NEWS ROUNDUP

Firefighter dies battling blaze in Osceola National Forest A Forest Service firefighter died while battling a blaze in the Osceola National Forest, officials said. Randy Henderson, a 42-year-old husband and father of two teenage girls, collapsed on the fire line Thursday during the initial response to the fire. The exact cause of death was unknown, Forest Service spokeswoman Denise Rains said.... Sheriff's report defends firestorm response In an exhaustive report released Friday, the Sheriff's Department details – and defends – its response to last fall's wildfires, an epic disaster that left the agency facing criticism from some victims. The blazes spawned a "series of events" that challenged the department "at a level incomparable to any in its 154-year history," according to the in-house analysis. The document provides a timeline of the department's reactions to the Cedar, Paradise and Otay fires, which collectively killed 16 people and leveled more than 3,200 structures in the San Diego region.... Sign-poster angered by elk calving closure Two popular hiking and biking trails south of Eagle-Vail -Stone and Whiskey creeks - have been closed for the next six weeks by the U.S. Forest Service because elk are calving in the area. But that's not sitting well with some users of the trails. They anonymously covered the Stone Creek trail closure posted by the Forest Service with a sign telling users to call or petition to have the trails open. So far the Forest Service switchboard in Minturn has received 20 calls. Problem is, regardless of the number of calls, the trails aren't going to be opened until June 30, when the elk are done calving and leave the area, Forest Service officials said.... Hiker shoots alleged attacker on remote trail A confrontation between a hiker and another man at a trailhead off Highway 87 near the Highway 260 turn off, left one man dead Tuesday evening. Coconino County Sheriff's Det. Scott Feagan said he cannot release specific details on the incident because of the ongoing investigation and deputies are still trying to notify next of kin. According to Feagan, a hiker coming out at the Pine Canyon trailhead, came across another man with two dogs. "It appears that a hiker and an individual came across each other," Feagan said. "The accusation by the hiker is that he was attacked by the individual and his two dogs.".... Environmental group challenges Forest Service job inventories An environmental advocacy group has renewed its push to discredit competitive sourcing efforts at the Forest Service by advancing a lawsuit claiming the agency has inconsistent standards for compiling lists of jobs eligible for outsourcing. In a brief filed late last month and pending before the U.S. District Court in Missoula, Mont., Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, a nonprofit group based in Eugene, Ore., argued that the Forest Service has a fragmented system for designating jobs as commercial or inherently governmental on 1998 Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act lists.... Panel presses administration to hire 3,000 temporary firefighters The House Appropriations Committee asked the Bush administration Friday to immediately reprogram $54 million in existing Forest Service funds to hire 3,000 temporary firefighters. "If these workers are not hired immediately, it is likely that your capability for initial attack on wildfires will be severely hindered," wrote Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Charles Taylor, R-N.C., and ranking member Norman Dicks, D-Wash., in a letter today to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Office of Management and Budget Director Josh Bolten. "Based on your own data, if even just a few fires escape initial attack and become large, there is an exponential increase in fire fighting suppression costs.".... Endangered Owl Now Threatened by Rival Species The northern spotted owl, whose protection under the Endangered Species Act since 1990 helped push logging of federal lands to near collapse, is faring worse now than it was five years ago, a new assessment has found. Spotted owl numbers have fallen by roughly half over the past decade in parts of Washington and Oregon's Warm Springs Reservation, and they have dwindled by nearly a quarter in sections of Oregon's Coast and Cascade ranges. In only a few areas are the owls holding their own. There are signs that a proliferation of barred owls may in places have become a greater factor in the spotted owl's demise than habitat destruction from logging. Barred owls are larger and more aggressive, pushing the spotted owls from their nesting areas.... Spotted Owl Groups Defined with Genetics New U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science reaffirms, with strong genetic evidence, that the northern spotted owl is a separate subspecies from California and Mexican spotted owls. The same study also found no significant genetic differences between Mexican and California spotted owls. The study also confirms a zone of mixing between northern and California spotted owls in the Klamath region of southern Oregon, indicating a more northerly presence of California spotted owls than previously thought. Researchers found no evidence, however, for the presence of northern spotted owls in the traditional range of the California spotted owl.... Forest Service, Renzi get firefighting aircraft Some federal lawmakers said Thursday they'll try to get air tankers grounded by federal officials back in the air to fight wildfires. But others worked with the U.S. Forest Service to get fleets of smaller, replacement aircraft assigned to their districts. U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, who represents Flagstaff, announced in a press release that "through cooperation with Forest Service officials," he secured a package of aircraft for northern Arizona. The replacements include