NEWS ROUNDUP

Tribes field raft of questions Officials from the Klamath Tribes tried Monday night to answer questions about returning national forest land to the tribes for a reservation. "We are up here to try to make a deal and sell this to you," tribal Vice Chairman Joe Hobbs said at a meeting of about 125 people at the Beatty Community Center. But many who live near or within the 690,000 acres in question left the meeting saying their concerns weren't addressed. While the U.S. Forest Service has managed the land to produce trees, the Tribes want to manage the land to the benefit of all of its resources, Hobbs said. Chairman Allen Foreman said the Tribes will soon produce its forest management plan. He said it will outline what the Tribes want to do with the forests and how they will do it. He said the Tribes would be subject to legislative regulations in following their plan and use taxpayer money to fund many of the projects...Forest policy is a plan without funding Last July, a U.S. Forest Service policy went into effect that will allow certain types of projects to proceed without the usual environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Catron County woodcutters have not yet benefited to any degree from this policy, although it could be an answer to concerns about continued damage to National Forests from bark beetles and drought and the wildfires that will threaten the county next spring and summer. Many Catron County woodcutters as well as the County Commission have been looking to land stewardship contracts as a way to expedite dealing with the current deteriorated forest health conditions in the county. Stewardship combines traditional lumbering with forest health objectives, such as thinning of dense tree stands, removal of brush and slash (debris left after logging), even planting, watershed and road work. However, the process of selecting stewardship acreage and then the administering of the contracts is not simple...Ranchers try more natural approach: Sheep business sets environmental goals Not many ranchers assemble teams of scientists to help them develop environmentally friendly grazing plans. But a Blaine County sheep operation has done just that, as part of its effort to combine the all-natural meat business with a dedication to wildlife and range conservation. The company is trying to find a niche between grazing as usual and the more extreme solution advocated by the Hailey-based Western Watersheds Project -- eliminating public-lands grazing entirely. "We would share with Western Watersheds the desire to see healthy ecosystems and abundant wildlife," Stevens said. "But we differ in our strategies to achieve that goal. We are developing a business that actually supports our work. The ongoing challenge is, how do you sustain the stewardship efforts over the long term?"...Experts say California wildfires could worsen with global warming Drought- and beetle-ravaged trees in this mountain community stick up like matchsticks in the San Bernardino National Forest, bypassed by the fires still smoldering, but left like kindling for the next big blaze. Welcome to the future. Warmer, windier weather and longer, drier summers would mean higher firefighting costs and greater loss of lives and property, according to researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Forest Service...Northwest Forest Pass system could be set for overhaul Almost 400 recreation sites in Oregon and Washington will no longer require visitors to purchase a Northwest Forest Pass, under a new proposal made by the U.S. Forest Service. The downsizing is one of the most significant revisions in the 6-year-old recreation fee program, and comes as Congress is considering legislation to make the pay-to-park program permanent...Bark beetles surviving colder air in N.M. Bark beetles, which have been killing drought-weakened trees in northern New Mexico, are still showing up in traps despite cooler weather. Hundreds of the insects were found in traps around Santa Fe last week - two weeks after the first freeze of the year, said Fabian Chavez, a Santa Fe pest management specialist. Officials estimate 96 percent of the pinons around Los Alamos are already are dead...Regrowth won't be long in coming The vast stretches of burned mountains may look barren and devoid of life, but regrowth -- new shoots and seedlings -- won't be long in coming. The challenge to recovery, ecologists say, is encouraging native plant regeneration while preventing non-native, or exotic, species from taking over. That could drastically alter not only the mountains' plant composition, but also the variety of insect and animal life that depends on it...State to pay developer $7 million to repurchase Eagle Valley land The state will pay a developer $7 million to repurchase two sections of Eagle Valley land and then swap it with the U.S. Forest Service, ending plans to build homes there, officials said. The decision was made recently by the state Board of Land Commissioners and concludes a years-long battle between the state and developer Robert Brotman, who bought the land in 1994 with plans to subdivide 35-acre trophy homesites...Idaho woman positions self as Stewart's rural successor Rural living is a little different on Mary Jane Butters' farm. Hens lay eggs. Workers fill bags of dried soup. Editors prepare the next edition of her magazine. Television producers call. Butters presides over the bustle, positioning herself to become the new Martha Stewart while the original maven of gracious living prepares for a January trial. Clarkson Potter, a Random House branch that also publishes Stewart's books, will pay Butters $1.3 million for two books that highlight the rural skills and do-it-yourself philosophy she has developed on her organic farm...Holistic Management: Answers To Western Dilemmas Prominent environmentalists seek the end of the ranching lifestyle in the American West, viewing it as inherently destructive to natural ecosystems. Proponents of a new management model claim on the contrary that grazing animals are essential to the health of Western landscapes. The problem is not livestock, says Allan Savory, developer of the Holistic Management TM model. Savory claims overrest is at least as big a problem for Western rangeland as overgrazing. Timing and herd density are more important than stocking rates, which can often be increased to the benefit of the land...Editorial: The Uses of Science FOR AN EXAMPLE of the problems caused by the politicization of science, look no further than the Missouri River, where a legal battle has been raging for years. On one side stands the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as a clutch of Missouri politicians who want to keep water levels in the river high so that it remains navigable. On the other side stands a clutch of environmentalists, a few South Dakota politicians who want to protect their recreational fishing industry