NEWS ROUNDUP

Prospects looking up for logging Ten years after the supposed end of the spotted owl wars, environmentalists are charging that two recent moves by the Bush administration undercut the pact's environmental protections. The wrangling goes on as it has for a decade, with the timber industry firing back that environmentalists stymied a key goal of the Clinton administration's 1994 Northwest Forest Plan: cutting at least some timber to rescue beleaguered logging towns. Federal officials still struggle to get more wood out of taxpayer-owned woods. But here in this town hemmed in by national forest south of Mount Rainier, something quite different is happening. Environmentalists are, in effect, walking through the forest and saying: Let's cut that tree. And that one. And that one over there, too. What happened?.... A creeping controversy In an unmarked site on the edges of this community of berry farmers, Bob Harriman puts one foot on the world's most controversial grass. It's a blanket of brilliant green — as thin as a piece of paper and as uniform as cellophane. If it sounds unnatural, that's because it is. The turf is a genetically modified version of the creeping bentgrass popular on golf course greens and fairways, and it is being tested here by Scotts Co., which hopes its creation will be resistant to a common weed-killing chemical.... Lion captured by snare in Sabino Canyon near school State wildlife biologists captured a mountain lion Friday in Sabino Canyon using a snare set near a recently killed deer, an Arizona Game and Fish Department spokesman said. The animal was captured in a wash in the canyon about a half-mile northeast of a middle school and a quarter-mile from a home. Wildlife biologists are confident the animal is the same one seen March 18 in a parking lot outside Esperero Canyon Middle School, Miles said.... Forest Vision Extends Into Hearst Tract The U.S. Forest Service is considering creating a Big Sur National Forest that could include the Hearst Ranch and Ft. Hunter Liggett, if the enormous U.S. Army base is shuttered in the Pentagon's coming round of base closures. As envisioned, the new national forest could encompass an area yet to be acquired that alone would be nearly half the size of Orange County, plus northern portions of the Los Padres National Forest. If the Forest Service were to acquire about 80,000 acres of the Hearst Ranch, as is suggested in the paper, and take over the 165,000-acre Ft. Hunter Liggett, it would add about 382 square miles to California's inventory of protected public lands.... Column: 'U.S. backs U.N. plan to control land' Ironically, the same year this policy was announced, Jesse Hardy bought 160 acres near Naples, Fla., to build his American dream. He had served 12 years in the Navy and was disabled from an injury during a helicopter jump. He built a modest home, using a generator for electricity, and began developing his dream of a wildlife area around fish ponds, which he hoped would bring enough paying visitors to meet his meager money needs. The federal government now wants Jesse's land. The government has already driven out or bought out all the other landowners in the area to expand the wilderness area in an effort to "restore" the Everglades. Jesse's land will not be affected by the restoration plan, but he will be the only resident in the area, and as long as there is a human in the area, it will not be "wild.".... Group: Stop Harvests in Blackbird Habitats Harvesting and plowing should be prohibited or at least delayed in areas where the tricolored blackbird breeds, an environmental group said Friday in asking for immediate protection for the species. The blackbird population appears to be in fine shape because thousands of the birds often flock together, said the Center for Biological Diversity. The bird looks like the red-winged blackbird, but behaves differently. California has more than 99 percent of the population, which once numbered in the millions.... Daschle says he wants prairie dogs off protected list Sen. Tom Daschle has asked federal officials not to list the black-tailed prairie dog as an endangered species. Four years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found the prairie dog deserved to be a candidate for the threatened species list. However, recent surveys have shown the prairie dog population is much larger than earlier estimates indicated, Daschle, D-S.D., said Friday in a conference call with South Dakota reporters. New surveys show prairie dogs cover about 400,000 acres in the state, he said. The numbers show the prairie dog is far from endangered, Daschle said.... EPA General Counsel Nominee has a Checkered Record Ann Klee, currently general counsel to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, has been nominated by the Bush Administration to become general counsel of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Klee is a Washington veteran with a long history representing conservative interests on environmental issues. After working as a lawyer in Washington for several years, Klee became environmental counsel to Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) in 1995. Now governor of Idaho, Kempthorne is an outspoken opponent of many federal environmental laws and programs.... A small bird that makes a big noise A small bird with a long tail threatens to wreak havoc with the plans of Colorado developers. An impending decision to list the "greater sage grouse" as an endangered species could affect millions of dollars of development plans, from ranching and farming to housing, mining and oil and gas production. The grouse population has been steadily declining over the past 20 years. Its habitat is spread over 110 millions acres in 11 states, including northwestern Colorado.... State Lands Commission Votes to Preserve Wetlands and Opposes Offshore Oil Drilling The California State Lands Commission voted today to grant