Group says giant worm must be protected
It's 3 feet long, pinkish in color, smells like a lily and must be saved from extinction, conservationists said Thursday in asking the federal government to protect the Giant Palouse Earthworm under the Endangered Species Act. Long thought extinct, the worm was rediscovered in the past year to occupy tiny swatches of the heavily farmed Palouse region along the Washington-Idaho border. "This worm is the stuff that legends and fairy tales are made of," worm supporter Steve Paulson declared. "What kid wouldn't want to play with a 3 foot-long, lily smelling, soft pink worm that spits?" The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not yet seen the petition regarding Driloleirus americanus, agency spokesman Tom Buckley said in Spokane. The earthworm is native to the deep soils of the Palouse, which were built up by millions of years of volcanic ash and are some of the richest farmland on Earth. Little is known about the giant worms: how many there are, where they live, how they behave, or why they are so scarce. The worm was first found in 1897, and the species has always been elusive. It can burrow down to 15 feet deep. There have been only three reported sightings since 1987. The most recent was on May 27, 2005, when a graduate student from the University of Idaho, Yaniria Sanchez-de Leon, unearthed one specimen. The Giant Palouse Earthworm is described as the largest and longest-lived earthworm on this continent. It reportedly gives off a peculiar flowery smell when handled, and can spit at attackers, Paulson said....
Friday, September 08, 2006
NEWS ROUNDUP
Blaze Devastates Wilderness Area Prized for Beauty The Boulder Valley, which bumps up against the wilderness north of Yellowstone National Park, is a quiet corner with an unusual mix of residents. They include celebrities, the merely wealthy, ranchers and others drawn to a place of quiet beauty. But nature has gone from serene to tempestuous of late. A fire that was detected on Aug. 22, started by lightning at Derby Mountain, has burned more than 185,000 acres. In the last two days, the blaze has turned this valley where “The Horse Whisperer” was filmed, into a raging caldron with flames sweeping through huge stands of trees and thick banks of smoke turning daytime into twilight and the sun into a glowing red ball. Montana is in an extended drought, fire officials say, and it is as dry as when fires swept through Yellowstone in 1988. The state is also battling a shortage of fire crews and equipment because so many fires are burning across the West. “We’re going as quick as we can, but people are fatigued,” said Wally Bennett, the firefighting director....
Rancher laments backfire that likely killed cattle After five or six days and nights of building defenses, plowing roads and fighting the Derby Mountain fire, rancher Joan Langford thought Wednesday that things were looking pretty good. But at about 1 p.m., firefighters started a backfire on a neighboring property that burned across to her land on Upper Deer Creek, trapping a good chunk of the family cattle herd, she said in a tearful call to The Billings Gazette. The exhausted and frustrated landowner said she was given no warning that the backfire would be set. About an hour later, she said, a firefighter stopped to warn the Langfords that they were going to start another backfire that will probably burn the rest of their 1,500 acres of grazing land 13 miles southeast of Big Timber. "He apologized and said he forgot the cattle were down there," she said, choking with emotion. "It's our livelihood, and they're kind of our pets. We had some real nice cows." She estimated that 180 head were in the path of the backfire. "If they had warned us, we could have saved at least some of them instead of them being burned alive," she said....
Upper Colorado River flows dwindling High water levels in Dillon and Green Mountain reservoirs helped sustain the booming local summer recreation industry this summer, but there is a downside for Grand County, just to the north, where Colorado River flows have dropped down to levels not seen since at least the drought summer of 2002. Between Granby and Kremmling, some gauges are measuring flows as low as 20 cubic feet per second, leading Trout Unlimited (TU) to raise an alarm. The cold water fisheries conservation group is concerned that the low flows could harm trout populations in the prolific fishery, and claims that the state is not trying to meet its obligation to maintain minimum stream flows. "I didn't realize this was so dire," said Mely Whiting, attorney for TU's Western Water Project. "We're getting calls from ranchers who are also TU members. They're saying that if they take their entire allotment, the river will be completely dried up," Whiting said. The only thing sustaining fish populations at this point is voluntary cooperation from some of the large ranch owners in the area, Whiting explained....
Rare Condors Being Poisoned by Bullets, Study Confirms Hunters in California may be unintentionally killing two birds with one bullet. Lead from shotgun pellets and other ammunition is poisoning many of the rare vultures as they scavenge abandoned carcasses and gut piles, a new study confirms. The poisonings are threatening efforts to reestablish wild populations of the scavenger, which nearly died out 20 years ago because of dwindling food supplies and poison traps left by ranchers. The new research compares the types of lead found in condors' blood with the lead from ammunition and from dead wild animals not killed by hunters. The results, which were published online last week by the journal Environmental Science and Technology, show a match between the lead in acutely poisoned birds and the lead in hunters' bullets....
Nobody's Horses: The Dramatic Rescue of the Wild Herd of White Sands, by Don Hoglund Nonfiction. By Don Hoglund. Free Press, 251 pages, $25. Grade: A- Book in a nutshell: Former Colorado resident, vet and avowed horse lover Hoglund has written an impassioned ode to the wild horse, which our overcultivated society has forgotten still roam patches of the old frontier. Here, the author narrates how he was hired by the federal government to remove an 1,800-strong herd of horses living in some of the most inhospitable real estate America has to offer, the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Somehow the horses - descended from the rides of ranchers and Wild West outlaws - managed to scratch out an existence, their migration patterns built around paltry watering holes and rough foliage. A die-out of several dozen horses around a dried-up watering hole got Hoglund involved with the project....
Southern Colorado county leaders discuss expansion of Pinon Canyon Successful resistance to the proposed expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site isn't likely, county commissioners from the Southern Colorado region were told last week in Walsenburg. "My perspective is that it will be developed," Las Animas County Commissioner Chairman Robert Valdez told the gathering. "I don’t think we stand a chance against the Department of Defense. The expansion will come." Valdez expressed concerns that, if counties resist, federal payment in lieu of taxes funds will disappear. PILT funds already have gotten smaller in recent years. Commissioner Jim Montoya disagreed. "How can you put a price on someone’s livelihood?" he asked. "I don’t think anything positive can come from this. There is nothing beneficial in this for Las Animas County." Valdez said he hopes DOD will use local contractors and suppliers for the project, bringing back, at least in small part, some of the revenue that will be lost. That’s an argument Montoya isn’t buying. "They didn’t bring us anything last time," he said. Montoya said he fears DOD will contract with companies in Colorado Springs as they have in the past. The far-reaching economic effects of the possible expansion, Montoya said, has already affected the way his constituents live. "Nobody is fixing up their homes or replacing cattle. Everybody is living their lives on hold right now," he said....
Former Midland City manager develops strategy for enhanced water collection Last month, McGregor presented a plan to his board that would introduce a new technology to the LEUWD that could dramatically impact water levels in a county that leads the state in oil, cotton and peanut production and frankly can use all the water it can get. In our conversation, McGregor mentioned the new technology almost as an afterthought. It is called a gravel-packed recharge trench and you can't find one like it anywhere in this part of the state. The trenches, 12-15 feet wide by 40-50 feet long give or take -- about the size of a modest front yard -- accelerate the speed at which rainfall makes its way from the surface to the acquifer below, which, in Gaines County's case is the Ogallala. It can take up to 20 years for rainwater to seep through the topsoil and through as much as 40 feet of rock and clay down to the top of an aquifer's water table. A development such as the recharge trench would, with Mother Nature's help, literally shave years and years off the process, refilling dwindling aquifers in relative lightning speed. "The quicker we get the water down the less we lose to evaporation," McGregor said. In the triple-digit heat of West Texas summers, water on the ground can evaporate at a rate of 5-6 inches a day....
Grazing lawsuit tossed A judge has rejected a lawsuit by three environmental groups that claimed a U.S. Forest Service plan allowing grazing in Antelope Basin south of Ennis was harmful to sage grouse. The Native Ecosystems Council, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Wildwest Institute used research by Jack Connelly, a biologist and expert on sage grouse, to support their claims. In making his decision, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy used Connelly’s research against the groups. The fact that Connelly endorsed the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest’s plan to manage the area showed it offered the birds sufficient protection, Molloy said. ‘‘They describe Connelly’s work as the ’best science currently available,’’’ he said in court documents. ‘‘Native Ecosystems relies extensively on Connelly’s work. And Connelly explicitly endorsed the Forest Service’s choice of alternative B.’’ The case was filed against Abigail Kimbell, regional forester out of Missoula, in June 2004. The environmental groups challenged a decision by Madison District Ranger Mark Petroni on an alternative he chose to allow continued grazing on 10 allotments spread over 48,000 acres in the Antelope Basin, located on the south end of the Gravelly mountains near the Idaho border....
Redmond smokejumper honored as hero Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth will present a heroism award next week to Ron Rucker, a Redmond Air Center smokejumper squad leader who risked his life to save another smokejumper and a pilot caught in a plane's wreckage last year. Rucker was serving as an air tactical group supervisor on a twin-engine plane used to direct firefighting resources on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest when it crashed on takeoff on July 21, 2005, at North Las Vegas Airport. Rucker dragged Marge Kuehn-Tabor, a Grangeville Air Center smokejumper squad leader, out of the wreckage minutes after impact. Kuehn-Tabor was training under Rucker at the time, and suffered compressed vertebrae and cracks on both sides of her pelvis....
Protecting lynx blocks backcountry With Keystone’s snowcat skiing operation set to expand into the upper reaches of Jones Gulch, the resort and the Forest Service want to restrict skier traffic into the drainage from other parts of the resort. As a result, Keystone has revamped its trail map for the front side of Dercum Mountain. The dense forest just east of the River Run Gondola and trails like Spring Dipper and Santa Fe is now identified as a “wildlife study area,” and marked as closed. “Keystone has agreed to work with us and look at what wildlife use is in that area,” said Dillon District Ranger Rick Newton. A series of letters and reports from state and federal wildlife agencies make it clear the area is an important route for lynx....
Interior dumps N-waste plan In a move that may mean the death of a plan to store thousands of tons of nuclear waste about an hour's drive from Salt Lake City, the U.S. Interior Department on Thursday rejected the lease to build the facility. "We just wanted to put a spike right through the heart of this project and this does it," Sen. Orrin Hatch said Thursday after being notified of the department's action. In a pair of decisions, spanning 47 pages, two agencies in the department rejected a lease Private Fuel Storage signed with the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes to store 44,000 tons of spent nuclear rods on 100 acres of reservation land. PFS is a group of companies that operate nuclear reactors where waste has been piling up for a half-century. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) found it could not approve a rail line to the reservation because it would have to cross a newly created wilderness area. A plan to transfer the waste onto tractor-trailers and truck the waste to the reservation was also rejected because it would significantly increase traffic along the two-lane road and because workers transferring the casks would be exposed to radiation....
Judge halts petroleum lease sales Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne expressed confidence in an upcoming oil lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska when he visited the North Slope last week. "We're set to go forward," Kempthorne said after taking a helicopter ride over a section of the vast reserve. But that sale will likely have to wait. A judge on Thursday temporarily halted lease sales of more than 1 million acres in the NPR-A that environmentalists say are essential feeding and breeding grounds for caribou and migratory birds. Nearly 13 million acres of the reserve in northern Alaska are available for lease sale or have been sold to oil companies, most notably ConocoPhillips. The company hopes to augment waning crude stocks in the Prudhoe Bay fields east of the NPR-A. Environmentalists filed the lawsuit against the Department of the Interior, the state of Alaska and oil companies in hopes of cordoning off about 600,000 acres of the 23-million acre reserve from more exploratory drilling. The government had planned to open bids on Sept. 27 for about 1.7 million acres, which encompass the area targeted by environmentalists....
Roan Plateau opened to natural gas drilling Federal land managers opened the door to drilling in one of Colorado's richest natural gas reserves Thursday, unveiling a compromise proposal that endeavors to reap the mineral riches under the Western Slope's Roan Plateau while protecting its wildlife and environment. The long-awaited proposal caps years of contentious debate among industry, green groups and numerous public agencies on how to go about extracting natural gas from underneath 115 square miles of federal land within the ecologically diverse plateau region north of Interstate 70, bookended by the small towns of Rifle and Parachute. The proposed "resource management plan," released by Bureau of Land Management and Colorado officials, comes with an array of conditions designed to limit the effect of drilling on wildlife and streams - even taking into consideration the views for drivers along I-70. A BLM spokesman described the proposal as "one of the most restrictive BLM has written to date." Even so, environmentalists and some politicians, including U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., expressed disappointment and anger that the plan will open up the top of the 9,000-foot plateau region to drilling....
Drillers decry Roan rules A long-awaited federal decision that would open the Roan Plateau to natural gas drilling includes compromises that make the land "much less economically attractive," an industry group said Thursday. The Bureau of Land Management's plan to open up the Western Slope site includes measures that would prolong the effective drilling period for decades, according to the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. And that timing would reduce the financial incentives for investing in the gas-rich area near Rifle. "It would make sense to shorten the time frame for drilling, not drag it out," said Greg Schnacke, executive vice president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. Schnacke said the industry generally supports environmental protections in the compromise plan. But he said restrictions on how drilling should be conducted reduce "the return on investment in lease bonuses, due to the time value of money." While drilling activity has soared in Garfield County, interest in the scenic Roan Plateau remains especially keen because of estimates the area could produce enough natural gas to heat many of the state's homes for decades....
Center's goal is to find homes for horses and burros City slickers have only to drive 45 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City to find themselves transported back in time. Back to the Old West. Back to when a man's handshake and his word were his bond. Back to when a man's horse was his partner. Welcome to the Salt Lake Wild Horse and Burro Center. Located up Butterfield Canyon, in Salt Lake County's far southwest corner, the Bureau of Land Management adoption facility is one of the largest of its kind in Utah. Its goal is to find suitable and loving homes for the majestic wild horses and hearty burros plucked off the open ranges in Utah's deserts and high country. Perched atop the west bench overlooking the valley, the sprawling 70-acre ranch houses as many as a combined 600 horses and burros at any given time....
State secretary: BLM ignored state recommendations of drilling on Otero Mesa A state department secretary is criticizing the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for opening oil and gas drilling on parts of the Otero Mesa. Joanna Prukop, the secretary of the state’s Energy, Mineral and Natural Resources Department, said Wednesday in a teleconference that the BLM’s plan is vague and does not adequately address the impact of drilling on natural resources and wildlife on the mesa. The state’s plan requests that 640,000 acres of the mesa’s 2 million acres be set aside as a natural conservation area. The BLM says its plan protects about 35,000 acres of Aplomado falcon habitat, more than 88,000 acres of wildlife and special status species habitat and has additional tight restrictions on development....
Report says BLM lax on wilderness protection The state secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources and a group of environmentalists say the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's own records prove the agency can't protect Otero Mesa grasslands and its wildlife under a controversial plan to allow oil and gas drilling there. Environmental groups Wednesday issued a report, "Hollow Promises from the Land of Enchantment," saying a comprehensive review of BLM's process for leasing oil and gas permits shows a consistent failure to protect wildlife and mitigate damage from drilling operations. Santa Fe-based Forest Guardians, The Wilderness Society in Colorado and the Southwest Environmental Center published the report. "BLM can't be trusted to protect special places like Otero Mesa," said Nicole Rosmarino, the conservation director for Forest Guardians. Go here (pdf) to view the report.
Is White House influencing Utah BLM? A New York congressman wants to know if the White House has been influencing the Utah staff of the Bureau of Land Management concerning oil and gas development. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., commented Wednesday on an investigation launched by the Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General. In early August, Hinchey called for the probe, following publication of an e-mail by Washington lobbyist Robert K. Weidner. Weidner represents rural counties, mostly in Utah, in dealings with the federal government. His e-mail said that working with the new state BLM director, Henri Bisson, to "fix" the agency's resource management plans was an opportunity that may never come again. The memo urged counties to "strike while the iron is hot" in finalizing the plans and noted what he said was Bisson's "desire to favorably resolve controversial public land issues." On Aug. 9 Hinchey wrote to the Inspector General's Office asking for an investigation. He expressed concern about "recent actions that appear to have compromised the integrity of the BLM's resource-management planning process" and eroded protection of federal land, including Bisson's attendance at a July 18 oil and gas summit hosted by Uintah County. Since then, Bisson has been replaced by Selma Sierra. BLM's deputy director Jim Hughes said the controversy had nothing to do with the timing of that personnel change announced on Aug. 20....
New York Times blasts Bennett, Matheson land-use bill Environmentalists who have been battling the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act acquired a national ally on Monday: The New York Times. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah. It would sell up to 24,300 acres of federal land and designate more than 200,000 acres as wilderness, as well as set aside 165 miles of the Virgin River under wild and scenic river status. In an editorial Monday titled "True Wilderness, and False," the Times roasted the proposal, branding it "a raid on national resources aimed at helping private developers." The opinion piece began by describing newly designated wilderness areas, including the Cedar Mountain Wilderness in Utah. Although the newspaper did not mention the fact, the main impetus behind the Cedar Mountain designation was not to protect nature but to block a railroad spur that Private Fuel Storage wanted for its proposed nuclear storage facility in Skull Valley. "This is not to say that all wilderness bills are free of low motives and commercial intent," the Times wrote, and "one particularly distasteful example" is the bill introduced by Bennett and Matheson. "It would sell off 40 square miles of federal land to private developers in Washington County, the fifth-fastest- growing county in the country and already something of a monument to suburban sprawl and strip development," the newspaper said. About half the area to be designated wilderness is already protected, the newspaper added. Some of the proceeds from the sale would go not to local conservation projects but off-road vehicle trails....
