Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 14

GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE WWW.GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.COM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2010 PAGE 4, SECTION Kohler receives 2010 Lumen Christi award Pine beetles changing water supply, too II show that as roots die, carbon emissions from the soil decrease. This means it's possible that while there is decomposition, the carbon output is offset by the decrease of emissions from the soil. Pendall pointed out that lodgepole pines are also not the only form of vegetation on a mountainside. And less competition can mean the surviving lodgepole pines as well as other trees grow better and faster. Just as a commercial forester would thin trees, the outbreak can cause other trees to grow more quickly, she said.

Dan Tinker, a UW associate professor in botany, said the mountainsides aren't going to become wastelands. Each stand of trees he's sampled in the Medicine Bow National Forest has some amount of regeneration. "I think the big finding is going to be that there are still going to be quite a few trees left," he said. CASPER, Wyo. (AP) Mountain pine beetles are a well-known danger to Rocky Mountain forests.

New research shows the pests are making changes to the water supply and soil, too. The University of Wyoming is looking to establish the impact of the pine beetles epidemic on mountain snowpack. Brent Ewers, an associate professor of botany, is researching the effect of beetle kills in Medicine Bow National Forest. He said that as the beetles kill pine trees and the trees lose their needles, snowpack rises. But once the trees fall, he says, snowpack lessens because of wind and lack of shade.

"You get a little enhancement at first, when they're dying, and then lose a lot more after," Ewers said. When the trees are dead, they will also stop bringing water into their systems. That leads to more moisture in the soil and then, initially, more in streams. High-flowing streams cause erosion, worsened because trees and needles no longer exist to break the flow of water. Ewers has also found that nitrogen rates in the soil go up when trees die because trees absorb nitrogen.

Again, he pointed out the difference between the short-term and long-term effects of beetle kills. "If all you care about is increased water in reservoirs, we will probably see more from the outbreak, but it won't be as high quality because of erosion and nitrogen and won't last forever," Ewers said. Elise Pendall, an associate professor of ecosystem ecology, is studying the possible emissions of carbon from dying trees. She says her research shows that carbon emissions are staying roughly the same within the first two years of the attack. Some scientists worried there would be a pulse of carbon from wood and roots decomposing.

But Pendall's research may Si 1 THE MONTANA CATHOLICERIC CONNOLLY "Our elders survived through their higher calling, their gathering together, to keep the faith and to stay strong. They had something behind them, to keep them going. They survived because of that higher calling. This award is truly deserved. Father Kohler has heard our song so many times, he knows our songs," said Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person, as Father Ed Kohler, far left, received the 2010 Lumen Christi award in Browning on Thursday.

Missoula man gets 40 years for fatal stabbing STATE BRIEFS to tell the man to stop his affair with his girlfriend. He maintains he stabbed Kinross-Wright in self-defense after the man repeatedly tried to punch him. Judge Doug Harkin sentenced Branham to the maximum term possible after prosecutors argued the defendant could be a danger to the community in the future. Wright, also of Missoula. Bran-ham, who was 28 at the time of the stabbing, was acquitted in July of deliberate homicide but was convicted on the lesser charge.

Kinross-Wright was stabbed in the abdomen at the motel before he called 911. Branham told police he went over to Kinross-Wright's home MISSOULA (AP) A man convicted of mitigated deliberate homicide for stabbing another man to death at a Missoula motel last year has been sentenced to 40 years in prison with no parole. Charles Branham of Missoula appeared in District Court on Tuesday for the Dec. 1 1 death of 22-year-old Michael Kinross- Yellowstone names Voters can make sure absentee ballots received Arguments filed in PPL Montana appeal HELENA The state of Montana said the U.S. Supreme Court should not hear an appeal of a Montana Supreme Court ruling that says the state can collect rent on land where PPL Montana's hydroelectric dams sit.

The Montana ruling states that the dams are located on navigable rivers, the riverbeds are owned by the state and the state can collect $41 million in rent for PPL's use from 2000 through 2007. PPL Montana argues the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the navigability of a river must be determined "section by section" and Montana courts didn't follow that standard. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide by the end of the month whether it will hear the case.

