NEWS ROUNDUP
Ranger: Trees cut for house move House movers who felled trees to help squeeze their cargo along a narrow mountain road face a citation, and perhaps a claim for damages, a Forest Service ranger said Friday. About four trees on Helena National Forest land were cut down to make way for the house transported over Stemple Pass and limbs were removed from others, Ranger Amber Kamps of the Lincoln Ranger District said. The felling, which apparently happened Tuesday or Wednesday, damaged the tops of some other trees on federal land, Kamps said....
NTSB report on air crash reveals little new U.S. Forest Service dispatchers lost contact with a plane that crashed into a mountain, killing three of five on board, just minutes before its scheduled landing at a grass air strip south of Glacier National Park, a preliminary crash report released Friday says. Contract pilot Jim Long said he was "inbound for Schafer," a guard station in the Great Bear-Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, before dispatchers lost radio communication mid-afternoon on Sept. 20, according to the report by National Transportation Safety Board staff. No engine or mechanical failure was mentioned, and investigators have confirmed that the wreckage shows no signs of it....
Forest not altering grazing practices Proposed revisions to managing Bighorn National Forest contain no new management practices involving grazing permits, according a forest official. What at first glance appears to be a significant change in the plan relates to the number of animal unit months that will be allowed in "suitable rangelands." The 1985 plan allows up to 144,000 animal unit months. The revised forest plan, which is probably at least a year away from being adopted by the Forest Service, calls for a maximum of 118,000. But, Stellingwef said, the reduction in numbers is a paper exercise, nothing more than a recognition that there never have been, and "very likely" never will be, that many cattle, sheep or other domestic livestock in the Big Horns....
Column: A rule to sue by Some people want nearly 59 million acres of public land set aside from additional road building and believe that roughly 400,000 miles of roads in the national forest system is quite enough. Others disagree. Both sides have legitimate arguments to make, but that is not the focus here. Instead, I wish to examine the roadless rulemaking process and how this important decision should not be made. The Bush administration has proposed replacing the original roadless rule with a "petitioning process" that would give governors an opportunity to seek establishment of management requirements for roadless areas within their states....
Town hopes eruption brings tourist dollars When Carol Hubbell heard about the mini-eruption of Mount St. Helens on a Forest Service scanner in the Cougar Store, she ran into the parking lot to watch the plume of steam and ash waft over the mountain 12 miles to the north. Then she hustled back inside; it would be a busy afternoon of selling ice, snacks and beer. The logging community of Cougar is the closest town to the erupting crater of Mount St. Helens. The residents were celebrating the burst of steam that emanated from the mountain around noon on Friday, anticipating a heavy tourist influx over the weekend....
Senate will take a look at mining fees The Senate is poised to overturn a mining fee increase until the government can develop a system to track permits prospectors obtain to extract minerals from public lands. A Department of Interior spending bill awaiting Senate votes rolls back a $125 mining claim fee the Bureau of Land Management implemented this month. The fee would revert back to $100. The bill responds to complaints from mining companies that have resisted new fees so long as delays persist in obtaining permits. "Until we're seeing a better service, we don't think we should be talking about payment," said Luke Popovich, spokesman for the National Mining Association....
Logs to slow streams, build new fish habitat Using a 200-foot-long cable with a claw-like grapple at the end, the helicopter moved logs into place into and over Rock and Threemile creeks in the Fremont-Winema National Forests. The work aims to slow the flow of water through the creeks and to create cool pools of water for spawning and rearing of young fish. "We are building the home for the fish again," said Neil Anderson, fisheries biologist with the U.S. Forest Service....
Brown bear sow charges duck hunter in the Valley Two brown bear sows with cubs are frequenting the Dredge Lakes area and one of the sows charged a duck hunter on Sunday. The hunter was walking on a trail when he surprised a sow with a 3-year-old at point-blank range, said Neil Barten, area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The sow charged the hunter, who discharged two rounds of bird shot at it. The bear ran away and U.S. Forest Service and Alaska State Troopers found no evidence that it had been harmed, Barten said. Wildlife officials are urging Juneau residents to take extra precaution....
Search called off for plane in Alaska After 10 days of searching by air and sea, the Coast Guard has suspended the search for a plane and its five occupants missing near Sitka, Alaska. A Coast Guard spokesman said the search was suspended because no debris or any other sign of the plane has been found. "We found nothing at all," said Coast Guard operations specialist David Foucault. Searchers covered 4,615 square miles and made 42 air and sea searches. In addition to the Coast Guard, searchers included members of the Forest Service, Civil Air Patrol and a local search and rescue team, he said....
Wyoming man pleads guilty to fee tube thefts A Wyoming man pleaded guilty in Great Falls federal court Wednesday to breaking into nearly 100 campsite fee tubes -- many of them in Montana. He also told police he stole about $3,000 from fee tubes, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. Ernest E. Hartwell, 31, of Rawlins, Wyo., remains in custody after he admitted to destroying government property earlier this year....
Editorial: Forest boondoggle YEAR IN and year out, the politically powerful Alaska congressional delegation encourages the US Forest Service to build, at taxpayer expense, logging roads in the Tongass National Forest for the benefit of the state's dwindling timber business. It is bad enough that Congress goes along with this kind of corporate welfare make-work. Even worse is the fact that taxpayers are financing the destruction of the largest remaining temperate rain forest in the world. Enter Senator John McCain of Arizona, who knows a boondoggle when he sees one. McCain favors an amendment to an appropriations bill that would ban logging subsidies in the Tongass, which was first protected in 1907 by another Republican conservationist, President Theodore Roosevelt. The House passed a similar ban on Tongass road-building in June by a 222-205 vote. Like McCain's, that amendment had the support of a coalition of conservationists, budget balancers, and sportsmen....
Battle heats up over drilling on Alaska's North Slope Federal officials say the marshy tundra around a giant lake on Alaska's North Slope could hold hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil, enough to significantly boost domestic oil production for a nation heavily dependent on foreign imports. To get at the oil, the Bureau of Land Management recently proposed rolling back restrictions imposed in 1998 during the Clinton administration that keep oil explorers out of areas important for migratory geese and other wildlife. Now the BLM is under siege from environmental groups, other federal agencies and Eskimos, all of whom say leasing the protected waters of Teshekpuk Lake and the surrounding tundra is a horrible idea....
Greens say mining not sole threat to 3 Utah rivers An order signed earlier this month by Interior Secretary Gale Norton prohibiting mining along the banks of three rivers in southeastern Utah won't substantially protect the land or water along the rivers from oil and gas development, according to a study by an environmental group. A review of Interior Department land-use records by the Environmental Working Group showed that there is considerably more acreage under lease for oil and gas development than there is for hard-rock mining in the Three Rivers Withdrawal, signed by Norton on Sept. 11. Within five miles of the river, there are eight times as many acres under lease for oil and gas development than for mining, the group found....
On the trail of history From border trails and Hill Country passes, ancient roads in thick pines and river crossings on the Sabine, Texas is connected by a long and diverse path. That disparate route will soon have national attention and protection. Congress passed legislation this week designating El Camino Real de los Tejas as a National Historic Trail. El Camino Real de los Tejas has been described as "a corridor of trails used by settlers, immigrants, Indians and the military." It is a combination of routes totaling almost 2,600 miles from the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass and Laredo to Natchitoches, La. It was a pathway known to Davy Crockett and Sam Houston, and equally familiar to Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna....
Park plan would cut boat trips Trying to navigate the choppy waters of rafting on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, the National Park Service is proposing a plan that would reduce the season for motorized boats while permitting a 28 percent jump in the number of days passengers of all boats can spend on the river. But the restrictions on motorized boats were criticized Friday by both tour operators and environmentalists....
Coalition disputes economics of drilling Opponents of natural-gas drilling on the Rocky Mountain Front tried to buttress their argument Thursday with a report finding development could cost the Front's Teton County more than it would gain. In a news release, the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front said that given tax breaks for the energy industry and formulas for distributing government money, Teton County stands to gain little from federal royalties and state severance taxes if natural gas is extracted from the Front's Blackleaf area, which is in the county....
Environmental group challenges water project An environmental group has asked the state water court to halt construction on the Animas-La Plata water project in southwest Colorado, which is $162 million over budget and less than 20 percent complete after years of planning. The Citizens Progressive Alliance filed its motion Monday, claiming that water rights owed to the Southern Ute and the Ute Mountain Ute Indian tribes were settled by acts of Congress in the 19th century. Animas-La Plata was built largely to settle claims to water rights by the two tribes. "These applications defy the 1971 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the 1868 reservation was extinguished in 1880 by an act of Congress. Both the Department of Justice and counsel for the Colorado Ute tribes are fully aware of this Supreme Court ruling yet have brazenly defied it," the group said Thursday....
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Friday, October 01, 2004
MAD COW DISEASE & CJD
Cattle feed may have been infected with BSE The diseased cow that sparked Canada's mad cow crisis in May 2003 was turned into feed and may have been mistakenly fed to other cows, CBC News has learned. Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act show the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had discovered cattle at a number of farms were eating feed intended only for pigs and chickens. That feed may have contained the rendered remains of the diseased cow. By law, cattle cannot be given feed made from rendered cows, precisely because it could spread bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The agency estimated that feed was sold to as many as 1,800 farms and launched an investigation. They visited 200 cattle operations and found several cases where cows were exposed to the feed. Three cattle farms were quarantined and 63 cattle destroyed. Inspectors also learned there was frequent cross-contamination of chicken and cattle feed, and in one case, the farmer admitted he routinely gave chicken feed to cows....
Rules banning BSE-risk materials from animal feed on the way: Minister Rules banning the use of cow brain, eyes and backbone in all animal feed will be published in the next few weeks, the federal agriculture minister said Friday. Andy Mitchell was responding to a CBC report that highlighted how cattle can sometimes be exposed to feed containing rendered material from other cattle, increasing the risk of spreading mad cow disease. "This is something that requires a period of time to put in place," Mitchell said of the new rules. "In July we announced that we were, in fact, going to make the changes . . . Over the next little while we will move toward implementation." It's been a long-standing practice to use rendered cattle material as protein in feed for chickens and pigs. When a cow is rendered now, all of the carcass is used, including the brain, eyes and spinal column....
Alaska farm group wants to import Canadian cattle An Alaska farm group is working on a proposal to try to get its state border opened to live Canadian cattle. "We have historically purchased our animals from Canada," said Jane Hamilton, executive director of the Alaska Farm Bureau. "Canada is our closest neighbor. There is a lot less trauma and stress in transporting an animal from Canada instead of going all the way to the Lower 48."....
Schwarzenegger Vetoes Meat Recall Disclosure Bill Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) vetoed a bill yesterday that would have let Californians know whether they’ve purchased contaminated meat or poultry. The bill, SB 1585, would have ended a secrecy agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and California that prevents the state from disclosing the names and locations of stores that receive shipments of recalled meat. Earlier this year, California was one of several states that received meat from the Washington State cow that tested positive for mad cow disease. But because California is one of 12 states that have signed a secrecy agreement with USDA, state health officials were prohibited from identifying stores or restaurants that may have received beef from the infected cow....
Japan, U.S., meet to discuss beef ban Japan announced Friday it will meet with the United States next week to discuss its ban on U.S. beef imports. The two-day session begins Monday in Colorado, the Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said. Japan banned beef imports from the United States after the discovery of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease last December. Leaders insisted U.S. beef cattle be tested for the disease in the same way cattle are tested in Japan, the Kyodo news service said....
Atlanta Hospital Warns Of Possible Exposure To Brain Disease Emory University Hospital in Atlanta is telling more than 500 patients they may have been exposed to a fatal brain disease, although the actual risk is "remote." The advisory comes after a brain surgery patient tested positive for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is similar to mad cow disease in animals. Officials say they're contacting 98 brain or spinal surgery patients who may have had contact with the surgical instruments that were used on the infected patient. They're also informing 418 patients who had other types of surgery....
Surgeons to get CJD-risk advice An NHS watchdog is to develop guidelines for surgeons to help minimise the risk of contracting CJD infections through operations. It will advise on surgical procedures and instruments used in operations involving tissues carrying a high or medium risk CJD or Variant CJD. The finished document is not expected until May 2006. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence will not examine the risks posed by blood transfusions, however. Last month, 4,000 patients in the UK were sent letters warning them they may have been exposed to vCJD through contaminated blood products....
Cattle feed may have been infected with BSE The diseased cow that sparked Canada's mad cow crisis in May 2003 was turned into feed and may have been mistakenly fed to other cows, CBC News has learned. Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act show the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had discovered cattle at a number of farms were eating feed intended only for pigs and chickens. That feed may have contained the rendered remains of the diseased cow. By law, cattle cannot be given feed made from rendered cows, precisely because it could spread bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The agency estimated that feed was sold to as many as 1,800 farms and launched an investigation. They visited 200 cattle operations and found several cases where cows were exposed to the feed. Three cattle farms were quarantined and 63 cattle destroyed. Inspectors also learned there was frequent cross-contamination of chicken and cattle feed, and in one case, the farmer admitted he routinely gave chicken feed to cows....
Rules banning BSE-risk materials from animal feed on the way: Minister Rules banning the use of cow brain, eyes and backbone in all animal feed will be published in the next few weeks, the federal agriculture minister said Friday. Andy Mitchell was responding to a CBC report that highlighted how cattle can sometimes be exposed to feed containing rendered material from other cattle, increasing the risk of spreading mad cow disease. "This is something that requires a period of time to put in place," Mitchell said of the new rules. "In July we announced that we were, in fact, going to make the changes . . . Over the next little while we will move toward implementation." It's been a long-standing practice to use rendered cattle material as protein in feed for chickens and pigs. When a cow is rendered now, all of the carcass is used, including the brain, eyes and spinal column....
Alaska farm group wants to import Canadian cattle An Alaska farm group is working on a proposal to try to get its state border opened to live Canadian cattle. "We have historically purchased our animals from Canada," said Jane Hamilton, executive director of the Alaska Farm Bureau. "Canada is our closest neighbor. There is a lot less trauma and stress in transporting an animal from Canada instead of going all the way to the Lower 48."....
Schwarzenegger Vetoes Meat Recall Disclosure Bill Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) vetoed a bill yesterday that would have let Californians know whether they’ve purchased contaminated meat or poultry. The bill, SB 1585, would have ended a secrecy agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and California that prevents the state from disclosing the names and locations of stores that receive shipments of recalled meat. Earlier this year, California was one of several states that received meat from the Washington State cow that tested positive for mad cow disease. But because California is one of 12 states that have signed a secrecy agreement with USDA, state health officials were prohibited from identifying stores or restaurants that may have received beef from the infected cow....
Japan, U.S., meet to discuss beef ban Japan announced Friday it will meet with the United States next week to discuss its ban on U.S. beef imports. The two-day session begins Monday in Colorado, the Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said. Japan banned beef imports from the United States after the discovery of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease last December. Leaders insisted U.S. beef cattle be tested for the disease in the same way cattle are tested in Japan, the Kyodo news service said....
Atlanta Hospital Warns Of Possible Exposure To Brain Disease Emory University Hospital in Atlanta is telling more than 500 patients they may have been exposed to a fatal brain disease, although the actual risk is "remote." The advisory comes after a brain surgery patient tested positive for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which is similar to mad cow disease in animals. Officials say they're contacting 98 brain or spinal surgery patients who may have had contact with the surgical instruments that were used on the infected patient. They're also informing 418 patients who had other types of surgery....
