NEWS ROUNDUP


Conservationists, ranchers pack talk on wolf reintroduction The Western Slope, which has some 250,000 elk, could sustain more than 1,000 wolves, conservationist Rob Edward told a standing-room-only crowd in Carbondale on Wednesday. And that, said longtime Carbondale rancher Bill Fales, "scares the hell out of me." Edward, director of carnivore restoration for Sinapu, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring native carnivores to their ancestral lands, presented a slide show at Dos Gringos restaurant on wolf reintroduction. Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop hosted the event. Whether western Colorado has room for wolves is a central part of a contentious issue, he said....
Alaska aerial hunt of wolves declared illegal A judge declared illegal Alaska’s controversial program of shooting wolves from the air to boost the population of moose and other game, prompting state officials to suspend the policy. Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason said Tuesday the Alaska Board of Game failed to follow its own requirements when it launched a program allowing private hunters to gun down wolves from an aircraft to remove the animals from the food chain. Since the program started in 2003, licensed hunters have shot and killed hundreds of wolves by tracking the animals and shooting them from above in the face of protests from animal rights groups and the occasional tourism boycott. Gleason ruled that the state failed to adequately address regulatory requirements, calling for proof that aerial wolf control is necessary and would be more effective than other, less-drastic steps to boost game populations....
County commission calls for wolf delisting The Gallatin County Commission gave its support Tuesday to a resolution calling on federal authorities to speed up efforts to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list. Commissioners voted 2-1 in support of the joint resolution, which is being sought by county commissioners in seven counties near Yellowstone National Park. The document isn't legally binding. but is instead a form of protest by those counties concerned about the wolves' reintroduction in Yellowstone. It labels wolves a "predator species" in need of management and requests that the governor of Montana take steps to compensate ranchers for livestock losses. Wolves are here to stay and everyone accepts that, rancher and outfitter Lee Hart told commissioners. But their proper place is inside the park. "I don't think we need to extend Yellowstone Park across the state of Montana," he said....
Army could pay Fort Hood area landowners up to $1,500 an acre to keep land rural The deputy commanding general of Fort Hood said he's willing to give landowners around the base up to $1,500 an acre to maintain their land as a rural buffer zone, but he'll scrap the effort if landowners aren't interested. About 75 landowners gathered in the tiny Flat Community Center on Tuesday as Maj. Gen. James Simmons released the first details of how the voluntary buffer zone plan would work. Controversy has swirled around the buffer zone idea for months, with opponents suggesting it was a stealthy land grab for endangered species habitat or Fort Hood's expansion. Landowners interrogated the general about the incentive program, but most seemed disarmed by his plainspoken answers and willing to consider the incentives. Simmons said he would go forward with the program only with the cooperation of landowners representing at least half the acreage in the proposed buffer zone. Pending approval early this summer by the Department of the Army, agents for Fort Hood could begin signing up landowners for the program this fall. Under the plan, a third-party administrator – mostly likely the Texas Soil and Water Conservation Board – would negotiate contracts with the landowners in the three buffer zone areas. Those areas on the west, northeast and far south side of Fort Hood comprise 91,417 acres....
Kansas Land Trust to create buffer around Fort Riley The military wants to keep making loud noises. Kansas environmentalists want to ensure the tallgrass prairie doesn’t die. The two problems may have one solution. Officials with Fort Riley and the Lawrence-based Kansas Land Trust on Wednesday announced plans to create a “buffer” around the Army base, a 10-year program that would permanently preserve up to 50,000 acres of prairie and farmland. “We’d like to keep that land use the way it is,” said Jeff Keating, a civilian biologist who manages the buffer program for Fort Riley. Fort officials fear that population explosion could trigger a big demand for new residential developments near the base, potentially creating unwanted conflicts between the Army, with its firing ranges and helicopters, and any new neighbors. Fort Riley would work with the Kansas Land Trust to use federal money from the Army Compatible Use Buffer Program to buy conservation easements from neighboring landowners, keeping the land in the hands of its current owners, in use for farming and grazing, but forever off-limits to development....
