Big wildfires in the forest backcountry through the West are often blamed on pine bark beetles, with the thought that those diseased and dead trees present a higher fire risk. In fact, plans are underway to cut those trees down in some roadless areas in Colorado in the name of fire protection – and the idea has been eyed for forests in Wyoming and elsewhere. But a new report from the National Center for Conservation Science and Policy finds beetle outbreaks are not directly related to a higher fire risk. Report author Dr. Dominick Kulakowski says the bottom line is that drought and higher temperatures fuel backcountry fires – not beetles…(Click to hear comment from Dominik Kulakowski)

The report suggests that the limited money available to reduce forest fire risk be spent on protecting communities at the edge of the forests, which Kulakowski says is more cost-effective than backcountry tree-cutting projects.

Western forests are seeing the biggest beetle outbreaks in decades, with millions of acres of lodgepole pines killed.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — About half of the Laramie County Community College employees who completed a recent survey indicated a lack of trust and confidence in the school’s leadership.

A campus council is scheduled to review results of the January survey this week. About 220 of the college’s roughly 330 employees filled out the survey.

The survey was distributed as part of the college’s accreditation review, which takes place every 10 years.

About 58 percent of employees said they don’t have confidence in college President Darrel Hammon’s leadership. Forty-nine percent said they don’t believe the president’s decisions about jobs have been fair or equitable. About 47 percent said they were fearful about their own jobs.

Hammon, in his fourth year at the college, says he will work with employees to address any challenges on campus.

Photo: Laramie County Community College

State Representative Jack Landon has announced that he will not seek re-election for the District 30 House Seat that he has held since 1999.  He tells affiliate KROE he will slowly fade away from the political scene…(Click to hear comment from Rep. Landon)

Landon is the Chair of the Labor, Health, and Social Services Committee and is also on the Select Committee on Capital Financing and Investments.

Landon stated that he wanted to announce his retirement early so that those interested in running for the seat could throw their hat in the ring when the time comes. Landon’s term will expire at the end of this year.

Wyoming’s U. S. Representative Cynthia Lummis is supporting a bill that calls for a cut in congressional salaries.  The Taking Responsibility for Congressional Pay Act would cut salaries for members of both the House of Representatives and Senate by five-percent.

Lummis says this would be the first pay cut for members of Congress since the Great Depression…(Click to hear comment from Rep. Lummis)

If passed, the bill would institute a five percent pay cut for all senators and representatives starting January 1, 2011. The bill would also block any automatic congressional pay increase for 2012. Lummis has sponsored similar measures in the past.

A program on one of Wyoming’s most disastrous forest fires is the topic of this week’s  Wyoming State Museum lecture.

 Wyoming’s great forest fire tragedy, the Blackwater Fire of 1937 will be the topic of discussion this Thursday night in Cheyenne. 

The deadly Blackwater Fire (pictured) occurred in the Shoshone National Forest on August 27, 1937 west of Cody.

 Karl Brauneis will give the presentation…(Click to hear comment from Karl Brauneis)

Brauneis says 15 firefighters perished in the blaze making it Wyoming’s worst forest fire tragedy.  A lightning strike was the cause. A memorial is at the base of the mountain where the fire occurred (also pictured).

The lecture is free and open to the public.  It begins at 7 oclock.  The state museum is located in the Barrett Building at 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne.

For more information about this and other state museum programs, log onto artsparkshistory.com.

Photos: forestarmy.blogspot.com

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming-based company that teaches English over the Internet to students in several Asian countries plans to hire 100 more teachers to work in Casper.

Eleutian Technology says it will open a teaching center in the city in April as it continues its plans to expand along the Interstate 25 corridor to Cheyenne and Laramie, and west to Rock Springs.

The company has about 300 Wyoming teachers who instruct students in Asia over the Internet using computers, video cameras, and Skype, a free Internet teleconferencing service.

The company recently signed a contract with the Korean Ministry of Education that adds about 100 schools.

Eleutian CEO Kent Holiday says the company has trained more than 400 teachers and hopes to employ thousands more in the next five years to teach English.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The operator of an animal rescue shelter near Carpenter faces two counts of animal cruelty after authorities seized more than 100 dogs, cats and rabbits.

Fifty-year-old Marci Biesheuvel is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Laramie County Circuit Court (pictured)  on the two misdemeanor counts.

Cheyenne Animal Control officers seized the animals last week from the nonprofit Litl’ Bit of Love Animal Rescue and Sanctuary.

Authorities originally went to the property on Feb. 24 with a search warrant after receiving a complaint about unclean and filthy conditions.

Cheyenne Animal Shelter Director Rick Collord says the seized animals have been surrendered to his organization.

Where’s Rosie?  Wyoming state representative Rosie Berget left Cheyenne Friday after the recent legislative budget session adjourned. She returned home to Big Horn with barely enough time to repack her suitcase before heading to Washington D. C., where she is taking part in today’s Women in History Reception hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama.  Berger, who is a republican, tells affiliate KROE why she thinks she was sent an invitation to attend…(Click to hear comment from Rosie Berger)

Berger is one of thirty women, and the only woman from Wyoming who will be attending the reception.

Berger says even though Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote and was the first state to elect a woman governor, the number of women in public life today is quite low.  To this, Berger started the “Leap into Leadership” program to train women to serve in public office both at the local and state levels.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the greater sage grouse as a candidate species under the Endangered Species Act.

Governor Freudenthal says he accepts the ruling even though he may not agree with it…(Click to hear comment from Gov. Freudenthal)

The Wildlife Service’s decision may mean the job the state’s Sage Grouse Implementation Team has become more urgent. The team was appointed by the governor with the goal of keeping sage grouse off the endangered species list.  The Team meets this Wednesday in Cheyenne.

Casper hunter Mike Guy, who has worked for uranium drilling outfits, shares his perspective on the plight of the species – which he says begins with his first encounter with the bird 30 years ago…(Click to hear comment from Mike Guy)

Opponents of putting the sage grouse on the endangered species list say it would have a negative impact on oil and gas drilling and wind energy production in Wyoming. Many say with close to 200-thousand of the birds left, they’re not yet truly endangered.

Judging from the financial mayhem that’s going on in other states around the West, Wyoming lawmakers accomplished a remarkable feat when they closed the books on a balanced budget last week without raising taxes.  Governor Freudenthal says it was a job well done when he signed the budget on Friday…(Click to hear comment from Gov. Freudenthal)

The Governor approved the $2.9 billion Wyoming general fund budget that still left an estimated $700 million in the state’s rainy day fund.

In Colorado lawmakers are considering a proposal to layoff nearly 300 workers in the state prison system as they look for ways to cover that state’s budget shortfall.