NEWS ROUNDUP

Dog fight The Colorado Division of Wildlife last month asked the Colorado Wildlife Commission to ban prairie dog hunting on public land from March 1 to May 31. The DOW proposal is aimed at protecting prairie dog mothers while they have dependent pups, DOW spokesman Randy Hampton said. "If you hunt during that period and the females have dependent young, the dependent young often die, as well," Hampton said. Under current law, hunters on the Western Slope can kill prairie dogs year-round with no limits. Moffat County commissioners on Tuesday signed a letter to the Wildlife Commission saying they oppose limiting prairie dog hunting. The Moffat County Land Use Board, a residents group that advises county commissioners on natural resource issues, also strongly opposes the DOW proposal, Comstock said....
5,000 acres in Catron County protected Some 5,000 acres of the Horse Springs Ranch in Catron County and a vital wildlife corridor that it provides are being protected under a new conservation easement. The easement was arranged by The Trust for Public Land and will protect property at the heart of the 16,000-acre ranch in southern New Mexico, the trust and its partners announced Tuesday. The easement will let rancher Jay Platt and his family work the land, but will protect it from development in the future. The easement was funded with $2.7 million from the state-administered, federally funded Forest Legacy Program and a $900,000 grant from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. "Some of the things that made this ranch desirable to the Forest Legacy Program the wildlife, the water, the forests are the things that make me love ranching it, and make me proud to one day pass it on to my sons," Platt said....
Army Could Condemn Land For Pinon Site Expansion Army officials said they haven't ruled out the possibility of condemning private land to expand its Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site training grounds in southeastern Colorado. The Army has said it's seeking an additional 418,000 acres to expand the site near La Junta. In a letter to Democratic Congressman John Salazar, Assistant Army Secretary Keith Eastin said the Army might turn to eminent domain as a last resort. Salazar said that's discouraging because officials at the Army's Fort Carson near Colorado Springs have said they were interested only in buying land from willing sellers. Salazar said he will support farmers and ranchers who oppose using condemnation for the expansion and do what he can to prevent it. Several ranchers around the 240,000-acre site have called the Army's expansion plan a land grab. About 400 landowners attended a meeting last Saturday in Pueblo to oppose it....
Author claims first traverse of Comb Ridge These days, when thousands of weekend warriors hike the Appalachian or Continental Divide trails every summer, it seems nearly impossible that there could be a 120-mile long geographic feature in the United States left largely unexplored as late as two years ago. But there is. Or was. And if you drive from Durango to Lake Powell through Blanding, Utah, the highway cuts right through it. The sandstone outcrop named the Comb Ridge rises from the desert on the Navajo Nation near Kayenta, Ariz. and bulges eastward before sweeping north to Blanding more than 100 miles away. The 600-foot-high anomaly slopes gradually up from scrub cedar and piñon to the east, peaks in dramatic fashion in sharp sandstone formations, and drops in sheer cliffs and overhangs on its western face. The first full-length traverse of this unique knife-edge curve, the subject of David Roberts' Sandstone Spine, took place during 18 days in September 2004. Granted, two and a half weeks of hiking through dry washes and over slick cap rock - even with an 80 pound pack and without a single mile of trail to go by - doesn't amount to a major assault on Everest, or even Denali. But Roberts' story of this adventure with two mountaineering and climbing friends, Greg Child and Vaughn Hadenfeldt, squeezes in enough history and culture to compensate....
Salazar calls for inquiry into Wolf Creek project Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., called for a federal probe into whether political influence played a role in the government's review of the proposed Village at Wolf Creek Project. Salazar, speaking to reporters on a conference call, said a former top U.S. Forest Service official has alleged improper political influence and flaws with the way the agency handled an environmental analysis of a development that could house as many as 10,000 people. Ed Ryberg, who retired recently as head of the Forest Service's winter sports program, "believes there was improper political influence," Salazar said. "If that is so, that is wrong," Salazar said. "The only way you get to the bottom of the allegations is if you have an investigation. An investigation is in fact warranted." The Forest Service's review of the Wolf Creek application focused on road access to the village rather than on the overall environmental impact of the development. The agency ruled in April that Texas billionaire and developer Red McCombs must build two routes to his 287-acre village. Bob Honts, chief executive of the Village at Wolf Creek, reacted to Salazar's call for an inquiry by saying: "We followed the appropriate process. I think you're going to find that everything was done the way it was supposed to be done."....