Ranchers protest proposal for frog habitat designation Ranchland owners packed a meeting room Tuesday for the second time in a week to protest plans to declare 4,400 acres as critical habitat for the red-legged frog. Federal officials insist designating the land northeast of Valley Springs will have no effect on ranching operations and only a minimal effect when ranchers decide to cash out for development. A federal study of the area found protecting frog habitat would eliminate only two or three of the 3,000 homes likely to be built in the area over the next 20 years. Nevertheless, property owners fear the designation alone will devalue their land and possibly prevent them from cashing out....
Christo meeting draws crowd The idea of a temporary work of art that lasts just two weeks like Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "Over the River" proposal is for many a baffling concept. Cook, then 23, heard the rancher's wife at a public meeting just like the one held Tuesday evening in Canon City during which the U.S. Bureau of Land Management got an earful of public comment from more than 150 area residents on the large-scale project which would consist of fabric panels suspended above the Arkansas River. Bulgarian-born artist Christo and his partner-wife Jeanne-Claude, both 70, are New York-based artists who propose to hang about seven miles of translucent fabric panels over eight segments of the Arkansas River between Canon City and Salida. The artwork would hang for 14 days, sometime between mid-July and mid-August probably in 2008 or 2009. Fabric panels would be attached to steel cables stretched across the river, covering the water surface, but not the side slopes and would hang from between 10 and 24 feet above the water. The aluminum-coated fabric has been wind tested and would be porous enough to allow rainwater to seep through....
Is cloud seeding worth it?: Lawmakers to consider funding work Tom Barnes is in the midst of his 15th winter of watching for the perfect storm. When it happens - on those occasions when the wind doesn't blow too hard, temperatures are frigid enough to produce snow and a large amount of precipitation appears eminent - he lights his portable propane burner. He knows his machine is working, and that he's giving Mother Nature a helping hand, when the blue flame turns orange as it reacts with a cocktail intended to coax extra moisture from the sky. Now it appears likely that state lawmakers will consider legislation to do on a larger scale what Barnes and ranchers and farmers in six Southeast Idaho counties have been doing for several years - seed the clouds....
Bison shipments to slaughter go on, along with debate Nearly 50 more bison from Yellowstone National Park were trucked to slaughter Wednesday, as the debate continued over the plan that allows for the animals to be captured due to disease concerns. Over the last week, 524 bison have been captured near the park’s northern border — the most since 1996-97, park spokesman Al Nash said. Most of those animals will be sent to slaughter without being tested for brucellosis, a disease found in the herd and driving force behind the state-federal plan that allows for hazing, capture or slaughter of wandering bison. As of Wednesday, 264 bison had been sent to slaughter houses in Montana and Idaho, leaving 221 still being held at the Stephen’s Creek capture site just inside the park’s northern boundary, officials said. Thirty-eight calves previously were sent to a research project north of Yellowstone after testing negative for brucellosis, and Nash said more might qualify for the so-called quarantine facility, pending testing. One calf died at the capture pen, officials said....
National Elk Refuge begins feeding Artificial feeding of elk on the National Elk Refuge has begun in response to complaints about elk feeding on haystacks and commingling with cattle. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department asked the refuge to begin artificial feeding on Jan. 11 after fielding complaints, according to Game and Fish biologist Doug Brimeyer. There was plenty of natural forage for elk in Jackson Hole until late December, when deep snow began prompting elk to seek easy meals in ranchers' hay. Dan Winder, a resident of the Cache Creek area, reported more than 40 elk around his hayfield recently. He also found about 15 elk in a corral eating his hay and was worried about the safety of an expensive stallion....
Jury to decide if sentencing justified in Hayman Fire case A Teller County judge ruled Tuesday that a jury should decide whether ‘‘aggravated circumstances’’ justify an extended sentence for a former forestry worker who started the worst wildfire in Colorado history. Terry Lynn Barton, 42, pleaded guilty to a state arson charge for the 2002 Hayman Fire, which charred 138,000 acres and destroyed 133 houses. A judge sentenced her to 12 years in prison - twice the normal term. The Colorado Court of Appeals then ordered a new sentencing hearing, saying the judge might have been biased because smoke from the fire forced him out of his home and that he didn’t have the constitutional authority to order an extended sentence. Fourth Judicial District Judge Thomas Kennedy ruled Tuesday that a jury should consider whether ‘‘aggravating circumstances’’ existed to allow for Barton’s extended sentence....
