NEWS ROUNDUP

Judge stops logging in old growth reserves that burned in Biscuit fire A federal judge blocked logging in old growth forest reserves burned by the 2002 Biscuit fire until the U.S. Forest Service marks dead trees that must be left standing for wildlife, rather than relying on timber companies to do their work. U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan issued a preliminary injunction blocking logging on five timber sales offered by the Siskiyou National Forest based on claims by environmental groups that the Forest Service's failure to mark the trees violates the National Forest Management Act. The law requires timber sales be marked by employees of the Secretary of Agriculture, to assure the work is done by someone with no financial interest in the outcome....
Greenpeace Activists Block Road to Logging Greenpeace activists chained themselves to bulldozers and set up roadblocks near timber operations in the Tongass National Forest Tuesday to protest a plan they said would weaken logging restrictions across the country. Activists staged the blockade in opposition to a recent Bush administration proposal to let governors decide whether to seek protection of roadless national forest land....
Closure of escape route worries forest residents Over the past 24 years, the DeLuca family has twice escaped wildfires by driving a short but jaw-rattling dirt road that slices through the San Bernardino National Forest. Earlier this summer, though, U.S. Forest Service employees barricaded the 3.5-mile road that many of the DeLucas' neighbors also have used to slip away to safety. "People are so upset, they tried to rip the gate down,' said Joe DeLuca, 25, whose family moved to the community shortly before the 1980 Panorama Fire. "People aren't happy because this is the quickest, most sensible way out.'....
Climate change could doom Alaska's tundra In the next 100 years, Alaska will experience a massive loss of its historic tundra, as global warming allows these vast regions of cold, dry, lands to support forests and other vegetation that will dramatically alter native ecosystems, an Oregon State University researcher said today. Polar regions such as Alaska will be among the first to illustrate the profound impacts of climate change, said Dominique Bachelet, an associate professor in the OSU Department of Bioengineering and expert on the effects of climate change on terrestrial vegetation. She spoke at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Bachelet and her colleagues at OSU and the U.S. Forest Service have developed the Dynamic Global Vegetation Model MC1, an improved way of predicting what certain climate scenarios will mean in terms in of vegetation growth, plant and soil processes, carbon storage or emissions, forest fire, and other important ecological effects....
Column: Bush breaks environmental promise Immediately after the election, conservative Republican U.S. Rep. David Dreier asked Schwarzenegger, at the behest of the White House, to abandon support for the Framework. Schwarzenegger refused, but noted that if changes to the Framework were warranted by new information or science, the Framework should be modified by the same thoughtful, inclusive stakeholder process that had resulted in the original plan. This seemed to appease the White House. Bush senior political adviser Karl Rove promised that no federal action would be taken on Framework protections, especially logging, without extensive discussions with the state and all stakeholders....
Column: Once Burned, Twice Shy The more I learn about the Forest Service's approach to the aftermath of the Biscuit fire in Oregon's Siskiyou National Forest, the greater my sense that history is about to repeat itself. Some people might wonder why a 55-year-old man living in a cabin surrounded by Montana's Bitterroot National Forest would have such a keen interest in a massive logging plan on another state's national forest. The answer: I lived through the Bitterroot fires of 2000, when lightning and human-caused fires burned over 300,000 acres, including much of the land surrounding my home....
Column: Wasting the West Twenty years ago, much of the public land around the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona resembled the barren and desolate landscape found in a Sub-Saharan desert. For years, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had granted grazing permits to ranchers for thousands of acres of fragile land along the San Pedro. At any given time 10,000 cows were grazing in the area, trampling the river’s banks and causing it to widen out and become precariously shallow. The cows also devoured native grasses and shrubs near the river, transforming the once-healthy landscape to little more than a vista of dry earth, lumps of cow pies and sparse vegetation....
