NEWS ROUNDUP

Interior pick calls land sale bad idea President Bush's plan to sell off tens of thousands of acres of federal lands in the West is in deep trouble, even drawing opposition from his choice to head the Interior Department. Interior Secretary nominee Dirk Kempthorne, governor of Idaho, came out against an administration plan to sell Bureau of Land Management land to help balance the budget during his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday. The administration planned to sell $1 billion in Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service land, but a House budget committee rejected the idea Thursday. Opposition from Kempthorne is yet another blow to a plan that has drawn bipartisan fire and has opponents declaring it dead on arrival....
Interior Nominee Faces a Handful of Holdouts Interior Secretary nominee Dirk Kempthorne appeared headed for a smooth confirmation process Thursday except for a single potential stumbling block: energy. Energy questions dominated a Senate hearing on the Idaho governor's appointment, and at least two senators have threatened to delay his confirmation pending resolution of gas and oil drilling issues in the Gulf of Mexico. Before then, however, Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) have threatened to delay Kempthorne's nomination over different — though related — concerns over gas and oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Nelson is concerned over a bipartisan proposal by Sens. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), the chairman and ranking minority member, respectively, of the Energy Committee, to open for drilling 4 million acres of ocean floor off Florida's coast known as Lease Sale 181. Nelson and Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) want to shrink the size of the drilling area. Landrieu is seeking to have more revenue from offshore oil drilling — including any new projects in Lease Sale 181 — returned to states rather than the federal government....
A cat attack? Ashton rancher Richard Ritz said he discovered the wounds on his white quarter horse early Monday morning. She came gingerly to the oat bucket to feed when he noticed the puncture under her right front leg. He thought perhaps she had caught herself somewhere in the corral, but hers is an all steel corral. There are no wires on which to catch herself. Then Ritz saw the other wounds. Punctures on her hind quarters, shoulder and back. Mauling on her neck and mane all matted with blood and mud. Wounds bigger than a dinner plate on Molly's side. "Something had to be big enough to get up high on her," Ritz said patting the eight-year-old mare's puncture-laden neck. Ritz said he thinks that something was a mountain lion. "It's possible," said St. Paul veterinarian Dan Nielsen, who has been treating Molly. "The wounds are on the sides and neck and show up everywhere. I've never seen anything like it."....
EPA to citizens: Frack you Susan Haire, a former elementary teacher who ranches on a small scale, has lived atop one of the surrounding mesas for nearly a decade. But she says the landscape has been turned against her. When she drives down this stretch of highway, her nose bleeds, her eyes burn, and her head pounds. She's taken to wearing a respirator, even in the car. Haire's doctor blames her health problems on the scenery's relatively recent addition: 600 natural gas wells, drilled by oil companies over the past two years. Every few feet, 150-foot-tall drill rigs, graced with American flags, rise upward into the sky. Compressor stations, banks of rectangular huts with five-foot-diameter fans, sit back from the road and pump the gas into underground pipelines. Scientists and environmentalists say the health hazards of the natural gas wells stem not only from air pollution but "fracking fluid," a mixture of carcinogenic chemicals, used in many of them. Laura Amos, 43, an outfitter who lives 20 miles from Haire, recently developed a tumor in her adrenal gland, which she blames on her exposure to the chemicals. Fracking or hydraulic fracturing is a half century-old process in which a gas company injects water, sand and the chemicals into the wells. Developed by Halliburton, the corporation formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, fracking loosens the rock and maximizes the flow of gas to the surface. At least 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie in the tight sand and coal bed formations below Garfield County, according to gas companies and industry geologists. Over the next eight years, energy companies expect to build more than 10,000 additional wells in the county. The most serious problems may stem from fracking. The chemicals pumped into the wells to aid the flow of gas to the surface include known carcinogens such as benzene, naphthalene, arsenic and lead. Several chemicals that may be injected can be lethal at levels as low as 0.1 part per million, according to the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. Up to 40 percent of the fracturing fluids remain in the formation, according to studies conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the oil and gas industry; that means that fluids such as diesel and benzene may seep into the surrounding soil, groundwater, and water wells. The wastewater that the industry recaptures after the well hole is drilled often sits in open evaporation pits for upward of a year. Because so many of the chemicals used in the fluid are proprietary, the industry isn't required to disclose their contents or ratios of concentration....
