NEWS ROUNDUP

Former industry leader opposes drilling in area A former New Mexico Oil and Gas Association president says he opposes proposed coal-bed methane drilling in northern New Mexico's Valle Vidal. "I am a strong supporter of the oil and gas industry, and responsible drilling means there are some places we shouldn't drill," Gary Fonay said. He said Wednesday he is asking members of New Mexico's congressional delegation to permanently protect the Valle Vidal from mineral extraction. Fonay said drilling in the Valle Vidal "just changes what you have and changes the experience for people who are looking to see what Rocky Mountain life is all about." Houston-based El Paso Corp. has asked the Carson National Forest to open 40 percent of the 100,000-acre Valle Vidal for leases....
U.S. makes drilling compensation voluntary With drilling rigs sprouting across the Rockies, federal land managers have quietly made it voluntary for companies to compensate for oil and gas development by improving the environment. Environmentalists are concerned that the policy lets companies off the hook when it comes to fixing up areas near drilling sites, a process known as "offsite mitigation." "There's no excuse to so completely destroy a site that you need offsite mitigation," said Erik Molvar, a wildlife biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance in Laramie, Wyo. "(But) if offsite mitigation is going to be an outcome, then it should be required."....
Editorial: BLM must guard rock art in face of huge drilling proposal There is no doubt that drilling 750 natural gas wells on the West Tavaputs Plateau, near Nine Mile Canyon, the site of the highest concentration of Indian rock art in the West, would have an impact on the area. The development proposed by Bill Barrett Corp. would encompass 137,000 acres, or about 215 square miles on the back side of the Book Cliffs. Trucks that now rumble along the Nine Mile Canyon National Backcountry Byway would be joined by even more big trucks and semitrailers, making hundreds of trips past the irreplaceable art left by Fremont Indians who lived in the area from 400 to 1200 A.D. Another certainty is that exploration for gas and oil in the larger area around the San Rafael Swell is going to expand. The region contains some of the richest oil and gas deposits in the lower 48 states. Thousands of acres have been opened up for exploration through the sale of 10-year leases, which has rapidly accelerated under the Bush administration. The Bureau of Land Management has issued 4,000 to 5,000 new drilling permits in Utah in the past several years and expects 1,200 new applications this year. What is less certain is whether the BLM can protect the area's most sensitive lands while maximizing the region's energy development potential....
Judge orders parties to meet A federal magistrate this week ordered parties in a coalbed methane dispute to try to reach an agreement over the scope of an injunction. U.S. Magistrate Richard Anderson directed the parties to report by Sept. 7 whether they reached an agreement or to file a report identifying what issues remain in contention. Anderson will decide then whether to hold a hearing. The case involves a suit filed in 2003 by the Northern Plains Resource Council against the Bureau of Land Management. The lawsuit challenges BLM's approval of a coalbed methane expansion project by Fidelity Exploration and Production Co. in southeastern Montana. Earlier this year in a related suit, Anderson invalidated BLM's statewide environmental study on coalbed methane development and ordered the agency to further study of a phased-development alternative....
Experts warn of ‘dead zone' off Oregon coast The Pacific Ocean off of Oregon has experienced a die-off of birds, declining fisheries and wildly fluctuating conditions in the past few months, and has set the stage for another hypoxic "dead zone" like those of 2002 and 2004, according to experts at Oregon State University. This is the third year in the past four that has demonstrated significantly unusual ocean events, the researchers say, a period unlike any on record. The events have not all been the same. This year's ocean behavior is particularly bizarre, and there is no proof what is causing it. But extreme variability such as this, OSU researchers say, is consistent with what scientists believe will occur as a result of global warming....
Water war brewing in W. Utah Water, in the midst of a desert that is in the midst of a region experiencing unprecedented population growth, is a valuable thing. But farmers and ranchers in western Utah's Snake Valley say it's much more than that. They say it's a matter of survival, and that their survival is being challenged by Nevadans who want to funnel the water they have to Las Vegas. The Southern Nevada Water Authority counters, however, that it has no intention of descending with hood and scythe on ranches in western Utah and eastern Nevada, the rural lifestyle or the environment. Rather, it says, it is just trying to plan for growth. "We are growing at a rate of about 7,000 to 8,000 people per month, and we'll cross the 3 million population mark shortly," said Pat Mulroy, general manager of the water authority. "So we're growing . . . rather rapidly."....
