NEWS ROUNDUP

Arizona caveman evicted from home in U.S. national forest A man was evicted from an Arizona cave he had lived in for 11 years, after pleading guilty to using a national forest for residential purposes. Thomas Crawford had a bed, books and clothes arranged on hangers, along with pots and cutlery for cooking in his cave in the Coconino National Forest in northern Arizona. He was arrested Friday after a Flagstaff resident reported a suspicious camp...Scientists seek public link with lynx People who live in northern Minnesota are asked to keep a watchful eye for signs of the elusive lynx in the Superior National Forest and nearby areas. The lynx is a long-legged cat with black tufts on the ends of black-tipped ears and a black tip on its tail. An adult lynx stands about two feet tall at the shoulder...
Heat and light SO FAR this year, some 2½m hectares (6m acres) of North American forest have been consumed by fire, and several fires are still blazing in the west of the continent. The United States' Forest Service reckons it will spend around $900m in 2003 on putting fires out, and the damage such fires have caused probably cost several times that figure. A long drought, high winds and extraordinarily high temperatures have also created tinder-box conditions in Europe, where fires have destroyed at least 500,000 hectares of forest and killed more than 30 people... No protection for many threatened species They have found hundreds of endangered species live in areas which offer them no protection at all. The report is the work of the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (Cabs) at the US-based Conservation International, and IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas... Wildlife officials vote for less state protection of otter The Colorado Wildlife Commission has voted to change the river otter's status from ''endangered'' to ''threatened,'' a move that will give the animal less protection. Larry Nelson, endangered species coordinator for the Division of Wildlife, said otter numbers are sufficient in four major Western Slope river drainages, the Colorado, Gunnison, Green and Dolores...Winery Agrees to Protect Habitat of 'Celebrated' California Frog, Other Endangered Species Environmental Defense today is popping the cork for the celebrated California red-legged frog, an endangered species that is now beneficiary of a landmark habitation protection agreement signed by the Robert Mondavi Winery... Swinomish may sue over tide gates The Swinomish Tribe yesterday announced it plans to sue over the use of gates that block salmon from Skagit County estuaries. Tide gates are used largely by farmers to keep salt water out of farmland that abuts Puget Sound. The tribe notified one of the 12 Skagit County diking districts, elected bodies that regulate the use of the gates, that in 60 days it could be sued... County, officials fight for road access While driving through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument on Hole in the Rock Road this summer, a recreationalist may have appreciated the wilderness areas in Garfield County. But after traveling about 15 miles on the road and approaching Kane County lines, signs indicating all-terrain vehicles and dirt bike are not allowed may have deterred visitors to the county, said Kane County Sheriff Lamont Smith... First Alberta beef shipments cross U.S. border Producers, packing plants and politicians cheered the first exports of boneless Alberta beef Wednesday while Canada moved closer to deals with Mexico and the Philippines to open their borders to other beef products. Two truckloads carrying 36,000 kilograms of boxed beef cuts from Lakeside Packers in Brooks, Alta., crossed the border into Sweetgrass, Mont. by mid-morning Wednesday. "It's a big step," said Brooks Mayor Don Weisbeck, whose southern Alberta city has been feeling the crunch since the discovery of one cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy May 20 prompted more than 30 countries to ban Canadian beef... Bubonic plague found in Montana deer, hunters cautioned Montana officials have diagnosed bubonic plague in a mule deer that was found near the Big Hole River in western Montana...US Urged to Introduce Animal IDs THE National Pork Producers' Council has urged the United States Department of Agriculture to accelerate implementation of a national animal identification system to ensure a rapid response to any foreign animal disease...PETA warns American diet is harming children Feeding youngsters fattening food such as hamburgers is child abuse - according to a local billboard paid for by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals... Rodeo adds special event for bull riders A special bull-riding event called "Bulls Night Out" is just one of the numerous changes announced Tuesday for the 2004 edition of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show and Rodeo...GAO Refutes Bush Over Meat Labeling Government cost estimates of a new program that will require meat packages to be labeled with their countries of origin are "questionable and not well supported," congressional auditors said in a report released Wednesday. The General Accounting Office report undermines an argument against the labeling requirements, which are set to take effect in September 2004...