NEWS ROUNDUP

Breaking the logjam: Timber industry must build trust The decline of Montana’s timber industry is nothing new; rather, it has been decades coming. Hardest hit have been smaller operations that rely on timber from public lands. While timber from private lands has continued to flood mills, the log flow from federal forests has been reduced to a trickle. Consider, for instance, the following numbers, gathered for the Governor’s Conference on the Future of Montana’s Forests. In 1971, about 1.2 billion board feet were cut statewide. Federal lands provided 62 percent of that total. Fifteen years later, in 1986, the total hadn’t changed – still about 1.2 billion board feet – but the cut from federal lands had dropped to 41 percent. Fast forward another 15 years, to 2000, when Montana forests still produced some 755 billion board feet. But by 2000, the percentage coming from federal lands was just 14.4 percent. From the moment the Forest Service crafts a sale to the moment the consumer buys a board or a bed or a broomstick, the traditional “log flow” from federal lands is jammed....Forest Service mulls Powell discipline The U.S. Forest Service will consider disciplining departing Northern Region Forester Brad Powell over his alleged misuse of office computers now that he has decided not to retire, the agency said Friday. “Even though the allegations of misuse of government computers revealed nothing of a criminal nature ... the findings of the investigation will be reviewed to determine what administrative disciplinary actions will be taken,” the agency said in a statement. Possible discipline includes letters of reprimand; time off without pay; or dismissal, said Joseph Walsh, a Forest Service spokesman in Washington, D.C. Forest Service human resource officials will review findings from the investigation of Powell’s computer use, and a report will go to Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth. The investigation covered use of a government computer to view pornography, said Ed Nesselroad, Forest Service spokesman in Missoula....Biologists: Wolverines not endangered Estimates are there may be as many as 650 wolverines in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and possibly California. Montana is estimated to be home to between 350 and 450 wolverines. Wolverines are perhaps the wildest of American mammals. To shed light on the secretive animals, there are three wolverine research projects being conducted by the Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula. Additionally, Bob and Kris Inman of the Wilderness Conservation Society are leading a research team (Greater Yellowstone Wolverine project) that has been collecting data on wolverines inhabiting the Madison and Teton ranges. What makes wolverines so difficult to study is they are constantly on the move, cover incredible distances, live at high and often inaccessible locations, and are few in number even in healthy populations...Column: They protect lions, don't they? Mountain lions became a "specially protected mammal," first by the "wildlife biologists" known as the state Legislature, which affixed a moratorium on hunting lions in 1972. And the cougars, though not even close to being an endangered or threatened species, were given bulletproof protection in 1990 by Proposition 117, or the California Wildlife Protection Act. That also set up a trust fund of $30 million a year for 30 years for future state purchases of "cougar habitat." Much of the ingredients for the bomb that went off in Orange County Thursday came courtesy of Proposition 117. The recipe: Mix some sprawling suburbs like Lake Forest and Portola Hills into an open space greenbelt that's been preserved for deer herds and mountain lions, make it user-friendly for hikers, joggers, mountain bikers and bird and wildlife watchers, ignore nearby lion attacks on livestock and pets and combine it with abnormal behavior of lions seen wandering in midday, as was the case a week ago at Irvine County Park, adjacent to the Whiting Ranch...MSU specialist predicts ‘wolves in every county’ Within a decade, ranchers from throughout Montana should expect to see wolves showing up in their back 40. As that occurs, the state’s government trappers – now known as wildlife services agents – upon whom ranchers rely to hunt and kill livestock-eating wolves, are going to be spread mighty thin. That’s according to Jim Knight, an extension wildlife specialist with Montana State University’s Animal and Range Sciences Department. And the onus on identifying a wolf kill and preserving the evidence is going to fall more and more on the livestock producer, Knight said. “I’m predicting that there will be wolves in every county in Montana in the next 10 years,” Knight said. “We’ve got a whole pile of wolves.”