four single-engine air tankers akin to crop dusters, two type II helicopters, two type I heavy-lift helicopters and one Army C-130 Hercules Tanker. The press release didn't say where the aircraft were coming from.... Alignment of mineral rights and surface ownership sought Senator Tony Stamas (R-Midland) along with Senator Bruce Patterson (R-Canton) and Senator Jim Barcia (D-Bay City) recently introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 35 which asks the Congress of the United States and the federal government to work with Michigan officials to align the ownership of mineral rights and surface rights on state and federal lands in Michigan and to express our intent to take actions to achieve this goal. It goes on to state that approximately 20 percent of Michigan land is owned by either the state or federal government and when the mineral rights are not owned by the same governmental body as the surface it "is cause for considerable litigation and frustration in Michigan. This frustration is felt by citizen groups, energy companies, local units of government and all consumers of gas and oil.".... 2002 report detailed air tanker danger Long before the nation's entire fleet of 33 large air tankers was grounded this week, experts warned that the aerial-firefighting system was being run on the cheap and would continue killing pilots in excessive and predictable numbers. Calling the annual death count deplorable, a blue-ribbon panel told the U.S. Forest Service nearly 1½ years ago that from 1958 to 2002, 136 aircrew members were killed - an average of three a year. "If ground firefighters had the same fatality rate, they would have suffered more than 200 on-the-job deaths per year," the panel wrote. "When 14 firefighters were killed in the 1994 Storm King Mountain tragedy, the incident triggered massive changes in ground firefighting strategies and practices to improve safety. "There has been no comparable government response to aerial firefighting fatalities.".... Forest officials say no to ski area After seven months of study, the U.S. Forest Service has concluded that the 54-year-old lodge atop Berthoud Pass needs to be demolished by the end of September and that another ski operation on the slopes will not be considered, officials said Thursday. The final assessment is to be released today.... Stocks of wild salmon retain legal protection In a reversal of expectations, the Bush administration handed conservationists a big victory yesterday by declaring its intention to continue to protect wild salmon under the Endangered Species Act. Development interests labeled the decision "ridiculous," saying that there are plenty of salmon produced in hatcheries, that hatchery salmon are just as good as wild salmon and that none of them needs legal protection. Environmentalists, though, have long crusaded to protect dwindling stocks of wild salmon, citing scientists' statements that hatchery-bred fish are not as fit genetically as their wild counterparts.... LETTER FROM NOAA ADMINISTRATOR CONRAD C. LAUTENBACHER CONCERNING PROPOSALS TO RENEW LISTINGS OF NORTHWEST SALMON AND PROPOSED HATCHERY POLICY CHANGES NOAA will shortly propose a renewed set of listings of salmon populations under ESA. Since 1991, the federal government has listed 26 species of salmon and steelhead in the Northwest and California for protection under ESA. In a lawsuit that followed these listings, a federal judge set aside the listing of Oregon Coast Coho salmon because NOAA failed to include closely-related hatchery fish in the listing decision. Since the same flaw was present in almost all of the other listing decisions, NOAA voluntarily agreed to reconsider all of our earlier listing decisions and to adjust our policy for considering hatchery fish in making those decisions – and NOAA will be asking the public to comment on both. NOAA’s decisions are driven by the science, which suggests benefits, risks, and uncertainties regarding salmon hatcheries. Simply put, some well-managed conservation hatcheries are fostering recovery of species, some hatcheries are having little or no effect, and some hatcheries potentially hinder recovery. After re-evaluating the listing of 26 species of salmon and steelhead, and considering the science on hatcheries, we have preliminarily determined to propose relisting at least 25 of the 26 species, with evaluation of the remaining species still underway. A final proposal will be completed in the next two weeks and the new hatchery policy will be only one factor for the evaluation still under way.... NYT Editorial: Saving Wild Salmon One of the great virtues of the Endangered Species Act — and the main reason for the bitter opposition the act has engendered over the years — is that in the interests of saving species, it requires the protection of the habitats where the species live. That usually means constraining human behavior in ways that help preserve a healthier environment all around. Humans themselves often come to appreciate that intervention, though not always. In the case of wild salmon, for instance, commercial interests have long resented the restrictions on logging, farming and development necessary to protect the fragile watersheds where salmon spawn. The Bush administration has now found a novel way around these inconveniences: a new policy on counting fish. Its practical effect would be to eliminate the distinction between wild salmon and hatchery salmon, which can be churned out by the millions. This sleight of hand would instantly make wild salmon populations look healthier than they actually are, giving the government a green light to lift legal protections for more than two dozen endangered salmon species as well as the restrictions on commerce that developers and other members of President Bush's constituency find so annoying.... Judge voices doubts about Bush administration commitment to salmon A federal judge