NEWS ROUNDUP

Rainbow Gathering in Colorado lacks one color: green When we tell folks that we have become the unwitting hosts for the Rainbow Family's annual gathering, the first response is "the who?" As it turns out, some 20,000 Rainbows have gathered in Big Red Park, north of Steamboat Springs, Colo., in the Routt National Forest. Their Web site, welcomehome.org, styles them "the largest non-organization of non-members in the world." My husband and I, local ranchers, are hosts because this year's get-together has taken over our sheep-grazing permit. Rainbow spokesman Bodhi, from New York City, said he chose the area because, "We need a fresh water source, one main meadow that is 100 acres or larger and about 5-to-10 square miles of hippie land." Bodhi added, "We need another large meadow to accommodate thousands of vehicles." Now, for years, we have been told that our sheep and cows are not to "lounge" in the riparian areas when they water. How can it be, we asked the Forest Service, that many thousands of people can come in, camp on a riparian area for weeks and weeks, and not worry about resource damage? That is but one of the rubs....
Costs, impact tallied at end of Rainbows As the exodus of neo-hippies has begun from the Rainbow Family gathering in the woods north of Steamboat Springs, local officials are beginning to see the impacts of 15,000 renegade campers. At the encampment, a spider web of new trails wanders everywhere through the sagebrush, trees have been stripped of their lower branches, fire pits dot the terrain and barren earth marks high-traffic areas and campsites. And in town, officials are tallying the financial costs of providing services and stepped-up law enforcement. The Yampa Valley Medical Center will have provided more than $100,000 in medical care that probably won't be repaid. The Routt County Humane Society scrambled to vaccinate dozens of dogs after an outbreak of the deadly parvovirus, and officials fear there could be as many as 200 pets abandoned. And the Forest Service, which spent nearly $800,000 just for its incident-management team, will be left with the task of rehabilitating the land....
Rainbows leave paths of damage in forest Now that the Rainbow Family is wrapping up its annual return to nature, the U.S. Forest Service is examining what it will take to return their campsite to its natural state. Forest Service spokeswoman Denise Ottaviano said aerial photography of the countercultural campers' 4-square-mile settlement in the Hahns Peak/Bears Ears Ranger District of Routt National Forest revealed "40 to 50 miles" of newly improvised trails requiring restoration in the visitors' wake. "It's shocking," Ottaviano said. "Now there's just this enormous trail system" in a previously pristine area. At its peak, the Rainbow gathering, which officially ran July 1 through Friday, drew an estimated 15,000 free spirits from across the country. The attendance figure, released by the Forest Service, is based in part on the estimated 3,100 cars, plus numerous vans and buses parked at the campers' settlement....
Federal Government Kills Another Endangered Mexican Gray Wolf Government agents killed the female of the Nantac Pack of Mexican gray wolves yesterday, several weeks after shooting her mate. The two wolves were survivors of past predator control actions and had been re-released into the Gila National Forest in New Mexico in late April 2006. In early May, this pair scavenged on a bull that perished from disease, and the wolves subsequently killed four cows. The male wolf, which was born in the wild, was shot June 18, and the female was shot yesterday. She was a particularly valuable wolf genetically, one of the few wolves in the wild with DNA from all three of the Mexican wolf lineages that stem from just a few founding animals. “This was an unnecessary killing,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity in Pinos Altos, New Mexico. “If the Fish and Wildlife Service had followed scientists’ recommendations to keep wolves from scavenging on carcasses of cows and horses that they did not kill, the Nantac Pack would still be roaming the hills of the Gila together today.”....
