Fed up with paying to play The Forest Service, no mystic, charges hikers like Wallace $5 a day. Mount Lemmon in Coronado National Forest is one of more than 4,000 sites on the West’s national forests where daily fees are collected, with the money going toward upkeep and maintenance. But Wallace and others in the growing no-fee movement say they have already paid to use public lands — in the form of income taxes. They argue that trailhead fees amount to double taxation. So, in 2002, Wallace stopped paying to park near her favorite trailheads. The Forest Service first warned her, then cited her. Finally, it took her to court. In September, however, Judge Charles Pyle tossed out the criminal charges against Wallace, ruling that the government can’t charge people to park at trailheads. If the federal magistrate’s ruling stands, the Forest Service may have to stop charging fees altogether, or limit them to developed sites such as picnic areas, says Coronado District Ranger Larry Raley. And that, he says, could deal a near-fatal blow to the program that requires people to “pay to play” on public lands....
Showdown Looms Over CBM Water Wyoming state officials -- notably the Attorney General and Governor Dave Freudenthal's counsel -- have blasted the Environmental Quality Council over its attempt to establish new rules for the management of coal-bed methane waters. Attorney General Pat Crank has warned that the proposed rules might be "arbitrary and capricious," while the governor's counsel C.A. "Kip" Crofts, has told the EQC that to go forward now, when potential problems seem so apparant, "is irresponsible." EQC's decision to develop new rules was based on an impassioned presentation last February, by the Powder River Basin Resource Council, represented by attorney Kate Fox. The key point made then by Fox and PRBRC is that water quantity can be just as big a problem for surface land owners as water quality -- that both must be considered and regulated. The key problem is that DEQ makes the blanket assumption that the mere presence of coal-bed methane water, and access to the water by livestock and wildlife, is automatically a beneficial use. In contrast, the state engineer's office is tasked by law to make a determination of beneficial use in regulating water use. “We have a regulatory void, not a conflict” between those two agencies, Fox said....
Farm Bureau Seeks Revisions in Air Quality Standards The American Farm Bureau Federation filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality standards. AFBF along with the National Pork Producers Council does not believe science warrants the regulation of agricultural dust. Specifically, EPA issued a rule revising the Clean Air Act National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter on Oct. 17, 2006. In adjusting the annual and daily air quality standards for particulate matter, EPA also rejected an earlier proposal to exclude agricultural dust from regulation. AFBF President Bob Stallman said that EPA’s rule is not based on sound science and the decision to regulate agricultural dust will negatively impact U.S. farmers and ranchers....
Skiers Take on Snowmobilers Over a Utah Canyon Access to the snow that has blanketed the mountains and filled in the crags of the vast Wasatch-Cache National Forest is reigniting a years-old dispute between snowmobile riders and cross-country skiers over who should be allowed to play on certain public lands here. The federal Forest Service is expected to decide by the end of December among four plans for a tiny, though highly coveted part of Logan Canyon in the 1.2-million-acre forest. Both sides agree that at its core the feud is a policy clash about recreation on public lands and the compatibility of motorized and nonmotorized outdoor sports. Skiers and snowmobilers have been drawn to the canyon for decades. But in the 1990s, engine advances enabled snowmobiles to climb steep slopes and traverse deep snow. Ever since, tensions between the groups have intensified here and across the West....
Unhappy trails: splitting Turnagain Pass On the busy days at Turnagain Pass, the Chugach Mountains rumble with the roar of snowmachines. Skier Ray Koleser can remember when it wasn't so, when the Seward Highway divided snowmobile and ski terrain at the popular recreation area 60 miles southeast of Anchorage, buffering the two sometimes conflicting uses. No more. Today, when snow cover is adequate, snowmachining has grown to the point where on busy days the parking lot along the highway overflows and the terrain can no longer muffle the volume of people having fun. And no one denies that the snowmachiners who flock to the pass to play in the snow have fun....
Tense trail mix in the Selkirks The whine of snowmobile engines again echoes through the national forest here. The sound infuriates those seeking to protect the lower 48 states' last herd of caribou, but thrills local business owners and riders from across the region, who claim their sport has little to do with the plight of the endangered animal. The forests on the west side of Priest Lake were largely silent last season after U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley banned grooming in response to a lawsuit from environmental groups. The federal judge then went one step further and banned all snowmobiling on about 300,000 acres. Shortly before the first snow fell this season, however, Whaley surprised both snowmobilers and environmentalists by reopening most of the national forest to motorized sports and trail grooming....
