Department of Homeland Security Non-Disclosure Agreements

"The Homeland Security Department is requiring employees to sign a nondisclosure agreement so restrictive that it might be unconstitutional, two unions for thousands of border workers said Monday."

Read the statements from the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) or the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) for more details.

The NTEU press release indicates that the two documents in question are Management Directive 11042 (Safeguarding Sensitive But Unclassified [For Official Use Only] Information) and DHS Form 11000-6 (Non-Disclosure Agreement). Note: The management directive is from the Department of Homeland Security site, while the non-disclosure agreement was posted by the Federation of American Scientists.

Source: "Unions for Border Workers Criticize Rules on Disclosure." New York Times November 30, 2004.

Ashcroft v. Raich, Supreme Court Marijuana Case

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the Ashcroft v. Raich case today. You can view the docket for the case online.

The initial merit briefs presented by the petitioner and respondent are available through the American Bar Association website.
Petitioner's brief
Respondent's brief

Future information about the case will be available on the Supreme Court website.

The opinion of the previous Supreme Court case regarding medical marijuana, United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, et al., is available through FindLaw.

Source: "Supreme Court to hear marijuana case Monday." Missoulian November 29, 2004. A8.

IPEDS Student Unit Record Feasibility Study

From The Chronicle of Higher Education: "The federal government is considering a plan to begin tracking the educational progress of every student enrolled in higher education as part of a massive overhaul of the database it uses to calculate higher-education statistics.

"Officials at the Department of Education are studying the feasibility of requiring colleges to provide specific information about each of their students in order to create a "unit record" system. If the department moves forward with the proposal, it would largely scrap the current system that colleges use to report data in summary form about total enrollment, student aid, graduation rates, and other measures."

Fore more information, view the NCES press release about the IPEDS Student Unit Record Feasibility Study and view the extensive documentation for the study on the HigherEd.org (an NCES contractor) website.

Sources: "Proposed Change in How Federal Government Collects Student Data Raises Privacy Concerns." The Chronicle of Higher Education November 26, 2004.
"Federal Plan to Keep Data on Students Worries Some." New York Times November 29, 2004.

Drought Disaster Areas in Montana

From the Missoulian: "Thirty-four Montana counties have been declared natural disaster areas because of the lingering drought." Note that other parts of Montana are also covered under prior drought disaster declarations.

For more information, view the USDA press release regarding drought-related programs. Also, you can view Presidential or Secretarial Disaster Declarations in the state of Montana on the DisasterHelp.gov website, the official listing of disaster declarations, including declarations due to drought conditions.

Source: "Drought disaster declared in 34 counties." Missoulian November 27, 2004. B3.

CPA Inspector General Reports on Halliburton and KBR

"A third or more of the government property Halliburton Co. was paid to manage for the U.S. led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq could not be located by auditors, investigative reports to Congress show." The Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) conducts these audits and reports to Congress.

View the CPA Inspector General (CPA-IG)reports online. The recent AP article refers specifically to the "Audit of the Accountability and Control of Materiel Assets of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad" and the October 2004 Quarterly Report to the United States Congress.

Source: "Audit faults Halliburton for missing property." Missoulian November 27, 2004. A4.

Powder River Gas Coalbed Methane Project

"The Bureau of Land Management and two state agencies have approved a Wyoming company's plan to drill 16 exploratory coalbed methane wells near Decker to determine whether the area could sustain commercial production." The state agencies involved are the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Board of Oil and Gas Conservation. DEQ has issued a discharge permit to Powder River Gas, LLC.

For more information on this subject, please see the Miles City Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. In addition, the permit (MT0030660) issued by DEQ is available online.

Source: "Agencies OK exploratory coalbed methane wells." Missoulian November 28, 2004. B4.

Amended Fair Credit Reporting Act

From the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website on credit: "A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months." Montanans are eligible for a free credit report beginning December 1, 2004.

For more information about free credit reports, please see the FTC website about your credit rights or the FTC brochure Your Access to Free Credit Reports.

The law that made free credit reports possible is Public Law 108-159, which was introduced as House Bill 2622. Follow the links to the THOMAS website to view the text of the bill, the House Report (108-263), or the Conference Report (108-396).

Source: "What to Do About Your Credit." Missoulian November 28, 2004. D5. Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal.

New Resource Round-Up

Here are some valuable reports that have been released online this week.

U.S. Cancer Statistics, 2001. Incidence and Mortality Data.
Distributed by the CDC

Hate Crime Statistics, 2003
New data released by the FBI

Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology
Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions
A CIA report that covers July 1 through December 21, 2003.

Computer Use and Ownership in the United States
A report issued by the Census Department

Civil Rights Enforcement by Bush Administration Lags
A Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report issued by Syracuse University, based on data from the Department of Justice and federal courts

Glen Canyon Dam Experiment

USGS has been conducting an interesting high-flow test experiment this week at the The department has opened the dam's bypass tubes for 90 hours. "The goal is to stir up and redistribute sediment from tributary rivers downstream from the dam to enlarge existing beaches and sandbars, create new ones, and distribute sediment into drainage channels."View information about the experiment on the pages listed below.

