OPINION/COMMENTARY

Phony ‘Physicians’ Group Ranking Airport Food Is An Animal-Rights Front

This week an animal rights group masquerading as a medical charity issued a report suggesting that airport meals including meat and dairy foods are "unhealthy." Today the Center for Consumer Freedom called on the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) to stop misleading consumers and come clean about its animal-rights motives for attacking restaurants that don’t emphasize strictly vegetarian fare. PCRM has well-documented ties to the animal rights movement, including over $1.3 million in financing from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). PCRM president Neal Barnard, a non-practicing psychiatrist, doubles as President of The PETA Foundation....

Eco groups sue to stop grazing in Medicine Bow National Forest Two environmental groups are trying to stop cattle grazing in part of Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest, claiming the practice is harming fishing and destroying vegetation that the endangered Preble's meadow jumping mouse relies on. The Center for Native Ecosystems and the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance sued the U.S. Forest Service in federal court Friday and asked a judge to stop grazing on the rolling hills of Pole Mountain until the quality of streams in the area improves. The groups also claim that the Forest Service has not cut back grazing even though the on-going drought has left less vegetation to sustain both cattle and wildlife....
California will sue to block Sierra national forest plan California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said he will sue to block the federal government from proceeding with a far-reaching plan to manage 11.5 million acres of Sierra Nevada national forests. The head of the U.S. Forest Service approved the plan Thursday. U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey has 15 days to decide whether to review the decision before it becomes final. Should Rey not act, Lockyer said Friday he will sue in federal court contending the plan violates federal environmental protection laws, and will increase logging, endanger wildlife habitat, harm water quality and weaken grazing restrictions. Environmental groups said they plan to sue as well, raising similar objections....
Forest Service must reach out locally, new chief says A changing culture and changing values, coupled with different land conditions and uses have all conspired to alter the mission of the U.S. Forest Service, the agency's chief said Friday. But how well the Forest Service adapts to this evolution will be dependent on how willing it is to include the public in its decision-making process, Dale Bosworth told the annual Conference on Fire and Forest Health at Boise State University. "We are now in an era of eco-restoration. This is what people want today from their public lands," Bosworth said. "We have to manage for long-term eco-health while involving the public in the decision making. What we leave on the land will be much more important than what we take."....
Kempthorne backs Bush roadless plan Governor Dirk Kempthorne has given President Bush his support for the administration's new roadless rule. The governor submitted the state's comments ahead of this week's deadline. He says the plan will foster strong cooperation between the state and federal governments on land management....
Grizzly habitat plan has varying degrees of protection Habitat managed for Wyoming's grizzly bears would be divided into three areas, with the one closest to Yellowstone National Park affording the most protection, state wildlife officials said. In the primary conservation area around Yellowstone, management decisions will be made in favor of the bears, he said. In the next area, which includes most of northwest Wyoming, much of the Wind River Range and the Salt Range, grizzly concerns and human concerns would be weighed equally. Game and Fish has set an outer limit where managers would like to see grizzly bears roaming. Grizzlies in that area would be controlled through hunting seasons and removal of nuisance bears that harass livestock or get into garbage....
BLM plan delays Roan drilling With the striking shale cliffs of the Roan Plateau as a backdrop, public land managers Friday released their long-awaited draft plan for the plateau, stirring up instant controversy from those who have pushed to protect the top of the biologically diverse Roan from the heavy gas drilling that surrounds it. The Bureau of Land Management's preferred alternative for divvying up uses of the oil-rich plateau would delay any drilling on the nearly 35,000 acres of public lands on the top of the plateau for about 16 years - until 80 percent of the projected wells below the Roan's cliffs are drilled....
Bishop says Reid killed nuke-waste strategy Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was openly displeased when Utah's two Republican senators sided with the White House's plan to ship the nation's stockpile of high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain northwest of Las Vegas — especially after Nevada had supported Utah's opposition to identical wastes. But would Reid, in retribution, torpedo a Utah plan to block the same wastes from going to Goshute tribal lands in Tooele County? "Not technically, but yeah, Harry Reid killed it," said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, the sponsor of the legislation he said is needed to ensure the viability of the Utah Test and Training Range and Hill Air Force Base. "He just got somebody else to do it."....
Student Convicted of Torching SUVs A graduate student was convicted Friday of setting fire to dozens of sport utility vehicles in an attack by radical environmentalists that caused $2.3 million in damage. William Jensen Cottrell, 24, was found guilty of conspiracy and arson. The jury acquitted him of a more serious charge of attempting to use a destructive device - Molotov cocktails. That charge carried at least 30 years in prison. He could get at least five years behind bars at sentencing March 12....
John McCain's 'Global Warming' Hearings Blasted by Climatologist Recent U.S. Senate hearings into alleged global warming, chaired by Arizona Republican John McCain, were among the "most biased" that a noted climatologist has ever seen - "much less balanced than anything I saw in the Clinton administration," he said. Patrick J. Michaels is the author of a new book "Meltdown: The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists, Politicians, and the Media." He is an environmental sciences professor at the University of Virginia who believes that claims of human-caused "global warming" are scientifically unfounded. "John McCain, a Republican, has probably held the most biased hearing of all," Michaels said. McCain is a big proponent of limiting greenhouse gas emissions, which he believes are causing "global warming." The Arizona senator also "is trying to define himself as an environmental Republican, which he is going to use to differentiate himself from his rivals for the (presidential) nomination in 2008," according to Michaels....
Brazile gives chase to champ Allen in NFR steer roping The event is highlighted by roping king Guy Allen and reigning two-time Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association all-around world champion Trevor Brazile. Both cowboys enter this weekend in essentially a duel for the NFR championship. Allen, who has won a phenomenal 17 steer roping world championships, sits in first place with $60,061 in prize money. Allen, who has dominated the event for nearly two decades, leads Brazile in the world standings by $2,867. Brazile, a former West Texas A&M rodeo cowboy, has $57,194 in prize money....
Injury to keep Mortensen out of NFR Knowing there are more bucking horses in his future, an injured Dan Mortensen decided not to enter this year's National Finals Rodeo. Competitors had to notify PRCA officials Wednesday whether or not they were entering the NFR, scheduled Dec. 3-12 in Las Vegas. Mortensen is leading the world standings with $154,427 won. Second-place Glen O'Neill, of Didsbury, Alberta, Canada, has earned $149054. The two have won have won the last two world saddle bronc titles, but injuries have left them on the sideline. Mortensen, a six-time world champion, broke his right ankle Sunday afternoon during the semifinal round of the Pace Picante Classic in Dallas, Texas....
Clanton Days billed as spin-free account of OK Corral gunfight More than 100 years after the OK Corral, the Clanton family is still getting hate mail. "They run me through the coals," Terry Ike Clanton says. "Most of them say, ‘Your family was a bunch of (expletives).’ " Clanton’s ancestors were on the other side of the OK Corral during the infamous gunbattle that put Tombstone on the map. On Oct. 26, 1881, Ike Clanton and brothers Frank and Tom McLaury met Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and Doc Holliday in the OK Corral. When the gunsmoke cleared, the Earps and Doc Holliday emerged victorious....
Shootin' up the ol' western myth PITY THE poor cowboy. He was once a unifying myth of American and world culture. But after years of riding the range on his leathery lonesome, crooning, rounding up steers and occasionally shooting a critter or varmint, the cowpoke is suddenly at the centre of an ugly political brawl over what, exactly, a cowboy should stand for. George Bush proudly depicts himself as a cowboy. His enemies are equally happy to denounce him as a cowboy. Meanwhile, the original cowboy myth is disappearing into the hazy sunset....

