NEWS ROUNDUP

Decision thwarts ranching advocates Ranching advocates winced after a federal judge chose to uphold a 1996 livestock removal order affecting the Gila National Forest and the Apache National Forest. A Dec. 23 press release from the Center for Biological Diversity announced that the Diamond Bar and Laney cattle companies will have to remove hundreds of cattle from two former national forest grazing allotments within 30 days of the Dec. 22 injunction or face severe federal penalties. The Diamond Bar allotment occupies 146,470 acres and the Laney allotment occupies 27,926 acres. Both allotments are located in Catron County, N.M. This precedent-setting decision sides with the U.S. Forest Service's opinion that grazing rights must be obtained by applying for a permit with the Forest Service. The Laneys tried to claim that by owning the private property rights, they did not need a permit to graze cattle on the land. The decision by the judge means the argument used by the Laneys was ineffective and that ranchers who are grazing without a permit will not be able to successfully use it to their defense in the future...New Potential Threat for Peregrine Falcons The impressive Peregrine falcon, which fought its way off the U.S. endangered species list less than five years ago, may soon be facing a different kind of threat. Findings published in the current issue of the journal Environmental Science and Technology suggest that the creature's eggs may be susceptible to contamination from a popular flame retardant chemical, which scientists previously thought did not pose a threat to wildlife...Feds offer $7.1 million for private conservation The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a $7.1 million pie for private lands conservation, and landowners and their partners can seek a slice of the funding through March 8. The federal government this week put out the call for proposals for funding for "on-the-ground" conservation efforts that benefit imperiled species. In its second year, the Private Stewardship Grants Program last May funded 113 grants worth $9.4 million to individuals and groups to take on conservation projects for endangered, threatened and other at-risk species on private lands in 43 states...House of Sand and Strictures It is axiomatic that if you find a beautiful spot and build on it, you risk making the site less beautiful. That is especially true in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, where views are long, water is scarce and buildings can be seen for miles. Only 13 percent of Pima County, which encompasses Tucson, is open for development, according to John Strobeck, owner of the Bright Future Consulting Company, which analyzes the home building market in Tucson. The rest is government land: Indian reservations, parks and national forests. Development is further restricted by Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations demanding proof that any new home have adequate water for the next 100 years. Building sites must also be surveyed for plants like pineapple cactus and saguaro, and during construction, those plants must be either maintained or replanted. And then there is drought and risk of fire. Nevertheless, 7,000 homes are built each year in Pima County...HSUS Hollywood Office Releases Annual 'Foe Paw' Report '20/20's' John Stossel, 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' 'The Simpsons,' and 'Fear Factor' are given the thumbs down for their negative animal messages in the 2003 "FOE PAW" REPORT, the annual top ten dishonor role compiled by The Humane Society Of The United States (HSUS) Hollywood Office, part of the nation's largest animal-protection organization. The HSUS Hollywood Office monitors the news and entertainment media for its coverage of animal issues and, as presenter of the annual Genesis Awards, also honors the media for the very best in pro-animal coverage...Tony Curtis to unveil his artistic sheep As the first of quite a few celebrities painting bighorn sheep to save the endangered species, film actor Tony Curtis will present his artistic vision at 3 p.m. today at The Lodge at Rancho Mirage. The artist, Academy Award nominee and star of such films as "Some Like It Hot," painted the fiberglass replica that will be displayed and auctioned for charity. His bright acrylic canvases have been compared to Matisse...Search for Mexican gray wolf continues Two wolf experts, Don Lonsway and Mike Haen, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services Division were expected to arrive at Binder Park Zoo on Tuesday night to aid in the search of the missing Mexican gray wolf. The trained wolf biologists and trappers will aid zoo employees already scanning the area with their additional equipment and expertise of wild wolves. It's unclear what specific techniques they may use... Wolves kill Wamsutter cattle According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Wildlife Services has confirmed that wolves killed several beef cattle in the Wamsutter area. It appears that one or two wolves were involved in the killing and Wildlife Services animal damage control specialists have been authorized to remove up to two wolves from the area, which is not far from the Colorado border. Rancher Charlie Juare said when he began gathering cattle on the checkerboard area of the Red Desert north of Wamsutter right after Christmas, two extremely crippled cows were found, as well as