Wilderness bill built on consensus An unusual alliance of off-road vehicle enthusiasts, environmentalists and local officials in the Eastern Sierra has crafted a deal to set aside more than 40,000 acres of wilderness near Yosemite National Park, which lawmakers are calling a model of how to build consensus to protect public lands. The plan would permanently protect an area of the High Sierra one-third larger than San Francisco that is popular with hikers, equestrians and anglers for its jagged 11,000-foot peaks, alpine lakes, lush meadows and conifer forests. The area covers 11 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, the 2,650-mile scenic path stretching from Canada to Mexico. In return for giving up access to the new wilderness, snowmobile riders would get an 11,000-acre winter-use snowmobile recreation area centered on Leavitt Bowl near the Sonora Pass. The deal is in a bill by Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, a Republican from Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), which is expected to get its first House hearing this month. The sponsors, including California's two Democratic senators, believe it could be approved by Congress later this year.... Researchers wonder what's killing bighorn Something is killing Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Hells Canyon, and for the first time biologists in the three Northwest states that border the rugged chasm have started capturing sick lambs to figure out the cause. Researchers at Washington State University are examining tissue taken from the lambs. Their findings could have ramifications for wild sheep throughout North America. "That would be a huge step forward," said Frances Cassirer, a wildlife research biologist with Idaho Fish and Game. "At least then we'd be dealing with a known enemy. It's a problem for bighorn sheep almost everywhere they occur." Biologists say about 2 million bighorns once inhabited the West, but they disappeared over most of their range in the 1800s and early 1900s due to disease and unregulated hunting. Reintroductions and added protection in the last 50 years have boosted bighorn numbers to about 50,000. But sweeping epidemics of a mystery illness wipe out thousands of Rocky Mountain bighorns, California bighorns, Sierra Nevada bighorns, and desert bighorns, thwarting attempts by wildlife biologists to fill empty habitat....
Drilling debate hinges on how water, wildlife affected Citing seven points of contention discussed in detail over 47 pages, Gov. Bill Richardson's consistency review questioned the wisdom and worth of the Bureau of Land Management's resource management plan for the Otero Mesa area. "I have found numerous inconsistencies with state laws, rules, policies, programs, and plans," he wrote, "particularly those that relate to protecting the Chihuahuan Desert and New Mexico's ground water." Richardson charged the plan with a "cavalier attitude" about ground water issues because the agency admits it hasn't found or studied all aquifers in the planning area and some aquifers may be vulnerable to contamination. He also claimed the plan violates the New Mexico Wildlife Conservation Act and the New Mexico Game Management Plans by inadequately protecting habitat for the northern aplomado falcon, pronghorn antelope, desert bighorn sheep, and the black-tailed prairie dog most of which are rare and some of which are endangered. Richardson called for designating Otero Mesa a national conservation area, and offered an alternative plan that would close 310,554 acres of the planning area to any drilling and prohibit surface occupancy on another 333,200 acres....
Sportsmen want range protected A group of hunters and anglers is proposing to form a coalition of outdoors enthusiasts to work with landowners, government officials and the oil and gas industry to hold up drilling in the Wyoming Range. "We can have both world-class wildlife and an economically viable mineral industry," Bob Wharff, executive director of Wyoming Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, said in a release. But Wharff said leasing and any drilling on Forest Service land in the Wyoming Range should be halted until there is assurance there will be no further decline in big-game numbers. He said the coalition would "identify, monitor, and address factors which affect wildlife and ... seek effective means of mitigation or best management practices which minimize the impacts to Wyoming's wildlife."....
Pressure builds to hire — and keep — oil rig inspectors in the field Beset with unfilled positions for much of the past year, the Bureau of Land Management is working to catch up on drill-rig inspections across Colorado. Environmental organizations, however, say they fear the agency can’t keep pace with the fast-growing ranks of drill rigs in the region, even though it is now nearly at full staff. The pressure on the agency would increase even more if Congress requires the BLM to process drill-permit applications within 10 days, industry critics said. To be sure, statewide inspections are behind schedule, said Jaime Gardner, a spokeswoman for the BLM state office in Lakewood. “But taking into account that we had five open positions, most of which have been filled, we’re hoping to definitely meet and possibly exceed our inspection target,” she said. To date, more than half of at least 1,000 targeted inspections have been completed, Gardner said. The agency is required to inspect its high-priority wells once a year and all other active wells once every three years....
