NEWS ROUNDUP

Feds order wolf removed from the wild The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to remove from the wild an endangered Mexican gray wolf that has killed livestock in southwestern New Mexico. The agency announced Tuesday that it has issued a permanent removal order for the male wolf _ identified as M859 _ because it has been involved in three confirmed livestock depredations since June. The order means that wildlife managers will try to either capture the animal or kill it. If the wolf is taken alive, it will be placed in captivity and will not be released into the wild. "While permanent removal orders may be perceived as a step back in reintroduction efforts, removing problem wolves is an integral part of wolf management and actually helps create an environment supporting future wolf releases," Benjamin Tuggle, director of the agency's southwestern region, said in a statement. Santa Fe-based Forest Guardians and The Rewilding Institute of Albuquerque recently appealed a decision by the Forest Service to allow continued grazing on two allotments in the Gila National Forest through a categorical exclusion, which reduces requirements for public involvement mandated under more formal environmental reviews. The Forest Service has since decided not to apply a categorical exclusion to the allotments, and the groups are hopeful the agency will consider environmental impacts before renewing grazing permits in the Gila....
U.S. fireman sentenced for setting forest blazes A former U.S. firefighter was ordered on Tuesday to undergo a mental evaluation and serve six months at a state corrections facility for setting three wildfires on public lands over the last three years. Levi Miller, 22, of Salmon, Idaho, could face up to 10 years in state prison depending on results of the psychological tests and his conduct at the corrections center, according to the sentence handed down by Judge James Herndon of Idaho's 7th Judicial District. "With the number of fires you're involved with, there might be some psychological reason you like doing that," Herndon told Miller during his sentencing. Miller, a firefighter for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, cried as he apologized to the court, noting he had caused pain to his family and fellow firefighters. Miller last month pleaded guilty to two counts of felony arson stemming from blazes he started in national forests in Idaho near the Montana border in 2003....
Federal government changing bison management The federal government is taking a new, holistic approach to bison management, one that treats animals at various national wildlife refuges and preserves more as a single unit than separate herds. The goal is to propagate more bison with a genetic makeup similar to their Great Plains ancestors, and to use the animals to help manage ecosystems. Next month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to move bison among wildlife refuges and preserves in North Dakota, Montana, Nebraska and Iowa. The effort is aimed at taking advantage of 38 bison at North Dakota’s Sullys Hill National Game Preserve that DNA testing at Texas A&M University has shown to be close to genetically pure — or free of cattle genes. Starting on Dec. 5, the entire Sullys Hill herd will be moved to the Fort Niobrara refuge in Nebraska, said Matt Kales, a regional Fish and Wildlife spokesman in Denver. Seven bison from the National Bison Range in northwestern Montana will be moved to Sullys Hill and 25 to the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa, where some of the existing bison have cattle genes....
Wolf Creek growth plan delayed until May Texas billionaire Red McCombs' plan to build a vast village near Wolf Creek Ski Area will be held up until at least May under a deal reached this week among the parties sparring over the development. The agreement, filed in federal court Monday, extends by several months last week's temporary 10-day order preventing McCombs and his venture from starting road construction or applying for a key permit. "This agreement will essentially preserve the status quo at Wolf Creek until the court is able to hear our case," said Ryan Demmy Bidwell of Colorado Wild, a Durango-based environmental group. Colorado Wild and the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council sued the U.S. Forest Service over its approval of the project without a full environmental review. The project's developers have joined the case as defendants. In the deal reached this week, the Forest Service, developers and the environmentalists agreed the injunction barring any road work or permit applications should remain in place until May 1 or until the court rules on the merits of the pending lawsuit....
Nature programs' goal: No child left inside A back-to-nature movement to reconnect children with the outdoors is burgeoning nationwide. Programs, public and private, are starting or expanding as research shows kids suffer health problems, including obesity, from too much sedentary time indoors with TV and computers. "There's a lot of movement all over the country, and it's increasing," says Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, a 2005 book that has increased interest in the topic. He says studies show that enjoying nature reduces kids' loneliness, depression and attention problems. In January, the U.S. Forest Service is launching a pilot program, More Kids In the Woods, that will fund local efforts to get children outdoors. It is the service's first full-scale program targeting kids, says Jim Bedwell, national director of recreation and heritage resources. Time in the woods helps children develop bonds with nature and other people, says Gina McCartney, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. "We're trying to grow environmental stewards, not just healthy kids."....