Two lawyers seek Havre judgeship Absentee ballots were to be mailed out starting Monday. Montanans who are members of the military or otherwise living overseas also can obtain ballots and track them at vote in person on election day. The "ballot tracking service" can be found at https:app.mt.govvoterinfo. Registered voters must type in their name, birth date and house number to access their status. HELENA (AP) The secretary of state's office said people who vote absentee can check online to make sure their ballots are received by the county.

The secretary of state's website can also tell voters their precinct location if they want to Man who left Missoula prerelease center sought Repeated searches from the ground and air have failed to locate Isaac, described as a black man who is 5 feet, 8-inches tall with black hair, brown eyes and tattoos on his shoulder blades and right triceps. Black bear struck by vehicle, killed BOZEMAN State wildlife officials said a female black bear was killed after being struck by a vehicle on U.S. 191 in the Gallatin Canyon. A car struck the mother bear shortly after 1 1 p.m. Tuesday.

When officials arrived, the mother bear was in the ditch and her two cubs were in a tree. The Montana Highway Patrol said the vehicle was totaled, but the driver wasn't injured. Man flees courtroom after sentencing HELENA Authorities said a 25-year-old man who fled a Helena courtroom after he was sentenced to 60 days in jail has turned himself in. Police Lt. Steve Hagen said Brandon Baysinger of East Helena ran out of the courtroom after he was sentenced Wednesday afternoon on charges of driving under the influence, driving the wrong way, driving on a suspended license and driving with no insurance.

A police officer who was escorting Baysinger was securing his gun in another room when the man fled. Baysinger, who now faces additional charges of contempt of court and escape, turned himself in a few hours later. two counts of deceptive practices. He is serving a seven-year sentence with two years suspended with the state Department of Corrections on each count. The sentences are new superintendent BILLINGS A 35-year veteran of the National Park Service has been appointed as the next superintendent of Yellowstone National Park.

Daniel Wenk will succeed Suzanne Lewis, who is retiring after eight years overseeing the nation's first national park. His appointment was announced Tuesday. He will assume his new post early next year. Wenk, who is 57, began his career with the agency in 1975. He has been deputy director of operations for the Park Service for the last three years.

Missing man's car found in Yellowstone YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. A search is under way in Yellowstone National Park for a Maryland man who has been reported missing. Authorities say 48-year-old Stuart Isaac of Burtonsville, left a note for his family on Sept. 6 saying he was going on an extended cross country trip. His black 2009 Lexus sedan was found Sunday evening, Sept.

26, at Craig Pass along the section of the Grand Loop Road linking Old Faithful and West Thumb. The keys were still in the unlocked vehicle. MISSOULA (AP) Authorities are looking for a 20-year-old man who did not report back to a Missoula prerelease center when he was supposed to. Dustin Mark Henry left the center on an exercise pass just before 4 p.m. Monday and never came back.

He is described as white, 5-foot-ll and 165 pounds with light brown hair, hazel eyes and a youthful appearance. Henry was convicted in Missoula County in April 2009 of Authorities make arrest in Billings drive-by shooting HELENA The Judicial Nomination Commission said two Havre attorneys have applied to succeed District Judge David G. Rice of Havre. Daniel Boucher and Brian Lil-letvedt are seeking the post. Rice has announced his retirement effective Nov.

30. The Judicial Nomination Commission will screen the applications and submit the nominees to Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who will appoint one applicant to the court. The judge will serve the remainder of Rice's term, which expires Dec. 31, 2012.

Public comment is being accepted through Nov. 4. after detectives conducting surveillance on a home found five possible suspects. Another 18-year-old man, who police said was a passenger in the car at the time of the shooting, was arrested on a probation violation but has not been charged with any crimes related to the drive-by. Authorities said 21 -year-old Joseph Dom was hit once in the buttocks area when several shots were fired at his home just before 1:30 a.m.

Friday. He was listed in good condition at a Billings hospital Tuesday. BILLINGS (AP) Authorities have made an arrest in connection with a drive-by shooting in Billings that injured a man as he slept in his home. Police Sgt. Mitch Hart said 18-year-old Jared White Hawk was arrested and charged Wednesday with assault with a weapon CD WINTER IS APPROACHING I BE PREPARED EARLY COLD SPELL PROCEDURE When Temperatures drop below 25 degrees SUNDAY! 1 Turn off sprinkler water apply in the house Remove blow out plug outside If you have a vacuum breaker (Brass unit Outside) jii; mm mm a aw asks-wsi na.

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