Friday, November 09, 2012

Interior proposal would limit commercial oil shale development on federal lands in West

The Interior Department on Friday issued a final plan to close 1.6 million acres of federal land in the West originally slated for oil shale development. The proposed plan would fence off a majority of the initial blueprint laid out in the final days of the George W. Bush administration. It faces a 30-day protest period and a 60-day process to ensure it is consistent with local and state policies. After that, the department would render a decision for implementation. The move is sure to rankle Republicans, who say President Obama’s grip on fossil fuel drilling in federal lands is too tight. Interior’s Bureau of Land Management cited environmental concerns for the proposed changes. Among other things, it excised lands with “wilderness characteristics” and areas that conflicted with sage grouse habitats.Under the plan, 677,000 acres in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming would be open for oil shale exploration. Another 130,000 acres in Utah would be set aside for tar sands production. Bobby McEnaney, senior lands analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, praised Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for the proposed final plan. “By significantly reducing the acreage of wilderness potentially available for leasing, Secretary Salazar is laying out a creative, thoughtful and more responsible approach in managing some of our most precious resources,” McEnaney said in a Friday statement...more

Three days after the election, but just a coincidence I'm sure. 

Future warming likely to be on high side of climate projections, analysis finds

Climate model projections showing a greater rise in global temperature are likely to prove more accurate than those showing a lesser rise, according to a new analysis by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The findings, published in this week’s issue of Science, could provide a breakthrough in the longstanding quest to narrow the range of global warming expected in coming decades and beyond.  NCAR scientists John Fasullo and Kevin Trenberth, who co-authored the study, reached their conclusions by analyzing how well sophisticated climate models reproduce observed relative humidity in the tropics and subtropics. The climate models that most accurately captured these complex moisture processes and associated clouds, which have a major influence on global climate, were also the ones that showed the greatest amounts of warming as society emits more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere...more

Ain't it amazing?  All these global warming studies are released right after Obama is re-elected. 

Jimmy Bason and Virgin Galactic face competition

Why settle for another ho-hum cruise around the globe or even an expedition to Mount Everest when a truly out-of-this-world travel experience is at hand? That’s what Netherlands-based Space Expedition Corporation  (SXC) is promising — a suborbital journey that will qualify you as an official astronaut, all for the “bargain” price of $95,000. Of course, it’s a deal only in a relative sense — the closest competition is a similar suborbital program being offered by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic (think Virgin Atlantic airline gone outer space), but that runs $200,000. Right now, neither company is boarding any actual planes — er, spaceships — since the programs are still in the beta phase. But SXC expects to be launching (literally) by the second half of 2014 and is taking paid reservations for what it says will be a “life-changing experience.” The company notes that its specially designed spacecraft (“powered by four revolutionary rocket engines”) will travel at speeds of more than 2,000 miles per hour, taking passengers to outer space (once you pass the 62-mile altitude mark, you’re indeed considered an astronaut) in less than four minutes...more

Bason & Richardson still in the beta phase
 

Did you see the (almost) turdy-pointer?

That this year’s deer hunt might be the hunt of a lifetime for 12-year-old Dylan Beach-Bittner of Motley might be an understatement. About a half hour after Dylan and his stepdad, Wilbur Verbeck, got into their tree stand Saturday morning, Dylan noticed a deer walk out of the woods about 100 yards away. Dylan said he knew it was a big deer while it slowly made its way toward the deer stand, he just didn’t know how big. “I was shaking a little,” he said of the moments before he fired his .270-caliber. At about 50 yards, the deer turned broadside and Dylan fired a round into its front shoulder. The deer dropped immediately, got up a few seconds later and walked a few feet before finally falling for the last time. When Dylan and Verbeck got off their stand and down to the deer, they found a enormous animal with a 27-point atypical rack. At 229 pounds, Dylan said it took four people to life the deer into a truck to haul out of the field. The family has lined up someone to green score the rack, which mom figured could take a couple of times because there are so many tines. She said the deer will be taken to a taxidermist for a full shoulder mount. She also said the American Whitetail Association has contacted the family about showing the mount...more

Global Warming Could Wipe Out Govt.

The Washington D.C. area and surrounding government infrastructure will be virtually destroyed by global warming over the next century, according to the latest study financed by American taxpayers. At the very least climate change will cause billions of dollars in damage to city and federal property in the District of Columbia, say researchers at the public institution, the University of Maryland, that disclosed the alarming news this week. This disaster will occur as a result of long-term sea level rise caused by global warming. It gets worse, according to the esteemed academics that conducted the in-depth probe. “Potential for significant damage will be even greater in the event of extreme weather like Hurricane Sandy,” they reveal in a press release announcing their findings. Over the next 100 years, continuing sea level rise could cause damages of more than $24.6 billion to Washington’s commercial property, museums, and government agencies. This is based on trends and predictions that suggest the nation’s capital is likely to face flooding and infrastructure damage caused by sea level rise linked to thermal expansion of the oceans and melting of global ice sheets caused by global warming. “Climate change not only results in increasing the sea level but also the annual rate and intensity of storms,” claims one of the university researchers...more

Oh No!

