NEWS ROUNDUP

Western cattlemen urged to buy wild horses The U.S. Bureau of Land Management and a ranchers' group are asking thousands of Western cattlemen to consider buying older wild horses that have been culled from the range. Letters are being sent to more than 15,000 ranchers with BLM grazing permits or leases in an effort to help the agency sell the roughly 7,000 "sale-eligible" wild horses it has in holding areas. BLM says it is required by law to sell the horses, which are older than 10 years or have been passed over for adoption at least three times. Tom Gorey, an agency spokesman, said Tuesday that BLM has reached out to advocacy groups, ranchers and others since the law was passed in December 2004, and considered it logical also to appeal to those who graze livestock on BLM lands. The program is being done in partnership with the Public Lands Council, a ranching trade association. Gorey said that, while the price is usually negotiable, the BLM will ask $10 per head to be consistent....
Off-Road Vehicle Groups Seek a Say in Roadless Lawsuits A coalition of off-road vehicle groups is seeking to intervene in the latest round of lawsuits addressing management of Forest Service Roadless areas. The motion was recently filed in federal court in the Northern District of California by the California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, United Four Wheel Drive Associations, the American Council of Snowmobile Associations, and the BlueRibbon Coalition. The lawsuits at issue were brought by the states of California, Oregon and New Mexico and numerous environmental organizations led by the Wilderness Society. "These organizations have been actively involved in all aspects of Forest Service recreation management," said Paul Turcke, the Boise, Idaho attorney serving as lead counsel for the recreational groups. "Contrary to their title, many of these roadless lands have well-established routes which the public has long used to gain access to treasured destinations on our public lands. The Recreational Groups seek to join these suits to continue their defense of this legitimate recreational access," Turcke concluded....
Grasslands prairie-dog poisoning completed Crews have finished poisoning prairie dogs on nearly 10,000 acres of federal grasslands in South Dakota and Nebraska in an effort to keep the animals from encroaching onto adjacent private land. The work was finished before the end of January, according to a news release from Don Bright, forest supervisor in charge of the Buffalo Gap and Fort Pierre national grasslands in South Dakota and Oglala National Grassland in Nebraska. “We said that our first response to address the prairie-dog expansion problem would be treatment with rodenticide, followed by more long-term solutions,” Bright said in the news release. Working with the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Nebraska and contract applicators in South Dakota, the Forest Service completed chemical treatment of 8,953 acres in South Dakota and 965 acres in Nebraska, Bright said....
California's calamity in waiting The scenario is as simple as what unfolded in New Orleans. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is below sea level. It is protected by a network of earthen levees dating to the frontier era, many built by Chinese laborers following completion of the trans-Sierra railroad. Through this delta flow the waters of Northern California, which are channeled southward to the semi-arid reaches of Central and Southern California via a network of aqueducts and pipelines representing a multibillion-dollar investment by state and federal government across 75 years of construction. Ringing the delta is a rich empire of agriculture and suburban development. Should a magnitude 6.5 earthquake strike the San Francisco Bay Area — almost a certainty by mid-century, though it could happen today — about 30 major failures can be expected in the earthen levees. About 3,000 homes and 85,000 acres of cropland would be submerged. Saltwater from San Francisco Bay would invade the system, forcing engineers to shut down the pumps that ship water to Central and Southern California while the levees were being repaired. This would cut off water to the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project....
Forest Service fee levied on ski resort diners Skiers grabbing a bite at many of Vail Resorts Inc.'s mountainside eateries now get more than just fries with their burgers. At the resort operator's five ski areas, those dining at restaurants built on public land now encounter a 5 percent fee at the bottom of their checks. The U.S. Forest Service has long levied the fee on ski areas, which often pass it along to customers in the form of higher prices. Vail just recently decided to list it as a separate charge along with taxes. "It allowed us not to raise our pricing on our menu items," said Bill Jensen, chief operating officer at Vail Mountain....
Column: Branching Out North American forests are treasures of enormous natural bounty. Yet the United States is squandering this inheritance. Lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service regularly suffer catastrophic wildfire, insect infestation and invasion by alien species. And taxpayers lose money on them, while even Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth admits his organization suffers from "analysis paralysis." To find a better way, I began investigating forestry outside of the United States last year and found strikingly different approaches just north of the border. Canada has managed to create the right incentives to both profitably manage timber stands as well as protect the environment. In particular, Canadian "community-based forestry" is worth a closer look. In the United States 59% of the forestland is privately owned, while in Canada 70% of the forestland is managed by provincial governments. But this doesn't tell the whole story. Canadian government run forests are legacies from the British colonial rule and were passed along to the Canadian governments. Today, provincial forests are still commonly called "Crown" lands. Timber harvests on these Crown lands are managed primarily through long-term leases and licenses, also called tenures. Unlike timber sales in the United States, which give a private company the right to log a specified forest stand, Canadian timber tenures transfer major responsibilities to private companies or organizations for long periods of time....