Ex-BLM firefighter's confession allowed in Nevada arson case An ex-firefighter for the Bureau of Land Management says federal agents coerced him into confessing to starting three wildfires in Nevada, but a judge ruled prosecutors can use the admission at his arson trial next month. Mark E. Morgan, 34, had been scheduled to go to trial in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, but lawyers for both sides asked for a delay until June 20 because they are working toward a plea agreement that would include restitution. Investigators allege Morgan started the fires that burned hundreds of acres of national forest land last August because he was bored and needed the money, according to court documents. After repeatedly denying any role, the Reno resident eventually admitted in December that he started two of the fires with a cigarette lighter and the third with a flare gun, which he disposed of in the city dump, according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press....
Arizona Snowbowl Snowmaking Controversy Continues What do you get when you combine a desert-dwelling ski resort, a sacred mountain range, and proposals to use reclaimed wastewater for snowmaking? If you’re thinking a huge community controversy spanning four years (and counting), over 20 environmentalist and tribal groups, and endless days spent in courtrooms, then you’re right on target. In 2002, Arizona Snowbowl, located about seven miles northwest of Flagstaff, announced plans for resort improvements—including snowmaking—in response to short seasons with little snowfall. Case in point, during the 2001-02 season the resort was open for only four days due to a combined 87 inches of precious white stuff. And although the skies graciously dumped on the resort during the next few seasons, the 2005-06 winter again only allowed a measly 15 days of operation. So what do you do if nature won’t willingly give you snow? You make it. However, Snowbowl’s idea for snowmaking is spraying effluent from a local wastewater treatment plant across 205 of its 777 skiable acres—land that is considered sacred by Native Americans, thus beginning the long journey through the wonderfully complex (not to mention lengthy) world of environmental impact assessments, public comment, and legal battles....
Critics see Tongass as waste of U.S. funds Critics of the government's logging policy in Southeast Alaska are pressing an amendment in the U.S. House that would prohibit government spending to build logging roads in the Tongass National Forest. Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., one of the amendment sponsors, told reporters Monday the Tongass logging program loses an average of $40 million a year. "The taxpayers I represent are investors in the U.S. government," he said. From their perspective, he said, the Tongass is a loser: The government is spending more to build logging roads and administer the logging program than it is receiving from timber sales. "You've got an enormous waste of money," Andrews said. "You've got a policy that makes no sense from the point of view of the environment." He has joined forces with Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, on an amendment to the Interior appropriations bill that could be up for debate on the House floor later this week. Their efforts are backed by a diverse coalition that includes Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Alaska Coalition and other environmental groups....
Rare frogs die from bacterial infection Seven endangered frogs rescued from an Inland mountain creek following the devastating 2003 wildfires for fear looming floods would wipe them out died of a bacterial infection at the Wild Animal Park in Escondido, a veterinary pathologist said Tuesday. The deaths last month of the mountain yellow-legged frogs were a major setback for the amphibian that is nearing extinction, leaving federal and state biologists to consider how best to keep the species going. "There are so few frogs and in so few places, we could end up losing them all together," said Kathie Meyer, a wildlife biologist with the San Bernardino National Forest who helped rescue the frogs. Adam Backlin, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, estimated that 200 frogs remain across the San Bernardino, San Jacinto and San Gabriel mountains, making them one of the Inland region's most endangered species. He and Meyer said a captive breeding program -- a rare step that was undertaken with the California condor -- is still on the table, in which tadpoles or juveniles would be captured in the wild....
Western gray squirrel fails to get federal protection The federal government snubbed the western gray squirrel for endangered species status, but Washington state is outlining plans to save the three remaining pockets of the native tree squirrel in Washington from extinction. The western gray squirrel has been listed as a threatened species in Washington since 1993, when surveys indicated a decline in its populations in its traditional territory. The exact number remaining in the state is unknown. The most recent surveys counted 281 squirrels. State law prohibits killing them or destroying their nests. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife released its recovery plan this month for saving the animals from extinction. The plan calls for improving known habitat, importing squirrels from other areas for genetic diversity and capturing and treating the elusive animals for mange, a skin disease caused by parasitic mites. The state also plans to work with private land owners and other government agencies to protect squirrels from disturbance from logging operations and road building....