Churches pushing for wilderness In December, the National Council of Churches announced its platform for the year by saying, "Wilderness is one of earth's most precious and most threatened assets, and the call to preserve it will be among the National Council of Churches USA Eco-Justice Program's top issues for 2006." The NCC Public Lands Stewardship Initiative announced it plans to focus on "Wilderness and Wild Landscapes" for its second year and conduct activities focused on the importance of wilderness in Christianity and other faith traditions. "Wilderness was central to the spiritual journeys of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad and in the creation stories of many cultures," said .the Rev. Bob Edgar, NCC General Secretary. "Today public lands are important to many of us as a venue for peaceful reflection and reconnecting with the Creator." "Wild lands are also the connective tissue that holds together the glorious web of life by providing space for wildlife and undisturbed natural cycles," said Christine Hoekenga, NCC Lands Specialist. "But God's gift of wilderness is increasingly threatened by our swelling cities, growing highways, and increasing demand for resources like oil, gas, timber, and minerals. In light of this, we are called to remember and celebrate our Biblical heritage and examine our modern relationships to wilderness."....
Lawyer: Agents tricked firefighter Lawyers for the former commander of an elite wildfire team are asking a judge to suppress two signed statements the firefighter gave to federal investigators last year, one admitting he started two 2004 forest fires. Van Bateman once headed one of the nation's top wildfire teams, helping suppress the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, Arizona's largest wildfire ever. After the 9/11 attacks, he and his incident management team also assisted in recovery operations at the World Trade Center. But now he's trying to prove his innocence of charges that he set two fires in the Coconino National Forest in 2004. A federal grand jury indicted him last November on two counts of setting timber on fire, punishable by up to five years in prison, and two counts of arson on public lands, which could draw a sentence of up to 20 years. In their motion to suppress, Bateman's lawyers argue that Bateman was not told that he could leave an interview with two special agents with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's office of inspector general or that he could have a lawyer present. They said Bateman's statements were involuntary and that he was not warned of his Miranda rights. For both reasons, they contend, the statements are inadmissible....
Arivaca blaze started as immigrants' signal fire A wildland fire burning some 200 acres near Arivaca was started by two illegal immigrants, federal authorities said this morning.
The men started two fires, one a warming fire and the other a signal fire to seek help because one of the men was injured, authorities said. The two were taken into custody, questioned, and voluntarily returned to Mexico, federal officials said. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the men, officials said. The men were returned to Mexico Wednesday night, Border Patrol Agent Sean King said. A Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge employee on his way to work about 7 a.m. Wednesday spotted and reported the fire and Border Patrol agents arriving first at the fire found the two immigrants, one with a sprained ankle, said Dean McAllister, the Coronado's fire management officer.
Project to poison fish in lakes goes forward Plans to poison thousands of fish in 21 Montana lakes and then stock them with westslope cutthroat trout have final approval, and the work, still disputed by some state commissioners, is tentatively scheduled to start this fall. The project is meant to remove hybrid trout from the western Montana lakes, nearly half of them in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Genetically pure westslope cutthroat, the state fish, have been reduced to about 9 percent of their historic range and are threatened by hybrids, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said. Westslope cutthroat are classified as a "species of special concern" in Montana, and state officials say they want to prevent the fish from requiring protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. Jim Satterfield Jr., regional administrator for Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Kalispell, announced Thursday that he has signed the agency's decision supporting the 10-year project in the South Fork Flathead River area....
Ethics group that targeted DeLay now seeks Pombo The same Washington-based interest group that convinced a Texas congressman to file an ethics complaint against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is hoping for similar help with a complaint against Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group allied with national Democrats, released a statement Thursday calling for a lawmaker to file its complaint with the House Ethics Committee. Outsiders are not allowed to file complaints with the committee; only members can do so. Pombo brushed off the complaint, calling it election-season partisan politics....
The Border's Pending Fight A showdown looms here, along this innocuous-looking stretch of chaparral near Campo in eastern San Diego County. On this untamed land, where mountain lions still roam, a potentially litigious fight is brewing over a plan to replace the rusty border fence with an impermeable barrier a football field wide. Congress is considering immigration reform legislation that could replace the lone barrier here with two 15-foot tall fences separated by a gravel road for Border Patrol vehicles. And thanks to a law enacted last year, the federal government can build the new barrier wherever it wants without considering its environmental impacts. Near Campo, the barrier could sever migratory routes as old as the land itself. Some are looking to the sage-smelling scrubland as the next battle in the debate between environmentalists and fence proponents....
