident reports.

In 2004, only 88 incidents were reported.

Violent altercations with off-road vehicle (ORV) operators, drug dealers and intoxicated campers appear to be the most frequent types of incidents.

"Due to the spiraling use of all-terrain vehicles and a road network that has grown to more than 350,000 miles, people and all their problems are penetrating deeper and deeper into what were previously peaceful and pristine forests," said California PEER Director Karen Schambach. "The toll of violent incidents occurring in our National Forests looks like a slow motion riot."

The number of violent incidents reported by the Forest Service is greater than the numbers of violent incidents reported in previous years by all other federal resource agencies during the past decade.

Despite the increase in violence, PEER says the Forest Service is continuing to reduce its law enforcement staff, losing nearly one-third of its total patrol force since 1993.

Today, the Forest Service law enforcement program has a total of 660 rangers, investigators and special agents - this translates into one position for every 291,000 acres of forestland and for every 733,000 annual visitors, PEER calculates.

The Forest Service spends less than two percent of its total budget on law enforcement, a percentage far lower than other federal land management agencies, such as the National Park Service or the Bureau of Land Management.

Besides Homeland Security and border issues, ORV management is one of the biggest unfunded challenges facing the Forest Service.

"Law Enforcement Officers and other Forest Service employees all have ORV horror stories. While most ORVers are law-abiding, too many others are tearing up the backcountry in violation of forest trail rules," Schambach said.

"The Forest Service obviously does not have the resources to protect its own people," said Schambach, "let alone the natural and cultural resources that the American people have entrusted to its care."

East Coast Rains Trigger Coal Company Slides, Spills

One notice of violation was issued to Aracoma Coal Company, a Massey Energy operation, after a mud slide today entirely blocked Route 17 and most of Dingess Run near Ethel in Logan County.

Aracoma Coal has had crews on the scene since noon working to clear the road and the stream. No injuries were reported, says Lalena Price, spokesperson with the Department of Environmental Protection.

Heavy rain has caused a sediment pond to brim over and wash material and muddy water into the Birch River in Nicholas County. ICG Coal Company crews were nearing the completion of reclaiming a valley fill between Boggs and Big Ditch Lake when the washout occurred Sunday.

Price says an imminent harm cessation order has been issued to the company.

In Mingo County, a blackwater spill that began on Sunday was exacerbated by heavy rains today causing further discoloration of Pigeon Creek. The spill occurred while employees of Delbarton Mining, a Massey Energy operation, constructed an under drain for a refuse area.

An imminent harm cessation order has been issued to the company.

Heavy rains caused major flooding Sunday in Pennsylvania, Delaware and along Maryland's Eastern Shore, washing out roads and forcing some residents to evacuate their homes. No deaths or injuries were reported.

In Maryland, four to five feet of water was reported in parts of northern Dorchester and southern Caroline County, state Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeff Welsh said. At least 20 roads in Dorchester County were closed, and a large section of Route 307 was washed out down to the gravel, said the Maryland State Police.

Low-laying areas of Federalsburg, a southern Caroline County town of about 2,600 people, were flooded Sunday morning and about 45 people voluntarily evacuated, Police Chief Donald Nagel said. A state of emergency was declared in the city.

In the southwest Delaware town of Seaford, cars were floating in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Up to 15 people were evacuated from their homes, city spokeswoman Amy Walls said.

In western Pennsylvania, flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall prompted a state of emergency in parts of Armstrong County.

The basements of 100 to 200 homes in Ford City and nearby areas were flooded and some residents had to be evacuated, said Randy Brozenick, director of the county's public safety department.

Rain over the mid-Atlantic states is expected to continue due to Atlantic moisture being swept inland by a disturbance that has swirled from the Bahamas into Florida and Georgia plus a stalled front over the Appalachians.

Fire Crews Battle Blazes Across the Southwest

Since January 1, 2006, a total of 55,163 wildfires have burned 3,310,455 acres, as compared with 28,825 fires that burned 1,271,133 acres to this date in 2005.

A nearly 2,300 acre wildfire forced residents of three small communities to flee their northern New Mexico homes on Sunday. The 120 mostly year-round residences in Gallina Plaza, Bear Paw Estates and Albers Valley were told to leave, and a 10 mile stretch of state Highway 96 from Regina to Gallina was closed.

Aircraft dropped water and retardant on the blaze, while bulldozers and hand crews dug lines to stop the flames, said Lawrence Lujan, a fire information officer. Fire crews plan to use infrared mapping Sunday evening to get a better estimate on the fire's acreage.