High Flow Test at Glen Canyon Dam

Stream-flow Information for the Experimental High-Flow Release on the Colorado River Below Glen Canyon Dam, November 2004

Source: "Surging success: Grand Canyon flooding experiment wraps up." Missoulian November 25, 2004. A2.

National Park Centennial Act of 2004

The National Park Centennial Act of 2004 was introduced to "eliminate the annual operating deficit and maintenance backlog in the national parks, and for other purposes." The bill has been referred to the House Resources and House Ways and Means committees. View the text of the bill through THOMAS.

Source: "Bill targets growing list of repairs." Missoulian November 25, 2004. A1.

Water Use on the Flathead Indian Reservation

"A 'preliminary draft' of an interim plan for regulation of new water wells on the Flathead Indian Reservation was released late Wednesday by state officials." View the plan online at the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission website.

Interim Agreement between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation and the State of Montana Regarding Water Use on the Flathead Indian Reservation

Source: "Agreement reached on Flathead Reservation wells." Missoulian November 26, 2004. A1.

Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 Revisited

There have been numerous stories in the news recently about funding approval for programs and projects. All of these stories relate to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005. THOMAS has created a helpful page on the status of all FY2005 Appropriations Bills.

Most of the last-minute appropriations are contained in Conference Report 108-792. The summary page provides numerous ways to view the extremely lengthy report (653 pages for the legislative text alone). You can view text or PDF files, you can view sections of the report or the report as a whole, and you can view the legislative text or explanatory material. It can be useful to load the report and use the browser or Acrobat search/find functions to look for topics of interest or all mentions of "Montana."

Some Montana highlights mentioned in the report:

• $1,300,000 for predator control programs in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming
  
• An "increase of $114,000 above the fiscal year 2004 level for the brucellosis program. This amount continues funding at the fiscal year 2004 level for Montana to protect the State's brucellosis-free status and for the operation of the bison quarantine facility and the testing of bison that surround Yellowstone National Park."
  
• $500,000 for the Methamphetamine Montana Initiative
  
• "The conferees have provided $2,000,000 for the Rural Montana project. Within the funds provided the Corps is directed to give consideration to projects at Belgrade, Manhattan, Livingston, Butte, Helena, and Drummond, Montana. Other communities that meet the program criteria should be considered as funding allows."
  
• $750,000 for the Seeley Lake Sewer District, Montana for wastewater infrastructure improvements
  
• Section 349 of the conference agreement includes a new provision to adjust the boundaries of the Helena, Lolo, and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests in the State of Montana.

University of Montana

• An increase of $1,300,000 for the University of Montana landscape analysis center
  
• $700,000 to University of Montana School of Law, Missoula, MT for infrastructure at the University of Montana School of Law, including the acquisition of equipment and technology
  
• An increase of $750,000 to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana for the National Space Privatization Program

Montana State University System

• $1,500,000 to Montana State University, Billings, MT for training of site-bound rural paraeducators in Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming
  
• $400,000 to Montana State University, Billings, MT, to provide degree and certificate workforce education programs in the healthcare industry
  
• $200,000 to the Montana State University-Northern for facilities equipment and technology upgrades in Havre, Montana
  
• $4,000,000 for the Small Public Water System Technology Centers at Western Kentucky University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Alaska-Sitka, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, Montana State University, the University of Illinois, and Mississippi State University.
  
• An increase of $1,500,000 to Montana State University to purchase clean room systems and basic process equipment related to the microdevice fabrication facility
  
• An increase of $1,500,000 to Montana State University-Bozeman for the Center for Studying Life in Extreme Environments

Missoula

• $700,000 to Saint Patrick's Hospital and Health Sciences Center, International Heart Institute, Missoula, MT to establish a Montana Cardiology Medicine Network to provide rural telemedicine resources
  
• $300,000 for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Missoula, Montana for construction projects
  
• $250,000 for the Montana Technology Enterprise Center in Missoula, Montana for a revolving loan fund

Billings

• $4,500,000 for Billings bus facilities
  
• $500,000 for the Northern Rockies Center for Senior Health, Billings, Montana, for construction of a senior citizens facility
  
• $700,000 for the Big Sky Economic Development Authority, Billings, Montana, for economic development outreach
  
• $300,000 for the City of Billings, Montana West Side planning and development project
  
• $250,000 for the Billings Child and Family Intervention Center, Billings, Montana for construction projects

Bozeman

• Animal Bioscience Facility (Bozeman, Montana), $2,000,000
  
• $300,000 for the Story Mansion, Bozeman, Montana for historical renovations and improvements
  
• $1,000,000 for the City of Bozeman, Montana, for water infrastructure improvements

Butte

• An increase of $198,000 for the Berkeley Pit study with Montana Tech
  
• $2,000,000 for the Advanced Bioreactor located in Butte, Montana
  
• $150,000 for the Rosodyn Corporation in Butte, Montana for a waste recovery from municipal waste treatment plant

