NEWS ROUNDUP

Rehberg fights for backcountry airstrips Chuck Jarecki's preferred mode of transportation into the wilderness is his Cessna 180. The 65-year-old Polson resident is urging lawmakers to implement a law to prevent federal officials from closing backcountry airstrips. "The airstrips are basically like a trailhead," the retired rancher explains. "It's like the end of the road for a car. It's a point from where you can access the wilderness." Environmentalists oppose the effort, saying remote airstrips harm wildlife and ruin the wilderness experience for other people. "More motors, more noise, more speed all violate the intent of national monuments, wilderness areas and wildlife areas," Montana Wilderness Association field representative Mark Good said. "There need to be some areas where there are no motors." Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., is a strong supporter of the bill, HR 2776, that would require the Interior and Agriculture departments to consult with state aviation departments and the Federal Aviation Administration before attempting to close airstrips. It would also require the federal government to give 90 days notice by publishing its plans in the Federal Register, giving pilots time to review the plans...U.S. judge rules for BLM in CBM leases The Bureau of Land Management in Montana acted properly when it issued leases for coalbed methane before conducting a comprehensive environmental study of the activity, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Senior U.S. District Judge Jack Shanstrom adopted the findings and recommendations of U.S. Magistrate Richard Anderson and granted summary judgment in favor of the BLM. The Northern Plains Resource Council sued BLM in 2001, saying the agency failed to properly study the potential effects of developing coalbed methane with an environmental impact statement before issuing leases between 1997 and 2001. As a result, the leases were invalid, NPRC said...MT GOP still wants all federal land; bad idea, say Schweitzer and access group The Montana Republican Party still wants the state to take over all the federal land in Montana, with the exception of military bases. "Be it resolved that the Montana Republican Party supports the transfer of administration of all federal lands, excluding military installations, in Montana to the State of Montana," says a resolution posted on the party's Web site. The plank is there even though former Gov. Marc. Racicot, a Republican, decided years ago that the state didn't have the money or manpower to manage an extra 30 million acres...West Texans Sizzle Over a Plan to Sell Their Water Angry West Texans and some state officials are demanding a halt to a deal that allows a group of politically well-connected Midland oilmen to tap the desert and sell billions of gallons of water from the state's public reserves. The venture was advancing without announcement or competitive bidding by the powerful Texas General Land Office, which controls 20 million acres of public lands and the liquids and minerals beneath them. The agency has never licensed private sale of its water. The eight-man water partnership, Rio Nuevo Ltd., seeks to be the first, pumping out and selling some 16 billion gallons a year to municipalities and ranchers in drought-parched far west Texas, where many people fear that their own wells could go dry as a result. Since last year, people involved in the matter say, the land office -- steward of a nearly $18 billion permanent school fund to benefit public education -- has given an exclusive hearing to Rio Nuevo, prodded by the speaker of the Texas House, Tom Craddick, Republican of Midland. The proposed deal has raised a ruckus in this remote town of 6,000 and its Big Bend country sister communities Marfa and Marathon. Since the news leaked out two months ago, lawmakers and others have called on the land commissioner, Jerry Patterson, to avoid any action pending further examination...Committee proposes land grant legislation Members of a new legislative committee proposed legislation Wednesday intended to address what they said were decades of injustices committed against land grant heirs and communities. "Some rulings have been imposed against you, and that's why we've proposed legislation. We don't want to see that happen in the future," Land Grant Committee Chairman Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, told land grant representatives who filled the committee room. "We've seen where the Legislature has worked with the courts to swindle land grant holders from their property," he said. "They do it legally, but not morally. "We've been part of the problem," Garcia said. "Now we're trying to be part of the solution." One of the proposals to be introduced in the legislative session in January would direct the Office of Cultural Affairs and state Attorney General's Office to work together to determine if there is any land owned by the state that was "obtained through dishonest, unjust or illegal means" from land grant holders...Disease on Down the Road It's easy to look at disease outbreaks as acts of God, or fate, or chance. After all, diseases are often so capricious, so stubbornly beyond our full control, that it can seem as if we humans have little to do with them -- beyond suffering the consequences, that is. But in many cases, argues