NEWS ROUNDUP

Wolfless Nevada The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is refusing to take the gray wolf off the list of endangered species in Nevada, even though agency biologists acknowledge the animals have been extinct in the state for decades. In fact, while the University of Nevada's athletic teams are nicknamed the Wolf Pack, there's general agreement that the mountains and high desert valleys that boast mountain lions, black bears and bighorn sheep haven't been home to more than a handful of wolves for centuries. The Nevada Division of Wildlife petitioned the federal agency to delist the wolf in Nevada, primarily to give the state more options to manage the wolf population in case the carnivores wander here after being reintroduced elsewhere. In rejecting the petition earlier this month, the Fish and Wildlife Service said the Endangered Species Act makes it clear a species cannot be removed from the protected list unless it's documented the animal was listed in error and that either the species never existed or could not exist in an area because of unsuitable habitat....
Idaho to take over wolf management next month In just a few weeks, Idaho will officially take over most wolf management duties from the federal government. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and U.S. Secretary of Interior Gale Norton are scheduled to sign the wolf management agreement Jan. 5 in Boise, the culmination of a federal rule approved nearly a year ago. The rule makes it possible for both Idaho and Montana to take more control over managing gray wolves for the first time since they were reintroduced into both states in the mid-1990s. The wolves are considered a threatened species, protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. Once the agreement is signed, ranchers will be able to obtain permits to kill wolves that are preying on livestock by going to state officials instead of the federal government. ‘‘They will be the designated agent of the service,’’ Jim Caswell, the director of the Idaho Office of Species Conservation at Boise, told the Lewiston Tribune. ‘‘They call the Fish and Game department and Fish and Game will come out and investigate.’’ The rules will also allow the states to petition the federal government for permission to kill wolves that are harming big game herds. Still, gaining such permission won’t be easy — first state officials must conduct peer-reviewed studies proving the wolves are the biggest problem that big game animals such as elk face. Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game is already working on one study, which should go out for peer review soon, Caswell said. The federal government will still investigate and prosecute any wolf-poaching cases, under the rule....hhmmmm, they turn over all management except law enforcement....
Wolf standoff persists Wyoming must regulate all hunting of wolves if it ever wants to see the predator removed from federal protection, a top U.S. Interior Department official told a legislative committee. "What we need in Wyoming is we need to have a licensed hunt," Paul Hoffman, Interior's deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, told the Joint Travel Committee on Thursday. For years, Wyoming officials and Interior have squabbled in meeting rooms, back rooms and courtrooms over how the state should manage wolves if the animals are removed from Endangered Species Act protection. Testimony from Hoffman -- who opposed the federal government's wolf reintroduction program in the 1990s while serving as executive director of the Cody Chamber of Commerce -- didn't immediately break the stalemate. Last year, the federal government rejected the state's management plan because it allowed too much freedom by the public to shoot wolves that stray from the national parks and wilderness areas of northwest Wyoming. Gov. Dave Freudenthal, the Legislature and many ranchers and hunting outfitters support the "shoot on sight" provision to keep wolf populations at bay in other areas of the state. Federal officials say the provision would hinder establishment of a sustainable wolf population....
Column: Red or Blue? Mining Law Defeat is Proof the West is Neither The recent debacle over proposed changes to the archaic 1872 mining law that were tucked into a federal budget bill by Nevada Republican Representative Jim Gibbons has revealed some important truths about the politics of land use in the New West. Opposition to the measure rushed like an avalanche down both sides of the continental divide, bridging a highly polarized national political divide and rendering the solid red block that covered the Rocky Mountain states on electoral maps a year ago completely irrelevant. As for Gibbons himself, he is currently running for governor of Nevada, a mining state where over 80 percent of lands are owned by the federal government. With that in mind, his budget language appears to be (literally) one of the biggest pieces of pork in political history, until we note that none of the companies that would benefit the most from the legislation are based in Nevada. In fact, most of them are foreign companies. It is worth noting that three mining companies that have staked almost a combined 600,000 acres worth of mining claims on public lands contributed over $60,000 to Gibbons’ political campaigns over the last decade. The bulk of those donations came from Denver-based Newmont Mining, which has over 347,000 acres worth of public claims, more than any other single claim-holder....