Helena

• $350,000 for the Montana Supreme Court Video Conferencing
  
• $300,000 for the Rocky Mountain Development Council/PenKay Eagle Manor Renovation, Helena, Montana, for renovations and improvements
  
• $1,000,000 for the Missouri River Water Project, Helena, Montana for a water treatment project

Road projects

• $3,000,000 to Kalispell Bypass, Montana
  
• $5,000,000 to Fort Peck Reservoir Fishing Access Roads, Montana
  
• $3,000,000 to Marysville Road Construction Project, Montana
  
• $5,000,000 to Billings North Bypass Project, Montana
  
• $5,000,000 to Glacier National Park Going to the Sun Road, Montana
  
• $400,000 to West Fork Road--Red Lodge, Montana
  
• $191,000 to Whitefish Pedestrian and Bicycle Trails, Montana

As reported in the Missoulian and elsewhere, sections 102-104 and 515 of the conference report refer to abortion funding changes.

Information on Pell Grants is included in Division F of the report. With the adoption of the bill, "the maximum Pell Grant for which a student shall be eligible during award year 2005-2006 shall be $4,050."

DEQ Requests for Comment

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking comment on several new proposals:

Bitterroot Water Quality Plan
Press release

Grave Creek Water Quality Plan
Press release

Ninemile Water Quality Plan
Press release

Dearborn River Water Quality Plan
Press release

All draft planning documents and details on submitting comments are available on the TMDL Public Comments site.

Missoula Art Museum Renovation

On November 22, 2004, the Missoula City Council unanimously approved a resolution on the Missoula Art Museum project and authorized the issuance of bonds to finance the project.

Missoula Art Museum Project

Resolution relating to economic development revenue bonds for the Missoula Art Museum Project

Source: "Art museum renovation inches closer with city OK." Missoulian November 24, 2004. B1.

Tysabri (natalizumab)

"FDA has licensed a new biologic approach to treat patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) to reduce the frequency of symptom flare-ups or exacerbations of the disease."

View information about the new drug, Tysabri (natalizumab), on the FDA website.

Source: "New drug effective against MS relapses." Missoulian November 24, 2004. A4.

AIDS Epidemic Update 2004

"The annual AIDS epidemic update reports on the latest developments in the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. With maps and regional summaries, the 2004 edition provides the most recent estimates of the epidemic’s scope and human toll, explores new trends in the epidemic’s evolution, and features a special section on women and AIDS."

AIDS Epidemic Update 2004

Source: "AIDS report finds rate of HIV infection in women rising dramatically." Missoulian November 24, 2004. A5.

EPA pollution limits in Montana

An agreement between the Environmental Protection agency and several conservation groups requires the EPA to set Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for more rivers and lakes in Montana.

View the Montana Environmental Information Center page about the lawsuit.

The EPA website on TMDL lawsuits includes the opinion from recent cases.

For more information, see the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) page on TMDLs.

The EPA TMDL site includes reports for Montana, and the Region 8 site (which includes Montana) includes TMDL information as well.

Source: "EPA to set pollution limits on state waters." Missoulian November 24, 2004. A1.

New CRS Reports

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently released several reports that have now been made available to the public. CRS performs public policy research for Congress. They provide summarizing reports on issues with an emphasis on comprehensive, reliable, timely, and objective analysis.

Al Qaeda: Statements and Evolving Ideology

Guarding America: Security Guards and U.S. Critical Infrastructure Protection

Iraq’s Trade with the World: Data and Analysis

Oil and Gas Exploration and Development on Public Lands

Thanks to ResourceShelf for the news tip.

Interagency Committee on Government Information

An interesting article appearing in Federal Computer Week published on November 15th talks about changes to the search engine on the EPA website. The improvements to the search engine come from the incorporation of developing metadata standards for government information. The group working on these standards is the Interagency Committee on Government Information. The group has just released three draft documents on the definition, categorization, and creation of interoperable standards for electronic government information.

View the draft documents and other reports from the Interagency Committee on Government Information on their website.

Thanks to ResourceShelf for reporting on this issue.

Pattee Canyon Blue Mountain Project

The Pattee Canyon Blue Mountain Project is intended to thin areas of the Lolo National Forest to reduce the risk of forest fires. The section of the project that focuses on the Pattee Canyon area is wrapping up, and work will begin in the Blue Mountain area this week.

For more information, see the web page for the Pattee Canyon Blue Mountain Project on the Lolo National Forest website.

Source: "Thinning to move to Blue Mountain." Missoulian November 23, 2004. B1.

Removal of Aeronautical Information from Public Sale and Distribution

From the November 18, 2004 Federal Register: "The National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency (NGA) intends to remove its Flight Information Publications (FLIP), Digital Aeronautical Flight Information File (DAFIF), and related aeronautical safety of navigation digital and hardcopy publications from public sale and distribution." This action will go into effect October 1, 2005.

View the Federal Register notice online.

NGA Aeronautical Information Products page: http://164.214.2.62/products/digitalaero/index.html

OIG's Review of the "Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003 Report"

The State Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report addressing the errors in the "Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2003" report.