other stiff and sore cattle. Injuries to the cattle include having their tails chewed off near the backbone and severely infected wounds to their front legs at the elbow. All of the affected cattle are yearling bred heifers weighing about 900 pounds at this time of year. One of the cows couldn't get up and subsequently died. Federal wildlife officials skinned her carcass and discovered the trauma associated with wolf predation. A second cow was killed as well, he said...2 more endangered wolves found dead Two more endangered Mexican gray wolves have been found dead bringing the total to 11 deaths in New Mexico and Arizona since March. A female wolf from the Hondah Pack was found dead on the White Mountain Apache Reservation on Christmas Eve. An alpha male of the Cienega Pack was found on the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona on Dec. 21. Both deaths are being investigated, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Elizabeth Slown said...Federal Coal-Mining Policy Comes Under Fire Internal government documents show that officials from a variety of agencies unsuccessfully criticized the Bush administration's effort to let coal miners continue the practice of "mountaintop removal" mining -- the leveling of mountain peaks to extract coal -- in Appalachia. At issue is a draft environmental impact statement analyzing the effects of the widely practiced technique on streams, wildlife and forests and proposing three approaches for regulation. Although the administration said all three approaches would improve environmental protections, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the administration's alternatives to regulate mountaintop removal mining "cannot be interpreted as ensuring any improved environmental protection," according to a document obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request...Elk numbers plummet; wildlife managers respond by regulating hunters Elk numbers continue to plummet in the northern Yellowstone elk herd, according to a report released late Tuesday. The herd is now the smallest it's been since the 1970s. A Dec. 18 flight by state and federal biologists found 8,355 elk despite "relatively good survey conditions," which means good weather and enough snow to make elk visible from the air. That's a drop of at least 880 elk, or 9.5 percent, from last year's count of 9,215, when conditions were poor and biologists said they probably missed a lot of elk. The herd has dropped by an average of 6 percent a year since 1994, when the herd had at least 19,359 elk. That timespan coincides with the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995... In Selling Nature's Treasures, Dozens Buy Trouble Yesterday, officials with the National Park Service and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries announced the sting operation based at the Elkton store. It was all part of a multiyear, multi-state investigation into the illegal harvest or sale of American ginseng and black bear organs, much of it for exportation to Asia. More than 100 people from several states could face charges resulting from the investigation, which tracked the illicit plants with a recently developed arsenal of special dyes and silicon chips. More than 40 people have been been charged in sealed indictments. Two were in custody...BLM orders more study of coal-bed methane drilling plan Agreeing in part with concerns raised by a conservation group, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday ordered more environmental analysis on 18 planned coal-bed methane wells southwest of Gillette. Marathon Oil Corp., through its subsidiary Pennaco Energy, has not yet begun drilling the wells and the remanding of the environmental study does not revoke or suspend drilling permits the BLM granted in September, according to Phil Perlewitz, acting deputy state director for minerals and lands. No timetable is set for the additional study. "I would anticipate it would be done as soon as possible," Perlewitz said...Western Shoshone tribes divided over land dispute with government Two elderly Indian sisters haul hay, mend fences and round up cattle at their ranch in this remote Nevada valley. Between chores, they spearhead one of the most controversial land battles in the West. It's a conflict that has pitted Western Shoshone Indians against the federal government for decades and deeply divided Western Shoshone tribes along the way. At its center are Mary and Carrie Dann, obstinate and blunt women whose deeply lined faces and callused hands speak of a life of hard work on this arid, high desert. Many people consider the sisters modern Indian heroes. Others consider them fanatics out of touch with reality...Pair 'duel' over badlands Ten months after Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson challenged his New Mexico counterpart to settle a land dispute with a duel, they took up their guns. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson (left) and New Mexico counterpart Patrick H. Lyons get set to 'duel' south of Austin. Patterson's challenge last year led to Wednesday's photo op. Sort of. Patterson and New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Patrick H. Lyons traded pleasantries instead of gunfire Wednesday as they posed with .44-caliber flintlock dueling pistols during a trip to an exotic game ranch. The 145-year-old land dispute involves 603,485 acres in West Texas that New Mexico lawmakers said they lost because of a flawed survey. The strip of land is three miles wide and 320 miles long, according to the New Mexico State Land Office, which called it land "that technically belongs to New Mexico." It includes the Texas towns of Texline, Farwell, Bledsoe and Bronco, the Texas General Land Office said. (Take a look at the photo and you will see which state raises real cowboys)...Column: Mainstreaming Green The environmental movement has spent three years playing defense against a president they call the most anti-environment in history. Now they want payback, and hope to pull off a notoriously tough task: making green issues a big deal in a national race. Already, the environment has become an issue in the Democratic contest, though not always in the way environmentalists would hope. Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) campaign recently circulated literature that misleadingly claims Howard Dean compiled a poor environmental record as Vermont governor. But looking beyond the primaries, there are signs that green issues could play an important role this year, when the environmental differences between the eventual nominee and Bush will be massive compared to any between the Democrats themselves. Enviros say their 2004 campaign will be bigger and, more importantly, better than past cycles, and strategists believe the White House's dismantling of environmental protections leave Bush vulnerable to attack...Bush planning to add another Utahn to EPA The Environmental Protection Agency is in position to pluck another Utahn -- this time, former Gov. Mike Leavitt's chief of staff. President George Bush on Wednesday announced he intends to nominate Charlie Johnson, 67, to work as chief financial officer of the EPA. If confirmed by the Senate, Johnson, president of Huntsman Cancer Foundation and member of the Utah Board of Regents, will again join forces with Leavitt, who now heads the agency...County joins desert posse in get-tough desert dust operation The county joined nine Coachella Valley cities in adopting a law to dramatically reduce desert dust by 2006. Riverside County's participation in the region's stringent Fugitive Dust Control Ordinance was crucial because it means builders and developers can't escape dust control requirements by moving projects outside local city boundaries. "It is the most serious air quality problem in the desert," Supervisor Roy Wilson said of the tiny dust particles known as PM10 - meaning particulate matter is less than 10 microns in diameter. Coachella Valley skies have exceeded federal limits on PM10 since 1999. The Environmental Protection Agency has given the valley until 2006 to clear the skies...SRP, UA plot history of Arizona droughts to gauge threat now Salt River Project and the University of Arizona will study droughts dating back nearly 1,500 years in an effort to gauge how serious a threat the current drought is to the region's long-term water supply. Researchers in UA's Tree Ring Laboratory will reconstruct annual runoff and streamflows on the Salt, Verde and upper Colorado rivers and some of their tributaries. Those rivers provide much of the Valley's drinking water. Findings from the joint study could help SRP and other water agencies better plan for droughts, offering hints about how long dry spells can last on the major rivers and how often drought occurs on two major river systems at the same time... Earthquakes rattle Jackson area Four earthquakes shook the Jackson, Wyo., area early Wednesday morning, including a magnitude 5.0 earthquake that was the largest ever recorded in Teton County. The 5.0 quake struck at 12:51 a.m. and shook for about six seconds, according to Lance Cook with the Wyoming State Geological Survey. The quakes were centered near lower Slide Lake just outside Kelly, Wyo., which is northeast of Jackson. After the first shake, a 3.7 earthquake was recorded at 1:27 a.m., followed by a 4.1 earthquake at 1:44 a.m. and a 4.0 earthquake at 2:23 a.m. The quakes happened in the area of the Gros Ventre Fault, which lies beneath the Gros Ventre mountain range. The area, which typically experiences several quakes a year, was the site of a 3.5 earthquake on Dec. 30...Mexican charreada Gerardo "Jerry" Diaz has vowed to keep the tradition of charro alive through acts woven into the Mexican extravaganza he will present this weekend at the National Western Stock Show. The event will feature a new spin on a historic event: the charreada, featuring the skillful horsemanship of charros, Mexican gentlemen known for horsemanship, roping and preserving the ethics of family life...Some cuss words aren't really cuss words I suspect the commandment about not taking the Lord's name in vain has kept a lot of good people out of heaven, especially those who own livestock or who work with worn-out farm machinery. I doubt the Lord himself could load hogs or operate a hay baler without losing his temper. Through history we read of the teamster who could singe the hair on his mule's ears with profanity and the prevaricator who could cuss like a sailor. I can still taste the lye soap Grandma Trew used to wash my mouth after I uttered my first cuss word in her presence. Though her remedy was more effective than a month of sermons, it would be judged as cruel and unusual punishment by today's standards and bring about a lawsuit. That could be the reason Grandpa Trew's worst words were "my goodness."...