NEWS ROUNDUP

Humane Society jumps in political game Republican U.S. House members Heather Wilson and Richard Pombo already had enough problems in their re-election races when a new set of opponents surfaced: animal-rights activists. The Humane Society Legislative Fund, a new political arm of the Humane Society of the United States, decided in September to actively work for the election or defeat of lawmakers based on issues important to the animal-welfare movement, such as banning the slaughter of horses. The group then spent more than $200,000 in the final four weeks of the campaign, most of it targeted at defeating two lawmakers who were in tight races, Pombo in Northern California and Wilson in New Mexico. Win or lose, the Humane Society was sending a message: Lawmakers could pay a price for their votes on issues of animal welfare. Sara Amundson, executive director of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, sees her group doing for animal welfare what organizations like the National Rifle Association and the League of Conservation Voters have done for gun owners and environmentalists....
Groups appeal Antelope Basin grazing ruling Groups that oppose grazing in the Antelope Basin of southwest Montana have filed notice with the federal government that they will appeal a federal judge's ruling allowing the grazing to continue. The Native Ecosystem's Council, Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Wildwest Institute said they will appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy concluded in a September decision that a Forest Service plan for livestock grazing in the area did not harm sage grouse. The ruling came in a case the groups filed against the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest to force a more thorough review of grazing in the area, which is located at the south end of the Gravelly Mountains. Michael Garrity of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies said Thursday that Molloy took parts of biologist Jack Connelly's work out of context. And Molloy's assertion that there are few sage grouse in the area ignores the fact that federal law requires land managers to consider management species when making decisions, regardless of the population's size, he said....
Neighbors, others want to protect sensitive area Several Powder River Basin ranchers say the Bureau of Land Management is relaxing lease stipulations for coal-bed methane development in a special-use area known as Fortification Creek, which is home to a large elk herd. Wyoming BLM Director Bob Bennett granted a formal review of the complaint, which took place on Thursday. Bennett is expected to make a decision early this week about whether to at least temporarily halt more than 100 permits under review. Rancher Robert Sorenson, who has a rangeland management degree from the University of Wyoming and has more than six years' experience dealing with coal-bed methane development in the region, said he believes there's no way to mitigate intense activity in Fortification Creek. "It is obvious to anyone that the area cannot be returned to its original condition," Sorenson said in his testimony to the BLM. "It is too rough, too erosive and too fragile, and it takes hundreds of years to grow juniper trees, decades to grow sagebrush. Is it worth it?" A BLM official said the claim that the agency is relaxing stipulations set forth in the federal leases simply is not true. Chris Hanson, field manager of BLM's Buffalo field office, said special lease stipulations -- such as coordinated plans of development and consolidated facilities -- apply to only the special management area in Fortification Creek....
APF, ranchers work to resolve issues surrounding bison reserve project Their goal is to establish an ecologically functioning prairie-based wildlife reserve in a portion of Montana where healthy populations of native wildlife still roam free and there are very few human inhabitants. However, The American Prairie Foundation (APF) is being met with both support and some skepticism about what they plan to do. A non-profit organization created solely for the purpose of building the American Prairie Reserve in northeastern Montana, APF is based in Bozeman, Mont. According to Scott Laird, director of field operations for APF, the temperate grasslands of the world are the least protected bio-landscapes in the world. As a result, there is a high rate of habitat loss continually taking place on the prairies in North America. APF is working in this part of Montana based on the results of two conservation assessments of the northern great plains conducted by The Nature Conservancy and later by the World Wildlife Fund that both identified Montana's northeastern plains as a place where significant prairie conservation could still take place, said Laird....
Blame in Esperanza fire deaths may shift to forest service employees Even though a jailed arson suspect is charged with murdering five firefighters in the Esperanza Fire, some Forest Service employees fear they too could be targeted for blame in the deaths. At least four separate investigations are under way to explain exactly what happened Oct. 26 on Gorgonio View Road, where the crew of Engine 57 perished in a burn-over while trying to protect a home. Some Forest Service employees are particularly wary of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General. Veteran firefighters and advocate groups worry the IG will assign blame in the Esperanza Fire deaths rather than identify lessons that can improve firefighter safety in future blazes. The Federal Wildland Fire Service Association, a lobbying and advocacy group, has started a legal defense fund for anyone who was in a decision-making position at the scene of the burn-over on Gorgonio View, from engine operators on up. "We were asked by some of our folks on the forest, San Bernardino, to look into availability of legal counsel," said Casey Judd, FWFSA business manager, who is based in Idaho....