Surgeons to get CJD-risk advice An NHS watchdog is to develop guidelines for surgeons to help minimise the risk of contracting CJD infections through operations. It will advise on surgical procedures and instruments used in operations involving tissues carrying a high or medium risk CJD or Variant CJD. The finished document is not expected until May 2006. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence will not examine the risks posed by blood transfusions, however. Last month, 4,000 patients in the UK were sent letters warning them they may have been exposed to vCJD through contaminated blood products....
Drought causing drastic impacts
State Parks Director Dave Simon has managed to find a positive side to the dwindling water supply at Elephant Butte Reservoir. “The fishing is great,” Simon said Monday during the opening day of the 2004 New Mexico Drought Summit. “We have the same number of fish but only half the water, so they’re real easy to catch.” But for Gerald LaFont, owner of the Elephant Butte Inn, there is nothing positive at all about the ongoing drought and its impact on the reservoir. LaFont said 18 businesses in the community of Elephant Butte have gone out of business, and he blames the drought for much of that. “When the water’s up, business is up,” LaFont said. “When the water’s down, business is down.”....
State Parks Director Dave Simon has managed to find a positive side to the dwindling water supply at Elephant Butte Reservoir. “The fishing is great,” Simon said Monday during the opening day of the 2004 New Mexico Drought Summit. “We have the same number of fish but only half the water, so they’re real easy to catch.” But for Gerald LaFont, owner of the Elephant Butte Inn, there is nothing positive at all about the ongoing drought and its impact on the reservoir. LaFont said 18 businesses in the community of Elephant Butte have gone out of business, and he blames the drought for much of that. “When the water’s up, business is up,” LaFont said. “When the water’s down, business is down.”....
Angeles Forest Dwellers Ignore Order to Evacuate
Some cabin dwellers in the Angeles National Forest are defying an order from park managers to evacuate immediately because of extreme fire danger, creating a tense standoff as the wildfire season approaches. Although the vast forest is mostly open space and campgrounds, it is also home to 500 cabins, many of them owned by residents who have lived there for years. Under the evacuation order, people in 120 of the cabins had to clear out by last Sunday because officials said the risk of a wildfire was so great that they doubted they could safely rescue the residents in case of a major blaze. It's the first time that forest officials have issued such a sweeping evacuation order — a sign, they say, of an unprecedented fire danger when Santa Ana winds arrive in October. But residents like Larry Bartlett are refusing to go....
Some cabin dwellers in the Angeles National Forest are defying an order from park managers to evacuate immediately because of extreme fire danger, creating a tense standoff as the wildfire season approaches. Although the vast forest is mostly open space and campgrounds, it is also home to 500 cabins, many of them owned by residents who have lived there for years. Under the evacuation order, people in 120 of the cabins had to clear out by last Sunday because officials said the risk of a wildfire was so great that they doubted they could safely rescue the residents in case of a major blaze. It's the first time that forest officials have issued such a sweeping evacuation order — a sign, they say, of an unprecedented fire danger when Santa Ana winds arrive in October. But residents like Larry Bartlett are refusing to go....
NEWS ROUNDUP
Groups: Gas leases violate roadless rule Environmentalists on Wednesday erected a paper roadblock they hope will keep drilling rigs out of a roadless area southwest of Carbondale. A coalition of environmental groups filed an administrative appeal of a U.S. Bureau of Land Management decision to auction off gas leases in the Thompson Creek area in May. The groups contend the leases violate the White River National Forest Plan, which says the U.S. Forest Service will uphold the national Roadless Area Conservation Rule and not allow leasing in roadless areas....
Idaho will oversee wolves before packs are delisted Most of the management of Idaho's thriving wolf population will be transferred from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the state within months, and even before the animal is pulled from the Endangered Species List, a federal wolf expert said Wednesday. "The state will do everything we do now. Essentially, Fish and Wildlife disappears," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery team leader. "It's good news for wolves and for wolf recovery." Oversight could be shifted by next spring....
Bigger isn't always better for species survival Being the biggest dog may pay off at feeding time, but species that grow too large may be more vulnerable to extinction, new research suggests. Over 50 million years a succession of large carnivores evolved in North America, diversified, and then died out....
State releasing pair of wolves The state is releasing a pair of endangered Mexican gray wolves in the Gila Wilderness. The male was born in the wild to a pack released in Arizona and had been radio-collared as a pup in 2002. The female was also born in the wild and had never been captured before. She has also been fitted with a radio collar. The wolves were captured last month in the San Mateo Mountains of southwestern New Mexico outside the official area for the species recovery. Wolves released in New Mexico usually are taken into the Gila Wilderness on mules and set free inside mesh enclosures. They chew their way free of the enclosure, then the enclosure is removed....
Editorial: Common ground for wolves regon is almost ready for the next wolf at its door. A panel of Oregon ranchers, hunters, wildlife activists and others has prepared a 100-page plan for making a home for wolves in Oregon. It's a good, carefully written plan that should be approved next month by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. Oregon wasn't ready when B45, a female gray wolf, roamed into Northeast Oregon in February 1999. Ranchers howled about the dangers of this lone wolf, and environmentalists turned her into a celebrity, holding a statewide name-that-wolf contest (the winner: "Freedom"). Federal biologists trapped B45 and shipped her back to Idaho....
In a national park, the call of the wild: Is it cellular? At least 30 national parks now sport cell phone towers or other antennas, according to a newly released partial inventory by the National Park Service. This list, the first of its kind, is evidence that phone companies are targeting America's national parks for business. The result, critics say, is a much-degraded visual experience when a tower sprouts on an otherwise pristine landscape — or a jarring aural annoyance when a cell phone rings deep in nature....
Update on North Fruita Desert The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released the final management plan for the North Fruita Desert. The North Fruita Desert is home to some of the best riding on the planet, including famous trails like the Edge Loop, Zippety, Prime Cut, Chutes and Ladders and Joe's Ridge. IMBA sent out an action alert regarding this plan last winter, asking our members to comment. IMBA would like to thank our members for commenting, and would also like to commend the BLM for creating a plan that accommodates a number of our concerns and balances the interests of everyone....
Sand dunes threatened with closure Environmental and conservation groups on Wednesday vowed to file an injunction that would eliminate all off-road vehicle use at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area if the federal government reopens a 49,000-acre portion temporarily closed as a result of a lawsuit filed by those groups to protect a threatened plant species. "The only legal option we may have is to move for a full injunction which would close all of the dunes to all off-roading. We don't want to be in a position to do that," said Daniel Patterson, conservationist with the Tucson-based Center for Biodiversity....
Camouflaged wells calm few concerns over oil, gas drilling In the battle over whether and where to drill for oil and natural gas on public lands in the West, the Bush administration has a new approach: Drill more wells and camouflage them. The Bureau of Land Management this summer ordered its field managers who approve drilling permits to require companies to do a better job of making new wells blend in with the environment. Among the actions drilling companies could have to take: bury power lines, install mufflers and air pollution control devices on compressor stations, immediately reseed well pads and access roads, and paint equipment to blend in with the scenery....
Calif. bill will give tribes more protection over sacred sites Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday signed a bill that will give American Indian tribes more protection over their sacred sites on public land, allowing them to buy property and shield it from development. Tribes praised the decision and said it was a victory in a battle to preserve cultural resources. The bill, which becomes effective March 1 and extends to both federally recognized and unrecognized tribes, also requires local governments to notify tribes about possible future development....
Kyoto accord gets crucial Russian assent Russia's cabinet approved the Kyoto Protocol yesterday in a crucial step toward putting the long-delayed climate change treaty into effect, albeit without participation from the United States. Final approval by the Russian parliament, which would push the treaty past its required ratification threshold, was not guaranteed, however. While the State Duma generally approves legislation backed by President Vladimir Putin, many Russian officials remain opposed to the pact, fearing its restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions could hinder economic growth....
Column: The pledge For a few weeks in the spring and the fall of the year, I participate as a rodeo announcer for a kid’s rodeo that is held once a week. It includes mutton busting, calf riding, steer riding, junior bull riding and senior bull riding. Of course, we always present the colors (old glory and the Colorado flag) before we begin each rodeo. We encourage the youngsters to come up and volunteer to hold the flags while our national anthem is played. As a general rule, it’s the little girls that rush up to see if they can carry the flags out into the arena and hold them. My policy is a first come, first served, on the flags. It always warms my heart to see the young folks come forward each week to honor our country. What really warms my heart is to see the 3- and 4-year-olds, with cowboy hats held across their hearts, standing at attention and not taking their eyes off of the flags....
Groups: Gas leases violate roadless rule Environmentalists on Wednesday erected a paper roadblock they hope will keep drilling rigs out of a roadless area southwest of Carbondale. A coalition of environmental groups filed an administrative appeal of a U.S. Bureau of Land Management decision to auction off gas leases in the Thompson Creek area in May. The groups contend the leases violate the White River National Forest Plan, which says the U.S. Forest Service will uphold the national Roadless Area Conservation Rule and not allow leasing in roadless areas....
Idaho will oversee wolves before packs are delisted Most of the management of Idaho's thriving wolf population will be transferred from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the state within months, and even before the animal is pulled from the Endangered Species List, a federal wolf expert said Wednesday. "The state will do everything we do now. Essentially, Fish and Wildlife disappears," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery team leader. "It's good news for wolves and for wolf recovery." Oversight could be shifted by next spring....
Bigger isn't always better for species survival Being the biggest dog may pay off at feeding time, but species that grow too large may be more vulnerable to extinction, new research suggests. Over 50 million years a succession of large carnivores evolved in North America, diversified, and then died out....
State releasing pair of wolves The state is releasing a pair of endangered Mexican gray wolves in the Gila Wilderness. The male was born in the wild to a pack released in Arizona and had been radio-collared as a pup in 2002. The female was also born in the wild and had never been captured before. She has also been fitted with a radio collar. The wolves were captured last month in the San Mateo Mountains of southwestern New Mexico outside the official area for the species recovery. Wolves released in New Mexico usually are taken into the Gila Wilderness on mules and set free inside mesh enclosures. They chew their way free of the enclosure, then the enclosure is removed....
Editorial: Common ground for wolves regon is almost ready for the next wolf at its door. A panel of Oregon ranchers, hunters, wildlife activists and others has prepared a 100-page plan for making a home for wolves in Oregon. It's a good, carefully written plan that should be approved next month by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. Oregon wasn't ready when B45, a female gray wolf, roamed into Northeast Oregon in February 1999. Ranchers howled about the dangers of this lone wolf, and environmentalists turned her into a celebrity, holding a statewide name-that-wolf contest (the winner: "Freedom"). Federal biologists trapped B45 and shipped her back to Idaho....
In a national park, the call of the wild: Is it cellular? At least 30 national parks now sport cell phone towers or other antennas, according to a newly released partial inventory by the National Park Service. This list, the first of its kind, is evidence that phone companies are targeting America's national parks for business. The result, critics say, is a much-degraded visual experience when a tower sprouts on an otherwise pristine landscape — or a jarring aural annoyance when a cell phone rings deep in nature....
Update on North Fruita Desert The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released the final management plan for the North Fruita Desert. The North Fruita Desert is home to some of the best riding on the planet, including famous trails like the Edge Loop, Zippety, Prime Cut, Chutes and Ladders and Joe's Ridge. IMBA sent out an action alert regarding this plan last winter, asking our members to comment. IMBA would like to thank our members for commenting, and would also like to commend the BLM for creating a plan that accommodates a number of our concerns and balances the interests of everyone....
Sand dunes threatened with closure Environmental and conservation groups on Wednesday vowed to file an injunction that would eliminate all off-road vehicle use at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area if the federal government reopens a 49,000-acre portion temporarily closed as a result of a lawsuit filed by those groups to protect a threatened plant species. "The only legal option we may have is to move for a full injunction which would close all of the dunes to all off-roading. We don't want to be in a position to do that," said Daniel Patterson, conservationist with the Tucson-based Center for Biodiversity....
Camouflaged wells calm few concerns over oil, gas drilling In the battle over whether and where to drill for oil and natural gas on public lands in the West, the Bush administration has a new approach: Drill more wells and camouflage them. The Bureau of Land Management this summer ordered its field managers who approve drilling permits to require companies to do a better job of making new wells blend in with the environment. Among the actions drilling companies could have to take: bury power lines, install mufflers and air pollution control devices on compressor stations, immediately reseed well pads and access roads, and paint equipment to blend in with the scenery....
Calif. bill will give tribes more protection over sacred sites Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday signed a bill that will give American Indian tribes more protection over their sacred sites on public land, allowing them to buy property and shield it from development. Tribes praised the decision and said it was a victory in a battle to preserve cultural resources. The bill, which becomes effective March 1 and extends to both federally recognized and unrecognized tribes, also requires local governments to notify tribes about possible future development....
Kyoto accord gets crucial Russian assent Russia's cabinet approved the Kyoto Protocol yesterday in a crucial step toward putting the long-delayed climate change treaty into effect, albeit without participation from the United States. Final approval by the Russian parliament, which would push the treaty past its required ratification threshold, was not guaranteed, however. While the State Duma generally approves legislation backed by President Vladimir Putin, many Russian officials remain opposed to the pact, fearing its restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions could hinder economic growth....
Column: The pledge For a few weeks in the spring and the fall of the year, I participate as a rodeo announcer for a kid’s rodeo that is held once a week. It includes mutton busting, calf riding, steer riding, junior bull riding and senior bull riding. Of course, we always present the colors (old glory and the Colorado flag) before we begin each rodeo. We encourage the youngsters to come up and volunteer to hold the flags while our national anthem is played. As a general rule, it’s the little girls that rush up to see if they can carry the flags out into the arena and hold them. My policy is a first come, first served, on the flags. It always warms my heart to see the young folks come forward each week to honor our country. What really warms my heart is to see the 3- and 4-year-olds, with cowboy hats held across their hearts, standing at attention and not taking their eyes off of the flags....
NMSU Rodeo Opens Season With Sweeps in Barrels, Team Roping
Barrel racers and team ropers from New Mexico State University dominated the competition last weekend at the Cochise College National Intercollegiate Rodeo in Douglas, Ariz.
NMSU’s rodeo team corralled the top four places in each event during the season’s first rodeo. Solid performances in barrel racing, breakaway and goat tying led the NMSU women to a first-place overall finish. The NMSU men were third.
Krista Norell of Meeker, Colo., an NMSU newcomer, won the women’s all-around competition.
NMSU rodeo coach Jim Dewey Brown was impressed with the new recruits, including the winning team roping duo of freshmen Victor Perez of Corona and Nate Mortensen of Virden.
“The freshmen were by far the biggest surprise,” Brown said. “It was nice to see the freshmen do so well in the team roping.”
Second place went to Tommy Etcheverry of Carlsbad, who teamed with a roper from another school. NMSU ropers Tim Baker of Payson, Ariz., (third) and Kody Gentry of Dell City, Texas, (fourth) also competed with ropers from other schools.
NMSU’s Chelsee Byerley of Gallup had an outstanding performance in barrel racing.
Byerley had a slow start last year on a new horse, but was able to put the pieces together at the Cochise rodeo.
“She didn’t leave any doubt,” Brown said. “She has him figured out, I think.” Byerley’s combined runs of 17.6 and 17.4 seconds outpaced the competition by almost a full second.
Three new NMSU team members rounded out the top four finishers in barrel racing: Wylene Penrod, Laveen, Ariz., second; freshman Bailey Gow, Roseburg, Ore., third; and Norell, fourth.
Freshman calf roper Wacey Walraven of Datil snagged first place for NMSU.
Norell was third in breakaway, with freshman Lacy Wilson of Artesia and Gow tying for fourth. In goat tying, NMSU newcomer Kambrah Allsup, formerly of Cochise College, was third, followed by NMSU’s Kayla Weiss of Great Falls, Mont.
