Farquhar's Blog

Only 6 posts, but for those interested you can view his NRDC blog here.

Salazar Names Former Richardson Aide, Ned Farquhar, DAS for Land and Minerals Management

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today named Ned Farquhar, a renewable energy and natural resource policy expert and former senior advisor on energy and the environment to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. The appointment does not require Senate confirmation. “Our mandate from the President is to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, build a clean-energy economy and make wise use of our conventional energy resources,” Secretary Salazar said. “Ned’s extensive natural resource policy experience and expertise with renewable energy production and transmission make him well-qualified to help us create energy-related jobs here in America, protect our national security and confront the dangers of climate change.” Farquhar was most recently senior advocate for Mountain West Energy/Climate with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since 2006, he has developed strategies for the Western Regional Climate Initiative, incorporating seven states and four Canadian provinces, and culminating in the nation’s most comprehensive cap and trade framework in September 2008. The Initiative supports renewable energy development throughout the West. From 2003 to 2006, Farquhar was the senior advisor to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on energy and the environment, providing strategic and tactical direction to Richardson’s nationally recognized clean energy program. Farquhar worked with cabinet members to develop legislation, executive orders and communications on climate change, renewable energy, energy efficiency, land management, and energy development. He represented Richardson at the Western Governors’ Association, designing and implementing the governor’s clean and diversified energy program for the WGA. Before that Farquhar was program officer for Western Lands at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in Los Altos, California. From 2001 to 2003, he developed and implemented national and regional grant campaigns for transportation policy reform, land protection, habitat conservation, growth management and land use...DOI

Bingaman introduces mining law reform

U.S. Senate and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman has introduced S. 796, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009, which will be reviewed this summer after the committee works on a bipartisan energy bill. The bill eliminates patenting of federal lands, imposes a federal minerals royalty, establishes a Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund, and requires a review of certain lands within three years to determine if they will be available for future mining. The bill aims to enact a robust abandoned mine land program for hardrock mining sites. It is estimated that there are as many as 500,000 abandoned hardrock mine sites nationally, most located in the West. Each operator of a hardrock mining on federal, state, tribal or private land would pay a reclamation fee of not less than 0.3%, and not more than 1%, of the value of the production of the hardrock minerals for deposit into the fund. Production of all locatable minerals on public lands would be subject to a royalty to be determined by the U.S. Secretary of Interior through regulations of not less than 2% and not more than 5% of production value, not including "reasonable transportation, beneficiation, and processing costs." The royalty could also vary based on the particular mineral being mined. Permits would be required for all mineral activities on federal lands...Mineweb

PLC Applauds Congressional Letter On The Endangered Species Act

The Public Lands Council (PLC) applauded a letter sent by members of Congress to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, urging commonsense action on the consultation process for the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The letter, signed by a bipartisan group of 19 Representatives, expressed concern with language in the recent omnibus spending bill calling for review of a December 2008 regulation to streamline consultations under the ESA. “We have been working closely with Congress on this issue,” explained Skye Krebs, PLC President and rancher from Ione, Ore. “We appreciate that these 19 legislators joined our effort to ensure that the Endangered Species Act is as efficient and effective as possible.” Under the recently overturned regulation, proposed federal actions that are determined to have no effect on a species listed under the ESA would no longer be required to be approved through consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Relieving the FWS of the duty to be involved in actions unlikely to impact a listed species will free-up its scarce resources to address more of the actions that are likely to harm species. Additionally, the regulation would limit consultation under the ESA on climate change. The ESA was never intended to address greenhouse gas emissions and it should not be used for this purpose...Cattle Network

Forty-four House Democrats Call on Obama Administration to Repeal Harmful Bush Endangered Species Regulations

Forty-four members of the House of Representatives, including seven committee chairman and several other high-ranking leaders, sent a letter Friday calling upon Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to rescind rules passed in the final days of the Bush administration that weaken the Endangered Species Act by exempting thousands of federal activities, including those that generate greenhouse gases, from review under the Endangered Species. Congress passed legislation on March 10 giving Secretary Salazar power until May 9 to rescind the rules with the stroke of a pen. To date, Secretary Salazar has not said whether he will use the power granted by Congress, prompting the letter that strongly urged him to rescind the rules. “This is a major test for the Obama administration,” said Noah Greenwald, biodiversity program director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Bush administration rules are a disaster for the nation’s endangered species and need to be undone.” The letter, which was led by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, and signed by among others House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, House Energy Independence and Global Warming Chairman Ed Markey, and House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks, states: “[W]e strongly oppose these regulations because they cut at the heart of the law that has protected and recovered endangered fish, wildlife and plants for the past 35 years,” adding that “[q]uick withdrawal of these flawed rules is essential,” because “[e]very day they remain in effect places endangered wildlife at greater risk of extinction.”...CBD

Investigating the Death of Macho B, America’s Last Known Wild Jaguar

A criminal investigation has been launched into the capture and death of Macho B, the last known wild jaguar in the United States. He was at least 15 years old, making him the oldest wild jaguar ever reported. He was first captured in a leg-hold snare outside Tucson, Arizona, on February 18. Described as healthy, he was tranquilized and fitted with a radio-collar by which he could be tracked by satellite, and released. On March 2, when wildlife officials decided he was in poor health, they recaptured him with tranquilizing darts and flew him to the Phoenix Zoo. He was euthanized at the zoo the very same day because a veterinarian said Macho B had irreversible kidney failure. Questions were soon raised about the circumstances of the incident. Macho B had been observed by remote cameras, but conservationists had argued that no attempt should be made to snare the animal, especially considering his age. The Arizona Game and Fish Department “did not authorize or condone intentional initial capture of this jaguar,” it said in a statement [The New York Times]. However, a biologist who was working as a consultant to the department, Emil McCain, may have instructed an employee to snare the jaguar. A field technician claims that McCain gave her female jaguar scat in February, and told her to place it at the snare trap site. The scat had been used several times to attract Macho B to come within camera range [The New York Times]. McCain has denied the allegation. Wildlife officials are also investigating whether stress from his capture had caused or exacerbated Macho B’s condition. A necropsy was performed, and [on March 4] Phoenix Zoo Executive Vice President Dr. Dean Rice [said] the capture probably played a key role in the jaguar’s death [Los Angeles Times]...Discover

The desert that breaks Annie Proulx's heart

Annie Proulx does not love the Red Desert in southern Wyoming. That's what she says, anyway, though she's spent the last six years writing and editing a nonfiction book about the place. "I think it's dangerous to love the desert," says the writer, who is known for telling brutal stories about rough, out-on-the-edge places and the people who live in them. "Because it's a heartbreaker to see what's happening to it. You know -- to watch its destruction." The Red Desert, which lies just west of her home, is a 6 million-acre swath of federal, state and private land generally left off lists of the state's scenic highlights. In recent years, a fever for oil and gas drilling has gripped the region. Roughly 5,000 wells have been drilled here, according to conservationists, but in the last four years, the Bureau of Land Management has approved or begun the approval process for 15,000 more. Where once there was wide quiet space and herds of cows and sheep and antelope and elk, now there are three-story drilling rigs and squat well pads, half-dug pipeline ditches snaking off to the horizon, invasive weeds, truck traffic, dust plumes...HCN

Idaho, Cody wolves ‘pair’

Federal biologists tracked a wolf from Idaho to Cody where it has “paired” with a Wyoming mate, providing new information in the debate over whether federal protection of wolves should end. The question of whether state wolf plans for Idaho, Montana and Wyoming will ensure genetic diversity that would allow the species to persist is one the federal government has faced as it attempts to turn control of the animals over to local game and fish agencies. Lawsuits and court rulings against plans to end federal endangered species protection of the animal have raised the genetic viability question. But if populations in the three states are connected — something the latest news might confirm — the genetic question may diminish in importance. The exchange of DNA among the populations would enhance the genetic diversity of a population, an important factor in whether it persists in the long run...Jackson Hole Daily

Plan aims to get 1000 wild horses adopted

Animal welfare groups in the United States have joined forces in an ambitious plan to get 1000 wild horses adopted in the first National Wild Horse Adoption Day, to be held September. The aim of groups backing the day is to encourage the American public to consider adoption of a wild horse or burro. The goal of 1000 horses adopted through the National Adoption Day programme could create a savings of more than $US1.5 million for the bureau. State bureau offices, as well as wild horse groups, rescue centres, and volunteers will be engaged in activities leading up to and on the designated day - September 26...Horsetalk