Underground forest lab slated The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forestry Sciences Laboratory at Michigan Tech University is planning to build an underground observatory from which researchers and students will be able to observe, study and handle the root systems of forest life. The natural forest corridor will consist of two tunnels about eight feet underground and running about 75 feet from the Forest Service building into an adjacent woodlot. Through windows in the trench, researchers will be able to examine the underground botanical garden around them....
State: Bird numbers are nothing to grouse about Colorado joined a number of other Western states in notifying federal wildlife officials Tuesday that the greater sage grouse doesn't need endangered-species protection. Colorado Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Russell George wrote to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: "The species is showing signs of vigor not seen for decades in Colorado. Furthermore, the state is intensifying its efforts to conserve this species and will continue to do so." Tom Remington, state Division of Wildlife terrestrial section manager, said, "The numbers are holding steady and even increasing in some areas....
Huge market for forest moss raises concerns A huge, largely underground industry has been built on the moss that drapes some forest trees, raising ecological concerns, questions about export of potentially invasive species, and other issues that have scientists, land managers and businesses unsure about how to monitor, regulate or control this market amid so many uncertainties. A report on this trade in forest moss -- which is sometimes legal, often on the black market - was made today by a botanist from Oregon State University, speaking at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America....
Conservationists warn they will sue to protect Pacific fisher Conservationists warned the federal government Tuesday they plan to sue to force an endangered species listing for the Pacific fisher, a cousin of the weasel that hunts in old growth forests of the West. The Center for Biological Diversity and five other conservation groups filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its decision last April that the fisher warranted Endangered Species Act protection, but was precluded by more pressing matters....
Man fined for killing wolf last year A Lewiston man is being fined 20-thousand dollars for killing a wolf near Elk River last year. Robin Shafer has also had his hunting privileges revoked for one year. In addition, Judge Mikel Williams placed the 46-year-old on probation for one year....
County sued for mine OK Santa Clarita has filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County claiming that county officials failed to analyze properly the environmental impacts of the massive sand and gravel mine proposed for Soledad Canyon. The lawsuit, filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, follows the county Board of Supervisor's decision in June to approve a surface-mining permit to allow cement giant Cemex Inc. to mine up to 56 million tons of sand and gravel in the area....
Yosemite delays cost millions The court-ordered delay in several Yosemite Valley projects has cost the National Park Service several million dollars, a total that is sure to grow until the court releases its stay, according to an Interior Department official. Fifteen projects, with a price tag of $105 million, were under way in Yosemite National Park this spring when U.S. District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii in Fresno stopped them. He said the park service had not effectively considered their effect on the Merced River, which runs through the valley....
Governor backs winter drilling Gov. Dave Freudenthal has given his conditional support to allowing year-round drilling for natural gas on the Pinedale Anticline in western Wyoming. Freudenthal said his support is contingent upon strong measures to reduce the impact of the winter drilling by Questar Corp. to the area's residents, air, wildlife and water....
BLM rejects state's lease protest The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Wyoming office reportedly found no merit in Gov. Dave Freudenthal's protest of 12 federal lease parcels in the Pinedale Anticline, but it refused to release its decision to the public. Officially, the BLM has made no decision, said BLM spokeswoman Cindy Wertz. But in a phone interview Tuesday evening, Gov. Dave Freudenthal confirmed that he spoke with BLM Director Bob Bennett and that Bennett's answer to his protest was "no."....
Wild horse roundups to begin Federal officials plan to round up approximately 140 wild horses in central Wyoming later this month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. BLM Worland Field Manager Bill Hill said the agency is proposing to gather the excess wild horses from the BLM's Fifteenmile Wild Horse Herd Management Area (HMA). The proposal is to reduce the population from approximately 210 horses to about 70 horses within the HMA....