NMSU riders also did well, with Justin Sanderlin of Morenci, Ariz., winning the bull riding. NMSU freshman Darren Albrecht of Veyo, Utah, was third.
In saddle bronc riding, NMSU’s Clint Phillipps of Douglas, Wyo., was third.
Next up for the NMSU team is the Gallup/Grand Canyon Regional NIRA rodeo in Gallup Oct. 8-9.
Brown said he will be looking for good things from his team, especially the freshmen. “Hopefully, they’ll keep it going.”
Barrel racers and team ropers from New Mexico State University dominated the competition last weekend at the Cochise College National Intercollegiate Rodeo in Douglas, Ariz.
NMSU’s rodeo team corralled the top four places in each event during the season’s first rodeo. Solid performances in barrel racing, breakaway and goat tying led the NMSU women to a first-place overall finish. The NMSU men were third.
Krista Norell of Meeker, Colo., an NMSU newcomer, won the women’s all-around competition.
NMSU rodeo coach Jim Dewey Brown was impressed with the new recruits, including the winning team roping duo of freshmen Victor Perez of Corona and Nate Mortensen of Virden.
“The freshmen were by far the biggest surprise,” Brown said. “It was nice to see the freshmen do so well in the team roping.”
Second place went to Tommy Etcheverry of Carlsbad, who teamed with a roper from another school. NMSU ropers Tim Baker of Payson, Ariz., (third) and Kody Gentry of Dell City, Texas, (fourth) also competed with ropers from other schools.
NMSU’s Chelsee Byerley of Gallup had an outstanding performance in barrel racing.
Byerley had a slow start last year on a new horse, but was able to put the pieces together at the Cochise rodeo.
“She didn’t leave any doubt,” Brown said. “She has him figured out, I think.” Byerley’s combined runs of 17.6 and 17.4 seconds outpaced the competition by almost a full second.
Three new NMSU team members rounded out the top four finishers in barrel racing: Wylene Penrod, Laveen, Ariz., second; freshman Bailey Gow, Roseburg, Ore., third; and Norell, fourth.
Freshman calf roper Wacey Walraven of Datil snagged first place for NMSU.
Norell was third in breakaway, with freshman Lacy Wilson of Artesia and Gow tying for fourth. In goat tying, NMSU newcomer Kambrah Allsup, formerly of Cochise College, was third, followed by NMSU’s Kayla Weiss of Great Falls, Mont.
NMSU riders also did well, with Justin Sanderlin of Morenci, Ariz., winning the bull riding. NMSU freshman Darren Albrecht of Veyo, Utah, was third.
In saddle bronc riding, NMSU’s Clint Phillipps of Douglas, Wyo., was third.
Next up for the NMSU team is the Gallup/Grand Canyon Regional NIRA rodeo in Gallup Oct. 8-9.
Brown said he will be looking for good things from his team, especially the freshmen. “Hopefully, they’ll keep it going.”
Thursday, September 30, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
Bush order eases rules protecting wildlife in forests National forest managers will not have to adhere to strict wildlife protections that have been in place for more than two decades under a temporary rule issued yesterday by the Bush administration. Issued in 1982 by the Reagan administration, the viability requirement was often cited in lawsuits that forced the Forest Service to sharply reduce timber cutting in the Pacific Northwest and other regions with declining populations of owls and other animals. Forest Service spokesman Joseph Walsh said that there was confusion over the two rewrites and that the temporary directive, published yesterday in the Federal Register, was intended as a clarification. It states that until final regulations are issued, forest managers can follow the 1982 regulations if they wish but that they are "not in effect." Instead, it directs managers to base forest plans on "the best available science."....
Survivor recalls noise, impact of crash Jodee Hogg said she is ready to move on with her life after walking away from a plane crash last week in the Montana wilderness that killed three companions. Hogg, appearing Wednesday on ABC News' "Good Morning America," also said it's enough for her that authorities had apologized for initially believing all five on board the single-engine aircraft - a pilot and four Forest Service workers - had perished in the crash near Glacier National Park. Matthew Ramige, of Jackson, Wyo., also survived. "I'm ready to close the book and move on, and get my life started again," she said....
Jackson resort permitted more backcountry skiers The Bridger-Teton National Forest will allow Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to guide more than twice as many skiers in the backcountry this winter. The resort had been permitted to guide 300 backcountry skiers each winter, although the Forest Service routinely allowed the company to exceed that limit. Under the new permit, approved by District Ranger Nancy Hall, the resort would be guaranteed 721 skier days with an option for an additional 179 if the resort proves skier demand warrants it, the agency said Tuesday. The resort could guide up to 900 skiers total....
For the sixth time since 1990, Arizona voters are again being asked to approve land swaps By that definition, we've got some positively certifiable lawmakers up in Phoenix. For the sixth time in 14 years, legislators are asking Arizona voters to let the state back into the business of swapping State Trust Land. This time, the prop is picking up patriotic appeal by flying under the banner of the Military Base Preservation Initiative--a title that has environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters, tossing around terms like "political deception" and "mislead the public."....
Mount St. Helens on Higher Eruption Alert Mount St. Helens could erupt within days, government scientists said on Wednesday, raising the alert after movement in the volcano's lava crust was detected following a week of small earthquakes. "We think that the likelihood of an eruption has increased," Cynthia Gardner, seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey told reporters....
Reagan was right: Trees do cause smog Although scientists knew that trees contribute substantial amounts of VOCs to the atmosphere, the rate of increase in recent decades was previously unrecognized. ''If we don't understand what's going on with biogenic (plant-produced) VOCs, we are not going to be able to weigh different air-quality strategies properly,'' said Purves. ''It's a big enough part of the puzzle that it really needs to go in there with the rest.'' The study may help explain why ozone levels have not improved in some parts of the country as much as was anticipated with the enactment of clean-air laws, Purves said....
Recreation Group Says TRAIL Act Will Penalize Bad Behavior, Keep Public Lands Open Americans for Responsible Recreational Access (ARRA) said yesterday's passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of H.R. 3247, the TRAIL Act of 2004, represents an important victory for all who pursue recreation on public lands in a responsible manner. "This bill, for the first time, would provide for consistent penalties across all public lands agencies for those who would abuse our public lands," said ARRA Executive Director Larry E. Smith. "Instead of allowing those few who misbehave to deny opportunities to everyone, the TRAIL Act will make it possible to repair the damage, penalize the wrongdoers and keep our public lands open to all."....
Executive director of BlueRibbon Coalition resigns Clark Collins, an original founder of the Pocatello-based BlueRibbon Coalition, has reassumed the group's executive director role, following the recent resignation of Bill Dart. Dart was cited with outfitting without a license Aug. 20 when a Forest Service officer reportedly caught him giving a motorcycle tour to an unknown number of clients in the Sawtooth National Forest. After initially being placed on indefinite administrative leave, he announced his resignation Sept. 24....
Forest residents told to leave Within the Angeles National Forest, Larry Bartlett and his neighbors stand guard against fires, littering and loitering. Now they are waiting out an order by the U.S. Forest Service to leave their homes in the forest, most of which was closed to the public Monday until the intense fire danger subsides. Last Friday, a dozen residents who live in a cluster of historical log cabins inside the North Trail Canyon near Tujunga said they were notified by telephone they had 48 hours to leave or face a fine of $5,000. But they are refusing, awaiting official eviction notices. At that point they will decide whether to leave or to fight to stay....
No to plea for squirrel species The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has turned down another petition to list the Western gray squirrel for protection under the Endangered Species Act, the agency said yesterday. A petition filed in December 2002 by the Institute for Wildlife Protection, based in Eugene, Ore., asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to name all Western gray squirrels as endangered, not just the Washington population as other recent petitions and lawsuits have asked....
Wolves killing more domestic animals in Wisconsin Timber wolves are killing more domestic animals in Wisconsin as the population has steadily grown to nearly 400 wolves, a state wolf expert says. So far this year, there have been 21 confirmed cases of wolves killing livestock on farms compared with 14 in all of 2003 and eight in 2002, said Adrian Wydeven, head of the state Department of Natural Resources' wolf management program....
Tree-sit removals draw crowd to courthouse steps About 50 logging activists gathered at the Humboldt County Courthouse as two of their peers were scheduled to check into jail for brief stays. They were greeted with honks from passing cars, and passed by log trucks escorted by Eureka Police Department motorcycles. In August, protesters boarded a log truck and blocked traffic, but Tuesday's demonstration was mellow. Activists Matt Dicks and Kim Starr were sentenced to 10 and 15 days in county jail last week for disturbing the peace and blocking access to Palco property in Southern Humboldt....
'Slobs' force officials to kill grizzly A grizzly bear had to be killed Wednesday after it became accustomed to human food and being in close contact with people. The young female grizzly spent weeks hanging around the Eagle Creek trailhead along the North Fork of the Shoshone River, just east of the East Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The bear regularly fed on horse grain and human food that was carelessly left out by people, according to Chris Servheen, the scientist in charge of grizzly recovery for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "If people are going to keep acting like slobs, we're going to have to keep killing bears," Servheen said....
New Agreement Preserving Bowhunting Tradition The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today signed a four-year agreement with the Archery Trade Association, the Bowhunting Preservation Alliance, and Arrowsport to increase archery and bowhunting opportunities, building on bowhunters' continued support for wildlife conservation. "This is another example where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is strengthening partnerships with the hunting community," Service Director Steve Williams said....
Alaska weighs ban on hunters luring bears with food Stale doughnuts, lard, honey-drenched dog food – is this any kind of meal for a wild Alaska bear? No, say activists promoting a ballot initiative that would outlaw the controversial practice of bear baiting in Alaska, one of the many states where bear are hunted....
$26-Million Deal Will Save 8,800 Acres of Fragile Desert An 8,800-acre swath of fragile desert wilderness in the Coachella Valley — which helps to sustain palm oases, sand dunes and the endangered desert tortoise — will be preserved under a $26-million land deal finalized last week by the Nature Conservancy. The acquisition of the Joshua Hills increases the Coachella Valley Preserve by nearly 50%. It also ensures a sand source for the dunes below and forms a link for bighorn sheep, bobcats and kit foxes traveling from Joshua Tree National Park to the valley....
Park's ecosystem at risk, EPA admits The Environmental Protection Agency has acknowledged that nitrogen pollution is harming Rocky Mountain National Park, and administrator Mike Leavitt says he wants to move quickly to fix the problem. Airborne pollutants from Front Range tailpipes, smokestacks, crop fields and feedlots are damaging the park's prized mountaintop ecosystems. If unchecked, the creeping accumulation of urban nitrogen compounds could acidify park waters and soils, posing a threat to fish, forests and alpine tundra, according to park researchers. The problem is known as nitrogen deposition....
Snowmobile protest in D.C. is banned What's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander, an environmental group has found. Campaign to Protect America's Lands wanted to demonstrate the commotion 11 snowmobiles make by parking them outside the nation's Capitol. But the National Park Service denied the group a permit to do so inside Simon Bolivar Park, which is located across the main entrance to the U.S. Department of Interior. The group claims it was denied a permit because snowmobiles aren't considered an acceptable use in D.C....
Bush Administration Sits on Revised Video Until After Election In order to edit out filmed scenes of gay and abortion rights demonstrations that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial, the Bush Administration has spent more than a year and nearly $200,000 making two new versions of a video, according to agency records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In November 2003, under pressure from conservative religious groups, the Park Service announced that it would alter an eight-minute video containing photos and footage of demonstrations and other events taking place at the Lincoln Memorial....
Editorial: BLM and OHVs Trying to be fair," is how Rex Smart, manager of the Kanab Bureau of Land Management field office, characterizes his plan to designate some trails in the Vermilion Cliffs area for off-highway vehicles and to make others off-limits. But fairness is only part of the equation. BLM managers must also act quickly as they weigh the often-devastating effects of uncontrolled OHV use on Utah's natural outdoor treasures and the complex issue of how the delicate ecosystems of the state's deserts and mountains can survive and co-exist with OHV users and non-motorized recreationists. Smart's office is responding to a petition from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, but BLM managers shouldn't wait for conservationists to prod them before taking action to protect public lands....
'Who Owns the West?' You Do! Anti-development groups such as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) seek to block development of domestic supplies of clean-burning natural gas. In a recent report EWG presents myths instead of facts in hopes of scaring policy- makers, media and the public and prevent developing energy resources on Western lands -- non-park, non-wilderness public lands designated to serve, and be used by, all Americans. Here is a top-line look at some of the myths in the report, and the facts available from government, industry and third-party sources....
Bison hunt scaled down A proposed bison hunt in Montana is likely to get a lot smaller, according to the regional manager for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Hunting in the West Yellowstone area is no longer on the table, FWP regional manager Pat Flowers said, because of the potential for conflict with annual bison hazing operations there....
Refinery report becomes environmental hot potato A government advisory panel has delayed releasing a report on ways to boost U.S. oil refining capacity, and one source familiar with the report attributed that to the Bush administration wanting to avoid a fight over environmental regulations before the national elections. The report by the National Petroleum Council to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham had been scheduled for release on Thursday and was eagerly awaited by the oil industry, which saw U.S. crude oil prices hit a record $50.47 a barrel this week....
Russian cabinet set to approve Kyoto accord After years of wavering, the Russian government is expected to take concrete steps today toward ratifying the Kyoto climate-change accord, something that would bring the pact into legal force for its 120 signatory nations. Both the state-run Itar-Tass news agency and the more independent Interfax news service carried reports yesterday quoting unnamed government sources who believed President Vladimir Putin's cabinet would approve the accord at a meeting today and pass it on to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, for ratification....
Drought shrinking jewels of the desert Lake Powell is enormous, but five years of drought have sapped it badly. It's less than half full and down 130 feet. And so the launch ramp at Wahweap, a lakeside resort, ended on dry land. The lake level is still falling — 21 inches a week. So the National Park Service, which extended the ramp 300 feet in 2003, extended it again this month. "Chasing the water," park service staffers call it....
Abandoned Mines Threaten West's Waterways More than a century ago, this wild stretch of mountain and rock was one of the richest mining areas on Earth. Tons of zinc, silver and lead were extracted. Colorado's largest chunk of gold was found here -- a 13-pound nugget named "Tom's Baby." The mines are still producing, but it's a product no one wants. Bright orange water runs from open shafts into tributaries of the Blue River, one of the state's major trout fisheries. Great piles of waste rock, or mine tailings, stand 80 feet high and extend for 30 acres in all directions. Just beneath the surface, tunnels full of poisonous gas honeycomb the mountains, reaching under the nearby town of Breckenridge....
Professor goes West to study dam removal A geology professor from Western Carolina University will spend the next few months in Olympic National Park in Washington attempting to gauge the impact of the nation’s largest dam removal project on water quality in what was once one of the Pacific Northwest’s most productive salmon rivers. A $182 million federally funded plan to restore the Elwha River, the largest watershed in Olympic National Park, will result in the removal of two dams — the 108-foot-tall Elwha Dam and the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam. The project, set to begin in 2007, is designed to re-establish the salmon fishery in the Elwha River and restore the river’s delta area to its original sandy coastal environment....
Editorial: The Hetch Hetchy fantasy BUILDING A DAM in Yosemite Park would never happen today. But more than 80 years ago, San Francisco filled the Hetch Hetchy Valley to create a water-and-power system that now serves 2.4 million people in the Bay Area. Does it make sense to tear down O'Shaughnessy Dam today? Only if dozens of questions over water purity, water rights, drought years, electricity, politics and a monumental bill can be answered. The conservation group Environmental Defense wants to take out the dam and restore a spectacular, granite-faced Sierra valley. It's an inspiring goal, advocated by no less than John Muir, who fought the dam in the 1920s....
