NEWS ROUNDUP

Counties discuss wolf re-introduction to recovery area Ranchers, environmentalists and government employees met in a public forum last week to discuss the reintroduction of the Mexican Gray Wolf to the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. A public meeting for the Adaptive Management Work Group was held last Friday. The group is a committee that was created to include local government officials in the decision-making process for the reintroduction of the wolf. Private meetings were also held on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. The Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area is the name for the wolf reintroduction area in Arizona and New Mexico. Arizona Game and Fish non-game and endangered species chief Terry Johnson said the Memorandum of Understanding for the reintroduction for the wolf is being finalized and will be available to the public on Nov. 2. County officials from New Mexico and Arizona will review the MOU until that date to ensure the language does not violate any rules pertaining to their county...Officials stand by B and B findings Rumors about who or what started two wildfires two days before a presidential visit to Central Oregon were as thick as the plumes of smoke billowing from the blazes. Arsonists. Eco-terrorists. Angry loggers. Accusations flew, both in private and in public. The timing of the fires, the presence of Secret Service helicopters and the national attention focused on the area prompted even some high-ranking agency officials to speculate on the fires' causes. "I have to admit that when it happened, I, like a lot of people, suspected arson," said Bill Anthony, district ranger for the Sisters district of the Deschutes National Forest, where the majority of the Booth and the Bear Butte fires burned... Editorial: 25 years of Public Law 95-495 On October 21, 1978, Public Law 95-495 was signed into law. More commonly known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act of 1978, the 25th anniversary of the law's signing has generated media interest across the state. There are a few things, however, that are not being talked about. The wilderness requirements of the act are repeatedly highlighted as successes today. Nobody wants to talk about what didn't happen. Included in the law was a section called, "Expansion of Recreation Programs." Here was an effort by the federal government to make up for all it was taking away. Unfortunately, there are few if any successes here to talk about 25 years later...CWSD opposes Wild & Scenic designation The watchdog water district opposes a national Wild & Scenic Rivers System designation, preferring to develop its own strategic plan for the Carson River. The Carson Water Subconservancy District met Wednesday in Fallon and agreed to send the opposition letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, who seeks the Wild & Scenic designation. "We are trying to work with the U.S. Forest Service to do a strategic management plan for the whole watershed and then come back and look at the Wild & Scenic designation," Ed James, manager of the district said. "Our concern is that what is proposed is basically putting the cart before the horse. We want to do the study first and then the analysis."...California energy: Drilling in a sacred site? The rugged Medicine Lake Highlands, just 30 miles northeast of Mount Shasta, are situated above an active volcano. Deep below the Highlands, underground pools of boiling brine sit atop volcanic rocks. It is the steam energy in these underground cauldrons that attracted energy companies in the early 1980s, when they first acquired drilling rights to these public lands. For Indian tribes throughout the Western United States, the Highlands are important for very different reasons: They are sacred and for healing, where the tribes come to pray and gather medicinal herbs and learn the secrets of the Earth's creation...Lewis, Clark journey presents good opportunities to ask 'What if?' In September of 1805, Sgt. Patrick Gass looked westward from Travelers Rest and observed "the most terrible mountains that I ever beheld." The Lewis and Clark expedition was about to embark on the most arduous and dangerous part of its trek to the Pacific Ocean -- crossing the rugged Bitterroot Mountains over the Lolo Trail and into the jumbled drainages of northern Idaho in an effort to reach the Columbia River. The party barely made it, encountering early snowfall in the high elevations, exhausting themselves and their horses and nearly running out of food...Idaho coalition seeks to eliminate fast-breeding wolf The Canadian gray wolf's rapid recovery has been hailed as one of the Endangered Species Act's biggest success stories, but some argue that it has been too successful. In central Idaho, critics say the fast-breeding wolf is gnawing through the state's big-game herds at an alarming rate, prompting concerns that the wolf could endanger those who depend on the elk and bighorn sheep for their livelihoods. "These wolves are populating like rabbits in Australia," said Ron Gillett, a hunting guide and outfitter based in Stanley, Idaho. "They only eat meat and they hunt 365 days a year. The