NEWS ROUNDUP

Texas ranchers and their land safe from development The Davis Mountains project that King has directed since 1989 recently achieved its core goal of preserving about 100,000 acres of this "sky island" ecosystem, where creatures found nowhere else on the planet live in a mountain range that rises like an island out of the surrounding Chihuahua Desert. In the process, some of the once skeptical ranching clans have started capitalizing on the expanded eco-tourism opportunities -- offering lodging and ranch access to birdwatchers, hikers, hunters and stargazers -- to bring in the extra income many ranches need to survive lean years when drought limits livestock herds. It's hard to gauge the extent to which self interest, economic reality or other factors are behind the changing attitudes here. The long-running decline in the ranching economy has been emotionally painful, with some ranchers and townsfolk still viewing the Conservancy's presence as a threat to their traditional way of life. Yet the region's legendary distrust of outsiders, the Conservancy included, shows signs of easing both on the range and the streets of Fort Davis....
Montana gains control of its wolves Proclaiming it both a biological and a political success story, Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Monday announced plans to turn over the management of Montana's booming population of gray wolves to Montanans. Under the rule announced Monday, the states of Montana and Idaho - and Indian tribes in those states - can assume virtually all responsibility for wolf management, if they have Fish and Wildlife Service-approved wolf management plans. Montana and Idaho already have such plans, so will take over most wolf-management duties within the next few months....
Horse-killing wolves put down The death of a horse from a wolf attack triggered the killing of two wolves in the Meeteetse area Sunday. A blue roan gelding, severely injured by wolves in a pasture on the Wood River, made it back to the corral before dying Dec. 26, Bobby Joe Long said. "He leaned against the fence, bleeding out of his mouth, and died," he said. The horse had injuries to his neck, stomach and a rear leg but was not eaten, Long added. "I have pictures of two visible canine bites. He had a rip in his belly, and his right rear leg was evidently ripped," he said. The roan's death brings the total 2004 confirmed losses in Wyoming to three horses, along with 56 cattle, 10 sheep and one dog, said Bangs, who added that the only horse mortalities have occurred in Wyoming....
Forest congress to seek plan for sharing Straining to meet its mandate of allowing multiple - and often conflicting - uses on the nation's public lands, the U.S. Forest Service is revisiting a model from its past with visions of a less- contentious future. Hundreds of government officials, industry representatives and environmental organizations have gathered here this week to re-create the landmark "congress" that established the agency 100 years ago. Featuring speakers ranging from outgoing Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman to four past and present Forest Service chiefs, the four-day gathering will try to move the conversation beyond decades of polarization over management of the 192 million acres of forest....
Wild horse patrons to appeal to public Wild horse advocates from throughout the country said Monday they intend to appeal to the American public to help reverse a new federal law allowing many of the animals to be sold at auction, after which they could be taken to slaughterhouses. In concluding an emergency two-day conference in Carson City, representatives of some of the nation’s leading wild horse and burro protection groups said they also are looking into ways to legally challenge an amendment to the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act. The amendment, or rider, was approved over Thanksgiving weekend as part of the federal spending bill and signed into law by President Bush last month....
State outlines sage-grouse protection efforts The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the release Monday of a draft plan for managing greater sage-grouse in Oregon. The state's management strategy is “intended to promote the conservation of greater sage-grouse and intact functioning sagebrush communities in Oregon,” using “the best science available,” according to the report’s executive summary. The added “intent is to benefit conservation needs of other sagebrush-steppe species,” it said. Interested individuals can view the full draft plan on the agency Website at www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/InfoCntrWild/sage-grouse.pdf or send a request for a copy to Wildlife Division, ODFW, 3406 Cherry Avenue NE, Salem, OR 97303....
For rafters, a rift runs through it Last summer, Leanne Emm and 11 friends rafted the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. For Emm, an experienced river runner, it was trip of a lifetime - even if she had to linger on the National Park Service waiting list 12 years to do it. More than 22,000 people raft through the Grand Canyon each year while thousands of others wait for the chance to do it. When the Park Service stopped taking names in December 2003, there were almost 1,500 Coloradans still on the list of 8,000 people. To juggle the overwhelming demand on the Grand Canyon, the Park Service has recently proposed sweeping changes to how it manages trips on 277 miles of the Colorado River....
Column: Property Rights, Measure 37 to the Rescue Victims of Oregon’s tyrannical web of land use restrictions, ordinances, and regulatory takings can finally seek justice. Measure 37 passed on November 2 and it allows Oregon property owners who have been wronged by any myriad of radical land use restrictions imposed by the state and local governments to seek just compensation for their monetary losses. And if the governmental body responsible for the offending regulation can’t pony up the dough, the Measure calls for the property owner to be immune from the regulation. Measure 37 is right. It is fair. It is brilliant in its simplicity....
Alberta farm quarantined as BSE case confirmed The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has quarantined an Alberta farm where they believe that a dairy cow infected with mad cow disease was born. Agriculture officials refused to provide any details about the farm or its owners. They would only say they are now moving their investigation into trying to find the infected cow's offspring and other cows born on the farm within the same year....
Canadian official says mad cow case not a threat A new case of mad cow disease discovered in Canada poses no threat to human health or trade, and the United States has assured Canadian officials it will not block beef imports, the country's agriculture minister said Monday. "Canada has a strong regulatory regime in place to protect against the spread of BSE," Minister Andrew Mitchell said, referring to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as mad cow disease. "From a public health perspective, this finding does not threaten the safety of Canadian beef."....
A High-Octane Property Dispute Their family dynasty once embraced 6,656 acres and included 4 1/2 miles of some of California's most beautiful beachfront. These days, descendants of Spanish land-grant owner Francisco Marquez are down to their last 17,000 square feet deep inside Santa Monica Canyon. And as it's often been for the last 165 years, Marquez family property is again in the middle of a tug-of-war. The fight this time is not over entitlement to the sweeping mesa that forms the center of today's Pacific Palisades. Or the glittering coastline that is now Will Rogers State Beach. This dispute is over Angelina Marquez Olivera's filling station....
It's All Trew: Mistletoe a big help for one wanting a kiss A student of mythology states: "Kingdoms fell as mistletoe caught the attention of the Greek Gods of Old. The Goddess of Love, Friggu, was given custody of mistletoe, thus becoming associated with kissing." Christian mythology suggests the cross of Christ was made of the mistletoe tree, which suffered such guilt over the crucifixion that it fled to the tops of trees to hide throughout eternity. All ages have pushed mistletoe as a medicinal cure-all for such diseases as infertility, epilepsy, palsy and ulcers. Old-time livestock doctors used mistletoe to help animals recover after giving birth to young. In heavy mistletoe growth, "mistletoe moonshine" might be available around Christmas time....