Obama May Levy Carbon Tax to Cut U.S. Deficit

Barack Obama may consider introducing a tax on carbon emissions to help cut the U.S. budget deficit after winning a second term as president, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. A tax starting at $20 a metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent and rising at about 6 percent a year could raise $154 billion by 2021, Nick Robins, an analyst at the bank in London, said today in an e-mailed research note, citing Congressional Research Service estimates. “Applied to the Congressional Budget Office’s 2012 baseline, this would halve the fiscal deficit by 2022,” Robins said. Hurricane Sandy sparked discussion on climate protection in the election after presidential candidates focused on other debates, HSBC said. A continued Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives means Obama’s scope for action will be limited, Robins said. Cap-and-trade legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate after narrowly passing the house in 2009. North American discharges fell 1.3 percent last year amid slowing economic growth. In China, the world’s biggest emitter, greenhouse gases from fuel use rose more than 9 percent in 2011, according to BP Plc (BP/) statistics published on June 13. Obama and the U.S. Congress should consider a carbon tax to help meet the government’s looming need for revenue, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions in Arlington, Virginia. “While Sandy’s lessons are still fresh, the president should be clear about the urgency of cutting carbon emissions and strengthening critical infrastructure to protect Americans against the rising costs of climate change,” the group said yesterday in a separate statement...more

Top US senator hopes to work on climate change bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Wednesday that he hoped senators would work on climate change legislation, though he did not provide a time frame for doing so. "Climate change is an extremely important issue for me and I hope we can address it reasonably," Reid said the day after President Barack Obama was re-elected and Democrats won enough seats to retain control of the Senate. "It's something, as we've seen with these storms that are overwhelming our country and the world, we need to do something about it," Reid said. link

The coming environmental battlegrounds


When American voters re-elected President Obama, they also returned his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Interior and Energy departments and wide-ranging agenda for "fundamentally transforming" our nation. This will mean cementing Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, higher taxes and rampant spending. It also will bring more disputes over energy and environmental regulations, the vanguard of Mr. Obama's determined campaign to eliminate hydrocarbons that power our economy and to embrace more "green" energy. The conflict will be fought primarily on six battlegrounds: Carbon taxes: Hurricane Sandy presented a fresh pretext for regulating and taxing hydrocarbons. No respectable climatologist or meteorologist believes atmospheric carbon dioxide conjured up the destructive storm, but climate alarmism always has been about political science, not real science. Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott's Managed Carbon Price Act imputes a cost for CO2 emissions and compels energy producers and users to buy carbon permits. The president is considering a direct carbon tax that he says will raise billions of dollars annually and reduce deficits. Both ought to be dead on arrival in the House. Another pointless round of United Nations-sponsored climate treaty discussions will take place soon in Doha, Qatar. The real threat is EPA regulations limiting CO2 from power plants and other sources by executive fiat...more

Song Of The Day #968



Ranch Radio needs to heal my political wounds, and nothing does that better than a good fiddle tune.  Here's J.P. & Annadeene Fraley performing Maggie Meade.

The tune is on their 26 track CD Maysville.


Industry looks for change among Obama energy officials

Energy-industry officials and environmental groups are watching for change at the top in President Barack Obama's second term, with Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu seen as possible candidates to step down. Any new faces could have a big impact on some of the most important issues affecting the US economy, including the rapid growth of oil and gas production backed by new drilling technologies and the decline of coal. Mr. Salazar's spokesman said the secretary remains "focused on the job." The White House declined to comment on who might leave the Cabinet or when, and representatives of the EPA and the Energy Department didn't return messages seeking comment. Washington lobbyists and Capitol Hill staff are already circulating lists of possible candidates for the posts. The EPA job is particularly critical, whether Ms. Jackson holds it, because the agency must make decisions about regulating greenhouse gases in the coming year that could effectively block new coal-fired power plants. Presidents typically shuffle their cabinets going into a second term. The grueling workload and relatively low government salaries often prompt some leaders to step aside. Mr. Obama's allies in the environmental community were pleased with the selections of Mr. Chu and Ms. Jackson after his election in 2008. If they step down, the president's picks for successors could be an indication of whether he wishes to lean more in the direction of industry or environmental groups interested in global warming...more

Bark beetles a boon to biodiversity

Bark beetles driven by drought may be leaving millions of dead trees behind, but they may also leave behind more diverse, complex and healthy forests than Northern Colorado has seen in more than a century. A U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station study published in October concludes that Colorado's bark beetle infestation is creating more biologically diverse forests than exist today and the idea that beetles are killing forests just isn't true. Dense pine forests composed almost entirely of mature lodgepole pine trees have been hit the hardest by the beetles, which were able to spread through those homogeneous forests because drought stressed the mature trees and warmer temperatures allowed the beetles to survive the winter, the study says. What's left behind are entire hillsides of dead trees. Growing up among them is a diverse array of trees that couldn't grow there before, including aspen, subalpine fir and young lodgepoles, the Forest Service concludes. When the regenerated forest matures, lodgepoles won't dominate the landscape anymore, but subalpine fir trees will as part of a forest composed of more kinds of trees and plants than those that existed before the beetles took over...more  

Wouldn't logging do the same? Plus the public would benefit from the product and would be less threatened by wildfires.

Ravalli County Commission approves natural resource policy

Despite a last-minute appeal by critics asking for more time, the Ravalli County commissioners unanimously approved a natural resource policy Thursday morning. The commission contends the policy will help guide the county in future dealings with public lands managers, including the U.S. Forest Service. Much of the public comment Thursday came from citizens concerned that the county is overreaching with its new policy and that commissioners have not taken enough time to find the middle ground between different interest groups. The policy was initially written by a group of citizens mostly concerned with the economic and environmental impacts of national forest management in and around the Bitterroot Valley. Last spring, the group’s proposed natural resource plan was offered to the commission. In a series of public meetings that began in May, the commission went over the proposed policy sentence by sentence and made changes. Over the past few weeks, the commission has considered an alternative policy written by a group of eight county residents who were especially concerned about the county’s position on “coordination.” Commissioners point to federal environmental law they say opens the door for the county to have a special seat at the table under the term “coordination.” At Thursday’s meeting, Kelsey Milner of Hamilton said that aspect of the county’s policy “smells like county supremacy and an assault on public lands.”...more