Senseless cattle slayings nothing new to ranchers The $10,000 hunt for the perpetrator of a 10-cow Johnson massacre rages on. While Johnson's losses near Vernon were the largest in recent memory, many ranchers say senseless killing of their livestock is a constant spur in their sides. Elizabeth Mitchell owns a herd not far from the Johnson ranch where 10 pregnant cows were killed at the end of December. Since the fall of 2004, she said two of her cows were killed that were certainly the result of foul play, and two more she suspects were killed senselessly. "Everybody loses some every year," Mitchell said. "I had two for sure [killed] and two others that were suspicious, but we never had anybody dig into the carcasses to verify the cause of death." "It goes on all the time, it's like we live in the Wild West," she said. "It goes on all the time, it's like we live in the Wild West," she said. "You can't hire enough patrol people to drive out here all the time because it's such vast areas and that's why people get away with things like this."....
Lean Cattle Mean Lean Wallets For Ranchers Texas cattle ranchers say without some measurable drought relief soon, they will have to sell off their herds. Some already have begun the painful process of selling parts of their herd for less than they are worth. Monday night at the Fort Worth Stock Show, ranchers said no rain means no grass and vegetation and that means no hay to feed their cattle through the winter. “People can't buy hay. At least you can’t buy it an economical price,” rancher Rodney Roberson said. “They can’t keep these cows through the winter, then it’s time to get rid of them because they can’t afford to feed them sack feed and make it work it economically in the commercial cattle business." Other ranchers said prized cattle are being sold to meat markets. It's either that or have them starve to death....
Recovery slow from mad cow-related losses American cattle producers are still trying to dig out of the hole caused by mad cow disease, even as Japan has reopened its borders to U.S. imports and other countries prepare to follow suit. Financial losses to the beef and cattle industry have been immense. Analysts estimate the U.S. beef industry has lost $6.2 billion from the closing of foreign markets. Financial losses for Colorado, the nation's fourth-largest beef producer, are estimated to have reached about $160 million over the past two years. If there is any saving grace, it's that the export bans occurred during a period of high beef prices and low supplies, helping to buffer the cattle industry from some of the fallout....
The beef over pet food On a recent winter afternoon in San Francisco's well-heeled Marina district, there's blood on the sidewalk. Spilling out of the garage of a neat yellow house, dozens of cardboard boxes overflow with a smorgasbord of frozen raw meat and bones sealed in plastic bags. There's pork and beef from Niman Ranch, and whole quail from Cavendish Game Birds of Vermont. It looks like an upscale butcher has been pillaged by a modern-day Robin Hood, who left the spoils for the taking: lamb, chicken, goat, turkey, rabbit, buffalo -- a veritable Noah's Ark of high-quality protein plunder. It's monthly delivery day for San Francisco Raw Feeders, a buyers group with some 350 human members who strive to feed their animals a diet rich with raw meat -- and not just any meat, but sustainable, antibiotic- and steroid-free meat and bones from cows, pigs and poultry raised and slaughtered on small farms....
A Matter of Numbers But as formidable as these issues are, they're not Ladd's biggest worry. What really has him wrestling the mattress at night, the issue that most immediately threatens his ability to stay in business as a cattleman, is at the moment, right before his eyes. It's the international border fence. Or more accurately, the holes, cuts, washouts and smuggler vehicle run-throughs that turn that fence into Swiss cheese. Ladd, who has 10 1/2 miles of land abutting the Mexican line, is standing at a spot known as Gringo Draw. Floodwaters washed through here last summer, taking out a 100-foot-wide portion of the fence, and that yawning gap is still there. But there are many others. In a one-mile span, we counted 12 fence breaks along Ladd's borderland through which Mexican cattle can wander onto his property, mingling with his own stock. The problem? If these intruder livestock happen to be diseased, they could infect his herd and ruin him. In fact, Ladd believes that disaster will befall him eventually....
