NEWS

Arizona weighs grazing lease renewal opposed by border activists The state Land Department is considering potential liability to the state as it decides whether to grant a grazing lease renewal requested by a Cochise County rancher who has gained notoriety for detaining illegal immigrants on land near the U.S.-Mexico border. A human-rights advocacy group, the Border Action Network, on Thursday protested the department's possible renewal of a grazing lease for nearly 14,000 acres of state trust land controlled by rancher Roger Barnett's REB Enterprises LLC. "Our argument is the state Land Department should revoke the lease not only for his vigilante activities" but for also confronting hunters at gunpoint, said Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network....
Forest Service watching trails after sex sting arrests Smith, in a meeting Thursday with Sheriff George H. Payne Jr., credited deputies with a sting in early June that resulted in six men's arrests on charges of indecent exposure. Deputies conducted the sting at the Forest Service's request after both agencies received complaints of men engaged in sexual activity along the public nature trail. "On Friday afternoons, our officers would see 20 to 30 men out there," said Payne. "This isn't just a Harrison County problem. National parks and public hiking trails are a known haven for this type of people."....
Not So Nice to See You A 14-year-old spotted something strange in the waste tank of a New Hampshire outhouse — a man's face staring back up at her. Police said Gary Moody, 45, of Gardiner, Maine, was standing in the ladies' room collection tank wearing hip waders, according to the Kennebec Journal of Augusta, Maine. "You can draw your own conclusions as to the conditions we encountered," Capt. John Hebert of the Carroll County Sheriff's Department told WMUR-TV of Manchester, N.H. The girl was about to use the facilities around noon on Sunday at a log-cabin rest stop near Albany on the Kancamagus Scenic Byway, which runs through the White Mountain National Forest....Looks like I may wind up with a XXX rated blog if I keep posting stories about the management of Federal lands....
Grasslands could be protected Two areas of primitive prairie on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland have been recommended by the U.S. Forest Service for protection as a federal wilderness area, and the Sierra Club wants to add two more areas to that recommendation. The four areas received recognition recently as South Dakota's "treasure" in a national Sierra Club publication titled America's Great Outdoors. A section, "52 Local Treasures Across America," profiles unique areas — one in each state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico — in need of protection or increased awareness. The Forest Service, which manages national grasslands, recommended Indian Creek and Red Shirt areas as federal wilderness areas as part of its 2002 management plan. The Sierra Club still hopes First Black Canyon and Cheyenne River would receive wilderness recommendation, too....
Wildfire will hurt ecosystems for years Flora and fauna across terrain scorched by the Cave Creek Complex fire will take years to recover, experts said. The 172,788-acre fire has moved from low- to highaltitude desert and is closing in on forested mountainous territory, threatening a biologically diverse range of ecosystems, said Dave Killebrew, a U.S. Forest Service fire information officer. Some wildlife habitat and plant life in the fire area is particularly sensitive to ecosystem disturbance and will suffer long-term setbacks, he said. In desert areas, the wildfire has charred entire hillsides of saguaros and other vegetation that is especially slow to recover from fire damage. "Some of those places won’t look the same for decades," Killebrew said. If the fire hits hard in high-country pine forests, "it can take 80 to 100 years to come back," he said....
Rare tortoises may have been hit hard by fires Now that an army of firefighters is gaining the upper hand on a slew of southwest Utah wildland blazes - homes remained out of harm's way Thursday - biologists are turning their attention to the damaged ecosystem, particularly for the Mojave Desert tortoise. "It's hard for me to see this fire," said Ann McLuckie, a biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. "It's heart-wrenching to see the impacts on the fragile ecosystem and the tortoise population." Thursday, biologists and wildlife managers toured the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve just north of St. George in an effort to analyze the impact from this week's fires. It is estimated that wildfires fueled by cheat grass and fanned by erratic winds burned more than 10 percent of the 62,000-acre wildlife preserve. The Red Cliffs preserve is home to an estimated 1,700 tortoises. Officials fear than many may have perished in the blaze....
