NEWS ROUNDUP

Six Forest Service Workers Face Discipline The U.S. Forest Service has proposed disciplining six employees over their actions during a wildfire that killed two firefighters last year. The proposed actions range from suspension to firing, Regional Forester Jack Troyer said. He would not release the names of the Salmon-Challis National Forest employees or say how many of the workers the agency had proposed be fired. Jeff Allen, 24, and Shane Heath, 22, died in the forest July 22 after they rappelled onto a ridge to clear a helicopter landing pad. They radioed for a helicopter at least twice when the fire advanced in their direction, but when one was finally sent, the area was too smoky to find the men.... Cricket overload Natives of western Utah: Shut your windows and lock your doors. Hordes of unwanted visitors are on their way. Those pesky Mormon crickets and grasshoppers are back. Mormon crickets and grasshoppers infested 3.5 million acres of western Utah rangeland, farms and desert last year. This year the outlook is even worse. Larry Lewis, spokesman for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said he estimates grasshoppers and crickets will take over nearly 4 million acres of land this summer.... Hollywood elite lampoon President Bush at environmental fund-raiser Hollywood glitterati assembled at a benefit gala Thursday night to raise $2.6 million for environmental causes and skewer President Bush's environmental record. The Natural Resources Defense Council fund-raiser had the atmosphere of Oscar night, as stars strolled down a green carpet passed throngs of cameramen and admirers and into the Wadsworth Theater in the upscale Brentwood area. Those in attendance included Tom Hanks, Leonardo Dicaprio, Meg Ryan, Jack Black, Martin Short and Sheryl Crow, among others. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did not appear. Keynote speaker Robert Kennedy Jr., who has advised the governor and is his cousin-in-law, said he thought Schwarzenegger was coming.... Pollsters Doubt Fish Rules Will Move Votes The Pacific Northwest woke up last week to what Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) called a "bombshell." The Bush administration had abruptly changed the rules on protecting wild salmon, the semi-sacred indicators of regional identity. Had Bush tripped over a fish? Might an environmental issue make a significant difference in the presidential race? The realpolitik answer, from two longtime independent pollsters in Oregon and Washington, is an emphatic no. "There are only so many issues people can be fretful about, and right now salmon is not one of them," said Tim Hibbits, a pollster in Portland, Ore., the state with the country's highest unemployment rate. "There are these monster issues out on the table: the economy and the war," he said. "The environment is not an issue in any major way. If people don't have a job, they are not going to worry as much about salmon.".... Industry coalition's internal sage grouse memo causes flap An industry group opposed to federal protection for the sage grouse threatened legal action against environmentalists who publicized the group's internal memo that outlines lobbying tactics and political strategies to keep the bird off the list of endangered species. The conservation group RangeNet removed the six-page memo from its Web site Thursday after the Partnership for the West - a coalition of ranchers, miners, oil and gas interests and other commercial users of public lands - made the demand late Wednesday. Industry coalition leaders said the document outlined nothing illegal or improper, but said publicizing an internal memo was inappropriate.... Federal Bill Would Allow Indiscriminate Killing of 94 Migratory Bird Species Three of the nation's oldest and largest animal protection organizations today called on the House of Representatives to reject H.R. 4114, a bill that would weaken the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and remove federal protection for at least 94 species of "non-native" birds, including certain species of storks, pelicans, cranes, swans, cardinals, and orioles. The bill, introduced by Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), passed the House Resources Committee yesterday and is being rushed through Congress.... Bear bites camper in eastern Utah A pair of black bears raided two separate camps of rafting parties, biting one camper late Wednesday in remote Desolation Canyon on the Green River, the site of a similar attack last July. The unidentified male victim, a member of an organized rafting trip, suffered only minor injuries, authorities said.... Runoff surging on Snake Runoff from melting mountain snow has surged in recent days and may peak earlier than normal because of unusually warm weather for this time of year, a water manager says. The runoff is "a whole month earlier than the averages," said Mike Beus, Bureau of Reclamation water operations manager for the Snake River.... Canada beef exports to Mexico caught in US action Canada's beef exports to Mexico, which hit record levels in the first quarter, have been slowed by a U.S. court order obtained by a cattle ranchers' group, exporters said Thursday. The court order, obtained late last month by R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America, stopped a number of Canadian beef products from moving into the United States -- including those destined for Mexico, the Canada Beef Export Federation said in a statement.... FDA Links Condemned Texas Cow, Pre-Ban Type Feed Acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford was asked by reporters whether his agency had found any problems with feed currently on the San Angelo, Texas, farm where the condemned cow lived its entire life. He responded that the farm has never been found in violation of animal feed rules, but added that the cow was so old that it would have consumed feed a long time ago that was not covered by newer regulations. "The feed that was fed to this animal would have been probably eight years ago," said Acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford, an expert on veterinary medicine.... Coyote hunting on the 7-Cross In the mid-1890s, my grandfather, O.A. Collins, left his native Georgia and came to Colorado seeking work. One look down the black hole of a Cripple Creek mine sent him looking for labor outdoors. He found it on the 7-Cross Ranch north of Briggsdale, Colo. At the time the ranch was owned by the prominent Eaton family and grandad landed work as a general hand. As one of the younger employees and a greenhorn to boot, he was often given some rather “un-cowboy” tasks. One was to gather guinea eggs....