U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler is seeking $81.5 million in earmarks.

The Waynesville Democrat released his list of 79 requested appropriations for the federal budget on his Web site.

The largest request is for $6 million for Swain County as part of the U.S. Department of Interior's payments over not building the North Shore Road. The smallest is $125,000 for the Macon County Sheriff's Office to build a firing range.

Other notable earmarks:

* Fund the National Textile Center at N.C. State University, $3.5 million.

* Build a water treatment plant in McDowell County, $3.5 million.

* Run a youth program through the N.C. National Guard, $1.7 million.

* Fund biology and chemistry programs at UNC-Asheville, $1 million. 

An environmental and government watchdog advocacy group wants President-elect Barack Obama to bring back Teresa Chambers, the former Durham police chief who later tangled with the Department of Interior as its U.S. Parks police chief.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, known as PEER, released a nominee wishlist of people it recommends for the Obama administration, Barb Barrett reports.

Chambers was fired from her post as chief of the U.S. Parks after complaining about low staffing levels to the Washington Post. She is tried to re-gain her job with PEER’s support, but she has not yet been successful.

Here's what the group recommended in a release today:

Teresa Chambers as Chief of the U.S. Park Police. Just days after giving an interview with the Washington Post, revealing low staffing levels, Chief Teresa Chambers was ordered to surrender her badge, weapon and ID and was relieved of her duties. In what has become the prime example of the Bush administration's suppression of information, Chambers was ultimately removed from the Chief position. She recently won an appeal of that action before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Chambers is presently serving as Chief of Police for Riverdale Park, a town in Prince George's County, Maryland.

The federal government made its first move Thursday toward drilling off Virginia.

The U.S. Department of the Interior issued a call for public comments as it begins considering the environmental effects of offshore drilling.

That would be the first step toward opening 2.9 million acres of waters to leasing in 2011.

The move will be closely followed in North Carolina, where the Outer Banks is just southwest of the area being considered.

"In some ways, North Carolina is the next place after Virginia that ... the federal government would like to go," said Michael Gravitz of Environment America, a coalition of state environmental organizations. "Virginia is the first chink in the Atlantic Coast armor."

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr supports offshore drilling, and Sen.-elect Kay Hagan has backed a compromise bill that would have allowed for some drilling. Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue has said she will appoint a panel of experts to look into the issue. (N&O)

A royalty relief provision from 2005 has not cost the federal government anything so far.

A recent TV ad attacked U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole for voting for the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which included a provision to allow oil companies to avoid paying royalties for deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

As noted previously, the ad's citation of a "$7 billion" cost estimate for that bill was inaccurate, as the editorial it quoted was referring to royalty relief given in the late 1990s.

But today, the U.S. Department of the Interior told Dome that the royalty relief provisions in the 2005 bill have not cost anything so far because unlike the earlier measures they included price thresholds that kicked in when oil prices rise.

The threshold for 2008 will be around $37 a barrel, but oil is currently selling for around $112.

Walter Cruickshank, the deputy director of the Minerals Management Service, said that the 2005 royalty relief will not really affect the federal budget or oil companies.

"As a practical matter, (it will cost) probably nothing," he said.

A Congressman is also angling for the sportsman vote.

In a guest column in The Leland Tribune, U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre notes that October is the start of hunting and fishing season.

As a member of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, he notes that outdoor activities get Americans "off their couches and into the fresh air," reinforce conservation efforts and contribute more than $250 billion to the national economy, directly and indirectly.

Outdoor activities reinforce values of respect and environmental stewardship that help build strong communities, families, and characters.

McIntyre does mention some legislation, however. He notes that he voted for the U.S. Department of the Interior budget for 2008, which will provide $451 million for wildlife refuges.

The bill passed the House on a 272-155 vote in June.