Court rejects permit for helicopter skiing An Idaho judge ruled against a local helicopter skiing operation’s request for increased use in the Palisades Wilderness Study Area on Tuesday, saying the increased use would hurt the wilderness characteristics of the land. In his decision, U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Idaho ordered that a 2005 U.S. Forest Service decision authorizing High Mountain Heli-Skiing increased use of the Snake River Range did not satisfy federal environmental laws and violated the 1984 Wyoming Wilderness Act. The 180,000-acre Palisades Wilderness Study Area is on the Wyoming side of the range that rises between Teton Pass and Palisades Reservoir. It is part of both the Bridger-Teton and the Caribou-Targhee national forests and the hills also are called the Palisades Range. High Mountain Heli-Skiing now has the option to enter negotiations with the plaintiffs in the case, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, the Sierra Club and the Wyoming Wilderness Association. The groups sued challenging the Bridger-Teton’s decision to grant the increase to High Mountain Heli-Skiing....
Judge OKs Helicopter Skiing Permit in Cottonwood Canyons A Snowbird-based firm can continue to dispatch backcountry skiers into the Cottonwood canyons from its helicopters, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart rejected a challenge on Monday by environmental group Save Our Canyons over a five-year operating permit that was issued for Wasatch Powderbird Guides in 2004. The group does not see helicopter skiing as an acceptable use of Utah's canyons. Save Our Canyons argued the U.S. Forest Service acted in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner when it renewed the helicopter skiing permit, which the company has held for three decades. The group's lawsuit contended the federal agency did not take a hard look at data analyzing how many skiers and snowshoers use the canyons' backcountry areas. The group, dedicated to preserving the Wasatch Range, also claimed the Forest Service improperly considered the profitability of Wasatch Powderbird when the permit was up for review. But Stewart rejected the group's arguments, ruling the Forest Service complied with federal environmental laws....
Commissioners reject Measure 37 claim against Newberry Crater Deschutes County commissioners unanimously rejected a Measure 37 claim filed by a landowner who wants $203 million or the right to extract steam energy, expand a pumice mine and build a subdivision within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. But Dennis Luke, the commission chairman, said he wouldn't be surprised if the courts get the final say. “I'm sure this one doesn't end here,” Luke said after Monday's vote. “It probably moves on, and there'll be a lot of interest in this claim.” Measure 37 allows landowners to claim compensation - or a waiver of land-use rules - if land-use rules are changed while they own property. James Miller, 83, asked for a waiver of county land-use laws to mine pumice, develop a geothermal power plant and build more than 100 homes on property within the protected natural area....
2006 echoes 1986; will we see a Montana wilderness bill? In 2007, Conrad Burns will no longer represent Montana in the U.S. Senate, and the Democrats will control Congress for the first time since they lost their majorities in 1994. That suggests we could see passage of a Montana wilderness bill, with official wilderness designation for the 224,000-acre Great Burn area along the Montana-Idaho border. Why? Because that’s exactly what happened the last time the Democrats took control of the Senate. Just as in 2006, the 1986 mid-term elections took place during the second term of a Republican president. In 1986, the Democrats went from a 47-53 deficit to a 55-45 majority in the Senate, and padded their lead in the U.S. House to 258-177. In that session, then-Sen. John Melcher of Montana sponsored S.2751, the “Montana Natural Resources Protection and Utilization Act of 1988,” which the 100th Congress passed and sent to President Ronald Reagan for his signature. But Reagan never signed the bill. The Montana Wilderness Association website says Reagan pocket-vetoed the bill as an election favor to Conrad Burns. Burns had criticized the wilderness bill during his succesful campaign against Melcher, the two-term Democratic incumbent. Three Senate terms later, voters narrowly decided to replace Burns with organic farmer Jon Tester. Once again, the Democrats could choose to pass a Montana wilderness bill on their own if they so choose....
Prescribed burns cut wildfire risk Santa Fe National Forest crews Monday began prescribed burns in the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed and other areas of the forest. The burns are scheduled to continue through Wednesday if the weather permits, according to the Forest Service. The burns are designed to lessen the risk of catastrophic wildfires near the source of Santa Fe's municipal water supplies and around El Porvenir campground, northwest of Las Vegas, N.M. Crews will stop burning Wednesday. "The burns are going well," said Dolores Maese, spokeswoman for the Santa Fe National Forest. About 75 acres were burned on the north side of the watershed Monday. About 12 acres of a planned 100 acres were burned around El Porvenir. The Forest Service has an air-quality permit from the state Environment Department to conduct the burn, Maese said. "If we go out of air-quality standards, they'll let us know we have to shut down early," she said. Fire crews also consider the moisture in trees and brush, weather forecasts, drought and wind before beginning a burn....
