NEWS ROUNDUP

BLM begins monitoring water quality The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is taking steps to measure the quality of water in Nevada's springs and seeps, leaving some users questioning under what authority these steps are being taken and for what purpose. BLM Nevada State Office Hydrologist Bill Brooks said everyone has a shared responsibility to ensure the quality of water under the federal Clean Water Act. He said to a certain degree there is an absence of guidance, and the BLM is working toward developing a "criteria to protect the streams they're responsible for." However, Brooks came under fire from the ranchers who are members of the board. They asked where BLM's authority came from to conduct the tests that are normally left to state offices, and why the agency is testing water that doesn't flow anywhere....Smith wants 'sound science' used in Species Act On the opening day of the second session of the 108th Congress, Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., introduced the Sound Science for Endangered Species Planning Act (S. 2009) which would require greater weight be given to field-tested and scientifically reviewed data when making decisions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Specifically, S. 2009 includes provisions that would: --Require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce to give greater weight to scientific or commercial data that is empirical or has been field-tested or peer-reviewed when making decisions under the ESA --Establish a mandatory independent scientific review requirement for all ESA listing and delisting proposals as well as biological opinions to ensure the use of sound science and provide a mechanism for resolving disputes during the rulemaking process --Require the Secretary of the Interior to solicit and obtain data from stakeholders to assist in developing recovery plans, including recovery goals --Require the Secretary to solicit recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences in order to maintain a list of qualified reviewers.....To view the bill, click here and type in S.2009.... Reservation foes mobilize More than 100 people turned out Tuesday night for a meeting staged by a group opposed to re-establishment of a reservation for the Klamath Tribes. Leaders of the Basin Alliance to Save the Winema and Fremont Forests called attention to reservation negotiations between the Tribes and the federal government, and closed-door meetings among stakeholders in the ongoing Klamath water and land issue....Terrorist enviros expand scope of violence From a $50 million arson at a San Diego condominium to four chickens liberated from a California egg farm, radical environmental groups had a busy year - but with a difference. While the Pacific Northwest was their focus for years, they now seem to have virtually abandoned the region, spreading their violent political action through the rest of the country, according to a list of actions released Wednesday by the groups. The FBI considers the two largest groups, the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front, to be terrorist organizations. "All I can tell you is that they are moving out around the country," said Paul Bresson, an FBI spokesman in Washington, D.C. In an e-mail sent to news media, the radical groups listed actions from Maine to California and from Louisiana to Alaska.....The Feathers That Caused a Flap The federal investigation into the tribal art collection of Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small started with a telephone call in November 2000 to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service saying that published pictures of the artifacts showed feathers from endangered species. More than three years later, the investigation has led to a misdemeanor charge against Small. He is expected to plead guilty tomorrow.... Government wraps up key study on Platte River management A long-awaited government blueprint on how Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming can preserve Platte River habitat for the whooping crane and three other species will be released at the end of the week, officials said Wednesday. The draft environmental impact statement will contain four suggestions on how to manage the Platte River basin, said Lynn Holt, spokeswoman for the government's Platte River EIS Office. A preferred option will not be identified in Friday's report. The report could play a key role in the often-contentious battle over managing the river. The Platte is formed in Nebraska by the North Platte, which originates in Wyoming, and the South Platte, which forms in Colorado....USFWS opts not to put rare desert flower on endangered list Governor Dirk Kempthorne is praising the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision not to place a rare flower found in the Owyhee Desert on the endangered species list. The agency declined to list slickspot peppergrass. Kempthorne calls the ruling a testament to cooperation and state leadership on endangered species issues. Environmental groups had filed suit to list the flower, saying it's threatened by road construction, off-road vehicle use and non-native weeds....Gray wolf found poisoned to death A gray wolf found dead near Clayton in central Idaho was killed by a poison known as Compound Ten-80. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents said the carcass of a wolf with a radio collar was found six miles northwest of Clayton in May. Tests have turned up the presence of Compound Ten-80 on the wolf. The agents said the chemical, which is used to kill coyotes, is toxic to wild animals, family pets and humans. Its misuse is illegal....Norton calls for tripling gas permits in Wyoming Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Wednesday that her agency wants to triple the number of drilling permits approved in Wyoming's natural gas fields to help meet the nation's growing need for energy. Wyoming, Colorado and other Rocky Mountain states make up one of the country's two major, accessible gas reserves, Norton said in an interview with The Associated Press following an energy conference. "Natural gas is a major energy need for the country. The demand for natural gas is expected to far outstrip the production," Norton said. Norton said her agency's goal is to increase to 3,000 from about 1,000 the number of permits approved annually on Bureau of Land Management land in Wyoming's Powder River Basin....Wally Klump stands on principle, sits in prison Today marks nine months to the day that Luther Wallace "Wally" Klump of Bowie accepted incarceration for contempt of court. "Wally is standing on principle," said his brother Wayne Klump. "It's a property rights issue." He marked his 70th birthday in August in the Central Arizona Detention Center in Florence. Klump refused to move 25 head of cattle from the Bureau of Land Management's Simmon's Peak allotment in the Dos Cabezas Mountains. "If he moves the cows, we lose water rights," said Wayne. "The land allotment is one-third private. I own 20 certificated water rights, and they're vested. The BLM wants to claim the water rights on the land. If Wally moves the cows, we lose the water rights."