The Saints’ Fence Horace Greeley, noted newspaperman and proponent of westward migration, had two hard and fast rules when it came to colonization — no rum, and no fences. Mr. Greeley, it seemed, had authored a book titled “What I Know of Farming,” in which he championed the European practice of herding cattle instead of fencing them, whether out or in. In retrospect, the newspaperman apparently knew a lot more about newspapers than he did about livestock....
End of an era as drive-in screen comes down With a thud and a cloud of dust, the drive-in theater era in Fallon ended with the dismantling of the old Roper Drive-In screen. The decrepit screen was leaning perilously forward, and it fell Sept. 25 at the hands of a contractor. What's left is an empty lot, a few speaker poles and memories of hot summer nights in the minds of many long-time Fallon residents. The Roper Drive-In was constructed in the summer of 1954, said Bob Erickson, current owner of Fallon Theatres and former owner of the drive-in. The famous sheep rancher Walt Whitaker first opened the theater as a business venture and operated it with various partners until the theater closed in 1978, according to the Churchill County Museum....
Bush order eases rules protecting wildlife in forests National forest managers will not have to adhere to strict wildlife protections that have been in place for more than two decades under a temporary rule issued yesterday by the Bush administration. Issued in 1982 by the Reagan administration, the viability requirement was often cited in lawsuits that forced the Forest Service to sharply reduce timber cutting in the Pacific Northwest and other regions with declining populations of owls and other animals. Forest Service spokesman Joseph Walsh said that there was confusion over the two rewrites and that the temporary directive, published yesterday in the Federal Register, was intended as a clarification. It states that until final regulations are issued, forest managers can follow the 1982 regulations if they wish but that they are "not in effect." Instead, it directs managers to base forest plans on "the best available science."....
Survivor recalls noise, impact of crash Jodee Hogg said she is ready to move on with her life after walking away from a plane crash last week in the Montana wilderness that killed three companions. Hogg, appearing Wednesday on ABC News' "Good Morning America," also said it's enough for her that authorities had apologized for initially believing all five on board the single-engine aircraft - a pilot and four Forest Service workers - had perished in the crash near Glacier National Park. Matthew Ramige, of Jackson, Wyo., also survived. "I'm ready to close the book and move on, and get my life started again," she said....
Jackson resort permitted more backcountry skiers The Bridger-Teton National Forest will allow Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to guide more than twice as many skiers in the backcountry this winter. The resort had been permitted to guide 300 backcountry skiers each winter, although the Forest Service routinely allowed the company to exceed that limit. Under the new permit, approved by District Ranger Nancy Hall, the resort would be guaranteed 721 skier days with an option for an additional 179 if the resort proves skier demand warrants it, the agency said Tuesday. The resort could guide up to 900 skiers total....
For the sixth time since 1990, Arizona voters are again being asked to approve land swaps By that definition, we've got some positively certifiable lawmakers up in Phoenix. For the sixth time in 14 years, legislators are asking Arizona voters to let the state back into the business of swapping State Trust Land. This time, the prop is picking up patriotic appeal by flying under the banner of the Military Base Preservation Initiative--a title that has environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters, tossing around terms like "political deception" and "mislead the public."....
Mount St. Helens on Higher Eruption Alert Mount St. Helens could erupt within days, government scientists said on Wednesday, raising the alert after movement in the volcano's lava crust was detected following a week of small earthquakes. "We think that the likelihood of an eruption has increased," Cynthia Gardner, seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey told reporters....
Reagan was right: Trees do cause smog Although scientists knew that trees contribute substantial amounts of VOCs to the atmosphere, the rate of increase in recent decades was previously unrecognized. ''If we don't understand what's going on with biogenic (plant-produced) VOCs, we are not going to be able to weigh different air-quality strategies properly,'' said Purves. ''It's a big enough part of the puzzle that it really needs to go in there with the rest.'' The study may help explain why ozone levels have not improved in some parts of the country as much as was anticipated with the enactment of clean-air laws, Purves said....
Recreation Group Says TRAIL Act Will Penalize Bad Behavior, Keep Public Lands Open Americans for Responsible Recreational Access (ARRA) said yesterday's passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of H.R. 3247, the TRAIL Act of 2004, represents an important victory for all who pursue recreation on public lands in a responsible manner. "This bill, for the first time, would provide for consistent penalties across all public lands agencies for those who would abuse our public lands," said ARRA Executive Director Larry E. Smith. "Instead of allowing those few who misbehave to deny opportunities to everyone, the TRAIL Act will make it possible to repair the damage, penalize the wrongdoers and keep our public lands open to all."....
Executive director of BlueRibbon Coalition resigns Clark Collins, an original founder of the Pocatello-based BlueRibbon Coalition, has reassumed the group's executive director role, following the recent resignation of Bill Dart. Dart was cited with outfitting without a license Aug. 20 when a Forest Service officer reportedly caught him giving a motorcycle tour to an unknown number of clients in the Sawtooth National Forest. After initially being placed on indefinite administrative leave, he announced his resignation Sept. 24....
Forest residents told to leave Within the Angeles National Forest, Larry Bartlett and his neighbors stand guard against fires, littering and loitering. Now they are waiting out an order by the U.S. Forest Service to leave their homes in the forest, most of which was closed to the public Monday until the intense fire danger subsides. Last Friday, a dozen residents who live in a cluster of historical log cabins inside the North Trail Canyon near Tujunga said they were notified by telephone they had 48 hours to leave or face a fine of $5,000. But they are refusing, awaiting official eviction notices. At that point they will decide whether to leave or to fight to stay....
No to plea for squirrel species The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has turned down another petition to list the Western gray squirrel for protection under the Endangered Species Act, the agency said yesterday. A petition filed in December 2002 by the Institute for Wildlife Protection, based in Eugene, Ore., asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to name all Western gray squirrels as endangered, not just the Washington population as other recent petitions and lawsuits have asked....
Wolves killing more domestic animals in Wisconsin Timber wolves are killing more domestic animals in Wisconsin as the population has steadily grown to nearly 400 wolves, a state wolf expert says. So far this year, there have been 21 confirmed cases of wolves killing livestock on farms compared with 14 in all of 2003 and eight in 2002, said Adrian Wydeven, head of the state Department of Natural Resources' wolf management program....
Tree-sit removals draw crowd to courthouse steps About 50 logging activists gathered at the Humboldt County Courthouse as two of their peers were scheduled to check into jail for brief stays. They were greeted with honks from passing cars, and passed by log trucks escorted by Eureka Police Department motorcycles. In August, protesters boarded a log truck and blocked traffic, but Tuesday's demonstration was mellow. Activists Matt Dicks and Kim Starr were sentenced to 10 and 15 days in county jail last week for disturbing the peace and blocking access to Palco property in Southern Humboldt....
'Slobs' force officials to kill grizzly A grizzly bear had to be killed Wednesday after it became accustomed to human food and being in close contact with people. The young female grizzly spent weeks hanging around the Eagle Creek trailhead along the North Fork of the Shoshone River, just east of the East Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The bear regularly fed on horse grain and human food that was carelessly left out by people, according to Chris Servheen, the scientist in charge of grizzly recovery for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "If people are going to keep acting like slobs, we're going to have to keep killing bears," Servheen said....
New Agreement Preserving Bowhunting Tradition The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today signed a four-year agreement with the Archery Trade Association, the Bowhunting Preservation Alliance, and Arrowsport to increase archery and bowhunting opportunities, building on bowhunters' continued support for wildlife conservation. "This is another example where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is strengthening partnerships with the hunting community," Service Director Steve Williams said....
Alaska weighs ban on hunters luring bears with food Stale doughnuts, lard, honey-drenched dog food – is this any kind of meal for a wild Alaska bear? No, say activists promoting a ballot initiative that would outlaw the controversial practice of bear baiting in Alaska, one of the many states where bear are hunted....
$26-Million Deal Will Save 8,800 Acres of Fragile Desert An 8,800-acre swath of fragile desert wilderness in the Coachella Valley — which helps to sustain palm oases, sand dunes and the endangered desert tortoise — will be preserved under a $26-million land deal finalized last week by the Nature Conservancy. The acquisition of the Joshua Hills increases the Coachella Valley Preserve by nearly 50%. It also ensures a sand source for the dunes below and forms a link for bighorn sheep, bobcats and kit foxes traveling from Joshua Tree National Park to the valley....
Park's ecosystem at risk, EPA admits The Environmental Protection Agency has acknowledged that nitrogen pollution is harming Rocky Mountain National Park, and administrator Mike Leavitt says he wants to move quickly to fix the problem. Airborne pollutants from Front Range tailpipes, smokestacks, crop fields and feedlots are damaging the park's prized mountaintop ecosystems. If unchecked, the creeping accumulation of urban nitrogen compounds could acidify park waters and soils, posing a threat to fish, forests and alpine tundra, according to park researchers. The problem is known as nitrogen deposition....
Snowmobile protest in D.C. is banned What's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander, an environmental group has found. Campaign to Protect America's Lands wanted to demonstrate the commotion 11 snowmobiles make by parking them outside the nation's Capitol. But the National Park Service denied the group a permit to do so inside Simon Bolivar Park, which is located across the main entrance to the U.S. Department of Interior. The group claims it was denied a permit because snowmobiles aren't considered an acceptable use in D.C....
Bush Administration Sits on Revised Video Until After Election In order to edit out filmed scenes of gay and abortion rights demonstrations that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial, the Bush Administration has spent more than a year and nearly $200,000 making two new versions of a video, according to agency records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In November 2003, under pressure from conservative religious groups, the Park Service announced that it would alter an eight-minute video containing photos and footage of demonstrations and other events taking place at the Lincoln Memorial....
Editorial: BLM and OHVs Trying to be fair," is how Rex Smart, manager of the Kanab Bureau of Land Management field office, characterizes his plan to designate some trails in the Vermilion Cliffs area for off-highway vehicles and to make others off-limits. But fairness is only part of the equation. BLM managers must also act quickly as they weigh the often-devastating effects of uncontrolled OHV use on Utah's natural outdoor treasures and the complex issue of how the delicate ecosystems of the state's deserts and mountains can survive and co-exist with OHV users and non-motorized recreationists. Smart's office is responding to a petition from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, but BLM managers shouldn't wait for conservationists to prod them before taking action to protect public lands....
'Who Owns the West?' You Do! Anti-development groups such as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) seek to block development of domestic supplies of clean-burning natural gas. In a recent report EWG presents myths instead of facts in hopes of scaring policy- makers, media and the public and prevent developing energy resources on Western lands -- non-park, non-wilderness public lands designated to serve, and be used by, all Americans. Here is a top-line look at some of the myths in the report, and the facts available from government, industry and third-party sources....
Bison hunt scaled down A proposed bison hunt in Montana is likely to get a lot smaller, according to the regional manager for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Hunting in the West Yellowstone area is no longer on the table, FWP regional manager Pat Flowers said, because of the potential for conflict with annual bison hazing operations there....
Refinery report becomes environmental hot potato A government advisory panel has delayed releasing a report on ways to boost U.S. oil refining capacity, and one source familiar with the report attributed that to the Bush administration wanting to avoid a fight over environmental regulations before the national elections. The report by the National Petroleum Council to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham had been scheduled for release on Thursday and was eagerly awaited by the oil industry, which saw U.S. crude oil prices hit a record $50.47 a barrel this week....
Russian cabinet set to approve Kyoto accord After years of wavering, the Russian government is expected to take concrete steps today toward ratifying the Kyoto climate-change accord, something that would bring the pact into legal force for its 120 signatory nations. Both the state-run Itar-Tass news agency and the more independent Interfax news service carried reports yesterday quoting unnamed government sources who believed President Vladimir Putin's cabinet would approve the accord at a meeting today and pass it on to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, for ratification....
Drought shrinking jewels of the desert Lake Powell is enormous, but five years of drought have sapped it badly. It's less than half full and down 130 feet. And so the launch ramp at Wahweap, a lakeside resort, ended on dry land. The lake level is still falling — 21 inches a week. So the National Park Service, which extended the ramp 300 feet in 2003, extended it again this month. "Chasing the water," park service staffers call it....
Abandoned Mines Threaten West's Waterways More than a century ago, this wild stretch of mountain and rock was one of the richest mining areas on Earth. Tons of zinc, silver and lead were extracted. Colorado's largest chunk of gold was found here -- a 13-pound nugget named "Tom's Baby." The mines are still producing, but it's a product no one wants. Bright orange water runs from open shafts into tributaries of the Blue River, one of the state's major trout fisheries. Great piles of waste rock, or mine tailings, stand 80 feet high and extend for 30 acres in all directions. Just beneath the surface, tunnels full of poisonous gas honeycomb the mountains, reaching under the nearby town of Breckenridge....
Professor goes West to study dam removal A geology professor from Western Carolina University will spend the next few months in Olympic National Park in Washington attempting to gauge the impact of the nation’s largest dam removal project on water quality in what was once one of the Pacific Northwest’s most productive salmon rivers. A $182 million federally funded plan to restore the Elwha River, the largest watershed in Olympic National Park, will result in the removal of two dams — the 108-foot-tall Elwha Dam and the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam. The project, set to begin in 2007, is designed to re-establish the salmon fishery in the Elwha River and restore the river’s delta area to its original sandy coastal environment....
Editorial: The Hetch Hetchy fantasy BUILDING A DAM in Yosemite Park would never happen today. But more than 80 years ago, San Francisco filled the Hetch Hetchy Valley to create a water-and-power system that now serves 2.4 million people in the Bay Area. Does it make sense to tear down O'Shaughnessy Dam today? Only if dozens of questions over water purity, water rights, drought years, electricity, politics and a monumental bill can be answered. The conservation group Environmental Defense wants to take out the dam and restore a spectacular, granite-faced Sierra valley. It's an inspiring goal, advocated by no less than John Muir, who fought the dam in the 1920s....
The Saints’ Fence Horace Greeley, noted newspaperman and proponent of westward migration, had two hard and fast rules when it came to colonization — no rum, and no fences. Mr. Greeley, it seemed, had authored a book titled “What I Know of Farming,” in which he championed the European practice of herding cattle instead of fencing them, whether out or in. In retrospect, the newspaperman apparently knew a lot more about newspapers than he did about livestock....
End of an era as drive-in screen comes down With a thud and a cloud of dust, the drive-in theater era in Fallon ended with the dismantling of the old Roper Drive-In screen. The decrepit screen was leaning perilously forward, and it fell Sept. 25 at the hands of a contractor. What's left is an empty lot, a few speaker poles and memories of hot summer nights in the minds of many long-time Fallon residents. The Roper Drive-In was constructed in the summer of 1954, said Bob Erickson, current owner of Fallon Theatres and former owner of the drive-in. The famous sheep rancher Walt Whitaker first opened the theater as a business venture and operated it with various partners until the theater closed in 1978, according to the Churchill County Museum....
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
George Bush Vs. John Kerry: The Field & Stream Interviews This much we know: The next President of the United States will be a sportsman. Whether it’s George W. Bush or John F. Kerry, each claims that hunting and fishing have been an integral part of his life. President Bush is a bass man. Senator Kerry is a saltwater fisherman. Both like to hunt birds. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, this should come as very good news. Beyond that, of course, it gets complicated....
Activists Sue Over Calif. Forest Plan Environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday, claiming a six-year-old federal law aimed at preventing wildfires has degenerated into a backdoor effort to eventually increase logging across 340,000 acres of Sierra Nevada national forests. The federal lawsuit challenges the Forest Service's effort to log 6,400 acres over five years in the Plumas National Forest west of Quincy, where a coalition of loggers and local conservationists once met to propose what eventually became national fire-prevention policy....