BLM updates grazing study A federal grazing study that has gone on for five years and has thus far cost over $368 for every cow and calf grazed on a new national monument is a bit closer to completion. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management last week mailed out an update to its grazing study of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, a 52,940-acre patch of federal lands east of Ashland, Ore., that feeds about 543 cow-calf pairs each summer on seven allotments. Howard Hunter, the BLM planner in charge of the monument studies, said most studies will come to an end in 2006 and will face another year of analysis before the agency decides if it will allow grazing to continue. “We’ve already spent $1 million on this,” Hunter said, and costs to wrap up the project are unclear. The 11 ranchers involved on the allotment have tried for three years to arrange a buyout brokered by environmental groups boosting a cow-free monument. The hangup has been settling on a price that would allow relocation of livestock and the base ranches on private property. A provision of the executive order reads: “Should grazing be found incompatible with protecting the objects of biological interest, the Secretary (of Interior) shall retire the grazing allotments pursuant to the process of applicable law.”....
Grazing resumes in regional parks With the advent of the rainy season and the growth of new grass, cows have returned to the regional parks where ranchers have grazing lease arrangements with the East Bay Regional Park District. Park visitors may encounter cattle at Morgan Territory Regional Preserve east of Mt. Diablo, and in the Somersville and Garaventa areas of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve south of Antioch. Grazing will resume at other parks as the season continues. The park district allows livestock grazing (mostly cattle, but also some sheep and goats) in about half of its 65 regional parks. Grazing isn't something new. Dating back to prehistoric times, large herds of deer, elk, antelope and other grazing animals could be found in what are now the East Bay grasslands. Modern-day grazing in the regional parks does generate revenue for the District, but really it is a vegetation-management technique to maintain grassland habitat for a variety of plants and animals. Research indicates that moderate grazing encourages a greater diversity and density of plant and animal life. Grazing is also used to reduce the fuel load and thus the potential for wildfire, especially in park areas near residential neighborhoods....
Valles Caldera Preserve's trust faces big deficit The group charged with managing the Valles Caldera National Preserve blames a budget deficit of up to half a million dollars from the 2005 fiscal year on poor accounting and previous management. "I've have never seen a more horrible accounting system in my life," said trustee Jim Gosz on Friday at a public meeting of the Valles Caldera Trust in Santa Fe. Gosz, who was appointed to the board in April, said past trust administrators didn't resolve the problems. "It's been a whitewash to some degree over the past years," Gosz said. The board stopped short of naming Ray Powell Jr., the trust's executive director last year, as being responsible for the deficit. Powell resigned from the position in September. Attempts to reach Powell by e-mail and telephone Saturday were unsuccessful. Board Treasurer Larry Icerman said recent efforts to resolve the trust's accounting problems uncovered the deficit....
Beware the lynx and hare One need not be racing a snowmobile through the woods to disrupt wildlife. Skiers and snowboarders are being asked to respect wildlife closures in areas accessible from Vail Mountain to protect snowshoe hare and lynx habitat this winter. The areas are all outside the ski area boundaries and include Commando Bowl, Mushroom Bowl, Benchmark Bowl, the top of the ridge between Pete's and Skyline Express Lifts and the area immediately west of Champagne Glade in Earl's Bowl. "Snowshoe hares are the preferred prey of the Canada Lynx, so by protecting habitat for the hares, we are providing a food source for lynx," said Forest Service Ranger Don Dressler. Wildlife management areas were developed to provide habitat for snowshoe hares with minimal disturbance from skier traffic. Studies have shown that areas where skiers have intruded have drastically fewer hares than undisturbed areas....