Dirty Water in Colorado In Colorado, water never ceases to stop causing problems, usually over allocation or quality. The big issue regarding allocation lately is between agricultural users and thirsty cities. A couple new stories show the water-quality issue taking on some new characteristics. In Denver, reports the Denver Post, a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado confirms that wastewater released in the river by sewage treatment plants in Boulder and Denver are to blame for deformities in the sexual organs of sucker fish and is causing gender complications. Other studies have found similar problems in England and in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The study brings into question the dangers of what people dump into sewers, and how much the cleaning supplies and medicines we use and consume affect other species, and, possibly, other people. Citizens in Grand Junction, reports the Grand Junction Sentinel, have decided they don’t want to know. The city council yesterday passed a comprehensive watershed ordinance aimed at protecting the city's upstream drinking water from the potential effects of energy development, much to the cheering of residents....
The Magnificent 7 Entertained Record Crowds at the 2006 Western States Horse Expo A world-class competition that demonstrates the traditions of the working cowboy, the Magnificent 7 entertained record crowds at the 2006 Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, California in June. The nation’s top stock horse and rider teams showed their skills, athletic prowess and versatility in four events: herd work, reined work, steer stopping and cow work down the fence. Overall winner with a payout of $12, 432 was Bob Avila on Light N Fine, owned by Rhodes River Ranch. Avila also took second place on Brother White. Avila was the first Magnificent 7 competitor to ever sweep the first and second places at this event. Avila is the only horseman to win both the National Reining Horse Association and the National Reined Cow Horse Association open futurities. He was also awarded AQHA’s Professional Horseman of the Year, in addition to the title of NRCHA World’s Greatest Horseman in 2000. Based on the historical 1972 event called the Word’s Championship All-Around Stock Horse Contest, the Magnificent 7 is a revival of the first one-man, one-horse competition created by Pro Rodeo Hall of Famers, Cotton Rosser and Benny Binion. The idea became reality over drinks at Benny Binion’s notorious Horseshoe Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the two men started talking about putting together a competition showcasing the horses that many a rancher talked about --- the horse that ranchers loved to ride --- the horse that could rope, cut, rein, and run a cow down the fence....
Competitive sheepdog trials to be held in Meeker this weekend The Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship Trials is more than just dogs herding sheep. The trials combine dog-handling demos, a nationwide art contest, regional food, live music and more for five days of western Colorado entertainment. The Meeker Classic has its fun side, but it can also be serious business for sheepdogs and their owners who come from all over the nation to compete. The event — which takes place annually in September on the first Wednesday through Sunday after Labor Day — offers a purse totaling $20,000. To support the purse, as well as offset costs of the event’s operations, companies and individuals from throughout the Western Slope each sponsor one of the 120 dogs in the preliminary rounds at $100 per dog. Activities at the trials include a daily crafts fair, food booths, weekend pancake breakfasts and a Sunday noon lamb barbecue. Entertainment features dog exhibitions and bagpipe music....
Cattle drives, cowboy way just part of rancher's life Rob Beard seems at home driving his pickup on a dirt path, looking out for his more than 800 head of cattle. Beard - a 64-year-old with piercing blue eyes, a dirty white straw hat, plaid shirt, jeans and mud on his work boots - is a professor of the land who can easily explain the nuances of a cow's digestive system. He's happiest when he is on his horse, Mike, galloping across his 117,000-acre Double U Ranch in Hudspeth County. "One thing about being out here is there is a rhythm to the country," he said. "When you are out here, it is natural. I love the wind, I love the rain, I love the clouds. I love everything about nature." Ranchers and the cowboy lifestyle will be the main focus of Saturday's ninth annual cattle drive starting at Bowen Ranch. The cattle drive kicks off the 77th annual Southwestern International PRCA Rodeo which will be Sept. 20-24 at Cohen Stadium....
Cracker Cowhunters to hit the trail again The Florida Agricultural Museum will present the "Great Florida Cattle Drive of Ought 6" Dec. 5-9. Registration is now under way for the event, which will begin just south of Kissimmee and end at the new Silver Spurs Arena in Kenansville. In 1995 -- to celebrate 150 years of Florida statehood -- a group of 600 cattlemen, historians, horse lovers and hearty adventurers drove 1,000 head of native Cracker cattle across the state. The group also included wagon drivers, walkers, artists, and local, state and national media. Over the last four centuries, cattle production has been one of Florida's most influential industries. In the 1995 Cattle Drive, participants used the sesquicentennial celebration to educate this state's citizens and people around the globe to the fact that the first American cowboys were Floridians -- the cattle business in the United States began right here in Florida. To salute the importance of Florida's "cow culture," organizers will once again be driving cattle, riding the trail, sleeping on the ground and living the life of our ancestors for a few days. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has provided about 400 head of cattle, and every participant who wishes to will be able to spend some time as a "cowhunter" helping to drive the cattle. Camps will be primitive and dress should be late-1800s....
It’s The Pitts: For Better Or For Worse Well, a day arrived I thought I’d never live to see: the day I married my sister. No, no! Before you start thinking even less of me than you already do, I must hasten to add that I married my sister in a wedding ceremony. I can see I’m only digging myself in deeper so let me explain before you write me off as an incest-prone pervert. My sister called two weeks before her marriage and was upset because her preacher had been deported! She wanted to know if I could perform the ceremony. Now, I have presided over numerous religious events in my life such as gopher funerals and a bingo game but I have never married anyone, other than my wife, and I assure you that she is not my sister. I told my sis that if she could get me ordained that I would marry her. In a ceremony, that is. (Normally I insist on several counseling sessions with couples before I marry them but in my sister’s case I waived the rule.) Shortly thereafter I found myself online with the Rose Ministries of Las Vegas, Nevada. (Where else?) I had the choice between ordination packages ranging from $89 to a basic package costing $29. Those who know me will not be surprised to learn that I purchased the more inexpensive version. (Actually I made my sister pay for it!) The problem with the cheaper package was that it didn’t come with any instructions as to how to actually perform a wedding ceremony....
Blaze Devastates Wilderness Area Prized for Beauty The Boulder Valley, which bumps up against the wilderness north of Yellowstone National Park, is a quiet corner with an unusual mix of residents. They include celebrities, the merely wealthy, ranchers and others drawn to a place of quiet beauty. But nature has gone from serene to tempestuous of late. A fire that was detected on Aug. 22, started by lightning at Derby Mountain, has burned more than 185,000 acres. In the last two days, the blaze has turned this valley where “The Horse Whisperer” was filmed, into a raging caldron with flames sweeping through huge stands of trees and thick banks of smoke turning daytime into twilight and the sun into a glowing red ball. Montana is in an extended drought, fire officials say, and it is as dry as when fires swept through Yellowstone in 1988. The state is also battling a shortage of fire crews and equipment because so many fires are burning across the West. “We’re going as quick as we can, but people are fatigued,” said Wally Bennett, the firefighting director....
Rancher laments backfire that likely killed cattle After five or six days and nights of building defenses, plowing roads and fighting the Derby Mountain fire, rancher Joan Langford thought Wednesday that things were looking pretty good. But at about 1 p.m., firefighters started a backfire on a neighboring property that burned across to her land on Upper Deer Creek, trapping a good chunk of the family cattle herd, she said in a tearful call to The Billings Gazette. The exhausted and frustrated landowner said she was given no warning that the backfire would be set. About an hour later, she said, a firefighter stopped to warn the Langfords that they were going to start another backfire that will probably burn the rest of their 1,500 acres of grazing land 13 miles southeast of Big Timber. "He apologized and said he forgot the cattle were down there," she said, choking with emotion. "It's our livelihood, and they're kind of our pets. We had some real nice cows." She estimated that 180 head were in the path of the backfire. "If they had warned us, we could have saved at least some of them instead of them being burned alive," she said....
Upper Colorado River flows dwindling High water levels in Dillon and Green Mountain reservoirs helped sustain the booming local summer recreation industry this summer, but there is a downside for Grand County, just to the north, where Colorado River flows have dropped down to levels not seen since at least the drought summer of 2002. Between Granby and Kremmling, some gauges are measuring flows as low as 20 cubic feet per second, leading Trout Unlimited (TU) to raise an alarm. The cold water fisheries conservation group is concerned that the low flows could harm trout populations in the prolific fishery, and claims that the state is not trying to meet its obligation to maintain minimum stream flows. "I didn't realize this was so dire," said Mely Whiting, attorney for TU's Western Water Project. "We're getting calls from ranchers who are also TU members. They're saying that if they take their entire allotment, the river will be completely dried up," Whiting said. The only thing sustaining fish populations at this point is voluntary cooperation from some of the large ranch owners in the area, Whiting explained....
Rare Condors Being Poisoned by Bullets, Study Confirms Hunters in California may be unintentionally killing two birds with one bullet. Lead from shotgun pellets and other ammunition is poisoning many of the rare vultures as they scavenge abandoned carcasses and gut piles, a new study confirms. The poisonings are threatening efforts to reestablish wild populations of the scavenger, which nearly died out 20 years ago because of dwindling food supplies and poison traps left by ranchers. The new research compares the types of lead found in condors' blood with the lead from ammunition and from dead wild animals not killed by hunters. The results, which were published online last week by the journal Environmental Science and Technology, show a match between the lead in acutely poisoned birds and the lead in hunters' bullets....
Nobody's Horses: The Dramatic Rescue of the Wild Herd of White Sands, by Don Hoglund Nonfiction. By Don Hoglund. Free Press, 251 pages, $25. Grade: A- Book in a nutshell: Former Colorado resident, vet and avowed horse lover Hoglund has written an impassioned ode to the wild horse, which our overcultivated society has forgotten still roam patches of the old frontier. Here, the author narrates how he was hired by the federal government to remove an 1,800-strong herd of horses living in some of the most inhospitable real estate America has to offer, the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Somehow the horses - descended from the rides of ranchers and Wild West outlaws - managed to scratch out an existence, their migration patterns built around paltry watering holes and rough foliage. A die-out of several dozen horses around a dried-up watering hole got Hoglund involved with the project....
Southern Colorado county leaders discuss expansion of Pinon Canyon Successful resistance to the proposed expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site isn't likely, county commissioners from the Southern Colorado region were told last week in Walsenburg. "My perspective is that it will be developed," Las Animas County Commissioner Chairman Robert Valdez told the gathering. "I don’t think we stand a chance against the Department of Defense. The expansion will come." Valdez expressed concerns that, if counties resist, federal payment in lieu of taxes funds will disappear. PILT funds already have gotten smaller in recent years. Commissioner Jim Montoya disagreed. "How can you put a price on someone’s livelihood?" he asked. "I don’t think anything positive can come from this. There is nothing beneficial in this for Las Animas County." Valdez said he hopes DOD will use local contractors and suppliers for the project, bringing back, at least in small part, some of the revenue that will be lost. That’s an argument Montoya isn’t buying. "They didn’t bring us anything last time," he said. Montoya said he fears DOD will contract with companies in Colorado Springs as they have in the past. The far-reaching economic effects of the possible expansion, Montoya said, has already affected the way his constituents live. "Nobody is fixing up their homes or replacing cattle. Everybody is living their lives on hold right now," he said....
Former Midland City manager develops strategy for enhanced water collection Last month, McGregor presented a plan to his board that would introduce a new technology to the LEUWD that could dramatically impact water levels in a county that leads the state in oil, cotton and peanut production and frankly can use all the water it can get. In our conversation, McGregor mentioned the new technology almost as an afterthought. It is called a gravel-packed recharge trench and you can't find one like it anywhere in this part of the state. The trenches, 12-15 feet wide by 40-50 feet long give or take -- about the size of a modest front yard -- accelerate the speed at which rainfall makes its way from the surface to the acquifer below, which, in Gaines County's case is the Ogallala. It can take up to 20 years for rainwater to seep through the topsoil and through as much as 40 feet of rock and clay down to the top of an aquifer's water table. A development such as the recharge trench would, with Mother Nature's help, literally shave years and years off the process, refilling dwindling aquifers in relative lightning speed. "The quicker we get the water down the less we lose to evaporation," McGregor said. In the triple-digit heat of West Texas summers, water on the ground can evaporate at a rate of 5-6 inches a day....
Grazing lawsuit tossed A judge has rejected a lawsuit by three environmental groups that claimed a U.S. Forest Service plan allowing grazing in Antelope Basin south of Ennis was harmful to sage grouse. The Native Ecosystems Council, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Wildwest Institute used research by Jack Connelly, a biologist and expert on sage grouse, to support their claims. In making his decision, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy used Connelly’s research against the groups. The fact that Connelly endorsed the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest’s plan to manage the area showed it offered the birds sufficient protection, Molloy said. ‘‘They describe Connelly’s work as the ’best science currently available,’’’ he said in court documents. ‘‘Native Ecosystems relies extensively on Connelly’s work. And Connelly explicitly endorsed the Forest Service’s choice of alternative B.’’ The case was filed against Abigail Kimbell, regional forester out of Missoula, in June 2004. The environmental groups challenged a decision by Madison District Ranger Mark Petroni on an alternative he chose to allow continued grazing on 10 allotments spread over 48,000 acres in the Antelope Basin, located on the south end of the Gravelly mountains near the Idaho border....
Redmond smokejumper honored as hero Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth will present a heroism award next week to Ron Rucker, a Redmond Air Center smokejumper squad leader who risked his life to save another smokejumper and a pilot caught in a plane's wreckage last year. Rucker was serving as an air tactical group supervisor on a twin-engine plane used to direct firefighting resources on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest when it crashed on takeoff on July 21, 2005, at North Las Vegas Airport. Rucker dragged Marge Kuehn-Tabor, a Grangeville Air Center smokejumper squad leader, out of the wreckage minutes after impact. Kuehn-Tabor was training under Rucker at the time, and suffered compressed vertebrae and cracks on both sides of her pelvis....
Protecting lynx blocks backcountry With Keystone’s snowcat skiing operation set to expand into the upper reaches of Jones Gulch, the resort and the Forest Service want to restrict skier traffic into the drainage from other parts of the resort. As a result, Keystone has revamped its trail map for the front side of Dercum Mountain. The dense forest just east of the River Run Gondola and trails like Spring Dipper and Santa Fe is now identified as a “wildlife study area,” and marked as closed. “Keystone has agreed to work with us and look at what wildlife use is in that area,” said Dillon District Ranger Rick Newton. A series of letters and reports from state and federal wildlife agencies make it clear the area is an important route for lynx....
Interior dumps N-waste plan In a move that may mean the death of a plan to store thousands of tons of nuclear waste about an hour's drive from Salt Lake City, the U.S. Interior Department on Thursday rejected the lease to build the facility. "We just wanted to put a spike right through the heart of this project and this does it," Sen. Orrin Hatch said Thursday after being notified of the department's action. In a pair of decisions, spanning 47 pages, two agencies in the department rejected a lease Private Fuel Storage signed with the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes to store 44,000 tons of spent nuclear rods on 100 acres of reservation land. PFS is a group of companies that operate nuclear reactors where waste has been piling up for a half-century. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) found it could not approve a rail line to the reservation because it would have to cross a newly created wilderness area. A plan to transfer the waste onto tractor-trailers and truck the waste to the reservation was also rejected because it would significantly increase traffic along the two-lane road and because workers transferring the casks would be exposed to radiation....
Judge halts petroleum lease sales Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne expressed confidence in an upcoming oil lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska when he visited the North Slope last week. "We're set to go forward," Kempthorne said after taking a helicopter ride over a section of the vast reserve. But that sale will likely have to wait. A judge on Thursday temporarily halted lease sales of more than 1 million acres in the NPR-A that environmentalists say are essential feeding and breeding grounds for caribou and migratory birds. Nearly 13 million acres of the reserve in northern Alaska are available for lease sale or have been sold to oil companies, most notably ConocoPhillips. The company hopes to augment waning crude stocks in the Prudhoe Bay fields east of the NPR-A. Environmentalists filed the lawsuit against the Department of the Interior, the state of Alaska and oil companies in hopes of cordoning off about 600,000 acres of the 23-million acre reserve from more exploratory drilling. The government had planned to open bids on Sept. 27 for about 1.7 million acres, which encompass the area targeted by environmentalists....
Roan Plateau opened to natural gas drilling Federal land managers opened the door to drilling in one of Colorado's richest natural gas reserves Thursday, unveiling a compromise proposal that endeavors to reap the mineral riches under the Western Slope's Roan Plateau while protecting its wildlife and environment. The long-awaited proposal caps years of contentious debate among industry, green groups and numerous public agencies on how to go about extracting natural gas from underneath 115 square miles of federal land within the ecologically diverse plateau region north of Interstate 70, bookended by the small towns of Rifle and Parachute. The proposed "resource management plan," released by Bureau of Land Management and Colorado officials, comes with an array of conditions designed to limit the effect of drilling on wildlife and streams - even taking into consideration the views for drivers along I-70. A BLM spokesman described the proposal as "one of the most restrictive BLM has written to date." Even so, environmentalists and some politicians, including U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., expressed disappointment and anger that the plan will open up the top of the 9,000-foot plateau region to drilling....
Drillers decry Roan rules A long-awaited federal decision that would open the Roan Plateau to natural gas drilling includes compromises that make the land "much less economically attractive," an industry group said Thursday. The Bureau of Land Management's plan to open up the Western Slope site includes measures that would prolong the effective drilling period for decades, according to the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. And that timing would reduce the financial incentives for investing in the gas-rich area near Rifle. "It would make sense to shorten the time frame for drilling, not drag it out," said Greg Schnacke, executive vice president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. Schnacke said the industry generally supports environmental protections in the compromise plan. But he said restrictions on how drilling should be conducted reduce "the return on investment in lease bonuses, due to the time value of money." While drilling activity has soared in Garfield County, interest in the scenic Roan Plateau remains especially keen because of estimates the area could produce enough natural gas to heat many of the state's homes for decades....