Officials: Arson cause of BLM land fires

Fire officials for the Bureau of Land Management Carlsbad Field Office have determined that at least two grass fires last week on BLM land were acts of arson. Ty Bryson, BLM Carlsbad Field Office fire management officer, said evidence shows that two fires near Werewolf Hill, west of town, and south of town near the airport were deliberately set by a person or persons. "We had a rash of fires last week that kept local fire crews busy with suppression activities," said Bryson. "All of these were human-caused from either welding, trash burning or deliberately ignited." He said the BLM conducts an investigation of any fire on public lands where the source of ignition indicates it was human-caused and there is evidence of negligence or intent. For human-caused fires where negligence or intent can be established, the agency will take action to recover the cost of fire suppression activities, emergency stabilization, rehabilitation of the land and damages to the resources improvements...Carlsbad Current-Argus

Permanent Conservation Easement Incentives

Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Eric Cantor (R-Va.) have introduced the Conservation Easement Incentive Act, H.R. 1831. The bill would make permanent an incentive that allows modest-income landowners to receive significant tax deductions for donating conservation easements that permanently protect natural or historic resources on their lands. Specifically, the enhanced tax incentive allows working family ranchers and farmers, to deduct up to 100 percent of their income for as many as 16 years in order to deduct their gift's full value. First passed in 2006 and extended in the 2008 Farm Bill, this incentive is set to expire on Dec. 31 of this year. “We’ve seen a 50 percent increase in the number of conservation easement donations since Congress passed my provisions to enhance these tax benefits on a temporary basis in 2006,” says Thompson. “If current development trends continue in California, another 2 million acres will be paved over by 2050. It’s time we made these protections permanent. By making sure that landowners can count on these enhanced tax benefits, we’ll take a big step forward in preserving our agricultural lands and keeping our environment safe from over development.” Thompson and Cantor are members of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over all federal tax measures...Pork

Horse problem is man-made and fixable

A local voice has now joined the debate over the closure of equine slaughterhouses in the United States. Cowboy poet Baxter Black of Benson, who is also a large animal veterinarian, is one of the founders of a new webpage, www.abandonedhorses.com, established to document cases of equine abuse, abandonment and neglect. Wylie Gustafson, another web site founder, said, "Our first and foremost concern is the horse. There is a real and urgent need for change. Our intention is to reduce the horses' suffering and neglect by creating an awareness of the current problem." The current problem he refers to is closure of slaughterhouses in the United States. In 2007, court action closed the Texas plant and in September of the same year, an Illinois state law prohibiting horse slaughter for human consumption closed the last plant in the U.S. At the same time the plants were closing, the economy was headed south. So in 2008 and 2009, horse owners who had lost their jobs and could no longer feed their horses began turning them loose. The result has been herds of abandoned horses starving on rangelands throughout the country...Arizona Range News

Here info from the website:

America's horse-processing industry was effectively outlawed in 2007. Actions taken within the states of Texas and Illinois closed three facilities where unneeded, unwanted, and infirmed horses were processed for human consumption, pet food, and for zoo carnivores.

The year before the plant closures, 102,260(1) horses were processed in America. Since the closings, there has been an up-tick in the reports of neglected, starved, abandoned, and abused horses.

It costs approximately $1,825 annually(2) to provide basic care for a horse, not including veterinary medical or farrier (hoof) care. The average lifespan of a horse is 30 years (30 yrs x $1,825/yr = $54,750).

Current economic conditions are compounding the problem for cash-strapped owners who find it nearly impossible to sell their animals, regardless of age and condition. Few people are buying.

It is not unusual for a horse to sell for as little as $5 (below), if they sell at all. Commission fees charged owners are frequently more than the selling price. The average fee(4) for a veterinarian to chemically euthanize a horse by intravenous injection is $66, which does not include carcass disposal.

Lacking a market for horses that otherwise would have been utilized through processing (102,260 head in 2006), in 10 years time, America could be faced with caring for a million horses.

Cowboys preserve Californio vaquero ranch-style roping

Jack Eary is helping to preserve a style of horsemanship and roping with ancient roots. Dressed in everyday "Buckaroo" garb -- cowboy hat, bandanna, chaps, boots and spurs -- Eary often spends Saturdays at a Cherry Valley ranch teaching protégés the art of Californio vaquero ranch-style roping. Mastering the balance, timing and feel of the roping style takes years of practice, said Cherry Valley rancher Elvin Walt. "It's really a lifelong journey," Walt said. The training takes place at the ranch. The Californio vaquero roots date back some 15 centuries to the Moors of North Africa, said David Matuszak, a Redlands resident and author. When Spaniards began to settle in Southern California in the 1700s, they brought the riding style along with their horses and cattle. Walt and Matuszak are among a group of weekend "vaqueros" who have become passionate about the roping style and using their quarter horses for a task they were bred to do. Cowboys who learn Californio vaquero ranch-style roping come away with a gentler, more humane approach to immobilizing cows as they're being readied for vaccinations and branding, he said. "The idea is not to traumatize the animal," Matuszak said. Unlike roping styles that take seconds for cowboys to perform at rodeos, the Californio vaquero style is more nonchalant, Eary said. It was born out of a need to sometimes singlehandedly doctor and manage cattle roaming the open range...Press Enterprise

Song Of The Day #013

George Morgan was born in Waverly, Tenn. on June 28, 1924. He formed his own band in the mid-forties and was soon invited to be part of Wheeling Jamboree on radio station WWVA. In 1948 he was invited to join the Grand Ol' Opry where he replaced Eddy Arnold. The same year he signed a recording contract with Columbia.

Candy Kisses, which Morgan wrote, was released in 1949 and went to the top of the charts, spending three weeks at #1. 1949 was a great year for Morgan, as seven of his singles placed in the top ten.

One of those was today's selection, Please Don't Let Me Love You. It's available on the Bear Family 8 cd collection Candy Kisses, or you can download the single for 99 cents at Amazon.com.

Youth ATV and Motorcycle Ban

Protecting children from exposure to lead, that was the idea behind the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The legislation however, took the All Terrain Vehicle, (ATV) Industry by surprise, because in it, lawmakers ban a whole section of the market. Ashland Cycle Center Owner Rick Keelin says he got the news just days before the ban went into affect. “On the First of February we received a letter from the manufacturers letting us know that by February 10th this ban was to go into affect, and it was to cover all vehicles that were designed for children under the age of 12 that includes ATV’s and motorcycles,” Keelin said. In addition, dealer’s can also no longer sell parts or accessories that were made for these products. “We can't even take them in on trade so the consumer can't trade them back into us, they can't buy parts, they can't buy anything that was designed for a youth under 12 years of age,” Keelin said. The concern is that certain parts of these vehicles contain lead. The Motorcycle Industry Council, (MIC) a non-profit group, predicts that if the ban stands the industry could lose $1 billion dollars annually...WSAZ News

One Small Word Is Tying Up ATV, Motorcycle Industry

The Devil is in the details, they say, and that seems to be the case in the latest episode in the lingering battle between the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the rest of the world. Yesterday (March 11, 2009) the CPSC published a final rule covering lead content in toys designed for children aged 12 and younger that virtually slams the door on industry efforts to avoid the foolish ban on kid’s quads, motorcycles and related parts, accessories and apparel items. The ban on kids' toys started Feb. 10. It all hinges on the three-letter word “any” that appears twice in the wide-ranging Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that became law last August. In the new rule covering exclusions, there are two references that limit CPSC flexibility, the agency says. Here they are: # First, there can’t be “absorption of any lead into the human body.” # The second is: “Nor have any other adverse impact on public health and safety.” The law is very narrowly written, a CPSC spokesman told me. If there is lead absorption into the body, blood lead levels will increase, but whether that has significance from a health standpoint remains a question. However the addition of the word “any” made it explicit that Congress had already made this risk assessment and legislated that ANY absorption of lead, no matter how insignificant, would be unacceptable, he said...Dealernews

Riders rally against CPSIA; Six year old promises not to eat dirtbike

Six-year-old Chase Yentzer stood up on a chair before a crowd at Capitol Hill and promised not to eat his dirtbike. “My name is Chase Yentzer, and I’m 6 years old. I ride dirtbikes with my family. I race dirtbikes. Please give me my dirtbike back. I promise not to eat it,” said the Carlisle, Pa., youth, to thunderous applause. Yentzer was the youngest speaker at the April 1 rally urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission to exempt youth-model motorcycles and ATVs from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Intended to stop the sale of toys containing lead, the CPSIA has also banned the sale of motorcycles and ATVs produced for children 12 years old and younger since Feb. 10. The rally at the Capitol included enthusiasts and powersports dealers, as well as authors, apparel makers and small business owners whose products are also caught under the CPSIA. The CPSA report also agreed with one argument made by the anti-CPSIA contingent, saying the elimination of youth ATV sales is likely to result in children riding adult ATVs and increasing their risk of injury and death. ..Motorcycle

New BLM Director ?