....Wolf danger new to southern Wyoming ranchers Lifelong rancher Charlie Jaure has seen cattle lose parts of their tails to the cold on occasion. He'd never seen them bitten off by wolves. That is, until shortly after Christmas, when Jaure lost two of his cattle to wolves north of Wamsutter. Another two were hurt badly and up to a dozen lost their tails, he said. ''I thought maybe they froze their tails,'' Jaure said. ''I got to looking, and it was all at the top of the tail.'' His wife, Kathleen, said the bones were left crushed and mangled. ''We're messing with a new predator,'' she said. ''We haven't seen the damage from wolves here in a hundred years.''....Column: Clinton, not Bush, played snowmobile politics Unfortunately, the Clinton-era plan was guided by a single political principle - appease radical environmentalists by eliminating snowmobiles. It was an outcome-driven plan that had no room for compromise or collaboration. It was the Clinton administration that was unconcerned with the plight of those who made their living by providing services to winter tourists, not the Bush administration. I have difficulty believing that anyone can, with a straight face, assert that communities like West Yellowstone, Mont., "got burned" because Bush "played politics with snowmobiles." To the contrary. What the Bush administration did was create a fair and balanced approach to winter use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. It was an approach that carefully and thoughtfully balanced winter access with environmental protections. The new policy would have strictly regulated and monitored snowmobiling by limiting the number of snowmobiles, by ensuring that snowmobiles are equipped with the best available technology to reduce both air and noise pollution, and by requiring guided snowmobile trips to ensure compliance with park rules and regulations....Navajos critical of water proposal Navajo citizens questioned the merits of a proposed Navajo water rights settlement on the San Juan Basin during a public comments meeting with tribal and state officials Monday evening in the Shiprock Chapter House. Navajos agreed with their San Juan County neighbors on two issues: closing the public comment period Jan. 15 was too soon and pushing the settlement to Congress in March was too fast....West may have some influence this time As 2004 begins and the presidential primary campaigns come to a boil, it looks as though voters here in the states of the Rocky Mountain West will have a voice in the presidential nominating process. This fastest-growing region of the nation requires attention and understanding from the candidates, including George W. Bush. Out our way, the issues are those of a changing and vibrant America: growth and its appropriate limits, the uses and care of our natural resources, economic transition, equity in an evolving tax base. Those and other dilemmas inherent in tomorrow's America are the issues of the West, particularly the Rocky Mountain West. Because George W. Bush is assured of his party's nomination, the primary contests are reserved to the Democrats. To win the party nomination requires 2,159 delegate votes. A full 27 percent of that total, or 592 votes, will soon be decided here in the West. Within 60 days, five primary election states of the Rocky Mountains and two neighboring states to our west will have cast the votes that may well determine who will be the Democrat's nominee for president....Free halters, blankets, reins are handed out Saddles worth as much as $1,500, and bits valued at $250. And all for free. There were halters, reins and blankets, too, given away yesterday to owners of the equine victims of the October wildfires. Lorri Bishop of Rescued Animals, who organized yesterday's Tack Day giveaway at the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds, said nearly $20,000 worth of equestrian equipment was donated. It wasn't only local horse lovers who answered the call. A large shipment arrived Friday night from the Austin Quarterhorse Association in Texas. Other types of donations helped, too, such as the trailer provided by Quicksilver Moving and Storage, to house the donated items for the past two months...Cowboy poetry tickets selling fast The 20th rendition of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is rapidly approaching and already a number of ticketed events have been sold out. Lovers of the Western lifestyle will reconvene in Elko to recite and listen to cowboy poetry as well as to take part in workshops and to hear renowned performers sing and play music Jan. 24-31...Modern posses trot out tradition Nothing conjures an image of the Old West more than a lawman rounding up a posse to ride out after bad hombres. Fast-forward about 200 years and the lawmen — and women — are still astride horses, although the work has changed to include crowd control, patrolling hard-to-reach areas, rescues and making friendlier contact with the community...