MAD COW DISEASE

Kansas lab among five mad cow testing facilities stalled Five of the nation's mad cow testing laboratories - including the one at Kansas State University that will test Kansas and Missouri samples - are still awaiting approval from the Agriculture Department to begin testing, even though staff and equipment are in place. M. Chengappa, director of the diagnostic laboratory at Kansas State University, said Friday his lab has been ready to begin testing mad cow samples for two or three months. "The reason we waited in regard to the extra five labs is we wanted to make certain to competitively bid the tests we were using," said Andrea Morgan, associate deputy administrator of the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Morgan told The Associated Press Friday that it will be another few months before a test is selected for the five laboratories....
Cattle Tracking Tested to Protect Food Federal policy is meeting Western reality on the rangelands of Idaho, where wide-open spaces, technological glitches and bitter cold all are potential obstacles to plans to track livestock and protect the food supply from disease and bioterrorism. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to create a national network that would track, within 48 hours, every contact an infected animal has had in its life. The USDA says such tracking is necessary because it took only a single Holstein infected with mad cow disease last year to lead more than 30 countries to close their borders to U.S. beef....
Changes Aim at Better Mad Cow Testing As the government awaits definitive results in a possible second case of mad cow disease, federal officials are charting new ground in dealing with a jittery public. Little noticed in the anxiety are some Agriculture Department policy changes the past four months. The department now requires two preliminary tests of tissue from a suspect animal, instead of just one, before going public with any announcement. Officials would not say whether there have been any cases of just one inconclusive test. The changes in the rapid testing program ``increase the odds'' of accurate findings, said Michael Hansen, a senior research associate for Consumers Union in Yonkers, N.Y. He estimated the rate of false positives at 1 or slightly more in every 1,000....
Cattle industry eyes best/worst mad cow scenarios If tests next week prove that the United States has its second case of mad cow disease, cattle industry sources are hoping the animal is an old dairy cow from Canada. What the industry does not want is a 20-month-old beef steer or heifer in the heart of cattle country in the central Plains. Should it be an old dairy cow that could mean the animal probably contracted the disease before 1997 and that U.S. safeguards implemented that year are working. Also, by being a dairy cow, it would be outside of the beef herd, and if from Canada, it could be argued the U.S. herd is still free of the disease....
LMA Sees No Benefit From Announcing ‘Inconclusive’ Test Results There is no consumer benefit, but there is a major negative impact on the livestock industry, when inconclusive BSE test results are announced, Livestock Marketing Association President Randy Patterson said. On Thursday, Nov. 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it had received an “inconclusive” test result showing an animal had tested positive for mad cow disease (BSE). Almost immediately, Patterson said, LMA members reported consignors withdrawing their cattle from sale; the cattle futures market went limit down on some contracts, although they rebounded somewhat later in the day; and Wall Street saw a decline in the share prices of businesses like McDonalds Corp. and Wendy’s Corp. “Because the suspect animal did not enter the food or feed chain, there is no consumer health concern,” Patterson said Nov. 19. But the announcement Thursday “will cast a pall over the market until confirmatory test results are received, and it could be well into next week before that happens,” he said....
Rancher sentenced to probation for smuggling rodeo bulls A stock contractor was sentenced Friday to a year of probation for twice smuggling rodeo bulls into the United States from Canada, despite a ban prompted by the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in Alberta. Gregory Kesler, 59, of Helena, also was fined $200 by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy. Kesler pleaded guilty in July to bringing 23 bulls from his ranch in Canada into the United States by hiding them in a load of horses that crossed the border at the Port of Del Bonita on June 23, 2003. Authorities say Kesler was well-known by inspectors at the crossing northwest of Cut Bank and that he told them the load contained only horses....
Mexico Keeps Eye On US Mad Cow Disease Tests Mexican authorities are keeping watch on U.S. tests for a possible case of mad cow disease, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday. Mexico banned U.S. beef and cattle imports last December when the first, and so far, only, case of BSE emerged in that country, but lifted the prohibition in March of this year. The Agriculture Ministry said in a press release that the safety measures adopted in March, including a continued ban on certain high-risk cow parts such as heads, brains, eyes and spines, remain in effect. The ministry also expressed confidence in the enforcement of U.S. measures to avoid BSE, including a ban on using remains of cattle in diet supplements for livestock, and controls at slaughterhouses....
Consumers Union Says FDA Action Overdue On Mad Cow Risk The U.S. Agriculture Department's announcement that it is evaluating another cow to confirm or deny its infection with mad cow disease underscores the need for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act now to protect the public and for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to test more cows annually, Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, said today. In January, the FDA promised to make changes in animal feed rules, in the wake of the discovery of the first mad cow case in the U.S. But FDA never followed through. FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan initially announced that the agency would ban cow blood and several other materials that pose risks in terms of transmission of mad cow disease in cattle feed. However, the agency never published the regulations in the Federal Register. In July, the FDA said it was considering broader restrictions, thereby postponing any action even further....

NEWS ROUNDUP

'Creating a place for wildfire' After a century of what he termed almost "fanatical" forest fire suppression, a noted wildfire authority says the U.S. Forest Service is now making a long overdue transition into fire management. But the change won't come full circle until both the agency and the public truly accept fires as part of the natural order - and balance the choices in dealing with it. In a keynote address Thursday at the annual Conference on Fire and Forest Health at Boise State University, Stephen Pyne, a professor of biology and sociology at Arizona State University, told of an America that used to equate wildfires with a holocaust. That mentality, he noted, has cost the nation dearly as decades of forest undergrowth and years of drought have combined to turn much of the western United States into a tinderbox....
Sierra national forest plan approved with minor changes The U.S. Forest Service approved a sweeping plan Thursday to manage 11.5 million acres of national forest land across the Sierra Nevada, renewing debate on how best to prevent wildfires like those that devastated Southern California a year ago. Agency head Dale Bosworth rejected appeals by environmental groups, prompting immediate promises of lawsuits. The Forest Service maintains the plan will improve wildlife habitat while reducing fire danger, particularly around mountain communities. Environmental critics called the plan a veiled effort to triple logging across 11 national forests, while a timber industry leader said it doesn't go far enough to thin crowded, fire-prone forests....
Feds search for killers of 9 wild burros near Williams Forest Service law enforcement officers are trying to track down the killers of nine wild burros near Williams. investigators say all nine apparently were cornered and deliberately shot. The animals' remains were found about eight miles northwest of Williams....
Bush ready to reshape federal forests President Bush enters his second term poised to refashion the Northwest's public forests, reviving some logging after its near collapse while curtailing environmental reviews that opponents use to restrain cutting. His actions over the next four years may fell more old-growth trees, reconsider safeguards for the northern spotted owl and shrink the U.S. Forest Service -- the biggest federal land manager in Oregon and Washington. Together the moves could rebalance federal land use by stressing logging for jobs and revenue -- and as a tool to clear overgrown, flammable stands....
Spotted owl remains a threatened species After a review prompted by a timber industry lawsuit, the federal government announced Thursday that the northern spotted owl, the icon of logging wars in the Northwest, will remain on the threatened species list. The Northwest Forest Plan has reduced the loss of owl habitat to logging on federal lands, but habitat continues to be lost to wildfires and on private timberlands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded. The bird has continued to decline in population since it was listed as a threatened species in 1990, and faces new threats from barred owls pushing them out of their territory and West Nile virus....
Feds propose $2 billion plan to protect seasonal pools Federal wildlife regulators on Thursday proposed a $2 billion plan to rescue a score of tiny, uniquely adapted but endangered plant and animal species that dwell only in shallow ponds that come to life each winter and disappear each summer across much of California and southern Oregon. But the plan is voluntary, with no cost or effect on property owners unless they choose to participate. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's designation last year of 740,000 acres as critical habitat for the seasonal ponds and the creatures that dwell there have prompted lawsuits and acrimonious hearings. Environmental groups want more safeguards, while builders fear protections would stall housing needed to keep up with growth particularly in the fast-growing Central Valley region of California....
Pro-wolf group builds fences An environmental group is building 6-foot-high fenced pens on two sheep ranches in the Paradise Valley where wolves have killed 38 sheep in the past year. Suzanne Stone, Rocky Mountain field representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said the 4.5-acre enclosures were being built on Bob and Hubie Weber's sheep ranches because other deterrents, including bright flags and noisemakers, had failed to ward off the Lone Bear pack. Stone said she hoped the fences would eventually become an alternative to killing wolves. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is planning to kill the remaining three wolves in the Lone Bear pack, suspected in all 38 sheep kills. Six in the pack have already been shot by federal officials. Nine of the sheep kills took place in September on Bob Weber's ranch, who said he was told Defenders wouldn't compensate him for sheep killed in the future unless he had the pens built. "It's kind of a blackmail deal," Weber said Wednesday....
Panel endorses feedground flexibility Elk feedgrounds should not be closed en masse anytime soon, according to the Wyoming Brucellosis Coordination Task Force. But members support giving the Game and Fish Department the option of closing or merging feedgrounds as circumstances warrant. Brucellosis can cause cattle to abort and can cause undulant fever in humans. Wyoming has had five brucellosis outbreaks in cattle in the past year, causing the state to lose its brucellosis-free status. Elk and bison in the greater Yellowstone area are infected with brucellosis and alleged to be the source of livestock infections....
Column: In Praise of Wind Power There is broad consensus in American politics about where energy should come from: Somewhere Else. Power plants? Not in my backyard. Coal to fire the power plants? Fine, so long as no one ever mines it. Nuclear reactors? Put them in another state. Solar power? Not if my neighbors install unsightly roof panels. Hydropower? Build the dams in Quebec. Natural gas? Just don't approve drilling for it on Western lands! Petroleum? Buy it from the Saudis; we don't want oil rigs where we can see them. Right now, the energy option around which nimby sentiment is coalescing is wind power....
$388B Spending Bill May Face Votes Soon Lawmakers and White House budget bargainers whittled their differences to a handful, fueling hopes Congress can speed an overdue $388 billion bill to President Bush that finances most federal agencies. The giant measure, which may be ready for votes by late Friday, bears extra money for priorities like veterans and the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan, and likely thousands of projects for lawmakers' home districts. Congressional aides said they believed a milk subsidy extension sought by Midwesterners and an effort to repeal required country-of-origin labels for meat would not make the final bill. Also thwarted was a drive to ease rules designed to protect endangered species from pesticides, the aides said....
11th-Hour Additions to Funding Bill Trouble Environmentalists One would authorize a land exchange to allow oil drilling on what is now part of the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Another would lift a wilderness designation from Georgia's Cumberland Island, opening the largest undeveloped island on the East Coast to commercial development. Still others would allow commercial fish hatcheries and stocking in protected wilderness areas, national parks and wildlife areas in Alaska, and exclude grazing permit renewals in national forests from the need for environmental reviews. Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) had been jockeying to add a provision that would exempt "biological processes" at agriculture operations from requirements of the Superfund law and the Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Act, according to his spokesman, Dan Whiting. The senator was trying to protect large dairy and livestock businesses from lawsuits now in the courts that could require them to publicly report emissions of toxic air pollutants such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from their manure pits....
Wave coming down the Colorado The federal government will unleash a torrent of reservoir water down the Colorado River starting Sunday in an experiment to rebuild beaches that provide habitat for endangered wildlife and campsites for thousands of Grand Canyon tourists. The Interior Department will open giant valves in Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona to begin what the agency calls "a high flow test study." At the peak of the test, the dam will release enough water to fill 370,000 bathtubs each minute for 60 straight hours. The five-day "flush," ending Thanksgiving night, should push downstream almost a million tons of sediment that washed into the Colorado from a side canyon this fall after weeks of storms....
Official says Jackson herd may be slaughtered due to brucellosis infection Owners of a 750-head cattle herd in Jackson Hole appear likely to destroy the cattle following a confirmed brucellosis infection, a federal official said. "I think the owner at this time is probably opting to depopulate," said Bret Combs, the area veterinarian-in-charge for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. He based his speculation on the fact the herd is being appraised, a necessary step on the way to slaughtering the animals....
Fierce bidding nets 6 ranches in Rio Blanco for $15.2 million Six lavish ranches in northwest Colorado were sold at auction Thursday, fetching $15.2 million for businessman Harris "Whit" Hudson, former co-owner of the Florida Marlins baseball team. Rickie Dale Tingle, an investor from Jena, La., purchased all six Meeker-area ranches, including the flagship Buffalo Horn Ranch, a plush 40,000-acre resort. The contiguous properties span 60,000 acres, almost 3 percent of rural Rio Blanco County. A total of 22 bidders posted cashiers checks for one or all of the properties, with offers coming from residents of New York, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and elsewhere....
Grandfather rides to Carson on quest A 70-year-old grandfather who has a history of making long horseback rides is en route to Carson City as part of a quest to visit every capital in the lower 48 states. Gene Glasscock, on the trail for more than two years, was reported to be near Lovelock on Thursday. Supporters who have been following his progress said Glasscock is expected to reach Carson City around Thanksgiving. A member of the Long Riders Guild, Glasscock is the oldest person known to have attempted the epic cross-country ride covering the 48 states. Another rider made a similar trip in 1925 but didn’t visit all the capitals. Also, in the 1980s, Glasscock became the only known person to travel from the Arctic Circle to the equator on horseback....

