NEWS ROUNDUP

Drought affects grazing A lifelong Sacramento Mountains rancher has asked Otero County commissioners for help to keep cattle on federal grazing allotments within the county. "We need some help right now in the drought," said Jimmy Goss, of Weed. According to Goss, because of the lack of snow over the winter, elk never migrated to the lower elevations. Instead, he said, they ate the grass which ranchers expected to have this spring and summer for their cattle. "These elk, they stayed right there," Goss said. As a result, when the Lincoln National Forest begins monitoring grass availability, Goss said there will be nothing left for ranchers. Commission Chair Doug Moore said the first step is to schedule a meeting between the Otero County Grazing Advisory Board and the Lincoln. "Just give me a date and we'll try to get all the board members there, and the permittees (who graze on the federal lands)," grazing board chairman Bobby Jones said....
Sale of McCullough leases concerns environmentalists The sale Tuesday of oil and gas leases for six parcels on 50,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management property around the McCullough Peaks has left some local environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts concerned about development in the area. The leased parcels include around 11,000 acres of land within the McCullough Peaks wild horse herd management area, said Andrew Tkach, a BLM spokesman in Worland. BLM officials say the leases include adequate restrictions to protect habitat and wildlife, but others contend that any development in the virtually untouched area is likely to spoil the scenic beauty that makes it a popular recreation spot. "It would be a shame to see all that land developed," said Sean Sheehan of Cody, a board member of the Wyoming Wilderness Association. "It's one of the most beautiful, wide-open spaces in the state."....
Killing wolves works -- briefly Killing wolves that attack cattle or sheep may take care of the immediate problem but doesn't stop conflicts later, according to a new University of Calgary study. Researchers looked at wolf attacks in Alberta and in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming for more than 15 years to determine the effectiveness of removing wolves that prey on livestock. Marco Musiani, the study's lead author and an assistant professor at the University of Calgary, said that once a "problem" wolf is killed, others simply to move in and take its place, Musiani said. "This study shows that wolves are being killed as a corrective, punitive measure -- not a preventative one," Musiani said in a statement. "People hope that killing individual wolves will rid the population of offenders, but this isn't happening." The study is published in the current issue of the Wildlife Society Bulletin. Musiani is scheduled to discuss his findings today at the North American Wolf Conference at Chico Hot Springs, an annual gathering of scientists, policymakers and wolf enthusiasts....
Vistas plan hinges on reform of state land It has been four days since the Morrison Institute for Public Policy unveiled its novel proposal for developing Superstition Vistas, a 275-square-mile piece of raw desert on the fringes of the southeast Valley. It will be many months before the State Land Department, which owns the trust land in Pinal County, will know if it can implement any of the report's suggestions, which include building streets, highways and sewer systems before home construction begins and creating environmentally friendly communities. That is because the agency has little ability to weigh in on how state land is used or developed. Its sole mission is to sell the land to the highest bidder, in most cases regardless of whom that is or what that person plans to do with the land. But a reform measure that voters likely will consider in November would change that. It is one of two that is expected to be on the ballot....
