NEWS ROUNDUP

Bighorn sheep threatened by climate change, finds new study A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has linked population declines of California's desert bighorn sheep with the effects of climate change. What's more, many of the state's remaining bighorn populations could face extinction if certain global warming forecasts for the next 60 years come true. In the study, which is published in the current issue of Conservation Biology, the authors found that of the 80 groups of desert bighorn sheep known to have roamed California's mountains over the past century, 30 are now extinct. In their investigation of the population decline, the researchers evaluated impacts ranging from contact with domestic livestock, which can lead to the spread of disease and competition for food, to poaching, mining, human disturbance and other factors. They also analyzed climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation that affect the availability of vegetation and dependable sources of spring water for the sheep.... Mojave Desert plant considered for protection Federal wildlife officials said Tuesday they will consider placing a Mojave Desert herb on the nation's endangered species list, a move that could further complicate the expansion of the Army's tank training center. Populations of the desert cymopterus, a member of the carrot family, have been found on land tagged for expansion of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin north of Barstow. The planned expansion has been delayed for years because the land harbors the desert tortoise, a threatened species, and an endangered plant known as the Lane Mountain milk-vetch. Negotiations are underway to balance species protections with needs for expansion.... Leaders meet but wolf impasse remains Apparently nobody blinked Tuesday when the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service met with Gov. Dave Freudenthal and other state leaders to discuss an apparent impasse over the state's wolf management plan. "While the meeting was cordial enough, it lacked the substance I was looking for," Freudenthal said in a release after the two hour meeting with Steve Williams, who made a special trip to Wyoming. "With neither party apparently inclined to shift its position significantly, nothing in my meeting with Director Williams would indicate to me that this matter can be resolved equitably in the timelines we confront." Williams enraged Freudenthal and other state officials when he sent a letter dated Jan. 13 that stated Wyoming's wolf management plan prevents the delisting of the wolf. Freudenthal wrote back to Williams' boss, Interior Secretary Gale Norton, saying the state was a victim of ever-changing federal policy.... State girding for fight on wolf plan Regardless of whether the state or federal government makes concessions, a court battle is inevitable over Wyoming’s wolf plan, Sen. Grant Larson said Tuesday. As a high-level meeting in Cheyenne failed to ease the standoff between state officials and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Larson said even if either side were to compromise, a suit would follow from “radical environmental groups.” Larson said he expected the court fight to drag on for as long as five years, delaying removal of the wolf from the endangered species list. If the Fish and Wildlife Service abruptly changed course and approved Wyoming’s wolf management plan, “radical environmental groups would file suit the next day, just as they’ve done with the grizzly bear and everything else,” Larson said.... Wyoming ag group to sue over wolf plan A Wyoming farm group is threatening to sue the federal government over how it has been managing wolves. Jim Urbigkit, president of the Sublette County Farm Bureau, said Monday that his group and “other interested parties” intend to file a lawsuit within 60 days because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hasn’t done enough in Wyoming to protect livestock operations. Urbigkit said the agency isn’t following its longstanding plan for wolves, including a provision that allows removal of wolves that kill livestock when there are six or more pairs of wolves in the recovery zone.... State Enhances Protection for Coho Salmon The California Fish and Game Commission this week voted to protect Northern California's coho salmon under the state's Endangered Species Act after adopting a plan to restore the habitat of the increasingly scarce fish. The commission's decision on Wednesday capped years of deliberations on how to best help replenish stocks of coho -- or silver -- salmon, which have been depleted by extensive fishing and water diversion as well as muddy runoff, often triggered by land development and logging operations. The runoff clogs clear-running streams needed for spawning. The decision adds a second level of protection for a species listed as endangered by the National Marine Fisheries Service since the late 1990s....Environmentalists Oppose Second Border Fence Environmental groups are asking a federal court to halt plans to build a second border fence along the westernmost edge of the United States-Mexico border. The Sierra Club, the San Diego Audubon Society, and San Diego Baykeeper are among several groups who claim the Department of Homeland Security failed to fully consider potential harm to the environment.... WHO Urges Regulation of Herbal Medicines The World Health Organization is urging governments to regulate herbal medicines, saying their unsafe use is claiming a growing number of victims. WHO says the growing use of these products has increased the risks. It says it has worrying reports of a growing number of patients experiencing negative health consequences caused by the use of herbal medicines. WHO says there is also the risk that the growing international trade in herbal remedies might pose a threat to biodiversity through over-harvesting of the raw materials for herbal medicines and other natural health-care products. If this is not controlled, it warns these practices could lead to the extinction of endangered species.... Clearing the brush As October's wildfires raged, Steve Larson was all set to use his backhoe in a last-ditch effort to remove dry, overgrown brush on his property. Then he was warned off. "We have some environmental issues here," Larson recalls being told by a man who showed up at the edge of his property and seemed to be acting in some official capacity. Larson retreated. It wasn't long