NEWS

Editorial: Rainbows and Nazis WHOSE bright idea was it to relocate the Rainbow Family gathering a mile away from the headquarters of one of the largest neo-Nazi organizations in the country? Somebody in the U.S. Forest Service evidently doesn’t mind inviting trouble. We know the Forest Service has its hands full trying to protect the forest while accommodating thousands of counterculture campers. We know the Rainbow Family rejected some other alternatives. But the National Alliance draws racists and skinheads from many parts of the world to its compound in Pocahontas County. Who decided it would be a good idea to camp a multiracial group of thousands of clothes-avoidant peaceniks next door to them?....
Lawmaker targets fish-data agency Angered by a federal court order that spills water over federal dams to save endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has inserted language into a Senate energy bill that would kill an agency that tallies the survival of fish as they swim through the heavily dammed Columbia and Snake rivers. The federal government has spent far more money trying to prevent the extinction of Northwest salmon than it has on any other endangered species. Craig's move would eliminate the Fish Passage Center, which for more than two decades has been collecting and analyzing data that document how effective that multibillion-dollar federal effort has been. A spokesman for the Idaho senator calls the rider — attached to an energy appropriations bill that moved last week to the Senate floor — "a shot across the bow" to challenge what Craig believes is an agency that advocates a "controversial and one-sided" approach to salmon recovery....
Wildlife smuggling ranks second to drugs on border When it comes to smuggling wildlife across the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Wildlife Inspector Ed Marshall has seen it all. Exotic birds given Valium or tequila so they stay quiet through Customs inspections. Sleeves moving with hidden reptiles. Wildcats stashed in trunks. Last week, the Border Patrol seized two white tigers on their way to Mexico. Inspectors have overlooked some things, however, like the African elephant smuggled across the Gateway International Bridge on a truck in 2001. "They call it the 'Dumbo Case,'" Marshall said, shaking his head. "They drove the damn elephant right across the bridge."....
Group Calls for End to the Endangered Species Act's "Reign of Terror" In a letter to House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA), the American Policy Center (APC) and over 50 public policy groups called for an end to the federal government’s unconstitutional practice of taking land and property rights under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Chairman Pombo plans to make reauthorizing the ESA a priority of the current Congress. "There are some who claim that the Act needs to be ‘strengthened,’ ‘updated,’ or ‘modernized,’" said APC president Tom DeWeese. "How absurd. For three decades this law has done nothing but steal property, destroy economies, shatter livelihoods, cost billions of dollars, and even take lives. The ESA needs to be repealed, not ‘modernized.’"....
Concerns on water dominate hearing Western lawmakers are stacking the deck as they push for changes in a perennially controversial environmental law. In a textbook illustration of how Congress builds a case, Mariposa Republican George Radanovich on Wednesday summoned witnesses to discuss the Endangered Species Act. Almost invariably, the witnesses complained about the law's impact on water supplies and their own operations. Backed by Radanovich and other Republicans, Cardoza has reintroduced legislation that would tighten rules for designating critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act. Critical habitat is what's considered essential for a species to survive and recover. On designated land - like the 128,035 acres in Stanislaus County called critical for vernal pool species - federal agencies must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before taking action. The costs, consequences and effectiveness of critical habitat designation remain a matter of dispute. Still, Cardoza's bid to revise critical habitat policies remains so far the leading Endangered Species Act bill to be introduced this Congress. It has 29 House co-sponsors so far, as well as its share of critics....
Officials aim to lure Caspian terns from Oregon to Bay Area But the tall birds with the stout red beaks and mohawk-shaped black crowns have flourished here. So much so that the island is a prime beachhead in a federal plan to relocate the terns from Oregon's Columbia River, where they eat endangered salmon. In a plan of unusual scope and distances, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to break up and disperse the world's largest Caspian tern colony from a Columbia River island to seven places in California, Oregon and Washington. A sand spit on Brooks Island appears to be the best of the relocation sites, which also include two shoreline spots near Hayward and Fremont, Calif., scientists say. No nets, traps or guards are involved in this relocation of birds with wingspans that can exceed 4 feet. Federal agencies plan to lure the terns to new nesting areas by adding sand and clearing weeds in isolated areas suitable for the birds. If necessary, managers will also display decoys and blare recorded tern calls to lure in birds....
Energy execs say West could rival Saudi Arabia Energy company executives told a House subcommittee on Thursday that Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming could become the next Saudi Arabia if they can find a way to extract the billions of barrels in oil shale, a porous rock containing petroleum. By tapping into oil shale, supporters say, the U.S. could replace all trans-Atlantic oil imports by 2025. But they need help from the federal government, which oversees 80 percent of the land where the oil deposits are found. A key official from Colorado urged Congress to take care, however, and make sure to avoid another boom and bust like the one that hit the state 25 years ago....
LDS joins BLM in fighting Martin's Cove lawsuit The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can join the federal government's defense against a lawsuit protesting the lease of a historic site to the church, a federal judge has ruled. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in March in U.S. District Court, naming Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke. The ACLU argues the lease agreement unfairly gives the Mormon church too much control over the Martin's Cove site, which is about 60 miles southwest of Casper, and that visitors are subjected to proselytizing or restricted from some areas if they're not Mormon. U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson on Tuesday granted the church's motion to join the lawsuit....
Operators seek year-round drilling A coalition of natural gas companies is proposing year-round drilling within big game winter range on the Pinedale Anticline in western Wyoming, according to company officials. The three operators are proposing a demonstration program to drill up to 45 new wells -- using up to 32 drilling pads per section with directional drilling techniques -- in order to reduce impacts to wildlife, habitat and air quality, officials said. The use of consolidated drilling pads should result in fewer roads, reduced truck and bus traffic to drilling rigs, faster reclamation of drilling sites, increased worker safety and better growth and economic sustainability of communities such as Pinedale and Big Piney, the operators contend....
Humane Society says 'whoa' to Nevadans' wild horse bill Horse protection advocates said Tuesday that they'll oppose a proposal aimed at boosting adoptions of wild horses unless Congress also bans the slaughter of any horses in the U.S. Leaders of the Humane Society of the United States and other groups said they favor part of the proposal introduced by Nevada's entire congressional delegation Monday to impose a one-year waiting period on the transfer of ownership for wild horses sold through a relatively new sale program at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. But they said other provisions in the bill would undermine protections for the mustangs unless the bill is accompanied by the slaughter ban, which has passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate....
Renovated brothel building won't open under Mustang name The old Mustang Ranch brothel will reopen next week at a new location, but without hoopla or its famous name. Lance Gilman, who bought the pink stucco building that once housed Nevada's most storied bordello, is barred by a federal court from using the Mustang Ranch moniker until a lawsuit over its trademark is resolved. So, he intends to open it, without fanfare, on July 1 as Lance Gilman's World Famous Brothel, with 30 rooms and 20 prostitutes....

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