Huge bat colony inhabits old mine in Colorado One of the largest populations in Colorado -- and possibly all the western United States -- of an imperiled species of bat has been found in the Crystal River Valley, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Townsend's big-eared bat is using an old mine that tapped into a natural cave as a roosting habitat, wildlife biologist Phil Nyland of the Aspen Ranger District said. He would not confirm just how many bats are living there. Studies are under way to determine how often during the year the bats use the Maree Love mine, located on the lower slopes of Mount Sopris near the Penny Hot Springs. A consultant is preparing an official report about the mine's history for the Forest Service, but preliminary information suggests the Maree Love was a working gold mine in the late 1880s. It apparently was abandoned for a period before it was tapped again for lead and zinc....
Park City seeks BLM land To city fathers, the few remaining slivers of undeveloped land left in Park City are priceless as open space. Actually, the price they would like to pay for some open space is about $10,000 an acre. That's the amount the city is offering the Bureau of Land Management for roughly 116 acres of prime, undeveloped property the federal agency owns within the city limits. The total amount the city wants to pay would be about $1.16 million. And Park City wants to keep its offer intact, although some others are saying the land is worth many times that amount and that the city's proposed deal would be a colossal rip-off of U.S. taxpayers. A plan to preserve open space — a plan being pushed by city officials and U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, along with support from the Sierra Club — is causing a lot of heartburn in the U.S. Department of Interior, BLM's parent agency. Some argue that at the city's proposed price, the deal could be a $100 million loss to taxpayers. "While we have not undertaken an appraisal of these lands, comparables in the immediate area suggest a valuation of at least $1 million an acre is not unreasonable, meaning the total fair market value of the land being transferred could well exceed $100 million," said Chad Calvert, a deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Interior, during congressional testimony earlier this year....
Utah scores in nuke-dump fight Utah's congressional delegation achieved a significant, hard-fought victory Friday in its effort to block a nuclear waste storage site in the state, winning approval of a wilderness area aimed at blocking a rail line that would deliver the waste. The Cedar Mountain wilderness language was approved by leaders of the House and Senate armed services committees after a weeks-long push by Utah members of Congress who were aided by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., environmental groups and Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid. The creation of the 100,000-acre wilderness area would prevent the preferred route for a rail line to the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, where a group of electric utilities known as Private Fuel Storage has won a license to store 44,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants until a permanent home is built in Yucca Mountain, Nev....
Perennial snowmobile debate quiet so far For the past two winters, West Yellowstone business owner David McCray hasn't felt optimistic, but he and others in this tiny gateway to Yellowstone National Park are full of hope this year. There's snow on the ground. Early bookings look promising. And, when Yellowstone opens for its winter season Wednesday, it will be the first time in three years that snowmobile tourists aren't playing by a new set of rules in the park. "This year is normal, and that takes a ton of pressure off us," said McCray, who is already booked with snowmobile tours the first few days of the winter season. However, that continuity may be short-lived, as the National Park Service is working on a new long-range plan for winter use that is likely to again ignite the debate about whether the machines should even be allowed in the park....
Norton: Colorado River plan needed Western states, stuck in a stalemate over how to manage the Colorado River during droughts, are jeopardizing the legal peace that's prevailed on the river during much of the past two decades, federal water officials said Friday. For the past six months, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the river, has been waiting for the seven states that comprise the Colorado River Basin to offer their suggestions for a new federal drought management plan, but to date they've failed to deliver. Last spring, after the states missed a deadline to produce their own plan, U.S. Secretary of Interior Gale Norton launched a two-year public process to craft a federal drought strategy. Since then, though dozens of other groups have submitted drought proposals, the states remain deadlocked on a number of key issues, including how lakes Powell and Mead should be managed and who will bear the brunt of any shortages that may occur....
