Lynne Ward, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Olene Walker and state budget director in former Gov. Michael Leavitt’s administration, was recently awarded the Gloria Timmer Award by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO). This award is known nationally as the highest honor bestowed by the organization presented to the state budget director of the year.

"We are truly pleased with NASBO for recognizing Lynne’s talent and commitment to excellence," said Walker. "This honor formally acknowledges the significant contribution she has made to the state of Utah during her illustrious career."

In a letter of congratulations, NASBO President Wayne Roberts wrote, "Your dedicated service and accomplishments in the state budgeting arena over almost twenty-five years has been truly outstanding. Your state and all of us throughout the United States sincerely appreciate the excellence you bring to our profession."

Ward began her career in state government as an auditor in the Utah State Auditor’s Office after completing her course of study at the University of Utah and passing the CPA exam. Five years later, she transferred to the State Division of Finance, ultimately becoming deputy director of the division. In 1992, Leavitt appointed Ward state budget director. Following his appointment as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Walker named her deputy chief of staff in her administration. She has also been an active member of NASBO, serving a term as president in 1997-98.

During Ward’s tenure as state budget director, Utah has consistently been ranked among the best managed state in the nation. From various media and professional organizations, Utah has received high praise for maintaining a AAA bond rating, following a very conservative budget with frequent tax cuts, generating modest bond issues, and promoting sound fiscal management policies.

The award was formally presented to Ward at the NASBO Annual Meeting in Maine.

5:54:00 PM    

Gov. Olene Walker announced today that Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Executive Director Kim Christensen has accepted a deputy director position with the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), effective mid-August. Christensen, who has served in his current position since July 2003, will manage the budget and oversee human resources for DAS.

"I have enjoyed serving the citizens of the state of Utah,"Christensen said. "It has also been a great privilege to work with this wonderful administration and with the remarkable employees in the executive branch of state government. I am looking forward now to new opportunities."

Christensen has worked in the Department of Human Resource Management since 1989, having served as deputy director, compensation and benefits director, budget officer, and as a programmer analyst.

Christensen holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.

Walker also named Jeff C. Herring to serve as acting executive director of DHRM. Herring was previously serving as deputy director. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Utah and a law degree from the California Western School of Law in San Diego, California.

5:52:05 PM    

Salt Lake City, Utah - Preliminary recommendations from a nine-month joint planning process to improve electric transmission in the Rocky Mountain West include four categories of proposed transmission projects.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal and then-Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt created the Rocky Mountain Area Transmission Study in fall 2003. Its goal is to identify, through an open and public process, the most critical electric transmission and generation project needs in the Rocky Mountain sub-region.

With broad stakeholder involvement, RMATS will provide a framework for regional collaboration to improve the Western interconnection with technical, financial and environmentally viable projects identified for developmental consideration.

The RMATS process includes the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

The group’s preliminary recommendations include:

-The Montana System Upgrade, which calls for reinforcing the existing 500-kilovolt system without building new transmission, increases the efficiency of existing lines at a relatively low cost. It would allow the addition of significant new wind and coal generation to the existing grid without creating transmission constraints.

-The Bridger Expansion Project, which calls for the addition of a new 345-KV high-voltage transmission line in Wyoming from a point near Rawlins, extends west to the Jim Bridger power plant, then separates into two 345-KV lines extending to points further west in Idaho and Utah. This project would enable the addition of significant new coal and wind generation resources in southern Wyoming and southern Idaho. Without the new transmission facility, any new electric generation resources would be bottlenecked by limitations in the existing transmission grid.

-The Wyoming-Colorado Lines Project, which calls for the addition of a new 345-KV line from the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming across the constrained transmission path between Wyoming and Colorado known as TOT3, extends to a point northeast of Denver. As with the other projects, significant new diversified wind and coal resources have been identified which could then reach load centers, in this case, the Colorado Front Range.