Fishermen rally; salmon ruling due on Thursday The political heat rose a notch Tuesday, when hundreds of sport fishermen rallied at a federal fisheries management meeting to protest proposals to curtail or eliminate Chinook fishing along most of the Oregon and Northern California coasts. Members of the largest saltwater angling association in Northern California, the Coastside Fishing Club, carried picket signs and crowded into meeting rooms and hallways at the Doubletree Hotel as rain poured outside. Two police cars also patrolled the parking lot or were parked outside. Inside, the Pacific Fishery Management Council was making its first attempt of the week to design a season around an option that mandates no season at all. That option, a closure, was the preferred option of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency that must ultimately approve the council's decision.... Tribal Leader: Methane Wastewater Threatens the Cheyenne's Land Coal bed methane projects in southeast Montana and Wyoming are on are the verge of devastating the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, tribal leader Gail Small said in a lecture at the University of Montana, Tuesday. To prevent the loss of their homeland the Cheyenne need more allies in all Montana communities and more respect from regional government she said. "For a lot of these tribes I think were very close to losing what we can’t regain," Small said. The danger to Cheyenne reservation in the Tongue River Valley comes from the high-salinity wastewater that is pumped from methane wells at astounding rates and either dumped into rivers or held in ponds. The salt content of the water makes it useless for irrigation and destructive to soil. Small said the methane wells have also disrupted migrating elk herds and some tribal members believe the wastewater is killing beavers on the reservation. She said the majority of tribal members still rely on wild plants and game for subsistence and the wastewater is threatening their way of life. “You can just see the white alkali coming down the tributaries and the ponds they’re putting the water in aren’t even lined, the alkali goes straight into the ground,” Small said....
Conservation Report: The Killing Fields Alan Lackey has been an elk and mule deer guide in the high country of New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains for over 21 years. When he is not pulling a pack string into the mountains, he’s a ranch manager in Roy, New Mexico. Before that, he owned the Chevrolet dealership in Raton, where he also served as the president of the Chamber of Commerce. By his own description, he is a deeply conservative person. Like huge numbers of sportsmen across the American West, however, Lackey is quick to tell you that there is nothing conservative about the pace or scale of energy development on public lands in the region. “This is a giveaway of public resources at the cost of every other value we hold,” he says. “Oil and gas production has been elevated to the primary use of our public lands, even when the local people say no to it. The whole plan is like burning down your house to stay warm for one night.” Lackey is referring to the potential energy development of the Valle Vidal (Spanish for “The Valley of Life”) in the Carson National Forest of northern New Mexico. It is a 100,000-acre expanse of wild country that starts with open grasslands at around 8,000 feet, runs to parklands threaded by snowmelt-fed trout streams and huge stands of aspens, and reaches into the high timber country and beyond to snowfields and high peaks. It is home—both winter range and calving ground—to New Mexico’s largest elk herd, said to be about 2,500 animals. The valley is targeted for as many as 500 coal-bed methane wells....
All Fired Up Over Water An aerial dogfight is shaping up over Southern California as rival millionaires duel to see who will be first to get his jumbo jet water tanker aloft to fight wildfires. One has his hopes pegged on a converted 747 cargo aircraft. The other is banking on a retrofitted DC-10 passenger plane. At stake are potentially lucrative government contracts to help fight brush and forest fires. The rush to get the planes in the air comes as authorities continue grounding the World War II propeller planes that for half a century have dropped water and retardant on burning hillsides and forests. So far, Sanford Burnstein of Tulsa, Okla., has a slim lead over Delford Smith of McMinnville, Ore. Burnstein, owner of charter aviation company Omni Air International, has sunk $15 million into converting a DC-10 into a tanker. Last week in Victorville, his plane received Federal Aviation Administration certification for water-dropping operations and is awaiting approval for firefighting use by the Interagency Airtanker Board, a federal group based in Boise, Idaho. But Smith is close on his tail. His company, Evergreen International Aviation, has yet to receive FAA approval for the Boeing 747 he has spent $40 million modifying. But he has strong government connections: Evergreen has been known as "the CIA airline" because of its work with the federal intelligence agency....
Senators criticize Forest Service budget as wildfire season nears Western senators on Wednesday took turns criticizing the Forest Service's plans for fighting wildfires, calling the budget a “shell game” and questioning whether the agency is prepared for what in some areas could be the worst fire season in years. Drought in the Southwest and bark beetle infestations in the Rocky Mountains have officials especially worried about this wildfire season. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson already has declared a state of emergency because of the fire threat. Rey defended his budget, saying the agency has increased funding for firefighting and has a reserve fund available for emergencies. But senators wanted to know whether the Forest Service is devoting enough of its budget to fire prevention, controlling bark beetles and training firefighters. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said New Mexico has more than 235,000 acres of fire-prevention projects “on the shelf,” waiting for the Forest Service to act. But in recent years, the agency has been able to finish just 83,000 acres per year in the state, leaving almost three years of projects waiting for money, support staff and equipment. Bingaman also criticized a plan to shift $500,000 for such projects in New Mexico and Arizona to southern California. Rey later agreed to rescind the plan, according to a statement from Bingaman's office....