No structures have been lost to the fire, which was zero percent contained Sunday. The cause of the fire, which started Saturday, is under investigation.

In southern New Mexico, a fire burning in the Gila National Forest was held back as thunderstorms brought rain and cooler temperatures to the area. The blaze has charred 47,196 acres of dense stands of ponderosa pine and spruce fir. The fire, detected June 19, destroyed one cabin and forced evacuations from the area, although authorities have not said how many people were evacuated.

About 80 structures are threatened, including a remote station at the Negrito Forest Service Work Center, said Roland Giller, a fire information officer for the Gila National Forest. Investigators determined a campfire ignited the fire and forest officials have offered a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.

In southern Colorado, all evacuation orders were lifted Sunday for homes near a 13,780 acre wildfire as firefighters got help from cooler, more humid weather. Residents of about 50 homes in the area were allowed back into the area in the afternoon. At one point, about 300 homes had been asked to evacuate after the fire started June 18. Fire officials warned that residents could be asked to evacuate again if the weather and fire activity shift.

In northern Arizona near Sedona, a 4,200 acre wildfire that threatened hundreds of homes was 35 percent contained, fire officials said. Though an evacuation order was lifted for some residents of scenic Oak Creek Canyon on Saturday, the blaze still threatens homes in the canyon's southern end, where crews focused on finishing a protection line.

Authorities said it would be about two days before the remaining evacuees could return home. Officials hope to have full containment by Wednesday, barring any weather disturbances that could push the flames. The fire started June 18 north of Sedona as a transient's campfire and spread to steep terrain above the canyon. No homes have burned.

"In my mind, we have crossed the threshold where we are on the offense, chasing it down," Mike Dondero, deputy incident commander for the fire, said late Saturday. "And we are gaining on it real fast."

North of Sedona, officials reopened two roads leading to the Grand Canyon National Park that were closed because of a 17,589-acre wildfire.

Occidental Chemical to Pay $12 Million for Damage to Lake Ontario

The company has agreed to pay the state $12 million in five equal payments over four years, which will be used to support projects to improve the area's recreational fishing.

"Lake Ontario is one of the most important and widely used lakes in the state," said Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. "The money from this agreement will help restore the recreational fishery of Lake Ontario and its tributaries. It should be a shot in the arm to the tourism and fishing interests on this beautiful lake. It also sets a strong precedent for other restoration efforts."

New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Denise Sheehan said, "Lake Ontario and its tributaries were severely impacted by the discharges from Occidental facilities, and this damage claim settlement will go a long way in helping to restore these environmentally, recreationally, and economically important fisheries and waterways."

The state filed a lawsuit against Occidental Chemical Corp. to address pollution problems related to Occidental's main chemical manufacturing plant. The settlement represents the final claim in that lawsuit and addresses the damages caused as a result of the discharge of dangerous chemicals from the company's main plant on Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls and from other sites and facilities either owned or operated by Occidental.

Lake Ontario and its embayments and tributaries support populations of a variety of fish, ranging from trout and salmon, bass and walleye to yellow perch and panfish. New York's waters of Lake Ontario comprise over 2.7 million acres.

The $12 million settlement is one of the largest natural resource damage settlements in the country for lost recreational fishing use. It also represents one of the largest natural resource damage settlements in the State of New York.

DEC will prepare a Restoration Plan that will set forth various potential restoration, replacement and/or acquisition projects. The public will have opportunities to comment on the draft Restoration Plan and to make suggestions for potential projects.

In the settlement, the state has agreed to release Occidental Chemical Corporation from further liability for the past actions that caused the damages in the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence River and their tributaries.

The state acknowledges the cooperation of Occidental Chemical Corporation in reaching this settlement. Under previous settlements with the State, Occidental agreed to identify and eliminate releases of pollutants from its plant sites.

The settlement agreement was approved by the United States District Court for the Western District of New York on June 21. The first payment of $2.4 million is due within 30 days; each of four additional payments is due on the anniversary of the approval date.

Kern County Loses Suit to Bar Shrew From Federal Protection

BAKERSFIELD, California, June 26, 2006 (ENS) - The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2002 decision to list the Buena Vista Lake shrew as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The appellate court ruled June 20 against Kern County and several water districts as well as property rights and farmers' organizations that brought a lawsuit challenging the endangered species listing.

The legal challenge was filed by the County of Kern, Kern County Farm Bureau, Kern County Water Agency, North Kern County Water Storage District, Coalition of Private Property Rights, Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District, Semitropic Water Storage District, and the Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District.

The Center for Biological Diversity formally intervened in the case to defend the shrew and its wetland habitat.