Sources are saying the new BLM Director will be announced this week, and that it will be Bob Abbey, the retired Nevada State BLM Director. Could be the Assistant Secretary over that wing of Interior will be announced too.

Some insiders feel the Abbey pick is a good one, the best you'll get out of the Obama administration.

Others will remember the way he went after Wayne Hage and his family, only being stopped by the county sheriff.

Feds agree to look at jaguar's capture

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will open a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the capture and euthanization of the jaguar Macho B, service officials said Thursday. The federal agency, legally responsible for protecting endangered species such as the jaguar, said it would look into "all aspects of the incident" involving Macho B's capture and death. It said the decision to investigate — previously sought by a congressman and two environmental groups — was based on "new information received in the last 48 hours that called into question the circumstances of the initial capture." The announcement came after the Arizona Daily Star published an article raising the possibility that the Feb. 18 capture of Macho B was deliberate and not accidental, as State Game and Fish officials had said. In an interview, Janay Brun, a field technician for a non-profit jaguar research group, said she was told on Feb. 4 by a biologist for the group, Emil McCain, to place female jaguar scat at the snare trap site where Macho B was later captured. McCain has denied Brun's allegation. A service spokesman said "I can't say that it is one specific thing" that triggered the investigation. "It is the circumstances around the trapping of the jaguar in general," said spokesman Jose Viramontes in Albuquerque...Arizona Daily Star

Navajos want to run river trips at Grand Canyon

The Navajo Nation is lobbying for one of its businessmen to run coveted river trips through the Grand Canyon. With only one American Indian tribe currently doing so, the director of the Navajo Nation's Division of Economic Development says its time to open the door to others. Allan Begay said the Navajo Nation would like for the venture to begin soon, but Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Steve Martin said that's unlikely. The National Park Service tightly controls the number of people who can set out on the river and a management plan isn't up for review. The 2006 management plan for the Colorado River was the result of years of talks among scientists, National Park Service managers and other professionals, with input from tour operators, Indian tribes and the public. Under the plan, 24,567 people on commercial and noncommercial trips are allowed to travel down the Colorado River each year. Those seeking to raft the river in private boats are selected through a computerized lottery system and are limited to one trip per year...Fresno Bee

Eco Barons

Although these Tucsonans work with a shoestring budget in a building that they have to vacate for three weeks every year to make way for the annual gem shows, they run what an author calls "America's most effective private environmental law firm." Although they live and work in Tucson, they raised the worldwide alarm for polar bears, warning that the animal could be wiped out. And they have done the same for dozens of other species. These barons are the founders and employees of the Center for Biological Diversity. And they are among the environmental giants profiled in "Eco Barons," subtitled "The Dreamers, Schemers and Millionaires Who Are Saving Our Planet." The author is Edward Humes, a Tucson Citizen reporter from 1980-85. He left to work for the Orange County Register where he won a Pulitzer Prize and then turned to books. "Eco Barons" is his 10th. Humes notes that during its 20-year existence, the center has won close to 90 percent of its 500 cases - an unprecedented success rate in environmental law. The George W. Bush administration didn't like listing species as endangered. But almost every one of the 87 listed during the Bush years was protected because the Tucson-based center "used the courts to force the issue," Humes writes. And that is how the Center for Biological Diversity works: by forcing the government to abide by every letter of environmental law - especially the Endangered Species Act...Tucson Citizen

Everglades Restoration Plan Shrinks

The Everglades have become yet another victim of the shrinking economy. Gov. Charlie Crist announced Wednesday that Florida would significantly scale back its $1.34 billion deal to restore the Everglades by buying 180,000 acres from the United States Sugar Corporation. At a news conference in Tallahassee, Mr. Crist outlined a far more modest proposal: $530 million for 72,500 acres, with an option to buy the rest by 2019. “We feel this is the best opportunity, the best financial scenario we can present,” Mr. Crist said, adding, “The economy has been what it has been, and we have to deal with the parameters we are given.” The new proposal, if approved by the South Florida Water Management District and the board of United States Sugar, would amount to the second major revision of a plan that began last June as a purchase of United States Sugar, all assets included, for $1.75 billion. Back then, state officials and environmentalists described the buyout as “the holy grail” of restoration because it would put the country’s largest sugar grower out of business and revive the water flow between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades...NY Times

Soda Mountain wilderness could be cow-free

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument was created by proclamation in the waning days of the Clinton administration in 2000. It was left for a future Congress to better protect it. That happened March 30 when Congress carved out 23,000 acres of the 52,940-acre monument to create the Soda Mountain Wilderness Area, in two sections. It also encourages the retirement of six grazing leases in the monument, if environmental groups come up with the money to purchase them. The monument is manged by the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management...The Oregonian

Budget Brings Back Death Tax

Part of the Bush tax cuts was a provision that would wind down the estate tax from its existing 55% to 45% in 2009 and then to zero in 2010. For the Obama administration, a year without an estate tax is a terrible thing to waste. If you actually read the budget, which few do, particularly congressmen, you find this footnote on Page 127: "(T)he estate tax is maintained at its 2009 parameters." The first Bush tax cut has been, in effect, repealed — part of the age of "fairness" we now all inhabit. In an economy that is starved for capital, the death tax is dangerous. The Joint Economic Committee has calculated that the death tax has reduced the stock of capital by $847 billion, money that can't be used to expand or start businesses or hire more people. A new study by the American Family Business Foundation, written by economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, finds that the death tax is responsible for lowering overall employment by 1.5 million jobs. It takes capital out of the productive hands of entrepreneurs' descendants and heirs and into the unproductive hands of government...IBD

The Great Biodiesel Shutdown

The sufferings of the American biodiesel industry continue. Michigan’s largest biodiesel maker, NextDiesel, is not making any of the fuel in the state at the moment, and the second-largest Michigan producer is down to one-tenth of its capacity, according to Michigan Live. Texas, a large biodiesel producer, has been badly hit, and Europe’s tariff on American exports will particularly affect the port of Houston, according to The Houston Chronicle. In Salem, Ore., a large biodiesel plant is struggling to sell the fuel, which is sitting in tanks and rented storage containers, according to The Statesman Journal, an Oregon paper. (This has not stopped talk of a biodiesel research institute in Salem.) Oregon has a law requiring that all diesel in the state be sold with a 2 percent biodiesel blend. But in a cruel catch, that requirement only applies if a certain amount of biodiesel is produced every month. The hard-hit biodiesel makers are not currently producing at that that level, The Statesman Journal reported...NY Times

Montana Governor Offers Partial Veto of Horse Slaughter

Montana's governor has vetoed part of a contentious horse slaughter bill, sending it back to lawmakers after striking the key legal protections it allowed for slaughterhouses. Citing the famous Greek story of the 'Trojan Horse' that held enemy soldiers in its belly, Gov. Brian Schweitzer said the horse slaughter bill hides "unintended consequences" for the right to challenge companies' operating permits. "The appeal rights we have as citizens for environmental protection" would be gone, Schweitzer said in a Friday news conference. House Bill 418, sponsored by Rep. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred, aims to limit the kind of legal challenges that forced the country's last slaughterhouses in Illinois and Texas to shut down in 2007. But Democrat Schweitzer's partial veto strikes the bill's two key provisions for discouraging such lawsuits. One would require challengers to post a bond worth 20 percent of the slaughter facility's construction costs, and potentially saddles them with liability for damages incurred by the company due to the trial. The other prohibits courts from halting construction once a facility has been approved by the state...AP

The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.