Area closed while goats graze nuisance plants The U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are turning a thorny situation on the Sandy River Delta into a grocery for goats. A section of the delta, near the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia rivers, was closed this week to allow domestic goats to enjoy a buffet of blackberry bushes and other unwanted vegetation. The delta is a popular recreation spot at Exit 18 off Interstate 84, and activities will not be hampered seriously by this governmental gastronomical project. The closure for the next six to eight weeks will be on only 50 of the 1,400 acres of U.S. Forest Service land. Part of the area is wetlands, and closures are permanently posted on parts of those lowlands. Up to 600 goats, along with their herders and dogs, have begun their mission to remove Himalayan blackberries, a non-native, invasive species. The eaten area will be replanted with native vegetation....
BLM, Land Office sign access pact The state Land Office and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management agreed Wednesday on steps to provide access to 15,000 acres of public land around Cooke's Peak, north of Deming. The agreement, signed by Land commissioner Patrick Lyons and BLM District Manager Ed Roberson of Las Cruces, would allow the BLM a right-of-way easement for a road across state trust land to provide access to Cooke's Peak. A road into the area crosses private land, and the landowner put a gate across it in 1982, the Land Office said. Na'ama Tubman, a spokeswoman for the BLM in Las Cruces, said the BLM is looking at alternatives and will do environmental analyses before choosing one. The BLM wants to talk to the private landowner, but could possibly build a new road or reroute the current road, she said. There is no timetable for the decision or any road work, she said....
Maryland to Join Eastern States in Regulating Carbon Dioxide The Maryland General Assembly gave final approval Friday to the Maryland Heathy Air Act, which requires the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a group of eastern states committed to regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants. CO2 is the most prevalent greenhouse gas linked to global warming. After a two-year campaign led by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and a coalition of other environmental, faith, and health groups, the so-called "4-pollutant, or 4-P" bill passd by veto-proof majorities in both Maryland houses. Aides to Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., a Republican, say the governor does not intend to veto the bill. "Maryland leaders took a historic step today in acknowledging the crisis of global warming and deciding to do something about it," said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. "While leaders in Washington say carbon reductions are impossible, the capital itself now borders a region stretching from Maryland to Maine where reductions are in fact happening."....
EPA joins beef producers in criticizing air study The Environmental Protection Agency has joined a beef producers' group in criticizing a 10-year study by California health officials that found more people died in the Coachella Valley on dusty days than clear ones. The federal government cited the research last year among evidence for possible new limits on dust, soot, and other pollution. But the EPA now proposes giving agriculture, mining, and natural sources of "coarse particulate pollution" an exemption from the rules. The National Cattleman's Beef Association took credit on its Web site for protecting farmers and ranchers from having to enact expensive dust controls, stating, "Thanks to NCBA efforts, EPA has agreed to exclude dust from agriculture sources." Environmentalists said the agency had been overly influenced by the beef producers. "There is the appearance the cattlemen got a special deal politically, and breathers can suffer as a result," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch....