before flames consumed everything he owned: his home in Crest, five rental houses and 22 cars. In retrospect, he wishes he had not heeded the stranger. With more than 2,400 homes destroyed in last fall's conflagrations, property owners in the backcountry and on the urban fringes of wildland are questioning government regulations that restrict the amount of native brush they can cut down.... Yellowstone bison to get shots Some calves and yearling bison that test negative for exposure to brucellosis will be vaccinated against the contagious disease for the first time this winter, a wildlife biologist in Yellowstone National Park said Monday. "It's a step in trying to get to a disease-free population eventually," said Rick Wallen.... Yankton man fined for killing coyote An illegal coyote hunt in Wind Cave National Park has cost a Yankton man $425 in federal fines and restitution. Eugene Healy, 46, pleaded guilty Feb. 5 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marshall Young of Rapid City to misdemeanor counts for firing a weapon and killing wildlife within a national park. Young ordered Healy to pay $50 in restitution and fined him $750, with $375 suspended, provided that Healy doesn't have any violations for one year.... Judge Blocks Yellowstone Snowmobile Ban Severe restrictions on snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks were blocked by a federal judge Tuesday, nearly two months after they were put in place. U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer in Wyoming ruled that the restrictions would cause irreparable harm to companies that rely on snowmobiling in the parks due to lost business. Brimmer issued a temporary restraining order against the restrictions and ordered the National Park Service to develop temporary rules for the rest of the 2004 season including use of cleaner, quieter snowmobiles. It was not immediately clear what the next legal step would be, or what rules would be in effect for the 2005 season.... NYT Editorial: An Environmental Deficit To the country's environmentalists, the most encouraging thing about President Bush's new budget is something that isn't there. Having painted himself into a fiscal corner, Mr. Bush has muted his support for an energy bill that would have disproportionately benefited large polluters with $31 billion in tax breaks and other incentives. This is good news, assuming that Congress heeds his call for restraint. In most other respects, the environment fared poorly in this budget — not surprising, given Mr. Bush's failure to mention the issue in his State of the Union address, but disheartening just the same. Though publicly uncomplaining, Michael Leavitt, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has reason to be particularly aggrieved. Only two months into the job, he saw his budget whacked by $600 million, or 7 percent. Much has been made of the trims in his research budget. Of greater consequence to the country's near-term health were the 30 percent cuts to waste treatment programs and other clean water activities that are central to his agency's mission.... Bush Drilling Plan Brings Foes Together: Ranchers, hunters and environmentalists decry a bid to draw natural gas from New Mexico wilds The governor of New Mexico — leading an unusual alliance of ranchers, environmentalists, hunters and property-rights activists — has launched an election-year challenge to the Bush administration's energy policies, vowing to block a plan to drill for gas on a vast expanse of desert grasslands here. Gov. Bill Richardson's opposition represents the strongest signal to date that the Rocky Mountain West, long dependent on energy production, is having second thoughts about the administration's aggressive advocacy of oil and gas drilling.... Gas drilling forum held in ‘ground zero’ of Bush plan As natural gas development expands in the Rockies, affected residents in western Colorado will need a neutral site to discuss problems as they arise, a community activist said Monday during a regional forum in Garfield County. Garfield County is home to the Roan Plateau, described as “ground zero” in the Bush administration’s plan to boost energy development stateside.... Plateau protection called good economic sense A band of environmental groups was joined here Monday by area business owners to publicize their efforts to save the pristine wilderness atop Roan Plateau. They held a press conference in front of the Garfield County Courthouse to tout the benefits of using slant, or directional, drilling into the side of the plateau — which is located northwest of Rifle and fronted by a cliffside that dominates the landscape — instead of drilling directly down from the top.... Gas panel meeting draws hundreds With Power Point presentations, graphs and charts, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission was well prepared for its quarterly northwest Colorado public meeting late Monday afternoon. But by the looks of things, the commission wasn’t prepared for the more than 200 landowners, ranchers, environmentalists and concerned citizens who crowded into the Garfield County Fairgrounds’ South Hall to attend the commission’s public forum — and voice their concerns.... Fossil site may soon see oil rigs on horizon Visitors to Dinosaur National Monument could soon see oil and gas rigs pumping away as they drive from the visitors center to the heart of the fossil preserve. The Bureau of Land Management, which owns land on the southern and western fringes of the monument, will offer 55 parcels of land in Colorado and Utah to oil and gas companies for drilling leases. The Colorado auction is Thursday and the Utah leases will be offered Feb. 18.... Utah Deal with Interior on Road Ownership is Illegal A deal between Utah and the Bush administration aimed at settling long-standing disputes over the ownership of federal roads violates federal law, according to a review by congressional lawyers released Tuesday. Interior Secretary Gale Norton and then-Gov. Mike Leavitt signed an agreement last year seeking to resolve longstanding disputes over whether roads that snake across Utah are owned by the state or federal government. It would have implemented an Interior plan to "disclaim" ownership of the disputed routes, and served as a model for settling similar disagreements over thousands of miles of roads across the West. But the General Accounting Office, which is Congress' investigative agency, said in a legal opinion that the Leavitt-Norton