You've heard this shocking "fact" before -- on TV and radio, in newspapers, on the Internet and from the highest politicians in the land: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States. There's just one problem with the 90 percent "statistic" and it's a big one: It's just not true. In fact, it's not even close. The fact is, only 17 percent of guns found at Mexican crime scenes have been traced to the U.S. What's true, an ATF spokeswoman told FOXNews.com, in a clarification of the statistic used by her own agency's assistant director, "is that over 90 percent of the traced firearms originate from the U.S." But a large percentage of the guns recovered in Mexico do not get sent back to the U.S. for tracing, because it is obvious from their markings that they do not come from the U.S. In 2007-2008, according to ATF Special Agent William Newell, Mexico submitted 11,000 guns to the ATF for tracing. Close to 6,000 were successfully traced -- and of those, 90 percent -- 5,114 to be exact, according to testimony in Congress by William Hoover -- were found to have come from the U.S. But in those same two years, according to the Mexican government, 29,000 guns were recovered at crime scenes. In other words, 68 percent of the guns that were recovered were never submitted for tracing. And when you weed out the roughly 6,000 guns that could not be traced from the remaining 32 percent, it means 83 percent of the guns found at crime scenes in Mexico could not be traced to the U.S...Fox News

Ranch Tours: Family hopes to pass on ranching tradition

Every ranch in this series of ranch tours has had a distinguishing feature and the U-Bar Ranch of Grant and Hidalgo counties is no different. While a large percentage of Western ranches have been owned generationally, the U-Bar Ranch has had three owners since it was homesteaded. The third (and present) owners are Dave and Tamara Ogilvie. The Arizona natives bought the ranch in 1988 and started operating it as the U-Bar in 1992. The 225-section ranch is made up of private land, four Gila National Forest allotments, state BLM lands and leased land from Freeport-McMoRan. If you're one of the recreationalists who take advantage of the Bill Evans Lake, chances are you'll see U-Bar Ranch cattle and cowboys, depending on the time of the year. My visit to the U-Bar Ranch was in the middle of calving season. Dave took me from the ranch headquarters on U.S. Highway 180, west to the Gila National Forest allotments where we saw a sprinkling of cows and their calves. There are about 1,500 commercial cows in the U-Bar herd, including 150 adult registered Angus bulls and a herd of 350 registered Angus (pampered) cows who reside in the Gila River Valley. The registered herd is a trademark of the U-Bar Ranch with scientific data and information playing a big role in the production of these calves. The pastures are irrigated and farmed for optimum pasture grazing. One cowboy is in charge of this herd and four of the ranch's seven full-time hands are based at the river, Dave said...Silver City Sun-News

A great big thanks to Holly Wise for this excellent series.

Let's hope at a future date she'll start a new series, possibly focusing on ranching in the regional wilderness areas, or the impact the wolf introduction program is having on ranching, or whatever she feels is important.

It's nice to have an objective journalist with ranching knowledge reporting on the industry.

Sheep ranches' shear madness

Shearing has marked a seasonal passage on Colorado's farms and ranches as long as there have been sheep here. But it's getting to be a bigger headache for the state's 1,600 lamb and wool producers. Tightened immigration regulations and a lack of domestic interest in the work have cut the number of experienced shearers on the spring-clipping circuit. Farmers and ranchers now must jockey for slots on a very tight shearing schedule that is also weather-dependent. If the producers can't get their sheep shorn in a short window between winter's sharpest cold and spring lambing season, the sheep tend to have more health problems. Parasites burrow into the wool. And it is more difficult for ewes to give birth and nurse their lambs when covered by thick pelts of wool. Colorado wool growers haven't resorted to raising breeds of sheep that don't have to be shorn like some producers in Texas have. That's not an option in Colorado's cold...Denver Post

Worried about your GM or Chrysler warranty? Don't be, this video explains why

Song Of The Day #012

William Grishaw was born in 1915 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He took the stage name of Zeb Turner and was a famous honky tonk guitarist. His first recordings were in 1938 as a member of the Hi Neighbor Boys. Joined later by his brother, who took the stage name Zeek Turner, they appeared on recordings by Hank Williams and Red Foley, and wrote the Eddy Arnold hit It's A Sin.

Today's selecton is Zeb Turner's 1951 recording of Chew Tobacco Rag.

Wake Up, It's Monday!

Cowgirl Sass and Savvy

T-shirt and diamonds

Julie Carter

Some of my favorite people are Texans. In a world where we are not supposed to recognize color, creed, gender or nationality differences, the rules don't apply for Texans.

Texans are not wealthy by chance. There was a fair amount of sweat involved in the early days - getting the somewhat unruly Indians shipped off to Oklahoma and New Mexico, the wild longhorns trailed to Kansas railheads and turned into money and, of course, getting the oil wells pumping at a steady rate.

Nevertheless, they have their own list of priorities when handling wealth. You won't find it buried in fruit jars in the backyard. They put it in circulation in a conscientious manner and a good bit of it is still involved in the cattle business - pastures, feedlots and the roping arena.

Texas is home to 130 feed yards of 100,000 head or more and many more of them with a 50,000 carrying capacity. With more than five million Texas cattle marketed annually, the numbers represent more than 30 percent of the nation's fed cattle.

Texas Cattle Feeders Association statistics document 14 million cattle in Texas. Neighboring New Mexico, fifth-largest state in the nation and also a large cattle business state, reports between one and two million head.

These businesses have a trickle-down effect on the economy representing millions of dollars. The cowboys who take care of the cattle and the owners who profit from the enterprise are a vastly different economic group, but both are part and parcel of the industry.

Of the nation's dedicated team ropers, about 25,000 are active in Texas. In the rodeo world, in the team roping event alone, ropers that call Texas home regularly capture 30 percent of the top 50 professional rodeo slots.

Bona fides established, a look at the day-to-day Texan reveals that he is loyal to his friends, his country and both kinds of Lone Star. You might find him in charge of a bank or managing a stock portfolio that represents a couple million dollars. This, right after he lines up his partners for the next weekend's ropings.

Absolutely, a priority for him will be feeding the horses and taking care of the practice steers. Every afternoon, unless it's raining right straight down, he will give the Corrientes a little exercise. In some cases, if it continues to rain a while, he might put a roof over the arena.

The rodeo rigs, pickups and trailers were designed with the Texas competitor in mind. When cost is not an issue, comfort and convenience is. Top of the list? The close proximity of a bathroom facility, right where his horse is tied and his beer is cold.

The women of the roping arena are just dedicated as the men and, whether they admit it or not, the cowboys tend to get a little tense when some of them ride in the arena.

These women are not just beautiful, but always competent roping hands. They will be fashion trendsetters and are never without their customary jewelry.

Comfort is a priority and it has become stylish for them to wear T-shirts while roping. T-shirts and diamonds big enough to blind the competition.

Shy and understated are not terms normally applied to Texas women. They, like the men, figure if you get too much money you can just trade it for something you would like to have.

Julie, the one without the diamonds, can be reached for comment at www.julie-carter.com

It’s The Pitts: Revolution

Lee Pitts

We are always hearing that what we need to do to solve all of our problems is “come together.” I hope I don’t get hung for treason for suggesting this but maybe what we need to do is come apart. Pardon me, Thomas Jefferson, for saying this but maybe these 50 United States should break up into 50 separate countries. The USSR did it and look how well it’s working for them. Well, never mind. But before you rush to have the FBI tap my phone or throw me in jail as a subversive please hear me out.

I did something the other day I haven’t done since high school: I read the Declaration of Independence. You know, that document that starts out, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve their political bands which have connected them...” and so forth. The Declaration gives the reasons why it was okay for us to break away from England. Here are some of those reasons. See if they don’t also apply to today:

• He (the King) has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable and distant,” (You ever hear of a better definition of Washington D.C?) “for the purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measure.”

• “He has erected a multitude of new offices and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”

• “For imposing taxes on us without our consent.”

• “For destroying the lives of our people.”

It goes and on and on like this. Maybe one size doesn’t fit all any more.

