Boundary County News

The federal government has proposed designating about 600 square miles in Idaho and Washington - roughly half the size of Rhode Island - as critical habitat in an effort to save this last U.S. herd of fewer than 50 animals.

At Idaho officials' behest, USFWS extends comment period for caribou plan Idaho C.L. "Butch" Otter and Boundary County commissioners successfully lobbied the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend the comment period for another 60 days on its proposal to designate 375,000 acres in the Selkirk Mountains in Idaho and Washington state.

Idaho's six citizen redistricting commissioners have been working straight through since 9 this morning, either in small working groups or as a full commission; they worked through lunch, while reviewing all seven of the plans that already have been submitted to the commission that have the minimum number of county splits - five.

A trio of tea party sympathizers is challenging three longtime GOP incumbents in North Idaho's legislative District 1, as Idaho gears up for its first closed Republican primary this year.

ALASKA: The EPA has received an amended notice of a draft EIS regarding the effects of oil and gas activities in the Arctic Ocean near Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea.