Major water ruling issued A bid to pump more than 11 billion gallons of groundwater a year from three rural Nevada valleys to Las Vegas was cut to just over 6 billion gallons and approved Wednesday by the state's water engineer. The ruling by state Engineer Tracy Taylor follows a hearing that ended in February with the Southern Nevada Water Authority saying it's entitled to the water from Delamar, Dry Lake and Cave Valleys and opponents warning that the pumping could have a catastrophic impact. SNWA representatives had contended the water authority met all requirements for the pumping and critics' disaster scenarios are unfounded. The Great Basin Water Network opposed the plan, saying SNWA tried to hide evidence that the pumping may harm existing water users and the environment in rural Nevada because there's not enough water in the valleys for long-term exportation. Taylor said use of the water in the amounts he approved "will not unduly limit future growth and development" in the three valleys, all in central Lincoln County. But before any water is pumped, Taylor wants to see more biological and hydrologic studies. He also said that pumping will be halted or modified if it proves "detrimental to the public interest or is found to not be environmentally sound." While the SNWA application sought more than 11.3 billion gallons of groundwater a year from the valleys and the ruling allows about 6.1 billion gallons, Susan Lynn of the Great Basin Water Network said, "It's way too much considering there are a whole lot of downstream groundwater users who rely on that groundwater flow that is going to be intercepted." Launce Rake, also representing the network, said a legal effort to overturn the ruling or have it revised by Taylor "is certainly a prospect. It's something we will be looking at carefully as we review this decision." Rake added that the valleys already are "really stressed" by drought conditions, adding, "This decision can only exacerbate those issues."....
BLM asks for public comment regarding grazing on Ore. monument The Bureau of Land Management is asking for public comment regarding the future of cattle ranching in the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. Monument Assistant Manager Howard Hunter says a decision will be made next year on whether cattle can stay. Meanwhile, a bill is pending in Congress that would pay ranchers with money raised by conservation groups to turn back their grazing leases. "The cattle have been on that monument, or on that piece of land, for 150 years, and the cattle have been so detrimental to it that Clinton made it a national monument because of all the special plants and the community that has grown up there. And in my opinion, the cattle have probably enhanced that," says Rancher Bruce Buckmaster. "The monument proclamation says retire the allotments. It's been clear for several years that the BLM doesn't intend to do that, it's been clear that the BLM has said, 'Oh we can change a little here, change a little there, and everything will be fine'. Well, that's illegal," says Dave Willis of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council....
Thousands of healthy trees destroyed by windstorm It’s fairly common for forest fires to impact Idaho’s wilderness areas this time of year, but that's not what closed down parts of the Sawtooth National Recreation area. At the main beach along Redfish Lake there are absolutely no signs of the windstorm that wreaked havoc here over the Fourth of July weekend, but go to some of the most popular campsites and the damage is devastating. "When you get into these campgrounds, you'd be amazed no one was majorly hurt or even killed," said Scott Loos, U.S. Forest Service. Trees are broken, bent and ripped right out of the ground. "We're calling it a microburst with thunderstorm winds in excess of 70 miles per hour," said Vernon Preston, National Weather Service....
Recipe for an avalanche Forecasting a snow avalanche takes more than measuring the angle of a mountain slope, researchers report in the July 11 Science. Whether an avalanche happens might also depend on how the snow cracks and collapses, the study suggests. “The new theory could be a breakthrough in understanding what is going on at the very moment when an avalanche begins,” says University of Edinburgh physicist Joachim Heierli, lead author of the study. It “gives hints on what snow properties to look for to anticipate the risk of triggering a slab avalanche.” Slab avalanches are the most common and most dangerous because a slab of snow breaks loose and cascades to the slope’s bottom. By modeling this avalanche type the team found that snow fractures much easier than previously thought. Also, friction between snow layers may be more important in avalanche dynamics than once thought....
House spending bill markups at a standstill The regular order for the appropriations process inched closer to oblivion Wednesday as House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., shot down the possibility of any movement from his panel. "There aren't going to be any markups," he said. The rift stems from the fracas that took place during the House Appropriations Committee markup of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill just prior to the Independence Day break. At the markup, Appropriations ranking member Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., tried to offer the Interior appropriations bill as an amendment to the Labor-HHS bill. The move was an effort to try to force a vote on repealing a restriction on offshore oil drilling. Republicans have been eyeing the Interior appropriations bill as a vehicle to advance their energy agenda, including allowing more domestic drilling and production. In response, Obey angrily adjourned the meeting and said the appropriations process was done for the year....
Suit Filed To Stop Four Timber Sales on Largest National Forest Environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service in federal court today arguing that the agency has concealed impacts of old-growth logging to the environment and to subsistence hunting in four Tongass National Forest timber projects. At issue is whether environmental impact statements have thoroughly evaluated the effect of the projects on Sitka black-tailed deer – a species that is key to viability of the "Islands Wolf" (Alexander Archipelago wolf) and is among the most important subsistence foods in the area. he plaintiffs are Greenpeace and Cascadia Wildlands Project, both of which have offices in Alaska. They say the Forest Service has violated bedrock environmental laws by deliberately ignoring their legitimate criticisms of how impacts to deer were assessed in the decision process and not providing a “full and fair discussion” of their concerns. While not a plaintiff in the suit, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game has repeatedly challenged these same flaws. The lawsuit demands that the four logging projects be stopped and that supplemental analysis be ordered to fairly evaluate their impacts. Combined, the projects would take 33 million board feet of timber from 1,700 acres of old-growth forest and construct 9.5 miles of new, permanent logging roads....