Center's goal is to find homes for horses and burros City slickers have only to drive 45 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City to find themselves transported back in time. Back to the Old West. Back to when a man's handshake and his word were his bond. Back to when a man's horse was his partner. Welcome to the Salt Lake Wild Horse and Burro Center. Located up Butterfield Canyon, in Salt Lake County's far southwest corner, the Bureau of Land Management adoption facility is one of the largest of its kind in Utah. Its goal is to find suitable and loving homes for the majestic wild horses and hearty burros plucked off the open ranges in Utah's deserts and high country. Perched atop the west bench overlooking the valley, the sprawling 70-acre ranch houses as many as a combined 600 horses and burros at any given time....
State secretary: BLM ignored state recommendations of drilling on Otero Mesa A state department secretary is criticizing the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for opening oil and gas drilling on parts of the Otero Mesa. Joanna Prukop, the secretary of the state’s Energy, Mineral and Natural Resources Department, said Wednesday in a teleconference that the BLM’s plan is vague and does not adequately address the impact of drilling on natural resources and wildlife on the mesa. The state’s plan requests that 640,000 acres of the mesa’s 2 million acres be set aside as a natural conservation area. The BLM says its plan protects about 35,000 acres of Aplomado falcon habitat, more than 88,000 acres of wildlife and special status species habitat and has additional tight restrictions on development....
Report says BLM lax on wilderness protection The state secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources and a group of environmentalists say the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's own records prove the agency can't protect Otero Mesa grasslands and its wildlife under a controversial plan to allow oil and gas drilling there. Environmental groups Wednesday issued a report, "Hollow Promises from the Land of Enchantment," saying a comprehensive review of BLM's process for leasing oil and gas permits shows a consistent failure to protect wildlife and mitigate damage from drilling operations. Santa Fe-based Forest Guardians, The Wilderness Society in Colorado and the Southwest Environmental Center published the report. "BLM can't be trusted to protect special places like Otero Mesa," said Nicole Rosmarino, the conservation director for Forest Guardians. Go here (pdf) to view the report.
Is White House influencing Utah BLM? A New York congressman wants to know if the White House has been influencing the Utah staff of the Bureau of Land Management concerning oil and gas development. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., commented Wednesday on an investigation launched by the Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General. In early August, Hinchey called for the probe, following publication of an e-mail by Washington lobbyist Robert K. Weidner. Weidner represents rural counties, mostly in Utah, in dealings with the federal government. His e-mail said that working with the new state BLM director, Henri Bisson, to "fix" the agency's resource management plans was an opportunity that may never come again. The memo urged counties to "strike while the iron is hot" in finalizing the plans and noted what he said was Bisson's "desire to favorably resolve controversial public land issues." On Aug. 9 Hinchey wrote to the Inspector General's Office asking for an investigation. He expressed concern about "recent actions that appear to have compromised the integrity of the BLM's resource-management planning process" and eroded protection of federal land, including Bisson's attendance at a July 18 oil and gas summit hosted by Uintah County. Since then, Bisson has been replaced by Selma Sierra. BLM's deputy director Jim Hughes said the controversy had nothing to do with the timing of that personnel change announced on Aug. 20....
New York Times blasts Bennett, Matheson land-use bill Environmentalists who have been battling the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act acquired a national ally on Monday: The New York Times. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah. It would sell up to 24,300 acres of federal land and designate more than 200,000 acres as wilderness, as well as set aside 165 miles of the Virgin River under wild and scenic river status. In an editorial Monday titled "True Wilderness, and False," the Times roasted the proposal, branding it "a raid on national resources aimed at helping private developers." The opinion piece began by describing newly designated wilderness areas, including the Cedar Mountain Wilderness in Utah. Although the newspaper did not mention the fact, the main impetus behind the Cedar Mountain designation was not to protect nature but to block a railroad spur that Private Fuel Storage wanted for its proposed nuclear storage facility in Skull Valley. "This is not to say that all wilderness bills are free of low motives and commercial intent," the Times wrote, and "one particularly distasteful example" is the bill introduced by Bennett and Matheson. "It would sell off 40 square miles of federal land to private developers in Washington County, the fifth-fastest- growing county in the country and already something of a monument to suburban sprawl and strip development," the newspaper said. About half the area to be designated wilderness is already protected, the newspaper added. Some of the proceeds from the sale would go not to local conservation projects but off-road vehicle trails....
Dirty Water in Colorado In Colorado, water never ceases to stop causing problems, usually over allocation or quality. The big issue regarding allocation lately is between agricultural users and thirsty cities. A couple new stories show the water-quality issue taking on some new characteristics. In Denver, reports the Denver Post, a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado confirms that wastewater released in the river by sewage treatment plants in Boulder and Denver are to blame for deformities in the sexual organs of sucker fish and is causing gender complications. Other studies have found similar problems in England and in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. The study brings into question the dangers of what people dump into sewers, and how much the cleaning supplies and medicines we use and consume affect other species, and, possibly, other people. Citizens in Grand Junction, reports the Grand Junction Sentinel, have decided they don’t want to know. The city council yesterday passed a comprehensive watershed ordinance aimed at protecting the city's upstream drinking water from the potential effects of energy development, much to the cheering of residents....
The Magnificent 7 Entertained Record Crowds at the 2006 Western States Horse Expo A world-class competition that demonstrates the traditions of the working cowboy, the Magnificent 7 entertained record crowds at the 2006 Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, California in June. The nation’s top stock horse and rider teams showed their skills, athletic prowess and versatility in four events: herd work, reined work, steer stopping and cow work down the fence. Overall winner with a payout of $12, 432 was Bob Avila on Light N Fine, owned by Rhodes River Ranch. Avila also took second place on Brother White. Avila was the first Magnificent 7 competitor to ever sweep the first and second places at this event. Avila is the only horseman to win both the National Reining Horse Association and the National Reined Cow Horse Association open futurities. He was also awarded AQHA’s Professional Horseman of the Year, in addition to the title of NRCHA World’s Greatest Horseman in 2000. Based on the historical 1972 event called the Word’s Championship All-Around Stock Horse Contest, the Magnificent 7 is a revival of the first one-man, one-horse competition created by Pro Rodeo Hall of Famers, Cotton Rosser and Benny Binion. The idea became reality over drinks at Benny Binion’s notorious Horseshoe Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the two men started talking about putting together a competition showcasing the horses that many a rancher talked about --- the horse that ranchers loved to ride --- the horse that could rope, cut, rein, and run a cow down the fence....
Competitive sheepdog trials to be held in Meeker this weekend The Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship Trials is more than just dogs herding sheep. The trials combine dog-handling demos, a nationwide art contest, regional food, live music and more for five days of western Colorado entertainment. The Meeker Classic has its fun side, but it can also be serious business for sheepdogs and their owners who come from all over the nation to compete. The event — which takes place annually in September on the first Wednesday through Sunday after Labor Day — offers a purse totaling $20,000. To support the purse, as well as offset costs of the event’s operations, companies and individuals from throughout the Western Slope each sponsor one of the 120 dogs in the preliminary rounds at $100 per dog. Activities at the trials include a daily crafts fair, food booths, weekend pancake breakfasts and a Sunday noon lamb barbecue. Entertainment features dog exhibitions and bagpipe music....
Cattle drives, cowboy way just part of rancher's life Rob Beard seems at home driving his pickup on a dirt path, looking out for his more than 800 head of cattle. Beard - a 64-year-old with piercing blue eyes, a dirty white straw hat, plaid shirt, jeans and mud on his work boots - is a professor of the land who can easily explain the nuances of a cow's digestive system. He's happiest when he is on his horse, Mike, galloping across his 117,000-acre Double U Ranch in Hudspeth County. "One thing about being out here is there is a rhythm to the country," he said. "When you are out here, it is natural. I love the wind, I love the rain, I love the clouds. I love everything about nature." Ranchers and the cowboy lifestyle will be the main focus of Saturday's ninth annual cattle drive starting at Bowen Ranch. The cattle drive kicks off the 77th annual Southwestern International PRCA Rodeo which will be Sept. 20-24 at Cohen Stadium....
Cracker Cowhunters to hit the trail again The Florida Agricultural Museum will present the "Great Florida Cattle Drive of Ought 6" Dec. 5-9. Registration is now under way for the event, which will begin just south of Kissimmee and end at the new Silver Spurs Arena in Kenansville. In 1995 -- to celebrate 150 years of Florida statehood -- a group of 600 cattlemen, historians, horse lovers and hearty adventurers drove 1,000 head of native Cracker cattle across the state. The group also included wagon drivers, walkers, artists, and local, state and national media. Over the last four centuries, cattle production has been one of Florida's most influential industries. In the 1995 Cattle Drive, participants used the sesquicentennial celebration to educate this state's citizens and people around the globe to the fact that the first American cowboys were Floridians -- the cattle business in the United States began right here in Florida. To salute the importance of Florida's "cow culture," organizers will once again be driving cattle, riding the trail, sleeping on the ground and living the life of our ancestors for a few days. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has provided about 400 head of cattle, and every participant who wishes to will be able to spend some time as a "cowhunter" helping to drive the cattle. Camps will be primitive and dress should be late-1800s....
It’s The Pitts: For Better Or For Worse Well, a day arrived I thought I’d never live to see: the day I married my sister. No, no! Before you start thinking even less of me than you already do, I must hasten to add that I married my sister in a wedding ceremony. I can see I’m only digging myself in deeper so let me explain before you write me off as an incest-prone pervert. My sister called two weeks before her marriage and was upset because her preacher had been deported! She wanted to know if I could perform the ceremony. Now, I have presided over numerous religious events in my life such as gopher funerals and a bingo game but I have never married anyone, other than my wife, and I assure you that she is not my sister. I told my sis that if she could get me ordained that I would marry her. In a ceremony, that is. (Normally I insist on several counseling sessions with couples before I marry them but in my sister’s case I waived the rule.) Shortly thereafter I found myself online with the Rose Ministries of Las Vegas, Nevada. (Where else?) I had the choice between ordination packages ranging from $89 to a basic package costing $29. Those who know me will not be surprised to learn that I purchased the more inexpensive version. (Actually I made my sister pay for it!) The problem with the cheaper package was that it didn’t come with any instructions as to how to actually perform a wedding ceremony....
Thursday, September 07, 2006
House Votes to Prohibit the Slaughtering of Horses for Food
The House voted to ban slaughtering horses for meat, a decision that would halt the export of the animals to dinner plates abroad. The chamber voted 263-146 to approve legislation barring anyone from sending horses to American or foreign slaughterhouses that process the animals for human consumption in Europe and Asia. The legislation's supporters said it would shut down a grim trade unworthy of an animal many Americans consider a companion and icon of the American West. ``Horses are part of our identity and heritage,'' said Representative Nick Rahall, a West Virginia Democrat. ``Yet the merchants of slaughter will have us believe that is fine and dandy to slaughter our horses for the sole purpose, the sole purpose, of sending their flesh overseas to support some warped demand among foreign diners for horse meat.'' The proposal's critics, which include the Department of Agriculture, said the slaughterhouses provide an affordable, humane and regulated way of disposing of unwanted horses. The vote sends the measure to the Senate, where lawmakers haven't said whether they will take up the legislation....
The House voted to ban slaughtering horses for meat, a decision that would halt the export of the animals to dinner plates abroad. The chamber voted 263-146 to approve legislation barring anyone from sending horses to American or foreign slaughterhouses that process the animals for human consumption in Europe and Asia. The legislation's supporters said it would shut down a grim trade unworthy of an animal many Americans consider a companion and icon of the American West. ``Horses are part of our identity and heritage,'' said Representative Nick Rahall, a West Virginia Democrat. ``Yet the merchants of slaughter will have us believe that is fine and dandy to slaughter our horses for the sole purpose, the sole purpose, of sending their flesh overseas to support some warped demand among foreign diners for horse meat.'' The proposal's critics, which include the Department of Agriculture, said the slaughterhouses provide an affordable, humane and regulated way of disposing of unwanted horses. The vote sends the measure to the Senate, where lawmakers haven't said whether they will take up the legislation....
Wolf that attacked 6 tests negative for rabies A lone black wolf that attacked six people, including several young children, in a provincial park over the long weekend has tested negative for rabies, the Algoma Health Unit said Wednesday. The remains of the wolf, which has been blamed for several separate attacks Monday at the popular Katherine's Cove beach on Lake Superior, was tested for rabies and other diseases after it was shot by park staff. The wolf had suffered a broken clavicle and tooth when it was shot following the attacks, which may explain its abnormal behaviour, said health unit inspector Bob Frattini. “Wolves work in packs and not individually, and it was probably ostracized,” Mr. Frattini said. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency plans to conduct further testing on the wolf's body to try and find other possible causes for the attacks, which left several families injured and badly shaken....
Farmers vs. the Wolves - Wisconsin The Grey Wolf population continues to grow in Wisconsin. That's good news for the wolves but bad news for farmers where new packs have been forming at the edge of the northern forest and closer to farm areas in Douglas and Bayfield Counties. According to the DNR's Adrian Wydeven, the wolves are killing farm animals. Four farms hit this month alone. That's about the same as last year but last year the DNR had permission to kill problem wolves. This year a federal judge ruled they can't kill any more after an animal rights group claimed it violated the Endangered Species Act. Farmers have to resort to trap and release, flashing lights, noisemakers and other things that will scare off the wolves. Wydeven says it al helps but is not very effective. The Grey Wolf may come off the endangered list in 2007 well before the judge's ruling can be successfully appealed.
Wolf Attacks Trigger DNR Warning for Bear Hunters - Wisconsin During the Bear-Dog Training Season, which was in July and August, 13 of the dogs were killed by wolves. Now DNR wardens are pointing out warning areas, including parts of Sawyer, Rusk, and Taylor counties. "On occasion, bears will enter a rendezvous area where the wolves have pups and frequently, wolves will kill the dogs," said Dave Weitz of the Department of Natural Resources. Wardens say it doesn't seem to make a bit of difference what breed the dog is, and that it's virtually always a bear hunting dog that falls victim to the wolves. A hunter from Durand has seen four dogs lost among his hunting group in a day, and says bear dogs are at risk no matter where they are for the hunt. "Personally, in the next couple years, I think you'll see a human get killed by them," said Corey Delong. "If it was up to me, I'd eliminate the problem by shooting some of them." Right now, a court decision has left Wisconsin wolves in a federally endangered status, so the D.N.R can't control them until they're de-listed, and that's expected to happen late this year or into next....
Wolf kills of hunting dogs up markedly - Wisconsin It's a given that hunting dogs might get hurt in pursuit of a bear. Three hundred pounds of cornered prey is nothing to mess with. But now, Wisconsin's hunt-by-hound tradition is colliding with a recent population growth of another wild animal: wolves. And they are taking a toll. As federally protected pack populations expand in established hunting areas, fatal run-ins between wild wolves and domestic dogs are increasing. In the 1980s, there was one reported wolf attack on a hunting dog. In the '90s, there were 24. This decade, there have been 71. Hunters are getting fed up. "When there was 100 wolves in the state, we didn't have much of a problem with depredation," said David Withers of Bayfield. "Now there's 500 wolves, and they're everywhere, and they're causing problems." This year, the state licensed more than 4,000 people to hunt bears — by baiting or with hounds — during the September to October season. Thirteen wolf attacks have occurred already this year and took place during a two-month summer training period, when dogs can chase bears, but hunters can't shoot....
Farmers vs. the Wolves - Wisconsin The Grey Wolf population continues to grow in Wisconsin. That's good news for the wolves but bad news for farmers where new packs have been forming at the edge of the northern forest and closer to farm areas in Douglas and Bayfield Counties. According to the DNR's Adrian Wydeven, the wolves are killing farm animals. Four farms hit this month alone. That's about the same as last year but last year the DNR had permission to kill problem wolves. This year a federal judge ruled they can't kill any more after an animal rights group claimed it violated the Endangered Species Act. Farmers have to resort to trap and release, flashing lights, noisemakers and other things that will scare off the wolves. Wydeven says it al helps but is not very effective. The Grey Wolf may come off the endangered list in 2007 well before the judge's ruling can be successfully appealed.
Wolf Attacks Trigger DNR Warning for Bear Hunters - Wisconsin During the Bear-Dog Training Season, which was in July and August, 13 of the dogs were killed by wolves. Now DNR wardens are pointing out warning areas, including parts of Sawyer, Rusk, and Taylor counties. "On occasion, bears will enter a rendezvous area where the wolves have pups and frequently, wolves will kill the dogs," said Dave Weitz of the Department of Natural Resources. Wardens say it doesn't seem to make a bit of difference what breed the dog is, and that it's virtually always a bear hunting dog that falls victim to the wolves. A hunter from Durand has seen four dogs lost among his hunting group in a day, and says bear dogs are at risk no matter where they are for the hunt. "Personally, in the next couple years, I think you'll see a human get killed by them," said Corey Delong. "If it was up to me, I'd eliminate the problem by shooting some of them." Right now, a court decision has left Wisconsin wolves in a federally endangered status, so the D.N.R can't control them until they're de-listed, and that's expected to happen late this year or into next....
Wolf kills of hunting dogs up markedly - Wisconsin It's a given that hunting dogs might get hurt in pursuit of a bear. Three hundred pounds of cornered prey is nothing to mess with. But now, Wisconsin's hunt-by-hound tradition is colliding with a recent population growth of another wild animal: wolves. And they are taking a toll. As federally protected pack populations expand in established hunting areas, fatal run-ins between wild wolves and domestic dogs are increasing. In the 1980s, there was one reported wolf attack on a hunting dog. In the '90s, there were 24. This decade, there have been 71. Hunters are getting fed up. "When there was 100 wolves in the state, we didn't have much of a problem with depredation," said David Withers of Bayfield. "Now there's 500 wolves, and they're everywhere, and they're causing problems." This year, the state licensed more than 4,000 people to hunt bears — by baiting or with hounds — during the September to October season. Thirteen wolf attacks have occurred already this year and took place during a two-month summer training period, when dogs can chase bears, but hunters can't shoot....
