NEWS ROUNDUP

Videotapes shed light on Terry Barton, Hayman Fire A pair of videotapes offer a never-before publicly seen look into the mind of one of the state's most infamous criminals. Terry Barton is currently serving time in a federal prison for starting the largest forest fire ever in Colorado. The former Forest Service worker is not expected out for at least another six to nine years. The videotapes were made shortly after the start of the Hayman Fire and feature Barton's story about how the fire started, in her own words...Forest chief sees new bill as chance to win public trust The Healthy Forests bill awaiting President Bush's signature is the Forest Service's "opportunity to build trust" with an ever-skeptical public, Chief Dale Bosworth said Monday. "If we are prudent in how we use the flexibility this legislation gives us, I think we can build more support for more work on the ground," Bosworth said in a telephone interview from his Washington, D.C., office...Offroading added to land battle list They came on four wheels and on two, hunting or just tooling around. They came to ride on roads and trails through vast swaths of public land in the West. And, unfortunately, some of them rode anywhere they wanted. The explosive popularity of "off-highway" vehicles - everything from four-wheelers to trail-bikes and souped-up jeeps - has left federal land managers scrambling to put new rules in place to protect natural resources...Column: Bush agenda is assault on Arizona wilderness Nearly 100 years ago, a Republican president - famous for his blustery speaking style and wire-rimmed spectacles - used the Antiquities Act to proclaim 18 culturally and naturally significant areas of the United States as national monuments. Many of these areas have been folded into the National Park System. In early October, the Supreme Court agreed with Theodore Roosevelt, that it is within the president's authority to use the Antiquities Act to save what remains of our great national heritage, and that President Clinton was within his power to proclaim five national monuments in Arizona...Editorial: A half-step to healthy forests The compromise forest-health legislation that emerged from the U.S. Senate last week won't stop future wildfires from threatening the West. But the final package is much more palatable than the original, one-sided measure Republicans railroaded through the House. The House had rejected amendments from Rep. Mark Udall, a Boulder Democrat, to require the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to concentrate on preventing huge fires in the wildland-urban interface. But the Senate embraced that idea and others that make the bill acceptable...Lawmakers approve $225 million for Calif. fire-related projects Lawmakers approved $225 million Tuesday for Southern California counties devastated by last month's wildfires. The money will go to prevent mudslides, remove trees killed by bark beetles and help farmers whose crops were destroyed in the flames...AUDUBON APPLAUDS BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO PROTECT AMERICA'S WATER Audubon today praised the 218 members of Congress from both parties who announced a broad-based effort to safeguard longstanding Clean Water Act protections from regulatory proposals to weaken this law. "Today's action by an unprecedented number of Members of Congress sends a strong message to the President and those in his administration seeking to weaken the laws protecting America's clean water that they will not allow this to happen," said Bob Perciasepe, Audubon chief operating officer. "Through a letter delivered to the White House today, our representatives, inspired by their constituents, have let the President know that Americans will not stand for any weakening of the Clean Water Act." A recently leaked draft rewrite of Clean Water Act rules reveals that federal agencies are actually considering a proposal to eliminate federal protections for many streams, wetlands, and other waters across the country - a move that would represent the most dramatic change in national clean water policy in 30 years...Refugium exceeds goal in raising endangered fish They are breeding hope in the waters of the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Refugium. In less than a year, the breeding and rearing facility at the Albuquerque Biological Park has exceeded its first-year goal in growing the endangered minnows, from captured eggs, to be reintroduced to the river. The facility, which opened in June, estimates 10 times the expected number of minnows were bred - up to a half-million of the tiny fish...Rep. Pombo ruffles feathers While Pombo, a fourth-generation rancher from Tracy, has yet to leave the same kind of mark as previous chairmen of the House Resources Committee, he appears to be on his way as he concludes his first year in the seat. A leader of the anti-regulatory property rights movement that resonates so well on the farms and ranches of the interior West, Pombo once called for a "revolution" against environmental regulations, to place "ownership over servitude and freedom over slavery." For him, the chairmanship is the right place to be, and he's there at the right time...Column: Crimes Against Nature George W. Bush will go down in history as America's worst environmental president. In a ferocious three-year attack, the Bush administration has initiated more than 200 major rollbacks of America's environmental laws, weakening the protection of our country's air, water, public lands and wildlife. Cloaked in meticulously crafted language designed to deceive the public, the administration intends to eliminate the nation's most important environmental laws by the end of the year. Under the guidance of Republican pollster Frank Luntz, the Bush White House has actively hidden its anti-environmental program behind deceptive rhetoric, telegenic spokespeople, secrecy and the intimidation of scientists and bureaucrats. The Bush attack was not entirely unexpected...Federal listing could endanger sage grouse The federal government should be required to draft a recovery plan for potentially endangered or threatened species before placing them on the endangered species list, a state natural resources official said Monday. Greg Walcher, Colorado Department of Natural Resources director, said he's been in contact with federal officials and legislators about adjusting the Endangered Species Act. "Make them publish recovery goals before they put them on the list," Walcher said...Environmental limits on military training reduced President Bush signed a bill Monday that gives the Pentagon more leeway to sidestep wildlife-protection laws that military planners see as impediments to training. The changes allow the Navy to test sonar systems that may injure whales, dolphins and other protected marine mammals. They also give the Department of Defense more flexibility to run practice operations that may harm the habitat of endangered animals and plants on military installations. The environmental provisions of the bill represent a compromise in a long-running dispute over whether the Pentagon should have to abide by environmental laws at bases and training sites across the USA and in coastal waters...Second of eight wolves found dead was killed by automobile Necropsy results have been announced regarding the second of eight Mexican gray wolves found dead this year. The body of a wolf classified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Male 857 was found Sept. 19 in the middle of a road near Willow Creek, in the northern part of the Gila National Forest. "He was confirmed to have been hit by a car," said Colleen Buchanan of the service's wolf-recovery program. "There were rumors he was shot, but it turns out that wasn't true."