MAD COW DISEASE

OKLAHOMA COW UNDERGOES TESTS FOR MAD COW Oklahoma might be the latest state affected by mad cow disease, but agriculture officials are quick to say it`s too early to tell. It will take anywhere from 4 to 7 days before the possible case can be verified. One test has already been conducted but it proved inconclusive....
State officials say it's too early to jump to conclusions about mad cow tests The state veterinarian says she is not surprised at an inconclusive test for mad cow disease in the United States. "I was just as surprised we haven't had more of them," said Dr. Susan Keller. The case does not involve a cow from North Dakota, she said. "It's premature to even speculate as to whether it's true, and I'm not so sure that we ought to even be releasing these early tests," state Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said....
FDA Issues Regulations for Tissue Banks Tissue banks that process donated skin, ligaments and bones for transplant must meet new federal safety standards, aimed at preventing infection and disease, under regulations issued Thursday. The Food and Drug Administration regulations, which will take effect in May, set standards for an industry that has gone unregulated during a period of explosive growth. In May, the FDA said tissue donors, like blood donors, must be screened for infectious diseases. It also required tissue banks to test donors and donated tissue for diseases including HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of mad cow disease....
Nebraska Cattle Farmers Aren't Worried About Mad Cow Nebraska cattle farmers are watching as the nation's agriculture officials investigate a possible new case of mad cow disease. Officials aren't releasing many details and say it will be four to seven days before the possible case can be confirmed. But an official did emphasize that the cow in question never entered the food chain. Ag officials will not say where the new case was found. They said the animal did not come from Kansas, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota or Wyoming.....
Bovril to Remove Beef to Woo Vegetarians The beef is being taken out of Bovril, makers of the British essence of bouillon announced Thursday, saying they want to appeal to vegetarians and overcome export restrictions imposed because of mad cow disease. Bovril beef extract has been a staple of British kitchen cupboards for more than 100 years, but the central beef ingredient will be replaced by a yeast mix, said Unilever Bestfoods UK, a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever PLC....
NCBA Statement on USDA Announcement Regarding Inconclusive BSE Test Result "It is important to remember that the U.S. government and the beef industry have put science-based precautions in place over the past 15 years to ensure our beef remains safe from BSE. "These initial screening tests are designed to be extremely sensitive. This test result is simply one step in the process. USDA will carefully analyze these samples, and we can't assume, at this point, that this inconclusive represents a positive case. In undertaking this enhanced surveillance program inconclusive results are not unexpected. "The second step is now under way with the sample going to USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. Confirmatory results are expected back within 4-7 days....

MAD COW DISEASE

Cattle Prices Fall Cattle futures fell 2.925 cents, or 3.3 percent, to 85.975 cents a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the biggest one- day decline since March 11. Prices, which fell as much 20 percent after the first case was disclosed Dec. 23, are down about 5 percent from a year ago as rising domestic demand for beef partly offset lost exports. ``The inconclusive result does not mean we have found another case of BSE in this country,'' said Andrea Morgan, the Associate Deputy Administrator of the Agriculture Department's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service. ``Inconclusive results are a normal component of screening tests, which are designed to be extremely sensitive.'' The suspect animal came from a ``high-risk'' group of about 270,000 animals selected for increased surveillance starting in June, Morgan said on a conference call today. Two initial screenings on the sample using rapid tests indicated the possible presence of mad cow disease, she said....
Official: Possible case of mad cow not from Kansas An inconclusive test that has officials concerned about a second possible case of mad cow disease in the United States did not come from a Kansas animal, a state livestock health official said Thursday. U.S. Agriculture Department released few details about the possible new case of mad cow disease and refused to say where the possibly diseased animal was found. However, Kansas Animal Health Commissioner George Teagarden said, "It's not Kansas."....
Officials quell rumors mad cow may be in Wash. The state Department of Agriculture has not been notified about a second possible case of mad cow disease, a spokeswoman for the agency said Thursday. Kate Sandboe, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture, said they had not yet been notified of the recent inconclusive test result. The federal government has said the inconclusive result is a normal part of the screening process. "There's no reason to think it's us," Sandboe said....
Bio-Rad says rapid mad cow test highly accurate Bio-Rad Laboratories said on Thursday its rapid screening tests were highly accurate for finding mad cow disease, but a false positive was possible. Brad Crutchfield, vice president of California-based Bio-Rad, said all seven U.S. laboratories testing for mad cow disease were using its quick tests. "The accuracy of our tests is much greater than 95 percent," Crutchfield told Reuters in an interview. However, he said a false positive was possible. One out of every 240,000 double positive tests was a false positive after more sophisticated testing....
Banned U.S. beef mixed with pork A containership from the United States that docked at Tokyo port last week carried beef despite Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports due to the outbreak of mad cow disease in the United States in December, the farm ministry said Thursday. Quarantine officials of the Animal Quarantine Service found 20 boxes of beef weighing about 310 kilograms along with 586 boxes of pork weighing 6,800 kg when they inspected the ship, which arrived last Saturday from Seattle, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. All the 20 boxes were labeled "beef," the ministry said....
Newest mad cow scare rattles Texas cattle producers Agriculture and Texas cattle industry officials said Thursday's news of a possible case of mad cow disease could spell major financial problems in the nation's leading cattle producing and exporting state. Kyle Williams, manager of Lubbock Feeders, said he could lose as much as $25 a head in the four to seven days it'll take for results to come back. "If it is positive, it could cost us twice as much or more," said Williams, whose operation fattens up about 70,000 head of cattle a year. Cattle futures prices dropped considerably Thursday, with December's price down $2.70 per 100 pounds, said Jim Gill, marketing director for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association in Amarillo. February's prices were down $2.92 per 100 pounds, he said. Prices had dropped the limit, $3 per 100 pounds, but rebounded slightly before the market's close at 1 p.m. CST....