If people in Connecticut want marauding bands of wolves turned loose to eat out their substance let them do it in their own nation/state but residents in Wyoming would rather not, thank, you very much. If the hedge fund traders think the government should own 90% of the land in New York, hey, knock yourself out, but folks in the nation of Nevada would rather have a say as to what they can do on their own land. If people in Rhode Island don’t want to drill for oil or chop down trees, fine, they don’t have to in their nation/state. But leave us the heck alone.

When the idiots in a particular suburb of Virginia known as Washington D.C want to sign environmental treaties and NAFTA, CAFTA, and SHAFTA, go right ahead. We hope you starve to death. Why the freezing folks in Delaware would want to strangle their economy by passing global warming legislation I have no idea, but leave the good people in the Dakotas and Minnesota alone. They could use a little global warming!

If the Yankees up North don’t like the color of the southerner’s necks, fine, you’re cordially invited to go somewhere else for vacation. If you want to make fun of residents of Idaho, fine, no more French fries for you.

With 50 separate nation states there would be something for everyone. If you like cows and cowboys you could move to Texas. If you don’t, go to Hades, for all they care. If you like Mexican food and want to speak Spanish all the time you can move to California. If you want to smoke dope, marry your same sex partner and kill yourself when you get too old, fine, move to Oregon. If the undefeated football folks in Utah feel shafted by the BCS they could declare war on Florida. (I’m betting on Utah.)

We would have a one year grace period where anyone can move to the state they prefer but after that there would be strict immigration laws and states could charge anyone wanting to move in. Some states (Montana, Wyoming and Colorado) could get as much as $100,000 per new resident while others (Taxachusetts) would have to pay people to move there. We would officially declare the United States bankrupt, skip out on our debts to China and start all over. Each nation/state would have their own banks, gun laws, President and language.

Anybody got a better idea?

I didn’t think so.

Rugged Ranchland - Wally & Anne Ferguson - American Heartland video

Cattle Rancher, Anne Ferguson, says, “You know your heritage. You know for your children, your grandchildren. They know where they came from. You know what I mean. It’s a solid base. You can go away but it’s good to come home.” And “home” to Anne and Wally Ferguson is a sprawling cattle ranch in rugged western New Mexico. Cattle are “king” in New Mexico. Raising livestock on ranches like this generates the majority of the state’s agricultural income. But ranching on this arid land is hard work. Wally says, “Like Annie always says, you have to love it to be here because the days are long and hard when you’re workin’ and you’re worrying about rain and someone asked us why we don’t go on long vacations: ‘cause the cows need water’.” The story of the Fergusons on this land goes back 150 years. It’s a bit like stepping inside a Wild West movie, complete with buckboards, covered wagons, cavalry forts and cowboys and Indians. Around 1859, Wally’s great, great uncle came to what was then the New Mexico territory...America's Heartland

Here's the video from the tv show:

Song Of The Day #011

The original Brown's Ferry Four were Grandpa Jones, the Delmore Brothers & Merle Travis. The group got started 1943 when another group had left WLW in Cincinnatti, Ohio, leaving a 30 minute hole for the station to fill. Alton Delmore hurriedly put the group together. They went on the air the next day and country music history was made. They cut 44 sides for King Records between 1946 and 1952, all of which are available on the 2 cd collection Rockin' On The Waves.

Today's selection by the group is Old Camp Meeting.

'Green' Lobby Outnumbers Congress 4 to 1

More than 770 companies and interest groups hired an estimated 2,340 lobbyists during the past year to influence climate legislation on Capitol Hill, a Center for Public Integrity report shows. The huge hiring increase means climate lobbyists on K Street seeking to influence President Barack Obama’s administration to carve out of a piece of the $787-billion stimulus package for the clients they represent now outnumber lawmakers in the U.S.Congress by a margin of more than 4 to 1. The number of lobbyists in the federal policy on climate change business began its upward climb in 2008, analysis of Senate lobbying disclosure forms shows. The trend took off just prior to Obama taking office...IBD

Wind turbines could more than meet U.S. electricity needs, report says

Wind turbines off U.S. coastlines could potentially supply more than enough electricity to meet the nation's current demand, the Interior Department reported Thursday. Simply harnessing the wind in relatively shallow waters -- the most accessible and technically feasible sites for offshore turbines -- could produce at least 20% of the power demand for most coastal states, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, unveiling a report by the Minerals Management Service that details the potential for oil, gas and renewable development on the outer continental shelf. The biggest wind potential lies off the nation's Atlantic coast, which the Interior report estimates could produce 1,000 gigawatts of electricity -- enough to meet a quarter of the national demand. The report also notes large potential in the Pacific, including off the California coast, but said the area presented technical challenges. The Interior Department released an executive summary of the report on Thursday...LA Times

Go here (pdf) for the executive summary.

Drastic water cuts expected for the Bay Area

Get ready for singed lawns, dusty cars and pricier produce. California water officials reported Thursday that the end-of-winter snowpack remained at low levels for the third year in a row, and water agencies in the Bay Area and around the state are asking residents to conserve at levels not seen since the last big drought in the early 1990s. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides about one-third of the state's water supply, stood at 81 percent of normal Thursday; runoff, the amount of meltwater that flows into rivers and reservoirs, is projected at just 70 percent. Officials said snowpack would have to be at 120 percent of normal or more to replenish many of the state's reservoirs, some of which hover at just 50 percent of capacity. The measurements are the fourth of the season and the most important benchmark for water managers across California, who now will determine how to stretch their supplies through October, when the first rains usually arrive...San Francisco Chronicle

Canadian exports at risk from U.S. climate change bill

Proposed U.S. legislation could slap import levies on a range of Canadian products - from steel and cement to paper and ceramics - if Washington deems Canada is lax in fighting global warming. The climate change legislation also includes low-carbon standards that could drive up the cost of imports from the Alberta oil sands. Leading Democrats in the U.S. Congress this week introduced a bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions that would require the administration to impose tariff-like fees on importers whose own governments don't have regulations, reporting rules or enforcement mechanisms that are as tough as those laid out in the legislation. U.S. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders are promising to move quickly on measures to combat climate change - from emission caps on industry, to low-carbon standards for transportation fuel, to renewable energy portfolios for utilities. And while Mr. Obama yesterday warned of the dangers of protectionism at the Group of 20 meeting in London, trade experts say the environmental policies that he backs include a minefield of potential protectionist measures that would favour domestic producers over importers...Globe & Mail

Senate votes to kill cap-and-trade?

Well, not overtly, but the Senate voted 89-8 for an amendment to the Fiscal year 2010 budget resolution (S. Con Res. 13), introduced by Sen. John Thune (R-SD), which would prohibit any future greenhouse gas cap-and-trade initiative from increasing gasoline prices and electricity rates for U.S. households and businesses. As University of Colorado professor Roger Pielke, Jr. points out, “The entire purpose of cap and trade is in fact to increase the costs of carbon-emitting sources of energy, which dominate US energy consumption. The Thune Amendment thus undercuts the entire purpose of cap and trade.” In other words, it is impossible to vote for the Thune amendment and support cap-and-trade and be consistent, candid, or straight with the American people. Who voted for the Thune amendment? A whole bunch of cap-and-traders including Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), John McCain (R-AZ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and John Warner (D-VA). Boxer tried to square the circle, proposing legislation, adopted 54-43, to compensate consumers for higher energy prices via tax rebates. But rebates after-the-fact are not the same as prohibiting measures that increase energy prices in the first place. Does anyone really believe that if carbon permit auctions under President Obama’s cap-and-trade initiative raise $646 billion or even $1.9 trillion for the Treasury, spendaholics in Congress will not use one dime of the boodle to fund pet projects, “green” jobs, or health-care “reform”?...Open Market

Greening the White House

Michelle Obama’s organic vegetable garden is only part of the new administration’s push to green the White House. For the last two months, a White House spokesman told Green Inc., the housekeeping staff has begun using greener cleaning products at the complex, and groundskeepers and engineers have been asked to do the same. Recycling is now in place in both the East and West wings, and includes newspapers, magazines, glass, aluminum and plastics. Staff are working with the General Services Administration to make further improvements around the complex. White House drinking fountains — which presumably create an awkward angle for filling up reuseable bottles — are also being upgraded to make that process easier. And the Obama girls’ swing set was also carefully selected for its green attributes — including recycled, shredded tires (1,400 of them), as well as nontoxic dyes. And the wood, of course, is made in America. There is no word on solar panels yet — something that plenty of people in the industry are rooting for. Solar at the White House has a roller-coaster history: Jimmy Carter put panels on the roof, and Ronald Reagan took them off...NY Times

Nice to see recycling, handier water fountains, and green swings for the girls...but what is the carbon footprint of those 500 staff accompanying Obama to the G-20 meeting?