"This is an important victory for the Buena Vista Lake shrew and California's invaluable wetlands," said Ileene Anderson, ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity.

"The anti-environmentalists never had a legitimate claim in this case and Kern County and the water agencies wasted tax dollars by getting involved," Anderson said. "It's too bad the County's values are so skewed that it would rather pay thousands of dollars in attorney's fees than support wetlands protection that benefits both wildlife and people."

The Buena Vista Lake shrew is found in only four locations on 575 acres scattered along a 70 mile stretch of the western edge of Kern County.

Since first identified by scientists in 1932, the diminutive, insect eating mammal has been declining because its habitat - moist soils under dense lakeside forests - has been nearly eliminated by agribusiness and development.

The shrew formerly inhabited the vast acres of wetlands and riparian forests that ringed the massive Tulare, Buena Vista, Kern and Goose lakes in the southern Central Valley.

Today, 95 percent of the wetlands and streamside forests in this area have been destroyed. The shrew population is threatened by water diversions, agricultural expansion, pesticide spraying, selenium poisoning and drought.

First Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument Expedition Departs

HONOLULU, Hawaii, June 26, 2006 (ENS) - The first research expedition to the newly proclaimed Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument left Honolulu on Friday.

The research ship Hi'ialakai, a Hawaiian word that means embracing the sea, departed for a 28 day voyage to the farthest reaches of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The ship is owned and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The multidisciplinary research expedition will include a benthic habitat mapping team, maritime archaeologists and interpretation of this research through education and outreach specialists.

The Hi'ialakai recently returned from an expedition to French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Atoll to complete work related to ecosystem connectivity, apex predator tagging and movement studies, and coral reef health assessment.

On Friday, the research vessel set sail with 20 scientists and educators in order to conduct further studies at Kure Atoll, the northernmost atoll in the Hawaiian Islands Archipelago, and at Pearl and Hermes Atoll.

The new national monument encompasses 140,000 square miles about 1400 miles long and 100 miles wide. It protects the federal waters surrounding 10 tiny specks of land - rocky outcrops, sandy shoals and coral atolls north and west of the main Hawaiian islands.

The largest marine protected area in the world, it is larger than 46 of the 50 states, and more than seven times larger than all 13 of the National Marine Sanctuaries combined.

In the tropical waters of the archipelago, there are more than 4,500 square miles of cold water coral reef - the largest, healthiest, and most untouched coral-reef system in the United States.

The archipelago is inhabited by 7,000 marine species about 25 percent of them found nowhere else on Earth.

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are the primary home for the nearly 1,400 surviving Hawaiian monk seals, and they are the breeding grounds for 90 percent of the threatened Hawaiian islands green sea turtle population.

Increase in Pacific Gray Whale Calves Seen This Spring

LA JOLLA, California, June 26, 2006 (ENS) - Scientists from NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, recorded an eight percent increase in the estimated number of gray whale calves migrating along the California Coast this spring.

The increase may be due to extended access to feeding grounds resulting from reduced sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, say scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

For the past 13 years, NOAA scientists have established a survey site at the Piedras Blancas Light Station, a point of land jutting out into the Pacific Ocean midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, to count gray whale cows and calves migrating from Baja California north to the Bering Sea.

The cow-calf pairs tend to travel close to the shoreline, sometimes passing as close as 50 yards from the researchers.

"Because these Arctic whales migrate close to the coast each year, our scientists can monitor their population status and relate any changes to environmental factors on these amazing animals," said Bill Fox, director of NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center. "This also allows us to determine easily if any Arctic research efforts are needed."

The counting of whales at Point Piedras Blancas begins at the end of March and lasts until the migration ends near the end of May. This same promontory was once used as a spotting station by coastal whalers in the 1800s.

These animals were nearly driven to extinction in the early 1900s by the whaling trade, but have recovered to a population between 19,000 and 23,000 as a result of international cooperation and protection.

This year, scientists estimate 1,018 calves will return to the Bering Sea, up from last year's estimated 945, continuing a steady growth over the last five years.

The increase may be the result of a shift in the distribution of whales to productive northern feeding grounds and shrinking sea ice in the Chuckchi Sea. Longer feeding seasons seem to result in increased numbers of pregnant females bringing their pregnancies to full term, NOAA said.

The number of returning calves has not always been as favorable as today's numbers indicate. In 1999 the estimated number of northbound calves dropped below 500 and then remained below 300 calves in 2000 and 2001.

The number of calves migrating to northern feeding grounds is valuable information to scientists because it is an important indication of the overall health of the Eastern Pacific population of gray whales.