NEWS ROUNDUP

Estimates put wolf numbers up in Rockies The number of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies has increased to more than 900 since last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated Tuesday. According to the agency's mid-year estimate, 912 wolves now roam the three-state region, compared to 835 in December, said Ed Bangs, Fish and Wildlife's wolf recovery coordinator in Helena, Mont. The agency attributed the increase primarily to Idaho's growing wolf population. The number of wolves in Montana is up from 2004 but below 2003, and it is down in Wyoming due to illness and competition for food and territory in Yellowstone National Park, officials said. Gray wolves were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies a decade ago, and in 2002 met the government's recovery targets. Wyoming has not submitted a management plan deemed acceptable by the federal agency, a necessary step before gray wolves could lose federal protection....
Wolf numbers stabilizing in Montana; dropping in and around Yellowstone Wolf numbers in Montana appear to be stablizing, a new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says. And wolf numbers in Yellowstone National Park appear to have dropped substantially, according to the top wolf manager there. Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for FWS, last week released a late-summer count of wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. He stressed that all the numbers are estimates and will change by the time official counts are compiled at the end of the year. He estimated there are 166 wolves in Montana, as of the end of August. Wolf numbers are down by about 40 animals in Wyoming, Bangs said, partly because of the drop in Yellowstone, which is mostly in that state. In Idaho, numbers continue to grow. Bangs said he estimates there are 500 to 550 wolves there, up from 422 last winter. The continued growth there "suprises several of us," he said, but central Idaho, with its vast swaths of wilderness and other federal land, and huge ungulate herds, provides the best wolf habitat....
National parks grapple with surge of illegal off-road vehicles The Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida is crisscrossed with so many illegal swamp-buggy ruts - more than 23,000 miles of them - that park officials in August began limiting off-road vehicles to 400 miles of trails in order to protect the Florida panther and the preserve. In Yosemite National Park, off-road vehicles are involved in "numerous" violations, according to a staffer's memo. And each day of a long summer weekend like Labor Day, as many as 2,200 motorized vehicles hit the beaches of Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina. "Not one of those is there legally," says Don Barger, southeastern regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association, a watchdog group. In all, unauthorized off-road vehicles are buzzing through nearly one-third of America's national parks, according to a recently released internal National Park Service (NPS) survey. In one-fifth of the parks, they have damaged natural environments that by law must be preserved for future generations....
2005 fire season marked by big range fires Wildfire experts have come across a seeming contradiction this summer: While the number of acres charred across the West is almost double the 10-year average, the blazes haven't been as big or devastating as those in past years. Experts say that's due to the unusual moisture patterns in the region earlier this year, which favored big grass fires on the open range. Timber in the mountains got more moisture than usual well into the summer, keeping forest fires small. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, over 7.8 million acres - more than 11,000 square miles - have burned in the U.S. since May. About half of that was in Alaska, where large fires often are not fought aggressively if they pose no threat to people or structures. With the 2005 wildfire season two-thirds over, the number of fires is down - about 46,000 compared to the 10-year average of 63,000 - and the number of firefighters suppressing the blazes has been lower than in recent years. Yet the total acreage burned is nearly double the 4 million acres that burned on average through late August over the past decade. Analysts say the primary reason for the higher-than-average fire acreage this year is huge range fires that burned in the Southwest and Great Basin, where a wet winter allowed fine grasses and vegetation to flourish....
Lemmings, mussels and mites among Idaho species on the decline, report says The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has drawn up a list of the dozens of creatures native to the state that are threatened with extinction due to human disturbance and vanishing habitat. But chances are most people haven't heard of the northern bog lemming, western pearlshell mussel, Pacific lamprey, cave obligate mite or the dozens of other imperiled insects, birds, fish, mollusks and wildlife species included in the new report. The "Idaho Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy" attempts to identify every native species of living thing that is struggling to survive, and goes beyond the usual suspects of grizzly bear, caribou and bull trout....
Teen to be tried as adult for killing eagle A Muskegon judge has sided with the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office and ruled that a 17-year-old suspect in the April 2004 shooting and hatchet mutilation of two bald eagles will be tried as an adult. After a contested court hearing that stretched over three sessions on three different days, Muskegon County Circuit Judge William C. Marietti on Friday ordered Kyle Howell of 1276 Poulson to face adult prosecution for animal cruelty/killing an animal, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, and one count of killing an endangered species animal, a 90-day misdemeanor. Marietti, who also acts as a Family Court judge, decided to "designate" Howell to be tried as an adult in juvenile court, a procedure allowed under Michigan law for certain crimes allegedly committed by juveniles. Howell was 16 at the time of the offense....
Park leader's memo fuels debate When Paul Hoffman was executive director of the Cody Chamber of Commerce, he worked closely with state tourism official Gene Bryan, now Hoffman's successor at the chamber. Bryan "watched from a distance" as Hoffman regularly butted heads with National Park Service officials over ending snowmobile use within Yellowstone National Park, reintroducing wolves into the park and whether a gold mine should operate near the nation's oldest national park. "Paul is not a rookie when it comes to controversial issues," Bryan said. Today, Hoffman is deputy assistant secretary of the Interior with authority over the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. He's also at the heart of a firestorm of controversy over future management of the National Park Service. Hoffman drafted a 194-page rewrite of the Park Service's 2001 management policy manual this summer. His changes would downplay preservation, instead emphasizing public enjoyment and commercial exploitation of park resources....
