NEWS ROUNDUP

Fire Threat Grows in California Forest Five suspected arson fires this week rekindled fears among residents and forest officials already working feverishly to avoid a repeat of last fall's deadly wildfires near this mountain resort. They have good reason to worry: The risk is even greater this year. Bark beetles preying on drought-weakened pine trees have devastated hundreds of thousands of trees in the sprawling San Bernardino National Forest, killing nearly half the trees in some areas. Huge sections of the forest are ripe for another catastrophic blaze.... JUDGE ORDERS NOAA TO COMPLETE LISTINGS REVIEW WITHIN 30 DAYS A Spokane-based U.S. District Court judge this week ordered the federal government to deliver its judgment within 30 days on whether eight stocks of West Coast salmon and steelhead still merit listing under the Endangered Species Act. The Wednesday order also says the government must pay the legal fees of the Building Industry Association of Washington, the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners, the Columbia-Snake Irrigators Association and the Skagit County Cattlemen's Association. Those are the groups that filed two petitions in October 2001 asking that nine salmon and steelhead stocks be delisted. They argued that if NOAA counted the hatchery fish, numerous stocks would have to be delisted.... Feds ask for extension on salmon plan A federal agency that is rewriting a salmon recovery plan for the Pacific Northwest has asked for a six-month extension that would delay a final decision until after the presidential election. A federal judge ordered NOAA Fisheries to rewrite its recovery plan, known as a biological opinion, last May, after ruling that the existing blueprint violates the Endangered Species Act. U.S. District Judge James Redden set a June 2 deadline for the new plan.... PLF Calls Speculation Over Bush Administration Policy on Salmon Nothing But a Political Ploy in an Election Year Pacific Legal Foundation today welcomed reports that the Bush administration has decided to comply with court rulings and count hatchery-spawned salmon when deciding whether to list salmon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but expressed reservations over the lack of details of the policy that has yet to be officially released. PLF also warned of efforts by environmental activists who are attempting to derail the issuance of the new salmon policy by putting political pressure on the administration. The anticipated policy change, reported in The Washington Post yesterday, is in response to PLF's landmark 2001 court victory in Alsea Valley Alliance v. Evans. In that case, a federal court ruled that the government was illegally excluding hatchery salmon from fish counts in order to qualify naturally spawned salmon for ESA protections. In February, PLF successfully defeated environmental activists' appeal of the decision at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.... Column: Hatchery Salmon Bombshell THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION has decided that a hatchery fish is just as good as a wild one, and that a concrete raceway is just as good as a cool-running stream. In a policy bombshell measured in megatons, the federal government has decided that the hundreds of millions of salmon produced in fish hatcheries will be counted when determining if salmon deserve federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. It is estimated that only 10 percent of the salmon returning to the Columbia river system are born in the wild. Four out of every five salmon found in West Coast fivers are hatchery fish, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.... Fish in danger as reservoir drains Pity the pike and perch of Peck. It looks like they won’t even get tumbleweeds for habitat this year. Unrelenting drought has left Fort Peck Reservoir with just the last remaining bits of shallow-water spawning habitat and cover for young fish. It’s down to tumbleweeds that have blown into the lake. But with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boosting outflows through Fort Peck Dam to 11,000 cubic feet per second this week, water levels will continue to drop, and even the tumbleweeds are expected to go high, dry and dusty in the weeks ahead.... Column: Environmental Activists And Their Editorialist Allies Boo-Hooing About Hatchery Salmon Policy It was inevitable. Radical environmentalists made the ridiculous claim that hatchery salmon are different than wild salmon. They tried to make it stick by pursuing lawsuits under the Endangered Species Act. They lost. Now, they and their allies in the media are crying the blues. Poor babies. The enviros' concept that a hatchery fish of the same species is biologically, or culturally, different than the wild fish that provided the eggs and sperm for the hatchery fish hatchling...has always been asinine. Asinine?...yes. Expensive?...very. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured down the proverbial rat-hole as a result of lawsuits brought by the wild fish gang.... Tribe rejects funds, upset with UA An Apache tribe has declined money offered by the UA in an attempt to show the UA its disapproval of the Mount Graham telescopes. Last month, the San Carlos Apache Tribal Council rejected the "Northern Tribes Initiative" proposed by the UA, the University of Minnesota and the University of Virginia, which are the university's Mount Graham Observatory partners. UA law professors Robert Williams and Robert Hershey-Lear, and Indian Law Clinic Coordinator Don Nichols presented the initiative, which offered the San Carlos Tribe $120,000 for developmental programs such as educational outreach, agricultural improvement, summer camps and a cultural advisory process.... Developers decry cost of saving mouse The news that the Preble's meadow jumping mouse's place on the threatened-species list is in question delighted developers, but they also lamented that tens of millions of dollars already have been devoted by developers, builders and taxpayers to protect the animal. "It is amazing the cost spent to deal with this issue, with everything from highway construction to houses, and it was all based on junk science," said Bob Moody, executive director of the local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, a trade group for developers.... Secrecy shrouds last known crop of star cactus Here, in the nation's poorest county - where the illegal smuggling of people and drugs across the Mexican border is common - the world's supply of wild star cactus grows. There are only 2,000 or so of the pin cushion-like plants in the wild, nearly all in the county coincidentally named Starr. Although they grow readily in nurseries, cactiphiles around the world will pay $1,000 or more for the cachet of owning one that is grown in the wild, said Dan Bach, owner of the Bach Cactus Nursery in Tucson, Ariz.... Bear-scaring dogs used in state for first time State Fish and Wildlife officers used a team of specially trained dogs Friday to chase away a bear released in a southeast King County park. It was the first time that Karelian bear dogs had been used in Washington state. The dogs, a breed from Finland, are trained to bark ferociously and chase and run after bears as a way of teaching them they're not welcome in campgrounds, backyards and other places where people want to be without ursine companions.... Parasite Affects Trout in Yellowstone A parasite that causes trout to swim in circles has prompted Yellowstone National Park to prohibit fishing in a drainage that empties into Yellowstone Lake. The angling season for the Pelican Creek drainage, a 50-square-mile area on the north end of Yellowstone Lake, was scheduled to begin May 29. It is unknown when fishing might resume in the drainage, Chief Fisheries Biologist Todd Koel said Wednesday. Not that anglers would have much luck, anyway. Because of whirling disease, few fish are left in the creek.... Bill gives Natives more say on fish and wildlife Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, has proposed legislation that would tell federal land managers they must enter agreements with tribes or other Alaska Native organizations to co-manage fish and wildlife and to administer agency programs that affect fish and wildlife. At a Senate Indian Affairs committee hearing Thursday, tribal representatives from Alaska and elsewhere praised Inouye, the ranking Democrat on the committee, for introducing the Native American Fish and Wildlife Resources Management Act of 2004. The senator said his bill is not intended to expand or diminish the powers of tribes, but rather to recognize their status as separate governments that deserve a voice in fish and wildlife management decisions.... Inouye's bill is S. 2301. To see the bill, go here and type in the bill number.... Anxious wildlife experts fear more animals will become ill, die Biologists are worried that a pipeline rupture Tuesday that poured toxic diesel fuel into San Francisco Bay's largest marsh may kill or sicken birds and other wildlife even though for now the death toll is small. The spill of some 60,000 gallons has contaminated 20 to 25 acres of the 55,000-acre Suisun Marsh, a spot on the Pacific Flyway for 1.5 million ducks and geese that either live there or stop over during migrations to Alaska or the Great Plains.... Column: Art leaves a positive stamp on the Earth In the movie Fargo, the police officer's husband was an enthusiastic wildlife painter whose goal was to win recognition in an annual stamp contest. But a similar contest — and the art — make for far more than quirky Cohn brothers film fodder. In fact, the law that established the tradition is now being celebrated for its 70th year of promoting effective wetlands conservation for the benefit of waterfowl and other migratory birds.... Yellowstone wolves kill calf staked out in front of house A young calf on the edge of Yellowstone National Park has been killed by wolves. The dead animal was 3 to 4 weeks old, said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The calf had been put out, alone and at night, in an area famous for abundant predators. Its owner discovered the kill at 4 a.m. Thursday, Bangs said Friday. "The calf was dead and wolves were on it," Bangs said. The owner had the calf "staked out on a picket about 100 yards from the house.".... Column: Wolves may be the education of us Carter Niemeyer