the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a lease for the construction of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Project. The project will restore 880 acres of oil fields to their natural wetlands habitat and will act as a haven to fish and wildlife. The restored wetlands will also serve as a recreation site for visitors and residents of Huntington Beach, California. The Commission also voted to send a letter to President George W. Bush reiterating its position of support for a moratorium on new oil and gas development off the coast of California.... Habitat protection price tag put at $1 billion The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that protecting the habitat of an endangered crustacean and a threatened songbird will cost public and private property owners nearly $1 billion over the next 23 years. The federal agency's economic analysis, which covers six Southern California counties, was released yesterday. It is part of the process of deciding which land will be protected as "critical habitat" for the San Diego fairy shrimp and the coastal California gnatcatcher.... Former employee says tribe neglected its bison A man who works for the Three Affiliated Tribes' bison project said neglect, bad management and laziness caused the tribes' bison to die this winter. Ted Siers, 33, a five-year employee of the bison project who is on leave while he waits to be transferred to a different department, says he'd rather face retaliation from tribal authorities than let the situation continue. Siers describes a bison operation that engaged in cruel and inhumane treatment of the animals and one in which the bison were routinely underfed while the project's six employees spent most of the work day watching DVD movies and lounging. He said bison project general manager Pete Hale was rarely around, and manager Paul White Owl Sr. ran the operation in ways that caused the bison to fatally injure each other and then left them to crawl off and die.... Editorial: Uncle Sam giving away land The federal government this week sold public property worth $15.5 million for a pitiful $875. The egregious giveaway spotlights a concern looming over many Colorado towns, not just Crested Butte: For a song, Uncle Sam sells mining claims that can be turned into developments that overwhelm nearby communities. Mount Emmons towers over Crested Butte, creating the town's dramatic backdrop. This week, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management granted a mining patent (tantamount to title) to Phelps Dodge Corp., putting the popular recreation area in private hands. Under the 1872 Mining Act, the company paid about $5 an acre - in an area where a tenth of an acre on the free market fetches $100,000.... Meatpacker considers suing USDA over mad cow A small meatpacking company warned Friday it may sue the Agriculture Department to obtain permission to test every animal at its slaughterhouse for mad cow disease. Agriculture officials have refused a license request from Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, which said Japanese customers would buy its products if the company tested every animal processed at its Arkansas City, Kan., plant for the brain-wasting disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.... 10-Gallon Hats in Bavaria It's nowhere near high noon, but a tough-looking hombre in a black leather vest, black stovepipe pants and a black cowboy hat is sauntering down the dusty length of a frontier Main Street, a gun belt slung low on his hips. He strolls past the sheriff's office, the Palace Hotel and a saddled horse hitched loosely to a wooden railing, then pauses for a moment at the broad covered porch of the Black Bison Saloon. Entering, he strides up to the bar and places his order. "Ein bier, bitte." This is Pullman City, a theme park in southern Germany where more than a million visitors a year step out of 21st-century Europe into an American Wild West fantasyland of stagecoaches, gunfighters, mountain men and Indians.... Trade irritant may delay opening border to cattle There's growing concern on both sides of the border that an old trade irritant may scuttle plans to reopen the U.S. border to Canadian cattle that are over 30 months old. Cattle producers in the United States say they don't want the border open until Canada gets rid of its restrictions on American cattle. The problem is created by two livestock diseases called bluetongue and anaplasmosis. They've been wiped out in Canada, but not in the United States. They kill sheep and goats, but not cattle. However, they do cause cattle to lose weight.... Cowgirl's years of effort result in a birthday win Benjie Christian Neely is celebrating her 31st birthday today after winning $19,333 Thursday night at the National Cutting Horse Association Super Stakes. It was a moral victory for the Lyons, Ga., cowgirl who won her first title in Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum after attempting for more than a decade. The coliseum is the sport's most prominent venue, the cutting horse equivalent of Yankee Stadium. "I can't even tell you what it feels like" to win in Fort Worth, Neely said. "I almost had it in my head that I couldn't show in here. It's very intimidating to show here because it's the best competition that there is. Neely won the show's Classic non-professional division title atop a mare named Little Lacy. Another reason that Neely was ecstatic about winning was because Little Lacy was sired by her prize stallion, Little Trona.... Atop a beast, he chases treasure: a buckle To hear Michael Gaffney tell it, he's nothing special when it comes to riding 1-ton, snorting bulls hellbent for cowboy hide. "I'm a pretty common Joe who gets to do what I love to do," said Gaffney, a former world champion bull rider. Gaffney, a part-time Corrales resident, tends to understate his career achievements. Make no mistake, this is no average Joe....