Democrats Counter Republicans With a New Alaska-Oil Plan House Democrats moved Thursday to counter a Republican push for more domestic drilling with a proposal that would increase oil production from areas of Alaska already open to drilling. n recent weeks as the public outcry over high gasoline prices has built, Republicans in Washington have positioned themselves as champions of increased domestic energy production. Fearful of appearing obstructionist, Democrats are jostling to get in front of the issue. "Democrats support increasing the domestic production of petroleum and other energy resources," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said Thursday. The Democrats' plan would speed up production in the National Petroleum Reserve, an area in Alaska already approved for drilling but where so far much of the land hasn't been leased. "This administration has been dragging its feet on leasing those areas," Mr. Hoyer said....
USCA: "Keep America FMD-Free" Bill Introduced In Congress The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) today hailed the introduction of legislation in the U.S. Senate that would block meat shipments from Argentina until that country is free of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), an airborne livestock disease that is devastating to livestock production. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced the Foot and Mouth Disease Prevention Act of 2008, which would add common sense to a proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would allow importation of Argentine fresh and pre-packaged beef, lamb and other meat from select regions of Argentina, as well as live animals. "Cattlemen from across the country appreciate Senator Johnson and Senator Enzi along with the other co-sponsors of this important legislation," said Jon Wooster, a California rancher and USCA president. "We’re calling it the ‘Keep America FMD-Free bill’." Wooster explained that an outbreak of FMD within the U.S. cattle industry would bring livestock commerce to a standstill overnight and would likely result in the depopulation of millions of cattle, hogs, lambs, goats and wildlife....
U.S. judge refuses to stop some Canadian beef imports from crossing border A U.S. federal judge has refused to stop some Canadian beef imports but agreed with lawyers for cattle, consumer and health interests that the U.S. government should revisit rules that protect against the threat of mad cow disease. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol granted in part a preliminary injunction sought by several groups that filed a lawsuit in federal court in South Dakota. They want the judge to suspend a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that went into effect Nov. 19 allowing Canadian cattle more than 30 months old into the United States. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued the change exposes consumers to a fatal disease linked to eating meat contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, increases the risk that U.S. cattle would be infected with the disease, and could harm the U.S. cattle market. But a government lawyer argued in court documents and at a hearing in February that rules and changes in the industry adequately protect American animals, people and markets, and there's no way to get 100 per cent compliance with any rule....
Cattle Producers Seek Solutions To Judge’s Halt of CRP Grazing In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) decided to initiate the Critical Feed Use (CFU) program to help cattle farmers and ranchers by allowing grazing and hay production on CRP land because of drought and other natural disasters and because of the high costs of feed. The plaintiffs in this case assert that USDA should have conducted an environmental impact assessment before launching the Critical Feed Use program. A full hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 17. R-CALF USA Member Steve Parker ranches in the Oklahoma Panhandle and said he has been back and forth 50 miles to town several times to visit with officials at his Farm Service Agency office in the past two days and has spent a lot of time on the phone asking his congressional representatives to step in. “Right now, I understand they’re scrambling trying to decide what to do with our $75 CRP sign-up fee,” he said. “We gave that money in good faith. I spent the better part of three weeks building fence and moving tanks and scrambling trying to figure out how we’re going to water these cattle on these old, worn out wheat fields that have been planted back to blue stem grass, and now some judge in Washington is telling me I can’t run cattle on this, so yes, I’m upset. The Senator’s office told me they’re getting their heads together to fight this thing, and I said, ‘Boys, hurry!’ In another month, we’d just as well forget it. Time is of the essence.”....
Riders mosey through town Col. Rocky Woolman of Oklahoma and his colleagues are on a mission to ride the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) from Mexico to Canada on horseback. Woolman and Larry Hanson of Minnesota are attempting to ride on or along the entire trail. Woolman explained “We're trying to develop the trail for horses.” They are trying to establish an equestrian accessible route along the CDT. He added they are aiming to be “the first ones to pull this off in one season.” They started from Antelope Wells on the Mexican border on June 21 and hope to arrive at the Canadian border by the end of summer. The men are not riding for any charity or organization. However, they would like people to “just remember our troops.” Woolman recently returned from Iraq as a contracted civilian worker. The riders have a support team of two. Kathy Merrill of New York and Paul Hauert of Texas are following with the alternate horses and the trailers. Each man rides one horse and takes a packhorse. The horses all get breaks and trips in the trailer. Woolman and Hanson camp along the trail and only meet up with their support for supplies or when a problem arises....
Singing the history of the Old West "Out on the Bell Ranch in New Mexico/Cattle graze and horses run/We'd lay in the bunkhouse at the end of the day/And dream about havin' some fun." Earl Gleason has been playing guitar since around 1945, but this is the first year he's been able to put out two solo albums in one year. As shown in the lines above, taken from "Saturday Nite," a Gleason original, the Belen resident has long been adept at painting a picture of the old West for listeners. From stories of trying to rope an ornery steer to tragedies or simply looking forward to the next day off from cowboying, Gleason's most recent work allows him to combine his own work with some traditional cowboy songs and a few covers. While none of the songs is likely to be as familiar sounding as they were 100 years ago, Gleason's music continues to serve as part folk history lesson and part timeless, compelling entertainment. "Saturday Nite" and "Wanderers" are the titles of the two albums Gleason has released in 2008, his fourth and fifth solo efforts. Both have combinations of original work and songs Gleason has found important and relevant enough to include....