PREDATOR CONTROL BUDGET ESCAPES CUTS: The 6/9 Billings Gazette reported efforts to slash the budget of Wildlife Services--formerly known as Animal Damage Control--failed on the floor of the House on Tuesday by a vote of 230-193. Reps. Pete DeFazio (D-OR) and Charles Bass (R-NH) sponsored the amendment to cut $7 million from the livestock protection branch. The branch is responsible for killing 90,000 coyotes as well as mountain lions, foxes, and other predators at the request of livestock ranchers each year. Defazio characterized the program as "wasteful corporate welfare benefitting only a few Western ranchers."

LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT ON JETSKIS, SNOWMOBILES: The Bluewater Network 6/9 announced a settlement in its lawsuit against several manufacturers of two-stroke engines, which are used in jet skis and snowmobiles. The group sued in California court contending pollution from two-stroke engines violates the California Safe Drinking Water Act. The agreement requires manufacturers to provide warning labels on each vehicle about the dangerous effects of two-stroke engines, to develop a trade-in program, and to pay $300,000 in fees and payments to environmental groups.

GRIZZLIES REMAIN VULNERABLE: The 6/9 Billings Gazette reported grizzly bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem may be facing new declines because of increasing threats to food sources. Dave Mattson, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Resources Division, said recent increases in the grizzly population will not necessarily continue into the future. Grizzly food sources such as cutthroat trout, whitebark pine nuts, cutworm moths, and large herbivores are all likely to experience declines from human development, pesticides, climate change, disease, and shrinking habitat. Mattson said 80-90% of grizzlies are eventually killed due to conflicts with humans.

IDAHO MINE LEAKING CYANIDE: The Times-News of Twin Falls, Idaho, reported 6/6 state environmental officials found that cyanide from the now-closed Grouse Creek Mine is contaminating a nearby stream that is home to endangered bull trout and chinook salmon. The mine has a history of leakage from its tailings pond and in 1997 its owner agreed to make $1.5 million in improvements. The new source of contamination has not yet been located.

RELIGIOUS GROUPS COMMIT TO ENVIRONMENT: The Washington Times 5/28 reported a coalition of religious groups announced a 10-year, $16 million campaign to emphasize the importance of environmental protections. The project's goal is to prepare "a next generation of religious leaders for whom ‘care for God's creation' is a priority."

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