Suit filed over grizzly habitat Helicopters hauling logs out of North Idaho's grizzly bear country threaten the bears almost as much as using logging trucks, according to a lawsuit filed this week in federal court by environmentalists seeking to block a large logging project north of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The Boundary Creek timber sale was scheduled to begin later this month in a remote canyon near the Canadian border. The area is considered some of the best remaining habitat in the Selkirk Mountains for one of the nation's most imperiled populations of grizzlies. The U.S. Forest Service had hoped to minimize impacts to the bears by using helicopters rather than trucks to haul logs off most of the 1,242-acre project. Most of the timber sale is slated to take place in federally designated core grizzly bear habitat, according to the lawsuit. Motorized use is restricted in these areas in an attempt to protect bears, said Liz Sedler, a Sandpoint resident and member of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, which filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Eastern Washington. If helicopters are allowed to buzz bear habitat for the next three years, the bears will likely flee to other parts of the forest, including places with roads or homes....
Issue of fire crew liability is raised Firefighter Kenneth Jordan's ambition once was to lead one of the nation's elite teams of specialized wildfire and disaster incident managers. The challenge and responsibility seemed appealing. Not anymore. Not since a wildfire in Idaho three years ago left two firefighters dead -- and their fire commander facing potential federal charges for their deaths. These days, Jordan is thinking more about retirement. "For an incident commander to have to look after everybody on a fire is ridiculous. It's a ridiculous theory," he said. Jordan, like many firefighters, does not lack confidence in his abilities. Still, he worries about being held criminally liable if a member of the California Hotshot crew he supervises is killed. The Cramer fire in Idaho made that fear very real. And firefighter advocates warn that concerns about civil or criminal liability could keep firefighters from seeking or accepting promotions at a time when the federal government is struggling to fill fire crews. The issue of liability also has raised concerns among firefighters about whether the state and federal agencies they work for would stand behind them if people die or houses burn on their watch....
Forest Service to reopen Mount St. Helens to climbers Climbing to the summit of Mount St. Helens will resume on July 21 -- about 22 months after seismic and volcanic activity closed the peak. Climbers will be asked to stick hard hats and ash masks in their packs for protection in case the peak erupts. Climbing to the crater rim was closed in September of 2004 when earthquake activity perked up and the mountain began a dome-building eruption the next month that continues today. By now, seismic activity has decreased to the point where U.S. Forest Service officials think climbing is safe....
U.S. plans roundup of horses near Las Vegas All but a few dozen wild horses roaming public lands surrounding Las Vegas will be rounded up in January under a federal plan horse advocates are calling a proposal to "zero out" wild horse herds in the area. The Bureau of Land Management's latest proposed roundup would remove 250 wild horses and 570 burros from the Spring Mountains, plus 60 animals from areas west of Lake Mead about 30 miles from Las Vegas. "It's very disheartening when you look at the numbers they want to take off," Laurie Howard, vice president of Wild Horses 4 Ever, said Friday. "It really comes down to does America in general, and especially Nevada, want those horses and burros or not?" BLM officials say the roundup is necessary to preserve other wildlife in the mountainous desert landscape....
Nonprofit Buys Local Ranch An international organization that strives to protect open space and coastal waters recently purchased a significant plot of land teaming with roaming elk. The Nature Conservancy bought the 2,899-acre San Antonio Valley ranch on the north end of Henry Coe State Park at a price of $5.2 million. The nonprofit organization, which has headquarters in San Francisco and Monterey, stepped in after discovering that the ranch's owner had unsuccessfully attempted to sell his land to the California Department of Fish and Game. The state department wasn't able to purchase the land immediately so the Nature Conservancy, which as a nonprofit reserves the power to overstep many legal barriers, bought the ranch with cash from a grant provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and a grant and loan from the Conserving California Landscapes Initiative. "We're a nonprofit so we work as a (intermediary) and it gives us an opportunity to lock the property up and help them on their time frame," said Lloyd Wagstaff, Mount Hamilton project director for the Nature Conservancy....