raises a gun to his shoulder and squeezes the trigger. An instant later, a rubber bullet bounces off a cardboard target. Niemeyer, Idaho's coordinator for wolf recovery, is demonstrating non-lethal means of stopping wolves from preying on livestock. His audience is 200 Westerners at a meeting of the North American Interagency Wolf Conference. "Does it work if you don't hit the wolf?" asks a woman.... Unique pronghorn are a sight to behold One reason they're so special is they are only found in North America. For evolutionists, the pronghorn is the sole surviving member of the family Antilocapridae that evolved during the Miocene Epoch 23.8 million years ago. Although biologists named it Antilocapra Americana which means "American antelope-goat," it is not an antelope like the African oryx or impala, nor is it a goat. In fact, scientists believe it might be a distant relative of the deer family. Writer Joe Eaton said the pronghorn evolved in the North American savannas during the Miocene Epoch.... Park services battle wild hogs in mountains Among the hollows and ridges of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, out of sight of 9 million visitors a year, the team stalks its prey with silencer-equipped rifles, night-vision goggles, infrared cameras and special clothes that absorb their scent. Most tourists will never encounter the combatants in this half-million acres of wilderness straddling the North Carolina-Tennessee border. The goal of the human hunters is to snuff out wild hogs, a non-native species that vacuums up native plants, nuts and other animals.... Deal may save Luke The threat of residential encroachment on Luke Air Force Base could be virtually eliminated if two real estate groups pull off major land trades around the base and its Auxiliary Airfield 1. The groups' plans hinge on obtaining private land in high-noise zones and trading it for some federal Bureau of Land Management property. The groups could then reap profits by developing those BLM tracts.... Board members sought for burro, wild horse board The Bureau of Land Management is seeking nominations to fill three vacancies on the national Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. The categories are burro advocacy, veterinary medicine and public-at-large.... New federal ozone standard prompts state action A state plan to reduce summer ozone pollution along the Front Range to within federal limits has received unanimous support of both the state Senate and House, health officials said. Gov. Bill Owens is expected to sign the plan, which is designed to reduce ozone levels to meet a tough, new federal standard by 2007, a top aide said. Most of the gains will come from controls on the natural-gas industry - particularly so-called flash emissions of volatile chemicals from tanks that store liquid byproducts of gas wells.... Search warrants in SUV arson case unsealed Investigators discovered hair fibers at the scene of last summer's SUV arson spree that they hoped to link to hair provided by jailed Caltech graduate student Bill Cottrell, according to search warrants unsealed Friday. A federal judge ordered the release of 48 search warrants connected to the investigation of the arsons -- an act claimed by the Earth Liberation Front --revealing new details of the arrests of Cottrell and of Pomona activist Josh Connole.... Bill Backs Energy Dept. in Atomic-Waste Battle A Senate committee is preparing to take up an Energy Department proposal that would leave millions of gallons of highly radioactive sludge in underground tanks in three states. The legislation, which Senate aides say has wide support, is an effort to overturn a federal judge's ruling last year that the department's plan violates a law governing radioactive waste. At issue in the debate, to be taken up by the Senate Armed Services Committee next week, are hundreds of underground tanks at three nuclear-bomb-making plants, in South Carolina, Idaho and Washington State.... Developer may get jail time after wetlands battle John A. Rapanos has spent more than $1 million on attorneys, consultants and fines while tussling with regulators for some 15 years over accusations of illegal wetland destruction. Now the Midland subdivision developer appears headed for prison in a case highlighting the nationwide debate over the extent of government power to protect privately owned wetlands.... Hollywood Action Movie Held Up by Aussie Greens An Australian state government is appealing a court decision barring a U.S. company from filming scenes for a Hollywood action movie in a protected wilderness area, following complaints from environmentalists. New South Wales premier Bob Carr said Thursday's court ruling sent the worst possible message at a time when Australia was marketing itself as a premier location for filmmakers. He said if the court decision was not overturned on appeal next week, he would introduce special legislation to parliament to overturn the ruling.... Water crisis as Mexico City sinks faster than Venice Mexico City's underlying aquifer is now collapsing at a staggering rate beneath the streets. While Venice slips into the Adriatic at a fraction of an inch each year, Mexico City is lurching downwards by as