has voiced strong doubts about the government's financial commitment to protecting threatened salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers from hydroelectric dams. Noting a lack of money secured for habitat restoration and other measures to make up for salmon killed or injured by dams, U.S. District Judge James Redden on Thursday gave the Bush administration six more months to revise its blueprint for salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin.... Committe wrestles with wolf numbers Hunted into extinction by 1946, wolves are about to be reintroduced in Oregon. But faced with a population of zero, officials are struggling with how many breeding pairs should determine whether the wolf gets lifted off the state's endangered species rolls. In the Rocky Mountains, a count of 10 breeding pairs or less secures the wolf's status as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Once the gray wolves migrate into Oregon, just how many breeding pairs is enough remains a hotly debated question.... Gov. Martz urges caution in considering Canadian mine Gov. Judy Martz has urged Canadian officials to use caution as they consider a proposed mine and a coal-bed methane project that some say could harm water quality in Montana. In letters Thursday to British Columbia's premier and an international commission, Martz expressed her concern about a possible coal mine just north of Glacier National Park, and about possible extraction of coal-bed methane in southern British Columbia. Martz asked the International Joint Commission, which governs waterways flowing between the United States and Canada, to assess cumulative effects on water quality and water use. Her letter to Premier Gordon Campbell informed him of that request, and asked that British Columbia not approve permits until the commission findings are released.... Guinn meets with delegation to discuss wild horse problem Gov. Kenny Guinn is nominating Starr Valley veterinarian Boyd Spratling to be appointed to a national committee to address the wild horse overpopulation problems plaguing Nevada and other Western states. Elko County Commission Chairman Mike Nannini, Commissioner John Ellison and Assemblyman John Carpenter, R-Elko, met with the governor Wednesday morning in Carson City to discuss the wild horse issues threatening grazing allocations in Elko County.... Motion filed to return Mt. Emmons property to public Lawyers representing High Country Citizens Alliance, the Town of Crested Butte and Gunnison County have filed a motion in Denver district court for a preliminary injunction against the Bureau of Land Management’s April 2 decision to award a mining claim on Mt. Emmons to a multinational mining company. Their goal in seeking the preliminary injunction is to return the 155-acre Mt. Emmons property, already the subject of several lawsuits, to public ownership until litigation challenging the mining claim awarded to Phelps Dodge Corporation is settled, Flynn said.... Gov't Oil, Gas Leases Spark Rockies Battle The sage-covered hills near Mount Sopris are home to deer, elk, bears and cattle - and soon could be in the hands of an energy company. The Bureau of Land Management auctioned 70 parcels for oil and gas leasing this week, including national forest in western Colorado that is used by ranchers, cross-country skiers, hikers and hunters. The lease sale covering nearly 72,000 acres generated $6.6 million for the government. But it has also led to clashes between conservation groups and companies trying to tap the region's abundant resources as the Bush administration places increased emphasis on domestic fuel production.... Editorial: Noble end in sight It has been a worthy struggle, a struggle that has lasted nearly 90 years. And it's within the power of Congress to bring it to a noble end by returning 16,000 acres of land that were wrongly taken from the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Congress should do so. It must remedy an injustice against these tribes - Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi and Navajo. There is no dispute that these ancestral lands once were part of the reservation, established in 1865 and later modified in 1876. There also is no dispute that when the tribes refused to lease these lands to a private mining company, President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order in 1915 to strip the lands out of the reservation without compensation. And even the Department of Interior, which manages these federal lands, has advocated that they be returned to the tribes.... Martz says healthy forest work highlight of her administration She referred to the voluminous amount of work that went into planning for timber salvage on the Bitterroot National Forest after the 2000 fire season. That planning cost $1 million, she said, but only a small fraction of usable wood was salvaged from burned areas on federal forests. "The waste that stands out there, and we can't get on federal lands, is criminal," she said. Because of general obstructionism and red tape, "it's easier to let it all rot. That has to change," she said. "It is just criminal.".... Cut red-tape for logging plans, Schwarzenegger says Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to make it easier for timber companies to get approval for logging plans in exchange for a $10 million increase in logging fees. In exchange for imposing the higher fees, the state should cut its "overly burdensome" bureaucratic reviews of logging plans, mimicking the one- or two-page applications and brief one-stop reviews required by neighboring Oregon, the Republican governor said in his revised budget plan Thursday. California requires that detailed timber harvest plans be prepared by licensed foresters and other professionals. The typical plan runs 100 to 500 pages, costs $42,954, and waits 65 days for state approval - a delay that climbs to an average 