Winter trail conflicts bubble up again No sooner is the ground covered with snow than the annual and seemingly endless wrangling over motorized and non-motorized access to local trails begins. This winter, the U.S. Forest Service has already logged reports of unauthorized snowmobile use in closed areas, including the Mohawk Lake Trail, the Peaks Trail, the Burro Trail and even in the vicinity of the Old Dillon Reservoir Trail, just off Dillon Dam Road. Longtime local snowmobile enthusiast Joe Casselberry traces the history of the user conflicts back more than 20 years, to 1984, when the White River National Forest issued its first management plan. The plan itself was not the problem. Rather, it was the lag time between release of the plan and its subsequent implementation. According to Casselberry, it took six years before the federal agency produced the documentation — maps and a travel management plan — needed to clarify the rules....
Firefighting costs ablaze, audit finds When the Deep fire broke out in the Sequoia National Forest on Aug. 12, 2004, Forest Service fire managers projected the cost of fighting it would be modest -- about $200 an acre. But costs raced faster than the flames. "The fire brought a significant amount of political pressure" to protect a nearby state park, giant sequoia trees and small mountain towns, a new federal audit says. As a result, firefighters threw "everything but the kitchen sink" at the fire, the audit adds. Five days later, the Deep fire was out, but containing it had cost a small fortune: $3,000 an acre, or 15 times more than expected. In all, fire managers spent $9 million on the fire -- an average of $1.8 million a day. The runaway expenses are cited in the recent U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General audit, which sharply criticizes Forest Service fire managers for spending excessively, failing to learn from the past and fighting fires that should have been allowed to burn naturally. Though jolted by the findings, Forest Service officials said they intend to act on them....
Agreement aims to improve elk habitat New agreements between the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and two federal agencies clear the way for habitat improvement projects spanning 10 years and nearly 260,000 acres in Montana and Wyoming. Agreements the foundation, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management signed Friday for 85,000 acres in western Montana and 174,000 acres west of Pinedale, Wyo., draw on a mechanism called "stewardship contracting," authorized by Congress a few years ago. The foundation will serve as a contractor arranging habitat work with forest restoration and timber companies as subcontractors, and with groups such as conservation organizations. Funding will come from the federal sale of wood products. Absent the stewardship program, that money would enter a general treasury and performing the habitat work would require obtaining appropriations. "There are so many competing interests for those dollars that often this work wouldn't get funded," said Peter J. Dart, president and chief executive of the elk foundation based in Missoula....
Governor seeking $20 million to keep 28,000 acres open to public Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is asking state lawmakers for $20 million to buy 28,000 acres on Tabby Mountain. The move to secure the land now owned by the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), is just what Duchesne County commissioners and many others, including Tabiona residents, had hoped for. The purchase would mean that the property may no longer be eyed by wealthy developers who could purchase it and close it to public access. The money will "begin the discussion for the purchase of Tabby Mountain," said Huntsman, who has visited the area with his family. He made the request during his budget speech earlier this week. "It's a lovely, idyllic setting." The $20 million, a line item in Huntsman's budget proposal for State Parks and Recreation budget, is creating a lot of buzz. Discussion over the prime hunting and fishing property has been on and off, sometimes in heated debate, for about two years now. The proposed deal must still pass scrutiny of the Legislature early next year. The $20 million won't cover what the property is worth. More money will have to be donated, but many believe the plan to be ideal....
Off-roaders, environmentalists vie for canyon Whoever named Surprise Canyon got it right. Mere miles from bone-dry Death Valley, the canyon cradles two unexpected jewels: a gushing mountain stream and what's left of a once-bustling silver mining town. These treasures have attracted visitors for decades - and now they're at the heart of a legal battle between off-road drivers and environmentalists. Five years ago environmentalists successfully sued to get the narrow canyon and its spring-fed waterfalls closed to vehicles, arguing that the federal Bureau of Land Management was not carrying out its duty to protect the land. In response, more than 80 off-roaders purchased tiny pockets of private land at the top of the canyon, and now they're suing the federal government for access to their property, arguing that the canyon is a public right of way. It is one of several recent cases that could unlock thousands of miles of roads in federally protected parks around the West....