Rumors Floating About Neb. Democrat Replacing Veneman

Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska has been approached about becoming agriculture secretary in the Bush administration, according to two sources. His appointment could add a second Democrat to Bush's Cabinet, as well as possibly increasing the GOP's Senate majority. Republican Gov. Mike Johanns would get to choose Nelson's replacement, which could increase the GOP's advantage in the Senate to 56 seats. President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, spoke to Nelson about the possibility in a telephone conversation last Friday, according to the two sources familiar with their conversation. Nelson has thus far declined to accept what the sources described as an offer or solicitation....

MAD COW DISEASE
Statement
Andrea Morgan
Associate Deputy Administrator
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture

November 18, 2004

“Early this morning, we were notified that an inconclusive BSE test result was received on a rapid screening test used as part of our enhanced BSE surveillance program.

“The inconclusive result does not mean we have found another case of BSE in this country. Inconclusive results are a normal component of screening tests, which are designed to be extremely sensitive so they will detect any sample that could possibly be positive.

“Tissue samples are now being sent to USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories—the national BSE reference lab—which will run confirmatory testing.

“Because this test is only an inconclusive test result, we are not disclosing details specific to this test at this time.

“APHIS has begun internal steps to begin initial tracebacks, if further testing were to return a positive result. However, it is important to note, that this animal did not enter the food or feed chain.

“Confirmatory results are expected back from NVSL within the next 4 to 7 days. If the test comes back positive for BSE, we will provide additional information about the animal and its origin.

“USDA remains confident in the safety of the U.S. beef supply. Our ban on specified risk materials from the human food chain provides the protection to public health, should another case of BSE ever be detected in the United States.

“Screening tests are often used in both human and animal health and inconclusives are not unexpected. These tests cast a very wide net and many end up negative during further testing.

“And some subset of these animals may even turn out to be positive for BSE. While none of us wants to see that happen, that is not unexpected either. Our surveillance program is designed to test as many animals as we can in the populations that are considered to be at high risk for BSE.

“Additional measures to strengthen public health safeguards include the longstanding ban on imports of live cattle, other ruminants, and most ruminant products from high-risk countries; FDA's 1997 prohibition on the use of most mammalian protein in cattle feed; an aggressive surveillance program that has been in place for more than a decade; the banning of non-ambulatory cattle from the human food chain; the process control requirement for establishments using advanced meat recovery (AMR) systems; prohibiting the air-injection stunning of cattle; and, if an animal presented for slaughter is sampled for BSE, holding the carcass until the test results have been confirmed negative.
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NEWS ROUNDUP