Cibola Forest Officials Seek Your Input

For the first time in almost three decades, the Cibola National Forest is revising the main operating plans for its Sandia, Mountainair, Magdalena and Mt. Taylor ranger districts. The U.S. Forest Service, which operates Cibola, is inviting public input in the revisions. Cibola is operated by the U.S. Forest Service. It is one of eight national forests revising land management plans to include public input. The hope is to provide stronger protection for forests, water and wildlife while supporting rural economies. Officials said the public will be involved in all stages of the process. Native American tribal consultation and coordination is also a priority as is that of other local governments. "These forests will demonstrate straight out of the gate what we've been talking about in terms of collaboration, said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. The other national forests revising plans include the Nez Perce-Clearwater in Idaho, the Chugach in Alaska, El Yunque in Puerto Rico and the Inyo, Sequoia and Sierra in California...more

Colo. wind turbine plant cuts jobs

Vestas Wind Systems A/S wants to sell a stake of as much as 20 percent and will be cutting another 3,000 jobs. "We do not yet know which locations globally will be affected," Andrew Longeteig, company spokesman, said in a statement. The manufacturing workforce at Vestas's four Colorado factories has been slashed to about 1,200 this year from 1,700. Ditlev Engel, Vestas' chief executive officer, said he's bracing for a drop in U.S. orders next year as a wind power tax credit expires...more

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Ranchers sue bank over ‘cattle rustling’

Banks and cattle rustling. Not words that often land in the same sentence, at least not in the last few centuries. But a group of cattle producers, stockyards operators and cattle auction houses sued Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank over what the group claims is Fifth Third’s participation in a company’s scheme that allegedly bilked cattle companies out of $30 million. The group called the activity of New Albany, Ind.-based Eastern Livestock “modern-era cattle rustling,” according to a complaint filed Nov. 2 in Allen Circuit Court in Allen County, Ky., near Bowling Green.Fifth Third was involved in a $32.5 million structured financing of Eastern Livestock, according to the lawsuit...more

Eddy County may bring water fight to New Mexico statehouse

The rivalry between north and south Eddy County is well known, but dry water wells on farms and ranches in the north part of the county, and lack of irrigation water for farmers in South Eddy County, may be the catalyst in bringing unity to fight the state. The agriculture community in the Lakewood area says its shallow and artesian wells have dried up and it blames the State Engineer's Office and the New Mexico Interstate Streams Commission and their hydrologists. They contend that the state's 10 augmentation wells turned on to pump water into Brantley Dam for farmers in the Carlsbad Irrigation District were ill conceived. The wells, they say, were put in the wrong place. They should have been put further up stream where the elevation and water table would not be impacted. CID officials agree, saying while they are sympathetic to the plight of the farmers and ranchers to the north, the CID's agriculture members are also impaired. "We have the oldest water rights on the Pecos River, yet we have been impaired for years. We agree that the state's augmentation wells are in the wrong place, but if they turn off the pumps and don't pump through the winter, we will have absolutely nothing (water) next irrigation season if we don't get rain," CID Board President Charlie Jurva said. On Wednesday, the Eddy County Commission listened to the concerns of water users up river and suggested they should organize and get an injunction against the state to stop pumping. The commission also said it would send a letter to the state, voicing its concerns and asking for a remedy to help the 20 or more well owners whose wells have gone dry. Cheryl Griffith, who manages a ranch in Lakewood and has collected data showing the adverse impact of the state's well field at Seven Rivers, about 15 miles north of Carlsbad, said letters and emails sent to the Interstate Stream Commission and the State Engineer have gone unanswered...more

Gun Stocks Surge After Obama Re-Election

On a day when the Dow Jones Industrial Average has plummeted by over 200 points, gun stocks have bucked the trend and are surging as fears over an Obama lame duck second term eviscerating second amendment rights take hold. Both Smith & Wesson and Ruger saw their stock price shoot up this morning when virtually everyone else was in the red. At one point Smith & Wesson surged over 10% before dropping back to 7.4% gains at time of press. Ruger also made impressive gains and was up by almost 3% at time of writing. Both stocks went parabolic at the start of trading. The activity is undoubtedly related to the likelihood that gun sales are set to explode even higher as a result of Obama securing a second term in the White House last night. As we reported last week, firearms store owners are labeling Barack Obama the best gun salesman they ever had as concerns over what Obama will do to gun rights in a lame duck administration spur record sales. Ruger’s sales are up 86 percent since Obama took office and the company’s previous quarter sales demolished all expectations, with sales totaling $118 million dollars. Smith & Wesson and other gun manufacturers are also being forced to hire more staff and increase production capacity to meet demand...more


U.S. Climate Diplomats Get Renewed Chance to Find Common Ground with Allies

Todd Stern and Jonathan Pershing are President Obama's diplomatic climate change negotiators, charged with representing America's interests in the tumultuous U.N. global warming negotiations. They are described by environmentalists, fellow negotiators and former colleagues as smart, pragmatic and occasionally didactic. Nearly all used similar language to describe the tough political and diplomatic obstacle course Stern and Pershing have had to navigate over the past four years. They were: "constrained" by Congress. "Hands tied" by the domestic policy and "walking a tightrope" between moving the U.N. negotiations ostensibly toward a global treaty while avoiding promises to cut emissions or deliver money that the government cannot keep. With President Obama winning a second term Tuesday, activists are hoping for a more productive environment. Now is the time, they insist, for the White House to embrace climate change as a priority, lay the foundation for domestic legislation and prepare the United States to join a treaty that will keep the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels...more

Who Were the Greenest Presidents?