-The final RMATS transmission project recommendation is a longer-term power export proposal that would add a major increment of new electric power resources, further increase transmission capacity in the Rocky Mountain states and build two major export transmission paths to West Coast markets.

When Freudenthal and Leavitt announced the formation of RMATS last September, they sought to spur needed investment in new electric transmission lines. After Leavitt’s departure to become administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Utah Gov. Olene Walker joined Freudenthal in supporting RMATS and pushing the transmission planning process forward.

"Without such critical investment in new electric transmission facilities, the region will be unable to tap lower-cost coal and new wind generation, and it will not be able to export these electric generation resources to other parts of the West where they are needed," Freudenthal said.

There has been very little construction of new electric transmission facilities in the region for the last decade. This reluctance to invest stems in part from the climate of uncertainty surrounding newer developments in federal regulatory policy and the lack of a meaningful national energy policy to address the many changes in the electric power industry over the last decade.

"The future of our region will be determined by water and energy supplies," Walker said. "The best solution is addressing the issue collectively. One of the strengths of the RMATS process is the inclusiveness of the group of stakeholders working together."

Through the coordinated efforts of the diverse RMATS stakeholders, a steering committee and technically-oriented work groups, the RMATS initiative has been working to identify specific, high-priority, transmission projects which will bring new electric supplies to growing load, make economic sense, and are likely to be feasible to finance due to the benefits they bring to the region and the West.

The RMATS transmission planning report is expected to be completed in late August in anticipation of a stakeholders meeting to be hosted by the governors in September. RMATS is an open and public process. To find out more, please review the RMATS web site at http://psc.state.wy.us/htdocs/subregional/home.htm.

5:50:48 PM    

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Department of Transportation announces 10 new CommuterLink cameras are available on Bangerter Highway. The cameras are found at:

1. 2400 South Bangerter
2. 2700 South Bangerter
3. 3100 South Bangerter
4. 3500 South Bangerter
5. 4100 South Bangerter
6. 4700 South Bangerter
7. 5400 South Bangerter
8. 7000 South Bangerter
9. 7800 South Bangerter
10.  9000 South Bangerter

"These additional cameras will help us make Bangerter Highway function better." Traffic Management Engineer Bryan Chamberlain said.

1:43:46 PM    

Utah has a variety of climates where the temperature fluctuates between the 80s and the low 100s during the summer months. Whether you live in St. George or Logan, heat can harm your health but harm can be prevented with good planning and by taking precautions.

Not everyone has the same risk of heat-related illness. Those at greatest risk for heat-related illness include infants and children up to four years of age, people 65 years of age and older, people who are overweight, and people who are ill or on certain medications. Other conditions that put you at risk are fever, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation, sunburn, and prescription drug use and alcohol use. The following heat –related conditions can be prevented by following some simple steps.

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1:40:27 PM    

SALT LAKE CITY — General any bull elk muzzleloader permits in Utah are no longer capped at 1,300 permits. That means additional hunters will be able to enjoy one of Utah's most popular elk hunts this fall, but it also means muzzleloader and rifle any bull elk hunters need to get their permits early this year.

"Utah's elk herds are doing so well, and muzzleloader hunters have such a limited impact of them, that we felt we could allow additional hunters to take advantage of the hunt," said Jim Karpowitz, big game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

"The general muzzleloader hunt happens in November, which is a great time to hunt elk," he said. "The elk are heading to their winter ranges and they're in larger groups that time of the year."

Challenges to hunting any bull units include rugged terrain, which can make it difficult to get to the elk. Some any bull units also consist mostly of private land.

Buy your permit early

Beginning this year, the 1,300 any bull elk muzzleloader permit cap has been removed and muzzleloader permits (formerly known as ML-300 permits) are included with rifle permits in the same 14,300 permit cap.

More than 6,000 hunters applied for any bull elk muzzleloader permits in 2003. With the 1,300 cap removed, there's a chance that many of the 6,000 hunters will take advantage of the opportunity to buy a permit, and that will impact how fast any bull elk permits sell this year.