much as a foot a year in some areas. Over the past century, it has dropped 30ft. Chugging the equivalent of one Olympic-sized swimming pool full of water every minute, the city's strained aquifers are dragging much of the capital's rich heritage down with them, while the 20 million residents face problems that include water-borne diseases, power outages and the threat of riots.... Water study: No easy fix For the past 11 months, the state has been collecting data in each of Colorado's eight major river basins, looking at how much water each basin has available, how much demand is likely to grow by 2030 and how that new thirst can be quenched. The study, whose final results will be published in November, is being watched closely in part because it is the first time a statewide analysis of each river basin has been conducted. It also comes at a time when the drought and population growth have strained existing supplies and jump-started a massive effort by Colorado's urban areas to find new water sources. But even as the study moves forward, there is deep skepticism statewide of the entire process.... Remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Martin of Canada in a Press Availability Q Mr. President, you're a rancher. Is there any hope -- what hope can you offer your fellow ranchers in Canada about when the border might be open to live Canadian cattle? PRESIDENT BUSH: As soon as possible. My administration is committed to a policy of free trade when it comes to beef. And we had a discussion about that today with -- that subject today, with our respective agricultural ministers -- or secretaries, as we call them here. And I assured the Prime Minister, I want to get this solution -- this issue solved as quickly as possible. And it's in our nations' interests that live beef be moving back and forth. It's also in the interest to make sure we make decisions based upon sound science, which he fully understands.... Statement by R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard on President Bush's Meeting Today With Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin We know how difficult this issue is for the two nations and for the ranchers in Canada, but the safety of the U.S. food supply and the health of American consumers must be the paramount concern for the U.S. government. We are calling on President Bush not to relax the safety standards that protect U.S. consumers and the U.S. cattle herd against mad cow disease.... Cattle industry takes heart from offer by Bush With more than $1-billion in losses to the mad-cow crisis, and a summer of potential drought on the horizon, Alberta's cattle industry was looking for action yesterday. What it got was encouraging words. An offer of help from U.S. President George W. Bush to reopen the border was praised by Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and many cattle producers. But they warned that they will need much more to get through the coming months.... Judge's ruling causes beef trade confusion Confusion over a Montana judge's ruling on Canadian beef has severely limited shipments to the United States and blocked exports to Mexico, ranchers say. "Nothing is crossing (the U.S.) to Mexico and virtually nothing was allowed into the United States (Thursday)," said Ted Haney, president of the Canada Beef Export Federation. "If trade in beef trimmings is not re-established quickly, we are facing a new crisis in our industry." Haney said much hangs on an expected clarification of U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull's order earlier in the week in Billings restraining the U.S. Department of Agriculture from expanding beef imports from Canada. The judge's ruling led to different interpretations by two branches of the department, Haney said.... Rodeo star’s story crosses into film A documentary on rodeo entertainer John Payne will be one of the films shown today during the Desert Reel Film Festival in Odessa. Payne, known in the rodeo industry as The One Arm Bandit, trains horses and bulls to climb to the top of his horse trailer and bow to the audience. He has been named the Specialty Act of the Year eight years by the pro Rodeo Cowboys Assocation. The documentary, “Cowboy Up! John Payne, The One Arm Bandit,” is scheduled to be shown at 1:15 p.m. today at the Ector Theater, 500 N. Texas Ave. Officials with GoodFight Productions said this is a one-time West Texas showing.... Hand-Tooled for the Texas Elite, These Boots Were Made in Stir Who shod the sheriff? A good guess would be Arnold Darby, bootmaker to the stars, or at least to the men and women who wear the stars. Mr. Darby makes cowboy boots to order for some of the elitest feet of Texas: F.B.I. agents, police officers and state senators and representatives. He makes them for criminal justice officials, the governor's aides and other state employees. He makes them with personalized stitching and initialing and patriotic images, and sells them at hard-to-beat prices: as low as $120 a pair. (Sorry, no out-of-state orders.) What's more, he makes them from behind the grim red turrets and barbed wire of Texas' oldest prison, the Walls Unit, home of the death house, in East Texas some 65 miles north of Houston....