U.S. government dumped these wolves on us, and they're destroying our big-game herds and wildlife. "If you like wolves, then you don't like wildlife," he said...Environmentalists object to border fence The plateau at Border Field State Park gives way to steep, rugged canyons including "Smuggler's Gulch," a maze of trails long overrun by illegal border crossers until the federal government launched a crackdown in 1994, erecting a steel wall made of surplus Navy landing mats, adding patrols and installing lights and motion sensors. The Bush administration hopes to build a second fence and a patrol road, tightening the noose along this westernmost 3.5-mile leg of the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. But environmentalists object, arguing the new barriers would erode soil just south of a 2,531-acre federally protected estuary that is a refuge for threatened and endangered birds, plants and fish amid the San Diego-Tijuana metropolis...Column: A foolish focus on allegedly 'lethal' dams What a strangely negative way to announce the glad tidings: This is the third (or is it the fourth -- I've lost count) consecutive annual record-setting run of homecoming mature salmon, mostly fall chinooks, bound upstream to their spawning grounds and overtaxing the fish ladders in the process. One would have thought that everybody, especially the tribal elders, would have reason to be cheery about the whole thing. Instead, the emphasis was on the 25 lost fish out of the more than 45,000 that made it successfully upstream on a single day. Not to mention a number of other days of almost equal success. And the run is not completely over yet. Something between 800,000 to 1 million total fall chinook are expected. And every one of them will be counted at stations for that purpose at the ladders they will climb. Where is the bad news in any of that?...Irate Ranchers Howl at Wolf Reintroduction Wolves get a bad rap in legend and myth, gobbling up grandmas and generally fitting a profile of the animal kingdom's version of a heartless terrorist. Ranchers will tell you that the tales of wolf attacks on livestock are no myth or legend but a significant economic fact. Of course, to hear those who hold predators in the highest regard tell it, the noble wolf is sort of like nature's vacuum cleaner, simply culling the sick and weak from among herds of deer, elk and the like. The problem with that image is that wolves aren't particular about whether the critter that makes their next meal is wild or domestic. Cows and sheep are just as delectable to the wolf palate as deer and elk. Because of their attacks on livestock, wolves have been all but exterminated in many ranching states where they once roamed in great numbers...Cowboys, Indians, and land: an old saga's new twist Environmentalists often cite native Americans as a model for protecting nature. The groups are working together to restore Maine's Penobscot River and oppose natural-gas exploration on Navajo lands. But just as the 1854 speech attributed to Chief Seattle of the Suquamish tribe ("We are a part of the earth and it is part of us") is now considered a myth, the collaboration of environmentalists and Indians has been tenuous at best. And today it's being tested, as some tribes assert their rights to exploit - as well as preserve - natural resources. This is evident in the Klamath Basin of California and Oregon, where conservation groups oppose a plan returning extensive areas of national forest to tribes. They worry that native Americans will abuse the land. Critics say this has been the case in southeast Alaska, where Indian corporations have made vast clear-cuts on land they control. Symbolically, it's a case of cowboys and Indians representing centuries-old, conflicting cultures: They have joined forces against a more modern version of land conservation that puts endangered species way ahead of resource development...Endangered Species Act faces challenge So goes the escalating legal warfare over an Endangered Species Act requirement that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department, declare critical habitat within a year of a species being listed as endangered or threatened. The designation defines habitat considered essential to a species' survival and can severely hamper development and other activities that might harm it. The agency would prefer to spend its limited funds on other conservation efforts but has been paralyzed by dozens of lawsuits since 1997. A Justice Department official estimated that Interior has at least 30 active habitat cases at any given time, and about that many court orders to satisfy. The Bush administration and Republicans in Congress want to change the 1973 Endangered Species Act, arguing that lawsuits are the biggest threat. "I certainly would hope that the Congress would see merit in doing this because the diversion of resources into the courtroom certainly hasn't done conservation any good," said Craig Manson, assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at Interior. The agency ran out of money for critical habitat in July, leaving many court orders unfulfilled and prompting Manson to complain that the money could have been better