BLM director honors PGE's decision to breach dams in the Sandy River Basin For nearly a century, the final mile of the Little Sandy River has reverted to a dry bed of rocks and sand during the summer months. A concrete dam built in 1912 diverts the entire flow, once used by migrating steelhead, coho and chinook salmon, onto a raised aqueduct. The water flows through the forested canyon a few dozen yards above the dry pebbles of its old, natural route, and into Portland General Electric turbines that power roughly 22,000 homes in Portland. The utility's decision to breach the dam and a similar structure on the Sandy River, and to donate 1,500 acres to habitat restoration, was praised Tuesday by Bureau of Land Management director Kathleen Clarke....
Reid asks BLM to phase in mining claim fee increase Nevada Sen. Harry Reid is asking the Bureau of Land Management to stretch a planned 25 percent fee increase over the next five years to soften the blow of higher mining fees. Reid, D-Nev., said incremental increases of 5 percent per year would cushion the blow and let miners budget "over a reasonable amount of time."....
BLM WORKER DIES IN ATV ACCIDENT A Bureau of Land Management worker has died in an ATV accident near "South Shale" Ridge. 62-year old Peter Larson died Monday, during a land health assessment in "Coon Hollow," 20 miles north of Grand Junction. The accident was in steep, rocky terrain. He was wearing a helmet and safety equipment. BLM staffers started looking for Larson when he failed to check in at the end of the day....
Marine protection program revived In a decision cheered by environmentalists and marine biologists, the Schwarzenegger administration has decided to restart plans to create the nation's first network of protected marine reserves off California's coast, eight months after shutting the project down for lack of money. The first area scheduled to have specific maps for such ``no-fishing zones'' -- with a draft plan now due out by March 2006 -- will be the central coast, Chrisman added, which is generally described as the area from San Francisco to Hearst Castle....
Column: Where Environmentalists Go Wrong Now of course being pro-business is a positive attribute. And being pro-business in no way means also being anti-environment. The fact is America is one of, if not the most, environmentally friendly nations on earth. And many businesses have done a good job of preserving our natural beauty and treasures. Of course, environmental extremists will never admit to this and certainly will never be heard acknowledging that things are actually getting better for America’s forests. It is not in their interest to announce any progress or positive stories....
A Study Finds Mercury Levels in Fish Exceed U.S. Standards More than half the fish in the nation's lakes and reservoirs have levels of mercury that exceed government standards for women of child-bearing age and children, according to an environmental coalition's analysis of a survey by the Environmental Protection Agency. A breakdown of the survey findings from the first two years of a four-year study was the basis of the report on Tuesday by Clear the Air, a coalition that is pressing the agency to set more stringent mercury emission standards for coal-fired power plants than those the Bush administration has proposed....
Turning Genetically Engineered Trees Into Toxic Avengers Last summer, on the site of 35 former hat factories where toxic mercury was once used to cure pelts, city officials in Danbury, Conn., deployed a futuristic weapon: 160 Eastern cottonwoods. Dr. Richard Meagher, a professor of genetics at the University of Georgia, genetically engineered the trees to extract mercury from the soil, store it without being harmed, convert it to a less toxic form of mercury and release it into the air. It was one of two dozen proposals Dr. Meagher has submitted to various agencies over two decades for engineering trees to soak up chemicals from contaminated soil....
U.S. move fuels fears over dune plant At the California desert's most popular off-roading area, the Bush administration on Tuesday reduced by 60 percent the amount of land considered critical for the survival of a threatened plant. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped most off-roading areas from its final habitat designation, thus removing these areas from potential closures due to habitat impact. Instead, the agency placed most of the habitat in a wilderness area of the 160,000-acre Imperial Sand Dunes that already bans motorized vehicles....
Water rights battle brews over aging flume For almost a century, a man-made, rock-and-mortar flume has sent water gushing down to the Banning area and away from the Coachella Valley. It has created an agricultural paradise on the Banning Bench and water for homes in the flatlands. Now, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs says the diverted water is rightfully theirs. The tribe's water rights were recognized long before the flume when the U.S. government created the reservation, said attorney Art Bunce. The Agua Caliente want the water's natural course restored so it will flow through their reservation and on to the Salton Sea....