House OKs forest-health youth jobs program Walden, who chairs the Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, introduced the Healthy Forest Youth Conservation Corps Act to give young adults ages 16 to 25 the opportunity to obtain skills and valuable education in forestland management while conducting work in fuels reduction projects on federal forestlands. Projects will be directed at efforts to prevent catastrophic fire and rehabilitate public land affected or altered by fires. Most notably, work will be done in accordance with HFRA plans to reduce hazardous fuels. Young adults participating in the corps will be managed by the agency in charge of the given forestland, namely the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture. The managing agency can contract directly with youth, or they can enter into contracts with state-level departments of natural resources, agriculture or forestry....
Restraining order requested in prairie dog case Eight groups that have sued to prevent federal agencies from starting a program to poison and shoot black-tailed prairie dogs on federal land in southwestern South Dakota have asked a judge for a temporary restraining order. Last month, U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton removed prairie dogs from the list of candidates being considered for designation as endangered species, allowing states to take more steps to control prairie dogs....
BLM plans roundups, birth control for wild horses near Cody Federal land managers plan roundups and birth control measures next month to reduce an overpopulated wild horse herd near Cody. The goal is reduce the McCullough Peaks wild horse herd by some 400 animals to achieve a more manageable level of between 70 and 140 animals, according to the Bureau of Land Management. The agency also plans to use birth control methods to help stabilize and improve the health and genetic viability of wild horse herds, while also maintaining a healthy ecosystem, BLM officials said....
Next best delisting However, the "second best thing" to delisting could be in place by early next year, according to Ed Bangs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's wolf recovery team leader. FWS is now revising what's known as the 10J rule, in order to pass along much of its authority to decide when and where to kill problem-causing wolves to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The new rule would let ranchers shoot wolves they see chasing livestock on private land. Doing so is illegal now. People with grazing permits on federal land would also get more leeway, and FWP would be able, under certain circumstances, to kill wolves causing unacceptable impacts to wildlife populations such as deer and elk....
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch Linn Blancett pulls his pickup truck to a stop and lets out a weary sigh. "You see that area there," he says, pointing to a patch of land that borders a well pad pumping out gas, the surface once covered with grass now bare. "That's supposed to be reseeded." We are in the northwest corner of New Mexico, a few miles from the Colorado border, in the heart of the San Juan Basin, a bowl-shaped, 7,500-square-mile expanse that sits atop one of the largest natural-gas reserves in the country. Linn Blancett and his wife, Tweeti, have been running cattle here for much of their lives. Their ranch stretches across 32,000 acres of mostly federal land, hilly, high-desert terrain where the Blancetts first settled as homesteaders six generations ago, back in the 1870s. On this morning, though, several hours into our trek across the range, we've yet to spot any cattle. What we have seen plenty of are roads, pipelines and drilling rigs....
Small explosion at St. Helens possible within days A small explosion of rocks, ash and steam could occur within the next few days within the crater of Mount St. Helens, where earthquake activity has been steadily building for nearly a week, scientists said Tuesday. "It could certainly happen today; it might not happen for weeks or months," said seismologist Seth Moran of the U.S. Geological Survey's Cascade Volcano Observatory. He added that the likelihood of a significant eruption "is fairly small."....
Gates Close for Good at Ponderosa Ranch The old, if fictional, homestead has closed for good. The Ponderosa Ranch, made famous in the 1960s television program Bonanza, entertained its last visitors Sunday. The 548-acre ranch, located on a hill above Incline Village at the north end of Lake Tahoe, was sold to a developer in July. A Western theme park since 1967, the ranch provided several backdrops, including the horse stables, used in the Bonanza television series....
Rodeo's rumor mill churning Rodeo, much like auto racing, is also rife with rumors. The latest rumor blowing up cell phones among cowboys and cowgirls is possible changes for the National Finals Rodeo. The NFR has been in existence since 1959 with basically the same format. Each performance features the top 10 qualifiers in each event for 10 rounds of competition. The cowboy or cowgirl with the most money won at the end of the year is crowned world champion....
George Bush Vs. John Kerry: The Field & Stream Interviews This much we know: The next President of the United States will be a sportsman. Whether it’s George W. Bush or John F. Kerry, each claims that hunting and fishing have been an integral part of his life. President Bush is a bass man. Senator Kerry is a saltwater fisherman. Both like to hunt birds. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, this should come as very good news. Beyond that, of course, it gets complicated....
Activists Sue Over Calif. Forest Plan Environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday, claiming a six-year-old federal law aimed at preventing wildfires has degenerated into a backdoor effort to eventually increase logging across 340,000 acres of Sierra Nevada national forests. The federal lawsuit challenges the Forest Service's effort to log 6,400 acres over five years in the Plumas National Forest west of Quincy, where a coalition of loggers and local conservationists once met to propose what eventually became national fire-prevention policy....
House OKs forest-health youth jobs program Walden, who chairs the Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, introduced the Healthy Forest Youth Conservation Corps Act to give young adults ages 16 to 25 the opportunity to obtain skills and valuable education in forestland management while conducting work in fuels reduction projects on federal forestlands. Projects will be directed at efforts to prevent catastrophic fire and rehabilitate public land affected or altered by fires. Most notably, work will be done in accordance with HFRA plans to reduce hazardous fuels. Young adults participating in the corps will be managed by the agency in charge of the given forestland, namely the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service, part of the Department of Agriculture. The managing agency can contract directly with youth, or they can enter into contracts with state-level departments of natural resources, agriculture or forestry....
Restraining order requested in prairie dog case Eight groups that have sued to prevent federal agencies from starting a program to poison and shoot black-tailed prairie dogs on federal land in southwestern South Dakota have asked a judge for a temporary restraining order. Last month, U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton removed prairie dogs from the list of candidates being considered for designation as endangered species, allowing states to take more steps to control prairie dogs....
BLM plans roundups, birth control for wild horses near Cody Federal land managers plan roundups and birth control measures next month to reduce an overpopulated wild horse herd near Cody. The goal is reduce the McCullough Peaks wild horse herd by some 400 animals to achieve a more manageable level of between 70 and 140 animals, according to the Bureau of Land Management. The agency also plans to use birth control methods to help stabilize and improve the health and genetic viability of wild horse herds, while also maintaining a healthy ecosystem, BLM officials said....
Next best delisting However, the "second best thing" to delisting could be in place by early next year, according to Ed Bangs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's wolf recovery team leader. FWS is now revising what's known as the 10J rule, in order to pass along much of its authority to decide when and where to kill problem-causing wolves to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The new rule would let ranchers shoot wolves they see chasing livestock on private land. Doing so is illegal now. People with grazing permits on federal land would also get more leeway, and FWP would be able, under certain circumstances, to kill wolves causing unacceptable impacts to wildlife populations such as deer and elk....
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch Linn Blancett pulls his pickup truck to a stop and lets out a weary sigh. "You see that area there," he says, pointing to a patch of land that borders a well pad pumping out gas, the surface once covered with grass now bare. "That's supposed to be reseeded." We are in the northwest corner of New Mexico, a few miles from the Colorado border, in the heart of the San Juan Basin, a bowl-shaped, 7,500-square-mile expanse that sits atop one of the largest natural-gas reserves in the country. Linn Blancett and his wife, Tweeti, have been running cattle here for much of their lives. Their ranch stretches across 32,000 acres of mostly federal land, hilly, high-desert terrain where the Blancetts first settled as homesteaders six generations ago, back in the 1870s. On this morning, though, several hours into our trek across the range, we've yet to spot any cattle. What we have seen plenty of are roads, pipelines and drilling rigs....
Small explosion at St. Helens possible within days A small explosion of rocks, ash and steam could occur within the next few days within the crater of Mount St. Helens, where earthquake activity has been steadily building for nearly a week, scientists said Tuesday. "It could certainly happen today; it might not happen for weeks or months," said seismologist Seth Moran of the U.S. Geological Survey's Cascade Volcano Observatory. He added that the likelihood of a significant eruption "is fairly small."....
Gates Close for Good at Ponderosa Ranch The old, if fictional, homestead has closed for good. The Ponderosa Ranch, made famous in the 1960s television program Bonanza, entertained its last visitors Sunday. The 548-acre ranch, located on a hill above Incline Village at the north end of Lake Tahoe, was sold to a developer in July. A Western theme park since 1967, the ranch provided several backdrops, including the horse stables, used in the Bonanza television series....
Rodeo's rumor mill churning Rodeo, much like auto racing, is also rife with rumors. The latest rumor blowing up cell phones among cowboys and cowgirls is possible changes for the National Finals Rodeo. The NFR has been in existence since 1959 with basically the same format. Each performance features the top 10 qualifiers in each event for 10 rounds of competition. The cowboy or cowgirl with the most money won at the end of the year is crowned world champion....
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
Scientists watching unusual events near volcano A series of unusual earthquakes near Mount St. Helens in recent days has scientists warning that something more serious could be imminent. The "hazardous event" the U.S. Geological Survey warns is possible could be an explosion caused by steam building up inside the volcano, or it could be more serious -- involving molten rock and deadly gas....
Mount St. Helens: Scientists in a scramble Small earthquakes rattled Mount St. Helens at the rate of one or two a minute yesterday, and seismologists were scrambling to determine the significance of some of the most intense seismic activity in nearly 20 years. Early tests of gas samples collected above the volcano by helicopter yesterday did not show unusually high levels of carbon dioxide or sulfur. "This tells us that we are probably not yet seeing magma moving up in the system," said Jeff Wynn, chief scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Vancouver, Wash. He noted additional tests are necessary to better define whether there's magma moving under the mountain's crater....
School fences out bears Construction of a bear fence at Valley School will be a community project Oct. 2. After several recent bear sightings, including two on the steps of the teacher's cabin Monday night, Sept. 13, the Forest Service gave the school permission to build the fence. Teacher Audra Morrow, who lives in a cabin next to the school on the upper South Fork, didn't see the two grizzlies at first. "I walked right past the door and didn't notice them, but my dog went crazy," she said. "I looked out and expected to see people, but there were two bears."...
The Nature Conservancy and Partners Complete Acquisition of Baca Ranch After more than a decade of work to conserve the 151-square mile Baca Ranch, The Nature Conservancy today announced it had completed the last of a complex set of real estate transactions, clearing the way for the protection of the ranch and the designation of the nation's newest national park, the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Upon closing the Baca Ranch transaction, the Conservancy transferred management responsibility for 27,000 acres of land within the designated national park boundaries to the National Park Service. The Conservancy will continue to manage the remainder of the Baca lands in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior pending a final $3.4 million federal appropriation. Once the remaining monies are appropriated, the full ownership of the ranch will be transferred to the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA Forest Service to create the Baca National Wildlife Refuge and expand the existing Rio Grande National Forest....
Putting Out Fires At 8:15 a.m. on a day in mid-August, Rick Ochoa, the top weatherman at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, walks into a briefing room filled with personnel from the multiple federal agencies that staff the center. As he does every morning during the peak spring and summer fire season, he provides a detailed weather report for the entire country on a floor-to-ceiling screen. But unlike the forecasts on nightly TV, Ochoa's zeroes in on weather conditions of little interest to laymen but of key importance to firefighting agencies. He talks about relative drought and the presence of "dry" thunderstorms, which can spark and then help spread a fire....
Feds may add toad to roster Colorado's only alpine toad, the forest-dwelling boreal toad, would be added to the U.S. Endangered Species List under a proposal about to be submitted by federal wildlife officials. Listing the toad would strengthen protections for the warty 4-inch amphibian, whose numbers have plummeted in the last 20 years, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist said Monday. But some state wildlife officials say the federal designation is unnecessary and could create burdensome land-use restrictions, especially on U.S. Forest Service property above 7,000 feet....
West Nile bald eagle deaths confirmed Bald eagles face a new threat this year, but humans and toxins are not the culprits. The University’s Raptor Center confirmed that the West Nile virus killed four male bald eagles in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area last week, and the number could keep climbing. Professor and Raptor Center Director Patrick Redig said he is “reasonably certain” another bald eagle in the center will test positive for the virus. The virus is transmitted from mosquitoes and can cause death in humans and animals....
Fish list grows crowded Another federally protected fish could be entering the fight for Klamath Basin water. Seven hundred and six miles of streams and 33,939 acres of lakes and marshes around Oregon were designated as critical habitat for the threatened bull trout last week. All of the lakes and marshes are in the Klamath Basin. Federal officials are still trying to determine what the impact could be on the other protected fishes, two species of endangered suckers and the threatened coho salmon, and on the Klamath Irrigation Project....
The American River's Hidden Fish Kill The Klamath River fish kill of September 2002, when 68,000 salmon died because of low, warm water conditions on the lower river, is considered the largest of its kind in U.S. history. However, another "hidden fish kill" that took place on the American River in the fall of 2001, 2002 and 2003 is now vying for this dubious distinction. Only a few short miles from the Caliornia State Capitol, huge numbers of adult chinook salmon return from the ocean to spawn. But 181,709 of these fish recently perished before spawning. River advocates and fishery biologists blame the fish kills on poor water management by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and on the continuing lack of flow and water temperature standards on the American, while federal officials claim that they are forced to balance the needs of different users in managing the river....
Two conservation groups sue over wildflower habitat Two conservation groups have made good on their promise to sue the Department of Interior over what they say is its failure to follow through in protecting two endangered plant species in the St. George area. The Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity and the Utah Native Plant Society on Monday filed a federal complaint in Washington to force the Bush Administration to provide "critical habitat" for the Holmgren milkvetch and the Shivwits milkvetch - a pair of nearly extinct wildflowers found only in the Mojave Desert near the Utah-Arizona border. The two plant species are in the path of a planned freeway interchange and roadway in St. George's south corridor that would link the city with its proposed new airport and a planned community....
Judge questions plan on dams The Bush administration's dismissal of dam removal as an option for restoring salmon has been met with skepticism by the federal judge overseeing the protection of the fish. At issue is a draft plan by federal authorities for balancing the needs of salmon against the demand for electricity, irrigation water and barge transportation provided by dams in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. U.S. District Judge James Redden has raised several questions about the legal and scientific footing for the plan and will lay out his concerns at a status conference Tuesday with government lawyers and those for conservation groups and American Indian tribes....
Group urges feds to let locals lead on sage grouse The rapid growth of state and local conservation efforts aimed at preserving the Greater Sage Grouse --which wildlife experts say is the species' best chance for long-term success -- will be reversed dramatically if the federal government commandeers these efforts through an Endangered Species Act listing. So said the Partnership for the West coalition in recent testimony to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water....
Politics skew park budgets The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught on fire in 1969, or at least the pollution in it did. But it has been cleaned up, and Congress even made its scenic upstream valley a national park in 1974. But that park isn't well-known nationally, and few faraway families would plan summer vacations specifically to see it. Still, the Cuyahoga park has a bigger base budget ($9.5 million this year) than some of the true icons of the park system, including Grand Teton National Park ($9.35 million), Mount Rainier National Park ($9.29 million), Utah's Lake Powell ($9.28 million) and Zion National Park ($6 million) among many others. Why? "I believe it's politics," said former Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, who served in Congress for 22 years and retired as chairman of the House Resources Committee....
EPA seeks stricter park snowmobile plan The Environmental Protection Agency is urging the National Park Service to change its latest proposal for snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park to reduce the amount of pollution emitted by the machines. Scaling back emissions could mean changing the type or number of snowmobiles that are allowed into the park, according to an EPA official....