...Potential for Wind Energy on Federal Lands Nearly half of the 48 million acres of federal land in Nevada managed by the Bureau of Land Management shows potential for commercial wind production, Interior Department officials said. "Nevada has a huge potential for wind energy as well as the geothermal production that has already begun here," Assistant Interior Secretary Rebecca Watson said during a stop in Nevada last week. The Interior Department's BLM has launched a national review of the potential environmental effects of power-generating wind turbines so states can plan for potential operations. About 46 percent of BLM's land in Nevada show some potential for commercial wind energy, Watson said...Land law sparks concern More than 5,500 miles of back roads across national parks and other federal lands in California could be in peril if ownership is granted to counties and individuals under an obscure law, an environmental group said. The majority of those roads, according to a survey released today by the California Wilderness Coalition, are in San Bernardino County. They crisscross areas like the Mojave National Park, including 700 miles of congressionally designated wilderness areas that ban motorized vehicles. "This could essentially invalidate the protection of a national preserve," said Byron Kahr, a spokesman for the Davis-based coalition...Also see Off-road organizations, San Bernardino County, petition to own areas for more info...Wandering bull bison killed near Yellowstone A bull bison was shot and killed Tuesday outside Yellowstone National Park when government agents were unable to capture it or force it to stay within the park's boundaries. The bull had wandered out of Yellowstone at least a dozen times this fall, said Karen Cooper, a spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Livestock. "The bison would not stay within the park boundary," Cooper said...Editorial: Don't the feds have enough power? Tucked deep into this 1,100-page bill is a short provision granting the federal government sweeping new power to condemn private property. It's there at the request of Montana's Republican Sen. Conrad Burns. The provision allows the use of eminent domain to acquire rights of way for new powerlines. The ability to force landowners to accommodate powerlines already exists under state law, but the new provision means any landowner wishing to defend his rights will have to counter the indefatigable strength of the federal government. Lots of luck. The inspiration for this provision comes from plans to mine and burn coal from Montana's Otter Creek coal deposits, which the state acquired in a land exchange last year. Montana can't begin to use the amount of power that could be generated by all that coal, so prospective mining and power production hinges entirely on the ability to send electricity elsewhere via powerlines. Obviously, someone doubts the enthusiasm with which southeastern Montana ranchers will surrender land for powerlines serving people in distant cities. This is one of those little legislative gems you hear about all the time - something inserted into a bill, with little discussion, for a specific purpose, only to emerge as a big issue years later when bureaucrats decide to put their new powers to broader use...Editorial: Next time, guard our lands The just-deceased energy bill would have run roughshod over federal lands and ecosystems in the intermountain West. The fight about how and where to drill for oil and natural gas in the Rockies will be similar next year if new energy legislation is introduced, as congressional leaders have promised to do. On the vast majority of other federal lands that are available for energy development, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management should have clear authority to require sensible environmental protection. It is not unreasonable to tell oil companies they can't drill on elk calving grounds when the animals are bearing their young, for example. It is perfectly legitimate to require the companies to follow strict rules preventing water and air pollution. Yet the recent energy bill would have eliminated many common-sense restrictions. Among other things, it would have ordered federal agencies to make energy production the top priority over all other public values. It further would have forced the agencies to cannibalize their wildlife and recreation staffs and budgets to fund a new, overarching mandate to speed up drilling permits. The bill also would have, in essence, eroded any real clout federal agencies have to make energy companies use slant, directional or horizontal drilling to protect sensitive areas. The technique involves putting drill rigs on areas where the land can be disturbed without environmental harm, then drilling under the surface at an angle to reach oil or gas that may underlie delicate ecosystems. The practice protects the environment while accessing energy reserves, and should be strongly encouraged...Ag groups upset by labeling delay Most - but not all - South Dakota agricultural groups are unhappy about a congressional agreement to delay country of origin labeling for meat and other food for two years. They say American exports of beef, particularly to Japan, could be imperiled unless country of origin labeling, or COOL, is allowed to go forward as required in the 2002 farm bill passed by Congress...90-year-old Texas rancher 'thankful' for still 'being able' When singer/songwriter Donnie Blanz wrote "You Just Can't See Him from the Road," he could easily have been talking about 90 year-old Texas rancher Elmer L. Maben. A Fayette County resident, Blanz wrote the song about "real" cowboys ... the ones who worked the land to make a living and weren't worried about "wearing designer jeans" or new boots, or having people watch and applaud his every move. Maben, an old-time cowboy, still wears his tight jeans, western shirts and boots ... and, always, his cowboy hat. His idea of a cowboy is just like Blanz's words that describe a "real" cowboy. Maben said he is thankful he is still able to be a part of his ranch, and as he works his cows, he doesn't need a cheering crowd, and you "just can't see him from the road," either...Horses, snakes and other wild tales The Native Americans have their legends kept down through the generations by story tellers. It's the job of a gifted tribe member to be the keeper of the stories and to pass them on to the next generation from the many generations that came before. Cowboys do much the same thing. Where the Native American storyteller will have a name like Grandmother Two Bears or Old Father Story Teller, the cowboy will simply be named Ben, Joe or Charlie. But if they were to be in a tribe somewhere, they might be named something like Cowboy Who Walks like Penguin. Old cowboys tend to be shorter than they were in their youth, a bit bowlegged and they waddle when they walk .The days of that long legged strolling stride left when arthritis set in every bone they ever bunged up in their lives. What they don't have left in athletic ability, they have maintained in humor and the passing of the legends...