Stolen artifacts shatter ancient culture In the dead of night, looters are destroying the history of America, desecrating sacred Indian ruins. An estimated 80 percent of the nation's ancient archaeological sites have been plundered or robbed by shovel-toting looters. Though some of the pillaging is done by amateurs who don't know any better, more serious damage is wrought by professionals who dig deep, sometimes even using backhoes. The motive is money. Indian artifacts are coveted worldwide by collectors willing to pay for trophy pieces of the past. Fine antiquities are displayed in glass cases at mansions and museums. Lesser objects wind up on fireplace mantels or stored in garages. Looters are just the first link in a chain that includes collectors, galleries, trade shows and Internet sites such as eBay. But stopping the black-market business is virtually impossible because of a lack of manpower for enforcement and loopholes in the law that make it hard to convict the few who get caught. A "lack of manpower"?? The Forest Service alone had 16 Federal officers to raid Kit Laney's ranch. If they put the same emphasis on protecting these artifacts as they do in throwing ranchers in jail, maybe they could solve their problem.
Logging sales picking up on Umpqua Timber sales on the Umpqua National Forest have gained momentum and aren’t expected to slow any time soon, said Cliff Dils at the Douglas Timber Operators’ breakfast meeting Thursday morning. The forest supervisor also said a newly elected Congress will not have any immediate effect on the finances of the U.S. Forest Service. No one, Dils said after the meeting, is saying just yet that more money is coming to the Forest Service. With the 2007 budget set, the federal agency is in a “wait-and-see mode.” “This year, like any election year, is just weird,” Dils said of the midterm results. Focus for the Umpqua forest, he said, must stay on working timber sales through the National Environmental Policy Act so when a sale gets bogged down, the entire forest doesn’t stop production. “We’ve got to get ahead of NEPA,” Dils said. The national policy requires public review of any major action taking place on federal land....
Off-road vehicles OK'd to return to northern part of Angelina NF An edict issued in August banning all off-road vehicles from the Angelina National Forest was repealed last week, re-opening the northern section of the forest under its former rules. At first, 2006 was looking to be the year the national forest would embrace engine-driven outdoor enthusiasts with an official trail. That was what former district forester Karen Tinkle had said hoped to accomplish prior to her departure to the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas. After all, the forest service has analyzed this recreational challenge since the 1970s. The forest service's 1996 plan said "we'd build a trail on the southern part of the Angelina," said Glenn Donnahoe, planning team leader for the national forests and grasslands of Texas. However, "over time we determined there were too many conflicts and environmental impacts — we decided we couldn't do that." In fact the entire southern portion of the Angelina was closed, and remains closed, to off-road vehicles. Focus switched to the northern portion of the Angelina, with the assistance of Stephen F. Austin State University professor Mike Legg who designed an off-road vehicle trail presented in a series of public meetings held in 2005....
700-plus burros, horses to be taken The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Vegas Field Office is proposing to gather and remove 240 wild horses and 540 burros from the Spring Mountains Herd Management Area Complex. The proposal is outlined in the Spring Mountains Herd Management Complex Preliminary Population Management Plan and Environmental Assessment which was released Nov. 7. Public comment will be accepted on the preliminary environmental assessment through Dec. 7. The Spring Mountains Herd Management Area Complex consists of three U.S. Forest Service wild horse territories -- Red Rock, Johnnie and Spring Mountains -- and three BLM Herd Management Areas -- Red Rock, Johnnie and Wheeler Pass. Wild horses and burros in the Spring Mountains Complex are jointly managed by BLM and the U.S. Forest Service. Because of a cooperative interagency agreement, BLM is taking the lead on the Population Management Plan and environmental assessment....
