NEWS ROUNDUP

Bush orders quicker forest thinning The Bush administration gave federal land managers their formal marching orders Wednesday to speed up forest-thinning projects this year on 3.7 million fire-prone acres across the country. Two-thirds of the money will be focused on logging and prescribed burning near at-risk communities in and around national forests and public rangelands, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management officials said at a wildfire conference. The 56 pages of guidelines issued Wednesday explain how local agency field managers should proceed to quickly carry out the Healthy Forests Restoration Act that President Bush signed into law late last year over the objections of environmentalists.... Fire study says region was unprepared for catastrophe Last fall's Cedar, Paradise and Otay wildfires struck a region unprepared in key ways for the catastrophic but predictable conflagrations, according to a study released today. The U.S. Forest Service's "2003 San Diego County Fire Siege Fire Safety Review" calls on government bodies and private citizens to rethink their approaches to readying for such fiery disasters.... JUDGE: NO RESTRICTIONS ON ROGUE U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken has ruled against restricting commercial motorboats in the ‘wild' section of the Rogue River, as was requested in a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service. The lawsuit was filed by the Riverhawks, Northwest Rafters Association and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands center, who contend the forest service was violating three federal acts by authorizing motorboat use within the 12-mile wild section of the Rogue Wild and Scenic River (WSR).... Parties wonder about money for wolf management Supporters and opponents of a proposal under which ranchers would be allowed to kill wolves are united in questioning where the money to pay for the state management of the wolves would come from. Both Idaho and Montana have tight state budgets. "We still need to work on the funding to manage this," Montana Republican Gov. Judy Martz said. "Our hunters and our ranchers are already suffering, so I would hope this does not fall on their backs." The Interior Department's proposed budget for fiscal year 2005 would reduce funding for endangered species by $7.6 million from $136.9 million this year to $129.4 million. It also specifically says Idaho, Montana and Wyoming wolf recovery programs would be reduced by $1.5 million.... Montana, Idaho edge toward wolf management Ranchers in Montana and Idaho would be able to kill wolves caught harassing their livestock under a proposed rule announced by Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton Wednesday. Norton said the rule is a temporary alternative to removing wolves from the endangered species list. She said it would give them the "maximum amount of authority under the Endangered Species Act." The increased latitude for ranchers is part of a larger rule that aims to give officials in the two states more authority to manage wolves within their state borders. Under current law, ranchers can only kill a wolf that is actually attacking livestock. The rule also would allow states to kill wolves if deer, elk and moose populations are declining. Under current law wolves may be relocated, but not killed, to protect game populations.... Court upholds permit to build golf course near Snake River A federal appeals court refused to stop a proposed golf course and upscale subdivision near Jackson, Wyo., rejecting arguments from environmental groups that the project could hurt bald eagles. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said the Army Corps of Engineers acted properly when it issued a permit allowing builders to dredge and fill wetlands on the property along the Snake River 17 miles south of Jackson. The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition of Bozeman, Mont., had argued the corps violated the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The 10th Circuit ruling, dated Tuesday and made available Wednesday, said the corps had not violated either law.... Wolf expert says trespassing unintentional A federal wildlife biologist found on private land with four tranquilized wolves said he was not physically relocating the animals to the spot. Jimenez explained that he and other wildlife managers had been trying to collar wolves in one particular pack in the area for some time in order to keep better track of them. "This pack was difficult to trap," he said. On Feb. 14, a pilot on a routine surveillance flight of wolves located the pack between Thermopolis and Meeteetse and called Jimenez. "We jumped at the opportunity," Jimenez said. He quickly arranged for a helicopter with a pilot and another person to help Jimenez shoot the wolves with tranquilizer darts. The chase began on Bureau of Land Management land.... Editorial: A River Shortchanged, Again The Army Corps of Engineers is still refusing to do right by the once-majestic Missouri River. Three years ago, the Fish and Wildlife Service ordered the corps to alter seasonal flows on the heavily dammed river — raising water levels during the spring, lowering them during the summer — to save an endangered fish called the pallid sturgeon as well as two endangered bird species. Last Friday, defying not only the service but also the courts, the corps essentially refused. The only winners here are a few Missouri politicians. The environment and the larger economic interests of the region all lose.... County stands to lose claim on roads A decision by a Utah judge could act as "a stop sign" for Moffat County right-of-way claims, environmentalists say. Last week, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell rejected three Utah counties' ownership claims to dirt tracks across Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and wildlands near Canyonlands National Park. Campbell upheld an earlier 2001 decision that stated RS 2477 claims only apply to highways that show evidence of construction and do not apply to trails formed by "haphazard, unintentional or incomplete action. For example, the mere passage of vehicles across land, in the absence of any