Carp in Utah Lake pose health risk for humans The millions of carp causing problems for Utah Lake's native fish also may pose a health threat to humans. Elevated PCB levels have been found in carp collected from the lake, leading state and Utah County officials Tuesday to issue a fish-consumption advisory. The Utah Department of Health recommends that adults eat no more than one 8-ounce serving of carp from the lake per month. The fish should not be consumed by children, pregnant and nursing women, or women who may become pregnant. The advisory will be posted on signs at access points to Utah Lake. PCBs — polychlorinated biphenyls — are man-made chemicals that were used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors and other electrical equipment, said John Whitehead, a hydrologist in the state Department of Environmental Quality. They're also "probable human carcinogens," according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and can cause harmful health effects such as reduced ability to fight infections, low birth weights and learning problems. "They're not really known to cause cancer in humans, but they can cause cancer in animals," said Jason Scholl, a toxicologist with the state health department. Those cases were the result of prolonged exposure to PCBs, Scholl said. PCB levels detected in the carp from Utah Lake were below EPA screening levels for non-cancer effects, he said, meaning the health risks from eating the fish are minimal....
Grizzly-Polar Bear Hybrid Found -- But What Does It Mean? The animal confirmed last week to be half polar bear, half grizzly bear is certainly weird, scientists say, but he's not necessarily a symbol of global warming or anything else. Last week, DNA analysis confirmed that the bear's father was a grizzly and his mother was a polar bear. The bear's white fur was interspersed with brown patches. He also had long claws, a concave facial profile, and a humped back—all grizzly characteristics. "It's of interest because it's rare, but that's kind of it," said Rosa Meehan, the chief of marine mammal management with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage, Alaska. "I don't think there's more to it than that." Meehan is overseeing a review of how changing environmental conditions in the Arctic are affecting polar bears. The study aims to determine whether the animals warrant federal protection in the U.S. as an endangered species....
Center for Biological Diversity Takes First Step In Lawsuit to Protect Two Native Southwest Fish Today the Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for illegally denying protection to the roundtail and headwater chubs under the Endangered Species Act. In denying protection for the two fish on May 3, 2006, FWS did not find the two species are safe from extinction, but instead denied protection based on technical grounds. FWS determined that the population of roundtail chub in the lower Colorado River Basin is not significant to the species as a whole, and that listing the headwater chub is warranted but precluded by higher priority actions. “The Bush administration has the worst record of protecting the nation’s wildlife of any modern presidency and will go to any length to avoid protecting the nation’s wildlife,” said Noah Greenwald, Conservation Biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The roundtail and headwater chubs need the safety net of the Endangered Species Act, not political shenanigans by the Bush administration.” The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal scientific petition to gain protection for the two chubs in April 2003, documenting a precipitous decline in both species....
Case to Protect Hundreds of Wildlife Species Nationwide Moves Forward Judge Gladys Kessler ruled this week that the Center for Biological Diversity, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and Forest Guardians can proceed in a federal lawsuit that charges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) with unlawfully delaying protection for 263 wildlife species. All 263 species are currently listed as candidates for protection as threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, meaning FWS concedes they are sufficiently endangered to warrant protection, but such protection is precluded by work to protect other species. To date, at least 24 candidate species have gone extinct while waiting for protection. "The court's ruling is a victory for the nation's wildlife, bringing literally hundreds of plants and animals one step closer to the protection they need to avoid extinction," stated Noah Greenwald, Conservation Biologist for the Center for Biological Diversity. The Endangered Species Act allows FWS to declare species' protection "warranted but precluded" as it did in the case of these candidate species, but it must demonstrate that it is making "expeditious progress" in protecting other species that are of a higher priority. However, despite an increasing budget for listing, the Bush administration has protected the fewest number of species of any administration since the Act was passed....
BLM's oil, gas lease sale rakes in $54M The Bureau of Land Management's Utah office reaped record-setting revenues from its oil and gas lease sale on Tuesday. The BLM sold leases on 262 parcels for just over $54 million during the day-long auction at its Gateway offices in downtown Salt Lake City, nearly doubling the previous high of $28 million, set in September of 2004. "We had a lot of interest, a lot of spirited bidding," BLM spokeswoman Lola Bird said. That interest was apparent by the fact that the agency sold leases on the bulk of the 295 parcels that were originally offered up - which translated into 392,000 acres out of 438,000 offered. The highest bid was $3,000 per acre. But the sale also underscored that this was perhaps the most controversial energy lease auction the Utah BLM has staged. Nearly $30 million was generated off the sale of parcels that previously had been protested by conservation and outdoor recreation groups. Tuesday's largest single parcel sale, a 1,875-acre tract which went for $3.7 million, was a protested parcel in Carbon County....
