NEWS ROUNDUP

Mushroom Cloud Blast in Nevada Delayed A non-nuclear explosion expected to generate a mushroom cloud over the Nevada desert will be postponed at least three weeks, while a federal court reviews plans for the blast, test officials said Tuesday. "The planned Divine Strake experiment will not be conducted earlier than June 23," said Cheri Abdelnour, spokeswoman for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir, Va. The blast was originally scheduled for June 2. Darwin Morgan, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration in North Las Vegas, confirmed the date change but declined further comment. In documents filed Monday with U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, federal Justice Department lawyers sought to push back from May 23 until early June a hearing on a lawsuit filed by the Winnemucca Indian Colony and several Nevada and Utah "downwinders" to block the blast. The judge did not issue an immediate ruling. The blast, some 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is expected to generate a 10,000-foot mushroom cloud and a shock wave that officials say will probably be felt in Indian Springs, about 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The federal Defense Threat Reduction Agency claims the explosion will help design a weapon to penetrate hardened and deeply buried targets. Critics have called it a surrogate for a low-yield nuclear "bunker-buster" bomb....
Farmers sweating over lack of water The state ordered more than 400 powerful irrigation wells shut down this week to protect the South Platte River, triggering a crisis for about 200 farms from Brighton to Fort Morgan. "It's the toughest decision I've ever had to make," said State Engineer Hal Simpson, Colorado's top water regulator. Farmers who've already planted this year say they stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of Simpson's ruling. The decree may mean bankruptcy for some. But others, such as La Salle potato grower Harry Strohauer, are gearing up for battle. "I'm going to fight like crazy," Strohauer said. Strohauer is losing the use of 14 wells that normally irrigate 1,100 acres of potatoes and onions. He's invested $700,000 in seed and fertilizer so far this spring. "To get hit with this ruling after we've all planted is ludicrous," Strohauer said....
Loggers hit the slopes of Steamboat Chain saws roar, loggers call to one another, and a tree trunk snaps. A lodgepole pine topples into the snow, its branches cracking as it falls through the mountain air. After sawing off its limbs, loggers use cables to attach the trunk to a skidder and haul the tree off the mountain. This scene has become a familiar one lately - an estimated 1,500 pine trees will be removed from the slopes of Steamboat Ski Area before mid-June as part of a collaborative effort between Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. and the U.S. Forest Service to combat a bark beetle infestation that began nine years ago. The infestation is ravaging much of western Colorado and the western United States. "It's something that has to be dealt with," David Crisler, slope maintenance technician for Ski Corp., said as he drove a Snowcat up Vagabond ski trail towards a cutting site last week. "Will people notice a difference? Yes, probably. But if we didn't do anything, it would be much worse. Beetles would devastate the entire area."....
Bill Would Ban Property Condemnation At Army Site A bill introduced by Sen. Wayne Allard would prevent federal officials from condemning private property to quadruple the size of a 240,000-acre Army training site near La Junta in southeastern Colorado town. The Colorado Republican's bill introduced Monday would require the Army to assess the economic and environmental impacts of the expansion and pay fair market value for any land it acquires. "Increasing the size of the training site is going to go forward only if landowners in the area are willing to sell to the Army at fair market prices," Allard said in a statement. "This bill gets that message across loud and clear." The federal government condemned some land in the 1980s to create the training site on the Purgatoire River, which has some nearby residents and ranchers worried....
Forest firefighters group rejects recovery legislation A group representing wildland firefighters Tuesday called on Congress to defeat a bill aimed at speeding up logging dead timber and planting new trees after storms and wildfires. The bipartisan bill demands that areas hit by disasters greater than 1,000 acres be restored quickly, before the commercial value of fire-killed timber diminishes, and insects and rot set in. But Oregon-based Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology said the bill could increase fire risks and undermine efforts to reduce hazardous fire conditions near communities. "Post-fire logging and planting does not 'recover' a burned forest, but rather, sets it up for future high-severity burning," said Timothy Ingalsbee, the group's executive director and a former firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. Young, densely stocked timber plantations are prone to sudden "blowups" of extreme fire, and can start crown fires in nearby old-growth stands, said Ingalsbee, whose group includes about 80 professional firefighters from Alaska to Virginia....
