NEWS ROUNDUP

Ex-forester Powell takes lesser post in Arizona Removed from the Forest Service's top regional post because he accessed pornography from his government-issued computers, former Northern Region forester Brad Powell is voluntarily leaving the Senior Executive Service, the agency's chief said Monday. Rather than join Chief Dale Bosworth's Washington, D.C., staff as an associate deputy chief, Powell will move to Arizona and coordinate the national Wildland Fire Leadership Council. That job is not a Senior Executive Service position, so is a step down. "But this is all voluntary," Bosworth emphasized. The chief would not comment on whether the Forest Service has taken further disciplinary action against Powell.... Forest Service workers face discipline for e-mail Thirty employees of the U.S. Forest Service in Montana are in trouble for sharing sexually explicit stories, jokes, cartoons and photographs via their government-issued computers and e-mail addresses, agency officials confirmed Monday. The pornographic e-mails also involved 35 employees in six other regions of the Forest Service and the agency's Washington headquarters, said Ed Nesselroad, the Northern Region's director of public and governmental affairs.... Man accused of ecoterrorism along trail A 54-year-old management consultant is accused of setting booby traps along a public trail near Placitas in an apparent attempt to deter bikers and hikers from traveling the route. Michael Delongchamp of Placitas was arrested and released Friday on a federal charge of using hazardous or injurious devices on federal land, according to a U.S. District Court criminal complaint. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Albuquerque. Delongchamp is accused of stringing five metal cables, about -inch in diameter, across a trail frequented by bike riders, hikers and equestrians west of Placitas, according to the complaint.... Ex-firefighter to be sentenced for setting White Mtn. wildfire A firefighter who admitted igniting half of what would become the biggest wildfire in Arizona history was scheduled to be sentenced Monday. Leonard Gregg pleaded guilty Oct. 20 in federal court to two counts of intentionally setting a fire. Gregg made no plea agreement to reduce the possible charges or sentence before pleading. He could face up to 10 years in prison.... Ranger Station Furniture Purchases Questioned In Probe Furniture purchases exceeding $47,000 for the Darrington Ranger Station were improperly charged to government credit, a U.S. Forest Service internal investigation has found. The Herald of Everett reported Monday that the findings were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to the forest service's regional office in Portland, Ore., but the names of the employee or employees involved were blacked out. Nor would agency representatives explain how the violations occurred, according to the newspaper.... EROS helps tell story of land-use changes The EROS Data Center is busy recording the way the nation's landscape has changed the past 30 years. The Land Cover Trends project goal is to create an illustrated atlas, said Tom Loveland, an EROS research geographer. The Earth Resources Observation Systems center, part of the U.S. Geological Survey, receives, processes and stores images taken by satellites 440 miles above Earth. The Geological Survey is teaming up with the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA on the project. The project is to be done within two years and will include infrared images taken in 1971-72, 1980-81, 1985-86, 1991-92, 1999-2000 and 2004.... GOP not making the grade, greens say In the national picture, Democrats also fared better in the American Wilderness Coalition’s grading system. In the Senate, 37 Republicans were given failing grades while only two Democrats received an “F”. On the other hand, 33 Democrats from the Senate scored an “A-” or better while only two Republicans received top marks. In the House, 203 Republicans got an “F” while 10 Democrats failed. Another 164 Democrats received an “A-” or better while only 11 Republicans did.... Escaped Binder wolf found dead The two-month search for an escaped Mexican gray wolf ended Monday when the animal was found dead in Vicksburg. Apache, the 19-month-old wolf, apparently was hit by a train in the town, about 20 miles southwest of the zoo. Greg Geise, Binder Park Zoo's president and chief executive officer, said the wolf probably died about three days ago. The wolves, which are an endangered species, are part of a captive breeding program to re-establish the breed.... Showdown in the desert sandbox Under pressure over endangered species, federal officials have been steadily cutting back the motorized vehicle territory here. The last big closing, a temporary measure blocking access to about 49,000 acres, came in late 2000 and left the duners with about 85,000 acres, their boundaries monitored by small plane. That's roughly half the space they had 20 years ago. Meanwhile, in October, the understaffed Bureau of Land Management tripled its fee here, so regulars pay $90 per vehicle per winter. People like me, dropping by for a week or less, pay a hefty $25. Duners founded the American Sand Assn. three years ago, hoping to fend off closures and link arms with older pro-access groups. They've got 18,000 members now. With big decisions due in coming months, they say they're spending more than $14,000 a month on attorneys and biologists.... Study highlights global threats to bird populations A new report by BirdLife International says more than 1,000 of the world's birds face extinction and that agricultural expansion in Africa and unsustainable forestry in the tropics pose grave threats. The report, "State of the World's Birds 2004," brings together for the first time in one document the existing research about the status and distribution of the world's birds.... Scientists Call On Bush Administration To Reverse Policy Expanding Imports Of Endangered Species Hundreds