NEWS ROUNDUP

Ranchers will pay more to graze herds on federal land Ranchers across the West will see an increase in the monthly fee they pay to graze their herds on federal land, the Bush administration said Friday. Beginning March 1, the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service will raise their monthly rate from $1.35 to $1.43 per month. The monthly fee covers grazing of a horse, a cow and calf, or five sheep or goats. The change, based on a formula established by Congress in 1978, will affect 18,000 BLM grazing permits and leases and 8,000 Forest Service permits....Lawsuit filed over Rock Creek logging Insisting they fear logging more than forest fires, two environmental groups filed suit Friday to stop the Lolo National Forest from thinning 1,100 acres in the Rock Creek drainage. Filed in U.S. District Court in Missoula, the lawsuit dings the Forest Service for allegedly failing to analyze the wilderness characteristics of all unroaded areas marked for thinning. In addition, the complaint claims the project would harm Rock Creek's resident bull trout by increasing sediment in the stream, which would then harm the drainage's tourist-dependent economy.... Forest Service not dropping old growth timber sales Environmentalists have suffered another setback in a campaign to block logging in patches of old growth forests designated for timber harvest under the Northwest Forest Plan. After volunteers found evidence of more red tree voles than the U.S. Forest Service had discovered on a group of timber sales on the Mount Hood and Willamette national forests, a federal judge ruled the environmental analyses were inadequate, holding up logging. But the Forest Service this week came out with amendments to their environmental analyses addressing the shortcomings mentioned by the judge, including gathering more public input.... New twist emerges in firefighter's arson case On the morning that Grant was to be sentenced on eight counts of arson in U.S. District Court, federal public defender John Rhodes instead asked that his client be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea. The reason: Rhodes believes Grant pleaded guilty to a nonexistent crime, because the fires he ignited were not on federal land.... EPA says Biscuit salvage plan will harm water quality and salmon U.S. Forest Service salvage logging plans for the 2002 Biscuit fire promise to cause long-term damage to key salmon streams already suffering from poor water quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. EPA urged the Siskiyou National Forest to limit salvage logging to areas designated for timber harvest under the Northwest Forest Plan, known as matrix lands, and drop plans to log extensively in key salmon watersheds and undeveloped forest known as inventoried roadless areas.... Panel endorses check on federal acquisition of state land A bill that would require legislative approval before land owned by state government could be transferred to the federal government was approved unanimously Friday by the Senate State Affairs Committee. Rep. Larry Rhoden, R-Union Center, said the measure is needed to ensure that the federal government doesn't increase its already substantial holdings in South Dakota.... WWF Calls on U.S. Retailers to Demand Paper Giant APP Stop Unsustainable Logging World Wildlife Fund today called on U.S. retail customers of Asia Pulp and Paper, one of the world's largest paper companies, to demand that the company stop unsustainable logging operations. APP and its affiliates in Indonesia are clearcutting one of the world's most biodiverse and threatened forests, WWF said.... SAVING SPECIES ON FRINGE: Plan offsets East County growth Protecting more than two dozen species of endangered animals and plants in Contra Costa County from the bulldozer will cost $300 million, according to a draft plan released for review. The land would become a permanent home for rare species such as the San Joaquin kit fox, Alameda whipsnake, California red-legged frog and western burrowing owl.... Wyoming lawmakers reject compromise plan on wolves Wyoming moved a step closer to a lawsuit with the federal government Friday after the state House gave initial approval to holding firm to a state wolf-management plan that was rejected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. House Bill 111, which was given initial approval on a voice vote with no opposing arguments, was reluctantly offered by the top wolf expert in the chamber. Rep. Mike Baker, R-Thermopolis, who had crafted a second compromise measure in hopes of avoiding a lawsuit, resigned himself to the fact that House leadership won’t bring up his alternative for debate, and that litigation is all but inevitable.... Brimmer denies greens’ request New snowmobile rules in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks likely will remain in effect for the rest of the season, following an order Thursday from a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer denied a request by conservation groups to halt the implementation of temporary rules governing the number and type of snowmobile trips allowed into the parks. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition and other groups had sought a freeze on the new regulations while they appeal an earlier ruling by Brimmer that ordered the Park Service to adopt the rules.... USFWS ISSUES GRIZZLY BEAR BIOP FOR IDAHO, MONTANA A long-awaited biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives the green light to Forest Service plans for managing roads in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk grizzly bear recovery areas. The biological opinion, which was signed earlier this week, says road management strategies for the Kootenai, Idaho Panhandle and Lolo national forests "are not likely to jeopardize" the remnant bear populations in the two recovery areas....Desert tortoise says spring has sprung Easterners may have Punxsutawney Phil, French Creek Freddy and Buckeye Chuck, but when it comes to predicting the arrival of spring in the West, Mojave Max is the reptile to watch. The decades-old desert tortoise, who makes his home at a southern Nevada conservation area, poked his scaly nose out of his den at 11:14 a.m. Thursday — less than four months after he burrowed down for the winter on Oct. 28.... Poll: Wyo favors landowner protections Eighty-six percent of Wyoming voters would favor a new law to ensure landowners are consulted and fairly compensated when drilling projects impact their land, according to a polling firm. And 85 percent prefer that the pace of mineral development be managed so communities don't go through boom-and-bust cycles. The findings are based on 700 completed interviews with a random sample of Wyoming voters, according to Decision Research, a national polling firm....Dispute flares over tainted land settlement The dispute involves settlement of a long-running lawsuit known as Sumner Peck v. Bureau of Reclamation. The Westlands farmers who rallied together in 1986 under the Sumner Peck name contend the government's failure to provide irrigation drainage led to the poisoning of about 34,000 selenium-laden acres. The December 2002 settlement involved the federal government agreeing to pay $107 million and the Westlands district agreeing to pay $32 million in order to retire the land from farming. Fearing the Westlands land-retirement payments might starve some of their own favorite water projects, the California lawmakers insist the federal government's share be paid out of a Justice Department account, rather than the Bureau of Reclamation's budget. It's not simply an accounting debate.... Aurora close to water deal Aurora officials hope to complete a deal by next month that would allow them to replenish the city's depleted reservoir system with water leased from Arkansas River Valley farmers. If completed, the deal for up to 12,600 acre feet of water would cost the city $5.5 million and would be the largest temporary water supply agreement ever reached in Colorado.... Riders, ropers learn skills of the range at N.M. ranch All get a friendly welcome at Linette and Bobbie Gordon's 8,300-acre spread in the boot-heel of New Mexico, a few miles south of the speck of town called Animas. Their ranch isn't fancy and doesn't try to be. Their ranch, in addition to being an innovative cow-calf operation, is the destination of two longtime cowboys who offer classes for ranch hands wanting to hone skills, riders trying to improve their technique, ropers aiming to loop the loop better, and people who want to learn to be a cowboy.... California Ranchers Start Nation's First Mobile Livestock Slaughter Facility A group of Central Coast ranchers will start operating the state's first mobile livestock processing unit. Literally a slaughtering facility on wheels, the unit will help ranchers in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties take advantage of the rapidly emerging markets for organic and grass-fed beef, said George Work, who operates a ranch northeast of San Miguel.... The Cowboy that will never give up If a movie could be made of John Sharp's life, it would have to be a Western. Bigger than life. Full of adventure. And there would have to be plenty of horses. He's as much a part of the High Desert Landscape as the mountains, rivers, and other wide open spaces....