journalist and veterinarian Mark Jerome Walters, we have far more influence over disease than we think. In Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them, he contends that disease outbreaks are often triggered by the damage we've done to the environment. To build his case, Walters looks at the origins of mad cow disease, HIV/AIDS, an antibiotic-resistant strain of salmonella, Lyme disease, hantavirus, and West Nile virus. In each case, he finds evidence that human manipulation of the environment is at least partly responsible for recent outbreaks. The modern epidemic of mad cow disease, for instance, was most likely sparked by the widespread and longstanding practice of "rendering," or using animal parts in cattle feed. The brisk bush-meat trade in some African markets may have been responsible for passing the HIV virus from apes to humans -- and could someday send new, similarly deadly viruses our way as well. There's also evidence that modern-day outbreaks of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, an often-fatal respiratory disease carried by rodents in the U.S. Southwest, are linked to global climate change...NCBA is working on a new voluntary labeling program A task force of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association will be working over the next two months to come up with a voluntary labeling program for beef, leaders from the cattle producer group said Wednesday. The task force hopes to have a plan to present to NCBA members at their annual meeting in Phoenix at the end of January, NCBA vice president Jim McAdams told reporters today. The task force will meet with all representatives of the industry, including retailers that NCBA hopes will partner in a program to test consumer demand for beef with a U.S. origin label, said the Atkins, Texas cow-calf rancher...Cat kill worries Winston residents It's a regular residential neighborhood with children, pets, a nearby church and school -- and, residents believe, a cougar. Roger and Lori Bankes have lived on Winston's Parkway Drive off Thompson Avenue for four years. They'd never heard of a dangerous animal wandering around their home, until the family cat was killed early Monday morning. A neighbor, Freada Hanson, awoke around 1 a.m. Monday and says she saw a cougar walking in the street. She also discovered sizable pawprints in her yard. Monday afternoon, one house over, the Bankes' cat Oliver was found dead and mangled...Wyoming Man Treated for Brucellosis A man from Johnson County is being treated for brucellosis. Tracy Murphy of the State Health Department says the source of the disease has not been determined. The department was notified of the diagnosis last month. Murphy says there have been no other cases of brucellosis in humans and the agency doesn't have reason to believe the Johnson County case is a risk to others...Editorial: No More Big Straw: Legislature needs to rethink water laws They call it the "law of the big straw" in West Texas. And there's a good reason. The state's "rule of capture" law allows Texans to extract as much water as they want from an aquifer. This means those with the biggest straw get the biggest gulps from underground water supplies. Ranchers with big spreads, farmers with huge crops and cities with booming populations can draw out more groundwater than their smaller neighbors. It's been that way for 100 years, but Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson wants to change the status quo. So does Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs. Both Republicans recently said they want the state to think anew about how much water Texans can draw from an aquifer... Ariz. Ranchers Sued by Civil Rights Group A monastery official and a human rights advocacy group sued a southern Arizona ranch family Wednesday, accusing them of impersonating federal agents and violating the rights of undocumented immigrants. Border Action Network, a human rights organization, and Donald J. Mackenzie, groundskeeper for and vice president of Summerland Monastery Inc., filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Roger Barnett; his wife, Barbara, and his brother, incorrectly identified as Ralph. The lawsuit will be amended to correct the name Ralph to Donald, attorney Jesus Romo said. The civil action accuses the Barnetts of conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of immigrants and seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions against them...Senate Delays Vote On 2004 Ag Spending Until January The U.S. Senate will not vote on the fiscal year 2004 agriculture spending bill and legislation to block mandatory country-of-origin labeling until Jan. 20 at the earliest. Both issues are wrapped into an $820 billion "omnibus" appropriations bill the Senate had been scheduled to vote on Tuesday, a day after the House of Representatives approved it on Monday. Minority Leader Tom Daschle objected on the Senate floor Tuesday to the bill and specified mandatory country-of-origin labeling as a key issue of contention. "The omnibus legislation I have in front of me includes language actually delaying the implementation of country-of-origin labeling for two years," Daschle said. "The Senate passed country-of-origin labeling on two occasions - in May of 2002 as part of the farm bill, as well as just last month with a vote of 56 to 32."...