NEWS ROUNDUP

Column: Safe oil, gas drilling overdue It took 35 years of debate and pondering, but legislation to allow drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has passed the House and may pass the Senate. If that happens, it will be good news for America's farmers and ranchers. Exploration and development of energy resources in what is known as the "1002 Area" was agreed upon by Congress when the ANWR was established in 1980. By refusing to proceed as originally planned, we are now looking at the first barrel of oil not being pumped for about another decade. From the perspective of America's farmers, the ANWR energy development is long overdue as part of balancing our country's national energy policy agenda with the goal of providing a more reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible energy supply for America's growing economy. Farmers and ranchers are paying dearly for restrictions on domestic energy sources. During the 2003 and 2004 growing seasons, the U.S. agricultural industry paid an additional $6 billion in energy-related production expenses....
Disabled man wants ATV access in Sand Creek area of Black Hills A disabled man is asking the U.S. Forest Service to allow ATVs in the Sand Creek area of the Black Hills National Forest, saying it's the only way he can access the area. James Fogleman, a retired coal miner from Gillette, said he has visited the Sand Creek area, about 15 miles east of Sundance, for decades, but can no longer walk great distances. Without using an ATV, he said, he has no way to hunt or fish. "I don't want to sit around the rest of my life," Fogleman said. "I'm going to need to ride something. We're doing what we can." Fogleman has put out petitions at several local businesses and said he would present them to the Forest Service and to Vice President Dick Cheney, a Wyoming native....
Forest Service accused of improper pesticide use Forest Service managers ignored agency rules and environmental laws in spraying pesticides and weed-killing chemicals on several national forests in the Southwest, according to a federal official who advises the agency on pesticide use. Skirting those rules and laws has resulted in "potentially serious public safety and environmental threats," said Doug Parker in a federal whistleblower complaint obtained by The Associated Press. The complaint, filed in March with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and related documents were obtained by the AP from Parker's attorney, Dennis Montoya of Albuquerque. Parker, the pesticide coordinator and assistant director of forestry and forest health for the Forest Service's Southwestern Region, said he is under an order from his supervisor not to speak publicly about the matter, and declined to talk with the AP....
US Forest Service Sued Over Logging in Oregon A group of US Forest Service employees has filed a lawsuit against the federal agency because the workers say it is allowing lumber companies to log forests recovering from wildfires in violation of environmental laws. At issue in the lawsuit is part of the 5,839 acres (2,360 hectares) of ponderosa pine, larch, Douglas and white fir burned in July 2002 in a fire in the Malheur National Forest. The Forest Service, an agency of the Department of Agriculture, "has decided to log 'dying trees' in the Easy Fire Recovery Project that are, in fact alive and well," said a lawsuit filed on Friday in US District Court for Oregon by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. The Forest Service declined comment on the lawsuit....
Injured Skier Rescued After 8 Days Outside An injured backcountry skier was found alive near Steamboat Springs Monday morning after spending more than a week in the mountains with little food or water. Authorities said Charles Horton, 55, of Steamboat Springs, had a broken leg. He was found on a snow-covered U.S. Forest Service road near Chapman Reservoir, according to the Steamboat Pilot newspaper. Mazzola said Horton is an experienced outdoorsman and had the right skills and clothing to survive the ordeal. Horton built at least two shelters and a fire during his eight nights alone, rescue personnel said. "This is the stuff books are written about," said Mazzola. "The human spirit, the will to live -- that's what amazes me."....
Airport pays millions to buy snake habitat Federal regulators have put Sacramento International Airport in the reptile-housing business, and it's costing millions. After years of improperly filling wetlands at the airport, county officials now are competing with commercial developers to acquire land as habitat for giant garter snakes. In the end, the snafu could wind up costing the airport system more than $11 million, with some of the cost passed along to the airlines that pay landing fees here....
Birds are the fall guys of green power--But wind farms may preserve crucial habitat After much trial and error, a modern wind power industry was spawned in the 1980s in places such as Altamont Pass, a godforsaken stretch of bald hills whose only previous claim to fame was a lethal Rolling Stones concert in 1969. During the past decade and a half, wind power emerged as the fastest growing electricity source in the world -- although solar power has recently eclipsed wind power in this regard. Total worldwide capacity now stands at more than 40,000 megawatts, enough green power to supply 40 million U.S. homes. The total U.S. capacity is expected to grow to almost 9,000 megawatts by year's end....