Open spaces' future open to debate As talks about public land conservation continue locally, you might be scratching your head, wondering what the different proposals entail for thousands of acres in Doña Ana County. Just how solid are any plans to set aside natural areas? What exactly are the differences between the wilderness that's been suggested for multiple spots around the county and the natural conservation area being planned for only the Organ Mountains? What could you do or not do in each? How big would these areas be? No plan for wilderness is final yet, but officials are in the midst of sorting through feedback for a draft. Las Cruces officials plan workshops with the public over the next few weeks to narrow public comment into a single plan that will be forwarded to the state's congressional delegation. Participants will hammer out details about the size and type of conservation areas they want in the area, and the result will serve as a basis for federal legislation....
Board to look at Klamath dams The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will consider whether to approve a resolution Tuesday calling for the removal of four dams — the Iron Gate, Copco I, Copco II and J.C. Boyle — on the upper stretches of the Klamath River. The matter was initiated as a result of a letter to the board from the Northcoast Environmental Center, which has called on the supervisors to pass the resolution calling for the immediate removal of the dams. As part of the ongoing re-licensing process for the four dams, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting written comments, which are due no later than Dec. 1, on the agency’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Klamath Hydroelectric Project. According to the letter to the board from the NEC’s Erica Terence, the draft version of the federal agency’s DEIR “makes a mockery of the National Environmental Policy Act it was filed under by failing to even consider removal of four dams,” as well as proposes the “biologically insupportable solution” of trapping fish and driving them around the dams....
Winter drilling exceptions granted Despite objections from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the federal Bureau of Land Management so far has granted all requests for exceptions allowing more natural gas development on federal lands around Pinedale this winter. According to a table published on the BLM's Web site, 13 requests have been granted by the agency for winter drilling activity, with nine requests outstanding. In one request, Ultra Resources has asked to drill a deep well through May in crucial winter range for antelope. BLM officials have said they intend to grant that request. Dennis Stenger, Pinedale field manager for the BLM, said that proposal has "been on the desk for a long time." He said the well will be allowed, but Ultra and Shell will not drill three other wells they are permitted to drill in the winter. The BLM also indicated several mitigation factors will be implemented with the well, including busing crews, continued air quality analysis and "continued funding of antelope and sage grouse function."....
Son inherits BLM scrape It's time for Gary Haws to pack up and leave - and this time the feds mean it. For six years, the Bureau of Land Management has been trying to evict the recalcitrant resident from 2.5 acres of BLM turf in Boulder in southern Utah's Garfield County. But Haws hasn't budged. Now, armed with a fresh federal court order, BLM officers and U.S. Marshals have until Dec. 3 to remove Haws, a mobile home and other structures from the parcel. Melody Rydalch, a U.S. District Court spokeswoman in Salt Lake City, said negotiations are continuing with Haws, whose son, Ryan, now lives in a yellow mobile home on the disputed property with his wife, Shea, and sons Oakley, 6, and Ryker, 2. "We're working to put together a plan to have the [mobile home] moved," Rydalch said. "Everyone involved wants to bring about a peaceful resolution." But, she added, the time has come to resolve the drawn-out dispute. The whole uproar has Ryan Haws baffled....
Las Vegas closing in on full house Flying into this desert metropolis is as deceiving as a mirage. From 10,000 feet you see empty land in all directions and swear the pace of suburban sprawl could go on unchecked. You'd swear no end's in sight to subdivisions stretching for miles beyond the Strip, enclaves of single-family houses that draw thousands of Californians and other migrants a year. Look again. The valley that Las Vegas and 1.8 million residents call home is nearly built out. Mountains, national parks, military bases, an Indian community and a critter called the desert tortoise have Sin City hemmed in. At the current building pace in the USA's fastest-growing major metro area, available acreage will be gone in less than a decade, developers and real estate analysts say. Yet growth pressure and housing demand won't abate. Greater Las Vegas will add 1 million residents in the next 10 years, state estimates say, and hit 3 million by 2020. The Las Vegas stereotype of cheap housing, cheap labor and a limitless supply of cheap desert land is dying. The metro area has tripled in size since 1986, pushing close to public lands and critical tortoise habitat. A 1998 federal law that grew out of a legal settlement to protect habitat drew a boundary and set limits on future growth. The law authorized the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to sell land it owns inside the boundary when Clark County or its cities wanted to grow. About 75,000 acres were supposed to last 30 years, but two-thirds has been snapped up....