Gov. wants separate wolf lawsuits Gov. Dave Freudenthal warned Friday that merging two anti-wolf lawsuits could bog down efforts to reinstate Wyoming’s controversial plan to manage wolves as predators. Freudenthal told ranchers in Jackson that he did not want to tie a state lawsuit to a similar legal challenge put forward by the Wolf Coalition, which represents 27 groups, including some county commissions who want to keep wolves out of their jurisdiction. Freudenthal explained that the state’s suit makes a very narrow legal claim that the federal government erred in rejecting Wyoming’s wolf plan. In contrast, the Wolf Coalition raises many more questions, including whether the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s handling of wolf recovery in general has violated federal law....
Threats to Rare U.S. Jaguar Increase Along with Sightings As the number of sightings of wild jaguars increases in southeastern Arizona, the endangered cat faces a host of unexpected new threats from drug smugglers, border patrol officers and builders of a proposed power line. Popularly linked to the jungles of Latin America, a small population of jaguars once roamed wilderness areas of the West from California to Texas. Ranchers and hunters were believed to have wiped them out by the mid-20th century. Since 1996, however, there have been a dozen confirmed sightings of the feline in Arizona and New Mexico. Five times since last June, photos and tracks have documented the presence of jaguars between Tucson and the Mexican border....
Man's grizzly encounter is featured on 'Nature' Stop a minute, close your eyes, and try to imagine your head inside a female grizzly bear's mouth. Try to imagine that one of her canines has pierced your skull and the other has ripped part of the skin from your face. You would be as certain as Mark Matheny was that you were going to die. Matheny, president of UDAP Industries Inc. of Bozeman, Mont., is one of the people who populate "The Good, the Bad and the Grizzly," an episode of the Nature series airing Sunday on PBS. Oscar winner Chris Cooper narrates this hour, the focus of which is the icon of Yellowstone National Park, the grizzly bear. The burning question? Should they be removed from the endangered species list?....
Judge says FEMA needs to consider salmon protections A federal judge has ruled the Federal Emergency Management Agency sidestepped its duty to consider how its flood insurance program might harm Puget Sound chinook salmon. U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly said FEMA violated the federal Endangered Species Act by not formally consulting with the National Marine Fisheries Service to make sure the flood insurance program didn't jeopardize salmon habitat. Plaintiffs, who had filed a lawsuit accusing FEMA of threatening the federally protected fish by encouraging development in flood plains, called Zilly's ruling "a victory for salmon over strip malls.''....
Bush's second-term stamp on environment With the newly reelected Bush administration backed up by a tighter GOP grip on Congress, the coming political season could become a watershed mark for environmental protection and energy policy. As a result, federal laws and regulations dealing with everything from endangered species and forest protection to air and water pollution to oil and gas drilling, are likely to see a rigorous shaking out. The administration is eager to achieve things denied it during President Bush's first term: pumping oil out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), allowing loggers access to millions of acres of roadless national forest land, easing Clean Air Act restrictions on some pollutants, making it easier to extract oil and gas in the Rocky Mountains, and passing an energy bill put together by Vice President Dick Cheney with help from the energy industry....
Kick the Habitat: GOP has set its sights on revamping the Endangered Species Act The newly empowered Republican majority on Capitol Hill will grease the skids for plenty of legislation that's sure to gall environmentalists and delight developers, but the most galling and delighting of all could be sweeping changes to the 30-year-old Endangered Species Act. Business leaders, top Bush officials, and many Republicans in Congress have been arguing for the past four years, if not longer, that this cornerstone environmental law is outdated and ineffective, in particular its critical-habitat provision, which constrains development in certain biologically sensitive areas deemed necessary to species rehabilitation....
Predator control helps threatened snowy plovers For the second year in a row, the Western snowy plover has had a strong nesting season on Oregon beaches, in large part due to wildlife managers killing the foxes, crows and ravens that eat the threatened birds' eggs and young. This year the adult population of about 140 plovers in Oregon produced 107 young that survived long enough to learn to fly — known as fledglings — compared to 60 in 2003 and an average of 37 since monitoring began in 1990, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service....
Pacific Lumber opens first major California sawmill in a decade Pacific Lumber Co. unveiled its new state-of-the-art sawmill in Humboldt County on Wednesday, the first major sawmill built in California in a decade. The $25 million facility, which can process logs two to three times faster than standard mills, will reduce waste, boost productivity and improve worker safety, company officials said. State and community leaders were invited to tour the facility during a dedication ceremony in Scotia, about 30 miles south of Eureka. When operating at full capacity, the new facility will process 260 million board feet of finished lumber each year, making it one of the country's most productive sawmills....
U.S. Accused of Changing Drilling Rule The Sierra Club alleges in a lawsuit that the Bush administration changed a rule so oil and gas producers could more easily drill under national parks from outside their boundaries. The environmental group alleges in the suit filed Wednesday that the change affects 14 national parks that have privately owned minerals beneath them. The suit asks the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia for an immediate injunction to reverse the change it alleges, which it said was done without public input, and also to drop drilling....
Column: Faith-Based Parks? Two-thirds of the way across the continent, some four million people annually visit Grand Canyon National Park, marveling at the awesome view. In National Park Service (NPS) affiliated bookstores, they can find literature informing them that the great chasm runs for 277 miles along the bed of the Colorado River. It descends more than a mile into the earth, and along one stretch, is some 18 miles wide, its walls displaying impressive layers of limestone, sandstone, shale, schist and granite. And, oh yes, it was formed about 4,500 years ago, a direct consequence of Noah’s Flood. How’s that? Yes, this is the ill-informed premise of “Grand Canyon, a Different View,” a handsomely-illustrated volume also on sale at the bookstores. It includes the writings of creationists and creation scientists and was compiled by Tom Vail, who with his wife operates Canyon Ministries, conducting creationist-view tours of the canyon....
Bill targets settlement of land claims Alaska Natives have waited almost 100 years for land promised by the federal government. And the state of Alaska still hasn't got the land that Congress pledged a half a century ago, back when Elvis Presley was a sergeant in the U.S. Army. Congress on Wednesday acknowledged the slow settlement of land claims is a problem and passed a bill meant to speed things up. A huge chunk of Alaska, almost 90 million acres, is affected by the bill. That is about three times the size of the state of Pennsylvania. The Alaska Statehood Act of 1958 promised the state 104.5 million acres. The state, 46 years later, is still waiting to get final title on more than half that....
Congress Approves Nevada Public Lands Bill Congress gave final approval Wednesday to wide-ranging lands legislation that sells off federal holdings in one of Nevada's least-populated counties, creates more than a dozen wilderness areas in the state and eases the way for a controversial water project. Returning this week after an election recess, the House passed a Senate-amended version of a public lands bill that rewards an array of Nevada interests, including water utilities, wilderness buffs and developers. The bill was sent to President Bush for his signature....