CASE SUMMARY
OUACHITA WATCH LEAGUE V. JACOBS
11th Circuit
Holding that majority of plaintiffs' claims, that U.S. Forest Service's changes to certain forest plans failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, were not ripe for review is reversed as construction of ripeness doctrine used does not apply in NEPA suits.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/11th/0514461p.pdf
OUACHITA WATCH LEAGUE V. JACOBS
11th Circuit
Holding that majority of plaintiffs' claims, that U.S. Forest Service's changes to certain forest plans failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, were not ripe for review is reversed as construction of ripeness doctrine used does not apply in NEPA suits.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/11th/0514461p.pdf
NEWS ROUNDUP
U.S. Oil Reserves Get a Big Boost An oil discovery by Chevron Corp. has bolstered prospects that petroleum companies will be able to tap giant reserves that lie far beneath the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Oil analysts and company executives said newly released test results from a well 175 miles off the coast of Louisiana indicate that the oil industry will be able to recover well more than 3 billion barrels, and perhaps as much as 15 billion barrels, of oil from a geological area known as the lower tertiary trend, making it the biggest addition to U.S. petroleum reserves in decades. The upper end of the estimate could boost U.S. reserves by 50 percent. "This looks to be the biggest discovery in the United States in a generation, really since the discovery of Prudhoe Bay 38 years ago," said Daniel Yergin, chairman of the consulting firm Cambridge Energy Research Associates Inc. "There's been a lot of anticipation about what's called the Wilcox formation, and this is the validation of the theory and of the technology," he said, using another name for the area of the Gulf. Cambridge Energy forecasts that the deep-water area of the Gulf of Mexico will produce 800,000 barrels of oil a day within seven years and account for 11 percent of U.S. oil production. That would not solve the world's energy problem or eliminate U.S. reliance on oil imports, but it would help stabilize U.S. oil production, which has been declining, and cover some of the world's rising demand for petroleum. Prudhoe Bay, in northern Alaska, produced about 1.5 million barrels a day at its peak....
Environmentalists win round against U.S. Forest Service The federal appeals court in Atlanta ruled Tuesday the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations have a dog in the fight against the U.S. Forest Service concerning policy changes that deal with logging and road building in national forests. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the environmental groups have standing in the suit and that a U.S. district judge must hear their arguments in the 5-year-old case. The Sierra Club had argued that the Forest Service had changed its policies concerning environmental impact surveys after logging in national forests in North Georgia was stopped by the courts in 1999. Before the change in policy, the Forest Service was required to analyze the effect of each logging and road building project on "proposed, endangered, threatened and sensitive species or PETS." After the change, Forest Service officials argued they didn't necessarily have to perform an analysis on each project if they believe they can protect a species without one. They argued they could rely on existing data to make decisions. The suit relates to the Southern Region, an area with 12.6 million acres in 13 states....
Male Bass Across Region Found to Be Bearing Eggs Abnormally developed fish, possessing both male and female characteristics, have been discovered in the Potomac River in the District and in tributaries across the region, federal scientists say -- raising alarms that the river is tainted by pollution that drives hormone systems haywire. The fish, smallmouth and largemouth bass, are naturally males but for some reason are developing immature eggs inside their sex organs. Their discovery at such widely spread sites, including one just upstream from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, seems to show that the Potomac's problem with "intersex" fish extends far beyond the West Virginia stream where they were first found in 2003. The cause of the abnormalities is unknown, but scientists suspect a class of waterborne contaminants that can confuse animals' growth and reproductive systems. These pollutants are poorly understood, however, leaving many observers with questions about what the problems in fish mean for the Potomac and the millions of people who take their tap water from it....
Wolf Attacks Five People If you were confronted by a wolf would you turn and run? The Ministry of Natural Resources says that's actually the worst thing you could do. The Ministry is stressing the importance of animal safety to local residents and research scientist Brent Patterson listed several tips that could get you out of a dangerous situation with a wolf. Patterson says the idea that wolves are more afraid of us then we are of them is not always the case. He says the top things you should do when in close contact with a wolf is make lots of noise and make eye contact. He says people should never turn and run away from a wolf because there is a good chance the animal will chase you. He says wolf attacks are not very common, however all animals are unpredictable. Park officials shot and killed a wolf that attacked five people in a provincial park near Wawa on the holiday weekend. They do not know what prompted the lone wolf to attack. The wolf struck in Katherine's Cove, a popular tourist spot on Lake Superior along the Trans Canada highway. None of the victims were seriously injured, but they were taken to a hospital in Wawa for treatment. The animal's carcass will be examined in Sault Ste. Marie.
When a wolf strikes, it's no picnic Brenda Wright says she and her two children had just eaten their turkey sandwiches and settled onto their beach towels when the horror began. Her son, Casey, 12, noticed a black, doglike animal running across the Northern Ontario beach where the family was enjoying the last day of summer vacation. In a sudden and unrelenting attack, the animal ripped into Casey's buttock, tore his mother's hands and leg, and bloodied his 14-year-old sister's scalp, lunging after the family of six as they fled screaming into Lake Superior. "I was trying to fight him off and he grabbed my finger. I thought he pulled it off. ... Honest to God, it looks like hamburger meat," Wright said Tuesday from her mother's home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Wright's family was not the only one to face the wolf. The attacks by one Canis lupus ended with the animal dead and several people, including a 3-year-old girl, bloodied, torn and terrified. For Jerry and Rachel Talbot, it started at around 4 p.m. The Wawa, Ontario, couple, on their way to a wedding with granddaughters Leah, 3, and Madison, 5, pulled off the highway for a quick swim at a popular day picnic area in Lake Superior Provincial Park. According to park staff, more than a dozen others were enjoying the end of the Labor Day weekend at Katherine's Cove when the Talbot family wandered onto the beach and began to remove their shoes. Jerry Talbot noticed a black animal chasing a girl across the sand. Too slow for the girl, the animal veered off and grabbed a slower, smaller target: Leah....
Montana Firefighters Battling With Bees Firefighters battling a wildfire that has blackened nearly 290 square miles and burned 26 homes faced a new challenge, authorities said Wednesday: bees. The blaze that started with lightning on Aug. 22 has forced hundreds to evacuate. After being grounded by smoke for a day, firefighting helicopters returned to work Wednesday, pouring water on the fire that was 45 percent contained. Bee stings among firefighters have surged to as many as 50 a day, information officer Joan Dickerson said. Some of those stung required medical attention. "We've had a couple of our leaders taken to the hospital," she said, but added that she had no explanation for the surge in stings....
Feds plan pine beetle attack After getting a look at insect-infested forests in the Rockies, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth and other federal officials unveiled a plan Tuesday to make it easier for all levels of government to more quickly attack the bark-beetle epidemic in the West. The plan, which the Bush administration plans to send to Congress this week, would change the way the federal government approves and administers contracts so that logging and other work to fight wildfire threats and tree-killing bugs can be carried out more easily across various government jurisdictions. "If we don't find a way to work better together on these boundaries, we're all going to pay the price in the long run," Bosworth said in a news conference in a state building across the street from the Colorado Capitol. Bosworth referred to a flight he, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey and Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett took earlier in the day over central and northern Colorado. He said wide swaths of beetle-infested forests stand out as splotches of brown and rust-colored dying trees....
Pot farms ravaging park land The discovery of 22,740 marijuana plants growing in and around Point Reyes National Seashore last week wasn't only the biggest pot seizure ever made in Marin County. It was an environmental mess that will take several months and tens of thousands of dollars to clean up. The crops seized on the steep hillsides overlooking Highway 1 were planted by sophisticated growers who cleared vegetation, terraced land, drew water from streams through miles of irrigation hoses and doused acres of land with hundreds of pounds of fertilizer and pesticides. Such operations are turning up in greater numbers within state and national parks throughout California. Federal officials estimate the state produces half of all the marijuana seized on public lands nationwide....
Editorial - Will Sequoias survive? An especially disturbing target is the Sequoia National Monument, created in 2000 by President Bill Clinton. The monument -- next to the national park of the same name -- hosts half of the surviving big trees. Some are 3,000 years old and 30 feet around. The monument designation was intended to safeguard these rough-barked skyscrapers and the surrounding forests. Incredibly, the Bush team has picked apart wording in the monument designation to produce an excuse for timber cuts. The argument is that forest health requires clearing small trees up to 30 inches in diameter to remove fire hazards. In reality, though, this plan is plain-and-simple logging. Yes, small trees that pose a fire danger will be removed, but doing so includes cutting trees up to 300 years old. The timber business in the south Sierra is all but through -- only one major mill remains -- so why continue it with plans that could harm the last stands of sequoias? Fortunately, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco halted the federal plan. He called the tree-cutting arguments "decidedly incomprehensible,'' mainly because the federal agency neglected required scientific studies. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and environmental groups challenged the plan last year....Isn't it interesting that the Feds would push hard for timber harvesting in national monuments, while at the same time they are eliminating livestock grazing from national monuments. One has to wonder why the Bush administration is so supportive of industry -- except for livestock grazing.
Forest Service promoted man who lit major fire On a breezy, hot September day in Utah in the midst of the 2003 drought, Forest Service District Ranger Bill Ott started a million-dollar-plus fire. He was the burn boss on a prescribed burn meant to clear out scrub oak brush on 600 acres. But Ott also lit the fire in an area that wasn't supposed to burn at all, according to a review of the fire, interviews and published reports. The flames took off. They quickly consumed nearly 8,000 acres of the Uinta National Forest. The Cascade II fire filled the skies of Salt Lake City with a thick blanket of smoke. More than 500 firefighters and a dozen aircraft assaulted the flames. Since then, Ott has been promoted to assistant director of fire operations for the Rocky Mountain region of the Forest Service. That makes him second in command for fires in a five-state region. Ott's current boss, regional forester Rick Cables in Denver, said he did not know of Ott's role in the Cascade II fire when he was promoted....And yet, still some wonder why so many folks have lost faith in the Forest Service to manage anything, much less millions of acres.
'Innovative' Roan plan to be released today Bureau of Land Management officials are slated to unveil what they're calling an "innovative" final plan for managing the controversial Roan Plateau today, two years after a draft plan called for opening up the vast mesa north of Rifle to drilling for natural gas. Observers expect the final plan to do the same, worrying environmentalists, outfitters and several nearby communities who have sought to keep wells off the top of the plateau. Representatives of the gas industry have called on opening the area to drilling, eyeing what they believe to be a vast supply of natural gas deep below. "It would surprise me to see it go any other way," said Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert, whose town joined every other community in Garfield County to oppose drilling on top of the plateau. Details of the plan will be released at a 10:30 a.m. press conference in Battlement Mesa, near the western flank of the plateau. BLM officials have signaled that the final plan could look quite different from the draft plan, including a number of changes suggested by state wildlife officials who feared the draft plan would endanger wildlife....
Biologist Accused of Destroying Plants To prosecutors, Robert "Roy" van de Hoek is a vandal with pruning shears. To supporters of native California shrubs and trees, he's a martyr. Once again, he's in court. The Los Angeles City Attorney's office says the former park supervisor cut down non-native plants in one of the largest coastal wetlands in Southern California, killing a ficus tree and myoporum shrubs. He is facing six misdemeanor charges that include injuring vegetation without permission. Each count could bring jail time and thousands of dollars in fines. Van de Hoek arrived for an arraignment last week looking ill at ease in a borrowed navy blazer that hung limply on his gangly frame. He also brought attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., famous for defending Michael Jackson against molestation charges brought by what he cast as overzealous prosecutors....
Survey finds high number of blue butterflies A survey showing higher-than-expected numbers of a unique Nevada butterfly has revived a debate over whether it needs protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. Some experts now conclude the listing of the Sand Mountain blue butterfly may not be necessary. But conservationists say the listing is the only way to save the butterfly from extinction. It's only found at Sand Mountain near Fallon, whose huge sand dunes are popular among off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to conduct a year-long review of whether the butterfly should be protected under the Endangered Species Act....
Washington County Endorses Controversial Land Sale ST. GEORGE County commissioners endorsed a proposed land deal that would nearly double the size of this fast-growing city by auctioning nearly 38 square miles of federal land to private developers. Commissioners signed a resolution Tuesday, supporting the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006, a bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah. “We consider it an extremely important piece of legislation ... for our future,” said Jim Eardley, chairman of the Washington County Commission. The bill offers wilderness protection for 343 square miles, although half of that already is protected inside Zion National Park and many other areas already are managed by federal agencies as potential wilderness. The bill also would expand a preserve for the threatened desert tortoise....
Biologists are seeking answers As natural-gas development makes a steady march across the Powder River Basin northwest of here, sage grouse are suffering, and now there's data to prove it. Preliminary results from a doctoral thesis by Brett Walker of the University of Montana show that sage grouse abandon breeding grounds that are near natural-gas wells and pumping stations and flock to leks that are outside the edges of development. "Inside the natural-gas fields, sage grouse leks are 25 percent of what they were (before development)," Walker said last week to a roomful of professional wildlife managers and biologists. Walker's research project was one of many discussed at a meeting of The Wildlife Society on the University of Wyoming campus. Walker's research, which he conducts with fellow graduate students Kevin Doherty and Dave Naugle, focuses on the Powder River Basin that stretches from north central Wyoming into Montana. Their preliminary findings show that the outlook for sage grouse there is grim unless researchers and industry can find alternative methods of gas extraction that disturb the habitat less than current techniques. Between 1989 and 2005, the overall population of sage grouse dropped 84 percent, Walker said....
Counties Can't Unilaterally Seize Control Over National Park Trails, Federal Court Rules A federal court has ruled that Utah counties do not own routes within national parks, national monuments and wilderness study areas merely because they say so. In 2005, Kane County Utah adopted an ordinance that opened hundreds of miles of routes to dirt bikes, all terrain vehicles and other off-highway vehicles (OHVs). In so doing, the county claimed as its own every hiking trail within county borders in Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. The county ordinance also opened to OHVs scores of routes within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that the federal Bureau of Land Management had closed in order to protect fragile desert landscapes from the scarring and disturbance that can accompanying OHV use. The August 24 ruling was a victory for The Wilderness Society and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, represented by Earthjustice attorneys as well as former Earthjustice attorney Robert Wiygul and attorneys at SUWA. The Wilderness Society and SUWA sued the county for violating the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause which says U.S laws take precedence over conflicting local ordinances on federal land. Kane County tried to get the case tossed out of court, in part, on the grounds that the county already owned rights-of-way to the routes under an arcane 1866 law known as R.S. 2477. But federal district court Judge Tena Campbell, ruled that the county's mere claim of ownership of rights-of-way was meaningless unless backed up with proof that the routes meet the test set out in the 19th Century law, something Kane County has so far refused to offer....
Local oil and gas production A balancing act Area oil and gas producers, legislators, environmentalists and residents agree the industry must protect the environment as it drills new wells. But their opinions about what regulations are necessary and how they affect business differ. Micky O'Hare owns Maralex Resources Inc., which drills and operates wells in Colorado and New Mexico. He said the U.S. energy crisis could be solved within five years if the government backed off on its regulations and allowed the industry to develop the country's resources. He added the oil and gas industry has made a strong effort to minimize its environmental impacts and does not need a watchdog on its shoulders. But many say that state enforcement, while good, is not the problem. Jeremy Vesbach, director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said the federal government needs to do more to protect the land. Instead, he said it's created exemptions that increase drilling and ignore environmental damages that harm ground and surface water....
Probe launched into public lands management The Interior Department's inspector general has launched an investigation into environmentalists' complaints that the Bureau of Land Management promised to rig oil and gas leasing to benefit Utah counties and oil companies. Inspector General Earl Devaney notified Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., that he had opened an inquiry in a letter sent last week. Hinchey had requested the investigation based on a memo from Robert Weidner, a lobbyist for several Utah counties, to his county officials expressing enthusiasm for the interim Utah BLM director's promise to work to "reduce restrictions on access to public land." The July 18 meeting was attended by BLM Deputy Director Jim Hughes, interim BLM State Director Henri Bisson, county officials and representatives from each of the 10 major oil and gas companies operating in Utah. Bisson has since been replaced as Utah state director by former BLM chief of staff Selma Sierra. Hinchey and several environmental groups complained the BLM was making commitments in closed-door meetings to - as Weidner put it - "fix" resource management plans....
Whistleblower Vindicated in Federal Law Judge Decision A federal administrative law judge has ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) illegally fired one of its employees for blowing the whistle on environmental and worker safety hazards at an abandoned Nevada copper mine. Earle Dixon, who was hired by BLM in October 2003 to manage the cleanup of hazardous materials at the Anaconda Mine near Yerington, Nev., filed a complaint with the Department of Labor after BLM dismissed him on Oct. 5, 2004. When an OSHA regional administrator determined BLM had legitimate business reasons for firing Dixon, Dixon filed an appeal with the Department of Labor's Office of Administrative Law Judges. Dixon argued that BLM terminated him because he voiced concerns that the Anaconda Mine cleanup efforts were not being conducted in compliance with environmental laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Dixon also claimed that he clashed with BLM and other parties involved in the mine cleanup because Dixon believed BLM safety and health policies were being ignored, putting workers at risk of exposure to radiological hazards. Administrative Law Judge Richard Malamphy, who presided over a 3-day hearing in February in Reno, Nev., ruled Aug. 31 that BLM fired Dixon in retaliation for his whistleblowing activities. Malamphy ordered BLM to award Dixon back pay as well as $10,000 in moving expenses. The judge also ordered BLM to provide Dixon "a favorable or at least a neutral job reference."....