of scientists from around the world today called on the Bush administration to reverse a proposal to expand the importation of endangered animals and their body parts. After two decades of bipartisan support for strict limits on global commerce in endangered species, the White House is proposing to allow the importation of endangered animals and body parts based on highly dubious claims of the conservation benefits stemming from increased trade. Renowned scientist Jane Goodall and esteemed conservationists Dr. Edward O. Wilson and George Schaller, were among the 358 signers of today's letter, which questions both the structure and science behind the President's policy.... Berry, berry best Just when "elderberry" was in danger of becoming a dirty word in Porterville, it's now the latest feel-good, city-pride buzzword. Porterville has done some of the nation's hardest work in perpetuating crucial habitat, composed of blue elderberry trees, for the threatened elderberry longhorn beetle. Under the federal Endangered Species Act, Porterville learned it must create a preserve, in which it will plant 58 elderberry seedlings, to compensate for cutting down five mature elderberry trees in a project for a new community center. It will have ongoing expenses on the preserve numbering many thousands of dollars.... Enzi asks for inquiry into alleged trespassing Sen. Mike Enzi on Monday asked the federal government to investigate allegations that one of its wolf biologists trespassed and planted four wolves on private land near Meeteetse. Enzi sent a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton asking for an inquiry by the Interior and Justice departments, citing the "liability and threat posed to local communities from actions taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.".... County seeks congressional inquiry A formal congressional investigation is being sought into the incident of four wolves processed on a Meeteetse ranch last month. The Park County commissioners last week wrote to Sen. Mike Enzi to request the inquiry into the Feb. 14 incident on the Larsen Ranch. Two men, Mike Jimenez, based in Lander with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and his assistant, Wes Livingston of Cody, "were allegedly attempting to plant wolves on the ranch without the landowner's knowledge or approval," the commissioners wrote to Enzi.... Crowd protests wolf policy A Hot Springs County rancher believes four gray wolves released near Meeteetse on Feb. 14 may have been illegally captured on his land. The rancher, Frank Robbins, was among more than 40 people attending a March 2 Hot Springs County Commission meeting to lodge objections to the way federal agencies have managed wolves in the area. The group extracted a promise from the commissioners to write to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state and federal legislators and the governor "to tell the feds that monitoring wolves on private property would be considered trespass," Robbins said Friday..... Session ends with no plan for wolves; Wyoming closer to lawsuit against federal government The Wyoming Legislature completed its 2004 session without approving any wolf-management plan that would satisfy the federal government, effectively ending for now efforts to remove the predator from the endangered species list. But while some lawmakers expressed regret over the failure to act, others were unapologetic, saying the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not dealt squarely with Wyoming. "They've been deceitful, in my opinion, through the whole thing," said Sen. Delaine Roberts, R-Etna. "They never came forward until the 11th hour to tell us what they wanted.".... For Wildlife, Migration Is Endangered Too In September, when the snow starts to bury Grand Teton National Park, pronghorn antelope follow an ancient exit strategy. They descend from the mountains and travel more than 300 miles south to a broad treeless mesa where life is made easier by winds that scour snow off the grasses. The graceful white-rumped antelope have used that route for at least 7,000 years, archaeological records show. It is an arduous journey. If they leave too late, they can become trapped in deep snow and starve to death. But it is the only way they can find food. In April, they make the trip in reverse..... Judge lauds Western-style justice In dismissing a ban on snowmobiles in national parks earlier this month, Judge Clarence Brimmer says he was trying to "protect our Western people." The 81-year-old federal judge is a Wyoming native who has spent his entire career in the Cowboy State. Brimmer practiced law in Rawlins before being appointed Wyoming attorney general in 1971 and ascending to his current post as U.S. judge for the District of Wyoming in 1975.... State seeks Otero Mesa protection New Mexico’s alternative to a federal proposal for guiding oil and gas development on Otero Mesa would make 310,500 acres of desert grassland off limits to drilling. Gov. Bill Richardson, who opposes drilling on the southern New Mexico mesa, on Monday described the area as “sacred grasslands.” At a news conference, Richardson compared Otero Mesa to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which has been the subject of debate in Congress over whether to allow oil development there.... BLM considering keeping captured wild horses closer to home The federal Bureau of Land Management is considering paying ranchers in Nevada and other Western states to care for wild horses removed from federal rangeland, instead of shipping them to sanctuaries in the Midwest. The proposal is still in preliminary stages, but BLM officials said it could save money and allow for more roundups in Nevada, where more than half the nation's 38,000 wild horses roam.... Giant Verde land swap advances A key parcel in a controversial proposed land trade involving development in the water-scarce Verde Valley has been dropped, two members of Arizona's congressional delegation said Monday. It's