NEWS

Forest Service ending some recreation fees The Forest Service is eliminating $5 and $10 recreation fees it charges at about 500 picnic areas and trailheads after outdoor enthusiasts and Western lawmakers complained. The fees also could disappear at other recreation areas among thousands operated by the government but will remain at those with parking lots, restrooms and other amenities under a law Congress passed last year. The new law "raises the bar for sites to qualify for charging fees so the public can enjoy more amenities," said Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth. Nationwide, 61 percent of more than 16,000 sites operated by the Forest Service will be free of charge, officials said....
Songbird found in Calif., first sighting in 60 years A chatty songbird thought to have disappeared from the Central Valley 60 years ago has been spotted nesting in a patch of restored habitat along the San Joaquin River. The least Bell's vireo, a little gray songbird that fits in a closed fist, was once widespread in the Central Valley. It disappeared from the area as the riparian habitat it favors was ripped up to make way for development and agriculture. About 90 percent of the valley's historic riverside vegetation has been lost, said Al Donner, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The bird was put on the federal endangered species list in 1986, when there were only about 300 pairs left in the low-lying shrubbery along creeks and streams in southern California....
Shooting holes in steel shot myth Roster said approximately 95 percent of all shot fired at waterfowl is steel, so much of the research has focused on steel shot. A long-standing criticism of steel pellets has been it is less dense and loses momentum at longer ranges. Also, hunters feared the harder pellet would damage shotgun barrels and chokes. Roster's conclusion is steel shot is not only an adequate replacement, but is superior to lead in some respects. Research shows steel has better penetration when the shot is the same weight, and actually penetrates better outside of 45 yards. Steel pellets also cause little or no damage to equipment, because the shell wadding is used to protect the barrel from erosion. "Fear not about erosion," Roster said. Roster reminded steel is also the cheapest option, next to lead....
Four Mexican wolves released in Gila Wilderness Federal and state wildlife officials say they have released four Mexican wolves in the Gila Wilderness of southwestern New Mexico. The action comes just before a round of public meetings in the state aimed at reviewing the wolf reintroduction program and considering a one-year moratorium on releases of all but "experienced" wolves. Some area cattle ranchers are upset about the wolf reintroductions, claiming the animals have added to the economic woes of their already precarious industry. "Two adult Mexican gray wolves, one yearling and three pups, were moved to a remote area of the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico this week to increase the number of breeding pairs of wolves in the wild and to add genetic diversity to the wild population," the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team say in a joint statement. The pack was moved from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge south of Albuquerque, the officials indicate. The wolves and pups have been in captivity, removed earlier from the Mexican Wolf Recovery Area in Arizona....

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