Wildlife Advocates Oppose Kempthorne for Interior Secretary More than 100 conservation organizations from across the U.S. registered their opposition today to Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s nomination for Interior Secretary. In a letter to members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the groups cited Kempthorne’s poor record on endangered species and wildlife conservation as a U.S. senator and governor of Idaho. As a U.S. senator, Gov. Kempthorne voted to eliminate the federal Endangered Species Act listing budget and federal funding for recovery of the endangered wolf. He repeatedly voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration and to sell off federal public lands, including lands managed by the Department of Interior. As governor of Idaho, Kempthorne opposed the protection and recovery of endangered species in his state. He used his Governor’s Office of Species Conservation to override the management decisions of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and to undermine and indefinitely stall endangered species conservation efforts....
Column: The endangered landowner Unfortunately, George W. Bush has proved no particular friend of private property rights. The ray of hope promised by former secretary of the interior Gail Norton has given way to a dark cloud of doubt brought about by the nomination of Dirk Kempthorne. One would think that a Republican governor of Idaho would sympathize with the effort to tame the most abusive aspects of the ESA. However, while he was Idaho's senator, Kempthorne was an unblushing champion of endangered species. There is little indication that he has lessened his enthusiasm for an ESA with expanded powers, one that is broadened in scope. The only bright spot in this rather dismal picture is the increasing momentum behind the campaign calling for a repeal of the ESA. Voters are fed up to the teeth with fabrications. In 2001, families in Klamath Falls, Ore., lost their farming operations because it was falsely reported that two fish needed the water more than did the irrigators. Who can forget that the Northwest timber industry was destroyed because radical environmentalists falsely claimed that spotted owls live only in old-growth forests? The record of the ESA is one of sensationalist alarms, false reporting, and data error. Despite all this and the record of almost utter failure in achieving their stated purpose, the greens are fighting hard to keep their sacred law in place because it allows them to control millions of acres of private land without paying for that right....
Casino plan withdrawn in water-district settlement The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians is abandoning plans to build a casino near Diamond Valley Lake. The decision came as the tribe resolves a dispute with local water agencies that has dragged on for more than 70 years. As part of the proposed settlement, the tribe will not move its gambling operations from its reservation to a 128-acre, highly-visible site near Diamond Valley Lake, tribal chairman Robert Salgado said in an interview Tuesday. The settlement involves the tribe and Metropolitan Water District, the Eastern Municipal Water District and the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District. As part of the settlement, the tribe will receive millions of dollars for economic development and be assured billions of gallons of water that could help revitalize and expand the tribe's agricultural and commercial endeavors, Salgado said. Surrounding communities in the San Jacinto Valley will benefit from assured water supplies as well as money and land to recharge the local aquifer and protect endangered species habitat, he said. The settlement still has to be approved by a federal and a state court....
Untrained migrants fight fires As bright orange embers lofted through the forest, exploding into columns of smoke and flame, Mike Sulffridge and his crew of firefighters began to scramble. Their lives were in danger. But the reaction of six Latino firefighters working near them could not have been more different. Despite the advancing flames, despite a volley of warning shouts, they did nothing. "They did not understand English," said Sulffridge, who was hired to battle the wildfire in the Fishlake National Forest in Utah in 2000. "They did not understand what the fire was doing." Ultimately, the men were rescued. But the fire took a toll. One man was burned badly across his face. "In another few seconds, those guys would have been burned up," Sulffridge said. "They would have died." Firefighting has always been dangerous. But today, with the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies hiring more private contractors to do the work, a different kind of firefighter is in harm's way: migrant workers who have minimal experience and training, speak little or no English and often are in the country illegally....
12 Species of Flies Get Federal Protection Twelve species of rare flies known for their elaborate courtship displays and found only in the Hawaiian Islands are now protected under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the protected status for the highly valued picture-wing flies Tuesday. The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity sued the service in March 2005, accusing it of violating the Endangered Species Act. The center said the agency did not move ahead fast enough on listing the flies as endangered after a 2001 proposal for the flies' protected status was made. Picture-wing flies are about two to three times the size of common house flies and are considered harmless to humans. Other species of picture-wing flies are found outside Hawaii. Last summer, a district court judge ordered the federal government to begin protecting the species by April 2006 and their habitats by the following year....