Parks delve in social sciences with plan for sweeping survey Yes, Picavet is biased. The National Park Service pays her salary. She presumably won't be called by the researchers now preparing the agency's new Comprehensive Survey of the American Public. But several thousand other Americans will be, as the National Park Service shows it's serious about the social sciences. By next spring, researchers will be telephoning randomly selected households. In the first national survey of its kind since 2000, the park service will be asking customers what they think. Park social science has grown, modestly, since a 1996 report called for a bigger federal investment. Congress, though, dismissed President Bush's request this year for an additional $250,000 to expand park visitor surveys. The park service operates its own social science shop now under the leadership of a Texas A&M University professor. Parks also attract scholars working on advanced degrees....
Colorado company bids $1M for drilling rights on Utah public land A Colorado-based land services consulting company successfully bid $1,000 an acre for drilling rights to 1,000 acres of public land in Utah offered on Tuesday by the Bureau of Land Management at its quarterly oil and gas lease sale. Lonetree Energy of Denver, however, placed the $1 million bid on behalf of one of its clients, said Austin Mater, Lonetree's owner. "At some point we'll end up assigning the lease to our client. At this time, they're not ready for their name to be known." Lonetree Energy Partners of Denver paid the highest amount per acre among all the 70 bidders at the auction, said Adrienne Babbitt, spokeswoman for the BLM's Utah State Office in Salt Lake City. The 1,000-acre parcel that Lonetree acquired is in Duchesne County, she added. In total, the BLM auctioned drilling rights to 215,000 acres of federal land for $15 million, with half the money going to Utah's state coffers. "There was a lot of interest in lands in the Vernal and Price areas," Babbitt said. Bids during the Tuesday auction ranged from $2 to $1,000 an acre. The average bid amount was $70, which represented a significant improvement from the $35 an acre the BLM's Utah office received in its prior lease auction, in mid-August. Babbitt said the 215,000 acres that were leased represented only a portion of the 334,000 acres that the BLM offered during the auction....
Wolves Part 2: Attacks on humans may not be so rare as claimed Environmentalists and animal lovers claim that wolves kill the old and infirm wildlife. They claim that they kill only what they need for survival. D. F. Oliveria, opinion writer-Spokene.net, states that in southwestern Idaho, wolf attacks have killed almost 40 University of Idaho sheep. Oddly, the predators have ignored the ewes and lambs to slaughter rams weighting 250 to 300 pounds ... and then leave the meat to rot. Studies on the research of Professor Warren Ballard in Alaska documented that wolves will kill about 30 moose per year (per wolf). If you calculate biomass it will probably take 60 or more elk to provide the same amount of biomass. It is also interesting to note that Ballard found no evidence of sickness or debility among any moose killed by wolves. So, given the research to date, if wolves are not aggressively controlled, and soon, devastation of Montana elk, deer, sheep, moose and goat populations is a reasonable projection. While these animals may not be wiped out to the last animal, uncontrolled wolves will certainly not leave enough for human hunters to be allowed to hunt. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fully aware of numerous documented attacks on humans by wolves in North America, yet they refuse to write a rebuttal to fictitious statements that wolves are not attacking humans. Instead it is posted on their children's website that wolves don't attack humans! And the list goes on....
Prospero Ranch wins planners' OK Planning commissioners approved a 105-home housing tract that borders the city's Prime Desert Woodland preserve and is opposed by neighbors, who say it will destroy Joshua trees and other desert habitat that should be saved. In return for permission to build on the land, developer Fieldstone Lancaster must take a number of environmental measures. Those include buying 42 acres of desert habitat elsewhere to set aside as a preserve, delaying construction until any burrowing owls on the property have raised their young, and catching and relocating coast horned lizards and a snakelike reptile called the silvery legless lizard, as well as relocating or preserving elsewhere five specimens of a tiny plant called a sagebrush loeflingia. "We've been keeping that in mind as we've been designing the project," project manager Ben Hudson said of the tract's proximity to the city's 102-acre Prime Desert Woodland. "The environmental impact report was very clear there are no endangered species on the site, but there are some special-status species. What we will do is a series of preconstruction surveys before we actually begin construction."....