Burning Man flames out without major incidents Thousands of celebrants danced, hugged and cheered as the annual Burning Man counterculture festival climaxed with the traditional torching of its namesake object on the northern Nevada desert. Accompanied by a spectacular fireworks show, the 40-foot-tall wooden figure known as "The Man" went up in flames Saturday night and tumbled to the Black Rock Desert, 110 miles north of Reno. The eclectic art festival was to end its weeklong run Monday after the burning of more artwork Sunday night, including the "Belgian Waffle," the "`Temple of Lights" and the "Temple of Hope." Organizers bill the festival as "an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance." "I like the idea of temporary art," Marissa Long-Peak, 23, of Portland, Ore., told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "There is something a lot more unique about destroying something you create." No major problems were reported by authorities. The crowd peaked at 39,100 at midnight Friday, up 6.6 percent over last year, said Jamie Thompson, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The event is held on public land managed by the agency....
Fans of Jedediah Smith to hold Fall Rendezvous Fans of 19th-century trapper and explorer Jedediah Smith will converge in Redding this weekend to celebrate his 1828 trek across what would become southwest Shasta County. The Sacramento-based Jedediah Smith Society will hold its annual Fall Rendezvous Friday through Sunday. The public is invited to an hourlong presentation on the frontier fur trade by Yreka author Alex Miller at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Shasta College Museum, near the campus' south entrance. Miller wrote the two-volume "Chronology of the American Fur Trade." For more information, call 225-4754. The Jedediah Smith Society has 220 members, said its executive director Haworth Clover, 73, a Sacramento historian and author. He expects about 30 members to attend the Redding rendezvous, a word used in the 19th century to describe remote gatherings of trappers -- and sometimes Indians -- where furs were traded, supplies procured, liquor consumed and games played....
On the Edge of Common Sense: Airplanes becoming akin to cattle trucks We were sitting in the Los Angeles airport waiting for a flight, just watching the local fauna when Will observed the striking similarities between airports and feedlots. We were in a seating area, confined in a controllable number; penned, one might say. Once our area was full, another group was started. Some pens were calm. Others had bullers, crypt orchids, cell phone shouters, whiners or unruly children, which kept their lot stirred up and trying to jump the fence. On a signal from the gate attendant, the group was pushed into a crowding pen and sorted into smaller bunches to be loaded in the front deck, the belly and the tail and pushed down an alley, up the loading chute and into the airplane. "It's all about turnover," Will said....
U.S. Oil Reserves Get a Big Boost An oil discovery by Chevron Corp. has bolstered prospects that petroleum companies will be able to tap giant reserves that lie far beneath the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Oil analysts and company executives said newly released test results from a well 175 miles off the coast of Louisiana indicate that the oil industry will be able to recover well more than 3 billion barrels, and perhaps as much as 15 billion barrels, of oil from a geological area known as the lower tertiary trend, making it the biggest addition to U.S. petroleum reserves in decades. The upper end of the estimate could boost U.S. reserves by 50 percent. "This looks to be the biggest discovery in the United States in a generation, really since the discovery of Prudhoe Bay 38 years ago," said Daniel Yergin, chairman of the consulting firm Cambridge Energy Research Associates Inc. "There's been a lot of anticipation about what's called the Wilcox formation, and this is the validation of the theory and of the technology," he said, using another name for the area of the Gulf. Cambridge Energy forecasts that the deep-water area of the Gulf of Mexico will produce 800,000 barrels of oil a day within seven years and account for 11 percent of U.S. oil production. That would not solve the world's energy problem or eliminate U.S. reliance on oil imports, but it would help stabilize U.S. oil production, which has been declining, and cover some of the world's rising demand for petroleum. Prudhoe Bay, in northern Alaska, produced about 1.5 million barrels a day at its peak....
Environmentalists win round against U.S. Forest Service The federal appeals court in Atlanta ruled Tuesday the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations have a dog in the fight against the U.S. Forest Service concerning policy changes that deal with logging and road building in national forests. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the environmental groups have standing in the suit and that a U.S. district judge must hear their arguments in the 5-year-old case. The Sierra Club had argued that the Forest Service had changed its policies concerning environmental impact surveys after logging in national forests in North Georgia was stopped by the courts in 1999. Before the change in policy, the Forest Service was required to analyze the effect of each logging and road building project on "proposed, endangered, threatened and sensitive species or PETS." After the change, Forest Service officials argued they didn't necessarily have to perform an analysis on each project if they believe they can protect a species without one. They argued they could rely on existing data to make decisions. The suit relates to the Southern Region, an area with 12.6 million acres in 13 states....
Male Bass Across Region Found to Be Bearing Eggs Abnormally developed fish, possessing both male and female characteristics, have been discovered in the Potomac River in the District and in tributaries across the region, federal scientists say -- raising alarms that the river is tainted by pollution that drives hormone systems haywire. The fish, smallmouth and largemouth bass, are naturally males but for some reason are developing immature eggs inside their sex organs. Their discovery at such widely spread sites, including one just upstream from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, seems to show that the Potomac's problem with "intersex" fish extends far beyond the West Virginia stream where they were first found in 2003. The cause of the abnormalities is unknown, but scientists suspect a class of waterborne contaminants that can confuse animals' growth and reproductive systems. These pollutants are poorly understood, however, leaving many observers with questions about what the problems in fish mean for the Potomac and the millions of people who take their tap water from it....
Wolf Attacks Five People If you were confronted by a wolf would you turn and run? The Ministry of Natural Resources says that's actually the worst thing you could do. The Ministry is stressing the importance of animal safety to local residents and research scientist Brent Patterson listed several tips that could get you out of a dangerous situation with a wolf. Patterson says the idea that wolves are more afraid of us then we are of them is not always the case. He says the top things you should do when in close contact with a wolf is make lots of noise and make eye contact. He says people should never turn and run away from a wolf because there is a good chance the animal will chase you. He says wolf attacks are not very common, however all animals are unpredictable. Park officials shot and killed a wolf that attacked five people in a provincial park near Wawa on the holiday weekend. They do not know what prompted the lone wolf to attack. The wolf struck in Katherine's Cove, a popular tourist spot on Lake Superior along the Trans Canada highway. None of the victims were seriously injured, but they were taken to a hospital in Wawa for treatment. The animal's carcass will be examined in Sault Ste. Marie.
When a wolf strikes, it's no picnic Brenda Wright says she and her two children had just eaten their turkey sandwiches and settled onto their beach towels when the horror began. Her son, Casey, 12, noticed a black, doglike animal running across the Northern Ontario beach where the family was enjoying the last day of summer vacation. In a sudden and unrelenting attack, the animal ripped into Casey's buttock, tore his mother's hands and leg, and bloodied his 14-year-old sister's scalp, lunging after the family of six as they fled screaming into Lake Superior. "I was trying to fight him off and he grabbed my finger. I thought he pulled it off. ... Honest to God, it looks like hamburger meat," Wright said Tuesday from her mother's home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Wright's family was not the only one to face the wolf. The attacks by one Canis lupus ended with the animal dead and several people, including a 3-year-old girl, bloodied, torn and terrified. For Jerry and Rachel Talbot, it started at around 4 p.m. The Wawa, Ontario, couple, on their way to a wedding with granddaughters Leah, 3, and Madison, 5, pulled off the highway for a quick swim at a popular day picnic area in Lake Superior Provincial Park. According to park staff, more than a dozen others were enjoying the end of the Labor Day weekend at Katherine's Cove when the Talbot family wandered onto the beach and began to remove their shoes. Jerry Talbot noticed a black animal chasing a girl across the sand. Too slow for the girl, the animal veered off and grabbed a slower, smaller target: Leah....
Montana Firefighters Battling With Bees Firefighters battling a wildfire that has blackened nearly 290 square miles and burned 26 homes faced a new challenge, authorities said Wednesday: bees. The blaze that started with lightning on Aug. 22 has forced hundreds to evacuate. After being grounded by smoke for a day, firefighting helicopters returned to work Wednesday, pouring water on the fire that was 45 percent contained. Bee stings among firefighters have surged to as many as 50 a day, information officer Joan Dickerson said. Some of those stung required medical attention. "We've had a couple of our leaders taken to the hospital," she said, but added that she had no explanation for the surge in stings....
Feds plan pine beetle attack After getting a look at insect-infested forests in the Rockies, Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth and other federal officials unveiled a plan Tuesday to make it easier for all levels of government to more quickly attack the bark-beetle epidemic in the West. The plan, which the Bush administration plans to send to Congress this week, would change the way the federal government approves and administers contracts so that logging and other work to fight wildfire threats and tree-killing bugs can be carried out more easily across various government jurisdictions. "If we don't find a way to work better together on these boundaries, we're all going to pay the price in the long run," Bosworth said in a news conference in a state building across the street from the Colorado Capitol. Bosworth referred to a flight he, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey and Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett took earlier in the day over central and northern Colorado. He said wide swaths of beetle-infested forests stand out as splotches of brown and rust-colored dying trees....
Pot farms ravaging park land The discovery of 22,740 marijuana plants growing in and around Point Reyes National Seashore last week wasn't only the biggest pot seizure ever made in Marin County. It was an environmental mess that will take several months and tens of thousands of dollars to clean up. The crops seized on the steep hillsides overlooking Highway 1 were planted by sophisticated growers who cleared vegetation, terraced land, drew water from streams through miles of irrigation hoses and doused acres of land with hundreds of pounds of fertilizer and pesticides. Such operations are turning up in greater numbers within state and national parks throughout California. Federal officials estimate the state produces half of all the marijuana seized on public lands nationwide....
Editorial - Will Sequoias survive? An especially disturbing target is the Sequoia National Monument, created in 2000 by President Bill Clinton. The monument -- next to the national park of the same name -- hosts half of the surviving big trees. Some are 3,000 years old and 30 feet around. The monument designation was intended to safeguard these rough-barked skyscrapers and the surrounding forests. Incredibly, the Bush team has picked apart wording in the monument designation to produce an excuse for timber cuts. The argument is that forest health requires clearing small trees up to 30 inches in diameter to remove fire hazards. In reality, though, this plan is plain-and-simple logging. Yes, small trees that pose a fire danger will be removed, but doing so includes cutting trees up to 300 years old. The timber business in the south Sierra is all but through -- only one major mill remains -- so why continue it with plans that could harm the last stands of sequoias? Fortunately, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco halted the federal plan. He called the tree-cutting arguments "decidedly incomprehensible,'' mainly because the federal agency neglected required scientific studies. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and environmental groups challenged the plan last year....Isn't it interesting that the Feds would push hard for timber harvesting in national monuments, while at the same time they are eliminating livestock grazing from national monuments. One has to wonder why the Bush administration is so supportive of industry -- except for livestock grazing.
Forest Service promoted man who lit major fire On a breezy, hot September day in Utah in the midst of the 2003 drought, Forest Service District Ranger Bill Ott started a million-dollar-plus fire. He was the burn boss on a prescribed burn meant to clear out scrub oak brush on 600 acres. But Ott also lit the fire in an area that wasn't supposed to burn at all, according to a review of the fire, interviews and published reports. The flames took off. They quickly consumed nearly 8,000 acres of the Uinta National Forest. The Cascade II fire filled the skies of Salt Lake City with a thick blanket of smoke. More than 500 firefighters and a dozen aircraft assaulted the flames. Since then, Ott has been promoted to assistant director of fire operations for the Rocky Mountain region of the Forest Service. That makes him second in command for fires in a five-state region. Ott's current boss, regional forester Rick Cables in Denver, said he did not know of Ott's role in the Cascade II fire when he was promoted....And yet, still some wonder why so many folks have lost faith in the Forest Service to manage anything, much less millions of acres.
'Innovative' Roan plan to be released today Bureau of Land Management officials are slated to unveil what they're calling an "innovative" final plan for managing the controversial Roan Plateau today, two years after a draft plan called for opening up the vast mesa north of Rifle to drilling for natural gas. Observers expect the final plan to do the same, worrying environmentalists, outfitters and several nearby communities who have sought to keep wells off the top of the plateau. Representatives of the gas industry have called on opening the area to drilling, eyeing what they believe to be a vast supply of natural gas deep below. "It would surprise me to see it go any other way," said Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert, whose town joined every other community in Garfield County to oppose drilling on top of the plateau. Details of the plan will be released at a 10:30 a.m. press conference in Battlement Mesa, near the western flank of the plateau. BLM officials have signaled that the final plan could look quite different from the draft plan, including a number of changes suggested by state wildlife officials who feared the draft plan would endanger wildlife....
Biologist Accused of Destroying Plants To prosecutors, Robert "Roy" van de Hoek is a vandal with pruning shears. To supporters of native California shrubs and trees, he's a martyr. Once again, he's in court. The Los Angeles City Attorney's office says the former park supervisor cut down non-native plants in one of the largest coastal wetlands in Southern California, killing a ficus tree and myoporum shrubs. He is facing six misdemeanor charges that include injuring vegetation without permission. Each count could bring jail time and thousands of dollars in fines. Van de Hoek arrived for an arraignment last week looking ill at ease in a borrowed navy blazer that hung limply on his gangly frame. He also brought attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., famous for defending Michael Jackson against molestation charges brought by what he cast as overzealous prosecutors....
Survey finds high number of blue butterflies A survey showing higher-than-expected numbers of a unique Nevada butterfly has revived a debate over whether it needs protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. Some experts now conclude the listing of the Sand Mountain blue butterfly may not be necessary. But conservationists say the listing is the only way to save the butterfly from extinction. It's only found at Sand Mountain near Fallon, whose huge sand dunes are popular among off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to conduct a year-long review of whether the butterfly should be protected under the Endangered Species Act....
Washington County Endorses Controversial Land Sale ST. GEORGE County commissioners endorsed a proposed land deal that would nearly double the size of this fast-growing city by auctioning nearly 38 square miles of federal land to private developers. Commissioners signed a resolution Tuesday, supporting the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006, a bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah. “We consider it an extremely important piece of legislation ... for our future,” said Jim Eardley, chairman of the Washington County Commission. The bill offers wilderness protection for 343 square miles, although half of that already is protected inside Zion National Park and many other areas already are managed by federal agencies as potential wilderness. The bill also would expand a preserve for the threatened desert tortoise....
Biologists are seeking answers As natural-gas development makes a steady march across the Powder River Basin northwest of here, sage grouse are suffering, and now there's data to prove it. Preliminary results from a doctoral thesis by Brett Walker of the University of Montana show that sage grouse abandon breeding grounds that are near natural-gas wells and pumping stations and flock to leks that are outside the edges of development. "Inside the natural-gas fields, sage grouse leks are 25 percent of what they were (before development)," Walker said last week to a roomful of professional wildlife managers and biologists. Walker's research project was one of many discussed at a meeting of The Wildlife Society on the University of Wyoming campus. Walker's research, which he conducts with fellow graduate students Kevin Doherty and Dave Naugle, focuses on the Powder River Basin that stretches from north central Wyoming into Montana. Their preliminary findings show that the outlook for sage grouse there is grim unless researchers and industry can find alternative methods of gas extraction that disturb the habitat less than current techniques. Between 1989 and 2005, the overall population of sage grouse dropped 84 percent, Walker said....
Counties Can't Unilaterally Seize Control Over National Park Trails, Federal Court Rules A federal court has ruled that Utah counties do not own routes within national parks, national monuments and wilderness study areas merely because they say so. In 2005, Kane County Utah adopted an ordinance that opened hundreds of miles of routes to dirt bikes, all terrain vehicles and other off-highway vehicles (OHVs). In so doing, the county claimed as its own every hiking trail within county borders in Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. The county ordinance also opened to OHVs scores of routes within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument that the federal Bureau of Land Management had closed in order to protect fragile desert landscapes from the scarring and disturbance that can accompanying OHV use. The August 24 ruling was a victory for The Wilderness Society and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, represented by Earthjustice attorneys as well as former Earthjustice attorney Robert Wiygul and attorneys at SUWA. The Wilderness Society and SUWA sued the county for violating the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause which says U.S laws take precedence over conflicting local ordinances on federal land. Kane County tried to get the case tossed out of court, in part, on the grounds that the county already owned rights-of-way to the routes under an arcane 1866 law known as R.S. 2477. But federal district court Judge Tena Campbell, ruled that the county's mere claim of ownership of rights-of-way was meaningless unless backed up with proof that the routes meet the test set out in the 19th Century law, something Kane County has so far refused to offer....
Local oil and gas production A balancing act Area oil and gas producers, legislators, environmentalists and residents agree the industry must protect the environment as it drills new wells. But their opinions about what regulations are necessary and how they affect business differ. Micky O'Hare owns Maralex Resources Inc., which drills and operates wells in Colorado and New Mexico. He said the U.S. energy crisis could be solved within five years if the government backed off on its regulations and allowed the industry to develop the country's resources. He added the oil and gas industry has made a strong effort to minimize its environmental impacts and does not need a watchdog on its shoulders. But many say that state enforcement, while good, is not the problem. Jeremy Vesbach, director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said the federal government needs to do more to protect the land. Instead, he said it's created exemptions that increase drilling and ignore environmental damages that harm ground and surface water....