The executive summary and recommendations of the OIG report are available online: http://oig.state.gov/documents/organization/38680.pdf

Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2003: http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2003

Source: "Terrorism report still wrong, State Department finds." Missoulian November 21, 2004. A4.

Report on Cable A La Carte Pricing Model

The FCC prepared a report for the House Energy and Commerce Committee which concludes that "although an a la carte option would allow consumers to pay for only the programming they choose, given current viewing practices, few consumers would experience lower bills for multi-channel programming." Essentially, if households subscribe to 9 or fewer channels, they would save money through a la carte pricing; however, most households watch an average of 17 channels.

The FCC news release provides a summary of the report: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/
DOC-254443A1.pdf

The FCC study itself is available online: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/
DOC-254432A1.pdf

Source: "Groups fume over FCC recommending against a la carte cable." Missoulian November 21, 2004. A8.

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005

On Saturday, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2005. The bill describes funding for numerous programs and includes provisions on how funding is used.

View the bill, its amendments, and the actions taken in passing it on the THOMAS site: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/
z?d108:H.R.4818:

Sources: "Congress approves $388 billion spending bill." Missoulian November 21, 2004. A1.
"Spending measure to make it easier for providers to refuse abortion services." Missoulian November 21, 2004. A8.

Grizzly Bear Occupancy Management Proposal

From the Wyoming Game and Fish Department press release: "The draft proposal explaining the specific geographic areas considered suitable for grizzly bears in northwest Wyoming is now available for public review."

View the management proposal, special reports, and information about public meetings on the Wyoming Game and Fish Department website: http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/GBOccupancy/index.asp

Source: "Ursus trifectus: Grizzly habitat plan has three areas of protection." Missoulian November 21, 2004. A2.

Department of Education Reports

The Department of Education released four reports today:

Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program: Final Report
http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/choice/pcsp-final/index.html

Innovations in Education: Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification
http://www.ed.gov/admins/tchrqual/recruit/altroutes/index.html

FY 2004 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR)
http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/2004report/index.html

Trends in Educational Equity of Girls & Women: 2004
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005016

Brush Lake Acquisition

From the press release on the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks website:

"Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) has begun formal steps to develop northeastern Montana's first state park on land surrounding a popular lake northeast of Dagmar. . . An Environmental Assessment (EA), which describes the proposed acquisition process, has been prepared by FWP and is available for public review. If the land is acquired by FWP, an additional EA will be produced in order to address the recreational development of a state park at Brush Lake. Comments on this initial acquisition EA must be received by FWP by Nov. 22, 2004."

View the Environmental Assessment: http://fwp.state.mt.us/publicnotices/show.aspx?id=699

New Resource Round-Up

There are several new reports and resources that have been announced recently that are worth being aware of. These items have not been in the news but have been mentioned on listservs, in press releases, and in other blog feeds.

Statistical Abstracts
The Census has digitized two classic works that will be immensely useful to researchers: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 and editions of the Statistical Abstract of the United States going back to 1878.
http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/index.htm

Births to 10-14 Year-Old Mothers, 1990-2002: Trends and Health Outcomes
The National Center of Health Statistics released a report this week on teenage pregnancy showing that "the birth rate among young adolescents aged 10-14 has fallen to the lowest level since 1946."
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr53/nvsr53_07.pdf

September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Report
The Department of Justice has just released the final September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Report.
http://www.usdoj.gov/final_report.pdf

Indymedia Case
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has been posting frequent updates on the Independent Media Center case, and this week they released the government's response to the EFF motion to unseal the seizure order at the heart of the case.
http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Indymedia/
20041109_indymedia_govt_response.pdf

Children Born in 2001
The National Center for Education Statistics has released the report "Children Born in 2001," which looks at a cohort of children for trends and longitudinal data.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/children

New GAO Reports
The General Accountability Office is a very prolific agency. Here is a sample of the many interesting reports the office released this week.

• Flu Vaccine: Recent Supply Shortages Underscore Ongoing Challenges
  
• Reserve Forces: Actions Needed to Better Prepare the National Guard for Future Overseas and Domestic Missions
  
• U.S. Postal Service: Physical Security Measures Have Increased at Some Core Facilities, but Security Problems Continue
  
• VA and DOD Health Care: Efforts to Coordinate a Single Physical Exam Process for Servicemembers Leaving the Military

For more reports visit the GAO website: http://www.gao.gov.

The Spotted Owl and the Threatened Species List

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a press release yesterday indicating that the spotted owl will remain on the threatened species list.

View the FWS page on the Northern Spotted Owl: http://endangered.fws.gov/i/B6K.html

View the Northern Spotted Owl 5-year review: http://pacific.fws.gov/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/pdf/NSO_5-yr_Summary.pdf

The Northwest Forest Plan, mentioned in the Missoulian article and on the Spotted Owl site, is available on the FWS Pacific Region page: http://www.reo.gov/general/aboutNWFP.htm

You can view the list of endangered and threatened species through the FWS Endangered Species Program website: http://endangered.fws.gov

Source: "Feds keep spotted owl on species list." Missoulian November 19, 2004. A2.