Park Service Retiree Group Wades Into Political Waters This is not the kind of group you would want as your enemy. Its members have experience, political savvy and an insider's knowledge of how the place is run. They also aren't afraid to talk. Call them the AARP of the National Park Service. The Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees is a newcomer to the phalanx of interest groups in the nation's capital, but it has managed to leverage its influence by disclosing leaked internal memos, taking its case to Capitol Hill and zeroing in on key regulatory issues that the Bush administration has on its agenda for park management....
Environmental groups urge more study of drilling plans Environmental groups want the government to take a much harder look at EnCana Oil & Gas Co.'s plans to drill more than 1,200 natural-gas wells on 17,000 acres in western Colorado. The federal Bureau of Land Management released an environmental assessment of the plans in July, but the environmental groups say a more detailed environmental impact statement should be done. EnCana plans to drill the wells from 120 well pads. It would build 62 miles of roads, 71 miles of pipeline and two compressor stations in the area about 30 miles southwest of Meeker and 160 miles west of Denver....
BLM proposes wind turbine to help power new building A 120-foot-tall wind turbine could reduce by about 25 percent the electricity bill at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's new Rawlins Field Office. The 20-kilowatt wind turbine would generate about 330,000 kilowatt hours per year, worth about $15,000 at current rates....
Hunters, environmentalists protest federal land swap A controversial bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski that would trade federal land to two Native corporations in the Berners Bay region near Juneau has raised the ire of some Alaska hunters, and Monday they called the bill "plain wrongheaded." The trade, known as the Cape Fox Land Exchange, would give two Southeast Native corporations up to 12,000 acres of federal land around the popular recreation area of Berners Bay near Juneau. The corporations, Sealaska and Cape Fox, would give up other land and mineral rights in Southeast....
Column - Cheaper vs. cleaner: big differences Consider two recent news items: oil prices creeping up toward $50 a barrel and Antarctic glaciers breaking up into icebergs at an accelerated pace, probably due to global warming. They may not seem related. And with war in Iraq and the economy topping the list of election concerns, energy and the environment aren't exactly front-page political news. But the two overlap considerably. And while they may not rank as top-tier issues among voters, they resonate deeply and personally for millions of Americans - including many who've yet to make up their minds whom to vote for....
Even some foes cheer Bush for new diesel-pollution rules While environmentalists and many Democrats in Congress consistently disparaged the Bush administration's clean-air record, one of the president's most far-reaching achievements went largely unheralded. Bush agreed to cut diesel pollution 90 percent in everything from tractors and construction equipment to lawnmowers, forklifts and diesel generators. The administration also forced the refining industry to reduce sulfur — the primary ingredient in ozone pollution — in fuel by 99 percent....
Bush cut some diesel pollution but let big ships keep spewing Through a filament of haze they emerge: containerships long enough to ferry the Space Needle, some belching as much exhaust as 12,000 cars, cutting through the bay toward the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach. During a decade in which scientists learned diesel pollution was even worse for our health than once thought, Murphy's agency made an astounding discovery: Ocean-going ships that cruised past Santa Barbara's coast each year emitted more smog-forming pollution than all vehicles on the county's roads combined....
Roslyn hires consultant to research water rights The small town of Roslyn on the Eastern slope of the Cascades has hired a consultant to research new water rights after the town's irrigation district shut off the spigot this summer. Roslyn, which was built in 1886 as a mining town, is a junior water rights holder in the Roza Irrigation District. During the dry summer months, residents were forced to conserve water when the district shut off the domestic water supply for the first time. In years past the district had threatened to reduce the amount of water the city received, but never made good on those threats. This was the first time Roslyn was ever cut off from its domestic water supply, said Mayor Jeri Porter....
Environmentalists dream of restoring Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley Of all the battles waged over natural resources in California, perhaps none is bolder, or more romantic, than a campaign by environmentalists to tear down a dam in Yosemite National Park that has provided water and electricity to much of Northern California for 80 years. A report released Monday by Environmental Defense is the latest attempt to sway public opinion in favor of draining Hetch Hetchy Valley and restoring to nature what conservationist John Muir called Yosemite Valley's little brother - a "precious mountain temple" and "grand landscape garden" that now lies 300 feet under water. The authors of the report, "Paradise Regained," argue that water quality, supply and storage, as well as power generation, could be maintained if the Hetch Hetchy Valley, in the Sierra Nevada mountains about 160 miles east of San Francisco, were drained and restored. The study proposes a variety of alternative water and power sources for the San Francisco Bay area and the Central Valley if the O'Shaughnessy Dam were taken down....
It's All Trew: Whetstone was also an important tool According to Roy Underhill, author of "The Woodwright's Companion," the smaller and sharper the sand particles the better the whetstone. As metal is rubbed across the stone, the particles are dulled and glazed over with the metal removed during sharpening. Oil or water must be added to flush away the dulled sand particles and surplus metal. This explanation is important as it helps explain why the whetstone requires special care and storage by owners. Our family always kept a good whetstone at hand in the house, bunkhouse and barn. My folks spent hours honing their pocket knife blades making ready for the next use. When Dad honed his knife, Mother invariably handed him a paring or butcher knife and I remember several lessons given to me on how to sharpen a knife blade. A whetstone had to be kept alive by generous applications of oil or water. I venture to guess more knives were sharpened by using saliva than oil as spit was always handy. Many whetstones, like ours, were mounted on wooden blocks with wooden lids. The wood held all surplus oil and moisture thus keeping the rock alive and not dried out and dead. Many cowboys carried their own small whetstones in leather holsters in their pockets....
Scientists watching unusual events near volcano A series of unusual earthquakes near Mount St. Helens in recent days has scientists warning that something more serious could be imminent. The "hazardous event" the U.S. Geological Survey warns is possible could be an explosion caused by steam building up inside the volcano, or it could be more serious -- involving molten rock and deadly gas....
Mount St. Helens: Scientists in a scramble Small earthquakes rattled Mount St. Helens at the rate of one or two a minute yesterday, and seismologists were scrambling to determine the significance of some of the most intense seismic activity in nearly 20 years. Early tests of gas samples collected above the volcano by helicopter yesterday did not show unusually high levels of carbon dioxide or sulfur. "This tells us that we are probably not yet seeing magma moving up in the system," said Jeff Wynn, chief scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Vancouver, Wash. He noted additional tests are necessary to better define whether there's magma moving under the mountain's crater....
School fences out bears Construction of a bear fence at Valley School will be a community project Oct. 2. After several recent bear sightings, including two on the steps of the teacher's cabin Monday night, Sept. 13, the Forest Service gave the school permission to build the fence. Teacher Audra Morrow, who lives in a cabin next to the school on the upper South Fork, didn't see the two grizzlies at first. "I walked right past the door and didn't notice them, but my dog went crazy," she said. "I looked out and expected to see people, but there were two bears."...
The Nature Conservancy and Partners Complete Acquisition of Baca Ranch After more than a decade of work to conserve the 151-square mile Baca Ranch, The Nature Conservancy today announced it had completed the last of a complex set of real estate transactions, clearing the way for the protection of the ranch and the designation of the nation's newest national park, the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Upon closing the Baca Ranch transaction, the Conservancy transferred management responsibility for 27,000 acres of land within the designated national park boundaries to the National Park Service. The Conservancy will continue to manage the remainder of the Baca lands in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior pending a final $3.4 million federal appropriation. Once the remaining monies are appropriated, the full ownership of the ranch will be transferred to the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA Forest Service to create the Baca National Wildlife Refuge and expand the existing Rio Grande National Forest....
Putting Out Fires At 8:15 a.m. on a day in mid-August, Rick Ochoa, the top weatherman at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, walks into a briefing room filled with personnel from the multiple federal agencies that staff the center. As he does every morning during the peak spring and summer fire season, he provides a detailed weather report for the entire country on a floor-to-ceiling screen. But unlike the forecasts on nightly TV, Ochoa's zeroes in on weather conditions of little interest to laymen but of key importance to firefighting agencies. He talks about relative drought and the presence of "dry" thunderstorms, which can spark and then help spread a fire....
Feds may add toad to roster Colorado's only alpine toad, the forest-dwelling boreal toad, would be added to the U.S. Endangered Species List under a proposal about to be submitted by federal wildlife officials. Listing the toad would strengthen protections for the warty 4-inch amphibian, whose numbers have plummeted in the last 20 years, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist said Monday. But some state wildlife officials say the federal designation is unnecessary and could create burdensome land-use restrictions, especially on U.S. Forest Service property above 7,000 feet....
West Nile bald eagle deaths confirmed Bald eagles face a new threat this year, but humans and toxins are not the culprits. The University’s Raptor Center confirmed that the West Nile virus killed four male bald eagles in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area last week, and the number could keep climbing. Professor and Raptor Center Director Patrick Redig said he is “reasonably certain” another bald eagle in the center will test positive for the virus. The virus is transmitted from mosquitoes and can cause death in humans and animals....
Fish list grows crowded Another federally protected fish could be entering the fight for Klamath Basin water. Seven hundred and six miles of streams and 33,939 acres of lakes and marshes around Oregon were designated as critical habitat for the threatened bull trout last week. All of the lakes and marshes are in the Klamath Basin. Federal officials are still trying to determine what the impact could be on the other protected fishes, two species of endangered suckers and the threatened coho salmon, and on the Klamath Irrigation Project....
The American River's Hidden Fish Kill The Klamath River fish kill of September 2002, when 68,000 salmon died because of low, warm water conditions on the lower river, is considered the largest of its kind in U.S. history. However, another "hidden fish kill" that took place on the American River in the fall of 2001, 2002 and 2003 is now vying for this dubious distinction. Only a few short miles from the Caliornia State Capitol, huge numbers of adult chinook salmon return from the ocean to spawn. But 181,709 of these fish recently perished before spawning. River advocates and fishery biologists blame the fish kills on poor water management by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and on the continuing lack of flow and water temperature standards on the American, while federal officials claim that they are forced to balance the needs of different users in managing the river....
Two conservation groups sue over wildflower habitat Two conservation groups have made good on their promise to sue the Department of Interior over what they say is its failure to follow through in protecting two endangered plant species in the St. George area. The Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity and the Utah Native Plant Society on Monday filed a federal complaint in Washington to force the Bush Administration to provide "critical habitat" for the Holmgren milkvetch and the Shivwits milkvetch - a pair of nearly extinct wildflowers found only in the Mojave Desert near the Utah-Arizona border. The two plant species are in the path of a planned freeway interchange and roadway in St. George's south corridor that would link the city with its proposed new airport and a planned community....
Judge questions plan on dams The Bush administration's dismissal of dam removal as an option for restoring salmon has been met with skepticism by the federal judge overseeing the protection of the fish. At issue is a draft plan by federal authorities for balancing the needs of salmon against the demand for electricity, irrigation water and barge transportation provided by dams in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. U.S. District Judge James Redden has raised several questions about the legal and scientific footing for the plan and will lay out his concerns at a status conference Tuesday with government lawyers and those for conservation groups and American Indian tribes....
Group urges feds to let locals lead on sage grouse The rapid growth of state and local conservation efforts aimed at preserving the Greater Sage Grouse --which wildlife experts say is the species' best chance for long-term success -- will be reversed dramatically if the federal government commandeers these efforts through an Endangered Species Act listing. So said the Partnership for the West coalition in recent testimony to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water....
Politics skew park budgets The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught on fire in 1969, or at least the pollution in it did. But it has been cleaned up, and Congress even made its scenic upstream valley a national park in 1974. But that park isn't well-known nationally, and few faraway families would plan summer vacations specifically to see it. Still, the Cuyahoga park has a bigger base budget ($9.5 million this year) than some of the true icons of the park system, including Grand Teton National Park ($9.35 million), Mount Rainier National Park ($9.29 million), Utah's Lake Powell ($9.28 million) and Zion National Park ($6 million) among many others. Why? "I believe it's politics," said former Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, who served in Congress for 22 years and retired as chairman of the House Resources Committee....
EPA seeks stricter park snowmobile plan The Environmental Protection Agency is urging the National Park Service to change its latest proposal for snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park to reduce the amount of pollution emitted by the machines. Scaling back emissions could mean changing the type or number of snowmobiles that are allowed into the park, according to an EPA official....
Park Service Retiree Group Wades Into Political Waters This is not the kind of group you would want as your enemy. Its members have experience, political savvy and an insider's knowledge of how the place is run. They also aren't afraid to talk. Call them the AARP of the National Park Service. The Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees is a newcomer to the phalanx of interest groups in the nation's capital, but it has managed to leverage its influence by disclosing leaked internal memos, taking its case to Capitol Hill and zeroing in on key regulatory issues that the Bush administration has on its agenda for park management....
Environmental groups urge more study of drilling plans Environmental groups want the government to take a much harder look at EnCana Oil & Gas Co.'s plans to drill more than 1,200 natural-gas wells on 17,000 acres in western Colorado. The federal Bureau of Land Management released an environmental assessment of the plans in July, but the environmental groups say a more detailed environmental impact statement should be done. EnCana plans to drill the wells from 120 well pads. It would build 62 miles of roads, 71 miles of pipeline and two compressor stations in the area about 30 miles southwest of Meeker and 160 miles west of Denver....
BLM proposes wind turbine to help power new building A 120-foot-tall wind turbine could reduce by about 25 percent the electricity bill at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's new Rawlins Field Office. The 20-kilowatt wind turbine would generate about 330,000 kilowatt hours per year, worth about $15,000 at current rates....
Hunters, environmentalists protest federal land swap A controversial bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski that would trade federal land to two Native corporations in the Berners Bay region near Juneau has raised the ire of some Alaska hunters, and Monday they called the bill "plain wrongheaded." The trade, known as the Cape Fox Land Exchange, would give two Southeast Native corporations up to 12,000 acres of federal land around the popular recreation area of Berners Bay near Juneau. The corporations, Sealaska and Cape Fox, would give up other land and mineral rights in Southeast....
Column - Cheaper vs. cleaner: big differences Consider two recent news items: oil prices creeping up toward $50 a barrel and Antarctic glaciers breaking up into icebergs at an accelerated pace, probably due to global warming. They may not seem related. And with war in Iraq and the economy topping the list of election concerns, energy and the environment aren't exactly front-page political news. But the two overlap considerably. And while they may not rank as top-tier issues among voters, they resonate deeply and personally for millions of Americans - including many who've yet to make up their minds whom to vote for....
Even some foes cheer Bush for new diesel-pollution rules While environmentalists and many Democrats in Congress consistently disparaged the Bush administration's clean-air record, one of the president's most far-reaching achievements went largely unheralded. Bush agreed to cut diesel pollution 90 percent in everything from tractors and construction equipment to lawnmowers, forklifts and diesel generators. The administration also forced the refining industry to reduce sulfur — the primary ingredient in ozone pollution — in fuel by 99 percent....
Bush cut some diesel pollution but let big ships keep spewing Through a filament of haze they emerge: containerships long enough to ferry the Space Needle, some belching as much exhaust as 12,000 cars, cutting through the bay toward the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach. During a decade in which scientists learned diesel pollution was even worse for our health than once thought, Murphy's agency made an astounding discovery: Ocean-going ships that cruised past Santa Barbara's coast each year emitted more smog-forming pollution than all vehicles on the county's roads combined....
Roslyn hires consultant to research water rights The small town of Roslyn on the Eastern slope of the Cascades has hired a consultant to research new water rights after the town's irrigation district shut off the spigot this summer. Roslyn, which was built in 1886 as a mining town, is a junior water rights holder in the Roza Irrigation District. During the dry summer months, residents were forced to conserve water when the district shut off the domestic water supply for the first time. In years past the district had threatened to reduce the amount of water the city received, but never made good on those threats. This was the first time Roslyn was ever cut off from its domestic water supply, said Mayor Jeri Porter....
