Reporter’s notes

FS Deputy

USDA Forest Service has selected Michael L. Balboni as the deputy forest supervisor of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Balboni will assist in the management of the Bridger-Teton National Forest’s 3.4- million acres.

Balboni was most recently serving as the acting deputy forest supervisor of the Custer National Forest in Montana and has been the Three Rivers district ranger on the Kootenai National Forest for the past 12 years.

Balboni earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Florida in wildlife, ecology and forestry.

Public land

The majority of letters of public comment on Sublette County’s “final draft public land policy” expressed their views that the draft should be thrown in the garbage and a new policy be drafted.

Several commenters said that the proposed policy did not represent the views of county citizens. One commenter called the policy positions offensive, while another said the policies were “classic nut-ball anti-federalist sagebrush rebel spew.”

Most commenters were critical of the draft document as being poorly written and incomplete. Most comment letters were short, but a few people undertook fairly exhaustive and thoughtful reviews and suggested specific areas for revisions.

Questar

Questar Corp. announced that, in response to low natural gas prices, its subsidiary Questar Exploration and Production Company has shut in production on a portion of its unhedged natural gas production. Effective Oct. 1, the company shut in about 32-million cubic feet per day of net natural gas production from its Rocky Mountain producing region.

Brucellosis

The U.S.D.A. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is accepting public comments on its action to change Wyoming’s brucellosis classification from class A to class free. APHIS determined last month that Wyoming has met the standards for class free status, based on the finding of no known brucellosis in cattle for the past 12 months. Comments on the status change will be accepted until Nov. 14 and can be sent to Docket No. APHIS-2006-0138, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, Md., 20737-1238.