UN Report on Opium Cultivation in Afghanistan

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released the 2004 Afghanistan Opium Survey yesterday, which reports a 64% increase in opium poppy cultivation and a 17% increase in opium production.

View the report online: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/afg/afghanistan_opium_
survey_2004.pdf

A Fact Sheet is also available: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/afg/afghanistan_opium_
survey_factsheet_04.pdf

Source: "Survey finds surge in opium cultivation in Afghanistan." Missoulian November 19, 2004. A10.

Lolo Motorway Permit

"If you want to travel in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark along a 58-mile section of the Lolo Motorway from July 15 to October 1, 2005, you will need a permit and can apply for one through a lottery administered by the Lochsa Ranger District of the Clearwater National Forest."

"Following Lewis and Clark to Idaho," Clearwater National Forest's page about the Historic Lolo Trail Corridor, includes information about the permit lottery: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/LewisClark/permit/permit_toc.htm

Source: "Permit needed for travel along Lolo Motorway." Missoulian November 18, 2004. C3.

Block Management and Habitat Montana Programs

Several Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks hunting and habitat access programs are up for reauthorization by the 2005 Legislature. Links to information about the programs and possible improvements appear below.

Private Land/Public Wildlife Council Access Program Recommendations: http://fwp.state.mt.us/news/article_3114.aspx

The Block Management Program: http://fwp.state.mt.us/hunting/hunteraccess/blockman/default.html

Habitat Montana, HB 526 Information: http://fwp.state.mt.us/habitat/wildlifehabitat.asp

Landowner's Guide to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Landowner Programs: http://fwp.state.mt.us/habitat/landowner.asp

Source: "Preserving preservation: Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Block Management and Habitat Montana programs would expire in 2006 without reauthorization from the 2005 Legislature." Missoulian November 18, 2004. C1.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004

The Conference Committee convened to resolve differences over House and Senate versions of H.R. 1350, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, reached an agreement yesterday.

View the bill's text and status and House Report 108-77 (which provides information about the intent of the law) through THOMAS. Conference Report 108-779 should become available shortly.

Source: "Special education bill moves forward." Missoulian November 18, 2004. A8.

Public Debt Limit

On Wednesday, the Senate passed bill S. 2986, "A bill to amend title 31 of the United States Code to increase the public debt limit." The bill will change the public debt limit from $7.384 trillion to $8.184 trillion, an increase of $800 billion.

View the bill text and status through THOMAS or the roll call vote through the Senate site.

Source: "Senate approves borrowing more money." Missoulian November 18, 2004. A8.

FDA and the Flu Vaccine

The FDA has made prior inspection reports of Chiron Corporation facilities available to the public. In addition, the House Committee on Government Reform held a hearing on the flu shot shortage yesterday.

To view the inspection reports, go to the FDA's webpage on Flu Information: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/flu.html

For statements and witness testimony at the House hearing, visit the committee's website: http://reform.house.gov/GovReform/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=1468

Source: "FDA had knowledge of past vaccine contamination in Britain." Missoulian November 18, 2004. A5.

Vioxx Hearings

The FDA released a statement on Wednesday in advance of a Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled "FDA, Merck and Vioxx: Putting Patient Safety First?"

View the FDA press statement online: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01136.html

Also, you can view the statements presented at the Senate hearings on the Finance Committee website: http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing111804.htm

Source: "Agency defends handling of Vioxx." Missoulian November 18, 2004. A5.

Wolf Reintroduction Efforts

There is increasing pressure to consider reintroducing gray wolves to the Southern Rockies. Though there are no current proposals, the interest is based on the success of other wolf reintroduction programs.

Gray Wolf News, Information and Recovery Status Reports: http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov

Mexican Wolf Recovery Program: http://ifw2es.fws.gov/mexicanwolf

Mexican Wolf Recovery: Three-Year Program Review and Assessment: http://southwest.fws.gov/bwolfrpt.pdf

Source: "Group looks at more wolf reintroductions." Missoulian November 17, 2004. A2.

Missoula Carbon Monoxide Redesignation Request

The Missoula City-County Health Department has issued a website with information on the redesignation effort: http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/envhealth/AirQ/CO%20Redesignation/redesignationindex.html

Source: "City to request removal from carbon monoxide list." Missoulian November 17, 2004. B1.

Badger-Two Medicine Area

The article in the November 16, 2004 Missoulian on Blackfeet efforts to assert ownership of the Badger-Two Medicine area mentions numerous government information sources. Many of the sources are available online (and are listed below) and others are available in print. Other relevant websites on the Blackfeet Nation are included below as well.

Lewis and Clark National Forest's page on Hall Creek projects: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/lewisclark/projects/oilgas/index.shtml

Though not all early treaties and agreements have been digitized, many are available in the digitized version of Kappler's Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties (http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler), including the 1855 Treaty with the Blackfeet: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/bla0736.htm
The 1896 agreement is available in print and microfilm sources, including Treaties and Agreements of the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest (Available at the Mansfield Library. Call number: 970.5 U58in 1973 v.3).

National Historic Preservation Act: http://www2.cr.nps.gov/laws/NHPA1966.htm

Blackfeet Nation website: http://www.blackfeetnation.com

Constitution and By-Laws for the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana: http://doc.narf.org/nill/Constitutions/BlackfeetConst/bfconttoc.htm
Blackfeet Tribal Law and Order Code: http://doc.narf.org/nill/Codes/blackfeetcode/blftcodetoc.htm

Source: "Blackfeet begin fight for land: Tribes take action to halt oil, natural gas development." Missoulian November 16, 2004. A1.

Iran's Agreement to Suspend Uranium Enrichment

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director issued a report on November 15, 2004, addressing recent inspection work and Iran's agreement to suspend uranium enrichment. The official report will most likely not be made publicly available until after the November 25 hearings. However, the Iran-EU agreement is available online, as are prior IAEA reports.

The IAEA page on Iran provides relevant reports, news items, and other documents: http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIran/index.shtml

The November 14, 2004, Iran-EU Agreement: http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIran/eu_iran14112004.shtml

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Treaties/npt.html

Source: "U.N. agency accepts Iran deal to suspend enrichment: U.S. not pleased." Missoulian November 16, 2004. A7.

Draft Elk Management Plan

"The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission agreed today to extend the comment period on the wildlife agency’s draft elk plan and environmental assessment. Comments will be accepted through Dec. 6."

View the Draft Elk Management Plan and environmental assessment on the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks website: http://fwp.state.mt.us/hunting/elkplan.html

Sources: "FWP Commission Extends Elk Plan Comment Period." FWP website. November 16, 2004.
"Montanans need more time to digest elk management plan." Missoulian November 16, 2004. A9.

Abuse of the Oil-for-Food Program

A Senate hearing titled "How Saddam Hussein Abused the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program" was held on November 15, 2004. Speakers at the hearing included Charles Duelfer, Mark L. Greenblatt, Steven A. Groves, Juan Carlos Zarate, and Senators Norm Coleman and Carl Levin.

The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs has created a webpage with links to testimony, statements, and the archived webcast: http://govt-aff.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=209

Source: "Panel finds Saddam siphoned $21 billion from oil program." Missoulian November 16, 2004. A12.

Bureau of Justice Statistics Recent Releases

The Bureau of Justice Statistics, part of the Department of Justice, recently released two reports on prisons and prisoners.

Capital Punishment, 2003: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cp03.htm

Prisoners in 2003: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/p03.htm

Source: "Death sentences, death row populations continue decline." Missoulian November 15, 2004. A7.

Governor-elect Transition Site

Governor-elect Brian Schweitzer has set up a website for his transition office. The site includes news releases, an e-calendar, biographies, news on recent appointments, and the opportunity to apply for an appointment.

http://www.govelect.mt.gov

Source: "Schweitzer sets up transition Web site." Missoulian November 15, 2004. B3.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Order

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has ordered that 72 airlines turn over data on all passengers who traveled on domestic flights in June. The PNR ("passenger name records") data can include credit card numbers, travel itineraries, addresses, telephone numbers, and meal requests. This data will be used to test the TSA's "Secure Flight" system. Airlines have until November 23 to comply with the order.

The TSA press release about the order is available on the TSA site.

The Notice of Final Order will be published in the Monday, November 15, Federal Register, but it is currently available for viewing at the TSA site: http://www.tsa.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/secureflightfinalorder.pdf

Source: "Government orders airlines to turn over passenger data." Missoulian November 13, 2004. A7.

Bison Quarantine Feasibility Study

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has extended the comment period on an environmental assessment of a state and federal proposal to establish a bison quarantine facility near Corwin Springs. Comments will be accepted through November 24, 2004.

You can view the Bison Quarantine Feasibility Study Environmental Assessment online.

Source: "FWP Extends Bison Quarantine Comment Period." Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks News Release. November 10, 2004. http://fwp.state.mt.us/news/article_3188.aspx

Forest Plan Revisions

Numerous national forests in and near Montana are in the process of revising their forest plans. The forests have created web pages providing information on the planning processes, and they have made many planning documents available online.

The Western Montana Forest Planning Zone covers the Bitterroot, Lolo and Flathead National Forests: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wmpz/index.shtml

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/b-d/forest_plan/index.htm

Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests: http://www.fs.fed.us/cnpz

Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle National Forests: http://www.fs.fed.us/kipz/

Thompson River Co-Gen Power Plant

Thompson River Co-Gen, L.L.C. has received a modified air quality permit (#3175-01) from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The appeal period ends on November 22, 2004, and the permit will become final on November 23, 2004.

The letter, permit, and conditions from the Montana DEQ approving the Thompson River application are available online: http://www.deq.state.mt.us/AirQuality/ARM_Permits/3175-01.pdf

Source: "Thompson Falls plant gets final go-ahead: Air quality permit will allow it to be online and producing power by December." Missoulian November 12, 2004. A1.

Native Veterans Home Loan Program

The recent article in the Missoulian references the Native Veterans Home Loan Program.