White House eyes dollars from Nevada land sale The Bush administration is trying to get its hands on millions of dollars generated from sales of federally owned land in Nevada in order to help pay down the deficit. As part of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, which passed in 1998, Congress agreed to sell 13 million acres of land in Nevada. The key backers of thelaw -- Nevada Sens. John Ensign, a Republican, and Harry Reid, a Democrat -- estimated the sales would provide $350 million to improve federal landholdings, preserve endangered species, fund state education and encourage construction of affordable housing for low-income residents. But a real estate boom in the growing city of Las Vegas has helped the Bureau of Land Management, which is in charge of auctioning the land, bring in nearly $3 billion. The administration now wants some of the money transferred to the Treasury Department to help pay down the federal deficit, which hit a four-year low of $247.7 billion for the budget year that ended in September. The administration submitted a proposal to Congress earlier this year to modify the act in order to specify who should benefit from the land sales, but that proposal is being ignored, the Republican staffer said....
Obstacles unlikely to stop sprawl to Prescott Metropolitan Phoenix's onward growth could soon cut a swath down the middle of Arizona. Phoenix and Tucson connecting is no surprise. But for the first time, planners say the Valley's population could head north through high desert, national forests and mountains to Prescott. It's not an easy path. There are many roadblocks to growth toward Prescott or even deep into Yavapai County. A merger between Phoenix and Tucson is the more obvious and easier growth pattern, since the land between the state's two biggest metropolitan areas is flat farmland that is easy to build on. Still, the Valley is expected to stretch from Prescott, 85 miles north of Phoenix, all the way south to the Mexico border as early as 2040. The area already has garnered the designation of a megapolitan or "super-sized" metropolitan area. Urban researchers call it the "Arizona Sun Corridor" and rank it as one of the next 10 big U.S. growth hubs. That designation will help it get more growth funding and planning assistance from the federal government....
BLM manager says decisions are his The Bureau of Land Management won't consider an advisory group's recommendations about winter natural gas drilling exceptions until after the agency decides whether to grant companies' requests, the local BLM field manager said. During a meeting of the Pinedale Anticline Working Group last week, member-at-large Steve Duerr, also an attorney for Lower Valley Energy, asked if the group could make any recommendations to protect mule deer on the Pinedale Anticline, given their struggling numbers. "How does this tie together, and how do we deal with this, with something that's obviously a concern today?" Duerr asked BLM officials at the first meeting of a new PAWG board. "How do we know what you're thinking today?" Mule deer numbers have declined by 46 percent on the Anticline in recent years. Drought is thought to play a major role, though energy development is likely affecting the population.* Duerr asked if the group could recommend no new winter drilling in light of declining mule deer numbers. Dennis Stenger, BLM's Pinedale field manager, said the decision to allow winter drilling exceptions is his, not the PAWG's....
BLM sizes up gas project A draft environmental assessment for a natural gas project near Bonanza, Uinta County, lists several potential impacts but says they generally would be transitory or mild. Located on 12,699 acres about 40 miles south of Vernal, the Kerr-McGee Bonanza Project envisions development of 95 natural gas wells, 43.6 miles of roads, 77 miles of pipelines and two compressor sites with the facilities needed to move the gas. The statement, released by the Bureau of Land Management's field office in Vernal, says the project would have 16,080 horsepower of new compression, 20 miles of electrical power line from the gas field to the Deseret Generation and Transmission power plant, an electrical substation and a 14-acre evaporation pond. The development would be on land regulated by the BLM, with a smaller amount of state and private land. The agency determined the nearby White River meets criteria to be an area of critical environmental concern, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance proposed that it become such an area. About 7,325 acres of the nominated ACEC are within the project area. Considerable natural gas development already exists "throughout the project area," the draft says. Surface disturbance "would be visible to hunters, off-highway vehicle (OHV) users, people driving through the area to access the White River and the White River wilderness characteristics area," as well as to other recreationists....