Renewable Energies, Conservation May Play Larger Roles in New Farm Bill Midwestern Democrats suddenly find themselves in key positions to shape the 2007 Farm Bill, they're clamoring for more incentives for farmers and ranchers to develop and produce agriculture-based fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Many scientists, who have become more vocal on the issue in recent months, have a more sobering message. Biofuels "will not solve any of our large-scale problems, but they will impact negatively on the environment," such as destroying or contaminating air, soil and water, said Tad Patzek, professor of geoengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. "Politicians are lying to the public, and the public is accepting the lies," he said. "In the meantime, we're not doing things that can matter." According to a University of Minnesota study released earlier this year, soybean-based biodiesel and corn-based ethanol harm the environment less than regular diesel and gasoline. In addition, the biofuels are worth more energy than is needed to create them. However, according to the study, "Neither biofuel can replace much petroleum without impacting food supplies."....
Snyder trial may be delayed The trial date for 35-year-old James Michael Snyder was left in limbo Monday following a continuance hearing in the case. Snyder, who is charged with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence for the Dec. 30, 2005 slaying of Grant County rancher John Timothy Edwards, was expected to go to trial on Jan. 22. But state District Judge Gary Jeffreys decided Monday to wait 30 days before ruling on the fate of Snyder's trial. Prosecuting Attorney George Zsoka, with the Sixth Judicial District Attorney's office, asked for a continuance in the case, citing a delay in the processing of DNA evidence by the state's crime lab. Zsoka said the evidence, a gun holster and cowboy hat, have not been processed to rule out three non-suspects. Five other pieces of evidence have been processed and were submitted to the state crime lab in late February. But the holster and hat were not submitted until June....
US Appeals Court Denies USDA Motion In Cattle-Import Case The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the U.S. Department of Agriculture's request to halt previously scheduled briefings and arguments in a suit brought by R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America over Canadian cattle imports, according to a copy of the court order. The court's denial was in response to an August filing by the USDA of a rarely used "Motion for Summary Affirmance," said Shae Dodson, communications coordinator for the cattlemen's group R-CALF USA. "The motion for summary affirmance of this appeal is denied because the arguments raised in response to the motion are sufficiently substantial to warrant further argument," the Ninth Circuit said in its denial. The court also said R-CALF USA's opening brief is due Dec. 11, and the USDA's answer is due Jan. 10. An optional reply brief from R-CALF USA is due within 14 days of the USDA's answering brief, the court said. USDA spokesman Jim Rogers said Tuesday the USDA would have its arguments ready for the court. R-CALF USA sued the USDA on Jan. 10, 2005, claiming the agency's Final Rule on "Minimal Risk Regions: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and the Importation of Commodities," which relaxed long-standing import restrictions for countries affected by BSE, was inadequate to protect the U.S. cattle industry from the introduction of BSE from Canada, Dodson said....
It’s The Pitts: A Christmas Story My nephew and I were in a store when he spied a fake Santa Claus who’d just finished his shift. It must have been a hard one because Santa was buying some booze. "What if a little kid who was still a believer saw that?" asked my disgusted nephew. "I don't know who made up all these Christmas traditions to begin with, like flying reindeer, socks over the mantle, mistletoe and Santa Claus. Bah humbug." I tried to explain some of these customs to my bitter nephew. "What you see today is the Hollywood version of the story, but there really was a Santa Claus. He was a crotchety old rancher whose real name was Klaus and he lived up near North Fork, Montana, a long time ago. Klaus had lived nearly all of his 70 years by himself. Never married, he was a miserable old loner, but once a year he did something quite out of character. Every year at Christmas he’d take a bag full of toys that he’d made himself down to the orphanage at Chinook where he’d been raised as a child. “On one particular blustery Christmas Eve he pulled on his stocking cap, longjohns and red and white jacket and stepped into his black, five buckle overshoes. Then he hitched up his two mules, Rudolph and Prancer, and threw the bag of hand carved toys in his wagon for the trip to town. “On his way to Chinook the weather turned bad. A blizzard was blowing in and it got so cold that the nose on Rudolph, the mule, turned red. Klaus knew he couldn't make it to town and he wasn't sure he could make it back home, so in the blinding snow he pulled down the next lane he came across. It was the road to the widow's place....