Feds present plan for Tombstone to maintain its historic status Tombstone, the so-called "town too tough to die," is in a battle to defend its National Historic Landmark status. But as federal authorities weight whether to yank the designation, their message is clear: It's OK to cash in on Wild West myths, but don't lie about history. Last year, the National Park Service put Tombstone on notice, warning the landmark status was in jeopardy because of fake facades, anachronistic colors and bogus dates painted on newer buildings. On Sunday, after three days of public input, walking tours and design sessions, a team of consultants and government officials revealed a plan to save the landmark label. State Historic Preservation Officer James Garrison stressed that the recommendations are just a starting point and that the government isn't about to fine people whose buildings aren't historically accurate. Tombstone's threatened status will be revisited in two years, but the National Park Service won't necessarily remove the landmark label then....
Katrina renews debate over drilling off Florida's coast The stunning spike in gasoline prices prompted Senators on Tuesday to revive efforts to drill for oil and natural gas off of Florida's Gulf coast. Less than two months ago, Republican and Democratic politicians from Florida fended off drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico with arguments that unsightly oil rigs and the potential for spills could hurt the state's tourist-based economy and environment. But members of the Senate Energy Committee made it clear Tuesday that gasoline price hikes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina are angering their constituents and putting the idea of drilling near Florida back on the table. A provision for drilling likely will be proposed as part of a massive federal budget bill that will come to a vote this month....
Editorial: BP and the county For all these benefits, who bears the burdens? It is the surface owner, often with a small acreage, who is forced to coexist with the heavy equipment and commotion that goes with drilling a gas well, and then with the sights and sounds from industrial components that clash with the cottonwoods, junipers, alfalfa and grasses that make the mesa tops and valleys and ridges so appealing: a well access road, visible pipeline rights of way, a pump jack and small metal buildings, perhaps large steel tanks, and the likely possibility that in the years ahead the well bore will have to be freshened. Even for surface owners who receive royalties, the imposition is great. BP's offer to increase only slightly the size of an existing well pad in order to include a second well, one bored at an angle to tap an adjacent gas reserve, to share existing pipelines for gas and waste water transmission, and pay a definite road damage fee to the county, in exchange for broad county drilling approval, is an intriguing offer. Using an existing well site and pipelines is almost always much less intrusive for surface owners, and the industry has known for some time how to drill directionally. An agreement would reduce the number of contentious issues, for both the surface owner and the county. The offer, which comes with the sure-to-be-approved request to the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to double the number of coal-bed methane wells from one per 160 acres to two, is a step in the right direction. But, it can go further....
River spells life for small town California grows 80 percent of the nation's eating oranges. Much of that fruit -- about 15 million 75-pound boxes -- passes through this town's nine plants. When the wind hits you right in Orange Cove, the tangy smell of fresh citrus is so strong you can almost taste it. But while the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada frame the sky, there's little natural water here, explains Harvey Bailey, who works 1,100 acres of oranges and lemons with his brother Lee Bailey. His fruit trees -- like Orange Cove's 9,255 residents -- are sustained by water diverted from the San Joaquin River, 50 miles to the north. ''Without it, we'd just dry up, the farms, the town, everything,'' said Bailey, whose family initially worked 200 acres of groves around a well in the early 1900s....
COLORADO RIVER ISSUES: Water chief draws line at meeting The seven Western states that share Colorado River water continue to make progress toward sweeping new rules on how the river should be operated during desperate shortages. But Nevada's top water official is not above a little saber rattling, just in case. During a conference in San Diego last week, Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy had this message for a conference of water managers: Nevada is ready for war should talks break down and the seven basin states wind up in court. Specifically, Mulroy said she wanted other Colorado River users to know that Nevada will fight for its right to divert water from the Virgin River for use in the Las Vegas Valley. The upper river basin states of Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico have argued that Nevada should not be allowed to use water from a Colorado River tributary such as the Virgin without deducting that amount from its annual Colorado River allocation....
Farmers to offer new eco-label Shoppers attracted to organic fruits and vegetables but repelled by their bank account-busting prices may soon have an alternative. That’s the hope of environmentalists, farmers and public officials pushing to certify, label and market produce grown according to a set of agricultural standards labeled as sustainable. Certified growers must meet requirements regarding soil management, water quality, wildlife protection and labor practices, as well as pesticide use. Supporters say the produce labeled as “sustainable” will be more affordable than organic fruits and vegetables. “We’re trying to get to those consumers in the middle,” said Cheryl Brickey, executive director of Protected Harvest, a Maryland-based nonprofit that certifies produce as being grown according to the practices. Brickey said too many Americans can’t afford to pay top dollar for organic produce: “We’re trying to break that barrier.”....
It's All Trew: Dirt-moving methods improve through years Few readers under 60 years of age will understand this statement: “We installed a tin horn in our bar ditch.” A tin horn is a corrugated, galvanized metal culvert installed alongside roadways to let floodwater pass through. I know this fact, but I don’t have a clue as to why a crooked gambler appearing in many western stories is called a tinhorn. Any ideas? The slang term bar ditch supposedly comes from barrow ditch when hand labor and wheelbarrows were used to haul dirt dug from a ditch and dumped into the roadbed to raise it above the surrounding terrain. Another version states dirt borrowed from a ditch and placed on the roadbed gave birth to the term bar ditch....

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