Who was the greenest President? A recent survey of green groups aimed to find out which presidents had the most environmentally friendly policies. The top two spots, naturally, went to Republicans: Teddy Roosevelt and Richard Nixon. Roosevelt dominated the survey for his championing of the nascent idea of conservation more than a century ago. Nixon garnered support for his passage of landmark legislation like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts as well as the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency. Rounding out the top three was Jimmy Carter, who gained points for actions like putting solar panels on the White House.Who came in fourth? Barack Obama...more

Song Of The Day #967


Hide Your Face by Spade Cooley is the Ranch Radio tune today.  That's Cooley and Andrew Soldi on fiddle, Tex Williams vocal, Smokey Rodgers on guitar, Joaquin Murphy on steel guitar, Deuce Spriggins on base, Eddie Bennet on piano and Pedro Depaul on accordion.

The tune was recorded in Hollywood on Jan. 3, 1946 and released as Columbia 20431.

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Green groups tout election results as victory for clean energy

Green groups are touting their spending in key congressional races, claiming their efforts helped elect candidates supportive of their push for clean-energy sources. This election cycle, environmental groups spent heavily in races across the country and saw many down-ballot candidates they backed win election. “Where we’ve played, we feel like it’s been great. I think all across the country, you’re going to find whether it’s us, Sierra Club or the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), our issues resonate,” Heather Taylor-Miesle, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, told The Hill. While environmental groups are painting their election work as a victory over the fossil fuel industry, the effect of spending by green groups in races is hard to gauge. Polls show voters ranked environmental issues below the economy and healthcare. The LCV, though, is pointing to a number of new senators who received outside spending from green groups and whom it says will be vocal advocates for clean-energy policies in Washington, including Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and former Maine Gov. Angus King (I)...more

State wants court to dismiss suit that would ban use of lead ammunition

The Arizona Game and Fish Department wants a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit by conservation groups that aims to ban the use of lead ammunition in the Kaibab National Forest. The suit, filed in September against the U.S. Forest Service by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club and the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, says that spent lead ammo in the forest can poison condors and other birds there. But state officials have asked the U.S. District Court in Prescott to let them intervene in the suit, calling a ban counterproductive and arguing that the federal government could not enforce a ban anyway. “They’re asking the Forest Service to ban lead when it does not have jurisdiction over the area,” said Lynda Lambert, a spokeswoman with the state game department. “The state is the only one with authority to make changes in hunting regulations.”...more

Harsher energy regulations seen in Obama's second term

Energy companies likely will see more regulation in President Barack Obama's second term, with less access to federal lands and water even as the administration promotes energy independence. With a pledge to cut oil imports by half by 2020, Obama during the campaign advocated what he called an "all of the above" approach to developing a range of domestic energy sources. He said, however, that he would roll back subsidies for oil companies and reduce the nation's reliance on oil by mandating production of more fuel-efficient vehicles. "You are going to have less access to federal lands and tougher government agencies," said Dan Pickering, chief investment officer at TPH Asset Management in Houston...more

Song Of The Day #966



Ranch Radio moves up to the 60's with Jonie Mosby's He Wouldn't Take Me Home To Meet His Mother.  What a rascal.


Patterson wins third world championship

GUTHRIE, Okla. – Two-time world champion Rocky Patterson came into the second night of the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping Nov. 3 with the lead in the 2012 world standings. But with 16-time world champion cowboy and defending world champion steer roper Trevor Brazile just $303 behind him and holding the lead in the average after five rounds, Patterson knew he would have to press for go-round money to have a chance to add the 2012 gold buckle to his collection. “A lot of people were saying, ‘Unless Trevor messes up you other guys don’t have a very good chance.’ But you don’t want to count on Trevor messing up. We’re used to Trevor roping flawlessly. That’s Trevor every day.” And Brazile didn’t mess up. He roped all 10 steers over the two days to join Phil Lyne as the only men in ProRodeo history to win average titles in three different National Finals events (team roping 2008 and tie-down roping 2010) and he won by a margin of 61.7 seconds over Mike Chase. Only a funny thing happened on the way to the coronation. Patterson had a better night. He toppled the king. He earned checks in all five rounds, clinching his third world championship in four years by winning the 10th round in 10.3 seconds and edging Brazile for the gold buckle by a margin of just $418. It was as close a competition as one could hope to have to decide the world championship and it was tension-filled from the first moments...more

Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping Guthrie, Okla., Nov. 2-3