Utah governor declares 21 counties drought disaster areas Gov. Olene Walker on Tuesday declared most of the state of Utah a disaster area because of drought, and is seeking the same designation from the federal government. The state designation, which opens up 21 counties for consideration of federal financial aid, follows six consecutive years of below average rain fall and a projected $133 million negative impact on Utah's agricultural economy this year....
Federal court decision in Arizona seen as threat to South Dakota hunting system federal court decision in Arizona recently could strengthen the effort of some West River landowners to force the state Game, Fish & Parks Commission to authorize more big-game licenses for nonresident hunters. Elm Springs rancher Pat Trask, a landowner-rights advocate who believes that state nonresident hunting license quotas are unconstitutional, said Tuesday that the Arizona case would be valuable if he and other landowners decided to challenge the GF&P regulations in court. Trask said he was laying the legal groundwork for such a challenge....
Rancher's kill rouses regional legend As part of the ongoing effort to cover all roaming panther sightings, lost snake reports and other wild animal news, I'm here to report that the Texas Devil Dog will be dug up today. The Devil Dog began haunting Texas TV newscasts last week. A San Antonio TV station showed photos of a small, fanged, hairless, blue creature shot and killed in rural Bexar County. She might be some weird little dog, wildlife experts said. Or a mangy coyote. Or an exotic deer. Or -- as the TV report headlined -- "Chupacabra?"....
Wyo looks for brucellosis source Several Campbell County ranching families will bear the expense of a cattle quarantine while investigators search for the source of an apparent new brucellosis outbreak linked to Wyoming cattle. State officials worried Monday the new case will hamper the state's efforts to regain its lost federal brucellosis-free status and will hurt Wyoming cattle producers. It could also impact the prices Wyoming producers receive for their beef over the long run....
Cargill says it won't slaughter R-CALF cattle One of the country's largest meat packers says it won't knowingly process cattle owned by members of an American lobby group fighting to keep Canadian beef out of the U.S., a move sought by Alberta ranchers. Cargill faced a blockade by ranchers and feedlot operators two weeks ago, when its trucks tried to haul away cattle that the protesters believed were owned by Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA). Cargill spokesman Rick Meijer says the company will rely on feedlot operators and ranchers to alert them to which cattle are owned by R-CALF....
Buck Taylor turns his love for western history into art Buck Taylor loves history, in fact he has been an actor for many years playing in a number of movies and television programs such as Newly O'Brian on "Gunsmoke." But, he also loves to paint using watercolors. Many of his watercolor paintings focus on the Old West as well as the modern working cowboy....
Hooked on barbed wire? It is a simple reproduction of nature, yet considered to be an invention of genius requiring numerous patents. It connected points while disorienting people and animals. It is treacherous, yet considered a thing of beauty and is housed in museums. If you have not guessed what it is, these questions might give it away: What was rumored to be a northern plot to wipe out cattle, and was thought to be the work of the devil? Barbed Wire. Yes, barbwire fencing, that is now taken for granted, was controversial in its early years....
It's All Trew: Farm life: So many chicks, so little spare time We used a hatchery in Elk City, Okla., because it was close to Perryton and featured fast delivery by mail. Mother ordered the number, breed and sex of chicks desired, to be delivered on a chosen date. Once the order was sent we cleaned the chicken houses making ready for chick delivery. The chicks came in flat cardboard boxes some 36x36x8 inches. Each was divided into four compartments holding a dozen chicks each. They came by U.S. Mail leaving every rural post office a stinking, cheeping repository for chicks waiting for owner pickup. Like most cute babies, fluffy chicks grow up to be adults. A large flock of grown chickens can create a lot of litter. The most dreaded words I heard as a young boy was, "Your mother says the chicken houses need to be cleaned out."....