Column: A Lesson in Consensus from Idaho Three years ago, he recommended that the county seek federal legislation to address wilderness and grazing issues before a future president did so unilaterally. He told commissioners they would have to work with environmentalists to succeed. In October, in that same courtroom, Owyhee County Commission Chairman Hal Tolmie and Shoshone-Paiute Tribal Chairman Terry Gibson handed Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo a proposal for protecting 517,194 acres of wilderness and 384 miles of rivers protected as "wild and scenic." Every public-lands rancher in the county had individually signed off on wilderness creation in his area. Conservationists and ranchers hugged. Then, they and motorized recreationists gave Grant a standing ovation for his remarkable mediation of a deal that gives ranchers additional peer review of BLM actions and a locally driven program for landscape management....
Company says coalbed methane fields are renewable Gas-producing bacteria munching on Wyoming coal may be a key solution to the nation's energy future, a Denver company claimed Tuesday. While much of the world's natural gas took millions of years to make, some new gas is being created every day and can be managed to produce a long-lasting supply, according to Luca Technologies Inc. The prolific Powder River Basin in northern Wyoming, the site of thousands of coal-bed methane wells, is producing natural gas in "real time," Luca's researchers said, citing laboratory research....
14 Nations to Participate in Plan to Reduce Methane Thirteen countries agreed yesterday to join a global plan proposed by the Bush administration to curb methane emissions by capturing the greenhouse gas and using it as an energy source before it is released into the atmosphere. Methane ranks second to carbon dioxide among human-generated contributors to global warming: Carbon dioxide accounts for 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, methane for about 16 percent. The administration pledged to spend as much as $53 million over the next five years to encourage companies to provide participating countries with technologies that can trap the gas and make it available to power utilities, private homes and even pottery kilns....
Bill Would Redefine Indian Tribe Campbell (R-Colo.) is sponsoring a bill innocuously titled "Native Americans Technical Corrections Act of 2004," which proposes in Section 14 to amend the definition of Native American in a 1990 law requiring the repatriation of remains to modern indigenous tribes. Instead of defining Native American as "of, or relating to, a tribe, people, or culture that is indigenous to the United States," the law would read "is, or was indigenous to the United States." Scientists intent on studying the Kennewick remains say the bill, if passed, would effectively overturn an appeals court ruling allowing their research to go forward and instead cede control of the bones to a coalition of four northwestern tribes that want to rebury them....
Animas-La Plata: Digging done, construction begun The digging for the Animas-La Plata Project pumping plant is over. The construction phase began Monday. "This is a huge milestone for us," said project construction engineer Rick Ehat as he watched the first bucket of concrete being dumped into forms for drain channels that will lie beneath the floor of the pumping plant. "We've been waiting for this since July when the contract to come up out of the hole was let."....
Editorial: Due Process on Dams IT'S NO SECRET that the Bush administration wants to tilt environmental rules to favor business interests. But the Interior Department has recently taken that approach to a new level of brazenness. The issue involves environmental requirements imposed on hydropower companies when dams come up for license renewal -- in other words, what steps they must take to protect fish and other natural resources. Under Interior's proposed regulation, hydropower companies would have the exclusive right to appeal to the department's political appointees to try to change or loosen conditions imposed by more junior officials. Others affected by the license renewal -- states, Indian tribes, anglers, environmental groups -- could respond to the power company's arguments, but they wouldn't have any parallel right to this interim appeal....
Utilities sue Montana over riverbed compensation issues Three utilities that own hydroelectric dams here have sued the state, urging a Helena district judge to declare that Montana has no legal basis to be compensated for their use of state lands on state-owned riverbeds. They asked Honzel to declare that the Federal Power Act pre-empts the state's 1931 hydroelectric resources law. What's more, the utilities asked Honzel to rule that the federal government's navigational easement precludes the state from seeking compensation for their use of streambeds for federally licensed hydroelectric projects. In addition, the utilities asked that Honzel rule that the state's course of conduct and statements regarding the hydroelectric resources law, together with the utilities continuous and uninterrupted occupations of the riverbeds, bars the state's claims for compensation....
Congress OKs settlement empowering tribes Arizona secured a surer but leaner water future Wednesday with final congressional approval of the most far-reaching Indian water settlement in U.S. history. The settlement, which now goes to President Bush for his signature, would cede to Indian tribes nearly half the Colorado River water originally set aside for Phoenix and Tucson and allow those tribes to lease it back to growing cities for a profit. The cities would be able to claim a small amount of new water to add to their existing shares of the river. Some central Arizona farmers would eventually lose water to satisfy the tribal claims, but it would be a gradual loss. The deal wouldn't take any water from cities or private water companies and wouldn't raise water rates unless cities signed huge tribal leases in the future....
Greens Paint Grim Picture of Future, Warmer World Environmentalists forecast a grim future for planet Earth Thursday, predicting that droughts, heatwaves and hurricanes will become increasingly common and more severe if global warming is allowed to continue unchecked. A coalition of eight of the world's largest conservation organizations said Russia's recent ratification of the Kyoto protocol on carbon dioxide emissions had given fresh impetus to the drive to cut global output of greenhouse gases. However, they said more had to be done if the world's average temperature was going to stop short of a critical two degrees Celsius rise above its mean in the pre-industrial era....
California's mammoth farm sector ponders life after Veneman Far from Washington, D.C., and growing crops unfamiliar in many agricultural states, California's farmers are eyeing winter without the comfort of a U.S. secretary of agriculture from their own soil. Monday's resignation of Modesto native Ann M. Veneman from the federal government's top farm post leaves the state without an agriculture secretary who intimately understands its unique crops, climate and pests, say officials who preside over a farm economy that produced $32 billion last year....
Republicans push to repeal law for food country-of-origin labels Telling consumers where their meat, fruit and vegetables came from seemed such a good idea to U.S. ranchers and farmers in competition with imports that Congress two years ago ordered the food industry to do it. However, meatpackers and food processors fought the law from the start, and newly strengthened Republicans now plan to repeal it before Thanksgiving....
Powell mercantile serves as model for others The people running the Powell Mercantile didn't expect their downtown clothing store to become a tourist destination, but people come to The Merc by the busload. The answer to the first part of the question is "pretty good." It has been three years since 800 community investors plunked down one or more $500 shares to put The Merc in business. Last year, the community-owned business cleared $560,000 in gross sales and shareholders should see "sizeable" dividends in the next few years, said Ken Witzeling, a retired pharmacist who sits in the president's chair on The Merc's Board of Directors. "We've made money since day one," Witzeling said....
After hard work, Ely sees dream come true Never give people in Ely a challenge because they will reach up and meet it, said Beverly J. Cornutt, a member of the Community Owned Mercantile Project Inc. board of directors. With those words, the town of 4,000 celebrated a major moment of life, as COMP opened the Garnet Mercantile Monday, filling the void left when J.C. Penney closed the town’s only department store — which opened in 1910. After exploring a variety of alternatives, such as trying to lure another chain store to town, the group heard about how the town of Powell, Wyo., handled a similar problem....