part of the Northern Arizona National Forest Land Exchange, which has been the largest proposed federal land exchange in state history. It passed the House last year; the Senate is awaiting introduction of a bill and a probable hearing this month before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.... Colorado Faces New Divide: Deiced Roads vs. Ecosystems Interstate 70 in the Rockies can be at its busiest in winter, when hordes of skiers from around the world join the daily tide of commuters and long-haul truckers climbing the Continental Divide. All of them expect the road to be free of ice. And that is creating an environmental problem that lasts far beyond winter. The problem lies in the tons of sand, salt and liquid chemicals that highway workers use each winter. In particular, sand laced with chemicals and salt has accumulated on roadsides for decades, taking a growing toll on the rivers and vegetation in this fragile environment. The Colorado Department of Transportation estimates that $35 million will be needed to clean up the sand and install a proper drainage system.... Lack of refineries contributes to soaring gas prices Drivers should brace themselves for the kind of price swings at the pump that Californians are seeing, experts say, in large part because there are fewer U.S. refineries trying to keep up with increasing demand for gasoline. Energy companies have closed more than half of their U.S. refineries since 1981. Oil companies say they closed unprofitable refineries and environmental regulations have made it difficult to build new ones.... City to invest in water El Paso could have enough water to sustain the city for a century with the acquisition of about 25,000 acres in Dell Valley that the city is negotiating to buy. Officials said the acquisition is part of a long-term water importation plan that could cost half a billion dollars. The El Paso Water Utilities' Public Service Board approved a letter of intent Monday to enter negotiations with three major landowners and others they represent for the option to buy about 40 percent of the farm land around Dell City in neighboring Hudspeth County..... Madison County proposing new policy warning newcomers of rural life Madison County commissioners are proposing a "right to farm and ranch" policy that would warn newcomers to rural life they shouldn't expect their farming and ranching neighbors to change their ways. The policy, slated for discussion later this month, would be made into a pamphlet that would be distributed through real estate agents and county offices. The proposed policy includes a list of agricultural practices that neighboring homeowners might find unpleasant or offensive, and warns them that complaining about it probably is not going to change the situation.... Water case in Florida may ripple into Colo. In the midst of the West’s lingering drought, a Supreme Court case involving water pumps in the Everglades could put another squeeze on water supplies. It’s not the most exciting case the court has agreed to review, but it could be one of the most far-reaching for water users in recent history. The effects could be especially drastic in the West, where water is scarcer and elaborate delivery systems could be impacted. At least four Supreme Court justices thought there might be reason to overturn a lower court’s decision in the South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians and agreed to hear the case. Nearly 50 entities have filed briefs supporting the Supreme Court’s consideration of the case, including Western states such as Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Nevada and New Mexico.... Summer water may be short The mountains in the Upper Klamath Basin are piled high with snow, but streamflows will likely fall below average as the spring and summer progress, hydrologists say. If streamflow forecasts prove accurate, the water supplies could falter just at the time when they're needed most by endangered fish and farmers. Federal and state officials are especially concerned about how much water to expect to flow into Upper Klamath Lake this summer.... President's visit thrills Rodeo visitors Everyone from the littlest of cowboys to veteran cowgirls got the thrill of a lifetime when President Bush stopped by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Monday afternoon. The president was in town for a fund-raising dinner, but decided to swing by the cattle exhibit while lobbying for some votes.... Reliable Tracking of Cattle Could Be Years Away Soon after the discovery of a mad cow late last year in central Washington state, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced meat supply reforms that included a cattle identification system capable of tracking a sick cow and its herd mates nationwide within hours. But the USDA now says it could be several years before a tracking system is in place and operational, despite pressure to act quickly from members of Congress, U.S. trading partners and even the chief executive of McDonald's. Political and logistical hurdles stand in the way:.... Dead Cattle Herd Investigated On Western Slope A Delta County rancher fears the mysterious and sudden death of his cattle last month was an intentional poisoning tied to coalbed methane drilling. Thirty cows and one yearling bull were found dead or dying the morning of Feb. 28 when Vern Hillis went to do his morning feeding on the 1,400-acre ranch. "This was a premeditated deal," said Hillis, who has raised cattle on a Cedaredge-area ranch since he was 14. "They were poisoned." Hillis said that someone could have targeted his herd because he sold a right of way on the ranch to Gunnison Energy Corp. for a natural gas pipeline.... It's All Trew: Lightning tales depend on how close it strikes Of all the weapons in Mother Nature's arsenal, lightning has to rate high on the list of most dangerous. Whether a lightning bolt is described as beautiful or horrible, depends on how close it strikes to the observer....