100 Success Stories for Endangered Species Day 2006 The U.S. Senate declared May 11, 2006 Endangered Species Day to “encourage the people of the United States to become educated about, and aware of, threats to species, success stories in species recovery, and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide.” To help celebrate and educate, the Center for Biological Diversity has created a website (www.esasuccess.org) detailing the conservation efforts that caused the populations of 100 endangered species in every U.S. state and territory to soar. “From key deer and green sea turtles in Florida, to grizzly bears and wolves in Montana, sea otters and blue butterflies in California, and short-nose sturgeon and roseate terns in New York, the Endangered Species Act has not only saved hundreds of species from extinction,” said Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity, “but also put them on the road to recovery. The Endangered Species Act is one of America’s most successful conservation laws.” The web site features a map that allows viewers to quickly see a picture, population trend graph and short description of each species in their region. Detailed species accounts are also available for those wanting more information....
Vulnerable endangered species or environmental sleight-of-hand? The tiny white flowers are blooming again in the field behind the plastic surgeon's office on Highway 116, and Sebastopol is trying to figure out what it all means. It could mean a death knell for a controversial $70 million housing development. Or it could mean that a very nice, gray-haired retired grammar school principal and his pals are pulling a fast one. The white flowers are Sebastopol meadowfoams, or Limnanthes vinculans, a name that is a lot larger than the quarter-inch-wide blossom that could pass for a garden-variety garden weed if botanists had not declared it to be endangered. Last year, the retired school principal, Bob Evans, was walking his dog, Sophie, through the field when he spotted the flower poking through the tall grass. The field on the south end of town happens to be the proposed site of the 125-unit Laguna Vista housing development, and Evans happens to be a leader of the local opposition to the project....
Spotlight on species Get out your day planner. Endangered Species Day is joining the ranks of official and not-so-official celebrations that pack the American calendar. It's the creation of David Robinson, a trade magazine editor and veteran conservationist from La Mesa. Robinson spurred the U.S. Senate, the official arbiter of nationally themed days, to designate May 11 as the occasion to spotlight species facing extinction. “My hope is that people will look at it as something fresh,” said Robinson, who spent about 18 months persuading the Senate to take action. Robinson, 57, has kicked around the idea of an Endangered Species Day for years, but it wasn't until late 2004 that he contacted the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to see what could be done. Environmentalists are billing Endangered Species Day as the first national celebration of America's commitment to protecting plants and animals facing extinction. But some business leaders view it as a political stunt designed to slow momentum toward a major overhaul of the Endangered Species Act, the nation's cornerstone law for species protection. “It's a preservationist tactic,” said Paul Tryon, chief executive of the Building Industry Association of San Diego. “It's just one more tool to influence debate.”....
Park tweaks rules after Delicate Arch climb Rock climber and "slackliner" Dean Potter may have had his moment high atop famed Delicate Arch. But the National Park Service says no one better do it again. Officials at Arches National Park on Tuesday issued a statement reinforcing the park's long-standing rock-climbing ban on all named arches after Potter announced that he had successfully "free climbed" the nearly 50-foot-high southeast Utah icon using no protective equipment. Arches acting Chief Ranger Karen McKinlay-Jones believes Potter's actions on Sunday violated the intent of park regulations but said the park's solicitor advised that Potter cannot be prosecuted because the regulation "was not worded well." "It was always our intent that all named arches . . . are closed to climbing," McKinlay-Jones said. "That was clearly understood by the climbing community in Moab as well as by climbers who come here from other places." The park's newly worded climbing ban, which went into effect Tuesday, leaves no room for doubt....
Editorial - Elevated ego: Climber who scaled Delicate Arch deserves stiff penalty Dean Potter and a few irresponsible all-terrain vehicle riders have two traits in common: They are stubbornly determined to go where no humans have gone before, and they believe that rules meant to protect the landscape don't apply to them. Potter is the professional climber who scaled Utah's most prominent icon, Delicate Arch, Sunday, despite Arches National Park rules against climbing all its named arches. Making the ascent had become an obsession, he said. We see it more as an ego trip and a chance to advance his climbing career. That Patagonia, whose outdoor gear Potter promotes, had plans to use the climb in its advertising seems the most probable motive for the stunt. Potter obviously did not consider the potential harm he could cause by disregarding park regulations. Or he simply put his own personal gratification - or was it a need for attention? - ahead of any concern for the unique rock formation he claims was "vibrating with energy" as he stood on its top. If the huge old arch could vibrate, indignation or outrage would be a more likely cause....My hat's off to Potter, for his physical feat, and for finding a little sliver of freedom, sticking it to the Feds and getting away with it. Hard to do now a days. And speaking of ego's, his appears to be miniscule compared to the know-it-all editorial writers at the Salt Lake Tribune.
