NEWS ROUNDUP

Biz leaders move to block 'roadless rule' return In a "friend of the court" brief filed last week by the Western Business Roundtable and the Colorado, Wyoming and Utah Mining Associations, Western business leaders urged the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold Brimmer's decision. The business leaders say that Brimmer's decision striking down the Clinton Roadless Rule was correct because the original rule would have created 58.5 million acres of 'de facto' wilderness, in violation of the federal Wilderness Act, which reserves approval of such designations specifically with Congress. The Clinton Rule also violated the National Environmental Protection Act by failing to adequately consider the environmental and social consequences of the Rule, the coalition argues....
Drought may give rise to coal-seam fires Imagine a fire that starts in a coal seam near the surface, then follows the seam underground, burning for decades beyond the reach of any efforts to put it out, undermining the integrity of roads or buildings that happen to be above it, all while releasing tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. That's a coal-seam fire. They burn in spots throughout the world, including La Plata County. A coal-seam fire that started on Southern Ute Indian Tribe land near the New Mexico border in the Cinder Butte area in 1998 is still burning today, in spite of concerted efforts by the tribe to stop it by injecting extinguishing agents into the ground....
Bicyclist fights off grizzly bear A mountain biker on Togwotee Pass fought off a grizzly bear that repeatedly charged him until a companion drove the animal off with pepper spray. Kirk Speckhals escaped his encounter without a scratch; he had only four dirt marks from the bear's claws on his forearm, a punctured bicycle tire and a bent rim. He said he hopes others learn from the mistakes he made during his ride around Pinnacle Buttes - including not making enough noise to warn bears, not riding together and not carrying pepper spray....
Cougar management debated as mountain lions advance into Napa's rural neighborhoods Animal rights advocates, state wildlife officials, scientists and local ranchers may agree on just one thing when it comes to cougars: As new homes are built in Napa County's prime cougar territory each year, human encounters with the solitary, cunning cats will increase. But on virtually every other aspect of cougar management, there are unanswered questions, disagreements or confusion....
Talks slated on grizzly plans Six national forests in the greater Yellowstone area -- including three in Wyoming -- will hold open houses next week to discuss plans for managing grizzly bear habitat on forest lands. The Wyoming meetings are scheduled for Cody on Wednesday and Alpine on Thursday. Federal biologists believe grizzly bear numbers have reached sufficient levels to allow for the removal of the animal's federal protections under the Endangered Species Act, perhaps as early as late 2005....
Yosemite underfunded, park advocates claim Funding shortfalls at Yosemite National Park have triggered cuts to staff, trail maintenance and educational activities that are affecting the quality of tourists' visits, advocates said Monday. Yosemite needs an extra $18.5 million per year to maintain infrastructure and meet the needs of visitors, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, a park advocacy organization with 300,000 members....
German cowgirls arrive for TV show filming Wide-eyed and a bit weary, five German women bought cowboy boots and hats Saturday morning in downtown Cheyenne. The group attracted more attention than most customers as they were surrounded by a Tangram Film camera crew. The five women were selected from 1,000 who applied to be in a five-part documentary series called "Cowgirls." The show will air on a French-German cultural channel. For the next three weeks, the women, ages 22 to 61, will learn to be cowgirls at the Colorado Cattle Company in New Raymer, Colo., about 100 miles southeast of Cheyenne....
Want a horse? Go see Ralph In Spain there's a famous horse fair conducted by gypsies that has been held on the outskirts of Seville since the days of the Roman Empire. Horse trading in the Americas probably began in 1519 as a gleam in Aztec ruler Montezuma's eye when Hernan Cortez pranced by aboard a Spanish stallion -- Montezuma dropped to his knees in awe -- he thought it was a single creature, half-man and half-beast. A centaur....
Riding on Ropes and Dreams Ramiro Gurrola of Hawaiian Gardens is one of the best riders, or charros, in Mexican rodeo. But when the chute opened one blistering Sunday this summer, the bull he was riding inexplicably collapsed, like a boxer taking a dive. Midway through the regional Mexican rodeo championships in Sacramento, Gurrola was in fourth place, fighting a bad streak of charro luck. The belief in charro luck rules the world of Mexican rodeo, known as charreria. In a distinctly Mexican view of life, talent takes a back seat to destiny. A lazy bull, a slow horse or a rainstorm can defeat even the best-trained cowboy....
It's All Trew: Man oh man, how our kin could can! My grandmother, mother and wife, Ruth, have canned a lot of home-grown produce in their lives. Each of them enjoyed great satisfaction from hearing the "ping" sound of a freshly-prepared container sealing properly after being removed from the pressure cooker. This meant their work and efforts had provided one more tasty, well-preserved ingredient for a family meal....
On The Edge Of Common Sense: More women than men are horse people I've always thought that one is either a horse person or one is not. It is evident even in little children. You hold them up to a horse's head, some children immediately reach out to pet it, and others draw away. It is a level of comfort and trust that is noticed by the horse as well. More girls than boys, to my observation, naturally relate to the mind inside the horse's head. I often have to explain to boys that there is no mechanical linkage, no steering column, set of cogs, hydraulic brake lines or transmission gears that connect their rein hand to the horse's feet....