Gray wolf delisting formalized

The federal government's second attempt at removing endangered species protection for the gray wolf in the Northern Rockies will be published today, with environmental groups already promising a legal challenge. "The science on this is clear," said Ed Bangs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Helena. "Wolves are recovered." The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its latest delisting plan late last year, but the official decision will be published in the Federal Register today, which sets in motion removal of federal protections in Montana and Idaho. Wolves will be delisted May 4, Bangs said. For all practical purposes, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks already is managing wolves here, but the transfer of control will allow hunting seasons and more liberal defense-of-property rules. "We're not hostile to the notion of hunting," said Louisa Willcox, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Livingston. "We're concerned about the overall, cumulative kill level." Idaho's hunting season is particularly troubling, she said. The organization is one of 12 conservation groups that announced plans Wednesday to file a lawsuit in 60 days to block the delisting plans...Great Falls Tribune

Bill aims to avoid coal-bed methane chaos

A lawsuit by Southwest Colorado ranchers over water rights and coal-bed methane wells has spurred the Legislature into action. William and Elizabeth Vance and James and Mary Fitzgerald sued the state engineer's office in 2005, claiming that coal-bed methane wells were depleting their water wells. They won in a La Plata court in 2007. The case, Vance v. Simpson, is on appeal to the state Supreme Court. A ruling is expected any time. Sen. Jim Isgar and others worry the court could require every one of Colorado's 38,000 gas wells to get a water-well permit, which would overwhelm the state engineer's office. So Isgar, D-Hesperus, and Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, drafted House Bill 1303, which brings coal-bed methane wells into Colorado's water-rights system. Without the bill, the court decision could force the state engineer to roll all coal-bed methane wells into the legal water system in two months. Other observers have said the court decision could apply to every gas or oil well in the state...Durango Herald

Report: More of western Oregon is forested today than a century ago

There is more wood in western Oregon's forests than there was 100 years ago, a new report says. The study from the Oregon Forest Resources Institute also concludes that more acres are covered by forests than were in 1900 and more wood is growing than is being harvested. But that doesn't necessarily mean the forests we have today are more ecologically sound than what was here four decades after Oregon became a state. "The only thing we looked at is timber volume," said Mike Cloughesy, director of forestry for the institute, a state agency funded by timber harvest taxes. The 18-page report compares two snapshots of western Oregon forests: one done by the country's lead science agency at the turn of the last century and another survey using today's satellite and other mapping technologies. "There is less older forest than there was, but the change has not been as drastic as most people think," the report said. Cloughesy said the area covered by forests has increased because of forest growth and the evolution of wildland firefighting policies and techniques...The Oregonian

MIT to Republicans: Lay off the Scaremongering on Climate Costs

Republican opposition to any sort of climate-change bill has sparked another battle—but this time, it isn’t in Congress. House Republican leader John Boehner started the fray by arguing that proposed legislation to curb greenhouse-gas emissions will raise utility bills by $3,100 per household. “Anyone who has the audacity to flip on a light switch will be forced to pay higher energy bills thanks to this new tax increase,” he said in a statement released Tuesday, citing a 2007 study by MIT that tried to calculate the economic impact of a cap-and-trade bill. Not so fast, says John Reilly, an MIT professor and one of the authors of the study. He told Republican leadership they had the numbers wrong even before they published their statement. After it was released, he sent a letter to Rep. Boehner yesterday saying the MIT study had been “misrepresented.” For starters, the figure cited by Republican House leadership is almost ten times higher than the cost estimate provided in the study, Professor Reilly said—and that number wasn’t limited to electricity bills...House Republicans are sticking to their guns. In a release today, Republican leadership explains how they got the $3,100 figure–dividing MIT’s estimate of 2015 cap-and-trade revenues of $366 billion by 117 million households. “Nothing in the Democrats’ budget would provide rebates or any relief to consumers,” the statement added.WSJ

Study: Arctic Sea Ice Melting Faster Than Anticipated

Arctic sea ice is melting so fast most of it could be gone in 30 years. A new analysis of changing conditions in the region, using complex computer models of weather and climate, says conditions that had been forecast by the end of the century could occur much sooner. A change in the amount of ice is important because the white surface reflects sunlight back into space. When ice is replaced by dark ocean water that sunlight can be absorbed, warming the water and increasing the warming of the planet. The finding adds to concern about climate change caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, a problem that has begun receiving more attention in the Obama administration and is part of the G20 discussions under way in London...AP

Funny how these studies seem to always be published while international meetings are being conducted.

I'm sure it's just coincidence.

Save the planet: Get rid of your cat

The 77 million cats in the U.S. are killing birds, threatening many bird populations. Cat food is causing significant depletion of the ocean's wild fish, and cats are spreading disease to wild species. Go here to read all about it.

And oh yes, please don't tell my mom I posted this.

Obama's Own Report on GM Says Plan to Build Non-Gas-Burning Car Would Not Save Company

The report on General Motors released by the White House says the company’s restructuring plan will not lead to a stronger company, in part because the beleaguered auto giant’s proposal to rely more heavily on advanced, fuel-efficient cars is not commercially viable. The report’s findings stand in stark contrast with the President’s chief goal for America’s auto industry: leading the world in green car production. Among the assumptions the report finds unrealistic is GM’s plan to place greater emphasis on advanced, ultra-fuel efficient vehicles such as its upcoming Chevrolet Volt, the all-electric car that the report found will not be commercially viable. “While the Chevy Volt holds promise, it will likely be too expensive to be commercially successful,” the report said. “It is currently projected to be much more expensive than its gasoline-fueled counterparts and will likely need substantial reductions in manufacturing costs in order to become commercially viable.”...CNS News

Congress Proposes ‘Cash for Clunkers’ to Kickstart Auto Sales

Car shoppers may have a good reason to trade in their old jalopy for something that gets better gas mileage. Congress is developing "cash for clunkers" legislation that would provide vouchers to consumers who trade in their gas guzzlers and buy more fuel-efficient vehicles. Modeled after successful programs in Europe, the bills are designed to get more gas-sipping cars on the road and boost auto sales, which dropped more than 40 percent among the Big Three carmakers in March. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have signaled support for some type of car scrappage program and lawmakers are trying to develop a compromise that could win approval in both chambers. With General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC surviving on billions in government aid and few takers at car dealerships, lawmakers have been trying to develop incentives to help the auto industry and respond to environmental groups that want better fuel efficiency in the vehicle fleet...AP

Wonder what kind of mileage Reid & Pelosi's limousines get?

The real "clunkers" are in Congress. Think I'll open a Westerner's Congressional Salvage Yard, and you can send me the "clunkers" from your district.

Come to think of it, Junk Yard would be a more accurate title.

In either case I'd be guilty of establishing a toxic waste dump.

However, this would be a Superfund site that actually cleans up the environment.

I know some landowners in Carlsbad...

Financial Rescue Nears GDP as Pledges Top $12.8 Trillion

The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have spent, lent or committed $12.8 trillion, an amount that approaches the value of everything produced in the country last year, to stem the longest recession since the 1930s. New pledges from the Fed, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. include $1 trillion for the Public-Private Investment Program, designed to help investors buy distressed loans and other assets from U.S. banks. The money works out to $42,105 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. and 14 times the $899.8 billion of currency in circulation. The nation’s gross domestic product was $14.2 trillion in 2008...Bloomberg

Plenty of candidates here for The Westerner's Congressional Superfund Site.