For more information, take a look at the VA website about the program: http://www.homeloans.va.gov/native.htm

The program was created because of Public Law 102-547. To see the text of this law, go to THOMAS, a Library of Congress website that provides information on current and past legislation. Through THOMAS, you can search for public laws.

The section of the United States Code that discusses this program is 38 USC 3762 (title 38, section 3762). You can view this portion of the U.S. Code by searching on the GPO Access U.S. Code page.

Source: "Native veterans to be honored." Missoulian November 11, 2004. A1.

Bitterroot Birding and Nature Trail

For more information on the planned Bitterroot Birding and Nature Trail, check out the website for the project: http://biology.umt.edu/landbird/birdtrail/bitterroot.htm

Source: Winged wonders: Planners unveil list of 25 sites they hope to make part of Bitterroot birding trail." Missoulian November 11, 2004. C1.

Recent Economic Indicators

View the Commerce Department's "U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, September 2004" report: http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrelarchive/2004/trad0904.pdf

View the Department of Labor's "Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report": http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm

The Federal Reserve issues information (weekly, daily, historical) on foreign exchange rates and the value of the dollar: http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/Summary/

Source: "Exports up, bringing trade deficit down to $51.6 billion." Missoulian November 11, 2004. A5.

Robert-Wedge Final Environmental Impact Statement

The Flathead National Forest has released a new environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Robert-Wedge Post-Fire Project.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/flathead/nepa/robert_wedge/feis/index.htm

Source: "Flathead unveils plan for burn areas." Missoulian November 6, 2004. B4.

NASA's X-43A Scramjet

Next week, NASA will attempt to break the aircraft speed record with the X-43A Scramjet, which will fly at speeds close to 10 times the speed of sound.

The NASA page on the X-43A offers project information, multimedia files, and facts about the aircraft: http://www.nasa.gov/missions/research/x43-main.html

Source: "NASA prepares for 'scramjet' to attempt near-mach 10." Missoulian November, 10, 2004. A9.

Airplane Water Safety

In August and September 2004, the EPA tested drinking water aboard 158 randomly selected domestic and international passenger aircraft. Preliminary data showed that 12.6 percent of the aircraft tested carried water that did not meet EPA standards.

On November 9, 2004, the EPA announced commitments from 12 major U.S. passenger airlines to implement new aircraft water testing and disinfection protocols. The EPA will draft new regulations over the next 12-18 months.

The EPA's page on airline water supplies: http://www.epa.gov/airlinewater/

Source: "Airlines to undergo water tests following evidence of coliform bacteria." Missoulian November 10, 2004. A5.

Public School Funding in Montana

"The Montana Supreme Court declared Tuesday that state funding for public education is inadequate and gave the Legislature until Oct. 1, 2005, to define -- and fund -- the 'free, quality public education' Montanans are guaranteed under the constitution."

The preliminary order from the Montana Supreme Court: http://www.lawlibrary.state.mt.us/dscgi/ds.py/Get/File-36310/04-390.pdf

Source: "Court: School funds lacking." Missoulian November 10, 2004. A1.

Special thanks to the Montana State Law Library for providing access to the court order

Clark Fork Superfund Consent Decree

"On November 5, 2004, EPA and the Department of Justice announced an agreement with ARCO, under which ARCO and the US Judgement Fund has agreed to reimburse EPA for $62 million for cleanup work conducted in the Clark Fork River Basin. ARCO will contribute $50 million and the US Judgement Fund $12 million. The areas covered under this consent decree are the Anaconda Smelter Site, the Clark Fork River Operable Unit of the Clark Fork River/Milltown Reservoir Sediments Site, and the Warm Springs Ponds and Butte Priority Soils Operable Units of the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Site. The agreement does not address the Milltown Reservoir Sediments Operable Unit."

The EPA's page on the Clark Fork Basin Superfund sites: http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/sites/mt/cfbsites.html

The proposed consent decree: http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/sites/mt/
ConsentDecreeClarkForkBasin.pdf

Source: "Arco, EPA reach agreement on cleanup." Missoulian November 6, 2004. A1.

Salim Ahmed Hamdan v. Donald H. Rumsfeld

"A federal judge ruled Monday that President Bush had both overstepped his constitutional bounds and improperly brushed aside the Geneva Conventions in establishing military commissions to try detainees at the United States naval base here as war criminals."

Memorandum Opinion & Order issued November 8, 2004 by Judge James Robertson: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/04-1519.pdf

Source: "Judge Halts War-Crime Trial at Guantánamo" New York Times November 9, 2004.

2007 Montana Budget

The 2007 Governor's Budget is now available online: http://www.state.mt.us/budget/css/budget/2007_budget.asp

Proposed Roadless Rule

Information on the proposed roadless rule is available from the Forest Service: http://www.roadless.fs.fed.us/.

Comments must be received in writing (through the mail, by fax, or via email) by November 15, 2004.

Source: "Fir slab, groups spotlight proposed roadless change." Missoulian November 9, 2004. B1.