Mayors ask BLM to reconsider plan Five mayors in Garfield and Pitkin counties want the Bureau of Land Management to reconsider a plan to allow oil and gas drilling on top of the Roan Plateau in northwest Colorado. The mayors said last month in a letter to state BLM Director Sally Wisely that the agency didn't listen to area communities when it approved a management plan opening the top to energy development. "We are concerned that the new proposed plan released by the BLM does not reflect what the communities in Garfield County have been asking for since the beginning of the planning process in 2001 - protection of the top of the Roan Plateau from drilling and responsible development at the base to protect the traditional values and uses on which local communities depend," Glenwood Springs Mayor Bruce Christensen wrote. The mayors of Silt, Carbondale, New Castle and Aspen signed the letter....
Oregon ecoterrorists plead guilty Environmental extremists in Oregon pleaded guilty to conspiracy and arson on Thursday for their roles in a streak of environmentally motivated arsons by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) over the course of five years. US federal prosecutors said they would ask for a five year sentence for one of the ecoterrorists and eight years each for the remaining three for their roles in the Pacific Northwest firebombings, which caused around $30 million in damage. From 1996 to 2001, the ALF and the ELF claimed responsibility for firebomb attacks on US Forest Service ranger stations, Bureau of Land Management wild horse facilities, meat processing companies, lumber companies, a high-tension power line, and SUV dealerships in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington State, and Wyoming. The group also targeted ski resort expansion into an endangered species habitat in Vail, Colorado. The extremists who pleaded guilty on Thursday included some of the ALF and ELF operatives who were indicted for those crimes in January. Three other ALF and ELF members were also indicted [JURIST report] in January for targeting a dam and fish hatchery in northern California. The two cells are not known to have been directly connected....
Cattle mutilation stymies ranchers, investigators Valier rancher John Peterson and his wife were recently headed out into the twilight to do chores when they spotted her. The healthy young cow lay dead in a stubble field, just off the road. Stopping the truck to investigate, they found the sickening, telltale signs. The cow's udder, genitals and rectum were cut out with stunning precision. The left side of her face was carved off, the exposed bones stripped as clean as if they'd been boiled. Peterson, who discovered a similarly mutilated cow on his neighbor's ranch five years ago, knew he was the latest victim in one of rural Montana's greatest mysteries. Since the 1970s, Montana ranchers have found dozens of cattle carved up in similar, macabre fashion. The first known incident was a mutilated steer reported near Sand Coulee in late August 1974. By December 1977, sheriff's deputies had investigated 67 mutilation cases in Cascade, Judith Basin, Chouteau, Teton and Pondera counties. In each case, the cuts were made with surgical precision, often in circular shapes....
Ranchers raise pheasants at hunting preserve along Heart River Fall work at the John and Marsha Wieglenda ranch southeast of Gladstone, N.D., this October includes more than the usual weaning of calves and moving the cows closer to home. The Wieglendas are also raising pheasants and chuckers for their value-added ag business, the Heart River Preserve. After John hauls hay to the barnyard for the Angus bulls, he heads over to the flyway and brooder house where hundreds of ring-tailed pheasants and chuckers, a partridge with unusual markings, need feeding. “They go through about 50 pounds of feed a day,” said John, a third-generation rancher on the farmstead that was originally homesteaded in the late 1880s. He and Marsha still live in the original 120-year-old stone home, while another, more modern home has been renovated into the lodge for the preserve guests. Heart River Preserve is located in an idyllic location for natural game birds with bush-covered rolling valleys and hills, tree-lined trails and draws that lead down to the gentle flowing river. But when the Wieglendas decided to turn their ranch into a preserve for hunters and visitors, they wanted to make sure there were plenty of birds available at all times....