 First round: 1. Chet Herren, 10.8 seconds, $5,077; 2. Trevor Brazile, 11.9, $4,077; 3. Dan Fisher, 12.0, $3,077; 4. J.P. Wickett, 12.1, $2,077; 5. Ralph Williams, 12.5, $1,077. Second round: 1. Vin Fisher Jr., 10.8 seconds, $5,077; 2. (tie) Chance Kelton and Dan Fisher, 12.0, $3,577 each; 4. Mike Chase, 12.5, $2,077; 5. Chet Herren, 13.1, $1,077. Third round: 1. Rocky Patterson, 12.2 seconds, $5,077; 2. Chet Herren, 12.6, $4,077; 3. Trevor Brazile, 12.8, $3,077; 4. Cody Scheck, 12.9, $2,077; 5. Cody Lee, 13.7, $1,077. Fourth round: 1. Vin Fisher Jr., 12.0 seconds, $5,077; 2. Trevor Brazile, 12.2, $4,077; 3. Chance Kelton, 12.9, $3,077; 4. Dan Fisher, 13.2, $2,077; 5. Rod Hartness, 14.0, $1,077. Fifth round: 1. Chance Kelton, 10.8 seconds, $5,077; 2. (tie) Cody Lee and Rocky Patterson, 10.9, $3,577 each; 4. Jess Tierney, 11.0, $2,077; 5. (tie) J.P. Wickett and Landon McClaugherty, 13.3, $538 each. Sixth round: 1. Rocky Patterson, 10.2 seconds, $5,077; 2. Vin Fisher Jr., 11.0, $4,077; 3. Rod Hartness, 11.4, $3,077; 4. Trevor Brazile, 11.5, $2,077; 5. Kim Ziegelgruber, 11.8, $1,077. Seventh round: 1. Rod Hartness, 11.2 seconds, $5,077; 2. Rocky Patterson, 11.6, $4,077; 3. Ralph Williams, 11.8, $3,077; 4. Trevor Brazile, 12.0, $2,077; 5. Vin Fisher Jr., 13.6, $1,077. Eighth round: 1. Cody Scheck, 12.1 seconds, $5,077; 2. Mike Chase, 12.5, $4,077; 3. Rocky Patterson, 13.4, $3,077; 4. J.P. Wickett, 13.5, $2,077; 5. Chance Kelton, Mayer, Ariz., 13.9, $1,077. Ninth round: 1. Cody Scheck, 9.5 seconds, $5,077; 2. Ralph Williams, 11.0, $4,077; 3. Jess Tierney, 11.1, $3,077; 4. Dan Fisher, 11.8, $2,077; 5. (tie) Rocky Patterson and J.P. Wickett, 12.0, $538 each. Tenth round: 1. Rocky Patterson, 10.3 seconds, $5,077; 2. Vin Fisher Jr., 10.8, $4,077; 3. Kim Ziegelgruber, 11.1, $3,077; 4. (tie) Trevor Brazile and Ralph Williams, 11.5, $1,577 each. Average: 1. Trevor Brazile, 131.7 seconds on 10 head, $15,231; 2. Mike Chase, 193.4, $12,231; 3. Vin Fisher Jr., 128.7 on nine head, $9,231; 4. J.P. Wickett, 133.2, $6,231; 5. Rocky Patterson, 94.6 on eight head, $3,231.

Enviros quickly press victorious Obama to nix Keystone pipeline

Environmentalists are planning a demonstration on Nov. 18 to put fresh pressure on President Obama, the projected winner of a second term, to reject the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. Climate activists including 350.org founder Bill McKibben and Sierra Club head Michael Brune announced the White House demonstration Tuesday shortly after Obama was projected the victor over Mitt Romney. The White House in late 2011 delayed a decision on whether to permit TransCanada Corp.’s project to bring Canadian oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries. The decision followed demonstrations — including a large number of civil disobedience arrests in August 2011 — by environmentalists who bitterly oppose the project. The administration plans to make a decision as soon as next year on Keystone. Republicans, business groups and a number of unions support the project...more

Arizona lands bill goes down to defeat

PROP 120 Voters defeated Proposition 120 by a 2-1 margin. It would have amended the state Constitution to read, “Arizona declares its sovereign and exclusive authority and jurisdiction over the air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife and other natural resources within its boundaries.” Backers say it would have helped reduce federal bureaucracy and increase state revenue. The proposition was co-sponsored by Rep. Chester Crandell, R-Heber, Rep. Brenda Barton, R-Payson, and Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake. Crandell said federal mismanagement of national forests has led to massive wildfires, such as the Wallow Fire, which burned more than 538,000 acres in 2011, and the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, which burned 468,638 acres in 2002. Critics said the proposition was unconstitutional and the state could not afford to maintain the land it already owns. The measure, they said, was largely symbolic. Close to half of Arizona is made up of public land. Several conservation groups came out against the proposition, including Grand Canyon Trust, Maricopa Audubon Society, Arizona League of Conservation Voters and the Sky Island Alliance.

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Priefert World Series of Team Roping Officially Richest Rodeo/Roping Event Ever!


Las Vegas, NV – The World Series of Team Roping Grand Finale returns December 9th thru December 15th at South Point Equestrian and Events Center, in Las Vegas, NV.  Twelve months ago the World Series of Team Roping made headlines when it became the fifth richest horse event in the world, and continues with that trend this year by breaking two more world records.  

In its seventh year, the World Series of Team Roping Grand Finale’s overall payout has caught up to Las Vegas’ National Finals Rodeo record of $6 million dollars. The WSTR Finale jumped from 5th internationally to move into a tie for the 3rd richest horse event in the world. The richest horse related events of 2012 are the Breeders Cup at $20 Million, the Dubai World Cup at $10 Million, the World Series of Team Roping at $6 million, the National Finals Rodeo at $6 Million, and the Prix de L ‘Arc de Triomphe at $5.4 Million.  

Recreational team roping has been outperforming all the cowboy disciplines, including pro-rodeo for years, but the National Finals Rodeo has pretty well been untouchable until now. This year the World Series Bloomer Trailers #10 Finale, which is essentially a low-amateur division, will set a new record at $1.77 million dollars. This breaks the $1.5 million dollar NFR team roping payoff as a single division, rodeo/roping event.

Las Vegas can proudly lay claim to two of these top five equine events. Individually they are both impressive, but together they distribute $12 Million in prize money into the cowboy industry within a 10-day period. Team Roping is the largest economical component of the recreational horse world producing over $60,000,000 in purses each year. The World Series of Team Roping Grand Finale is the richest and most prestigious showcase for the sport. 