Dude ranches fade off into the sunset Amid decades of change in Arch Wagner's life, Montana's Boulder River Ranch was the constant. Thirty years ago, Wagner, then a radiologist in Virginia, spotted the ranch's ad in the back of a fishing magazine. He visited for a week, then returned nearly every summer, teaching his children to fish on the river that runs through the ranch, sprinkling his late wife's ashes there and riding horses with his grandchildren through its 600 acres. Last summer, he didn't go back. Thanks to rising land prices, the family that owned the ranch since 1918 sold to a group of investors that included news-caster Tom Brokaw, and the property stopped taking guests. "Three generations of us went there," said Wagner. For a century of summers, American travelers have headed to Western ranches, saddled up their horses and galloped away from the tedium of modern life. Now, the future of dude ranching is being threatened by rising land prices and the reach of development. Some ranches are being sold off to a new generation of wealthy investors seeking private retreats, while others are attracting neighbors with names like McDonald's and Starbucks. At the same time, dude ranches that stay in business are racing to catch up with travelers' changing tastes, which increasingly tend toward massages and shopping. At the heart of this is a fact: Many dude ranches rest on land that is now far more valuable than the business on top....
For dry cowpunchers, a standing eight count Jim Goodrich is, in a word, desperate. He's a rancher. He's used to being, well, concerned. Or worried. Or just dispatching a hard stare into an unforgiving sky. But being desperate is another thing. There's not a drop of cowboy romance in it. It's a late June day here at Winter Livestock Auction, and Goodrich is selling off some of his cattle. You don't sell in the early summer. If you sell your cattle this time of year, you are, by definition, desperate. You can read it in Goodrich's lined face, in the worried look from his wife, Doris, in the long silences from their teenage boys. "The worry factor?" he asks, standing with his family in the auction lobby. "On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say it's about a 9.5." It's not just cattle he's selling. Selling his cattle, Goodrich explains, is like selling the factory. And in selling the factory, he just may be selling away his future and the only thing he knows....
Cow 54, where are you? Mark Kittrell leaned against the pipe railing of a walkway overlooking the sale ring in the George County Sale Barn. Kittrell, 38, was watching the weekly cattle sale. The cattle business is one that the Stateline resident knows well. It is changing and he hopes to be able to change with it. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns recently announced a United States Department of Agriculture plan outlining timetables and benchmarks for establishing a national animal identification system. The plan includes integrating private and state animal tracking data bases, allowing USDA to track the nation's nine billion cows, hogs, sheep, goats and chickens from the farm to the grocery store. It is this change that worries Kittrell. "I am concerned about the older farmers and ranchers. I have heard a number of them say that when they are forced to do this, they will sell out. That means I will lose part of my market."....
Comstock Annual Youth Rodeo continues a 43-year tradition The Comstock Rodeo Club’s 43rd Annual Youth Rodeo, Saturday, drew an appreciative crowd of family, friends and supporters of arena skills, including horsemanship and stock handling, all in an atmosphere of tradition and ranch living camaraderie. No money prizes, just buckles for event and category winners, and “high fives,” shouts of “Good job!” and ribbons for all participants. Under high clouds, the Comstock arena was ringed Saturday morning by trailers, improvised shade shelters, and pickup trucks, augmented for safety by Val Verde Regional Medical Center Emergency Medical Service Chief Jack Howley, and a fire suppression crew from Val Verde County Volunteer Fire Department. In the 4-H barn, the club members offered a feast of brisket, beans, potato salad, hominy, chocolate cake and iced tea, as participants and spectators drifted in and out as action continued in the arena....
Holdups and shootouts On or about July 1, 1896, a couple of cowboys rode into Quemado looking for the town marshal. After finding him, and anyone else who would listen, the two excited men told their story. As they were riding along the cattle trail through the Datil Mountains, they heard some gun shots near Mangas Mountain. In the distance, they saw some men in a shootout with a lone rider. When the smoke cleared, one of the men and his horse were dead on the ground. They thought the ambushed man looked like local rancher Frank Williams. Such shootings were not uncommon. Several cattle rustling rings were operating in the area, along with notorious outlaws, making desolate Western Socorro County a dangerous and deadly place to be during the late 1800s. The brutal killing of Fred Williams was quickly reported in the Socorro Chieftain and other area newspapers. Riding south out of Quemado to investigate the murder, the marshal, whose name is unknown, found the scene described by the two cowboys. The dead horse was riddled with bullets and the blood-soaked saddle was definitely that of Frank Williams. However, there was no body. Apparently, Williams had survived the shootout and was wandering through the mountains looking for help....