Probe launched into public lands management The Interior Department's inspector general has launched an investigation into environmentalists' complaints that the Bureau of Land Management promised to rig oil and gas leasing to benefit Utah counties and oil companies. Inspector General Earl Devaney notified Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., that he had opened an inquiry in a letter sent last week. Hinchey had requested the investigation based on a memo from Robert Weidner, a lobbyist for several Utah counties, to his county officials expressing enthusiasm for the interim Utah BLM director's promise to work to "reduce restrictions on access to public land." The July 18 meeting was attended by BLM Deputy Director Jim Hughes, interim BLM State Director Henri Bisson, county officials and representatives from each of the 10 major oil and gas companies operating in Utah. Bisson has since been replaced as Utah state director by former BLM chief of staff Selma Sierra. Hinchey and several environmental groups complained the BLM was making commitments in closed-door meetings to - as Weidner put it - "fix" resource management plans....
Whistleblower Vindicated in Federal Law Judge Decision A federal administrative law judge has ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) illegally fired one of its employees for blowing the whistle on environmental and worker safety hazards at an abandoned Nevada copper mine. Earle Dixon, who was hired by BLM in October 2003 to manage the cleanup of hazardous materials at the Anaconda Mine near Yerington, Nev., filed a complaint with the Department of Labor after BLM dismissed him on Oct. 5, 2004. When an OSHA regional administrator determined BLM had legitimate business reasons for firing Dixon, Dixon filed an appeal with the Department of Labor's Office of Administrative Law Judges. Dixon argued that BLM terminated him because he voiced concerns that the Anaconda Mine cleanup efforts were not being conducted in compliance with environmental laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Dixon also claimed that he clashed with BLM and other parties involved in the mine cleanup because Dixon believed BLM safety and health policies were being ignored, putting workers at risk of exposure to radiological hazards. Administrative Law Judge Richard Malamphy, who presided over a 3-day hearing in February in Reno, Nev., ruled Aug. 31 that BLM fired Dixon in retaliation for his whistleblowing activities. Malamphy ordered BLM to award Dixon back pay as well as $10,000 in moving expenses. The judge also ordered BLM to provide Dixon "a favorable or at least a neutral job reference."....
Burning Man flames out without major incidents Thousands of celebrants danced, hugged and cheered as the annual Burning Man counterculture festival climaxed with the traditional torching of its namesake object on the northern Nevada desert. Accompanied by a spectacular fireworks show, the 40-foot-tall wooden figure known as "The Man" went up in flames Saturday night and tumbled to the Black Rock Desert, 110 miles north of Reno. The eclectic art festival was to end its weeklong run Monday after the burning of more artwork Sunday night, including the "Belgian Waffle," the "`Temple of Lights" and the "Temple of Hope." Organizers bill the festival as "an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance." "I like the idea of temporary art," Marissa Long-Peak, 23, of Portland, Ore., told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "There is something a lot more unique about destroying something you create." No major problems were reported by authorities. The crowd peaked at 39,100 at midnight Friday, up 6.6 percent over last year, said Jamie Thompson, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The event is held on public land managed by the agency....
Fans of Jedediah Smith to hold Fall Rendezvous Fans of 19th-century trapper and explorer Jedediah Smith will converge in Redding this weekend to celebrate his 1828 trek across what would become southwest Shasta County. The Sacramento-based Jedediah Smith Society will hold its annual Fall Rendezvous Friday through Sunday. The public is invited to an hourlong presentation on the frontier fur trade by Yreka author Alex Miller at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Shasta College Museum, near the campus' south entrance. Miller wrote the two-volume "Chronology of the American Fur Trade." For more information, call 225-4754. The Jedediah Smith Society has 220 members, said its executive director Haworth Clover, 73, a Sacramento historian and author. He expects about 30 members to attend the Redding rendezvous, a word used in the 19th century to describe remote gatherings of trappers -- and sometimes Indians -- where furs were traded, supplies procured, liquor consumed and games played....
On the Edge of Common Sense: Airplanes becoming akin to cattle trucks We were sitting in the Los Angeles airport waiting for a flight, just watching the local fauna when Will observed the striking similarities between airports and feedlots. We were in a seating area, confined in a controllable number; penned, one might say. Once our area was full, another group was started. Some pens were calm. Others had bullers, crypt orchids, cell phone shouters, whiners or unruly children, which kept their lot stirred up and trying to jump the fence. On a signal from the gate attendant, the group was pushed into a crowding pen and sorted into smaller bunches to be loaded in the front deck, the belly and the tail and pushed down an alley, up the loading chute and into the airplane. "It's all about turnover," Will said....
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
RODEO ACTION NEEDED TODAY
From: Linda Burdick
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 12:23 PM
To: Friends of Rodeo Contacts
Subject: Rodeo Action Needed TODAY
Your input is needed NOW! Please take a moment to read the alert below and follow the directions -- you can and will make a difference, so do it! This is, as Sheila says, "your last chance"! And, pass this alert on to everyone and anyone who will get involved, but you must do it TODAY! -- Thanks in advance, Linda
----- Original Message -----
From: Longhorn Rodeo
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 8:54 AM
Subject: Fwd: Rodeo Action Needed TODAY
LAST CHANCE.
Your congressman is voting tomorrow on the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption and for other purposes.
Please register a NO vote at his Washington office at this link:
http://capwiz.com/naiatrust/issues/alert/?alertid=8888026&type=ML
It is quick and easy to send a message. By putting in your name and address, the message automatically goes to the correct legislator. You can compose your own message or click on suggested paragraphs, but be brief. They have heard all the arguments. All he or she needs to know is you want a NO vote on HR 503.
Many congressman have signed on in support of this bill. Animal rights organizations are pushing hard for passage (I received a telephone call from HSUS wanting to patch me through to my congressman's office to ask for his support.)
If you are wavering on this issue, please go to the link above and read the reasons why it is not a good bill. Please do it today. Pass this message on to anyone who will follow through. If you have already asked your congressman to vote No, do it one more time.
Thank you.
Sheila Lehrke
IPRA Animal Issues Coordinator
Please pass this on to interested parties:
Action Needed on proposed federal bills to prohibit horse slaughter:
H.R.503
Title: To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Sweeney, John E. [NY-20] (introduced 2/1/2005)
Cosponsors over 100
S 1915
To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign of NV, cosponsors (15)
H.R. 503 Update:
Hearings were held in July in the House Ag Committee and in a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill was discharged without a vote from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Energy & Commerce Chairman Joe Barton spoke out against the bill and subcommittee Chair Cliff Stearns was very evenhanded in his talk of the bill and the problems with it.
Nearly all of the members of the House Ag Committee Chaired by Rep. Robert Goodlatte were opposed to the bill and voted to report the bill out UNFAVORABLY in a vote of 37 - 3. All members either spoke adamantly against the bill or did not speak. Amendments were also added to the bill proposing the government reimburse horse owners who were going to sell their horse for processing and that the federal government be financially responsible for the unwanted horses. It is widely held that the amendments will be pulled by the rules committee before a floor vote is held, but at least the committee sent a message.
THE WHEELS ARE TURNING TO GET THIS BILL TO THE FLOOR FOR A VOTE RIGHT AFTER LABOR DAY; therefore, IMMEDIATE ACTION IS NEEDED.
Action Needed:
1. CALL, EMAIL, FAX, AND MEET WITH YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPS. This is the only way to make a difference at this time. Every individual who has concerns about this bill must speak up NOW or it will be too late. In depth information has already been provided to legislators; all you need to do is let them know you oppose the bills.
They will be on break in August, an excellent time to contact their district office or drop by and express your opinion.
2. See if your Rep. or Senator is a cosponsor. Go to www.thomas.gov and put in HR 503 and click on bill summary/status and cosponsors. If they are a cosponsor, ask them to reconsider. If they are not a sponsor, thank them and ask them to not cosponsor and to vote No on the bill.
3. Spread the word. Grassroots is the only way to win this, and the other side has been more effective to date on grassroots.
This is a very easy way to contact your legislator. It takes all the effort out of composing a message:
To send an email go to the National Animal Interest Alliance's Capwiz and follow the easy instructions. By putting in your address, the proper people are contacted. You may select any of their suggested comments or compose your own message, or combine your message with points on the site.
From: Linda Burdick
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 12:23 PM
To: Friends of Rodeo Contacts
Subject: Rodeo Action Needed TODAY
Your input is needed NOW! Please take a moment to read the alert below and follow the directions -- you can and will make a difference, so do it! This is, as Sheila says, "your last chance"! And, pass this alert on to everyone and anyone who will get involved, but you must do it TODAY! -- Thanks in advance, Linda
----- Original Message -----
From: Longhorn Rodeo
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 8:54 AM
Subject: Fwd: Rodeo Action Needed TODAY
LAST CHANCE.
Your congressman is voting tomorrow on the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the slaughter of equines for human consumption and for other purposes.
Please register a NO vote at his Washington office at this link:
http://capwiz.com/naiatrust/issues/alert/?alertid=8888026&type=ML
It is quick and easy to send a message. By putting in your name and address, the message automatically goes to the correct legislator. You can compose your own message or click on suggested paragraphs, but be brief. They have heard all the arguments. All he or she needs to know is you want a NO vote on HR 503.
Many congressman have signed on in support of this bill. Animal rights organizations are pushing hard for passage (I received a telephone call from HSUS wanting to patch me through to my congressman's office to ask for his support.)
If you are wavering on this issue, please go to the link above and read the reasons why it is not a good bill. Please do it today. Pass this message on to anyone who will follow through. If you have already asked your congressman to vote No, do it one more time.
Thank you.
Sheila Lehrke
IPRA Animal Issues Coordinator
Please pass this on to interested parties:
Action Needed on proposed federal bills to prohibit horse slaughter:
H.R.503
Title: To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Sweeney, John E. [NY-20] (introduced 2/1/2005)
Cosponsors over 100
S 1915
To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign of NV, cosponsors (15)
H.R. 503 Update:
Hearings were held in July in the House Ag Committee and in a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill was discharged without a vote from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Energy & Commerce Chairman Joe Barton spoke out against the bill and subcommittee Chair Cliff Stearns was very evenhanded in his talk of the bill and the problems with it.
Nearly all of the members of the House Ag Committee Chaired by Rep. Robert Goodlatte were opposed to the bill and voted to report the bill out UNFAVORABLY in a vote of 37 - 3. All members either spoke adamantly against the bill or did not speak. Amendments were also added to the bill proposing the government reimburse horse owners who were going to sell their horse for processing and that the federal government be financially responsible for the unwanted horses. It is widely held that the amendments will be pulled by the rules committee before a floor vote is held, but at least the committee sent a message.
THE WHEELS ARE TURNING TO GET THIS BILL TO THE FLOOR FOR A VOTE RIGHT AFTER LABOR DAY; therefore, IMMEDIATE ACTION IS NEEDED.
Action Needed:
1. CALL, EMAIL, FAX, AND MEET WITH YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPS. This is the only way to make a difference at this time. Every individual who has concerns about this bill must speak up NOW or it will be too late. In depth information has already been provided to legislators; all you need to do is let them know you oppose the bills.
They will be on break in August, an excellent time to contact their district office or drop by and express your opinion.
2. See if your Rep. or Senator is a cosponsor. Go to www.thomas.gov and put in HR 503 and click on bill summary/status and cosponsors. If they are a cosponsor, ask them to reconsider. If they are not a sponsor, thank them and ask them to not cosponsor and to vote No on the bill.
3. Spread the word. Grassroots is the only way to win this, and the other side has been more effective to date on grassroots.
This is a very easy way to contact your legislator. It takes all the effort out of composing a message:
To send an email go to the National Animal Interest Alliance's Capwiz and follow the easy instructions. By putting in your address, the proper people are contacted. You may select any of their suggested comments or compose your own message, or combine your message with points on the site.
House expected to vote this week on horse-slaughter ban
Reconvening this week after a month away, the House of Representatives faces a list of issues, including immigration and the budget. Its first priority will be horses. The House is expected to vote on just one bill this week: legislation that would ban the butchering of horses for human consumption. The visceral issue pits animal- rights activists, horse racing associations and celebrities, including Willie Nelson and Bo Derek, against the agricultural industry, the largest veterinarian association and many equine groups. Each side argues it's concerned about the most humane way to treat the icon of the American West. The vote is expected to be close, with more than 200 lawmakers already signing on in support of the ban, and both sides close to claiming victory. "We're very optimistic about what our prospects are going to be," said Brent Dolen, spokesman for Rep. Edward Whitfield, R-Ky., sponsor of the bill. "We're cautiously optimistic we're going to defeat the legislation," said meat-industry lobbyist Charles Stenholm, a former Texas congressman who heads the coalition fighting the measure....
Reconvening this week after a month away, the House of Representatives faces a list of issues, including immigration and the budget. Its first priority will be horses. The House is expected to vote on just one bill this week: legislation that would ban the butchering of horses for human consumption. The visceral issue pits animal- rights activists, horse racing associations and celebrities, including Willie Nelson and Bo Derek, against the agricultural industry, the largest veterinarian association and many equine groups. Each side argues it's concerned about the most humane way to treat the icon of the American West. The vote is expected to be close, with more than 200 lawmakers already signing on in support of the ban, and both sides close to claiming victory. "We're very optimistic about what our prospects are going to be," said Brent Dolen, spokesman for Rep. Edward Whitfield, R-Ky., sponsor of the bill. "We're cautiously optimistic we're going to defeat the legislation," said meat-industry lobbyist Charles Stenholm, a former Texas congressman who heads the coalition fighting the measure....
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
GAO
Nuclear Waste: DOE's Efforts to Protect the Columbia River from Contamination Could Be Further Strengthened. GAO-06-1018, August 28.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-1018
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d061018high.pdf
Nuclear Waste: DOE's Efforts to Protect the Columbia River from Contamination Could Be Further Strengthened. GAO-06-1018, August 28.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-1018
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d061018high.pdf
NEWS ROUNDUP
Montana wildfire still spreading An enormous wildfire that has prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people continued to spread Monday, though winds didn't kick up as much as firefighters had feared, a Forest Service official said. "We're still working on this thing on all fronts," said Dixie Dees, a fire information officer. The fire, in south-central Montana, has burned 26 homes and is classified as the nation's No. 1 firefighting priority. It has spread across 180,000 acres, or more than 280 square miles, since lightning sparked it on Aug. 22. It was only about 20 percent contained, authorities said. The fire is not following the typical pattern: growing more active in the afternoon, then calming as darkness falls, Dies said. "We'll probably have an active fire until midnight or so before it quiets down," she said. About 265 homes were evacuated in just a few hours Sunday night on the western flank of the fast-moving blaze, said Kelly O'Connell, Sweetgrass County disaster and emergency services coordinator. Fire officials feared that wind and higher temperatures this week would create extreme fire conditions....
Dalidio takes property fight on the road For more than a decade, Ernie Dalidio and his ranch west of town have been bywords in and around San Luis Obispo, and the rancher’s development proposals have dominated the city’s politics for most of the 21st century. Now Dalidio, through an initiative on the Nov. 7 ballot, is taking his shopping center proposal on the road. He is asking voters throughout the county, from San Miguel to Nipomo, from Shandon to Oceano, to take a stand on his proposed shopping center, known as the Dalidio Ranch initiative and labeled Measure J on the ballot. But why should voters countywide care? For Dalidio’s chief spokesman, that one is easy: They should care because Ernie Dalidio has gotten a raw deal over the years. "I don’t think it’s about shopping," says Dave Cox of Barnett Cox & Associates, Dalidio’s public relations firm. "It’s about what’s fair and not fair," Cox said. "It’s about right and wrong. That’s the bottom line." Cox notes that Dalidio has been trying for 17 years to put some sort of shopping center on his property south of Madonna Road and west of Highway 101....
Coaxing oil from huge U.S. shale deposits Underneath the high, scrub-covered rangeland of northwest Colorado is the world's biggest oil field. Getting the oil out of the ground, however, is one of the world's biggest headaches. The area's deposits of oil shale are believed to be larger than all the oil reserves of the Middle East. But past attempts to get at this oil locked in tarry rock have cost billions of dollars and raised the prospect of strip-mining large areas of the Rocky Mountain West. Now, as the federal government makes another push to develop oil shale, Shell and other companies say they have developed techniques that may extract this treasure with much less environmental impact. Shell's project is stunningly complex. Instead of strip-mining the rock and then processing it, Shell plans to superheat huge underground areas for several years, gradually percolating oil out of the stone and pumping it to the surface. Years of testing still lie ahead. Shell's heating process risks polluting local water supplies, and the enormous amounts of electricity needed would require construction of the West's largest power plants. But even opponents say the new technology might just succeed....
Rule delisting wolves in Idaho, Montana imminent? A rule to lift federal Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves in most of Idaho and Montana but not Wyoming could be made public by winter, state and federal officials say. The ruling would help clear the way for controlled hunts of the predators that have thrived in the northern Rocky Mountains since their 1995 reintroduction. Wyoming, unlike Montana and Idaho, hasn't won approval for its management plan. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't agree its plan is adequate to keep wolves from going extinct again. Under the ESA, all three states normally would have to have such plans, before protections are lifted. Still, there's concern Wyoming's plan will be tied up in court for years. As a result, the U.S. Interior Department, led by Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, is "seriously considering" alternatives suggested last year by Kempthorne while he was Idaho governor, and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, "that would reward states that are doing good jobs at management and have plans in place," said Ed Bangs, Fish and Wildlife's gray wolf recovery coordinator in Helena, Mont....
Wild horses, gentler men: Inmates break horses, learn about selves Mike Buchanan can look into the eyes of a horse and tell what's in a man's soul. Was the man abused or was he the abuser? Did he betray the trust of a young child with his sexual urges or did he betray himself through drug addiction? On this day, standing in the August-baked dust, he begins to read the men who line the fence of a round pen. His tool is a wild horse that bolts into the ring, its eyes wide with the unknown, its entire frame girded for possible danger. Buchanan, a weathered horseman and rancher of 37-plus years, falls silent and lets the horse do the talking. The animal canters the ring's perimeter, eyeing each of the nine convicts as it passes. When the horse finally "settles" on an inmate, it pauses in front of Roy Davis, letting out a snort, twitching its ears. "He'll pick out the most aggressive of the bunch," Buchanan whispers. "He'll stop right in front of 'em and say, 'Bring it on."'....