other evidence, is not sufficient to meet the construction criteria of RS 2477." The Utah Attorney General intends to appeal the ruling in the 10th Circuit Court, said Paul Murphy, head of media relations at the attorney general office. When appealed, the case will be in the same judicial circuit as Moffat County, and any decision made there could act as a precedent for Moffat County's RS 2477 claims, said Ted Zukoski, a lawyer with Earthjustice, a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting the environment. The decision is the only modern case to delve into the standards for claiming an RS 2477 right, he said.... Guide, helicopter service face suit The San Benito County District Attorney filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a Salinas hunting guide and a local helicopter company for depositing hunters onto private property. The lawsuit, which seeks more than $100,000 in civil penalties, is in response to complaints by ranchers and property owners in remote areas of San Benito County, according to District Attorney John Sarsfield.... Court Decision Upsets Day County Land Owners South Dakota's lakes, rivers and streams can be used by anyone across the state, but what about if that body of water is found on private property caused by floods. The state says they control those waters, but two years ago, a group of Day County land owners brought that question to court and won the right to determine who could use those waters. Now the South Dakota Supreme Court overturned that decision. It's a complicated question with no answer, that's because no where in state law does it mention who owns the rights of floodwaters. While the state owns the water rights, property owners control the land under the water, so who has the rights to that body of water. That's yet to be determined. Ordean Park's family have owned this land since South Dakota became a state in 1889. His grandfather and father have farmed the area since then, but when flooding filled up the farmland in 1997, the state took over. Park: "We've enjoyed exclusive rights to there and all of a sudden now the state says they are public property, we feel violated.".... Elk could have been run to death Wildlife experts are starting to think a herd of elk south of Rawlins was literally run to death. The cause of the massive elk die-off 15 miles south of Rawlins remains undetermined, but state wildlife experts are focusing on toxins or the possibility that excessive running and stress led to the paralysis that has affected 280 animals, which either died or were killed by wildlife managers. Dr. Walt Cook of the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab in Laramie said two elk thought to be suffering early symptoms of the paralysis that affected those that died were killed by game officials on Monday and necropsies have been performed. Results of the necropsy are not expected until later this week.... Bear baiting initiative may go to voters Maine's secretary of state says an initiative to ban bear baiting had almost twice the number of signatures it needed to force a referendum. Dan Gwadosky says the petition from Maine Citizens for Fair Bear Hunting had more than 97,000 valid signatures, 50,000 more than it needed to send the initiative to the State House. Advocates want to keep bear hunters from using bait, traps or dogs. The Baldacci administration and a coalition hunters' and guides' associations oppose the initiative.... Wolf-control boundaries expanded Two days after hunters killed the first wolves in a controversial aerial wolf-control program near the Interior village of McGrath, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game doubled the size of the area hunters can shoot wolves in. The department expanded the boundaries for aerial hunters in Game Management Unit 19D East near McGrath from about 1,750 square miles to 3,600 square miles.... Campbell leaves the stage Ben Nighthorse Campbell's announcement Wednesday that he won't seek a third U.S. Senate term signaled the end of a fruitful, 22-year record of public service. It also kicked open Colorado's political anthill and sent politicians in both parties scurrying to reassess their own career options. Campbell's retirement comes after an unbroken string of electoral victories in his races for the state legislature, U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. His down-to-earth manner resonated with Colorado voters, and he became a leader on issues including Indian rights and environmental causes as well as traditional Western concerns such as water and land management.... 'The Jackson Hole Story' looks at politics behind preservation Rich tourists might have come to Jackson Hole in the early 20th century looking for a taste of the mythological Old West, but the locals proved remarkably forward-thinking despite the unpaved roads and movie-set architecture. As early as 1923, groups of Jackson Hole residents were meeting in their cabins, discussing ways to preserve the beautiful environs of the Teton Range they called home. Those discussions would ultimately lead to the formation of the Grand Teton National Park in 1929 and the Jackson Hole National Monument in 1943, but not without considerable controversy, political gamesmanship and a major showdown between the state of Wyoming and the federal government.... Inherited Quarter Horse Disease Traces To Poco Bueno Poco Bueno has been identified as the sireline associated with the brutal affliction known as hyperelastosis cutis (HC) or hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA). He was a giant among horses. Built like a rock, he possessed power and speed. He made his mark in the show ring as a champion, then retired to the breeding shed. His greatness was carried on through his get, grandget, and on down the line through succeeding generations of Quarter Horses. It is primarily down through Poco Bueno’s bloodline, say researchers at Mississippi State University and Cornell University, that the recessive gene that causes hyperelastosis cutis (HC) has passed. HC is a brutal affliction that basically carries with it a death sentence. Although affected horses can be made more comfortable and their lives prolonged, there is no cure....