"Any bull elk permits have come close to selling out in the past, and I think there's a good chance they'll sell out this year," said Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the DWR. "I would encourage hunters to buy their permit early."

The easiest way to obtain a permit is at the DWR's Web site (wildlife.utah.gov). Hunters may also buy permits at DWR offices. Hunters who decide to buy a permit from a license agent are encouraged to visit the DWR Web site to learn which agents are selling general bull elk permits this year.

"Because we think they'll be quite a demand for any bull elk permits, we're only allowing agents who are connected to our Agent On-line system to sell them this year," Tutorow said. "The system allows us to know, on a daily basis, how many permits have been sold. Selling them through the system will allow us to close permit sales and prevent permits from overselling this year."

For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.

1:38:03 PM    

SALT LAKE CITY — School children across Utah are learning more about 16 wildlife species in Utah through a new Utah Wildlife Photo Series.

The series is a packet of 8-inch by 11-inch cards. Each card features a full-color, glossy wildlife photograph on the front. On the reverse is information about the species in the photo, including its habitat and habits, notable features, conservation and management of the species, and a range map.

The second such photo series packet to be produced by the Project WILD program of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, this new Utah Wildlife Photo Series packet includes the following species: mountain goat, greater sage-grouse, mountain lion, Great Basin collared lizard, red fox, pronghorn, red-tailed hawk, American avocet, Kanab ambersnail, Bonneville cutthroat trout, Townsend's big-eared bat, Columbia spotted frog, rubber boa, Great Salt Lake brine shrimp, black-capped chickadee and Utah prairie dog.

"These attractive, informative cards help increase the awareness people have about Utah's wildlife, its habitat needs and management," said Diana Vos, Project WILD specialist for the DWR. "In addition to featuring common species that can be more readily seen, the new series also includes several sensitive, threatened or endangered species."

A great resource for educators, one Utah Wildlife Photo Series Packet #2 has been sent, courtesy of Project WILD, to each of the nearly 1,000 schools in Utah. "Many of Utah's teachers have found the first wildlife photo series to be an excellent learning resource for students and have often inquired about when the second series would come out," Vos said. "Now it's finally here and at their school."

The remaining sets of wildlife photo packets will be available to members of the public for a small donation. Funding for production and printing of the new wildlife photo series packet was supplemented by the Endangered Species Mitigation Fund and the Outdoor Resources Foundation, a partner in the production of the first Utah Wildlife Photo Series packet more than 10 years ago.

Sets of the new Utah Wildlife Photo Series are available at DWR offices in Ogden, Salt Lake City, Springville, Vernal, Price and Cedar City. All proceeds from donations given for the packets will be put back into wildlife, wildlife education programs and a fund for the production of future wildlife photo series packets.

This is the second Utah Wildlife Photo Series produced by the DWR's Project WILD program. A small number of the original Utah Wildlife Photo Series Packet #1 also are available.

For more information about the wildlife photo series packets, contact Project WILD at (801) 538-4719 or e-mail Vos at DianaVos@utah.gov.

"The photo series is a wonderful resource for any person interested in learning more about the various wildlife species that make Utah their home," Vos said.

Among some of the interesting facts covered in the cards:

• during echolocation, the sound a Townsend's big-eared bat emits measures 100 decibels, louder than a jackhammer we can't hear it, though, because the sound is at a higher frequency than people can hear.
   
• a red-tailed hawk has such excellent eyesight that it can easily see a mouse moving in the grass from 100 feet up in the sky.
   
• digging, a burrowing activity of prairie dogs, benefits the soil through aeration, mixing of soil types and by adding organic matter to the soil.
   
• when a black-capped chickadee eats a sunflower seed, it holds the seed between its feet, or lodges it in a crack, and then hammers it with its beak until the hull cracks to expose the seed.
   
• when threatened, a rubber boa coils its body protectively around its head and then waves its blunt tail, which looks like its head, to minimize injury to itself.

1:37:18 PM