New forest signs aren't appetizing Porcupines, deer, bears and other denizens of New Mexico forests may be the only ones unhappy with a burgeoning Mountainair company. Its new plastic-wood material could replace the wooden signs on national forest lands, taking away a tasty snack for all those critters. "I've seen lots and lots of chewed-up signs," said Jerry Payne, biomass utilization specialist for the southwestern region of the U.S. Forest Service. "I've never seen it with the plastic-wood sign." The plastic-wood material - called Altree - is made of melted plastic and wood scraps left over from the Forest Service's thinning of forests. Phil Archuletta, co-owner of P&M Plastics in Mountainair, began working on the material in 1993 after the Forest Service approached him about finding ways to use scrap wood from forest thinning projects....
Burns: Public lands sale "dead in water" Senator Conrad Burns says a Bush administration plan to sell off national forest land is -- quote "dead in the water." Burns is chairman of a key subcommittee that would have to approve such a move -- and he says he's not going to let that happen. The administration announced earlier this month plans to sell as much as 300-thousand acres of federal land around the nation, including about 14-thousand acres of Forest Service land in Montana. Money from the sales would go to a program that helps pay for rural schools. The land sale idea drew immediate criticism from environmental and sportsmen groups....
Ideological splits plague group that governs off-roading When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Daphne Greene to manage the state's troubled off-road vehicle program, the first question she faced was whether she would be the new sheriff or the executioner. Amid a dramatic surge in popularity, the sport's future has been clouded by a festering ideological feud. The state governing body that oversees grants and policies important to off-roading has split along lines loyal to either riders or environmentalists. Lingering distrust has poisoned potential compromises that could benefit off-roaders, protect the environment and appease communities being invaded by the noise and pollution of the sport, say some of those involved....
Report a boost for Pombo's ESA goals Two critical concepts in Tracy Rep. Richard Pombo's proposed overhaul of the federal Endangered Species Act should guide the U.S. Senate's attempts to reform the 23-year-old law, according to the initial findings of a group senators commissioned to help them prepare their legislation. But the group failed to find a path through the debate's thorniest thicket: How to reform the ESA's "critical habitat" provision, an often unwieldy tool intended to give threatened critters a place to live and multiply. Congress is closer to wholesale reform of the Endangered Species Act than it has been in years, and Pombo has been the driving force from the House of Representatives. He wrestled a bill through the House last year with the help of Rep. Dennis Cardoza, a Merced County Democrat whose district includes Stockton. The legislation now awaits action in the Senate. Debate stalled, however, because many senators wanted to hear what an eclectic group of environmentalists, industry officials, legal experts and scholars called the Keystone Group had to say about reform. Late last week the group sent a letter to six key senators endorsing Pombo's emphasis on providing incentives for the owners of private land - where 80 percent of endangered species live - to stop shooting, spraying, shoveling over and shutting up about the critters on their property....go here to read the report...
Rising wolf population ups residents' concerns The gray wolf is on a roll. Its population is booming. Lone wolves have turned up in every corner of the state. And increasingly, residents are reporting a growing number of close encounters with this elusive predator. "Nobody is alive in Wisconsin who has experienced this kind of wolf population," said Adrian Wydeven, the top wolf expert with the state Department of Natural Resources. "There has been nothing like this since the 1800s." Wolves have been aided by government protection, a more charitable public image and a teeming deer population that has offered an abundant food supply. But the wolf remains a polarizing force, resurrecting old hostilities when it preys on livestock and meanders into residential areas. Ronda Dural called it a "lifetime experience" when she locked eyes with a wolf 20 feet away from her on a sunny summer day in 2003. But during the 2004 Christmas break, a pair of wolves, and then a third, followed her for several miles on a desolate road close to home near Butternut in Ashland County, Wis. — even though she yelled and clapped her hands to scare them off....
Florida Panthers could return to Arkansas The Bush administration has drafted a plan recommending Arkansas be considered as a new home for the Florida panther. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan released last month sets out the goal of establishing three self-sustaining panther populations in the southeastern United States. The plan states that two areas in Arkansas would be optimal for the panthers. They are the 1.2 million acre Ozark National Forest and the 65,000-acre Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge near Crossett in southeast Arkansas. Fish and Wildlife Service projections have determined that the panthers could survive by themselves when three self-sustaining populations of at least 240 panthers can live for 14 years in long-term habitat. Panther proponents say the government will have many hoops to jump through before the animals are reintroduced outside of south Florida, an agency official said....