Suspects' eco-activism took root in high school The FBI knew her as the Country Girl and him as the Country Boy. When they were arrested Dec. 7 in the most extensive snare of suspected eco-saboteurs in U.S. history, she was identified as Chelsea Gerlach, 28, the first person named as a suspect in the 1998 Vail fire bombings. He was Stanislas Meyerhoff, also 28, who faces 17 counts of arson, conspiracy and destruction that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. They appeared in U.S. District Court in Eugene together, just as they were photographed together in 1993 as high school peace activists....
Ecoterror suspect called 'mastermind' His supporters universally call him a kind and compassionate man dedicated to social service, community building and nonviolence. Prosecutors say he's an accomplished arsonist who "masterminded" the burning of buildings across the country for the cause of a radical environmental group, leaving a swath of damage totaling more than $20 million. The U.S. magistrate judge hearing the case decided evidence leaned toward the latter and ordered Prescott resident William Rodgers, 40, held in jail until his extradition to Washington state to stand trial....
Cowpokes and oilmen: Booms, busts, scandal and rebirth Proponents of setting aside oil for the Navy, though, encountered many detractors among politicians and private-sector oil interests. Why shouldn't the government let the private sector provide any needed oil to the Navy, they argued. In an apparent case of letting the fox manage the henhouse, President Warren G. Harding transferred management of the oil field from the Navy to the Department of the Interior, led by Secretary Albert Fall, a former New Mexico senator who had opposed restrictions placed on the oil fields. Fall promptly leased the rights to the oil field to Wyoming-savvy Harry Sinclair of Mammoth Oil without any competitive bidding. Besides the Teapot Dome sweetheart deal, Fall also leased the Naval oil reserves at Elk Hills, Calif., to another company in exchange for no-interest loans. These under-the-table deals, complete with valises full of "gifts," totaled about $400,000, which was a lot of money in 1922. Fall's apparent new financial status began arousing suspicion. The Wall Street Journal broke the story and a Senate investigation ensued....
Song and story differ in the popular Rudolph saga It was 1939 when the Montgomery Ward company told one of its copywriters to develop a Christmas story that could be given to shoppers as a promotion. Robert L. May, 34, got the assignment. He drew from "The Ugly Duckling" and his own shy childhood to develop "the idea of an underdog ostracized by the reindeer community because of his physical abnormality: a glowing red nose," according to a report on snopes.com. He considered using the names Rollo and Reginald before choosing Rudolph. May's boss was worried about the red nose because of the "image associated with drinking and drunkards." But drawings of a pleasant reindeer with a red nose ended the controversy. Montgomery Ward handed out 2.4 million copies of the Rudolph story in 1939 and 6 million by the end of 1946. Several singers turned down the chance to record the tune, but Gene Autry, the famous singing cowboy, was urged by his wife to record it, which he did in 1949. Autry, who later became owner of the Anaheim Angels baseball team, introduced the Rudolph song at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1949. The record sold 2 million copies that first year and remains the second best-selling Christmas song of all time, behind Bing Crosby's "White Christmas."....
On the Edge of Common Sense: Pistol Pete forced to hang up his guns New Mexico State, one of my alma maters, called the Aggies, uses the symbol of Pistol Pete as a mascot. He's also the same character used by Oklahoma State and University of Wyoming. As the mincing tip-toe of political correctness creeps across college campuses, it leaves in its Gerber baby food wake an homogenized landscape of, not diversity, but a beige sameness. It is as if the designer of the universal architecture of Waffle Houses was now assigned to stifle and subdue any malignant spots of individuality with the university system. To the point, after more than 40 years, the muffins of P.C. have disarmed Pistol Pete. It was deemed too controversial by those who know best. That, in a land where the First Amendment exists only because of the Second. In a country where the NRA is more powerful than the unions. In a state where people pay money to come hunt. Where the he Spanish, Native American and cowboy cultures rule. Where they invented the atomic bomb. Where humans still believe they have the right to defend themselves. Pistol Pete can't be shown with his pistols....