In addition to the daily roping competition, South Point’s “Cowboy Central” will be presenting a western Gift show, nightly entertainment, the WNFR buckle presentations, and the Benny Binion Bucking Horse Sale.

Action will start Sunday December 9th as more than 2,000 team ropers head to Las Vegas for their chance at a piece of the large purse. During the 2012 season, team ropers competed at 125 WSTR qualification events for the right to participate in this event. Ropers from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and Italy are expected to attend. The event will run December 9th through December 15th, with action starting each day at 8 am and ending at 6pm.  A live webcast will run throughout the event and can be found at wstroping.com and priefert.com 

For more information and a full schedule of events, go to www.WSTRoping.com or call 505.898.1755.
Denny Gentry strikes again!

Will Arizona voters choose sovereignty?

As Americans head to the polls for Election Day 2012, major media outlets are fixated on the changes that will occur in Washington, D.C. But state leaders across the West should focus their eyes elsewhere — specifically, on the results of an important ballot question now before Arizona voters. That’s because Arizona’s Proposition 120 has important implications for the federalist system of government with ramifications that are particularly powerful for Western states like Nevada. Its passage could well be the populist rallying cry that solidifies Westerners’ resolve against the land dominion of federal agencies. Proposition 120 has three components. First, it would declare that each state possesses full attributes of sovereignty on an equal footing with all other states. This “Equal Footing Doctrine” is rooted in U.S. constitutional law and is frequently referenced by Westerners who believe that congressional requirements for Western states to forever give the federal government right and title to much of the land within their borders are unconstitutional. Eastern states were never subject to these punitive conditions, say Westerners. Second, Proposition 120 would amend Arizona’s constitution to remove the disclaimer of interest in public lands that Congress, through the state’s Enabling Act, extorted from the state’s founders...more

Another Layer Of Bureaucracy For Oil and Gas Exploration In The U.S.?

by Don Groves

 On May 11, 2012, the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published proposed regulations governing “Oil and Gas; Well Stimulation, Including Hydraulic Fracturing, on Federal and Indian Lands.” BLM is a latecomer to this party. Its belated meddling lacks practical or economic justification. Instead, the proposed BLM rule would drive oil and gas developers off federal and tribal lands. Complying with the rules is too complicated and costly. Producers can realize a much faster and much better return on their capital investment by developing oil and gas reserves on adjoining private lands.
Federal and tribal lands hold large reserves of oil and natural gas. At a time when the United States desperately needs to move toward, not away from, energy independence, it makes no sense to let bureaucratic meddling effectively place these valuable domestic reserves out of reach. The problems with BLM’s approach are myriad.
BLM Misses the Mark
First, a central, federal, one-size-fits-all approach does not work. The reserves that the oil and gas industry wants to access using hydraulic fracturing occur in areas with different geographic, topographic, hydrological, population, precipitation and umpteen other characteristics. The oil and gas deposits are found at different depths; the water table is at different depths. The surface and subsurface vary dramatically, ranging from the Marcellus Shale Formation in the Northeast to the San Juan Basin in the Southwest. States and tribes have long ago stepped up to the plate with sensible regulations suitable to their individual conditions. They are way ahead of BLM.
Second, even if states and tribes did not already have this under control, BLM’s proposed regulations are inappropriate. The BLM regs are based on inaccurate assumptions, flawed economics and a perceived but actually nonexistent need.




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Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods. -H.L. Mencken

Song Of The Day #965



Ranch Radio is dusting off the old 78s today, and here is Arthur Smith & His Crackerjacks with New York To New Orleans.

Monday, November 05, 2012

2012 Election: Ag Ballot Issues Include GMOs, Farmland, More

by Boyce Thompson

A variety of issues on U.S. ballots Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 will have implications for people employed in agriculture. Here’s a quick look at some of those initiatives by category.
Genetically modified food
In California, approval of Proposition 37 would require manufacturers to label food made using "genetically modified (GM), biotech or genetically engineered (GE) crops," NBC News reported. Supporters say that some animal studies indicate genetic modification of food can contribute to health problems for consumers and that more safety testing should be done. Meanwhile, Hanford (Calif.) Sentinel columnist Don Curlee–an opponent of the initiative–says farmers and producers would be "negatively affected, as new labels will be required for practically everything they supply."
Companies such as General Mills and Coca-Cola collectively have spent nearly $10 million in an effort to defeat the measure, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Farming rights
In North Dakota, approval of Constitutional Measure No. 3 would amend the state’s constitution to include this text: "The right of farmers and ranchers to engage in modern farming and ranching practices shall be forever guaranteed in this state. No law shall be enacted which abridges the right of farmers and ranchers to employ agricultural technology, modern livestock production and ranching practices."
Farm Bureau’s president in North Dakota says the measure would keep "outside interests from interrupting farming and ranching operations by imposing costly, unnecessary rules," the Minot Daily News reported.
Farmland preservation
In Maine, approval of Question 3 would allow the state to issue no more than $5 million in bonds to help raise money for the preservation of farmland, acquisition of land for conservation and other uses. Supporters say investing in land creates opportunities that put money back into the local economy, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Animal cruelty
Voters in North Dakota also will decide whether to adopt Measure No. 5, which would criminalize malicious and intentional harm to dogs, cats and horses. While ballot language specifically states that the measure "would not apply to production agriculture," one opponent–North Dakota farmer Val Wagner–says its primary backer has a history of "wreaking havoc with animal rights and agriculture."