Kangaroos may come to Black Hills Tourists soon may have something new to see in the northern Black Hills National Forest. Lawrence County zoning officials have recommended approval of a special permit for a kangaroo ranch in Boulder Canyon. Kevin and Roxy Bell plan to have a walkthrough area for kangaroo viewing and a gift shop in an old building that once housed the U.S. Forest Service. There seems to be a lot of interest, Kevin Bell said. "What we are trying to do is get something organized so we can set up and have it from Memorial Day to Labor Day." The Lawrence County Commission is set to take final action on the permit for the "Roo Ranch" at its meeting May 23.
Lime kilns' comeback The lime kilns that helped wipe out portions of the saguaro forest a century ago are now considered archaeological treasures of the park created to preserve the saguaros. A crew of preservationists from the National Park Service's Tumacácori National Historical Park is working to stabilize six of the crumbling kilns — four in Saguaro National Park's Rincon Mountain District and two in its Tucson Mountain District. In their heyday, from the 1880s to 1920, the beehive-shaped kilns burned for days at a time to turn limestone blasted from nearby cliffs into lime for the mortar and plaster that helped build Tucson. It took up to four days and 15 cords of wood to turn the calcium carbonate rock into quicklime, according to park documents relating a 1969 conversation with one of the kiln workers, the late Frank Escalante. Palo verde was the preferred fuel, but mesquite was also used. The areas around the kilns were denuded for miles....
Editorial: Mad cow testing dispute featuressome crazy bureaucratic logic A ranching and meat-processing company in Kansas wants to test all its cattle for mad cow disease at its own expense. The Bush administration won't let the firm do it. Oh, but that's not all. If the company tries to buy the $20 testing kits, the feds will treat such a transaction as an illegal purchase of a controlled substance. We wish we were making this up, but we're not. Talk about mad cow, this is crazy people. It's also an intrusive government abusing an old law. In 1913, when cholera was decimating hog herds, scam artists were selling fake serums to farmers. Congress responded with the Viruses, Serums, Toxins, Anti-Toxins and Analogous Products Act. It gave the federal government authority to regulate diagnostic testing devices for farm animals. The Bush administration rediscovered this law when the Kansas company, Creekstone Farms, announced plans to test its entire herd for mad cow disease. The company was willing to go far and beyond the government's test regimen to reassure its customers in places such as Japan. Private companies make these test kits and there is nothing dangerous about them. Still, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says ranchers such as Creekstone Farms can't buy them....
Putting up a fight The entertainment industry for which he works is illegal under Texas law, but who is going to worry about cockfights when a drug war is raging on the other side of the river, people are snatched off the streets for ransom and illegal aliens trudge through the chaparral in droves? Pamela Anderson, the TV star and celebrity activist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), is not expected to grace this rough-and-tumble corner of the world with her presence any time soon, so Mauro Morales has carved up a little market niche on the margins of the law and is determined to keep it. He is in the business of raising gamecocks and sees nothing wrong with it. "Well, it's not really me. My son is in charge of that," he explains with a coy smile. "But everybody does it here -- the lawyers, the police. I think even the judge is in on this, too, but I'm not quite sure." Under pressure from animal rights groups, cockfighting is banned everywhere in the United States except Louisiana and New Mexico. But go to any part of the heavily Hispanic border region and you will see that cultural traditions going back centuries just don't die by government edict....
The Day Two Great Horses Foreshadowed the Civil War Now for a real horse race. More than 50 years before the first Kentucky Derby, and more than a century before Seabiscuit and War Admiral dueled at Pimlico, the eyes of the nation turned to a race between the two best horses in the land. On May 27, 1823, Eclipse, the undefeated pride of the North, faced a rising star from the South, Sir Henry. It was North versus South, a preview of increasingly bitter sectional rivalry and, ultimately, the Civil War. On race day 60,000 spectators, a third of them having made the long journey from the South, packed the grounds and the stands of the Union Course. The stock exchange closed. Congress shut down. Andrew Jackson took time off from his presidential campaign to attend a race that was more than a race. At the time, horses raced in heats, with the first to win two heats declared the winner. The distances were inconceivable by modern standards. Eclipse and Sir Henry would race four miles, rest for a half-hour and go right back to the racing oval for a second race, and then a third if necessary. It was. Eclipse and Sir Henry put on dazzling displays of courage and endurance, each besting the other by the narrowest of margins in the first two heats....