Rancher donates 10,000 acres for conservation easement In a major boost to preservation of the pristine tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and The Nature Conservancy on Friday announced the donation of a conservation easement encompassing 10,000 acres. The donation from Bill and Maggie Haw is part of an ongoing effort to put 70,000 acres of the prairie into conservation easements within three years. The donation Friday brings conservation easements to date in the Flint Hills to 15,000 acres, said Alan Pollom, state director of The Nature Conservancy. Four other unnamed landowners have also contributed. Another donation of 1,760 acres is expected in two or three months, he said. The group has concentrated its efforts to preserving views along the Kansas Turnpike from south Emporia to Cassoday, Pollom said....
Capt. Clark's signature restored on possibly 4 occasions Beneath the signature of William Clark etched into the sandstone at Pompeys Pillar National Monument, an interpretive sign explains the significance of the artifact. It reads: "The ground on which Clark stood has weathered away but his signature has not. Because of this remaining physical evidence, the site is one of the few places along the entire Lewis and Clark Trail where you can be assured of standing in the footsteps of William Clark and other members of the Expedition." No one is likely to challenge the second part of that statement, since Clark wrote in his journal on July 25, 1806, that he carved his name and date on the "remarkable rock." The first sentence, however, is not entirely true. Capt. Clark's signature is clear and easily legible now, but only because it has been restored and deepened - or possibly re-created - on at least two occasions, and possibly three or four....
Texas Farms and Ranches Done In by Mean Drought The effects of a long, stubborn drought are everywhere here: in the parched, wasted fields and the bony cows nosing the dirt for nonexistent grass; in the cracks splitting stone-hard earth and the worried faces of farmers running out of savings, and options. "It's sad when you see what's going on all around you," said Windy Watkins, a feed-store manager. "This has been the lives of so many for so long, and now it's gone. It's heartbreaking." Canton, a rural cattle- and sweet-potato-producing area 60 miles east of Dallas, is hardly alone in its misery. From Florida to Arizona and north through the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin, drought has wiped out summer crops and forced ranchers to sell cattle they can no longer afford to feed. Crop and livestock losses have reached a record $4.1 billion in Texas alone this year, nearly double the $2.1-billion mark set in 1998, according to Texas Cooperative Extension economists. The projected loss for rural businesses that provide equipment and services to Texas farmers and ranchers is an additional $3.9 billion. "It's as bad as it gets," said Texas A&M University agronomist Travis Miller....
Ranchers decry grass-fed beef rule plan Meat-eaters usually assume a grass-fed steak came from cattle contentedly grazing for most of their lives on lush pastures, not crowded into feedlots. If the government has its way, the grass-fed label could be used to sell beef that didn't roam the range and ate more than just grass. The Agriculture Department has proposed a standard for grass-fed meat that doesn't say animals need pasture and that broadly defines grass to include things like leftovers from harvested crops. Critics say the proposal is so loose that it would let more conventional ranchers slap a grass-fed label on their beef, too. "In the eye of the consumer, grass-fed is tied to open pasture-raised animals, not confinement or feedlot animals," said Patricia Whisnant, a Missouri rancher who heads the American Grassfed Association. "In the consumer's eye, you're going to lose the integrity of what the term 'grass-fed' means."....
It's All Trew: Retired teacher has a lifetime of memories Like the battery-powered rabbit on TV, Aunt Lois Wilkinson Aldrich of Capitan, N.M., just keeps going. At age 97, she has outlived her siblings, a husband and most of her old friends. As a lifetime schoolteacher, she was teaching third-generation students when she finally retired. Though moving at a slower pace now, her mind is sharp, she knows and remembers almost everyone in the Capitan area and she is still an active member in the Lincoln County Republican Women, serving as chaplain of her chapter. Her father worked on a threshing crew, following the harvests through Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. He married the daughter of a South Dakota customer and started his large family. They made the Oklahoma Land Run, settling on property near Alva, Okla....
Montana wildfire still spreading An enormous wildfire that has prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people continued to spread Monday, though winds didn't kick up as much as firefighters had feared, a Forest Service official said. "We're still working on this thing on all fronts," said Dixie Dees, a fire information officer. The fire, in south-central Montana, has burned 26 homes and is classified as the nation's No. 1 firefighting priority. It has spread across 180,000 acres, or more than 280 square miles, since lightning sparked it on Aug. 22. It was only about 20 percent contained, authorities said. The fire is not following the typical pattern: growing more active in the afternoon, then calming as darkness falls, Dies said. "We'll probably have an active fire until midnight or so before it quiets down," she said. About 265 homes were evacuated in just a few hours Sunday night on the western flank of the fast-moving blaze, said Kelly O'Connell, Sweetgrass County disaster and emergency services coordinator. Fire officials feared that wind and higher temperatures this week would create extreme fire conditions....
Dalidio takes property fight on the road For more than a decade, Ernie Dalidio and his ranch west of town have been bywords in and around San Luis Obispo, and the rancher’s development proposals have dominated the city’s politics for most of the 21st century. Now Dalidio, through an initiative on the Nov. 7 ballot, is taking his shopping center proposal on the road. He is asking voters throughout the county, from San Miguel to Nipomo, from Shandon to Oceano, to take a stand on his proposed shopping center, known as the Dalidio Ranch initiative and labeled Measure J on the ballot. But why should voters countywide care? For Dalidio’s chief spokesman, that one is easy: They should care because Ernie Dalidio has gotten a raw deal over the years. "I don’t think it’s about shopping," says Dave Cox of Barnett Cox & Associates, Dalidio’s public relations firm. "It’s about what’s fair and not fair," Cox said. "It’s about right and wrong. That’s the bottom line." Cox notes that Dalidio has been trying for 17 years to put some sort of shopping center on his property south of Madonna Road and west of Highway 101....
Coaxing oil from huge U.S. shale deposits Underneath the high, scrub-covered rangeland of northwest Colorado is the world's biggest oil field. Getting the oil out of the ground, however, is one of the world's biggest headaches. The area's deposits of oil shale are believed to be larger than all the oil reserves of the Middle East. But past attempts to get at this oil locked in tarry rock have cost billions of dollars and raised the prospect of strip-mining large areas of the Rocky Mountain West. Now, as the federal government makes another push to develop oil shale, Shell and other companies say they have developed techniques that may extract this treasure with much less environmental impact. Shell's project is stunningly complex. Instead of strip-mining the rock and then processing it, Shell plans to superheat huge underground areas for several years, gradually percolating oil out of the stone and pumping it to the surface. Years of testing still lie ahead. Shell's heating process risks polluting local water supplies, and the enormous amounts of electricity needed would require construction of the West's largest power plants. But even opponents say the new technology might just succeed....
Rule delisting wolves in Idaho, Montana imminent? A rule to lift federal Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves in most of Idaho and Montana but not Wyoming could be made public by winter, state and federal officials say. The ruling would help clear the way for controlled hunts of the predators that have thrived in the northern Rocky Mountains since their 1995 reintroduction. Wyoming, unlike Montana and Idaho, hasn't won approval for its management plan. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't agree its plan is adequate to keep wolves from going extinct again. Under the ESA, all three states normally would have to have such plans, before protections are lifted. Still, there's concern Wyoming's plan will be tied up in court for years. As a result, the U.S. Interior Department, led by Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, is "seriously considering" alternatives suggested last year by Kempthorne while he was Idaho governor, and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, "that would reward states that are doing good jobs at management and have plans in place," said Ed Bangs, Fish and Wildlife's gray wolf recovery coordinator in Helena, Mont....
Wild horses, gentler men: Inmates break horses, learn about selves Mike Buchanan can look into the eyes of a horse and tell what's in a man's soul. Was the man abused or was he the abuser? Did he betray the trust of a young child with his sexual urges or did he betray himself through drug addiction? On this day, standing in the August-baked dust, he begins to read the men who line the fence of a round pen. His tool is a wild horse that bolts into the ring, its eyes wide with the unknown, its entire frame girded for possible danger. Buchanan, a weathered horseman and rancher of 37-plus years, falls silent and lets the horse do the talking. The animal canters the ring's perimeter, eyeing each of the nine convicts as it passes. When the horse finally "settles" on an inmate, it pauses in front of Roy Davis, letting out a snort, twitching its ears. "He'll pick out the most aggressive of the bunch," Buchanan whispers. "He'll stop right in front of 'em and say, 'Bring it on."'....
Rancher donates 10,000 acres for conservation easement In a major boost to preservation of the pristine tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and The Nature Conservancy on Friday announced the donation of a conservation easement encompassing 10,000 acres. The donation from Bill and Maggie Haw is part of an ongoing effort to put 70,000 acres of the prairie into conservation easements within three years. The donation Friday brings conservation easements to date in the Flint Hills to 15,000 acres, said Alan Pollom, state director of The Nature Conservancy. Four other unnamed landowners have also contributed. Another donation of 1,760 acres is expected in two or three months, he said. The group has concentrated its efforts to preserving views along the Kansas Turnpike from south Emporia to Cassoday, Pollom said....
Capt. Clark's signature restored on possibly 4 occasions Beneath the signature of William Clark etched into the sandstone at Pompeys Pillar National Monument, an interpretive sign explains the significance of the artifact. It reads: "The ground on which Clark stood has weathered away but his signature has not. Because of this remaining physical evidence, the site is one of the few places along the entire Lewis and Clark Trail where you can be assured of standing in the footsteps of William Clark and other members of the Expedition." No one is likely to challenge the second part of that statement, since Clark wrote in his journal on July 25, 1806, that he carved his name and date on the "remarkable rock." The first sentence, however, is not entirely true. Capt. Clark's signature is clear and easily legible now, but only because it has been restored and deepened - or possibly re-created - on at least two occasions, and possibly three or four....
Texas Farms and Ranches Done In by Mean Drought The effects of a long, stubborn drought are everywhere here: in the parched, wasted fields and the bony cows nosing the dirt for nonexistent grass; in the cracks splitting stone-hard earth and the worried faces of farmers running out of savings, and options. "It's sad when you see what's going on all around you," said Windy Watkins, a feed-store manager. "This has been the lives of so many for so long, and now it's gone. It's heartbreaking." Canton, a rural cattle- and sweet-potato-producing area 60 miles east of Dallas, is hardly alone in its misery. From Florida to Arizona and north through the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin, drought has wiped out summer crops and forced ranchers to sell cattle they can no longer afford to feed. Crop and livestock losses have reached a record $4.1 billion in Texas alone this year, nearly double the $2.1-billion mark set in 1998, according to Texas Cooperative Extension economists. The projected loss for rural businesses that provide equipment and services to Texas farmers and ranchers is an additional $3.9 billion. "It's as bad as it gets," said Texas A&M University agronomist Travis Miller....
Ranchers decry grass-fed beef rule plan Meat-eaters usually assume a grass-fed steak came from cattle contentedly grazing for most of their lives on lush pastures, not crowded into feedlots. If the government has its way, the grass-fed label could be used to sell beef that didn't roam the range and ate more than just grass. The Agriculture Department has proposed a standard for grass-fed meat that doesn't say animals need pasture and that broadly defines grass to include things like leftovers from harvested crops. Critics say the proposal is so loose that it would let more conventional ranchers slap a grass-fed label on their beef, too. "In the eye of the consumer, grass-fed is tied to open pasture-raised animals, not confinement or feedlot animals," said Patricia Whisnant, a Missouri rancher who heads the American Grassfed Association. "In the consumer's eye, you're going to lose the integrity of what the term 'grass-fed' means."....
It's All Trew: Retired teacher has a lifetime of memories Like the battery-powered rabbit on TV, Aunt Lois Wilkinson Aldrich of Capitan, N.M., just keeps going. At age 97, she has outlived her siblings, a husband and most of her old friends. As a lifetime schoolteacher, she was teaching third-generation students when she finally retired. Though moving at a slower pace now, her mind is sharp, she knows and remembers almost everyone in the Capitan area and she is still an active member in the Lincoln County Republican Women, serving as chaplain of her chapter. Her father worked on a threshing crew, following the harvests through Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. He married the daughter of a South Dakota customer and started his large family. They made the Oklahoma Land Run, settling on property near Alva, Okla....
Sunday, September 03, 2006
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE WESTERNER
Rains of Confidence
by Larry Gabriel
A recent headline read, "Rural Confidence Hits Four Year Low." The story was based on a bank's annual survey of Australian farmers. It concluded that drought and rising input costs caused farmers to lose "confidence" that next year will be better.
Among the farmers surveyed, 57 percent expected conditions to get worse in the next 12 months due to drought.
Even though Australia's farmers are on the other side of world and the other side of the equator, they often suffer long-term drought the same time we do. Their drought has been ongoing for the last six years in some areas, just like the drought in the Western United States.
In reading that story, it occurred to me that massive media coverage of drought and its threat to our future may be a greater threat than the drought itself. Discouraging words have an effect.
A farmer or rancher without confidence (I prefer to call it faith) is in deep trouble. Farmers and ranchers depend on a production system that is largely subject to all the whims of nature, whether it be fire, flood, wind or drought. Almost all our products can be lost to nature at any moment, leaving us only with that old familiar saying, "There is always next year."
Maybe that is why farming and ranching are not viewed as ordinary businesses. Maybe no sensible businessman could stand to live with the risks we face. The risk of enormous loss faced every year for the potential of a small or modest profit margin is not the most desirable business model. Yet almost every farmer and rancher does just that.
Isn't it amazing how a little rain can improve attitudes, build confidence, restore faith and press our plans for "next year," even if this one was a disaster? That is an unmeasured value of rain.
August rains came too late for many crops in South Dakota, but those rains restore us as much as they restore the vegetation on which we depend for our livelihoods and on which the nation depends for its food. They were too late for the wheat crop, but just in time for the wheat farmer's faith in the next crop.
It rained a little on the drought area of Queensland a couple of weeks ago, and the news story about the above survey said widespread winter rains in New South Wales improved the confidence of farmers in that state. News of those rains yields some hope of something similar to follow in the middle of America.
Crops and grass cannot grow without adequate water. They need a certain amount of it at the right times to produce. Everyone recognizes that, but few notice the people's need for rain.
For the people of the land, every rain is a blessing that nourishes our belief that things will improve. Rain gives us the faith to invest in next year.
The loss of faith is far more dangerous than drought. When our faith is watered, we believe all will be well, if not now, next year.
Mr. Gabriel is the South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture
Code of the West rules needed
By: Julie Carter
The West has long been a frontier to those seeking a romanticized version of it or simply the quiet solitude away from the noise of industrial civilization.
Ours is a nation of immigrants - people who have never been content to stay in one place but always wanting to see what is "over there."
The frontier has been the line separating civilization from wilderness. For hundreds of years in America it has been a fluid line, moving westward as men sought open spaces and new horizons.
In the 19th century, people who were willing to take a chance on the unknown moved to a vast, unsettled land that beckoned to the daring and called to the hardy, courageous folks of pioneer stock.
The call of the wild is the same in the 21st century but comes with new kinds of issues that catch these new pioneers by surprise. That newly purchased 20-acre piece of paradise requires owners to realize they aren't in the suburbs any more.
Poor roads, wildlife damage, water shortages, high utility costs and the threat of wildfires are just a few major items on the list for these new pioneers.
Many city dwellers move into the country and expect to get the same local government services they received in town.
They want the solitude of living in the country but they also want 911 to respond in three minutes to a residence 25 minutes from the nearest emergency station.
It is such a common issue in rural communities across the West that many communities have compiled information into publications to be distributed to prospective property owners.
Some of these booklets are titled "Code of the West" in reference to the Code of the West novel by Zane Grey. The original unwritten code - based on integrity, self-reliance and accountability - guided the men and women who moved into the region during the westward expansion.
Most of the today's "code books" cover water rights, split estates and open range. Many explain why dogs can't run wild and why rural residents often have to haul their own garbage. They warn that roads might not get plowed, cell phone service could be iffy, and emergency response time longer. They also address accepting "ag-related annoyances" that existed long before they moved in.
One example is the 52-page booklet from Sweet Grass County, Montana offering information on everything from fire prevention to noxious weeds to billboards. It gives suggestions for preserving viewsheds and designing homes compatible with the rural landscape.
County commissions and a long list of agencies continue to address complaints and demands from these new pioneers who, one issue at a time, try to turn the West into the East under the guise of their rights as taxpayers.
Those that were already in the West before the new pioneers arrived fight to keep the simple basic lives they led before the onslaught of subdivisions and the pandemic growth of golf courses.
It is America and subject to ongoing change, even in the West.
And those ag-related annoyances? They are someone's livelihood that undoubtedly have become disturbed by the un-ag-related annoyances that just moved a double wide home into the pasture next door.
A "Code of the West" booklet might be the answer for those willing to accept the changes. But for most, I suggest making the covers something tasty and edible. At least they'll find some use for it.
© Julie Carter 2006
Rains of Confidence
by Larry Gabriel
A recent headline read, "Rural Confidence Hits Four Year Low." The story was based on a bank's annual survey of Australian farmers. It concluded that drought and rising input costs caused farmers to lose "confidence" that next year will be better.
Among the farmers surveyed, 57 percent expected conditions to get worse in the next 12 months due to drought.
Even though Australia's farmers are on the other side of world and the other side of the equator, they often suffer long-term drought the same time we do. Their drought has been ongoing for the last six years in some areas, just like the drought in the Western United States.