Valley City rancher seeing triple after cow gives birth Steve Opatz has to look three times to see one set of calves delivered on his farm earlier this month. Opatz, who has been in the cattle business about 20 years, is used to multiple births from his herd of Charolais-Gelbvieh cross cows, with six sets of twins born so far this year. But one of his heifers managed to surprise him with a healthy set of triplets on Feb. 8. "The odds are about 1 in 105,000," said Greg Lardy, a beef cattle specialist at North Dakota State University Extension Service. "It varies a little bit by breed - Simmentals and Holsteins are better known for multiple births - but it's pretty rare." Opatz took it in stride as just another day, just another cow to help with her delivery. He said he knew the cow was expecting twins for sure. "Even after delivering the first one, she was too big to fit in the chute," said his wife, Tara. She and her husband wanted the heifer in a stanchion so they could help her with her delivery. They managed to get the cow's head in the stanchion and Steve helped deliver the second calf. He thought that was the last one. "But she was still acting funny," he said. "Next thing I knew, she just laid down and had another."...
'One Good Horse' a gallop Author Tom Groneberg never believed his life would be perfect. Groneberg had a few physical bumps and ego bruises in his lifetime, but nothing prepared him for the summer that his family changed. In his new book "One Good Horse", he writes about that year and the winter afterward, when he purchased a challenge on four legs. Groneberg always knew that he wanted to work on a ranch. His favorite jobs were physical tasks - culling cattle, moving them, rounding them up and caring for them. While he rode ranch horses when he needed to get a job done, he thought often of getting his own horse. That would have to wait, though. The ranch owner for which Groneberg had been working sold his cattle and Groneberg was out of a job. This was an especially big problem, since Groneberg and his wife, Jennifer, had a young son and were expecting twins. When the babies were born, both boys, Groneberg says he had been hoping for a boy and a girl, so that the children could be as different as possible. Instead, much to their grief and bewilderment, the Gronebergs learned that one of the twins, Avery, had Down Syndrome. Ever hear of a cowboy poet? Here's a book by one. Groneberg's writing is almost song-like and his descriptions are lovingly crafted. There's something else about this book, though, which makes it worth reading: it's roughly divided into thirds. There is Groneberg's lyrical narrative. There is the story from the point of view of his horse, believe it or not. And there is Groneberg's lengthy summary of a book written about the true life and times of Teddy Blue, a man who eschewed the farming life, became a wild cow puncher and range rider in the late 1800s, only to become a farmer later in life....
RANCH RIDER BUCKS THE TREND WITH THE NEW 'SPA RANCHING' EXPERIENCE The word spa is now synonymous with ranching and that’s not a bad thing according to Ranch Rider as this might be the holistic approach we have all been searching for. While bucking the trend where most traditional ranches are concerned, the exhilarating exercise of riding on the range combined with the best that pampering has to offer would certainly seem to be a more effective option than the mainstream spa experience. Ranch spas are the ultimate blend of rugged adventure and healing spa therapies, working together to rejuvenate mind and body like never before. Offering the same majestic views and more luxury than the hardier working ranches, the wide-open spaces where they are located also add to this unique sense of well-being. Set in the tranquil wilderness of Western Canada, the Echo Valley Resort Ranch is perched atop a picturesque plateau in British Columbia’s Cariboo country. The perfect combination of the adventurous west and the peaceful wisdom of the East, the ranch, features it’s own Baan Thai spa designed by Dr. Pinyo Suwenkiri, architect to the Thai Royal family. One of only 20, guests can experience a tailored cowhand lifestyle combined with gourmet cooking (with a chef known to cook for many an ambassador) and perhaps even Thai yoga massage, where visitors find out just how it feels when someone else does the workout. Inspiring views come as standard with ensuite accommodation based in log lodge rooms and secluded cabins, complete with living areas and ‘must have’ balconies. Based in Sasabe on the American-Mexican border and claiming to be one of the last great Spanish Haciendas, the Rancho De La Osa extols pure style, culture and history. Dating back to 1700, the building was once home to the American Indians and Spanish Conquistadors. Having played host to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and John Wayne himself the Rancho De La Osa is now a premier guest ranch with gourmet cooking, its own winery, a string of quarter horses for small group riding, and a heated spa, fitness and therapy suite offering thermastone massages with heated river stones or oriental foot massages. However, if looking for something more invigorating guests can always join a yoga workout, poolside. The ranch has a restful and intimate appeal taking only 19 guests, and the atmosphere is one of a salubrious private party with original artwork and Mexican antiques adorning each uniquely furnished room; perfectly capturing the colourful spirit of the Sonoran desert....