NEWS ROUNDUP

Tribes set to release forest plan The Klamath Tribes are nearing completion of a forest management plan for former reservation lands they hope to reacquire, according to the tribes' most recent newsletter. The plan will be a key piece of negotiations with the U.S. government to restore lands to the Tribes, according to the September issue of the "Klamath News," the monthly tribal newsletter. For about two decades, the Tribes have been trying to get land back from the U.S. government. The Tribes' reservation, which had about a million acres, was abolished when the Tribes were terminated in 1954. The Tribes regained federal recognition in 1986. The Tribes now hope to gain ownership of about 660,000 acres of former reservation land now owned by the U.S. Forest Service...Voting booths set up at firefighting scene Firefighters have contained a 6,050-acre blaze in the Mendocino National Forest, and some celebrated Sunday by getting involved in another California firestorm -- the recall vote. Firefighters fulfilled their civic duty Sunday in voting booths that the Glenn County Elections Office set up at the fire camp. As many as 800 firefighters are still fighting the fire, which could take weeks or months to completely control, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Rebeca Franco said. Those who voted Sunday will have their ballots delivered to their home counties... Editorial: Wyden timber plan follows natural path Smokey Bear was wrong. So are many of his detractors. For generations, misguided forest officials attacked wildfires as soon as they started. Fire is a natural part of the forest cycle. By curbing smaller fires that removed shrubs and other fuels, humans opened the forests to the catastrophic blazes that we have witnessed in Southern Oregon and elsewhere. The answer is not to walk away from firefighting or from reforesting. It is to work in concert with nature -- carefully thinning fire-prone lands, swiftly assessing and restoring burned areas, protecting homes in and near forests and preserving old growth. Legislation guided by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon would lead America's Forest Service managers down that reasonable path. But it won't succeed unless the timber and environmental communities quit sniping at and distrusting each other... Environmentalists balk at plan for Idaho's old-growth timber An Idaho Department of Lands plan to increase old-growth timber harvests in northern Idaho has stunned conservation groups that already had threatened to sue the state for what they say was overcutting. Department Director Winston Wiggins said the proposed increase is driven by the growing preference among northern Idaho's lumber mills for smaller logs. Soon, he said, the mills will have no demand for larger trees... Editorial: Fining the feds The Utah Division of Air Quality is considering what to do about the recent Cascade Springs fire, which got away from the U.S. Forest Service officials who started it, spread over 8,000 acres and caused health warnings and difficult breathing in the Salt Lake and Utah valleys late last month. One option is to fine Uncle Sam up to $10,000 a day for violating the conditions of its controlled burn permit. It could be worth it... Nevada Rancher Sues Federal Government for 30 Million in Takings Suit (Longer Story) Colvin is following the litigation strategy set forth in the similar and successful case of his neighbor, Wayne Hage. Hage filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in 1991 after years of attempts by the U.S. Forest Service and BLM to reclassify his rangelands as "public lands" and convert it to other uses. In the January 29, 2002 Final Decision and Finding of Fact, the Court ruled that Hage had "title to the fee lands", an area of land identified as his grazing allotment. The Court will determine the compensation owed Hage for the government taking of his property in a trial set for May 2004. "The Hage decision is important to hundreds of western ranchers who have been subjected to years government harassment and interference with their ranching operations. Nothing has changed for many ranchers under the Bush Administration. Clinton bureaucrats are still largely in control. But we now have a victory in Hage that provides other ranchers with a road-map showing them how to keep the government honest when they take our property," said Wayne Hage from his ranch in Monitor Valley, Nevada...Elite units take on arduous wildfire duties Matt Hennessy is happiest scaling a hillside, a saw in his hand, while flames lick close enough to singe his hair and smoke obscures anything more than 5 feet away. "I love it, it's a rush," said Hennessy, 23, of Riverside. "The whole side of the mountain is ripping and you're there to do your work." Hennessy isn't crazy. He's a hotshot... Conservationist backtracks on wolf remarks Lambasted by his fellow conservationists for remarks he made at a law conference in Missoula last week, National Wildlife Federation attorney Tom France issued a written statement Monday chiding the federal government for failing to recover the gray wolf "on suitable habitat across a significant portion of its historic