Rogue River dam removal moves forward

The removal of Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River will take another step forward next week. The 39-foot high dam east of Grants Pass is one of several scheduled for decommissioning on the southern Oregon river, which before long could run unimpeded for 157 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascade foothills. On Tuesday, construction will begin on a cofferdam around the six northern bays of the dam, the next step in the $40 million project. Once the coffer dam is in place, demolition of the 88-year old dam will begin. The north side of the dam is expected to be removed by October, and salmon, whose path was blocked by the dam, will be able to migrate freely for the first time in decades...The Oregonian

Shale Oil Estimates Grow; Likelihood of Extraction, Not So Much

While the Obama administration seeks to encourage cleaner energy sources, government geologists have significantly raised their estimates of how much oil is trapped in the shale rocks of Colorado’s Piceance Basin. Back in 1989, government geologists had assessed the reserves at about one trillion barrels. But in a technical announcement Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey estimated that oil shale resources were 50 percent greater — or some 1.525 trillion barrels. That may seem like a lot (it’s nearly six times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia), but the reality is a bit more complicated. As the government notes, the development of the shale rocks “has significant technological and environmental challenges.” Among them: there exists no economical method for extracting oil from these rocks in the United States today...NY Times

Illinois House Rejects Horse Slaughter Bill

Legislation to reinstate the horse slaughter industry in Illinois failed to pass that state's House of Representatives on Wednesday because the measure did not earn the 60 votes necessary for passage. Sponsored by Rep. Jim Sacia, HB 0583 would amend the Illinois Horse Meat Act to repeal a provision that prohibits the slaughter of horses for human consumption. It would also expand the state's Animals Intended for Food Act to include horses. Because the vote was stopped, the option remains to call for another vote during the current legislative session. The bill is the first attempt to re-establish the slaughter industry in Illinois since 2007, when lawmakers banned horse processing, thereby shutting down a plant in DeKalb. The Horse

ND rancher carries 32 calves from flooded barn

In his golden years, Chad Skretteberg plans to tell his grandchildren about the night he carried 32 heavy calves on his shoulders, one by one, through ice-cold, waist-high floodwaters to safety. It's a tale that amazes even him. "I don't know how I had the stamina," says Skretteberg, who at 40 is a wiry 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds. "If I tried to attempt that just any day of the week, I would probably just quit, it's so much work. But in those circumstances, your adrenaline kicks in." On this day, the skies are sunny, the air pleasantly crisp and the Heart River flows peacefully by the south central North Dakota farmstead, where pregnant cows mill about in a pen full of freshly fallen snow with frozen mud peeking through. But the scene was not so peaceful late Sunday night and early Monday morning, when floodwaters from the swollen Heart began rising at his dad's farmstead, where Skretteberg's calving barn sits on a hill. In no time, it seemed, the water was a foot deep right outside the barn. Loren Skretteberg, Chad's father, first tried to back an all-terrain vehicle with a cargo bed up to the barn to carry the calves, but the pooling water killed the engine. "At that point, I started carrying them," Chad Skretteberg said...AP

Bigfoot kin may have made tracks for sunny Arizona

The Mogollon Monster is Arizona's version of Bigfoot. It supposedly lives, as you may have guessed, along the Mogollon Rim, although it has allegedly been spotted around Prescott and in the Grand Canyon. It seems to be a shy thing, but every now and then, it tears up a campsite or takes the campers' food. Don Davis, a cryptozoology investigator who died in 2002, claimed that he encountered the monster at a Boy Scout camp near Payson in the 1940s. He reported: "The creature was huge. Its eyes were deep set and hard to see, but they seemed expressionless. His face seemed pretty much devoid of hair, but there seemed to be hair along the sides of his face. His chest, shoulders and arms were massive, especially the upper arms; easily upwards of 6 inches in diameter, perhaps much, much more. I could see he was pretty hairy, but didn't observe really how thick the body hair was. The face/head was very square; square sides and squared-up chin, like a box." At www.mogollon monster.com, you can see pictures of Mogollon Monster poop and caves, watch some videos, find links to other MM sites and read an account from a woman who said she saw the creature last Christmas near Springerville. She described it as hairy, black and about 8 feet tall...Arizona Republic

Song Of The Day #010

The Delmore brothers, Alton & Rabon were the sons of Alabama tenant farmers. They were considered pioneers of country music, and I'll tell you more about them at a later date. I've run out of time.

This is their 1946 recording of Going Back To The Blue Ridge Mountains. It's available on Classic Cuts, Vol. 2: The Later Years 1933-52

Justice Dept. Moves to Void Stevens Case

The Justice Department moved on Wednesday to drop all charges against former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who lost his seat last year just days after being convicted on seven felony counts of ethics violations. The case was one of the most high profile and bitterly fought in a string of corruption investigations into current and former members of Congress. But Justice Department lawyers told a federal court Wednesday that they had discovered a new instance of prosecutorial misconduct, on top of earlier disclosures that had raised questions about the way the case was handled, and asked that the convictions be voided. The attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., said he would not seek a new trial. Mr. Stevens, 85, was the longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate and Alaska’s dominant political figure for more than four decades. His career mirrored the state’s rough-and-tumble journey from a remote territory to an economic powerhouse as he used his influence to send billions of dollars in federal aid to Alaska. The collapse of the Stevens case was a profound embarrassment for the Justice Department, and it raised troubling issues about the integrity of the actions of prosecutors who wield enormous power over people they investigate. Mr. Stevens’s case was handled by senior officials of the department’s Public Integrity Section, which handles official corruption cases. Mr. Holder, himself a former prosecutor and judge, noted that the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility was conducting a review of the prosecutors’ conduct, raising the possibility that some of those who tried Mr. Stevens on ethics charges could themselves now face ethics charges...NY Times

Stevens case dismissal raises questions of Justice Dept. integrity

The dismissal of the government’s case against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is the latest blow to the reputation of the Justice Department’s once-venerated Public Integrity section. The small prosecutors’ office doesn’t pursue cases against terrorists or bank robbers. Instead, its job is to weigh allegations of corruption involving public officials and to decide whether to bring criminal charges. The targets include city councilmen, state legislators, governors, judges, or, in this instance, a senior member of the U.S. Senate. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder on Wednesday abandoned the case against Stevens, despite his conviction by a jury. Holder said he acted “in the interest of justice” after discovering prosecutors had illegally withheld evidence from the defense. The veteran lawmaker wasn’t charged with taking bribes or payoffs in exchange for favors. Rather, he was indicted for failing to disclose as gifts the full value of the repairs and improvements on one of his Alaska homes. And the Public Integrity unit’s top prosecutors were accused of cutting corners and concealing evidence from defense attorneys in their zeal to convict Stevens. Throughout the trial, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan voiced his anger with prosecutors. “How can the court have the confidence that the public integrity section has public integrity?” he said. “This is not a trial any means.” In February, the judge called the prosecution’s conduct “outrageous,” and he took the highly unusual step of holding in contempt William Welch II, the chief of the Public Integrity section, and his principal deputy, Brenda Morris, the lead prosecutor in the Stevens case. Brendan Sullivan, the lawyer for Stevens, said the prosecutors were so “hell-bent” on winning a conviction they were “willing to present false evidence.” He accused them of “corruption.”...Detroit Free Press

They don't seem to be reporting on the "inappropriate personal relationship" between the lead FBI agent in charge of the case, Mary Beth Kepner, and the prosecutions key witness, Bill Allen.
*********************************************************************

A 2003 Study by the Center For Public Integrity titled Harmful Error states:

Prosecutorial misconduct falls into several categories, including:

* Courtroom misconduct (making inappropriate or inflammatory comments in the presence of the jury; introducing or attempting to introduce inadmissible, inappropriate or inflammatory evidence; mischaracterizing the evidence or the facts of the case to the court or jury; committing violations pertaining to the selection of the jury; or making improper closing arguments);
* Mishandling of physical evidence (hiding, destroying or tampering with evidence, case files or court records);
* Failing to disclose exculpatory evidence;
* Threatening, badgering or tampering with witnesses;
* Using false or misleading evidence;
* Harassing, displaying bias toward, or having a vendetta against the defendant or defendant's counsel (including selective or vindictive prosecution, which includes instances of denial of a speedy trial);
* Improper behavior during grand jury proceedings.