Report slams USDA biotech experiments In a report released quietly just before Christmas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's investigative arm disclosed that the department failed to properly monitor thousands of acres of experimental biotechnology crops. The report by the department's inspector general said USDA didn't thoroughly evaluate applications to grow experimental crops and then didn't ensure the genetically engineered plants were destroyed after experiments. In several cases, the agency didn't even know where so-called field trials were located....
'The Worst Hard Time' nimbly chronicles tragedies of the Dust Bowl The term ''Dust Bowl" often conjures a ''Grapes of Wrath" image of a great migration from worn-out farms in Texas and Oklahoma to green fields in other states. Timothy Egan has focused on the farmers who stayed and who lived through the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history. ''The Worst Hard Time" is a powerful, deeply researched chronicle of the most destructive boom-and-bust cycle in American history: the wheat-growing frenzy in the Great Plains in the 1920s, which became the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. No region in America has ever been harder hit by reckless environmental practices. Egan anchors the story on three towns in Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Year by year, you get to know young couples struggling to keep their children alive, a resolute newspaperman, a cowboy father turned broken rancher, and high school kids barely hanging on to their youth....
Bailey ready to rein it in In a span of three decades, he has ridden the winners of virtually every important race in the United States, been inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame and written a book. The 30,846 horses he has ridden, 5,890 of them winners, have amassed more than $304 million in earnings. He has been ubiquitous on the biggest racing days because they were often his biggest days. But after nearly 32 years as a jockey -- he rode his first winner in 1974 at Sunland Park in New Mexico -- and two decades of unmitigated stardom, Jerry Bailey will ride his last race next week at Gulfstream Park. "I'm sure this is not a surprise to most people," said Bailey, who has contemplated retirement at the ends of each of the last few racing seasons. "It's time," he said, citing a desire to devote more time to his family and another to, "... walk away in one piece. I believe I fulfilled everything I set out to do." Bailey, 48, will join ESPN and ABC Sports as an analyst. He will debut March 18 with ESPN coverage of the Santa Catalina Stakes at Santa Anita Park....
Revering a hero of the West Raconteur, writer and photographer Robert W. Limbert is a folk hero without peer in Idaho. Across America he was once on par with the likes of Wild Bill Hickcock. During the 1920s and '30s, Limbert was singularly responsible for promoting the Gem State. He traveled around the country staging lively shows about the West—presentations that combined adventure storytelling, movies, slides, birdcalls, sleight-of-hand and trick shooting. Pre-arrival publicity often challenged the local sheriff to a shootout, and in Chicago he even called out mobster Al Capone. Though they didn't duel, they apparently got along famously....
Fast on the trigger It’s fast, it’s fun and it’s catching on. “Mounted shooting is the fastest-growing equestrian sport in America today,” said Marlin Kennedy of the Kooskia area. Kennedy should know. He’s been a champion in his class in both the Mounted Shooters of America and Cowboy Mounted Shooting associations, most recently winning the buckle and a world championship title for the Mounted Cowboy Shooters of America Men’s Limited 20 X Extreme. Mounted shooting is the combination of a fast-paced, timed equestrian sport and shooting two .45-caliber single-action revolvers loaded with special ammunition. Competitors ride a variety of courses requiring precision control of the horse....
An American legend heads into the sunset It's hard to imagine John Wayne winning the West without his trusty Winchester by his side. In real life, the Winchester was there for the winning of the West, as much a tool for survival as a weapon. It's Winchester that's kept generation after generation employed in New Haven, Conn., home of the world-renowned rifle. But the end may be near for Winchester. U.S. Repeating Arms Co. Inc. plans to close the New Haven factory that opened in 1866. New Haven residents are trying to save the plant before the March 31 closing date, but if a buyer can't be found, it could mean the end of all commercially produced Winchesters. Winchesters could be found on cattle drives, wagon trains and Army posts during the opening and development of the West. They could be found in the hands of infamous outlaws, but Winchesters also were used by the lawmen who brought them to justice. Ranchers, farmers, cowboys, hunters and explorers used Winchesters every day, as much one of their tools as a saddle and rope. They were a part of the culture, a necessary part....