range." "Removing Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the West is clearly premature," France said in a statement issued by the Wildlife Federation's Washington, D.C., office. However, the group's national communications director said France's comments at last week's Public Land and Resources Law Conference in Missoula caused "some difficulties" and were contrary to the federation's national wolf policy...For the original story with the comments, go here....U.S. inquiry targets Bush's $120 million oil rights buyout in Glades The investigative arm of the U.S. Department of the Interior has begun an inquiry into the Bush administration's $120 million buyout of oil rights in the western Everglades. The deal was intended to thwart a massive oil-drilling plan by the Collier family of southwest Florida, which held the mineral rights at Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. When the buyout was announced last year at a White House news conference, environmentalists gave the administration a rare round of applause in a crucial state for the 2004 election. But now the Interior Department's Inspector General's Office has begun reviewing the transaction. The Inspector General's Office would not comment. But Hugh Vickery, spokesman for the Interior Department, said the inquiry focused on how the administration arrived at the $120 million price...Agreement in Maine Will Remove Dams for Salmon's Sake But on Monday an unusual agreement was announced between a coalition of environmentalists and the power company that operates dams on Maine's largest river, an agreement many environmentalists believe stands a good chance of saving the struggling salmon, along with a dozen other species of faltering fish. Under the agreement, two dams on the sprawling Penobscot River are to be torn down, removing important barriers to salmon returning from the ocean to the river to spawn. A third dam will be decommissioned, and a bypass will be built around the structure so the salmon can pass. In exchange, the environmental coalition will pay the power company, the PPL Corporation, about $25 million. And PPL will be able to increase its power generation on six other dams on the Penobscot and its offshoots, recapturing about 90 percent of the power it will lose when the dams are demolished. The environmentalists also agreed to drop legal challenges to the relicensing of the dams by the federal government... Falcon Pair Stall Illumination Of Bridge A pair of peregrine falcons have stalled illumination of the port's Vincent Thomas Bridge. The lights won't be switched on until next summer so the pair can mate and raise their young in peace. Falcons are protected under the state Endangered Species Act. Supporters of the lights had hoped to see the outline of the region's largest suspension bridge ablaze with small blue lights by New Year's Eve. The idea was to transform the bridge into a showpiece...Interiorofficial rallies Republicans at annual barbecue The event's guest speaker -- Lynn Scarlett, Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management and Budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior -- spoke about the vision Bush and Interior Secretary Gale Norton have for the agency and how it would affect the Santa Maria Valley. Scarlett said the Bush administration wants to move away from the "Washington knows best approach" regarding land issues, especially when it comes to the Endangered Species Act, which the department implements. "What we are trying to do is reorient how people think of endangered species," said the UC Santa Barbara alumna. During her speech, Scarlett said the nation's conservation agency plans to start looking at independent scientific reviews on endangered species and make land-management decisions based on those results. She added that the department wants to change its environmental policy so that it focuses more on combined efforts between land owners and the government. "Real conservatism springs from folks like yourselves working with the land," she said. Scarlett also talked about a "four point plan" the department is working on. Those four points are: Fiscal responsibility, better management, building partnerships and working at the local level, she said...Budget cuts forcing massive Fish and Game layoffs With cuts in January that reduced state game warden numbers from 400 to around 350 positions, reduced personnel in the California Department of Fish and Game is not an unfamiliar situation to the department's game wardens. Now over 140 more wardens could soon be eliminated from what many feel is an already depleted workforce... Agency resumes bull trout protection plan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials resumed work last week for the first time since April on a plan to protect Northwest bull trout habitat and the agency has found a new ally among Central Oregon irrigators. Just six months ago, Central Oregon ranchers and farmers braced for a fight with the federal agency that manages threatened and endangered species... Businesses welcome resumed river dredging After an eight-month delay, the final phase of the Petaluma River dredging project is under way