A June 26, 2003 Associated Press article about the Center's study has the following:

State and local prosecutors bent or broke the rules to help put 32 innocent people in prison, some under death sentence, since 1970, according to the first nationwide study of prosecutorial misconduct. Prosecutors misbehaved so badly in more than 2,000 cases during that period that appellate judges dismissed criminal charges, reversed convictions or reduced sentences, the study also found. The study, "Harmful Error," found 223 prosecutors around the nation who had been cited by judges for two or more cases of unfair conduct but only two prosecutors who had been disbarred in the past 33 years for mishandling criminal cases. There are about 30,000 local prosecutors in 2,341 jurisdictions. The report said convictions of an undetermined number of guilty defendants also were undoubtedly overturned because of unfair prosecutor tactics. Some of those defendants could not be retried and were set free, so prosecutor misconduct "has severe consequences for the entire citizenry," the report said. In 2,017 cases, appellate judges found misconduct serious enough to order dismissal of charges, reversal of convictions or reduction of sentences. In an additional 513 cases, at least one judge filing a separate concurring or dissenting opinion thought the misconduct warranted reversal...

Key players in the case of former Sen. Ted Stevens

BRENDA MORRIS: A career prosecutor with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, Morris now serves as its principal deputy.

NICHOLAS MARSH: One of two Public Integrity trial attorneys on the Stevens case, Marsh handled much of the courtroom work during the trials of Alaska lawmakers caught up in the scandal.

EDWARD SULLIVAN: The other Public Integrity trial attorney in the case, Sullivan was part of the trial team that won convictions of several Alaska lawmakers caught up in the corruption scandal.

JOSEPH BOTTINI: One of two assistant prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Anchorage assigned to work with Public Integrity on the Stevens case. Bottini went to high school in Anchorage and in 1993 served briefly as acting U.S. Attorney for Alaska.

JAMES GOEKE: The other prosecutor from U.S. Attorney's office.

WILLIAM WELCH: Head of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section and the person with overall management of the prosecution. The Springfield, Mass., Republican reported last month that he's seeking appointment as the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, his native state.

PAUL O'BRIEN: Chief of the Justice Department's Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section, he and two other Justice Department attorneys took over the post-trial phase of the Stevens case when Morris and Welch were held in contempt. He signed the motion seeking to dismiss the case.

Anchorage Daily News

Obama won't defend Bush spotted owl plan

The Obama administration is backing away from its predecessor's plan for the northern spotted owl. Government attorneys filed notice late Tuesday in federal district court in Washington D.C. asking to review its owl recovery plan finalized last year as well as the accompanying changes to critical owl habitat areas. That could end up reversing a decision from last year that trimmed by about a quarter the amount of federal forest in the Northwest designated as critical habitat for the owl, which is in long term decline. And it has other implications for how much federal land will be readily available for logging in the future...The Oregonian

Supremes: Environmental Rules Should Weigh Costs, Benefits

The Supreme Court ruled today in favor of a power company. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the environment. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of power companies in Entergy v. EPA and related cases and against environmental groups, especially Riverkeeper. The issue was a rules change in the EPA which sought to make power companies upgrade their plants to protect the environment regardless of cost. The appeal aimed at reinstating Bush-era rules that allowed power companies to do cost-benefit analysis before certain upgrades. As the WSJ explains: “We conclude that the EPA permissibly relied on cost-benefit analysis in setting the national performance standards,” Justice Antonin Scalia said in the majority opinion. The majority concluded the costs and benefits could be weighed under a broad set of circumstances. Specifically, the court said, using the “best available technology” to tackle any given environmental problem means using the most efficient approach—not necessarily the best technology if it is prohibitively expensive. The ruling addresses a huge question in the energy and environment battle raging right now—namely, how to strike the balance between environmental protections and safeguarding the economy. It also brings the field of cost-benefit analysis squarely back into the environmental debate...WSJ

Alaska senator calls for national volcano monitoring

As Alaska's Mount Redoubt sends a steady stream of ash skyward, the state's Republican senator is calling for a national volcano monitoring system to ensure early warnings of volcanic activity. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's proposal would set up a dedicated funding source for all five volcano observatories, including the David A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash., and better coordinate volcano monitoring nationally. Murkowski said the Mount Redoubt eruptions, which have forced flight cancellations at Anchorage International Airport 100 miles away, underscore the need for more and better volcano observation. She also took a shot at fellow Republicans, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who have criticized President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill for spending $140 million on volcano monitoring...AP

It's nice to see another Republican who wants to "nationalize" something and spend more money. Surely that's their path back to regaining a majority.

Climate Bill Could Override Regional Efforts

Tucked deep into Tuesday’s hefty climate bill draft is an innocuous-sounding sentence: ‘‘Notwithstanding section 116, no State or political subdivision thereof shall implement or enforce a cap that covers any capped emissions emitted during the years 2012 through 2017.” That sentence could potentially spell the end of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the cap-and-trade scheme engineered by 10 Northeastern states to cut global warming emissions. Essentially, what it means is that a federal scheme to cap carbon dioxide emissions, and allow companies to trade the allowances to pollute, would pre-empt similar schemes by the states. The regional initiative in the Northeast, which governs power plants, is the only mandatory scheme up and running, but California and other Western states are contemplating a cap-and-trade program of their own...NY Times

Court orders new review for jaguar habitat

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision not to designate critical habitat and develop a recovery plan for the endangered jaguar was based on incorrect criteria, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. In a decision favoring environmentalists, U.S. District Judge John Roll said the agency did not use the best scientific evidence available in deciding that critical habitat for the jaguar was "not prudent." He also cited inconsistency with the Endangered Species Act's statutory mandate, Fish and Wildlife's own regulations and relevant case law in striking down the agency's decision. Roll ordered Fish and Wildlife to review his ruling and make a decision by Jan. 8 on designating critical habitat and preparing a recovery plan. The ruling is a victory for Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity...AP

Water pipeline plan takes shape

An ambitious plan to build a 560-mile-long pipeline to pump water from southwest Wyoming's Flaming Gorge Reservoir to southeast Wyoming and the Front Range in Colorado is moving forward. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said this week the agency is beginning work on an environmental impact statement that will analyze the impacts of the proposed regional water supply project. Army Corps project manager Rena Brand said the agency has scheduled public "scoping" meetings in Green River on April 14 and Laramie on April 16 to discuss the project. Colorado businessman Aaron Million has been quietly shopping the idea around for almost four years. The private water development group, Million Conservation Resource Group, has filed for permits to start the approval process. Million envisions building the pipeline -- which would draw water from intake points located on Flaming Gorge Reservoir and upstream on the Green River in Sweetwater County -- at an estimated cost of $4 billion...Caspar Star-Tribune

Top 10 Internet April Fool's Pranks & When Did April Fool's Day Begin?

Check out the top 10 here.

Get your history lesson here.

Song Of The Day #009

Dock "Curley" Williams was born in 1914 and raised on the family farm in Grady County Florida. He was the seventh son of a country fiddler who also was the son of a country fiddler. His band was first called The Santa Fe Trail Riders and they had shows on several different Georgia radio stations. His big break came in 1942 when he and his band were invited to join the cast of the Grand Ol' Opry, and the band's name was changed to The Georgia Peach Pickers. He cut his first record in 1945. While no relation to Hank Williams, Curley wrote the song, "Half As Much", which was a big hit for Hank.

The selection today is his Lou'siana Serenade, available on the Bear Family CD Half As Much.

Democrats Unveil Climate Bill

The debate on global warming and energy policy accelerated on Tuesday as two senior House Democrats unveiled a far-reaching bill to cap heat-trapping gases and quicken the country’s move away from dependence on coal and oil. But the bill leaves critical questions unanswered and has no Republican support. It is thus the beginning, not the end, of the debate in Congress on how to deal with two of President Obama’s priorities, climate change and energy. The draft measure, written by Representatives Henry A. Waxman of California and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, sets a slightly more ambitious goal for capping heat-trapping gases than Mr. Obama’s proposal. The bill requires that emissions be reduced 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, while Mr. Obama’s plancalls for a 14 percent reduction by 2020. Both would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases by roughly 80 percent by 2050. The Waxman-Markey bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, emerges at a time when many Americans, and their representatives in Congress, are wary of wide-ranging environmental legislation that could raise energy costs and potentially cripple industry. The bill, a version of a so-called cap-and-trade plan, also comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is about to exert regulatory authority over heat-trapping gases under the Clean Air Act...NY Times

I'm thinkin' no legislation will pass before the next congressional elections.

They'll sit back, let EPA take administrative action, and see how it plays out politically.

Then Big Industry will go to Congress, hat in hand and checkbook in tow, and ASK for legislation to get them out from under the onerous EPA reg's.

Congress will oblige and then pass legislation that screws the rest of us.