Ag officials practice for crisis “Who is in charge here?” an agitated Jim Marra wanted to know. “I've got government people all over my property. What is going on?” Glenn Harruff, a member of a trio taking samples of grain on a nearby farm, identified himself and promised to put Marra in touch with those in charge of the sampling being done on his farm. He promised answers for all of the farmer's questions. The recent confrontation between the landowner and the federal agricultural official was only a drill. But the simulated exercise, held in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Montana Department of Agriculture, was aiming for real-life action. Approximately 60 people from the western U.S. took part in a three-day training and simulation of an incident response to a foreign agricultural pest that posed a potential threat to Montana's $700-million-a-year wheat crop....
Who's the real Shepherd of the Hills? Was there a real-life "Shepherd of the Hills"? Harold Bell Wright, author of the novel that put Branson on the tourism map almost a century ago, routinely insisted his characters were fictional composites of many people he knew or observed, fleshed out by his imagination. That denial failed to quell speculation, however. Names of real residents of Taney and Stone counties were linked to the fictional cast of "The Shepherd of the Hills" as soon as it was published in 1907. Recently, a mild debate has arisen over the possible identity of a model for the beloved title character of the novel. Wright, a clergyman at the time he penned the story, seems to have poured a great deal of himself into the shepherd's philosophical outlook, emphasizing moral fortitude and education. However, many who lived in the Branson area in the early 1900s thought they recognized neighbor Truman S. Powell in the personality of the shepherd. But in Lawrence County, researchers now are citing clues that point to another, James M. Wood, as a likely inspiration for the shepherd. Powell led a colorful life — soldier, newspaper publisher, cave explorer, innovative entrepreneur, tourism promoter and state legislator. Wood, on the other hand, was a typical farmer and rancher of a century ago, who really did herd sheep in the same "Mutton Hollow" featured in Wright's book....
Big Timber company promotes Old West style When she can’t reach Linda Story, a Greycliff-area rancher-seamstress, Patty Agnew on occasion has driven out to Story’s hayfield and flagged down the baler that Story was operating. Story is among the area women who stitch clothing for Agnew’s Big-Timber-based company, Women of the Wild West. Agnew started the business more than a decade ago to create clothing that tapped into Western tradition. Although she grew up in Connecticut, Agnew sank deep roots when she moved to Montana nearly 25 years ago. She takes pride in bucking the outsourcing trend by having all of her clothing made in the United States. Most of it is sewn locally. She first designed coats and vests made of shearling, tanned sheepskin that still has the wool left from shearing attached. When she saw a turn-of-the-century riding skirt in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo., she got permission to replicate it. That led to making more clothing that would promote the history of women on the frontier....
Miss Rodeo North Dakota ready for Las Vegas after beating cancer Out there past the prairie grass of southwestern North Dakota, the neon horizon looms. Ashley Andrews doesn't have to squint to see it now. In just 12 days, the cowgirl from Bowman will leave for Las Vegas. Soon, the cold, quiet nights on the Northern Plains will give way to the Circus Circus of the big city. As the reigning Miss Rodeo North Dakota, Andrews will represent her state at the eight-day Miss Rodeo America pageant. It's a dream come true for a girl who grew up on a ranch and could ride a horse by age 2. A year ago, the Vegas pageant probably seemed like it would be the biggest competition of Andrews' life. It's got to be a distant second now. On Monday, Andrews had her first checkup since finishing chemotherapy this summer....
On the Edge of Common Sense: Does ignorance make you bad? Combine E. coli 0157:H7, "naturally" produced spinach, food poisoning, an organic foods purveyor and author, cows and the New York Times and you get - guess what? That's right, evil factory farming! No surprise. I have compassion for the ill and also for the California spinach growers. Like lots of farmers who are doing the best they know how, the roof still caves in on them. General Motors understands every time they have to recall a vehicle. It's the same for the organic food producers who have found a profitable niche market. Nor can I hold the New York Times responsible. They print opinion pieces by all manner of partisans who pretend to know what they're talking about and do not question their veracity. I could blame the author of the misleading, op-ed piece in the New York Times in which she promotes her organically correct New York City grocery store and new book by blithely stating that the E. coli 0157:H7 food poisoning outbreaks could be prevented if we just stop "feeding grain to cattle."....