85 days for logging plans along the environmentally sensitive northern coast.... Group calls for reform of mining law Hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land in Montana have been transferred to private companies or individuals through the workings of a 132-year-old mining law, according to a new study from the Environmental Working Group. About 400,000 acres have been sold for a maximum of $5 an acre, the group found. Another 246,000 acres have been claimed as mining land, which gives the claim holders "control" of the land, but not ownership. In 12 Western states, 5.6 million acres have been transferred to private ownership, according to EWG, which culled the information from a federal database.... Questions swim around Tribes' fish claims A $1 billion lawsuit filed against PacifiCorp by Native Americans left lingering questions in the Klamath Basin this week. Who really filed the claims? And who could be next to have a claim filed against them? The "Klamath Tribes of Oregon" were listed first among several plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland. But the Chiloquin-based Tribes have made no announcement about the suit, and reports have circulated that the tribal government does not support the claim.... Nez Perce water deal unveiled today Details of a water agreement reached in April by the Nez Perce Tribe, the state of Idaho, the federal government and irrigators will be announced today in Boise. Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne are among the dignitaries who will outline the deal that still needs approval by Congress, the Legislature and tribal leaders by March 31, 2005, to be made final. The agreement will be announced at noon at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival amphitheater. Under the agreement, the tribe waives a portion of its water rights claims for a package of protections for salmon, benefits for the tribe and other actions by the state and federal government, according to earlier court appearances.... Cattlemen hope new brand board eases tension Gov. Mike Rounds announced Friday that he has appointed four new members to the South Dakota Brand Board, clearing the way for negotiations to resume with the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association on a new livestock brand inspection contract. Although the governor didn't pick any Stockgrowers Association nominees for the board, Stockgrowers President Ken Knuppe said he hoped to work with the new board to reach a contract agreement.... No mad cow tests at Texas firm in 2004 The U.S. Department of Agriculture did not test any cows for mad cow disease in the past seven months at the same Texas facility where federal testing policies for the deadly disorder were violated last month, United Press International has learned. The USDA also failed to test a single cow in 2002 at another Texas slaughterhouse that processes high-risk, downer cows, according to agency testing records obtained by UPI under the Freedom of Information Act. Downer cows are unable to stand or walk, which can be an indication of mad cow disease, as well as other disorders. USDA spokesman Jim Rogers told UPI the agency has not conducted any mad cow tests at Lone Star Beef Processors, in San Angelo, Texas, this fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, 2003.... No borrowed car for this prom couple, they got a tractor Tyler Webster didn't want to take his prom date in the family car or any old rental. Webster and Becky Krusey cruised to West Middlesex High School's prom in a brand new, shiny red Massey Ferguson tractor he borrowed from his boss at farming implement dealership.... Honoring women of the Wild West The old cowboy movies celebrated some of the more colorful characters of the Wild West, but they also left out a few of the era's most fascinating figures. Hollywood never did get around to portraying the likes of Big Nose Kate, Aunt Clara Brown and Stagecoach Mary Fields. Old Cowtown Museum and the Wichita River Festival hope to rectify that oversight with Women of the West Fest, two days devoted to the distaff half of the West's pioneers.... WATER WARS To pioneer Idaho farmers, nothing was more precious than water to irrigate their fields. Without it, nothing would grow in southern Idaho’s desert lands. To defend his right to his fair share of the water, many a man armed himself and was prepared to fight for it. His livelihood and that of his family was at stake. Disputes over water sometimes led to violence, and occasionally even to murder. On Squaw Creek in May 1884, wealthy rancher Fred Huffman was shot and killed by A.G. Mason in a quarrel over water from a ditch the two shared. Following the shooting, Mason went to Idaho City, the county seat, to surrender and to plead self-defense. In Shoshone in 1889 two ranchers also had an altercation over water rights. Jack Campbell, county sheriff, arrested both men, thinking this would cool things down, and put them in a jail cell. When he returned a short time later he found that one of them had killed the other—a tragedy that certainly could have been prevented had he put them in separate cells.... Homesteader, miner embodied local color Historians have desert resident and homesteader Bill Keys being born in 1879 in two places. Some say he was born in Russia, and others say Nebraska. His name at birth was George Barth. The name change started when he was 19 and signing up with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. He gave his name as Bill Key. But the cavalry regiment had to do without his services after he fell ill and was hospitalized. Bill Keys started life in Russia or Nebraska, depending on which account you hear. After he recuperated, he headed west and took employment as a miner, cattleman and sheriff's deputy in the Arizona Territory. In 1906, he was in the area of Death Valley. That's where a prank got out of hand....