and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose scientists have until now agreed that the Corps should allow the river to flow more naturally -- high in the spring and low in the summer -- so that birds and fish living on the river, among them several endangered species, can live and breed normally. Last summer, the decade-long standoff seemed to have been decided in the favor of birds, fish and fishermen, when a judge ruled that the Corps should lower the level of the river in summer to protect sandbars, where birds build their nests...S.D. senators seek probe of river decision Democratic lawmakers from three upper Missouri River states are calling for an investigation into the Bush administration's decision to replace a team of scientists in charge of evaluating Missouri River management...Experts meet in Montreal, Canada, on UN biodiversity convention More than 500 representatives of governments and civil society started a one-week conference in Montreal, Canada, today to devise ways to measure progress on implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted at the 1992 United Nations summit on the environment. The ninth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-9) will continue its work assessing the status of biological diversity; reviewing measures taken to meet CBD provisions and answering technical questions from the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP). The previous eight SBSTTA meetings sent 78 recommendations to COP...Special class on desert scheduled It's never too soon for children to learn how to protect and care for the environment. And the folks at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area just outside Las Vegas are doing their part in the education of school children to that end, primarily students in the Clark County School District. Students learn about the tortois's life cycle, dress up as tortoises, and discover the differences among the tortoise's various environments and how the reptile has adopted to those differences. So far, volunteers have reached more than 3,000 students with the environmental conservation lesson since the beginning of the school year. But the project doesn't stop with the desert tortoise. There are also lessons on how students may help protect, respect and enjoy the desert and other public lands. The goals of the project are to increase awareness of the desert's various threatened species, and stimulate student involvement in the continued protection of those species and their habitats through the use of the scientific method and the application of new technology...New study shows national parks fuel economies A new study of the country's national parks concludes that they aren't just rich in natural beauty, they're also an economic boon. The National Parks Conservation Association, which released the study, said it shows that visitors to the nation's national parks spent $10.6 billion a year, directly supporting 212,000 jobs. Visitors to California parks spent $1.1 billion, the most of any state, said Daniel J. Stynes, the Michigan State economics professor who conducted the research...National Park Service to Revamp Lincoln Memorial Video The National Park Service reportedly plans to unveil a "more balanced" version of a video that's been shown since 1995 as part of an exhibit at the Lincoln Memorial. The video features portions of President Abraham Lincoln's speeches played over a video montage showing protests in favor of abortion rights, homosexual rights, gun control, and against the Vietnam War. As CNSNews.com reported, the video appeared to imply that Lincoln would have supported these causes...Farm Bureau opposes APHIS emergency cost-share plan According to Craig Head, Nebraska Farm Bureau environmental specialist, APHIS is proposing that the federal share of covered emergency costs would be 50 percent, unless negotiated higher, with the rest to be funded from other sources. He said both the federal Plant Protection Act and the Animal Health Protection Act assign the federal government responsibility to prevent the introduction, spread and establishment of plant pests, noxious weeds and pests, and livestock diseases. Head said as drafted, this rule represents a fundamental shift in federal government priority by moving away from a focus on animal and plant emergency management to managing government financial liability in the event of an animal or plant health emergency...Former U. S. Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth-Hage to Speak at Property Rights Seminar The Paragon Foundation, Inc. is sponsoring a two-day, interactive, educational seminar on "Securing Your Property" The seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday, November 21, 2003 at the Holiday Inn located at 600 E. Broadway in Farmington, New Mexico. "Securing Your Property" will be presented by author and property rights expert, Wayne Hage, his wife and retired Congresswoman, Helen Chenoweth-Hage. Also appearing on the panel to add their legal perspective, are nationally recognized experts in property rights and Fifth Amendment takings cases, attorneys Ladd Bedford, and Mike Van Zandt. Dr. Angus McIntosh, New Mexico State University, is also slated to appear...Feeding, grazing GM corn doesn't affect livestock performance Feeding or grazing genetically modified Bt and Roundup Ready corn has no effect on livestock performance, according to new research from University of Nebraska. Three years of feeding trials for beef, dairy and swine were conducted at NU's Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead. The bottom line for livestock producers is they can expect the same livestock performance whether they feed currently available genetically modified corn or conventional corn, says animal scientist Galen Erickson...Farms give ground to rows of houses Scott Frank remembers less crowded Loveland days, the kind that lemonade commercials invoke to sell the lost ideal of country living. Days in the field, throwing wayward sugar beets onto the truck. Days he and his brothers would hear the noon whistle at the sugar beet factory and run to eat lunch with the Mexican family that helped with the harvest every year. Days he jumped into the swimming hole to cool off. Days when his family's farm wasn't slated for a high-end subdivision...Girl Scouts' beaver trapping causing Alaska controversy Let other Girl Scouts make bird feeders out of Clorox bottles and glue together little birch-bark canoes -- Troop 34 in Alaska is learning to trap and skin beavers. In a practice that has angered animal rights activists, the girls are killing the beavers as part of a state flood-management program. "We think it sends a very, very bad message that when animals cause a problem you kill them,'' said Stephanie Boyles of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She said the Girl Scouts should want girls to become "stewards of wildlife, not abusers.''...