Environmentalists dream of restoring Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley Of all the battles waged over natural resources in California, perhaps none is bolder, or more romantic, than a campaign by environmentalists to tear down a dam in Yosemite National Park that has provided water and electricity to much of Northern California for 80 years. A report released Monday by Environmental Defense is the latest attempt to sway public opinion in favor of draining Hetch Hetchy Valley and restoring to nature what conservationist John Muir called Yosemite Valley's little brother - a "precious mountain temple" and "grand landscape garden" that now lies 300 feet under water. The authors of the report, "Paradise Regained," argue that water quality, supply and storage, as well as power generation, could be maintained if the Hetch Hetchy Valley, in the Sierra Nevada mountains about 160 miles east of San Francisco, were drained and restored. The study proposes a variety of alternative water and power sources for the San Francisco Bay area and the Central Valley if the O'Shaughnessy Dam were taken down....
It's All Trew: Whetstone was also an important tool According to Roy Underhill, author of "The Woodwright's Companion," the smaller and sharper the sand particles the better the whetstone. As metal is rubbed across the stone, the particles are dulled and glazed over with the metal removed during sharpening. Oil or water must be added to flush away the dulled sand particles and surplus metal. This explanation is important as it helps explain why the whetstone requires special care and storage by owners. Our family always kept a good whetstone at hand in the house, bunkhouse and barn. My folks spent hours honing their pocket knife blades making ready for the next use. When Dad honed his knife, Mother invariably handed him a paring or butcher knife and I remember several lessons given to me on how to sharpen a knife blade. A whetstone had to be kept alive by generous applications of oil or water. I venture to guess more knives were sharpened by using saliva than oil as spit was always handy. Many whetstones, like ours, were mounted on wooden blocks with wooden lids. The wood held all surplus oil and moisture thus keeping the rock alive and not dried out and dead. Many cowboys carried their own small whetstones in leather holsters in their pockets....
Monday, September 27, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
Can you hear me now? The call of the wild is getting louder. But it's people, not animals, who are responsible for the uproar. From birds in European cities to killer whales off the U.S. coast, some animals are ratcheting up their calls in order to be heard above the human clamor. Recordings of whale calls made during the past three years, for example, show that orcas on the West Coast increase the length of their calls when surrounded by rumbling engines from whale-watching boats. And studies of a common European songbird reveal that city crooners shift into a higher pitch range during rush hours to transcend the traffic noise....
Editorial: Wrong recipe for the Biscuit U. S. Sen. Gordon Smith should abandon his threat to push through legislation to lock environmentalists out of the courtroom and accelerate salvage logging on the Biscuit fire. Smith is understandably frustrated with the delays and legal roadblocks thrown in front of the U.S. Forest Service's Biscuit salvage plan. Two years after the fire swept half a million acres of the Siskiyou forest, dead trees worth millions of dollars, and hundreds of good jobs, are rotting even though they could be safely salvaged without lasting environmental harm. Yet a legislative rider is a poisonous way to attempt to resolve the conflict over Biscuit salvage. Any effort to legislate one of the largest logging projects in the history of the national forest would undermine public trust in the Forest Service and Congress....
In the Mojave Preserve, Emotions Still Run Hot As the preserve's 10th anniversary approaches, its proponents celebrate it as a citadel of nature amid an onrushing tide of development, while local residents continue to resent the limits on off-road exploration, hunting, cattle ranching and other economic activities. About an hour's drive northeast of Barstow, the preserve was established as part of the California Desert Protection Act. The legislation set aside more land than any previous conservation law in the lower 48 states. It expanded Joshua Tree and Death Valley national monuments, conferring national park status on each, and it created new wilderness in areas managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. In all, the act increased protection for more than 9 million acres of desert....
Measures to designate NW lands foundering in Congress The Sierra Club and 26 other conservation groups have withdrawn support for the proposed 300,000-acre Hemingway Wilderness near Idaho's Sun Valley. A growing number of off-road vehicle recreationists are opposing that plan. A proposal to designate the Wild Sky Wilderness in the Cascade Range northeast of Seattle also withered Wednesday in Congress. And prospects are dimming this year for action on wilderness designation for the Owyhee canyonlands of southern Idaho, although Inland Northwest conservationists are still optimistic for the long term....
Column: Let's protect the Front As a rancher from Dupuyer, and a former Pondera County commissioner, I appreciate that the Front's beauty and natural values are essential to the enjoyment and economic security of local families, Front communities and all of Montana. Montanans have a long tradition of working together to protect the Front, and the wise judgments of past generations have kept the Front one of our most treasured places. This summer, Montanans again demonstrated the depth of their attachment to the Front. During a public comment period conducted by the BLM, 93 percent of Montanans participating urged the government to abandon a proposal to drill federal lands along the Front. Instead, Montanans and Americans overwhelmingly urged that the Front be protected for future generations to enjoy....
Editorial: Yellowstone grizzlies, roaring success complicated by controversy For the past 30 years, conservationists have worked to restore Yellowstone Park's most popular, living tourist attraction: the grizzly bear. The success of grizzly recovery in Yellowstone Country is both a boon and a bane. Now that we've got a healthy number of bears, we've got to live with them. Bears and people actually coexist reasonably well in the 2.2-million-acre park. There's a force of rangers to keep people and bears apart, to enforce safety measures. And there's no livestock grazing within the park boundaries. Outside the park, the greater griz population is more problematic. Bears ramble over public lands leased for private grazing and onto private land where they aren't welcome. Increased development with growing populations of seasonal and year-round residents increase potential for friction in bear country....
Editorial: Suit over hunter's death raises safety issues Timothy "Omar" Hilston, a 50-year-old experienced outdoorsman from Great Falls, was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear in 2001 as he field dressed an elk. In the suit, his widow accuses the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks of negligence in their bear management practices. The news brought into sharp relief two questions: What's the responsibility of hunters and others who use the woods to be aware of the dangers there and to prepare for them? How much responsibility does the government have to protect people from wildlife and other threats?....
Old bear spray ineffective during attack Pepper spray that did little, if anything, to prevent a bear from attacking a mountain biker might have been ineffective because it was old and unapproved, experts say. Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recommends that back-country travelers carry a can of EPA-approved bear pepper spray that is less than a year old. Old spray tends to separate from its propellant and does not discharge it properly, he said....
Groups spar with feds over protection for spotted owl Rebuffed by a federal wildlife agency last year, environmental groups aren't giving up on their fight to secure protection for the mysterious, mottled-brown-and-white California spotted owl, which lives in the mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties. The groups are charging ahead with efforts on two fronts. Led by the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, which has a regional office in Riverside County, environmentalists sued in May to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2003 decision not to place the California spotted owl on the endangered species list....
Plague found in sick prairie dog Plague has been confirmed in a prairie dog in western Custer County, the first such confirmed case in South Dakota wildlife in recent history, Dr. Sam Holland, state veterinarian, said Friday. A rancher who lives near the Wyoming border discovered the sick prairie dog, he said. Testing found that the animal has sylvatic plague, which is spread by infected fleas....
Bush switches nation's tack on protecting species When it comes to saving America's most endangered plants and animals, George W. Bush has listed fewer species for protection than any other president. In nearly four years in office, Bush has protected one-tenth as many species as his father did under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Even as species slipped toward extinction, most of the protection he did extend came as a result of court orders....
Going, going, gone: Three case studies It was as if the furry, back-floating marine mammals had simply vanished. After learning some Alaskan sea-otter populations were plummeting up to 17 percent a year — perhaps because they were being eaten by killer whales — federal scientists in 2002 knew what to do: They filed the paperwork to list the creatures under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)....
Pair near end of epic West Coast Trail hike For 3½ months, they have been on the move constantly, walking nearly 20 miles a day, threading their way across beaches, rainforests and farm country. On Tuesday, they expect to reach the end of the West Coast Trail — the fence marking the U.S.-Mexico border. Olive, 28, and his companion, Sarah Janes, 23, set out in June from the northwest tip of Washington. Both are taking a break from jobs with the National Park Service. Once they cross the border, the pair will become the first hikers to complete the journey in a single trip....
National parks in budget turmoil Actually, the administration cut the base budgets at three of every four parks nationally this year — including at 10 of the 13 National Park Service units in Utah, according to a Morning News analysis of published operating budgets for individual parks. Where did the money go? Much apparently helped protect "national icon" parks against terrorist threats — including the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, Mount Rushmore, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and memorials in Washington, D.C. So terrorism may be creating cuts at many parks to protect a few from terrorists....
For good or ill, Bush clears path for energy development Roads and well-drilling pads etched from the sagebrush now stretch to the horizon in ghostly cul-de-sacs. A decade ago this wind-swept swath of country was largely untouched by humans. Today, nearly 500 natural-gas wells dot the Green River Valley, and the Bush administration has called for up to 3,100....
Battle over NPR-A heated Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management say the marshy tundra around a giant North Slope lake could hold hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil, enough to significantly boost domestic oil production for a nation heavily dependent on foreign imports. To get at the oil, the agency recently proposed rolling back restrictions imposed in 1998 during the Clinton administration that keep oil explorers out of areas important for migratory geese and other wildlife....
Nuclear power slides back onto the agenda Reviled for more than a quarter of a century, nuclear energy is poised for a comeback. Soaring energy costs, worries about energy dependence and growing fears of global warming have combined to revive a once-doomed industry that remains the butt of pop-culture satire such as The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Three utility consortiums — Exelon, Entergy and Dominion Resources — recently filed early site applications with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for new plants — the first in nearly three decades....
SUWA petitions BLM for closure of certain off-road trails It's no surprise, then, that the 1978 plan for the area did not address the potential effects of off-road vehicles, and those effects are dramatic enough in the Vermilion Cliffs area that the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance petitioned the BLM last week for an emergency closure of some trails in the area. The conservation group contends those ORV trails were developed only in the last couple of years and threaten critical habitat for native wildlife and some archaeological resources....
St. Helens Activity May Signal Explosion A strengthening series of earthquakes at Mount St. Helens prompted seismologists Sunday to warn that the once-devastating volcano may see a small explosion soon. The U.S. Geological Survey issued a notice of volcanic unrest in response to the swarm of hundreds of earthquakes that began Thursday....
Column, Invasive species: The newest threat to property rights If you have foreign weeds, grass, trees, or shrubs on your property (and you most certainly do), you're in trouble. Under "Invasive Species" provisions currently sitting in the Senate's version of the Federal Transportation Bill (S. 1072), your property could quickly become the target of radical environmentalists and bureaucrats. Imagine the Endangered Species Act on steroids. Now multiply its devastating effect on property rights by one million. That should give you a pretty good idea of what "Invasive Species" legislation will mean for property owners in every state, county, city and suburb in the nation....
Major shift mapped for Delta water Under pressure from some of California's biggest cities and farm districts, federal and state officials are planning major changes in how water is stored and distributed across the state, including increased pumping of supplies from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The proposed changes, outlined in an obscure state-federal document called the Operations Criteria and Plan, sets the stage for California's most far-reaching plumbing shifts in a decade. Under the plan, water contractors would increase pumping from the Delta by 27 percent, sending more to Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. Less water would flow to the San Francisco Bay and less would be reserved for endangered salmon during the driest of droughts....
Government official praises Animas-La Plata project progress The head of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said he is happy with the progress of the Animas-La Plata Project, the $500 million plan to build a huge reservoir in southwest Colorado. "It's a good project and will settle water-right obligations (to American Indian tribes)," bureau Commissioner John Keys said Thursday. "I was pleased with the reaction of three private consultants who have been here to see what we're doing and how we're doing."....
On The Edge Of Common Sense: Veterinary questions for new millennium have been pondering the state of veterinary medicine in the new millennium. These subjects deserve some deeper thought, or at least a grant application for further study: 1. The plethora of chickens, the dearth of chicken practitioners. 2. The value of veterinarians in the war against bioterrorism. 3. Is there a place for grooming in an exclusive reptile practice? 4. What is the most important discovery in vet medicine since 1969? 5. What do you think of quacks in horse medicine, human medicine and brokerage firms?....
Can you hear me now? The call of the wild is getting louder. But it's people, not animals, who are responsible for the uproar. From birds in European cities to killer whales off the U.S. coast, some animals are ratcheting up their calls in order to be heard above the human clamor. Recordings of whale calls made during the past three years, for example, show that orcas on the West Coast increase the length of their calls when surrounded by rumbling engines from whale-watching boats. And studies of a common European songbird reveal that city crooners shift into a higher pitch range during rush hours to transcend the traffic noise....
Editorial: Wrong recipe for the Biscuit U. S. Sen. Gordon Smith should abandon his threat to push through legislation to lock environmentalists out of the courtroom and accelerate salvage logging on the Biscuit fire. Smith is understandably frustrated with the delays and legal roadblocks thrown in front of the U.S. Forest Service's Biscuit salvage plan. Two years after the fire swept half a million acres of the Siskiyou forest, dead trees worth millions of dollars, and hundreds of good jobs, are rotting even though they could be safely salvaged without lasting environmental harm. Yet a legislative rider is a poisonous way to attempt to resolve the conflict over Biscuit salvage. Any effort to legislate one of the largest logging projects in the history of the national forest would undermine public trust in the Forest Service and Congress....
In the Mojave Preserve, Emotions Still Run Hot As the preserve's 10th anniversary approaches, its proponents celebrate it as a citadel of nature amid an onrushing tide of development, while local residents continue to resent the limits on off-road exploration, hunting, cattle ranching and other economic activities. About an hour's drive northeast of Barstow, the preserve was established as part of the California Desert Protection Act. The legislation set aside more land than any previous conservation law in the lower 48 states. It expanded Joshua Tree and Death Valley national monuments, conferring national park status on each, and it created new wilderness in areas managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. In all, the act increased protection for more than 9 million acres of desert....
Measures to designate NW lands foundering in Congress The Sierra Club and 26 other conservation groups have withdrawn support for the proposed 300,000-acre Hemingway Wilderness near Idaho's Sun Valley. A growing number of off-road vehicle recreationists are opposing that plan. A proposal to designate the Wild Sky Wilderness in the Cascade Range northeast of Seattle also withered Wednesday in Congress. And prospects are dimming this year for action on wilderness designation for the Owyhee canyonlands of southern Idaho, although Inland Northwest conservationists are still optimistic for the long term....
Column: Let's protect the Front As a rancher from Dupuyer, and a former Pondera County commissioner, I appreciate that the Front's beauty and natural values are essential to the enjoyment and economic security of local families, Front communities and all of Montana. Montanans have a long tradition of working together to protect the Front, and the wise judgments of past generations have kept the Front one of our most treasured places. This summer, Montanans again demonstrated the depth of their attachment to the Front. During a public comment period conducted by the BLM, 93 percent of Montanans participating urged the government to abandon a proposal to drill federal lands along the Front. Instead, Montanans and Americans overwhelmingly urged that the Front be protected for future generations to enjoy....
Editorial: Yellowstone grizzlies, roaring success complicated by controversy For the past 30 years, conservationists have worked to restore Yellowstone Park's most popular, living tourist attraction: the grizzly bear. The success of grizzly recovery in Yellowstone Country is both a boon and a bane. Now that we've got a healthy number of bears, we've got to live with them. Bears and people actually coexist reasonably well in the 2.2-million-acre park. There's a force of rangers to keep people and bears apart, to enforce safety measures. And there's no livestock grazing within the park boundaries. Outside the park, the greater griz population is more problematic. Bears ramble over public lands leased for private grazing and onto private land where they aren't welcome. Increased development with growing populations of seasonal and year-round residents increase potential for friction in bear country....
