NEWS ROUNDUP

Law enforcement dogs a vital force in the Forest Service Had the suspect surrendered fast enough, the dog could have been stopped in his tracks by a single-word command. However, after a short struggle, the now subdued assailant raises his hands and United States Forest Service officer Kayla Jaquith calls her dog off. Quick, the plush-haired German shepherd K-9, lets go of his prey and makes a wide circle around the suspect. Quick keeps his dark brown eyes on the suspect and anyone else near the scene, all the while alert for other potential dangers.... Battle Over Rock Rights For a number of extreme athletes, Cave Rock is considered an ideal place to test themselves, but for the Washo Tribe of California and Nevada near Lake Tahoe the area is among the group's most sacred places and they don't want it desecrated by rock climbers. "All we're asking for is some consideration of our history and interest in things we love and want to take care of and pass on to our children," said Brian Wallace, Washo Tribal chairman. In 1999, the Forest Service limited recreational climbing at Cave Rock and prohibited placement of any additional climbing irons to protect the site. But climbers call the site one of the country's premier climbing spots and said the land should be free for everyone's use.... USFS seeks Hispanic workers Just weeks before fire season, 500 U.S. Forest Service firefighter positions in California sit vacant as the regional office supervising the state's national forests continues its hiring freeze and prepares to hold urban job fairs aimed at Hispanic job seekers. The freeze began April 5, the same day Regional Forester Jack Blackwell received a harsh letter detailing the Forest Service's "severe lack of progress" in boosting the number of Hispanics in its ranks.... Four lynx hit the wild In a high mountain meadow ringed by spruce and an occasional aspen north of Pagosa Springs, four lynx set foot in the wilds for the first time Sunday since they were trapped in Canada several months ago. The lynx - a pair of 5-year-old males from British Columbia and 1- and 4-year-old females from Quebec - are among 37 lynx scheduled to be released in Colorado this spring. The species, found in most high Colorado forests in the late 1800s, was last seen in state in the 1970s.... BLM aims to replant weed-infested rangeland The Bureau of Land Management hopes to replant 25 million acres of public rangeland infested with cheatgrass, a non-native, invasive weed that is altering the range´s natural fire cycle and damaging wildlife habitat. As part of the Great Basin Restoration Initiative, the BLM is working with the U.S. Forest Service´s Rocky Mountain Research Station in Boise to propagate native seeds that have largely been unavailable for range rehabilitation.... Officials hail U.S. Supreme Court's refusal as victory for downstream states The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal on the management of the Missouri River is a victory for downstream states that could affect the way the battle progresses from here, Nebraska officials said. On Monday, the high court refused to intervene on a 2003 decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to abide by the 1944 Flood Control Act. The ruling directed the corps to maintain levels high enough downstream for navigation and give lower priority to recreation and fish and wildlife. Montana and the Dakotas appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, opposing the corps' release of water from their reservoirs to provide relief for down-river barge traffic from Sioux City, Iowa, to St. Louis.... Officials say predator control program boosts waterfowl nesting success The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this year is continuing a predator trapping program aimed at boosting waterfowl nesting success. Ten 23,000-acre sites in North Dakota are being managed for predators this year. The effort that involves removing such animals as skunks, raccoons and fox has doubled and in some cases tripled or even quadrupled nesting success in some areas in the past, said Roger Hollevoet, a Fish and Wildlife spokesman in Devils Lake.... Interior official defends wilderness policy Scarlett pointed to steps that the Interior Department has taken to implement Secretary Gale Norton's land-use policy, which Scarlett touted as a tool that enables the Bureau of Land Management to negotiate land disputes at the local level as opposed to dictating solutions. The policy reaffirms that only Congress can create a wilderness area, but the BLM can inventory areas for wilderness qualities. It grew out of a lawsuit settlement in April 2003 between the Bush administration and former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt in which Norton agreed to rescind orders from the Clinton administration that gave interim wilderness or similar protections to about 6 million acres of BLM holdings.... Judge upholds establishment of Grand Staircase monument A federal judge on Monday affirmed President Clinton's establishment of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, rejecting claims that the president had overstepped his bounds. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson dismissed a 1997 lawsuit brought by an association of Utah counties that claimed the president had violated provisions of the 1906 Antiquities Act in creating the monument in southern Utah.... Environment lags in poll of concerns Green seems to be fading: Gallup's annual Earth Day poll has found that the environment is near the bottom of the nation's concerns, outranking only worries about race relations. Thirty-five percent of Americans fret over the quality of the environment, according to the poll of 1,005 randomly selected adults conducted March 8-11 and released yesterday. It is "not a pressing concern," said Gallup Organization analyst Lydia Saad. The poll has a margin of error of three percentage points.... Interior secretary calls for blueprint for protecting Lake Mead More money and planning are needed to protect the water, recreation and environmental benefits Lake Mead provides to southern Nevada and the surrounding region, federal and local officials said Monday. Interior Secretary Gale Norton toured the shrinking Colorado River reservoir east of fast-growing Las Vegas and said the area needs a blueprint to balance tourism, nature and growth.... The Tragedy Of Tar Creek To get a better view of the situation, John Sparkman guns his flame-red truck up a massive pile of gravel. From the summit, a lifeless brown wasteland stretches to the horizon, like a scene from a science-fiction movie. Mountains of mine tailings, some as tall as 13-story buildings, others as wide as four football fields, loom over streets, homes, churches and schools. Dust, laced with lead, cadmium and other poisonous metals, blows off the man-made hills and 800 acres of dry settling ponds. "It gets in your teeth," says Sparkman, head of a local citizens' group. "It cakes in your ears and hair. It's like we've been environmentally raped.".... Rodeo bulls may have illegally crossed border Two federal agencies and the Montana Department of Livestock are looking into why bulls that had been on the roster at a rodeo in Taber, Alberta, on May 23, 2003, appeared later that summer at events in Montana and other states, including rodeos held July 11 in Butte and July 24 in Helena. The animals are quarantined at Greg Kesler's Helena-area ranch. Kesler operates a rodeo stock supply business with his brother, Duane Kesler, of McGrath, Alberta.... Sunnyside farmer rebuilds herd after mad cow disease A Sunnyside cattleman whose herd of calves was slaughtered following the discovery of mad cow disease in Washington state has begun to rebuild his herd. In January, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials loaded up Sergio Madrigal's 449 calves and hauled them away to slaughter. One calf in the herd was believed to have been an offspring of a Mabton dairy cow that was identified with mad cow disease on Dec. 23.... Mad cow testing issue divides cattle industry If government regulators allow Creekstone Farms Premium Beef to test all its cattle for mad cow disease, it would start a "domino effect" resulting in other countries and domestic consumers insisting on 100 percent testing, a competitor said Monday. Steve Hunt, chief executive officer of Kansas City-based U.S. Premium Beef, said that the cost to the industry would be nearly $1 billion a year - a cost that the industry cannot expect consumers to cover.... EPA threatens to snuff prairie fires In the Flint Hills, burning pastures is an essential rite of spring that assures fresh grass for fattening cattle. But now state health officials want ranchers to restrict the time-honored practice, saying it contributes to Kansas City air pollution. Those who depend on the grazing lushness brought by the annual burns say they can't understand the fuss being raised by the bureaucrats.... NCBA blasts Creekstone mad cow testing plan Jan Lyons, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), said any private industry steps to conduct 100 percent testing "can disrupt negotiations that are ongoing right now with Japan." USDA and NCBA have argued that Japan's demand for testing all 35 million cattle slaughtered each year in the United States is not necessary as most cattle are under 30-months and not old enough to be affected by the disease.... USDA Says Won't Pay Whole Cost of Animal ID System The U.S. government may pay about one-third the estimated $550 million cost to set up an animal identification system, an Agriculture Department official said on Monday, providing the first outline of the Bush administration's financial commitment to the program. Chief economist Keith Collins also said he believed USDA was close to gaining White House approval to dip into emergency funding so it can launch the nationwide ID plan this year.... FDA may significantly widen mad cow proposal The Food and Drug Administration said on Monday that its proposed regulations to prevent mad cow disease in the U.S. food and animal feed supply could be widened significantly from what was initially announced three months ago. Sundlof said the FDA was considering expanding its initial announcement and widening the materials banned from poultry and swine feed to include brains, spinal cord and other central nervous system tissue from cattle aged 30 months and older....