Karuk's lawsuit will stop mining U.S. Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong is scheduled to make a decision on a lawsuit filed for the Karuk Tribe of California against the Forest Service by July 1. In the lawsuit, the Karuk Tribe alleges that gold suction dredging is harmful to wildlife and endangers fish. Dredging season begins on July 1 and miners are anxious about the decision. If the Karuk’s win the lawsuit, then each suction dredger will need to obtain a California Environmental Quality Act permit, which brings in biologists to analyze the environmental impacts. Cost of all the studies by biologists starts at $30,000, which is an extreme price for most small-time recreationist miners to pay. The miners say the lawsuit is perplexing, because in the past they have met with representatives from the Karuk Tribe to discuss issues and had been able to find solutions. “We created our own regulations among ourselves,” said one of the miners. They reduced the number of dredges in the river and did not dredge near local swimming holes or pools where fish congregate. Ultimately, the suit claims that dredging causes “significant” disturbance. The suit states that the mining causes “permanent and or long-lasting impacts to wildlife, fisheries, water quality, recreation and visual resources” and adversely impacts the Tribe. It also alleges that suction dredging can kill or affect coho salmon; bald eagles and northern spotted owls....
Commission passes butterfly plan Private property owners in Otero County surrounding Cloudcroft must adhere to new restrictions when developing subdivisions. Otero County commissioners on Wednesday passed the “Sacramento Mountains Checkerspot Butterfly Conservation Plan,” amending the subdivision ordinance. Commission Vice Chair Doug Moore and Commissioner Michael Nivison voted for the measure. Chair Clarissa McGinn said nay. The plan is a cooperative effort with federal and state agencies to protect the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly and the insect’s habitat. In September 2001 the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the butterfly as endangered, under the Endangered Species Act. The agency published in the Federal Register that nearly every activity in Cloudcroft’s tourist-based economy is destructive and should be prohibited. The document stated mountain bikers, off-road vehicles, and camping and livestock damage eggs and plants. Cars hit the insect. Nivison said there wouldn’t even be skiing. “What’s at stake is every outdoor activity,” Moore said, stressing cattle grazing “would be gone.”....
York Creek Dam removal awaits federal funding Removal of the York Creek Dam could begin as early as 2007 if Congress approves the Army Corps of Engineers' appropriations this year. For the past five years the city has worked closely with the Corps to remove impediments to the endangered steelhead salmon that spawn in York Creek. The dam is the last remaining barrier between the salmon and the creek's headwaters. Before construction can begin, however, the Corps needs $350,000 to conduct a variety of preliminary studies, including an analysis of the region's soil. When steelhead were added to the endangered species list in 2000, the city "got serious" about removing the dam, Johansson said. Because the earth and concrete structure blocks the salmon from their natural spawning grounds, it could put the city in violation of the Endangered Species Act....
Creative plan aims to save chinook salmon What will it take to save Puget Sound's beloved chinook salmon? About $1.5 billion in the first 10 years, tinkering with various rivers and estuaries, retooling hatcheries and dams, and a lot of scientific research. And figuring out how to fit in more than a million additional residents without pushing the fish over the brink. At least, that's according to a plan sent to the federal government last night from a coalition of regional policy-makers and interest groups who have spent three years drawing up a way to rescue the region's chinook from extinction. It's described as an innovative approach that has built new political alliances needed for such an expensive and ambitious plan. But even the plan's authors acknowledge there are serious gaps, and that going from paper to reality will be a leap....
U.S. twists data on rare butterfly, scientist says A well-known scientist at the University of Florida on Thursday accused the Bush administration of misrepresenting his work in order to justify its decision not to put the Miami Blue butterfly on the endangered species list. In announcing its decision, the wildlife service claimed that scientists had failed in their attempts to reintroduce the butterfly to its former range. Since releasing Miami blues at Biscayne and Everglades national parks, researchers detected only "an inconsistent or sporadic presence of only a small number of individuals," stated the agency's written evaluation, published May 11 in The Federal Register. Thomas Emmel, professor of zoology and entomology at the University of Florida and director of the Miami blue reintroduction project, said this assessment was completely false. "That's just plain Bush administration manipulation of the data," he exclaimed, after hearing the service's evaluation of his team's work. "That's just another example of how politics drives biological observations." Emmel said his team has established 12 breeding colonies at Biscayne and Everglades national parks. These colonies have all successfully reproduced through several generations in the wild....