American Community Survey: Key Unresolved Issues

The Government Accountability Office released a report on Monday, "American Community Survey: Key Unresolved Issues." The report examines problems in implementing the American Community Survey, an annual survey (which is intended to replace the census "long form") that collects demographic information on Americans.

Highlights (1 page summary): http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0582high.pdf

Full report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0582.pdf

Source: "Government watchdog warns new census needs changes." Missoulian November 9, 2004. A9.

National American Indian Heritage Month

November is National American Indian Heritage Month. Several government sites have created specific pages to honor this month:

Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/multimedia/aian2004.html

Department of Defense: http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/nativeamerican01

Indian Health Service: http://www.ihs.gov/publicaffairs/heritage

National Park Service: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/feature/indian

President Bush's official proclamation: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/11/20041104-15.html

The proclamation references an April 30, 2004 executive order on American Indian and Alaskan Native education: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040430-10.html

Source: "It's more than just 30 days." Missoulian November 7, 2004. B1.

Monthly Employment Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects and reports Current Employment Statistics (CES) on a monthly basis: http://www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also gathers information on wages, benefits, occupational outlook, inflation, the consumer price index, occupational safety, and much, much more.

Source: "Employment surges by 337,000 in October" Missoulian November 6, 2004. D1.

2002 Economic Census

The Census Bureau has been releasing many new reports recently that are part of the 2002 Economic Census.

Many of the reports are part of the Industry Series (including recent reports on the mining industry) and others are from the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (including reports for Montana and Idaho).

Obesity and Airlines

A letter written by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) researchers in the October 2004 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows the impact of obesity and weight averages on airline weight estimates and fuel costs.

The article is available through the Mansfield Library site for UM affiliates. Click on the link for Journals and search for "American Journal of Preventive Medicine." Follow the ScienceDirect link, and choose Volume 27, issue 3. The article is titled, "Economic and environmental costs of obesity: The impact on airlines."

The sources for the article include a recent National Center for Health Statistics report: Mean Body Weight, Height,and Body Mass Index,United States 1960–2002

Other data comes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Source: "Feds say obesity epidemic weighing down planes, pushing up fuel costs." Missoulian November 5, 2004. A12.

Winter Use Plans for Yellowstone and Grand Teton

A finding of "no significant impact" was issued yesterday on the Temporary Winter Use Plans and Environmental Assessment for Winter Use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway.

The final plan, "Temporary Winter Use Plans - Finding of No Significant Impact," is available online: http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/winteruse/winterfonsi11-04.pdf

More winter use information is available on the National Parks site: http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/winteruse/index.htm

Source: "Park Service unveils final proposal for snowmobiles." Missoulian November 5, 2004. B3.

Streamflow Reports

The USGS Montana District has issued its monthly report on streamflow in Montana.

The report from the USGS Montana District: October Streamflows Mostly Normal; Reservoir Storage Varies

USGS Montana provides real-time and historic hydrologic data, annual water data reports, and more: http://mt.water.usgs.gov/

For national information on streams, you could check out the National Streamflow Information Program, which provides real-time data for the nation and other data.

Also consider trying out The National Map. The National Map allows you to plot layers of information on a national, state, or local scale. Layers include real-time streamflow data, topographical information, orthophoto information, and more.

Source: "Streams, some reservoirs at normal levels." Missoulian November 4, 2004. B3.

Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex Cleanup

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the Helena National Forest, and Asarco Corp. recently released a draft proposal for cleanup of the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex near Lincoln. This complex includes the Mike Horse mining complex.

Draft Alternatives Technical Memorandum for Mine Waste Removal at the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex.

Source: "Draft proposed for Lincoln-area mine cleanup." Missoulian November 3, 2004. B8.

NIH Open Access Repository

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a proposal to make research articles based on NIH funding available to the public free of charge. These articles would be publicly available in NIH's PubMed Central (PMC) within six months after their publication in a peer-reviewed journal. NIH has requested public comment on the plan prior to November 16, 2004.

The proposal: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-04-064.html

Additional information from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL): http://www.arl.org/info/publicaccess/index.html

Source: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline (ALAWON), v. 13 no. 85, November 1, 2004. http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washnews/news2004/85nov01.htm

Election Results

State and county results from the 2004 election are available on the State of Montana site: http://sos.state.mt.us/ELB/GeneralElection/November2General.htm

The Missoula County Elections Office has also posted election results: http://www.co.missoula.mt.us/election/results2004.HTM

Emerging Infectious Diseases

The General Accountability Office (GAO) has just released a new report about Disease Surveillance. The report examines the efforts of local, state, and federal public health officials to detect cases of infectious diseases (particularly new diseases like SARS, West Nile, or new strains of the flu) before they develop into widespread outbreaks.

Emerging Infectious Diseases: Review of State and Federal Disease Surveillance Efforts: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04877.pdf

Link from DocuTicker

Cassini Spacecraft

The Cassini spacecraft is sending back invaluable data from Saturn and its moons. Check out the NASA site on the Cassini-Huygens Mission for the latest news and images being sent from Saturn and Titan: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/main/index.html

Source: "UM Scientist helps unravel space secrets." Missoulian November 1, 2004. A1.