NEWS ROUNDUP

Environmental hazards of cattle vex the industry Despite all the current worries about mad cow disease, California's cattle industry faces other problems that may turn out to be far more vexing in the long run than exotic infections and trade embargoes. Long-standing questions about the environmental hazards associated with cattle husbandry are far more likely to linger, industry experts say. And while the prospects for mad cow disease seem frightening enough, the real flashpoints for years to come are apt to revolve around more mundane matters, such as the effects of beef cattle on rangeland and dairy cattle on waterways...Pushing the boundaries: Ski industry officials could face fewer environmental restrictions The ski industry is taking advantage of a pro-business, anti-regulatory climate in Washington, D.C. by asking the U.S. Forest Service to consider establishing new categorical exclusions for certain on-mountain activities. Additionally, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) and some select resorts will have a seat at the table when the federal Council on Environmental Quality meets to discuss reforms to the way the National Environmental Policy Act is administered. In effect, said some environmental watchdogs, the ski industry is trying to rewrite the rules under which its activities on public lands are governed. And that doesn't sit well with some activists, who charge that private interests have already achieved an unprecedented level of influence in the public domain...The fight for the rights: USFS, ski industry wrangle over water rights The U.S. Forest Service and the ski industry may soon resolve a long-standing dispute over water rights, an issue that became one of the most contentious elements of the White River National Forest plan revision process. Under the special use permits governing the lease and operation of ski areas on public land, resorts are currently required to transfer new water rights to the federal government or apply for those rights in the name of the United States, according to Geraldine Link, policy director for the National Ski Areas Association. But over the course of many years, the ski industry has raised the issue of unlawful takings, says Ken Karkula, Washington, D.C.-based winter sports program manager for the Forest Service. "The Forest Service is working with the appropriate legal folks -- just trying to find the right words to put in the permit," Karkula says. There would be no public input process for the change, since it only involves rewriting the wording of the permits in question, according to Karkula...Condor release runs into a torrent of bad luck Efforts to release six California condors at Pinnacles National Monument in San Benito County have run into a torrent of bad luck, most of it caused by relentless rain. Four of the endangered birds either won't, or can't, leave their pen because of the bad weather. One that flew free on Dec. 20 was recaptured by scientists when it spent too much time near the ground, putting it at risk from attack by a coyote or another predator. The sixth has flown away from the 24,000-acre national park, was lost for several days, and is now sitting in a tree on a private ranch...Federal court bans fish hatchery in wilderness area A federal appeals court has ordered a halt to a long-running salmon stocking program on the Kenai Peninsula, calling it an improper commercial activity inside a wilderness area. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned two earlier decisions Tuesday, ruling that the project at Tustumena Lake to help commercial fishing is barred inside wilderness areas of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. "There is no exception given for commercial enterprise in wilderness when it has benign purpose and minimally intrusive impact," the court ruled...Earthjustice Sues BLM over Illegal Meetings with Industry Representatives in New Mexico Earthjustice filed a lawsuit in New Mexico federal court today challenging a secret meeting of an advisory committee to the Bureau of Land Management made up of gas and oil industry representatives scheduled for January 8, 2004. The advisory committee was explicitly asked to provide advice to the BLM by the New Mexico State Director. The committee has not made these meetings open to public participation as required by Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)...DOI: New Grazing Rules Good for Long Term The Bureau of Land Management said in its draft environmental impact statement that some rangeland health might suffer initially during the transition to new rules. This could happen because the agency would have two years instead of one to make decisions and some of the changes would be phased in over five years, the bureau said. But in the long-term, BLM said, "better and more sustainable grazing decisions would be the outcome ... and result in long-term positive effects on rangeland."...For more details, click here to view the BLM press release...Study: Residents oppose wilderness designations The results of a land use study indicate the majority of Moffat County residents favor multiple uses of federal land, and agree that federal land should not receive wilderness designations. The study -- conducted by Donald McLeod, associate professor of agriculture and applied economics at the University of Wyoming, and written by Andrew Seidl, associate professor of agriculture and resource economics at Colorado State University -- was based on a questionnaire sent to 2,800 individuals who either own land or live in Moffat County...E.P.A. to Study Use of Waste From Sewage as Fertilizer he Environmental Protection Agency will sponsor a series of scientific and public health studies on the safety of using sewage sludge as fertilizer, including nationwide chemical tests and building a human health complaint database. The studies, in combination with the agency's announcement on Wednesday that it will more closely regulate 15 chemicals found in sewage sludge fertilizer, are part of the agency's efforts to address public concerns about an agricultural practice that has grown rapidly around the country over the last decade. The announcements also reflect the agency's shifting public stance toward the practice. Currently, 54 percent of the six million tons of sewage sludge generated every year is processed, rechristened as biosolids and used as fertilizer -- more sludge than is disposed of through incineration and landfill combined...Arsenic ban to hit homeowners' wallets Arsenic kept fungus and termites off decks, docks and playground sets for five decades. Now a ban on wood treated with the chemical soon will cost those Tim Allen-types a bit more green. Starting this year, the timber industry will stop making lumber treated with an arsenic-based compound for most uses around the house. As a result, homeowners will pay another 10 percent to 30 percent for wood to build decks, picnic tables, gazebos, fences, patios, walkways and playground sets...Water users' fish die-off reports to be used in trial Upper Klamath Basin irrigators have made public a pair of reports that they believe shed new light on a fish die-off in the lower Klamath River last year. The reports offer evidence that releasing more water from the Upper Klamath Basin would not have prevented the die-off that claimed an estimated 34,000 fish, including mostly chinook salmon. The Klamath Water Users Association, which funded a study by fishery biologist David Vogel, hopes his reports will play a key role in an upcoming court trial aimed at determining the cause of the fish kill that occurred in September 2002...State toughens farm trespass laws Animal rights activists are sneaking into barns to snap photos of penned-up pigs, freeing chickens from cages and vandalizing farm equipment. In response, farm groups and rural law enforcement agencies launched a massive lobbying effort this year to push a bill through the Legislature to strengthen trespassing laws on farms and ranches. They did it in the name of homeland security...Western Music Awakening The spacious, posh confines of the new Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts held a capacity crowd as Michael Martin Murphey's Cowboy Songs cut loose, an innovative and stylish stage production of modern dance routines backed by classic cowboy tunes performed by Murphey and his band. Earning rave reviews, Cowboy Songs received accolades as something "exuberant," "rousing," and "saucy." "Cowboy Songs did the cowboy culture proud with a bang-up show that left you cryin' for more," observed the Dallas Morning News. "You knew it was good when the shrieks and whistles poured forth. The excitement was not just for the dancers. They were fabulous, but so was the music by guest artist Michael Martin Murphey and the Rio Grande Band." Murphey himself seemed elated afterwards as he signed autographs in the lobby. He has performed the program in a handful of venues, including the magnificent Bass Hall in Fort Worth. But Murphey's latest coup is just one of a growing number of breakthroughs in a field "Western music "that shows signs of taking off. Red Steagall's Cowboy Gathering, held annually in Fort Worth, attracted huge crowds in October. Other shows report upswings in attendance. And on the music front there is a crop of fresh faces who are making people stop and listen...