Jump On the Buffalo Bandwagon But the interest in bison meat for human consumption has brought the animal back from numbers dwindling around 1,000 in the early 1900s to more than 300,000 on modern farms and ranches today. Indeed, this is not your great-great-great grandfather's buffalo. So why the sudden interest in the meat? It's actually not that sudden. Demand for high-end cuts of bison originally boomed in the '90s, which sent everyone scrambling to build herds and competing to buy animals, Dave Carter, Executive Director of the National Bison Association (NBA) said. But the consumers' appetite for the meat didn't last. After about a four-year slump, demand went up again in 2003, except this time people were interested in using the less expensive cuts for things like burgers and meatloaf, not just the high-end steaks. According to the NBA, bison meat has less fat than turkey, beef and chicken. It's loaded with Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which studies say may actually help reduce body fat while preserving muscle tissue. The NBA also says that eating a 5 oz. serving of buffalo 4-5 times a week can help the health conscious reduce cholesterol levels....
U.S. ranchers' group loses bid to block border to Cdn cattle, beef An American ranchers' group has lost its bid for a permanent injunction to ban Canadian cattle and beef from coming into their country. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association said in a news release that U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull rejected the request by R-CALF in a court in Billings, Mont. The trade protectionist group wanted Cebull to scrap the U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that reopened the border to live cattle under 30 months old and boxed cuts of Canadian beef. The case had been pending before Cebull since last July. Cebull is the judge who issued a temporary injunction in March 2005 that delayed the reopening of the U.S. border to live cattle for four months over concerns there weren't enough safeguards to protect consumers from mad cow disease. The appeals court overturned Cebull's injunction last July and shortly after trade in live cattle resumed. Hugh Lynch-Staunton, president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, said it was good news for cattle producers....
Decision on animal ID system postponed The hotly debated issue of statewide mandatory premises registration, as part of a larger push for a National Animal Identification System, has been postponed for consideration by the Texas Animal Health Commission until winter or spring of 2007. However, commission spokeswoman Carla Everett said the commission will continue to offer education on the matter, including a forum at 7 p.m. today at the Brazoria County Fairgrounds, to further explain the proposed animal identification system. State health officials say the program is crucial for expediting the process of tracking the spread of livestock diseases, but some livestock owners argue the system violates their personal privacy and would be too costly. Commission Executive Director Dr. Bob Hillman said in a statement Tuesday that phase one of the identification system — the proposed premises registration regulations — have been placed on “hold.”....
Battle over gestation stalls heating up in Arizona Animal activists in Arizona have three more months to collect enough signatures to get the Humane Treatment of Farm Animals Act on the ballot there this November. State and national producer groups are voicing their opposition to the Act, which would outlaw gestation stalls for pork and veal producers. According to the initiative and recall applications page on the Web site of Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer, the group Arizonans for Humane Farms applied for the ballot initiative on September 6, 2005. They are required to collect 122,612 signatures by July 6 for this fall's elections. Arizonans for Humane Farms is made up of the Arizona Humane Society, Animal Defense League of Arizona, the Humane Society of the United States, and Farm Sanctuary. The Act would require that "pigs during pregnancy and calves raised for veal must be given sufficient space to turn around, lie down, and fully extend their limbs when tethered, or confined in crates, cages, or other enclosures," There are exceptions, such as for veterinary purposes and during the pig's prebirthing period. It would allow six years to adopt "more humane practices," taking full effect in 2012, and would not require mandatory expenditure of state revenues. On the other side of the issue, the Campaign for Arizona Farmers and Ranchers -- a coalition of producer groups including the Arizona Cattlemen's Association, Arizona Farm Bureau Federation, United Dairymen of Arizona and Arizona Pork Council -- is opposing the initiative. This group represents more than 3,000 farm families....
Down and dirty They're the crew of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs," and they find out firsthand what it's like to have some of the grittiest careers in the nation. Next, they're coming to Craig. Makers of the show are making plans to document the castration process of local sheep ranchers Albert and Melody Villard this summer. "They're interested in having (host) Mike (Rowe) participate in part of the roundup operations as well as the branding and castrations," Melody Villard said. They plan for Rowe to assist with the usual spring lamb operations -- tail-docking, earmarking, branding and castrating. The Villards don't see their sheep operations as exceptionally dirty but admit it's different from what many Americans are used to....