....DeMeo opens BLM talks William Woody, Bureau of Land Management law enforcement chief in Washington D.C., is willing to come to Nye County to discuss issues with local ranchers and other public land users, Sheriff Tony DeMeo said last month. DeMeo traveled to Washington Nov. 19-21 as a representative of Nevada on behalf of the Western Sheriffs and Chiefs Association, to meet with Woody over proposed changes in BLM policy....Invasive Plants: Silent Invaders That Must be Stopped The following statement is being issued by Jim Hughes, Deputy Director for Programs and Policy, Bureau of Land Management: Invasive plants know no boundaries. They spread to all lands and water, regardless of ownership. They reproduce and grow so rapidly they overwhelm and displace existing native plants by reducing available light, water, nutrients and space. The tamarisk tree, also known as saltcedar, for example, can send its extensive root system down 100 feet and soak up 200 gallons of water in one day. Saltcedar in the southwest sap 2.5 million acre-feet of water annually, only slightly less than the amount of Colorado River water used by the entire state of Arizona in a year. The Bureau of Land Management hopes to treat a half-million acres of public land a year for the next 10 to 15 years in an attempt to head off this silent invasion....Lawsuit challenges marsh management Conservation groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge has increased logging, hay mowing and cattle grazing without consulting the public or showing how the activities benefit wildlife. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court here, asks a judge to halt most logging, hay mowing and cattle grazing on the refuge until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers the impacts on the environment, in a process open to the public....Supreme Court rules EPA can overrule state in clean air case The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the federal Environmental Protection Agency can override state officials and order some antipollution measures that may be more costly. The 5-4 decision, a victory for environmentalists, found the EPA did not go too far when it overruled a decision by Alaska regulators, who wanted to let the operators of a zinc and lead mine use cheaper antipollution technology for power generation. Ginsburg's usual allies on the court's ideological left joined her in the ruling: Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, and Stephen Breyer. The crucial fifth vote came from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who usually votes with the court conservatives in states' rights cases. The four dissenters argued that the decision undercuts states' power to control their environmental policies....Wetlands get new spy cam Like a circling hawk spotting field mice, Charles Costello sits at his computer gazing at aerial photos of Massachusetts countryside, swooping in electronically on the bad guys who rip up this state's delicate wetlands. This is no video game. Certainly not to Mr. Costello, a soft-spoken bureaucrat with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), who hunts environmental scofflaws from a tiny Boston office cluttered with blowups of aerial photographs and technical manuals. Using photo-analysis software of the sort used by the Defense Department to spot enemy tanks, he scans his computer screen for telltale red dots. The first state in the nation to use such technology for wetlands enforcement, Massachusetts is blazing a trail that other states - and even national environmental groups - are likely to follow. The system is relatively affordable and far more comprehensive than relying on tips phoned in by citizens. And in the case of Massachusetts, despite deep cuts in the state budget, the new "smoking gun" photographic evidence is allowing it to flex its enforcement muscle - and bring cash into state coffers at the same time....What's the beef? In the beginning, there was Dolly. Since then, one by one, beef and dairy cattle, pigs, and goats have joined the Scottish sheep in a 21st century ark of cloned farm animals. But while cloned animals have become common in the lab, they have yet to make it to the dinner table. That could change if the Food and Drug Administration overturns a ban on the consumption of cloned livestock. In a few years, their meat or milk could become a regular staple on America's menu. The results could be significant: higher-quality meat and dairy products, foods engineered to be more nutritious, and possibly lower grocery prices, thanks to the arrival of more productive animals. The infant farm cloning industry is chomping at the bit to commercialize its research....Column: How is life on the "buffalo commons"? Not everyone likes the idea of agricultural development. Some actively work against it. Some even think they can turn Western South Dakota back into a giant buffalo pasture. A lot of us tended to laugh it off back in 1987, when a couple named Frank and Deborah, from Rutgers University, claimed the best use for our part of the country was to give it back to the buffalo and let them roam from Mexico to Canada again. Not everyone was laughing. Some appear dedicated to making it a reality. The "Society for Ecological Restoration International" is one. The "Honor the Earth" foundation is another. "The Great Plains Restoration Council" is another, and California television employee, turned buffalo rancher, Sam Hurst and his "Wild Idea Buffalo Company" is another....Grandest Lady of the Rodeo Her name is Nubbin, a word country folks use to describe a small ear of corn. She has read every book Zane Grey has written, sings Gene Autry songs, has built a western museum with a stage for karaoke on her land in West, Texas, re-decorates her home with the change of seasons, and can mend a fence or shoot the head off a rattlesnake as well as any top hand. This western lady may be small in stature, but for half a century at the Stock Show, she has made a grand entrance....Swapping spurs for skis Put a bunch of cowboys on skis, point them down a mountain and a few hats are bound to get knocked off along the way. Sixty-five rodeo competitors sped down the Headwall run in a stampede of skis and snow in the 30th Annual Bud Light Cowboy Downhill at Steamboat on Tuesday. For cowboys more used to roping and riding, skiing can present a challenge....