Horses Allegedly Used to Launder Zetas Money Sold at Auction

More than 300 horses allegedly used to launder proceeds of a Mexican drug cartel were sold at auction for about $8.8 million, prosecutors said. Two-thirds of the horses were sold this past weekend, including A Dash of Sweet Heat for $1 million, at Heritage Place Auction Facility in Oklahoma City, according to a statement (pdf). About 100 broodmares were sold for $35,000 prior to auction, the statement said. The horses were part of an indictment handed up against 15 individuals in connection with an alleged scheme by the Zetas cartel to launder part of their money through the purchase, training, racing and breeding of American quarter horses. Prosecutors seized the horses in the wake of the indictment, and sold many of them over the weekend. The proceeds from the sale of the quarter horses will be held in escrow pending a forfeiture action, the statement said. The government still holds about 45 quarter horses, prosecutors said, including Tempting Dash, winner of the Dash for Cash at Lone Star Park race track in Grand Prairie, Texas and Mr. Piloto, the $1 million All American Futurity winner at Ruidoso Downs...more

Predation alone doesn't explain elk population reductions

Wolves reduce elk numbers by killing them, but it’s likely that they also decrease elk reproduction, according to a Montana State University study. In a seminar at MSU on Thursday, ecology professor Scott Creel presented more evidence indicating that reintroducing wolves into the ecosystem has affected elk populations in some unforeseen ways. Creel and co-author David Christianson also presented the study to the Society of Conservation Biology last week. Creel’s research was based upon 12 elk management units in Montana, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park that all had 30 years of data on elk populations, predators and climate characteristics. Several factors act together to affect elk population swings, including the severity of the winter, elk population density, human hunters and animal predators — including wolves, lions and grizzly bears. For areas without wolves, scientists can predict what elk populations will do if there is a severe winter or if the herd density gets too high. In both cases, populations will drop because fewer calves are born or survive. But for areas with wolves, winter severity and elk density no longer produce the same population responses. Calf survival still declines in a bad winter, but it doesn’t increase as much again in a mild winter. The likely explanation, he said, is that elk are more vigilant and feed less around predators. Diet and activity changes can cause females to have less energy to produce calves, a response that has been shown to occur in several animal species. “I think the cost of anti-predator behavior explains a significant proportion of those missing calves,” Creel said. “When we did the EIS, we didn’t deal with the possibility that elk will start doing things differently to avoid predation, but those things that they do may carry physiological consequences.”...more

Montana's free-roaming bison plan in judge's hands

A legal dispute over whether migrating bison can roam freely across 70,000 acres outside Yellowstone National Park is before a Montana judge after attorneys offered closing arguments in the case Monday. State officials opened the Gardiner Basin just north of the park to migrating bison last year after they had been barred for decades. It was an attempt to curb periodic slaughters that have killed thousands of the animals to prevent the spread of the disease brucellosis to cattle. But county officials and ranchers who live outside the park want state District Judge Wayne Phillips to restore restrictions on the animals' movements. They say the bison threaten the safety of residents in the basin and could spread brucellosis to livestock. A trial in the case that began earlier this year concluded Monday. State veterinarian Marty Zaluski testified that the disease transmission risk is unchanged or slightly lower since bison were let back into the Gardiner Basin. That gave state and federal officials more room to manage the wild animals, while newly-constructed fences will keep them away from the two cattle ranches that still operate in the area, Zaluski said. During prior testimony in the lawsuits, an undersheriff from Park County said dozens of complaints came in from residents worried about their safety. And county officials have said public property was damaged by bison that pushed up against or knocked down fences and other structures. Plaintiffs in the case also said there should have been more environmental studies done on the potential for brucellosis exposures and other problems before the free-roaming policy was adopted in April 2011. That formal adoption came after hundreds of bison already had been allowed into the basin. Scientists and state officials have said that another wild animal, elk, are the biggest threat for the spread of brucellosis because they are more numerous and their movements are unrestricted...more

IRS Regulations Give Drought Stricken Ranchers A Break

It isn’t just ranchers in the Southwest who have been forced to sell off parts of their cowherds due to drought this year. Cattle producers in much of the Great Plains, Midwest and Southeast have also seen parched pastures that succumbed to the worst drought for many since the 1980s. The droughts of 2011 and 2012 have led to liquidation of hundreds of thousands of cows and other cattle. The lack of native pasture, quality hay and/or water left ranchers no choice but to sell. However, this unexpected increase in revenue likely won’t create terrible tax requirements for a ballooning income resulting from cow sales, says a Texas AgriLife Extension economist. Internal Revenue Service Section 1033 provides livestock producers with flexibility in having to declare these sales as income for 2012, says Stan Bevers, AgriLife Extension economist in Vernon, Texas. “Many ranchers in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma had a lot of cowherd liquidation in 2011,” Bevers says. “As we entered 2012, many ranchers found themselves with excessive income because of all of the cows they had sold." Many ranchers are wondering about federal income tax implications and if they have to declare all of the additional revenue received as 2012 income. Bevers says ranchers who faced liquidation can defer the tax on the gain by using IRS Section 1033. “With this provision, producers can postpone the gain on the abnormal sales of breeding cows as income,” he says. “However, proceeds from the sales due to drought have to be used to repurchase the same type of females. But with Section 1033, a typical two-year designation can be extended to four years. ” In addition, ranchers who were forced to sell weaned calves that would have normally been sold the following year may also take advantage of deferring that income...more