NEWS ROUNDUP

Rollback of Wild Land Protection Gets Support The Schwarzenegger administration signaled its support Tuesday for a plan to drop Clinton-era protections that barred road-building and other development on nearly a third of the country's national forest land, including more than 4 million acres in California. In a letter to the Bush administration that was released Tuesday, state Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman said California welcomed the chance for greater state involvement in federal forest management. Nonetheless, he said, the state did not plan to identify areas for protection or development. Instead, he said, California preferred to work with the U.S. Forest Service as it updates management plans for roadless areas....
Governor: Roadless rules not needed The Bush administration's proposed roadless rule is unnecessary and ultimately will be detrimental to Wyoming, Gov. Dave Freudenthal says. The governor said in a letter to the head of the U.S. Forest Service released Tuesday that forest policy should be made at the federal level, not by states. Freudenthal said he sees no real need for the Bush administration's proposed roadless rule...
Mono Lake scenic area may face development Congress created the nation's first federal scenic area 20 years ago, stepping in to protect Mono Lake, the high desert oddity nearly three times as salty as the ocean that fascinated author Mark Twain during the 1860s. The law signed by President Reagan helped preserve a major stopover for migratory birds and save an inland sea that was being drained to slake Los Angeles' thirst. Now, residents and the U.S. Forest Service say the Mono Lake protections are imperiled by a plan to subdivide 120 acres for luxury homes on the lake's western shore....
U.S. Forest Service Surrenders Computers to Marina Point Development After 13 months of legal action, the U.S. Forest Service has finally agreed to surrender the computers of three federal employees accused of racketeering. In exchange for the Forest Service's agreement, Marina Point will not seek attorneys' fees and costs from the agency. The three employees -- Gene Zimmerman, Scott Eliason and Robin Eliason -- are all employees of the U.S. Forest Service and were recently named as co-conspirators in a lawsuit brought by Marina Point Development Associates, the landowner of a 12.5-acre resort development site and marina on the north shore of Big Bear Lake. The lawsuit alleges the three -- along with a principal member of a purported anti-development group called "Friends of Fawnskin" and a number of "John Does" to be named as more evidence is gathered -- defrauded Marina Point Development and several federal agencies in order to stop the project to advance their personal interests....
Rec fee plan draws praise, fire One man's funding plan for public lands is another's double taxation. House Bill HR 3283, also called the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, calls for basic and expanded recreation fees on public lands administered by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Parks Service, Bureau of Reclamation and Fish and Wildlife. The legislation would repeal the recreational fee demonstration program of 1996, replacing it with a permanent and streamlined means of funding. The bill would also allow fees collected to be used primarily at the site of collection for as long as the legislation is in effect....
DeFazio sees hope for his forest plan DeFazio said Veneman's biggest shortcoming when it came to Northwest issues was that "she didn't evidence much interest in forest policy" despite her role in overseeing the U.S. Forest Service, which owns and manages vast stretches of forest and range lands in Oregon. DeFazio said he would encourage the Republican president's new appointee to take a look at his own forest-thinning proposal or something like it. The legislation, which DeFazio introduced in July, would put public old growth forests off-limits to logging. It also would appropriate $25 million a year for thinning projects in younger forests, resulting in yearly sales of 500 million board feet from westside public lands....
U.S. Forest Service installs smoke/particulate monitor During the past several months, U.S. Forest Service officials have installed and are now operating a monitoring platform in Kernville for observing the impacts of small airborne particulates from smoke on local residents. The particulate monitor is used to better understand public health issues in smoke sensitive areas. The instrumentation measures all particles in the air, including smoke, dust off the Isabella Reservoir, vehicle emissions and any products of combustion....
Conservationists Release State Reports on the Values of Wild Forests On the final day of the public comment period on the Bush administration’s proposal to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, the state PIRGs are releasing seventeen state-by-state reports documenting the clean drinking water, recreation, and wildlife habitat benefits of roadless areas in America’s National Forests. The reports, “Our Natural Legacy: The Value of America’s Roadless National Forests,” are available at www.uspirg.org/reports. Among the findings: Sixty million Americans rely on clean drinking water from national forests. Roadless areas provide the purest source of that water due to their pristine and road-free condition. Drinking water from national forests is worth $3.7 billion annually....
Hitting hard, fast Every fire season, select men and women scramble out of helicopters to take on a new wildfire, often miles from the nearest road. If all goes well, they'll cut it off and kill it before it's big enough to make the evening news. If they make a mistake, or are just plain unlucky, they may be the ones cut off and killed....
Mystery surrounds grizzly death Mystery surrounds the death of another grizzly bear in northwest Wyoming, as investigators are revealing little about the incident. Roy Brown, investigator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Lander, said the event is "complicated." "There's some extenuating circumstances that are related and not related as to why we're not releasing any more information," Brown said Tuesday. "Something happened in the time between the first incident and when we got there that needs to be investigated."....
Earth 'heading towards another mass extinction' The Earth is losing species at a rate comparable to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs, environmentalists warn today. The World Conservation Union's annual Red List of endangered species, released at its conference in Bangkok, lists five species that have been added to the "extinct" category. Nearly 16,000 species are listed as being threatened with disappearing, with more than 200 of them already described as "possibly extinct", and almost 3,000 as "critically endangered". The list, compiled by a worldwide network of 8,000 scientists, is regarded as the most authoritative statement of the planet's biodiversity and guides environmental policy around the world....
BLM plan will boost sage grouse The federal Bureau of Land Management released a strategy Tuesday to boost sage-grouse numbers, hoping to bolster the population of America's second-largest game bird after a 90 percent decline since the early 1900s. Developers wanting to drill for gas are closely watching government plans, as are cattlemen, off-road enthusiasts, and environmentalists. Already on Tuesday, some of them dismissed the BLM strategy as a failure. According to the BLM, its strategy will guide its federal wildlife managers in restoring bird populations and habitat until programs can be developed on the state and local level....
Conservationists push for gray wolves in northern N.M. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist says returning wolves to the Rocky Mountains is "a chance to undo a great wrong" done when wolves were exterminated from about 98 percent of their range by the mid-1900s. Steve Fritts said he believes the region from northern New Mexico stretching into Colorado and Wyoming could support wolves. Recent scientific studies by the federal government and independent groups suggest it could support as many as 1,100 wolves. About 60 percent of the 108,000-square-mile area is public land....
Bighorn sheep to be brought to Wyoming In two weeks 20 Bighorn sheep will enter a new northern Wyoming home that shares their name - the Bighorn Mountains. A dozen ewes and a handful of lambs and rams will be netted in northern Oregon, transported to Wyoming in horse trailers and deposited in Devil's Canyon by helicopter on Dec. 4. And although Wyoming Game and Fish Department Wildlife Management Coordinator Kevin Hurley says the "Bighorn Mountains were appropriately named," the namesake animal is more likely to arrive in trailers and helicopters than by natural means....
Save the Men! Decaf coffee, sensitivity training, roadside assistance, hybrid cars: These indicators of rampant "metrosexuality" are enough to make real men fear for their very existence, say the macho editors at Maxim magazine. So they filed a petition this week with Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton and the Fish and Wildlife Service, demanding that man be declared an endangered species. "This is no joke," a mag rep insists, and Interior officials told us yesterday that the petition was validly filed. The 12-page document argues that without a listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, "Man will surely succumb to the ravages of an effeminate, feng shui world-gone-mad." The feds promise to take the petition seriously because, this being Washington, there's legal precedent to follow. So, sorry, guys. Though man is, as the petition points out, the only species capable of "converting simple grains into courage-boosting Tennessee whiskey" and "making cowboy boots out of other animals," you've already been tamed by a more powerful force. Just take a look on any Maxim cover....
Environmental group to file mining claim Great Basin Mine Watch announced Monday it is planning to file a mining claim on land near Reno on Wednesday to illustrate the need for mining law reform. The environmental organization is planning to file the claim with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Washoe County to "mine" 20 acres of land adjacent to a subdivision. Great Basin Mine Watch stated in its announcement that it is one of seven organizations in the western U.S. who have or are going to file mining claims on public land adjacent to urban and suburban neighborhoods, ski resorts and hiking areas....
Cooling the water wars Colorado cities will struggle to get the water they need as the population grows but may be able to lessen the harm to farms and mountain streams with compromise and stronger state involvement, according to a major study presented Tuesday to the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The Statewide Water Supply Initiative, a $2.8 million study funded by the legislature in 2003, said the number of lost farms and costly battles for water could be minimized with cooperation and good information....
Cloud seeding Vail Mountain and Beaver Creek fired up cloud seeding generators earlier this month to prepare for the 2004 to 2005 ski season. "We believe it increases snowfall throughout the season by up to 10 to 16 percent," said Jen Brown, Vail Mountain communication manager. Vail has been cloud seeding its slopes for nearly 30 years. Brown said Vail spends approximately $1.6 million annually on snowmaking....
Board revises land lease regulations The state Land Board on Monday unanimously approved new regulations that eliminate the absolute right of farmers and ranchers to maintain their state land leases by just matching a competitor's high bid. Under the new rules, existing lessees still have an advantage when competing with another bidder for use of the land, but it is no longer an ironclad guarantee. Ultimately, the board has the final say. The change in how lease renewals are handled was forced by a court ruling earlier this year that concluded existing law giving lessees an automatic preference to keep a lease is unconstitutional....
Initiative may have irrigation component An ambitious -- and expensive -- plan to bring water to farmland around Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin could be part of an open space initiative being developed for Alameda County. County officials are working with environmental and open space preservation groups on an initiative that would raise millions of dollars to protect ranches, farms and wildlife habitat from development. The initiative is an outgrowth of Alameda County's slow-growth ordinance Measure D, which severely limited the county's authority to approve new housing developments outside of cities....
Committee recommends transfer of development rights program Gallatin County should consider a free-market system allowing developers to buy development rights from landowners, a county committee recommended in a new report. The committee believes such a system would encourage more dense projects in areas appropriate for subdivision. The county's "transfer of development rights" committee determined, in a draft report, that such a program could help fight sprawl in the county. But the committee didn't come up with specifics on how a TDR program could work. The program appealed to farmers and ranchers on the committee because it isn't heavy-handed government imposing rules, Jacobsen said....
Column: Anti-biotech crowd takes behind woodshed whipping The huge victories in defeating county anti-biotech initiatives in 3 of 4 California counties in the general election was a behind-the-woodshed whipping. There is no other way to describe the wide margins of victory in defeating anti-biotech initiatives in Butte and San Luis Obispo counties. Humboldt County’s rejection was also a victory, even though the anti-GE crowd there admitted at the last minute that approving a law that would call for arresting dairymen who grow herbicide-resistant corn was not a good idea. They asked voters to reject the initiative. Nevertheless, 28 percent of the voters supported the ban. Humboldt’s anti-biotechers have said they will come back with a non-flawed initiative. After Nov. 2, that likely would be a flawed effort....
Hunting via Internet? Officials wary Hunters soon may be able to sit at their computers and blast away at animals on a Texas ranch via the Internet, a prospect that has state wildlife officials up in arms. A controversial Web site, http:/www.live-shot.com, already offers target practice with a .22 caliber rifle and could soon let hunters shoot at deer, antelope and wild pigs, site creator John Underwood said on Tuesday. Underwood, an estimator for a San Antonio, Texas auto body shop, has invested $10,000 to build a platform for a rifle and camera that can be remotely aimed on his 330-acre (133-hectare) southwest Texas ranch by anyone on the Internet anywhere in the world....
Keeping them down on the farm Since the 1980s, agritourism has swept through Italy and other European countries. Spain, Italy, and France each have hundred of farms that host travelers and vacationers. In the United Kingdom it's even bigger; there's a network of farms with some 3,000 members, and overnight guests put more than $73 million in the pockets of farmers, according to Nigel Embry, of Farm Stay UK, an organization founded in 1983 to help farmers market their accommodations. The movement has grown in the United States, as well....
Bush to Visit Canada on Nov. 30 Commerce will play a key role in Bush's Ottawa visit. Canada and the United States have the world's largest trading partnership, conducting more than $1 billion a day in business. But Canadian beef has been shut out since May 2003 when mad cow disease was found in Alberta. The U.S. has since opened its border to some Canadian beef, but live cattle are still banned. Canadian ranchers are desperate, estimating they have lost more than $2 billion....
City life, Old West ways collide with fatal results Cars and trucks roar along Rio Verde Drive all day, heading to upscale developments as they pass through an open range where all that separates them from hundreds of cattle and horses is a deteriorating strand of barbed wire. This conflict between the encroaching city and Old West turned deadly this weekend, when a 29-year-old woman died after striking a horse on Rio Verde Drive, a two-lane road that cuts through thick desert brush. The incident took place only minutes after another man struck a horse while driving on the same stretch of road....