Proposals could let nuclear wastes in Utah Utah could see a few forms of nuclear waste come to the state if plans discussed at a Senate hearing Tuesday move ahead. Approval of a federal interim storage facility for commercial nuclear fuel could move fuel rods to the Private Fuel Storage site on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian reservation — and a plan to recycle nuclear waste could make additional waste eligible to be stored at EnergySolutions' facilities. Neither idea has been approved nor given money to proceed just yet, but Congress has options to make either proposal work. At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing Tuesday, Paul Golan, the government's top Yucca Mountain official, said "the department continues to have an open mind on interim storage." He said the department does not believe it has the authority under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 — the law that guides the government's plan to store nuclear waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas — to move ahead with interim storage, but if Congress allowed it, the department would be open to the discussion. "Interim storage is less important than moving Yucca Mountain forward, but we understand that the commercial utilities are running in to a storage situation." Golan said....
Feds OK St. George airport After a decade of review, the Federal Aviation Administration has determined that a new airport near St. George could result in slightly more aircraft noise but won't substantially disturb the serenity at Zion National Park. The decision, in a new environmental impact statement from the FAA, overcomes a major obstacle for the city's airport plan and puts the project on the verge of winning final approval. It also comes despite previous objections from the Grand Canyon Trust, which prevailed in a 2002 lawsuit that claimed the FAA had failed to fully consider noise impacts over Zion National Park and forced the agency back for more study. "It's been over 10 years for us in this process. There's been about $4 million spent, so this is the most comprehensive airport environmental study ever done in the nation," said Larry Bulloch, public works director for St. George. "We feel it has met everyone's needs." According to the FAA analysis, Zion National Park could actually end up quieter overall if the new airport is built. That is because larger jets would be able to land at the new airport, replacing the current smaller, propeller-driven planes. More passengers could travel on fewer flights. In addition, the jets would travel faster, so they would be over the park for a shorter period of time....
Wooly workmanship A sweaty man emerges from a plywood trailer. He is bent at the waist, like a wrestler posed for the start of a match. Wyoming prairie dust swirls in the air around him as he makes his way to a camper trailer for lunch. His fingers are wrapped with tape and smeared with lanolin. The buzz of shearing tools has silenced for an hour, and the wind dominates the ear. After a cold drink and a sandwich, work will begin again. Claudio Pereira, 31, is one of a crew of seven sheep shearers from Uruguay, hired to clip the wool from about 3,500 sheep at Bill Taliaferro’s ranch northwest of Rock Springs. Taliaferro runs the ranch, Green River Livestock, with his family. It takes three 11-hour days for the shearers to complete the task. The men work for Fairchild Shearing of Buhl, Idaho. The Fairchilds and their three shearing crews of Australians, New Zealanders, Uruguayans, and a handful of Americans, travel from February to June and then again from September to November. These crews will see the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming before their work is done....
Doctor Proctor making his name known among cowboys The first time he displayed his power and prowess, summarily ejecting a would-be rider in Rod Chumley's practice arena, the bull they called K24 got a reputation. "The first time he bucked," says Steve Katich, the Ferry County rancher who raised him, "you knew he was a superstar." The first time he came out of a bucking chute in competition, the bull they called K24 got a name. "Somebody get a doc for Proctor!" people shouted, with the bull's would-be rider, an up-and-comer named Shane Proctor, lying unconscious on the arena floor. Hmm ... Doctor Proctor, thought Chumley, a Wenas-area rancher and one of the bull's owners. That's got a nice ring to it. The first time he got under the bright lights in Las Vegas, at October's 2005 Professional Bull Riders finals, the bull they now called Doctor Proctor let the tour's rookie of the year, Kody Lostroh, stay aboard for all of 4.3 seconds. A month ago, Lostroh got his rematch ... and couldn't even stay on for two seconds. "About a jump and a half," grins Lostroh, one of the top 20 riders in the PBR's premier tour, the Built Ford Tough Series. "Both times I been on him, he jerked the rope outta my hands. Gotta be a pretty strong bull to do that."....