Free Republic

Washington - The U.S. House on Wednesday rebuffed an effort Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to limit planting of commercial crops in the Klamath Basin wildlife refuges, but not before the proposal fanned an argument over urban and rural priorities. (snip)Although Blumenauer's amendment to the Interior Department spending bill faced long odds from the start, it irked colleagues who represent the farming-dependent region. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore, said that the cities such as Portland do greater damage to waterways and the environment than farmers do, but Congress often ignores their problems. "In the city of Portland, 3.4 billion gallons of storm...

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has denied petitions to end Endangered Species Act protection for two sucker fish that triggered irrigation shutoffs in the Klamath Basin last summer. Officials said Tuesday that protection is still warranted for Lost River and shortnosed suckers, and the petitions to remove them from listing contained "no substantial information" that had not been considered in an earlier review. The initial petition was filed by Interactive Citizens United, a private property rights group, and Richard Gierak, a member of the group's board of directors from Yreka, Calif. "All the scientific...