In reading that story, it occurred to me that massive media coverage of drought and its threat to our future may be a greater threat than the drought itself. Discouraging words have an effect.
A farmer or rancher without confidence (I prefer to call it faith) is in deep trouble. Farmers and ranchers depend on a production system that is largely subject to all the whims of nature, whether it be fire, flood, wind or drought. Almost all our products can be lost to nature at any moment, leaving us only with that old familiar saying, "There is always next year."
Maybe that is why farming and ranching are not viewed as ordinary businesses. Maybe no sensible businessman could stand to live with the risks we face. The risk of enormous loss faced every year for the potential of a small or modest profit margin is not the most desirable business model. Yet almost every farmer and rancher does just that.
Isn't it amazing how a little rain can improve attitudes, build confidence, restore faith and press our plans for "next year," even if this one was a disaster? That is an unmeasured value of rain.
August rains came too late for many crops in South Dakota, but those rains restore us as much as they restore the vegetation on which we depend for our livelihoods and on which the nation depends for its food. They were too late for the wheat crop, but just in time for the wheat farmer's faith in the next crop.
It rained a little on the drought area of Queensland a couple of weeks ago, and the news story about the above survey said widespread winter rains in New South Wales improved the confidence of farmers in that state. News of those rains yields some hope of something similar to follow in the middle of America.
Crops and grass cannot grow without adequate water. They need a certain amount of it at the right times to produce. Everyone recognizes that, but few notice the people's need for rain.
For the people of the land, every rain is a blessing that nourishes our belief that things will improve. Rain gives us the faith to invest in next year.
The loss of faith is far more dangerous than drought. When our faith is watered, we believe all will be well, if not now, next year.
Mr. Gabriel is the South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture
Code of the West rules needed
By: Julie Carter
The West has long been a frontier to those seeking a romanticized version of it or simply the quiet solitude away from the noise of industrial civilization.
Ours is a nation of immigrants - people who have never been content to stay in one place but always wanting to see what is "over there."
The frontier has been the line separating civilization from wilderness. For hundreds of years in America it has been a fluid line, moving westward as men sought open spaces and new horizons.
In the 19th century, people who were willing to take a chance on the unknown moved to a vast, unsettled land that beckoned to the daring and called to the hardy, courageous folks of pioneer stock.
The call of the wild is the same in the 21st century but comes with new kinds of issues that catch these new pioneers by surprise. That newly purchased 20-acre piece of paradise requires owners to realize they aren't in the suburbs any more.
Poor roads, wildlife damage, water shortages, high utility costs and the threat of wildfires are just a few major items on the list for these new pioneers.
Many city dwellers move into the country and expect to get the same local government services they received in town.
They want the solitude of living in the country but they also want 911 to respond in three minutes to a residence 25 minutes from the nearest emergency station.
It is such a common issue in rural communities across the West that many communities have compiled information into publications to be distributed to prospective property owners.
Some of these booklets are titled "Code of the West" in reference to the Code of the West novel by Zane Grey. The original unwritten code - based on integrity, self-reliance and accountability - guided the men and women who moved into the region during the westward expansion.
Most of the today's "code books" cover water rights, split estates and open range. Many explain why dogs can't run wild and why rural residents often have to haul their own garbage. They warn that roads might not get plowed, cell phone service could be iffy, and emergency response time longer. They also address accepting "ag-related annoyances" that existed long before they moved in.
One example is the 52-page booklet from Sweet Grass County, Montana offering information on everything from fire prevention to noxious weeds to billboards. It gives suggestions for preserving viewsheds and designing homes compatible with the rural landscape.
County commissions and a long list of agencies continue to address complaints and demands from these new pioneers who, one issue at a time, try to turn the West into the East under the guise of their rights as taxpayers.
Those that were already in the West before the new pioneers arrived fight to keep the simple basic lives they led before the onslaught of subdivisions and the pandemic growth of golf courses.
It is America and subject to ongoing change, even in the West.
And those ag-related annoyances? They are someone's livelihood that undoubtedly have become disturbed by the un-ag-related annoyances that just moved a double wide home into the pasture next door.
A "Code of the West" booklet might be the answer for those willing to accept the changes. But for most, I suggest making the covers something tasty and edible. At least they'll find some use for it.
© Julie Carter 2006
OPINION/COMMENTARY
California Focus: Another enviro-scare campaign
Is water vapor is a "pollutant"? Yes, according to the California Climate Action Team Report. Prepared in support of pending state "global warming" legislation, it recommends 45 emission-reduction measures intended to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions toward 1990 levels by 2020. Amazingly, the report fails to tell us the predicted reduction in future temperatures if 1990-level emissions are achieved. So we have done that analysis here. If California were to achieve the carbon-dioxide reductions, the predicted decline in world temperatures in the year 2100 would be thirteen one-thousandths of a degree Celsius. If the entire U.S. were to achieve those reductions, the decline would be sixteen one-hundredths of a degree Celsius. The figure for the 34 most-developed economies would be one-third of one degree Celsius. If we add China, the figure is forty-five one-hundredths of a degree Celsius. Such changes are far too small to matter. The global-warming horror stories in the CCAT report – flooding, fires, heat waves, drought, insects – truly are biblical, but its proposals never would be approved for such tiny effects. Moreover, the CCAT free-lunch claim that the regulations would impose no economic costs is preposterous. The real question is: What does the science actually tell us? A paper published in the journal Science last summer showed that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing mass, while the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (three times as large) is gaining mass. Another paper published in Science last fall reported that the ongoing trend for the Greenland ice sheet is an increase of 5.4 centimeter per year, almost all of which is at elevations above 5000 feet. Other research yields different findings because there is great uncertainty about new measurement techniques. But there is no dispute that Greenland was warmer in the 1930s than it is today and was much warmer 1,000 years ago....
'Renewable' Electricity: Creating Jobs and Destroying Wealth
Twenty states have set standards that require utilities to obtain some of their power from "renewable" resources like windmills and solar panels. California wants 20% renewable power by 2017 and New York 24% by 2013. California will succeed by conveniently defining hydroelectric dams as renewable. New York's less inclusive definition gives it 0.2% renewable capacity today. Texas is ahead of schedule in getting to 2,000 megawatts (2% of capacity) by 2009. Ask most people about renewables and you will probably hear about solar power and fuel cells. In reality renewables generate only 2.2% of America's electricity. Thirty years of work on solar power and it still produces only 1% of that 2.2%. California has geothermal resources and Maine has wood chips, but almost everywhere else renewables mean windmills, helped along by substantial federal subsidies. Of course, even if renewables are expensive they might reduce some of the global warming caused by CO2 emitted by fossil-fuel powerplants. There are uncertainties about whether warming will really be bad (think longer growing seasons) but let's assume it actually will get several degrees hotter (choose your own figure). The nations that signed the Kyoto Protocols on global warming agreed to cut their emissions over the future. If each of them made the sacrifices of full compliance (the betting is that few will even come close), the world would end up only a tenth of a degree cooler. And if that big an effort gets no results, state and local government policies can only be empty gestures. Economic activity will shift away from them toward other areas or nations -- remember that China and India are exempt from the agreement....
Katrina Anniversary Highlights Need To End Destructive Subsidies To Coastal Development
As the nation remembers the tragedy of Katrina and the destruction of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, an expert with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) suggests government should heed the lessons of Katrina and end destructive subsidies to coastal development. "What could have been merely a very bad weather event turned into a catastrophic human tragedy due to unwise development," said H. Sterling Burnett, senior fellow with the NCPA. "The government should not foster, let alone finance, development in environmentally-sensitive, highly disaster-prone areas. Yet government is subsidizing, and therefore encouraging, building on coastal wetlands and beaches." Burnett noted that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' flood control and beach restoration projects subsidize and encourage coastal development by shifting the cost of insurance and physical protection against floods from property owners to taxpayers. From 1928 through 2001, the Corps spent $123 billion (adjusted for inflation) on flood control projects nationwide....
U.S. SUPREME COURT SHOULD ORDER EPA: OBEY SUPERFUND RULES
The U.S. Supreme Court should agree to determine if a federal appellate court violated the national Superfund law when it upheld a multimillion dollar assessment against a company, a public interest law firm urged in a friend of the court brief filed today. Mountain States Legal Foundation, which has appeared often at the Court, advised the Court that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit undermined the clearly express intent of Congress when it ruled in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding Superfund operations in Libby, Montana, as a result of actions by W.R. Grace & Company and its predecessors in the mining, processing, and use of a product later discovered to be hazardous. “When Congress wrote Superfund, it made a distinction between ‘removal’ actions that prevent imminent harm and ‘remedial’ actions and allowed responsible parties to dispute EPA’s action to prevent the EPA from writing itself a blank check,” said William Perry Pendley, president and chief legal officer of Mountain States Legal Foundation. “Given media stories of the waste and abuse perpetrated by FEMA in response to Hurricane Katrina, it makes sense to demand that bureaucrats obey the law and only receive repayment for expenses that are legal, legitimate, and justified.” From the 1920s until 1990, W.R. Grace & Co. and its predecessors mined and processed vermiculite—a mineral containing a type of asbestos called tremolite—at a mine seven miles northeast of Libby, Montana. Processed ore was trucked to screening plants and expansion/export plants from which materials were exported nationwide. Vermiculite was also available for Grace’s employees to take home for their personal use, and Grace donated vermiculite to the local schools. In 1990, Grace ended its Libby operations. In 1999, the EPA began a Superfund investigation, which led to various, massive cleanup and removal efforts. In March 2001, the United States filed suit against Grace for reimbursement of the EPA’s recovery costs. In August 2003, the Montana federal district court ordered Grace to pay $54.53 million, including $11.32 million in indirect costs. On appeal, Grace acknowledged that it was obligated financially for “removal” but was not obligated for “remedial” action or total cleanup because the EPA did not obey required federal safeguards. In December 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected Grace’s appeal....
LESSONS FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA: PUBLIC FOREST MANAGEMENT
Although the forests of British Columbia, Canada, are 96 percent government-owned, the management of the forests is far more market-driven than in the U.S. Forest Service, according to a new report by Alison Berry, a research fellow with the Property and Environment Research Center.
For example:
* The government of the province transfers management responsibilities for most of its forests to the private sector through long-term agreements called tenures, some of which extend for 25 years or more.
* Some of these tenures resemble private property, and provide incentives for reforestation, investment in silviculture and environmental protection.
This experience with secure, long-term tenures offers valuable lessons for the United States, says Berry.
"It would be unnecessary to adopt the British Columbia tenure system as it exists," she explains, "but the United States could use the timber tenure system as a model for creating a more flexible timber program that addresses multiple resources such as recreation." Berry notes that the U.S. Forest Service suffers detrimental effects from its short-term timber sales program. Her new paper also includes case studies illustrating how some British Columbia tenures operate.
Source: Alison Berry, "Lessons from British Columbia: Public Forest Management," Property and Environment Research Center, August 2006.
For text:
http://www.perc.org/perc.php?id=815
For study text:
http://www.perc.org/pdf/pl5.pdf
California Focus: Another enviro-scare campaign
Is water vapor is a "pollutant"? Yes, according to the California Climate Action Team Report. Prepared in support of pending state "global warming" legislation, it recommends 45 emission-reduction measures intended to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions toward 1990 levels by 2020. Amazingly, the report fails to tell us the predicted reduction in future temperatures if 1990-level emissions are achieved. So we have done that analysis here. If California were to achieve the carbon-dioxide reductions, the predicted decline in world temperatures in the year 2100 would be thirteen one-thousandths of a degree Celsius. If the entire U.S. were to achieve those reductions, the decline would be sixteen one-hundredths of a degree Celsius. The figure for the 34 most-developed economies would be one-third of one degree Celsius. If we add China, the figure is forty-five one-hundredths of a degree Celsius. Such changes are far too small to matter. The global-warming horror stories in the CCAT report – flooding, fires, heat waves, drought, insects – truly are biblical, but its proposals never would be approved for such tiny effects. Moreover, the CCAT free-lunch claim that the regulations would impose no economic costs is preposterous. The real question is: What does the science actually tell us? A paper published in the journal Science last summer showed that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing mass, while the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (three times as large) is gaining mass. Another paper published in Science last fall reported that the ongoing trend for the Greenland ice sheet is an increase of 5.4 centimeter per year, almost all of which is at elevations above 5000 feet. Other research yields different findings because there is great uncertainty about new measurement techniques. But there is no dispute that Greenland was warmer in the 1930s than it is today and was much warmer 1,000 years ago....
'Renewable' Electricity: Creating Jobs and Destroying Wealth
Twenty states have set standards that require utilities to obtain some of their power from "renewable" resources like windmills and solar panels. California wants 20% renewable power by 2017 and New York 24% by 2013. California will succeed by conveniently defining hydroelectric dams as renewable. New York's less inclusive definition gives it 0.2% renewable capacity today. Texas is ahead of schedule in getting to 2,000 megawatts (2% of capacity) by 2009. Ask most people about renewables and you will probably hear about solar power and fuel cells. In reality renewables generate only 2.2% of America's electricity. Thirty years of work on solar power and it still produces only 1% of that 2.2%. California has geothermal resources and Maine has wood chips, but almost everywhere else renewables mean windmills, helped along by substantial federal subsidies. Of course, even if renewables are expensive they might reduce some of the global warming caused by CO2 emitted by fossil-fuel powerplants. There are uncertainties about whether warming will really be bad (think longer growing seasons) but let's assume it actually will get several degrees hotter (choose your own figure). The nations that signed the Kyoto Protocols on global warming agreed to cut their emissions over the future. If each of them made the sacrifices of full compliance (the betting is that few will even come close), the world would end up only a tenth of a degree cooler. And if that big an effort gets no results, state and local government policies can only be empty gestures. Economic activity will shift away from them toward other areas or nations -- remember that China and India are exempt from the agreement....
Katrina Anniversary Highlights Need To End Destructive Subsidies To Coastal Development
As the nation remembers the tragedy of Katrina and the destruction of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, an expert with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) suggests government should heed the lessons of Katrina and end destructive subsidies to coastal development. "What could have been merely a very bad weather event turned into a catastrophic human tragedy due to unwise development," said H. Sterling Burnett, senior fellow with the NCPA. "The government should not foster, let alone finance, development in environmentally-sensitive, highly disaster-prone areas. Yet government is subsidizing, and therefore encouraging, building on coastal wetlands and beaches." Burnett noted that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' flood control and beach restoration projects subsidize and encourage coastal development by shifting the cost of insurance and physical protection against floods from property owners to taxpayers. From 1928 through 2001, the Corps spent $123 billion (adjusted for inflation) on flood control projects nationwide....
U.S. SUPREME COURT SHOULD ORDER EPA: OBEY SUPERFUND RULES
The U.S. Supreme Court should agree to determine if a federal appellate court violated the national Superfund law when it upheld a multimillion dollar assessment against a company, a public interest law firm urged in a friend of the court brief filed today. Mountain States Legal Foundation, which has appeared often at the Court, advised the Court that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit undermined the clearly express intent of Congress when it ruled in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding Superfund operations in Libby, Montana, as a result of actions by W.R. Grace & Company and its predecessors in the mining, processing, and use of a product later discovered to be hazardous. “When Congress wrote Superfund, it made a distinction between ‘removal’ actions that prevent imminent harm and ‘remedial’ actions and allowed responsible parties to dispute EPA’s action to prevent the EPA from writing itself a blank check,” said William Perry Pendley, president and chief legal officer of Mountain States Legal Foundation. “Given media stories of the waste and abuse perpetrated by FEMA in response to Hurricane Katrina, it makes sense to demand that bureaucrats obey the law and only receive repayment for expenses that are legal, legitimate, and justified.” From the 1920s until 1990, W.R. Grace & Co. and its predecessors mined and processed vermiculite—a mineral containing a type of asbestos called tremolite—at a mine seven miles northeast of Libby, Montana. Processed ore was trucked to screening plants and expansion/export plants from which materials were exported nationwide. Vermiculite was also available for Grace’s employees to take home for their personal use, and Grace donated vermiculite to the local schools. In 1990, Grace ended its Libby operations. In 1999, the EPA began a Superfund investigation, which led to various, massive cleanup and removal efforts. In March 2001, the United States filed suit against Grace for reimbursement of the EPA’s recovery costs. In August 2003, the Montana federal district court ordered Grace to pay $54.53 million, including $11.32 million in indirect costs. On appeal, Grace acknowledged that it was obligated financially for “removal” but was not obligated for “remedial” action or total cleanup because the EPA did not obey required federal safeguards. In December 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected Grace’s appeal....
LESSONS FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA: PUBLIC FOREST MANAGEMENT
Although the forests of British Columbia, Canada, are 96 percent government-owned, the management of the forests is far more market-driven than in the U.S. Forest Service, according to a new report by Alison Berry, a research fellow with the Property and Environment Research Center.
For example:
* The government of the province transfers management responsibilities for most of its forests to the private sector through long-term agreements called tenures, some of which extend for 25 years or more.
* Some of these tenures resemble private property, and provide incentives for reforestation, investment in silviculture and environmental protection.
This experience with secure, long-term tenures offers valuable lessons for the United States, says Berry.
"It would be unnecessary to adopt the British Columbia tenure system as it exists," she explains, "but the United States could use the timber tenure system as a model for creating a more flexible timber program that addresses multiple resources such as recreation." Berry notes that the U.S. Forest Service suffers detrimental effects from its short-term timber sales program. Her new paper also includes case studies illustrating how some British Columbia tenures operate.
Source: Alison Berry, "Lessons from British Columbia: Public Forest Management," Property and Environment Research Center, August 2006.
For text:
http://www.perc.org/perc.php?id=815
For study text:
http://www.perc.org/pdf/pl5.pdf
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