spent. Manson said he is working with lawmakers on changes, which he declined to specify...Range allotment is released for review Bridger-Teton National Forest officials are proposing to open three areas in the Wyoming range to domestic sheep grazing, according to a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) released Tuesday. The DEIS's preferred alternative would expand domestic sheep grazing into areas closed to this use in the Jackson, Big Piney and Greys River Ranger Districts in southwest Wyoming. It would also speed up ongoing revegetation and habitat rehabilitation work in the allotments, the document said. But officials with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition were wary Thursday of the proposal, which they said could threaten bighorn sheep herds in the Wyoming range if the animals co-mingle with domestic sheep...Editorial: Fair market value for federal land Leave it to federal bureaucrats to serve as masters of the obvious. For years, the Bureau of Land Management (read: taxpayers) got ripped off in numerous land swaps, trading real estate with private parties in return for land not nearly as valuable as that given up. In response -- several of the transactions took place in Nevada -- our congressional delegation persuaded Congress to pass the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act in 1998. The law required the BLM to auction off surplus land in Clark County rather than negotiate land swaps and turn over part of the proceeds to local governments to pay for schools, parks and other infrastructure improvements. In a report issued last week, the agency revealed that -- surprise! -- allowing market forces to determine the price of property has been a resounding success...Snowmobile outfitters plagued by misinformation Snowmobile outfitters, state tourism officials and snowmobile groups say they are fighting an uphill battle to get the word out that the park will be open to snowmobiles. Glenn Loomis, who runs a snowmobile rental shop in West Yellowstone, said he encountered misperceptions when he operated a booth at the Utah State Fair. "I'd estimate that six of 10 visitors all thought that banning snowmobiles in Yellowstone was a done deal," he said. The National Park Service decided in the waning days of the Clinton administration to phase out snowmobiles from Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway. Under pressure of a lawsuit filed by the snowmobile industry, the ban was reversed by the Bush administration. The Park Service has since decided to allow cleaner, quieter and fewer snowmobiles in the parks...Crapo tries to bridge salmon divide For Barb Lane of Riggins and Vickie Purdy of Eagle, the debate over Idaho salmon and water is larger than economics, science or politics. Lane, who with her husband, Gary, operates Wapiti Outfitters, has built her life around salmon and steelhead. Purdy, who with her husband, Dana, owns a 129-acre dairy farm near Eagle, sees their Boise River irrigation water as a sacred right. Like other water users and salmon advocates, they face tough decisions as they ponder Republican Sen. Mike Crapo´s evolving offer to find a collaborative resolution to the Pacific Northwest´s most intractable environmental debate...Hitting The Trail There will be food and fellowship at the break of dawn in Jacksboro today. A couple dozen outriders will saddle their horses, and eight to 10 wagons and buggies will be hooked to teams for the weeklong trek to Fort Worth and the 13th annual Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering and Western Swing Festival. The starting point is Fort Richardson, on the outskirts of Jacksboro. The parade of wagons and riders will wind up at the Fort Worth Stockyards Thursday afternoon. "We've got everybody back from last year's ride," said Elmer Richardson, one of the wagon train organizers. "And we've added a few more. We've got a couple people coming all the way from Florida." Friday will be the first official day of the weekend festival. Twenty-three chuck wagons will journey from the Railhead Market downtown to the stockyards, where they will make camp and begin cooking for a tough and demanding competition. Throughout the weekend there will be western swing music, cowboy poetry sessions, an exclusive ranch rodeo, cutting horse competition and a long list of vendors selling cowboy trappings...On The Edge Of Common Sense: Cowboys can't stop crocodilian cow South of Kansas City, on the Missouri side, it's possible to get into the woods pretty quick, both geographically and philosophically. It¹s not easy to gather cows out of that country either. Randy had called Stevo to help him gather a snorty ol' trader cow off his place. The two of them rode into the quarter section pasture. "There she is!" said Randy, pointing out a brockleface angular cow that appeared to have some camel blood in her lineage. At first sight of the two cowboys shakin' out their ropes, the cow headed for the 3-acre tank dam. Randy raced behind her as she started a circumnavigation around the tank to the left. Stevo swung back the other direction to cut her off. On the backside of the tank the riders were charging each other like jousting knights...