35 more wild horses slaughtered in West The Interior Department abruptly halted delivery of mustangs to buyers while it investigates the slaughter of 41 wild horses in the West this month. By enlisting last-minute financial help Monday from Ford Motor Co. - makers of the Mustang sports car - the agency saved the lives of 52 other mustangs. The latest horses killed came from a broker who obtained them from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. The tribe traded 87 of the 105 aging horses it bought from the government for younger ones. Interior officials said they would review whether a federal contract had been violated. Tribal officials were unavailable for comment. "I don't think it's fair to say they violated the agreement," Kathleen Clarke, director of Interior's Bureau of Land Management, told The Associated Press. "They were not traded to the animal processing facility. They were trading to a private individual." The Sioux tribe had to sign an agreement with BLM that it would "provide humane care" to each of the animals, documents show. Clarke said Interior's top lawyer was investigating that arrangement....
BLM will appraise impact of grazing An Idaho group has forced the Bureau of Land Management to do a significant environmental study of the impact of grazing on public lands in northern Utah. The settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Hailey, Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project also requires the BLM to identity lands that are not to be used for future grazing. "We're trying to get accountability into the process so that wildlife habitant is measured, and so that it is restored if it's degraded," said John Carter, Western Watersheds Utah director. "So much of degradation of soil and other natural habitats are attributable to livestock grazing. We need to get things in balance." The settlement also requires BLM to prepare a land-use plan for 3.5 million acres under the jurisdiction of the agency's Salt Lake City office....
Ute Mountain protected under private-public effort Ute Mountain on the New Mexico-Colorado border is now permanently protected under an effort by a national conservation group and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The Trust for Public Land and the BLM said Monday they successfully wrapped up nearly three decades of efforts to protect the 14,344-acre property when the Trust for Public Land conveyed the final 6,420 acres, valued at $2.7 million, to the BLM. In 2003, the nonprofit group had purchased 7,924 acres of the mountain and conveyed it to the BLM. The area within the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River corridor in northern Taos County will be managed by the BLM to protect its open space, wildlife habitat and value for recreation, the two groups said in a news release....
Colo. says feds underestimate drilling effects A draft federal report on gas drilling on a prized 3,000-foot high plateau underestimates the potential impact on wildlife, ignores science and lacks enough details to make predictions, state wildlife managers say. The state Division of Wildlife comments, obtained by The Associated Press through an open-records request, also accuses the Bureau of Land Management of downplaying the economic benefits of hunting and recreation on the Roan Plateau. "It does not describe the irreplaceable losses or the regional impacts which is required information," the division said of the BLM report. The rich tableland, about 200 miles west of Denver, is prized for its wildlife, rugged terrain and abundant natural gas. Industry representatives say the nation urgently needs the natural gas locked in the plateau and in deposits across northwestern Colorado....
"Fee-For-Science" Plan Dropped By Interior The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced that it was ending a system that based performance evaluations for its scientists in part on how much money the scientists raise to support their research projects. The sudden turnaround came in response to media inquiries following the revelation earlier this week by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) of explicit agency fundraising quotas as part of scientist ratings used for promotions and raises. Under the now former Bureau of Reclamation system that was put in place only this past March, scientists were tasked with finding private, state and other federal sponsors to buy the scientists' time. Fundraising quotas increased with the scientist's pay grade. Thus, a scientist at the GS-11 pay level or higher had to solicit a minimum of $110,000 to avoid an "unsatisfactory" rating and a minimum of more than $500,000 to earn an "exceptional" performance rating....
Grand Ole Opry celebrates 80th year Like a classic country song, the Grand Ole Opry has endured despite changes in technology, musical tastes, ownership and location. It's the longest continuously running radio show in the country, and though at times it's been derided as stale and antiquated, there's a certain charm when the house band begins to play and the burgundy curtain rises. The feeling is one of seeing something authentic, down to the vintage microphone stands, live advertisements and corny jokes. The homespun feel, however, belies the elaborate production. The show is marketed nationwide, streamed over Internet and satellite radio, shown on cable TV, broadcast on regular radio and reaches more than 2 million people a week. The hayseed image has always been there, since Dr. Humphrey Bate, a physician, donned overalls and led his band, the Possum Hunters. Later, comedian Sarah Cannon recreated herself as Minnie Pearl - a character from the mythical small town of Grinder's Switch who wore a straw hat with the price tag dangling. But most credit the Opry's longevity to the music. Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells, Bill Monroe and Elvis Presley are among the thousands who have performed and become stars there....
It's All Trew: Early-day couples had their 'hang ups,' too Horror stories about hanging wallpaper are handed down from generation to generation. My mother and father were gentle, compatible people who never argued. However, each time they hung wallpaper my brother and I fled to the barn afraid to stay in the house. When a mistake was made my father would say, "Hang a picture over it." That slogan has been used in our family whenever a goof is made. A classic old-time ranching story tells of two cowboys destined to spend the coming winter in a poorly built line shack. In an effort to keep the cold north wind out they mixed flour paste and covered the walls and ceiling with newspapers. A long winter with continuing blizzards kept the pair confined and bored for days at a time. Spring finally arrived with both suffering neck and back problems from standing on chairs and the table trying to read the newsprint pasted on the walls and ceiling of the humble abode....

===