Restoration of historic railing recalls history of Alberta ranches

Progress does not always run over history in Calgary. A current restoration project is preserving a piece of our ranching past. Back in the early 1950s, Calgary lawyer Marsh Porter commissioned a railing for a new home he was building in southwest Calgary. He had it made up of 34 symbols, many of which were the branding stamps from ranches in the region. It was unique, and quintessentially Albertan. “He had a good sense of history,” recalls Dan Hays, whose parents Harry and Muriel Hays bought the house from the prominent Calgarian in 1969. No one knows why Porter chose the brands he did, a strange collection that calls to mind ranches from all over southern Alberta. George Lane’s famous Bar U cattle brand is there, alongside brands that belonged to other early cattlemen, including Quirk, Gardner and Burns. They all ranged cattle in the High River area of southwestern Alberta. Not all came from the area, however. The Bow River Horse Ranch, which was located near Cochrane, was also included in the mix. “I assume he was trying to recognize the contribution of those early ranchers,” says Hays, offering his best guess for the reason for the brands in the railing. An ambitious rebuild of the property is underway, and a talented Calgary woodworker is restoring the railing to its former glory. Some parts have to be repaired, but most of the woodwork is solid...more

Mescalero's own Tonto:10-year-old cast as young Tonto in the Lone Ranger

Joseph, Depp & Lynelle
At the age of 10 and with no previous performing credits, Joseph Foy beat out 200 young actors who auditioned in Los Angeles and 79 in New Mexico for the role of young Tonto in the new Lone Ranger movie starring Johnny Depp. Meeting him last week, the choice wasn't difficult to understand. He exudes "a presence." He calmly walks up to adults, shakes their hands and declares it a pleasure to meet them. The fourth-grade Mescalero student is the picture perfect actor for the part. And now with one major, albeit nonspeaking, role to his credit, he's ready to try out for more movies. "He enjoys the attention," says his mother, Lynelle Foy, who was the first in the family to think her son might be right for acting and for the movie that was partly shot in New Mexico and is scheduled to open July 3, 2013. The filmmakers had previously planned to shoot some scenes in Silver City and a casting call seeking 300 to 500 extras was planned for August, but later canceled as shooting was moved elsewhere. "Back in August, we heard of a casting call in Mescalero down at the tribal office," said his father, Jimmy Foy, who works at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. "He had auditioned for a different movie (Cowboys and Aliens), and he wasn't called for that, but they kept him on file," Lynelle said. "They called us for this movie and asked to see Joseph." "We took him down there and it was like a 10-minute audition," Jimmy said. "The casting director, Elizabeth Gabel, turned around and said, "We want him.' and to bring him up to Albuquerque because the producer Jerry Bruckheimer wanted to meet him...more

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In order to prevent those who are vested with authority from becoming oppressors, the people have a right, at such periods and in such manner as they shall establish by their frame of government, to cause their public officers to return to private life, and to fill up vacant places by certain and regular elections. - John Adams

Song Of The Day #964


It's Swingin' Monday on Ranch Radio and here's the Horse Creek Band with Florida Blues.

The tune is on their 12 track LP Album Don't Be Ashamed Of Your Age.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy



Moonlight cowboying 

 by Julie Carter

You’ll appreciate this story even if you don’t own yearling cattle that might escape out onto the highway after you have gone to bed on any given night.

Like most ranch folk, you’ll appreciate the humor and necessity of being thankful for even the little things.

The rancher’s wife had been trying to fight off a Boone and Crockett sized head cold for days so she wasn’t in the best of humor. A lack of sleep several nights in a row didn’t help the situation.

About 9 p.m. on this particular night, she took some cold medicine hoping it would help both the cold and the sleep problems. She tossed and turned, got up at 1 a.m. and took more medication and went back to bed an hour later.

At 2:30 a.m. the phone rang. That is never a good thing no matter where you live. It was their neighbor who relayed the unwanted message. They had lots of cattle on the highway and they were on the move -- headed north up the canyon. 

The wife slapped her still-sleeping husband upside the head, mostly to wake him up but more so out of simple frustration. After 30-plus years of marriage, she was fairly certain he didn’t know the difference.

Pulling on their cowboy clothes, they jumped in the pickup and drove up to the highway.  Their neighbor had managed to get in front of most of the cattle and had them headed back down the highway towards home. 

The local sheriff was on the scene in his fancy car and was managing to hit the ranch wife in the eyes with his high powered spotlight whenever possible. When the sheriff wasn’t blinding her, her husband was with his own mega bright Q-Beam. She noted that one million candle power in your face at 3 a.m. is not in any way soothing.

She was leading the cattle with the pickup while the neighbor was bringing up the rear of the herd. Her husband was riding in the back of her pickup, ready to jump in front of any critter trying for a fast get away.

The bride was slightly amused that at this point he trusted her driving. However, she realized he still hadn’t figured out that she hit him earlier. 

They get the cattle to the gate of the pasture where they belonged and as cattle will do, especially in the dark, they came untrained and headed back north up the canyon again.  

The wife wheeled out to go help the neighbor as they were both trying to out run the cattle up the highway. Her husband was hanging out the back of the truck telling her something that sounded like “stop” so she hit the brakes.  He had said “stop” but didn’t intend for a slam-the-brakes kind of stop. He rolled over the side of the truck and recovered on his feet enough to block a side road off the highway. 

The cattle finally went through the gate on the second try while the sheriff was still waving his spotlight around and trying to figure out who was on first.

They got home about 4:30 a.m., and tossed and turned until 6:30 when the wife got up and fixed sandwiches for the crew that would be arriving soon to drive those same cattle to the mesa top.

Her “thank God” was for good neighbors, gentle cattle and a full moon.

How did her neighbor know the cattle were on the highway you ask?  He got up sometime after 2 a.m. to go to the bathroom and saw car headlights slowing down and weaving to miss the cattle.

She then thanked God for old men with weak bladders.

Julie can be reached for comment at jcarternm@gmail.com.