Editorial: Suit over hunter's death raises safety issues Timothy "Omar" Hilston, a 50-year-old experienced outdoorsman from Great Falls, was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear in 2001 as he field dressed an elk. In the suit, his widow accuses the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks of negligence in their bear management practices. The news brought into sharp relief two questions: What's the responsibility of hunters and others who use the woods to be aware of the dangers there and to prepare for them? How much responsibility does the government have to protect people from wildlife and other threats?....
Old bear spray ineffective during attack Pepper spray that did little, if anything, to prevent a bear from attacking a mountain biker might have been ineffective because it was old and unapproved, experts say. Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recommends that back-country travelers carry a can of EPA-approved bear pepper spray that is less than a year old. Old spray tends to separate from its propellant and does not discharge it properly, he said....
Groups spar with feds over protection for spotted owl Rebuffed by a federal wildlife agency last year, environmental groups aren't giving up on their fight to secure protection for the mysterious, mottled-brown-and-white California spotted owl, which lives in the mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties. The groups are charging ahead with efforts on two fronts. Led by the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, which has a regional office in Riverside County, environmentalists sued in May to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2003 decision not to place the California spotted owl on the endangered species list....
Plague found in sick prairie dog Plague has been confirmed in a prairie dog in western Custer County, the first such confirmed case in South Dakota wildlife in recent history, Dr. Sam Holland, state veterinarian, said Friday. A rancher who lives near the Wyoming border discovered the sick prairie dog, he said. Testing found that the animal has sylvatic plague, which is spread by infected fleas....
Bush switches nation's tack on protecting species When it comes to saving America's most endangered plants and animals, George W. Bush has listed fewer species for protection than any other president. In nearly four years in office, Bush has protected one-tenth as many species as his father did under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Even as species slipped toward extinction, most of the protection he did extend came as a result of court orders....
Going, going, gone: Three case studies It was as if the furry, back-floating marine mammals had simply vanished. After learning some Alaskan sea-otter populations were plummeting up to 17 percent a year — perhaps because they were being eaten by killer whales — federal scientists in 2002 knew what to do: They filed the paperwork to list the creatures under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)....
Pair near end of epic West Coast Trail hike For 3½ months, they have been on the move constantly, walking nearly 20 miles a day, threading their way across beaches, rainforests and farm country. On Tuesday, they expect to reach the end of the West Coast Trail — the fence marking the U.S.-Mexico border. Olive, 28, and his companion, Sarah Janes, 23, set out in June from the northwest tip of Washington. Both are taking a break from jobs with the National Park Service. Once they cross the border, the pair will become the first hikers to complete the journey in a single trip....
National parks in budget turmoil Actually, the administration cut the base budgets at three of every four parks nationally this year — including at 10 of the 13 National Park Service units in Utah, according to a Morning News analysis of published operating budgets for individual parks. Where did the money go? Much apparently helped protect "national icon" parks against terrorist threats — including the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, Mount Rushmore, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and memorials in Washington, D.C. So terrorism may be creating cuts at many parks to protect a few from terrorists....
For good or ill, Bush clears path for energy development Roads and well-drilling pads etched from the sagebrush now stretch to the horizon in ghostly cul-de-sacs. A decade ago this wind-swept swath of country was largely untouched by humans. Today, nearly 500 natural-gas wells dot the Green River Valley, and the Bush administration has called for up to 3,100....
Battle over NPR-A heated Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management say the marshy tundra around a giant North Slope lake could hold hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil, enough to significantly boost domestic oil production for a nation heavily dependent on foreign imports. To get at the oil, the agency recently proposed rolling back restrictions imposed in 1998 during the Clinton administration that keep oil explorers out of areas important for migratory geese and other wildlife....
Nuclear power slides back onto the agenda Reviled for more than a quarter of a century, nuclear energy is poised for a comeback. Soaring energy costs, worries about energy dependence and growing fears of global warming have combined to revive a once-doomed industry that remains the butt of pop-culture satire such as The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Three utility consortiums — Exelon, Entergy and Dominion Resources — recently filed early site applications with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for new plants — the first in nearly three decades....
SUWA petitions BLM for closure of certain off-road trails It's no surprise, then, that the 1978 plan for the area did not address the potential effects of off-road vehicles, and those effects are dramatic enough in the Vermilion Cliffs area that the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance petitioned the BLM last week for an emergency closure of some trails in the area. The conservation group contends those ORV trails were developed only in the last couple of years and threaten critical habitat for native wildlife and some archaeological resources....
St. Helens Activity May Signal Explosion A strengthening series of earthquakes at Mount St. Helens prompted seismologists Sunday to warn that the once-devastating volcano may see a small explosion soon. The U.S. Geological Survey issued a notice of volcanic unrest in response to the swarm of hundreds of earthquakes that began Thursday....
Column, Invasive species: The newest threat to property rights If you have foreign weeds, grass, trees, or shrubs on your property (and you most certainly do), you're in trouble. Under "Invasive Species" provisions currently sitting in the Senate's version of the Federal Transportation Bill (S. 1072), your property could quickly become the target of radical environmentalists and bureaucrats. Imagine the Endangered Species Act on steroids. Now multiply its devastating effect on property rights by one million. That should give you a pretty good idea of what "Invasive Species" legislation will mean for property owners in every state, county, city and suburb in the nation....
Major shift mapped for Delta water Under pressure from some of California's biggest cities and farm districts, federal and state officials are planning major changes in how water is stored and distributed across the state, including increased pumping of supplies from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The proposed changes, outlined in an obscure state-federal document called the Operations Criteria and Plan, sets the stage for California's most far-reaching plumbing shifts in a decade. Under the plan, water contractors would increase pumping from the Delta by 27 percent, sending more to Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. Less water would flow to the San Francisco Bay and less would be reserved for endangered salmon during the driest of droughts....
Government official praises Animas-La Plata project progress The head of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said he is happy with the progress of the Animas-La Plata Project, the $500 million plan to build a huge reservoir in southwest Colorado. "It's a good project and will settle water-right obligations (to American Indian tribes)," bureau Commissioner John Keys said Thursday. "I was pleased with the reaction of three private consultants who have been here to see what we're doing and how we're doing."....
On The Edge Of Common Sense: Veterinary questions for new millennium have been pondering the state of veterinary medicine in the new millennium. These subjects deserve some deeper thought, or at least a grant application for further study: 1. The plethora of chickens, the dearth of chicken practitioners. 2. The value of veterinarians in the war against bioterrorism. 3. Is there a place for grooming in an exclusive reptile practice? 4. What is the most important discovery in vet medicine since 1969? 5. What do you think of quacks in horse medicine, human medicine and brokerage firms?....
Sunday, September 26, 2004
OPINION/COMMENTARY
Senate Mounts Sneak Attack on Sound Science
In a behind-the-scenes move with far reaching implications, the Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved a bill including language that would shield one of the federal government’s most important scientific agencies from legal requirements mandating integrity in government science. A clause in the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Commerce and other agencies (S. 2809) would exempt research produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from complying with the Federal Data Quality Act, which requires that data circulated by federal agencies conform to standards of scientific integrity.
“This quiet ploy is clearly aimed at avoiding the inevitable lawsuits exposing the junk science, much of it traceable to NOAA, which has been employed in government publications in recent years, including two alarmist global warming reports,” said Christopher C. Horner, Senior Fellow and Counsel at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “The apparent strategy here – that any agency or department report using NOAA science will now be above the law – guts existing data quality rules in the very context which forced Congress to enact them in the first place.”....
Senate Mounts Sneak Attack on Sound Science
In a behind-the-scenes move with far reaching implications, the Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved a bill including language that would shield one of the federal government’s most important scientific agencies from legal requirements mandating integrity in government science. A clause in the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Commerce and other agencies (S. 2809) would exempt research produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from complying with the Federal Data Quality Act, which requires that data circulated by federal agencies conform to standards of scientific integrity.
“This quiet ploy is clearly aimed at avoiding the inevitable lawsuits exposing the junk science, much of it traceable to NOAA, which has been employed in government publications in recent years, including two alarmist global warming reports,” said Christopher C. Horner, Senior Fellow and Counsel at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “The apparent strategy here – that any agency or department report using NOAA science will now be above the law – guts existing data quality rules in the very context which forced Congress to enact them in the first place.”....
OPINION/COMMENTARY
Green versus Black
What are rich people doing, in the first place, trying to stop poor people on the other side of the world from getting something to eat? They are feeding their own egos by hindering poor Africans from feeding themselves.
It's not a racial thing. The green zealots would stop anybody from doing anything they don't approve of. They talk grandly about "protecting" this, "preserving" that, or "saving" something else.
From what? From other people. Nor is this just a matter of buying up things to keep them out of other people's hands. Far more often, green zealots want the government to deprive other people of the right to use land or resources for their own purposes, rather than for the recreational or other purposes preferred by the green zealots....
Green versus Black
What are rich people doing, in the first place, trying to stop poor people on the other side of the world from getting something to eat? They are feeding their own egos by hindering poor Africans from feeding themselves.
It's not a racial thing. The green zealots would stop anybody from doing anything they don't approve of. They talk grandly about "protecting" this, "preserving" that, or "saving" something else.
From what? From other people. Nor is this just a matter of buying up things to keep them out of other people's hands. Far more often, green zealots want the government to deprive other people of the right to use land or resources for their own purposes, rather than for the recreational or other purposes preferred by the green zealots....
The Myth of the Tree Shortage
The USDA Forest Service took the lead in this study and enlisted help from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. For over two years, more than 25 scientists and analysts worked on this study. More than 100 scientists from universities, state and federal agencies, industry and conservation organizations provided peer reviews to enhance the accuracy and completeness of this report. Finally, in late 2001, the report was made public and was received with huge waves of apathy.
Why? The report was of no use to the radical environmental community because, with painstaking research and documented facts, it destroyed every assertion they had made concerning the forests of the south. It gave the lie to their "chicken little" scenarios and was impregnable to their attack because of the unimpeachable integrity of those who had created the study. So the radical environmental community just acted as if it had never happened.
From the stump landscapes of the early 1900’s, the southern forests have recovered to become one of the wood baskets of the world. Vibrant, never static, quickly responding to changing conditions, the southern forests meet the needs of today and are poised to embrace tomorrow.
The Resource Assessment does not cover the why of this marvelous transformation, but I will tell you why. It is because the southern forests are privately owned. The essential difference between the southern forests and the burning, stagnant forests of the west and looted forests of foreign lands is that of private ownership. Each landowner managing his own lands (and doing it very well as the Assessment shows) for his own perceived self-interest....
The USDA Forest Service took the lead in this study and enlisted help from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. For over two years, more than 25 scientists and analysts worked on this study. More than 100 scientists from universities, state and federal agencies, industry and conservation organizations provided peer reviews to enhance the accuracy and completeness of this report. Finally, in late 2001, the report was made public and was received with huge waves of apathy.
Why? The report was of no use to the radical environmental community because, with painstaking research and documented facts, it destroyed every assertion they had made concerning the forests of the south. It gave the lie to their "chicken little" scenarios and was impregnable to their attack because of the unimpeachable integrity of those who had created the study. So the radical environmental community just acted as if it had never happened.
From the stump landscapes of the early 1900’s, the southern forests have recovered to become one of the wood baskets of the world. Vibrant, never static, quickly responding to changing conditions, the southern forests meet the needs of today and are poised to embrace tomorrow.
The Resource Assessment does not cover the why of this marvelous transformation, but I will tell you why. It is because the southern forests are privately owned. The essential difference between the southern forests and the burning, stagnant forests of the west and looted forests of foreign lands is that of private ownership. Each landowner managing his own lands (and doing it very well as the Assessment shows) for his own perceived self-interest....
OPINION/COMMENTARY
Anti-Logging Blues... Wood construction is greener
A new report concludes that wood is one of the most environmentally-sensitive building materials for home construction -- it uses less overall energy than other products, causes fewer air and water impacts and does a better job of the carbon “sequestration” that can help address global warming.
The research showed that wood framing used 17 percent less energy than steel construction for a typical house built in Minnesota, and 16 percent less energy than a house using concrete construction in Atlanta. And in these two examples, the use of wood had 26-31 percent less global warming potential.
This $1 million study was prepared by the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials, a non-profit corporation of 15 research universities....
Anti-Logging Blues... Wood construction is greener
A new report concludes that wood is one of the most environmentally-sensitive building materials for home construction -- it uses less overall energy than other products, causes fewer air and water impacts and does a better job of the carbon “sequestration” that can help address global warming.
The research showed that wood framing used 17 percent less energy than steel construction for a typical house built in Minnesota, and 16 percent less energy than a house using concrete construction in Atlanta. And in these two examples, the use of wood had 26-31 percent less global warming potential.
This $1 million study was prepared by the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials, a non-profit corporation of 15 research universities....
OPINION/COMMENTARY
CONSERVATION SUBSIDIES DON’T WORK
Paying for conservation outright is more efficient than trying to preserve ecosystems through subsidized, profit-driven enterprises, says Professor R. David Simpson.
Over the last 20 years, conservationists have sought to preserve fragile ecosystems and biological resources by putting them to economically profitable, but ecologically sustainable use.
But Simpson says that investments in activities that are believed to be compatible with conservation -- such as bio-prospecting and ecotourism -- tend not be the most cost-effective way of conserving imperiled habitats:
---There is uncertainty figuring out what incentives an investment in an eco-friendly business will generate; for example, eco-tourist areas may end up over-used by visitors.
---Eco-friendly enterprises tend to be unprofitable, often requiring subsidies to continue operating.
---Paying for conservation directly, which Simpson calls the “true market” approach to conservation, would generate greater incentives for the private sector to preserve habitats.
While realizing some income through eco-friendly enterprises can defray some of the costs of conservation, Simpson says attempts to address the many problems of conservation, development and social equity, all in one step, usually result in the failure to resolve any of them.
Ultimately, conservation is a costly endeavor, but alternatives to a true market approach make it more, rather than less, expensive.
Source: R. David Simpson, “Conserving Biodiversity through Markets: A Better Approach,” Property and Environment Research Center Policy Series No.32, July 2004.
For text http://www.perc.org/publications/policyseries/biodiverse.php
CONSERVATION SUBSIDIES DON’T WORK
Paying for conservation outright is more efficient than trying to preserve ecosystems through subsidized, profit-driven enterprises, says Professor R. David Simpson.
Over the last 20 years, conservationists have sought to preserve fragile ecosystems and biological resources by putting them to economically profitable, but ecologically sustainable use.
But Simpson says that investments in activities that are believed to be compatible with conservation -- such as bio-prospecting and ecotourism -- tend not be the most cost-effective way of conserving imperiled habitats:
---There is uncertainty figuring out what incentives an investment in an eco-friendly business will generate; for example, eco-tourist areas may end up over-used by visitors.
---Eco-friendly enterprises tend to be unprofitable, often requiring subsidies to continue operating.
---Paying for conservation directly, which Simpson calls the “true market” approach to conservation, would generate greater incentives for the private sector to preserve habitats.
While realizing some income through eco-friendly enterprises can defray some of the costs of conservation, Simpson says attempts to address the many problems of conservation, development and social equity, all in one step, usually result in the failure to resolve any of them.
Ultimately, conservation is a costly endeavor, but alternatives to a true market approach make it more, rather than less, expensive.
Source: R. David Simpson, “Conserving Biodiversity through Markets: A Better Approach,” Property and Environment Research Center Policy Series No.32, July 2004.
For text http://www.perc.org/publications/policyseries/biodiverse.php
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