deal contradicts a demand by Congress that it have final say on the road disputes. At the same time, Interior's underlying plan to surrender ownership of the roads technically did not run afoul of the congressional prohibition, the GAO said.... Supermill open for business as forest sector rebounds The world's largest sawmill opened for business Monday in the northern B.C. town of Houston, sending the strongest signal yet that the province's forest industry is on the rebound. A $26.4-million capital upgrade in Canfor Corp.'s Houston sawmill has catapulted it into the class of supermills, turning out 600 million board feet of lumber a year and surpassing the production of a German sawmill that held the title until Monday. The high-speed mill produces 2,300 boards a minute, destined for markets in North America and Asia, Emerson said....Senate Republicans Agree to Slash Stalled Energy Bill Senate Republicans, hoping to salvage a stalled energy bill, said yesterday that they plan to more than halve the measure's tax breaks and other business incentives, cutting them from $31 billion to less than $14 billion over 10 years. But at a luncheon meeting of GOP senators, members balked at attaching the energy legislation to a pending transportation bill, which faces its own objections from key Republicans and the White House.... Easement completed on Dry Creek farm Another piece of Gallatin County's open-space protection puzzle snapped into place Tuesday when county commissioners approved a conservation easement on the largest piece of land to date. The price of the easement, which limits development on 1,572 acres of Wally and Patricia Brownell's farm, increased significantly since last March's initial estimates. But commissioners say taxpayers still got a great deal. Murdock joined Commissioner John Vincent in voting to spend $437,000 in open space bond money to pay for part of the easement. Commissioner Jennifer Smith Mitchell was at a Montana Association of Counties meeting in Billings. The county's share was $87,000 more than the $350,000 commissioners agreed to spend last spring. The price tag reflected the increased appraisal, from $1.4 million last spring to $2.17 million. In addition to the county's share of the total easement price, the Brownells will receive $537,000 from the federal Farmland Protection Program and another $100,000 from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Brownells donated more than $1 million of the easement's estimated value.... Split estate bill fails introduction A proposal to attempt to head off disputes between landowners and those who own the rights to oil and gas beneath the land by ensuring negotiations between the parties died in the Wyoming House on Tuesday. The defeat of House Bill 70, the "Surface Owners' Accommodation Act," also called the "split estate bill," was a victory for oil and gas industry representatives but a defeat for landowners and Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who urged passage of the bill.... Mad Cow Could Divide Cattle Industry After mad cow disease hit the United States, the cattle industry's dominant trade group stood behind the government's mandate for stricter regulations to ensure food safety. But down on the farm, some unhappy ranchers are breaking away from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association in a dispute over mandatory fees for marketing and labeling to distinguish U.S. beef. The clash has the potential to slow regulatory changes and strain relations with trading partners. After years of discontent, members of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association voted to leave the national association in 2001, saying the group no longer meets the needs of small cattle ranchers. The New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association followed suit last December.... Jury asked to award cattlemen $2 billion in suit against Tyson A lawsuit accusing the nation's largest beef packer of price manipulation went to a jury Tuesday with a request that $2 billion in damages be awarded to cattlemen throughout the country. The suit accuses Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. of using contracts with select ranchers to create a captive supply of cattle that enabled the company to drive prices down. The company in closing arguments maintained instead that supply and demand drive the beef market. Concluding a monthlong trial, each side criticized the other's failure to produce concrete evidence and witnesses - even though eight years have passed since six cattlemen filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of some 30,000 producers who sold cattle to Tyson, then known as IBP Inc., in the cash market between February 1994 and October 2002.... Runaway bull hurts 9 people at rodeo Nine people were injured Saturday when a bull kicked open a gate and stormed through a crowd of people at the 66th Annual Sells Rodeo and Fair on the Tohono O'odham Nation. Five people were hospitalized, but none of the injuries was life-threatening, according to a news release issued by the nation.... The LONG version — maintaining history through the Texas Longhorns There’s over 88 inches of air between their tips and, if you stand nearby for a long enough period of time, you’ll hear every superlative known to the English language, as well as a few in several other tongues. They belong to “Jimmy Shoulders” and corkscrew out on either side of the massive Texas Longhorn’s head in an impressive fashion — just what you’d expect from the 2004 National Western Grand Champion Steer. “They’re a part of the Old West, a part of our heritage. Longhorn cattle drives are what made our country what it is,” proclaims Gary Cole of New Mexico, a congenial Longhorn breeder and owner of the award winning “Jimmy Shoulders.” A veteran of 14 years riding rodeo roughstock and another 18 years astride polo ponies, Cole enjoys discussing the breed and why he raises them.... Rodeo brothers maintain lifestyle Growing up in a world-famous rodeo family can have its advantages. Just ask Jake and Jimmie Cooper. The 19-year-old twin sons of 1981 all-around world champion Jimmie Cooper are in their first year of pro team roping. Cousin Roy Cooper is also a former all-around world champion -- in 1983 -- and a six-time world champion calf-roper. "Our dad has given us wisdom and knowledge that a lot of rookies have to learn for themselves," Jimmie said. "And that has been a big advantage for us."....