Wolf kill policies illegal, groups charge Charging that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is authorizing the killing of endangered wolves in Wisconsin and Michigan in violation of the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws, 12 conservation and animal protection groups today went to court to block the permits. The federal agency made an illegal end run around the public input process by failing to allow for any public comment on its actions. “Anyone who’s ever been involved in wolf conservation knows it’s an issue of immense public interest, yet the Service utterly shut the public out of the process,” said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife, the lead plaintiff in the case. “In authorizing the killing of wolves in clear violation of federal law, they set a horrible precedent that can’t go unchallenged.”....
Column: Liberation Theology Under the heading, “Native American Genocide,” PETA draws parallels between the worst aspects of Western expansion and normal animal-control activities. “Settlers often treated Native Americans, whom they considered a nuisance, with shocking ruthlessness. . . Today people trap, shoot, and poison native wildlife because they are considered ‘pests.’ ” In other words, every time a rancher acts to control the coyote population to protect his cattle — animals that PETA believes are the moral equivalent of human slaves — it is a replay of Wounded Knee. If we are to understand the threat that the animal-rights and animal-liberation movement poses to human wellbeing, we must first comprehend this fundamental fact: When ALP places a photograph of hanged blacks with that of a dead cow being hoisted by a rope for butchering, it is because animal liberationists actually believe that the lynching of African Americans in the Jim-Crow south and slaughtering cattle are equivalent evils. Nobody in their right mind supports abusing animals. But human slavery was (and is) pure evil; keeping elephants in zoos is not. The Rwandan and Cambodian genocides were acts of pure evil; humanely slaughtering millions of animals to provide the multitudes with nourishing food is not. Mengele’s twin experiments were pure evil; testing new drugs or surgical procedures on animals to save children’s lives is not....
Welfare Farming Dating back to the Depression, subsidies were supposed to help small farmers through a rough patch by propping up prices during periods of economic crisis. They no longer achieve either purpose. There is no evidence that the prices of America's few subsidized crops, which account for about 20% of agricultural sales, are more stable than those of the hundreds of unsubsidized ones. As for helping out the family farmer, the number of farms has shrunk by half since 1960. In particular, fewer than a third of America's full-time farmers now fit the idealized image of Old McDonald and his family. Most of these small farmers get subsidies and are grateful to have them. But it is the biggest farms that get the most, turning subsidies into a particularly gross kind of corporate welfare. The largest 10% of farms get about 72% of the loot....
Artist receives ‘Engraver of the Year’ award It might have come as a bit of a surprise to Silver Springs resident and artist Virginia McCuin when she was chosen to receive the Will Rogers Cowboy Award for Engraver of the Year from the Academy of Western Artists (AWA); however, to those familiar with her work, the honor might be considered long overdue. “It was a shocker...a good shocker,” McCuin said of first learning she had won. “I was pretty impressed and pretty shocked.” McCuin, a member of the AWA, is no stranger to being honored for her work. In fact, she was chosen as one of the top ten engravers by the AWA in 1998. “The ranch has inspired my work,” she said noting her love for engraving equals her love for ranch work, though she no longer ranches....
Good Horse Wrecks My nephew, Blair, had a good wreck a week ago. He was crossing Robinson Creek on his horse Ajax behind some cows that he was going to take to Buckeye. The creek was high, Ajax is always a little touchy, and Blair had his border collie, Moss, with him. These were all the ingredients needed for this wreck. As he crossed the creek his dog crossed upstream and was washed down right under the ever skittish Ajax. The dog washed under the horse, the horse jumped for the heavens at the feel of the dog underneath him and Blair was pitched into the creek. My friend, Benny, who witnessed this wreck said that he heard a big splash and looked back just in time to see Blair swimming for all he was worth after his rapidly disappearing hat....
Ranchers Use Sensitivity Training to Fight Mad Cow Disease Unconfirmed sources report that the use of sensitivity training by US cattle ranchers has reduced the threat of Mad Cow disease. Scientists from the USDA and a small group of ranchers have been working on the secret project for almost three years and the project is showing very positive results. The results have been so striking that USDA Chief Veterinarian John Clifford has ended the study and rolled out the 'Nice Cow, Pretty Cow' program nation wide. The USDA and National Cattlemen's Beef Association have dispatched dozens of 'cowboy councilors' to hold sensitivity training sessions at ranches across the country to kick off the 'Nice Cow, Pretty Cow' program....

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