NEWS ROUNDUP

Groups protest "roadless rule" As the public comment period ended Monday on the revised "roadless rule," members of several conservation groups called on the Bush administration to scrap the plan that they say leaves Colorado forests even more vulnerable to logging, energy development and road building. Instead, they want the U.S. Forest Service to adopt the original rule, proposed by then-President Clinton, which blocks development of "roadless" land in 39 states, including Colorado. Either way, conservationists and others could be in for a long wait. A Forest Service spokeswoman said Monday that the agency has "no real timetable" for sorting through the thousands of public comments received since July....
N.M. gov calls on Bush to preserve road building ban in woods ''There's not a mandate for the Bush administration to open up the nation's roadless areas,'' said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. ''And there's no reason the Forest Service needs to create a convoluted ... process for protecting these areas.'' Richardson and other critics called that a cop-out and said forest policy should be made at the federal level, not by states. He said the roadless rule was a factor in close presidential races in several Western states, and dropping the change would ''heal the wounds in the West.'' Chris West, vice president of the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group, dismissed Richardson's comments as partisan. ''To think a governor wouldn't want to have direct input in how lands are managed in his state is hypocritical,'' West said. And he said the notion the rule was a factor in the presidential race was ridiculous: ''Anybody who looks at the polling pre-election and post-election knows the environment was so far down the list it didn't have an impact.''....
'Greens' take aim at Leavitt Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt hasn't even rolled out his environmental agenda for the next four years. But already, prominent conservation organizations are taking a "sky-is-falling" approach to their predictions for the next Bush administration, and they have the former Utah governor firmly in their sights — that is, if they can see him through all the dirty air caused by what they fear will be a dismantling of the Clean Air Act and an across-the-board rollback of environmental protections....
Blackfeet begin fight for Badger-Two Medicine land More than a century ago, Montana's Blackfeet Indian Nation lost a sprawling expanse of sacred land. Tuesday, they begin the process of getting it back. If the elders are right, the eastern half of Glacier National Park actually belongs to the Blackfeet. If they're right, the Badger-Two Medicine (named for two primary rivers that run through it) actually belongs to the tribe....
Forest Fire Battle Hits Federal Court California's fire season just ended. Now the battle over how to fight forest fires is heating up. A federal judge in Montana is expected to rule in a few weeks on a lawsuit that could radically change fire fighting in California. A third of the entire state of California is federal land -- the U.S. Forest Service is responsible for protecting all of it. But, could stopping the fight against forest fires be the best way to fight forest fires? NBC11's Garvin Thomas found an environmental advocate that thinks so....
Residents worry about grizzly hunting, genetics Having enough grizzly bears to hunt, maintaining the genetics of Yellowstone's grizzly population and addressing future threats to the animal were the main concerns expressed Monday by southwest Wyoming sportsmen about the state's proposed grizzly bear management plan....
Timber industry expects no change for northern spotted owl A timber-industry group that sued for a review of the threatened-species status of the northern spotted owl said yesterday it does not expect the bird to lose federal protection but hopes new information will allow more logging in national forests. "I don't see how it could be taken off the list," said Chris West, vice president of the American Forest Resource Council in Portland. "Let's do what we need to do to protect the species based on the true risk, not some flawed notion they are solely dependent on old growth." Under terms of a 2003 lawsuit settlement, yesterday was the deadline for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether the bird that prompted sharp logging cutbacks in the 1990s still merits federal protection....
Conservative legal group challenges endangered species protection A conservative legal group has threatened to sue the federal government over its plans to protect four dozen endangered species in California ranging from peninsular bighorn sheep to the tiny robust spineflower. The Pacific Legal Foundation notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service on Monday that it would file suit in 60 days, claiming the agencies failed to meet requirements of the Endangered Species Act when they set out to protect 16 animal and 32 plant species. Advance notice is required before filing endangered species lawsuits. Based on a favorable ruling in U.S. District Court in Fresno that overturned habitat protection for the Alameda whipsnake last year, the foundation said the agencies underestimated the economic impact of protection and didn't properly follow the rules to protect habitat....
Conservationists meet to plan global green agenda More than 5,000 scientists, conservationists and politicians meet in Thailand over the next week to hammer out a blueprint for saving some of the world's most endangered species and fragile ecosystems. The IUCN World Conservation Union, which is hosting the four-yearly World Conservation Congress, is billing the eight-day Bangkok convention as the one of biggest environmental meetings in history....
Judge blocks Timbered Rock sales A federal judge blocked timber salvage sales on federal land burned by the Timbered Rock fire in Southern Oregon. Judge Ann Aiken issued the permanent injunction for the Flaming Rock and Smoke Gobbler timber sales on Nov. 8, concluding that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's decision to salvage the timber was arbitrary and capricious. The sale plans called for logging 17 million board feet of timber from 12,000 acres of the BLM's Medford District land burned by the 27,000-acre fire in 2002. Both sales, however, are in late-successional reserves, which are required under the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan to be managed to protect and enhance old-growth forest ecosystems....
Norton draws less flak It seems so long ago when Gale Norton was public enemy No. 1. Back in the opening weeks of George W. Bush's presidency, the Interior secretary nominee from Colorado quickly became one of the most vilified members of the president's Cabinet. On the day of her confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate, Greenpeace activists swung from the rooftop of the Department of Interior headquarters to unfurl a banner saying, "Bush & Norton: Our land, not oil land!" But then something happened. Public land issues took a back seat to terrorism, war and the economy. The soft-spoken Norton slipped into the background....
Conoco closer to NPR-A Officials with the U.S. Interior Department have given their nod to Conoco Phillips Alaska Inc.'s plan to expand from its existing Alpine oil field into the northeastern edge of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The Bureau of Land Management approved development on the two reservoirs that are in its jurisdiction -- which Conoco has dubbed Lookout and Spark -- after tightening some of the environmental restrictions the company must adhere to. The restrictions include barring some of the proposed gravel roads and pipelines from a three-mile protection zone along Fish Creek and requiring that pipelines be built seven feet off the ground, instead of five, to allow migratory caribou to pass under them....
Flake, Franks, Shadegg back federal land acquisition cuts Valley Congressmen Jeff Flake, Trent Franks and John Shadegg are pushing for cuts in federal land acquisition funding. The move could have a big impact in Arizona, where the federal government owns a substantial amount of land. The three Republicans back a proposed $121 million decrease in land acquisition funding. The cut is part of a U.S. House version of the yet-to-be-completed Department of Interior spending package. A rival Senate version of the Interior budget calls for a $215 million increase in the federal government land-buying pool of cash. Flake, Shadegg and Franks have joined 32 other fiscal conservatives in letter to U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., backing the cuts....
Wolf rules eyed The Colorado Division of Wildlife will ask the Wildlife Commission on Wednesday to relax the regulations governing ranchers who kill wolves preying on their livestock. "Right now, the wolf is a state endangered species and can only be killed if it's a threat to human life," said Gary Skiba, state wildlife biologist who heads up the wolf-management effort. If one is killed for any other reason, the charge is a Class 5 felony punishable by up to a $100,000 fine and three years in jail....
Column: Californians, Hug a Miner Today Your car. Your desk. Your computer. Your pots and pans. The road outside. Your lunch. What do these things have in common? All of them involved disturbing the land and the ''exploitation'' of natural resources in their creation. Anything around you that contains metal, plastic or rubber comes directly from mining and oil drilling operations somewhere in the world. Anything that is wood, paper or food was either logged or harvested. Almost everything we have comes from mining, drilling, logging and farming, and yet these industries are increasingly under attack from the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) people, regulators, and environmentalists....
Column: Revolt Rattles Oregon's Land-Use Legacy Washington has apples. Colorado has football and hockey. Oregon? We have land-use laws. It's what built our state's reputation. Planning textbooks often feature a chapter on Oregon, and environmentalists and land-use planners throughout the West look longingly towards our state Legislature in Salem; it's the place where smart people put a cap on sprawl. That was before Nov. 2, when Oregonians questioned their resolve to be sprawl-fighters. Nearly 60 percent of Oregon voters across rural and urban areas passed a ballot initiative that requires state and local governments to either compensate landowners when environmental or planning laws harm property values, or else to waive the regulation. Written by a property-rights group that has worked for years to dismantle land-use laws, the measure provides no funding mechanism for processing claims or for the estimated millions of dollars in compensation that could be due....
Australian court rules cowboy hats too dangerous; helmets needed The sweat-stained felt hats worn by Australian cowboys, as much a part of the Outback as kangaroos and sun-baked soil, may be heading for the history books. They fail modern industrial safety standards. It all stems from the death of a cowboy, who suffered massive head injuries after being trampled in a fall from a horse while mustering bulls in July 2001. His sole protection was the tattered hat provided him for shading from the sun. The New South Wales state government brought charges against the ranch owner, who employed 23-year-old Daniel Croker, convicting and fining the company $72,000 last month for breaches of safety, including failure to provide the horseman with an equestrian helmet....
It's All Trew: Drought wrings the patience from community Two years passed without rain in the Caprock community. Herds were culled as grass and crops died because of the drought. Most people had notes due at the bank and many were working at outside jobs trying to hang on until the drought broke. Nerves were frazzled in frustration. The ladies sponsored a private dance, rented a local hall and hired a western band in an effort to provide the community with a little recreation and relaxation. They decorated the tables and brought dips and snacks while the men brought liquor....

Veneman to step down as ag secretary Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, the daughter of a California peach farmer and the first woman ag secretary, has resigned from the post, according to press reports. Veneman is expected to remain on the job until her successor is chosen. Among potential replacements are former House Agriculture Committee Chairman and Texas Congressman Larry Combest, fellow Texan and former ranking member on the House Ag Committee Charlie Stenholm; Ambassador Allen Johnson, chief agricultural negotiator with the U.S. Trade Representative's office and White House agriculture advisor Chuck Conner. She made it clear she would like to serve a second term, but it is also clear, said Bagby, with almost of half of President Bush’s cabinet resigning within a few weeks of his election victory that the “President is making a bunch of changes.”....
Statement by the President
Ann Veneman has been a strong advocate for America's farm and ranch families. As Secretary of Agriculture, she has been a valuable member of my Cabinet, working to ensure that we promote economic opportunities for farmers and ranchers, ensure a safe and wholesome food supply, and sell American farm products all around the world. I commend Ann for her efforts to enact and implement a responsible farm bill with strong conservation provisions. I greatly appreciate Ann's leadership in ensuring that we responded quickly and effectively to protect the American food supply following the discovery of BSE in the United States and following September 11th. She has helped ensure commonsense forest management and skillfully implemented the Healthy Forests Initiative. She has played a key role in opening markets and in ensuring a level playing field for America's farm products. Ann has served our country with distinction and integrity. I appreciate her fine work and wish her well.
Democrats, Greens Aim to Overturn Bush Forest Plan Democrats and environmental groups on Monday expressed hope that changes in the Bush administration Cabinet could moderate a White House plan to open some 60 million acres of federal forests to logging. "With the president reaching out and seeing that in the West his candidacy was very contested, this was one of the reasons," New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, told reporters on a teleconference. We hope "a new secretary of agriculture would use this issue to bring people together," he said. Agriculture Department Secretary Ann Veneman resigned on Monday after four years leading the department that oversees the U.S. Forest Service. It was not clear how soon a successor would be named....
Greens see hope in Veneman departure Conservationists were hopeful Monday the departure of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman might lead to better protections for the nation's wildlands. Phil Clapp of the National Environmental Trust said Veneman's eventual successor might have a keener interest in protecting federal lands than did Veneman, whom he described as more interested in traditional farm issues rather than forestry....
Veneman: not popular with farmers after all Shortly after President George W. Bush's re-election, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman's name appeared on lists of cabinet officials who might be leaving the administration. Apparently, many farmers shared the view that she should go. Others posting comments said she supported the Pork Checkoff after farmers voted it out and fought country of origin labeling on behalf of meat packers. She was also criticized for slow implementation of parts of the 2002 Farm Bill. Delays in rules for the Conservation Security Program were criticized by many farm groups as well as former Senate Agriculture Committee chair, Tom Harkin (D-IA)....
Farm groups react to Veneman, Abraham resignations Upon hearing of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman's resignation from the Bush Administration today, Farm Bureau praised her service to agriculture. The leaders of the National Farmers Union, National Pork Producers Council, National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Corn Growers Association also weighed in. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham also turned in his resignation today. NCGA applauded his service as a strong supporter of the ethanol industry. "During her tenure, we have faced a variety of complex issues, some of which were crises, and she handled them adeptly," said Bob Stallman in a release today. Stallman is the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation....
Veneman presided over wary food supply Weeks after taking office in 2001, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe prompted Veneman to increase inspections and testing to prevent its arrival in the United States. After the Sept. 11 attacks that year, concern grew that terrorists might seek to contaminate the nation's food supply. Then came the discovery last year of the first case of mad cow disease in the United States. Veneman quickly upgraded the country's defenses, banning high-risk meat products and meat from cows that could not stand or walk on their own, testing more cattle and promising to speed a nationwide animal tracking system. Farm interests for the most part praised Veneman's response, while consumer advocacy groups said Veneman and her agency had not done enough....