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SEATTLE - The U.S. Forest Service in Washington and Oregon is getting twice the normal amount of funding for road and trail repairs in the coming year. The two states will share just over $19 million - and the agency says that's enough to pick up the pace on an enormous backlog of road maintenance on national forest land.



According to Mike Anderson, senior resource analyst with The Wilderness Society, washouts and landslides are common in the backcountry, affecting water quality and fish habitat as well as recreational access, so there's plenty of work to be done.



"The main objective here is to start to close some of the most environmentally damaging of those roads. And the roads that are needed, to put those roads into better shape."

SEATTLE - Cleaner air for the Washington coast is a little closer to reality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking steps to require cleaner fuel for the largest ships operating in United States' waters.



The high-sulfur, bunker fuel generally used in large cargo and cruise ships emits the same types of pollution as coal-fired power plants on shore. Starting in 2011, the EPA will require U.S.-registered ships to have technology on board to reduce those emissions, or to burn cleaner fuel. However, most large ships aren't registered in the U.S., so the rules only cover about 10 percent of the vessels that call at American ports.

Today, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) voted with a majority of her Senate colleagues for health care reform legislation that marks a major step toward bringing spiraling health care costs under control. The health care reform bill, passed 60-39 in a Christmas Eve vote, includes several provisions introduced by Senator Cantwell aimed at significantly cutting costs while improving quality and expanding coverage. These provisions, if signed into law after House-Senate negotiations, will deliver significant cost savings for Washington state residents.

Southwest Washington’s Volcano Rescue Team is better equipped for winter emergencies in the rugged Mount St. Helens region, following the Bonneville Power Administration’s Wednesday donation of a track-driven snowcat to the volunteer rescue group.

Increasing winter recreation has led to a rising number of search and rescue calls for the Rescue Team, including many where a snowcat would have provided faster and safer transportation for rescuers and evacuation for victims. Until now the Rescue Team usually responded to winter emergencies on snowmobiles or foot, with members providing all their own personal equipment.