Team to develop spotted owl recovery plan The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has formed a 12-member team to develop a recovery plan for the threatened northern spotted owl, which is protected under the Endangered Species Act. Members represent state and federal agencies and stakeholder groups and people with knowledge of forest management and northern spotted owl biology. A final plan is to be made public by November 2007 after a peer review. Dave Wesley, the service's Pacific Regions Deputy Director, will lead the team, which is to begin meeting this month. The owl was listed as threatened in 1990 and its critical habitat was designated in 1992, closing off vast tracts of federal forests to logging and plunging some timber-dependent regions into an economic slump. The designation led to an 80 percent cutback on logging in national forests and restrictions on private timberlands....
Oil drilling near Capitol Reef draws protest The National Park Service filed objections to federal plans for oil and gas drilling alongside Capitol Reef National Park, saying the rigs would spoil landscape views and bring machinery noise, dust and lights to a backcountry prized for its solitude. Albert J. Hendricks, Capitol Reef's superintendent, said the proposed drilling parcels - a cluster of 18, with some touching the park's northern boundary - also would fall within view of a remote corner of the park awaiting wilderness designation. Hendricks filed a three-page memo with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, recommending no rigs be allowed on three drilling parcels that touch the park's boundary. He took no position on the 15 other, adjoining parcels, except to express misgivings and point out the region's dirt roads can't support heavy trucks. His objections surfaced as other groups filed challenges to some of the 440,000 acres the BLM plans to put up for lease Tuesday in the largest government auction ever held in Utah for oil and gas drilling....
Eco-kids take on corporate scum to save the owls Pancakes or owls? For three middle-schoolers in the fictional Florida town of Coconut Cove, nature always trumps tummy. They give a hoot, which is why these teenage eco-warriors fight the developers clearing an owl habitat to build yet another Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House. In this installment of Smart Kids, Foolish Franchisers, the fight isn't fair, but it sure is funny. Based on the charming young-adult novel by Florida bard Carl Hiaasen, Hoot is a pleasant diversion on the order of a gloriously photographed after-school special. It boasts original songs from Sunshine State troubadour Jimmy Buffett, who also produced the film and has a small role as a laid-back marine-biology teacher....
$4 billion for farmers and ranchers passes Senate Legislation that would provide $4 billion in emergency disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers passed the Senate on Thursday, but the bill faces opposition, including a veto threat from President Bush. The money was added to a massive spending bill designed to pay for the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina. The Bush administration said last week that many crops had record or near-record production last year, and that the proposed level of assistance is "excessive." The bill would pay farmers and ranchers around the country for recent losses due to drought, flooding, disease and other disasters. It also would give many farmers an increase on their current federal subsidy check because of higher energy expenses. National Farmers Union President Tom Buis said the money is badly needed in farm country....
Argentina's Exporters Worried About Beef Stuck At Ports Argentine exporters are growing increasingly worried about the fate of at least 7,000 metric tons of beef exports that are being held by customs officials at local ports, said Pablo Kiryluk, a spokesman for the Argentine Beef Consortium, which represents Argentina's leading beef exporters. "There are about 350 containers beef that are stuck in Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, waiting to be shipped to Europe," he said. "Each container has 20-22 tons of beef but they can't be shipped because (Argentine) President (Nestor) Kirchner has made a decision to prevent them from being exported." The containers, which have been stuck for almost three weeks, hold about $55 million of processed, frozen and fresh beef, Kiryluk said. "There is no law that is stopping the meat from being shipped," he said. "It's not even legal to hold the beef, so this is quite problematic. The consequences are terrible for the beef industry."....
A bullet in the back Some people insist the western isn't dead. It's true one seems to come out every couple of years, but they tend to be anything but classic westerns: mad, special-effects sprees such as Wild Wild West, or stories of gay love, or displays of actorly narcissism. And, with the exception of Brokeback Mountain, they are usually unsuccessful. I recently came across a couple of photographs that made me think about this genre, which has, to all intents and purposes, died, and about what killed it. One of the photos was taken on the set of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, in Mexico, in 1972. It shows several of the cast and crew, including James Coburn and Harry Dean Stanton, carrying the director, Sam Peckinpah, on a hospital stretcher. One crew member is walking beside the prostrate Peckinpah, holding up a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label. A drip feed runs from the bottle to Peckinpah's mouth....