Foes in Congress unite in defense of property House and Senate Republican leaders, backed by Democratic African American liberals, moved rapidly Thursday on legislation to blunt last week's Supreme Court decision allowing local governments to seize private property for economic development projects. Rep. Maxine Waters, a liberal Democrat from South Central Los Angeles, and Rep. Richard Pombo, a rock-ribbed conservative Republican from rural San Joaquin County -- who rarely join forces on any issue -- were among a group that introduced a bill to cut off federal funds for cities that use eminent domain for such projects. "Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals are going to be organizing behind opposing the Supreme Court decision,'' Waters said. "It's like undermining motherhood and apple pie. I mean, people's homes and their land -- it's very important, and it should be protected by government, not taken for somebody else's private use." Pombo, a longtime property rights advocate, said anger at the court's 5-4 decision in a case from New London, Conn., had united rural landowners with suburbanites and city dwellers fearful that cities will eye their homes for hotels, malls or any commercial use they think will generate more tax revenue....
Prospective Supreme Court Vacancy Could Spell Environmental Disaster Speculation is still rampant that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist or another member of the Supreme Court will resign in the near future providing President Bush with his first opportunity to appoint a new justice to the Supreme Court. Opponents of environmental safeguards are trying to use federal courts to attack the bedrock of environmental safeguards, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act, according to Doug Kendall, executive director of the Community Rights Counsel (CRC). Given the narrow margins in environmental cases before the Supreme Court, a single new appointment to the Court could have a tremendous impact on environmental protection, which is why groups on the far-right recently announced a $18 million campaign to confirm whomever President Bush names to the Supreme Court. President Bush has called Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas his favorite justices. These justices have expressed views, often in dissent, that would dramatically undercut environmental protections....
Senate OKs trade pact with Central America The Senate approved a free trade agreement with Central America on Thursday, but the measure faces an uphill battle in the House, where lawmakers are increasingly balking at trade pacts they contend hurt U.S. industries and workers. Even in the Senate, which traditionally has been more supportive of free trade, the Central American Free Trade Agreement faced fierce opposition as lawmakers of both parties voiced worries that it would harm the domestic sugar industry and erode labor standards. A last-minute deal brokered by the Bush administration that would cap sugar imports through 2007 helped convert a few holdouts, leading to a 54-45 vote in favor of the pact. Also Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the CAFTA legislation, which paves the way for the full House to consider the pact later this month....
'Poia:'The story about how Blackfeet learned the Sun Dance After three years of planning and two weeks of rehearsals, the curtain opens Sunday in Great Falls on "Poia," the colorful opera that tells how Blackfeet learned the Sun Dance. It's a grand story, with epic religious overtones about the Sun God and tragic romantic elements about winning redemption through love. Almost as dramatic is how the opera was written in the first place, why it was last performed nearly a century ago and how it was resurrected as part of the Great Falls area's Signature Event saluting the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. "It's been 95 years since this opera about a significant story in Blackfeet lore was last performed, and that was in Berlin, of all places," said stage director David Cody, a University of Montana music professor....
The Last Dollar Legacy Establishing a working cattle ranch from the ground up in modern times is a risky venture. Exorbitant land prices, environmental restrictions, drought-induced feed bills, fluctuating cattle markets, and insurance, tax and labor expenses loom like a blizzard during calving season, making it nearly impossible for most families to earn a sustainable income. Those who do stay financially afloat struggle to merely make ends meet. That harsh reality didn't deter Vince Kontny. After a lucrative engineering career, much of which he served as president and chief operating officer of a global construction and engineering firm, the native Colorado rancher returned to his roots. He put on his hat and boots, and rolled up his sleeves to help preserve the frontier legacy of two working ranches in southwestern Colorado. "Don't call it retirement, call it a career change," Kontny said during a 1994 interview with The Denver Post, announcing the conservation easement he placed on his most notable ranch: Last Dollar. The picturesque ranch, located on the Dallas Divide, west of Ridgway, Colorado, has been the breathtaking backdrop for numerous ads for Anheiser-Busch, Coors, Marlboro and others. But beneath the ranch's pristine surface harkens a deep history and a newfound future....

===