Alaska Sues Over Listing Polar Bear As Threatened The state of Alaska sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Monday, seeking to reverse his decision to list polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Gov. Sarah Palin and other state officials fear a listing will cripple offshore oil and gas development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in Alaska's northern waters, which provide prime habitat for the only polar bears under U.S. jurisdiction. "We believe that the Service's decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available," Palin said in announcing the lawsuit. Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity, the lead author of the petition that led to the listing, said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists addressed skeptics' objections during the listing process. She called the lawsuit "completely ridiculous and a waste of the court's time."....
Mt. Soledad Cross Safe for Now Most residents of San Diego, Calif., like the cross at the center of the city’s Mt. Soledad War Memorial – so much so that a local leader says if a court order ever forced the cross off the now-federally owned property it would seriously divide the city. “It would certainly result in a great deal of polarization in the community,” Bill Kellogg, president of the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association, told CNSNews.com. “I think the community cares very, very much about it – and I’ve heard reports about radio broadcasters and others wanting to chain themselves to the cross, that people want to lay in front of the bulldozers.” That is a little less likely to happen, however, given that a federal court ruled last week that the cross is constitutional and can stay on federal property. “The Court finds the memorial at Mt. Soledad, including its Latin cross, communicates the primarily non-religious messages of military service, death and sacrifice,” wrote U.S District Judge Larry A. Burns in an opinion delivered last week. “The primary effect of the Mount Soledad memorial is patriotic and nationalistic,” Burns wrote. The decision, which is expected to work its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, is the latest decision in response to a series of lawsuits that have been filed against the nearly 30-foot-high cross (43 feet with base) over the last 20 years, beginning in 1988, when atheist Philip Paulson first sued the city of San Diego....
Rancher fearful after bison killings A longtime South Park rancher who had 32 of his bison killed last winter — including six bulls and 26 cows, some of which were pregnant — said the open-range shooting has left him and his family with "a lot of fear." Monte Downare said in his witness-impact statement filed Monday in the criminal case against Texas businessman Jeff Scott Hawn that his whole family has been traumatized. "This is very hard on not only me, but because this is a working ranch, my entire family is involved — wife, sons and daughters, son-in-law, daughter-in-law," said Downare. "We all make a living off of this ranch. Not only was it disturbing for him to kill all those buffalo, but we sell the offsprings to make a living." Hawn, 44, has been charged with 32 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals in connection with the slaughter of Downare's bison. The animal-cruelty charges allege that between Feb. 26 and March 14, Hawn unlawfully and knowingly "tortured, needlessly mutilated, or needlessly killed" the animals....
Range tenants: Cattle and wildlife could benefit from program State Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, wants to take a number of trophy game tags away from the public and give them to groups of ranchers who have had grazing permits partially suspended, reducing the number of cattle they can run on public lands. The grazing associations would then auction the hunting permits to wealthy hunters and use the proceeds to grow forage and develop water sources with a goal of improving the carrying capacity so their grazing permits can be restored in full. At first glance, Stowell's proposed legislation sounds like a terrible idea. It seems like the little guy, the wildlife and Utah's arid, fragile public lands would be the losers. It sounds like the ranchers and the rich hunters would win again. But what if Stowell's plan would benefit wildlife as well as cattle; Joe Hunter as well as Joe Rancher? What if it resulted in better habitat, more game animals and more permits to hunt them? A similar program conducted by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in cooperation with public land management agencies already exists. Permits are given to sportsmen and conservation organizations for auction, and the groups use the money for habitat improvement projects under the watchful eye of DWR. But could projects be developed that would benefit both livestock and wildlife? State wildlife officials and federal land managers say yes. And would the public accept more cattle on public lands? That's the great unknown....
A New Path for Wolf Management As the dust settles on a federal court’s reinstatement of Endangered Species protections for gray wolves, one thing is clear: we need to find a new path to achieve balanced, science-based wolf management by the states. At the moment we seem mired in endless conflict that is serving no one’s interests particularly well — not wolves, conservationists, state wildlife managers, landowners or anyone else with a concern for wolves. So, where do we, as a region, go from here? Though the Greater Yellowstone Coalition was not a party to this litigation, the federal court’s ruling points out some significant problems in the delisting decision. In a clearly worded opinion, the court expressed its concern that Greater Yellowstone’s wolves are genetically isolated from wolf populations in central Idaho and around Glacier National Park, which could result in a long-term decline in the health of wolves. The decision also identified Wyoming’s laws and plans directing wolf management — especially the Predator Zone, where roaming wolves can be killed at any time for any reason — as an impediment to delisting. The three states and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service face an important choice: fight this injunction decision and prolong the court battle or begin fixing the flaws in the state-management plans....
Eco-plore with ranch rider in the wild west In the old days, cowboys explored and exploited the vast open ranges of the country, embodying the frontier spirit of the Wild West. Our attitude towards the environment has since changed, and now, a new generation of ranches offered by Ranch Rider seeks to co-exist harmoniously with nature. Tony Daly, Managing Director of Ranch Rider, comments: "These “green ranches” practice a more sustainable style of ranching through energy-saving techniques and conservation initiatives. The Siwash Lake and the Rocking Z are examples of how ranchers can be great stewards of the earth, ensuring that future generations can still enjoy the scenic beauty of the Wild West." Many wilderness ranches claim to be off grid, but there's no greenwash at the Siwash Lake in British Columbia, as the ranch has recently been awarded with a 5 Green Key eco-rating by the Hotel Association of Canada: the highest accolade for environmental and social responsibility. While guests are out eco-ploring on unspoiled wilderness trails, the luxury ranch is working behind the scenes to ensure a seamless green stay for its guests. Siwash Lake runs on solar power and a combined diesel generator. Biodegradable chemicals, energy saving light bulbs and emission controlled wood stoves are just a few of the ranch's initiatives – the 2-acre organic garden rounding off the eco theme....
Bison death toll climbs to 80 in Flying D anthrax outbreak Nearly 80 bison have succumbed in a rapidly spreading anthrax outbreak on Ted Turner’s Flying D Ranch in the Spanish Peaks, and officials are scrambling to contain the disease, a state livestock agent said Monday. “We’re in the process of cleaning up,” Steve Merritt, a Montana Department of Livestock public information officer, told the Belgrade News. “The number of dead the last time I heard was approximately 80 animals.” Gallatin County commissioners on Sunday closed Spanish Creek Road to make it easier for livestock officials to implement a quarantine of bison in the affected area, Commissioner Joe Skinner said. About nine miles of the road traverses the Turner ranch and parts of the affected area. “The closure is in effect until further notice, until we get a handle on” the infection, Skinner said. In addition to the quarantine of several thousand acres of Turner’s ranch, livestock officials are working to “clean up” the infected site, which entails gathering up the carcasses of fallen bison, burning and burying them, Merritt said....