and city tourism officials hope the work will help reverse a decline in boat traffic. About 85 percent of the work was completed last winter but work was halted in January when a large piece of debris damaged the motor of a suction dredge. By the time repairs were completed, spawning season had begun for endangered steelhead trout and the rest of the work had to be postponed...Sec. Norton Announces Agreement by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service State of Colorado to Conserve Mountain Plover Interior Secretary Gale Norton has announced a new agreement with the State of Colorado to promote the conservation of mountain plovers on agricultural lands while providing assurances to farmers and ranchers that they will not be prosecuted for inadvertently violating a federal law protecting the birds. Mountain plovers are high prairie birds that nest in open areas such as farm and ranch fields. Under a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (CDNR), participating farmers and ranchers agree to notify the state at least 72 hours before tilling their fields, allowing biologists to survey and flag plover nests. Farmers and ranchers also agree to till around the nests while gaining assurances they will not be prosecuted by the Department of Justice under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which strictly protects all migratory birds, if they accidentally harm a bird...Coyotes killing pets in Anchorage neighborhood Roaming coyotes apparently are targeting people's pets in an Anchorage neighborhood. Two coyotes killed a puppy running in the woods near its owners on a trail in the federal Campbell Tract within Far North Bicentennial Park. Just to the south, as many as a dozen cats and dogs have disappeared from the Zodiac Manor neighborhood... Interior defends roads deal to Congress Despite a congressional backlash and the threat of lawsuits, Interior Department officials have told members of Congress that they intend to go forward with the program to surrender federal ownership claims to miles of backcountry roads in Utah. Agency officials also say they have discussed developing similar road-release pacts with Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and San Bernardino County in California. But six months after the first-ever plan for resolving disputed road rights was agreed to by Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Gov. Mike Leavitt, the Bureau of Land Management has not received a single request to disclaim any federal right of way in Utah... Ranchers seek compensation for wildlife eating too much grass Wyoming took a step Monday toward creating four pilot programs that would pay ranchers and farmers for "extraordinary" wildlife consumption of grass on their property. Extraordinary damage is already defined in law as consumption or use of grass in excess of normal consumption by wildlife that took place two years prior to the damage claim. The state's Legislative Service Office has been asked to review rules and regulations to see whether four regional pilot programs can be established for a temporary period to compensate agricultural producers...Avila Gets Third Snaffle Bit Futurity Championship Bob Avila and Remedys Magic Potion powered their way to an insurmountable lead late in the first section of the Cow Work Finals of the 34th Annual NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity on Sunday, October 5. The near-capacity crowd at the Reno Livestock cheered as the score of 221.5 was given, and the cheering increased when Announcer Mark Thompson noted that the composite of 660 (Herd - 214.5, Rein - 224) had made them the new leaders. The score held and the win gave Avila his third NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Championship and a check for $100,000 to split with his partners _ Doug Carpenter of Sulphur, Oklahoma and Alan and Kay Needle of Temecula, California...Easy does it: Horse whisperer talks softly, carries small stick Dennis Reis has spent as much time behind the wheel of his truck as he has astride a horse lately, but that's just fine by the cowboy who has traveled across the country on a mission. Reis has traveled to 29 states in recent months to stage seminars to promote both his own gentle technique of training horses and riders, and his campaign for a National Day of the Horse... Western Writers of America to Have Presence at WHA Conference Fact meets fiction when Western novelist Elmer Kelton, seven-time winner of the Spur Award, delivers the keynote address at the Oct. 10 banquet of the 43rd annual Western History Association Conference. Western Writers of America, a nonprofit organization of 600 fiction and nonfiction writers, will also staff a booth at the WHA conference, Oct. 8-11 at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel. "The WHA meeting in Fort Worth will feature many WWA faces, including Elmer Kelton as the banquet speaker," said Paul Hutton, executive director of the WHA and president of the WWA. "This continues a growing tradition of convergence between the two organizations as they both work toward their mutual goal of promoting the best in western writing -- both fiction and nonfiction."...