Emery officials join OHV worriers Emery County has an off-highway vehicle problem. Federal agencies have said so. Environmental groups have, too. Now, the county itself has joined the chorus. In what might mark a first in rural Utah, a group of Emery County officials - collectively the county's public lands council - has issued a statement expressing alarm at how growing OHV activity, both legal and illegal, is negatively "impacting the county's resources and other users." The statement, which appeared Dec. 5 in the Emery County Progress, also says the county's patience is wearing thin, citing impacts ranging from trampled grazing fences to deeply rutted dirt roads and the creation of new, illegal trails. It calls for stiffer fines and penalties for violators, and increased funding from state and federal agencies to help beef up enforcement. "It's not a new problem, but we're getting increased use all the time, especially from folks outside the area," says Ray Peterson, the county's public lands director and council chair. "With the increased moisture we got this fall during the hunting season, and the heavier and heavier use we're seeing in the summer, especially on the big holiday weekends, it has become real apparent there is a problem."....
BLM study examines Pinedale Anticline The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has released a study of an energy industry proposal to waive seasonal restrictions on gas drilling on the Pinedale Anticline in the upper Green River Basin. The proposal would increase development from the 1,139 wells currently authorized to 4,399 wells. The plan also would increase the amount of initial surface disturbance from 4,484 acres now authorized to 12,278 acres. The new wells would be in intensely developed areas, while other areas would be left more open. Current plans run through 2011; the industry plan looks ahead to 2023. Industry officials have said their proposal is an innovative approach to balancing energy development with preservation of the area's natural resources. The BLM study also looked at not diverging from a plan released in 2000. A third alternative would be to modify the industry plan by specifying which areas - mainly big-game winter range - would be off-limits to year-round drilling. The companies behind the proposal are Questar, Ultra Resources Inc., Shell Exploration and Production, Wexpro Co., BP America, Stone Energy and Yates Petroleum....
Valle Vidal protection may be model for Roan area The sweeping high alpine meadows of northern New Mexico’s Valle Vidal in the Carson National Forest and the verdant woodlands surrounding them harbor ancient bristlecone pines more than 70 feet tall. Some call the Valle Vidal the “Yellowstone of New Mexico.” Buffalo still roam there, Boy Scouts from nearby Philmont Scout Ranch spend their summers there, and its elk hunting is considered some of the best in the state. Since President George W. Bush signed a law Dec. 12 preventing oil and gas leasing there, Colorado conservationists are looking to the Valle Vidal’s protection as a precedent that shows, despite the West’s natural gas boom, Congress may be willing to single out energy-rich land such as the Roan Plateau for protection. The Bureau of Land Management issued in September a resource management plan amendment calling for opening more than 35,000 acres on the Roan Plateau to natural gas drilling over 20 years....
BLM grants oil shale leases The Bureau of Land Management on Friday issued leases for five oil shale research and development projects in the Piceance Basin. The leases will allow the first oil shale projects on public lands in northwest Colorado in more than three decades. The BLM issued three of the leases to Shell Frontier, and one each to Chevron and EGL Resources. The three companies plan to conduct research projects on in-situ oil shale extraction processes on 160-acre parcels on BLM land in Rio Blanco County. The initial term of the leases is 10 years, and the companies have the option of extending the leases another five years if they prove they are diligently pursuing “commercial production levels,” according to the BLM. The leases contain a right to convert the research and development leases and nearly 5,000 acres of surrounding land on each parcel into 20-year commercial leases if oil shale production there proves to be commercially viable....
Drought makes ranching tough The tawny flats of Warbonnet Ranch shivered as a stiff wind rummaged through grass coaxed from the ground by summer rain. The grass and the rain, scant though they were, bought Larry Todd another season, maybe two. And on the parched ranges of Southeastern Arizona in the middle of a drought, a rancher and his cattle can't ask for much more. Unless it's just more. "This is good country if you get the rain," said Todd, who bought the Warbonnet in 1980 after fleeing the cooped-up Montana winters. "We had a pretty good summer, but it's getting pretty daggone dry again. If we don't get something this winter and spring … it's gonna be tough." Todd knows tough. Drought forced him to sell nearly all of his cattle five years ago and take a job in town to keep groceries in the pantry. But he refused to sell the ranch and has rebuilt the herd to about 250 head, still only about half of what he had owned. His story rings true to most Arizona ranchers, battle-weary veterans of an 11-year-old drought that has bruised their billion-dollar industry, pushing another of the vaunted "5 C's" of the state's traditional economy (cattle, citrus, climate, copper and cotton) closer to extinction. But more have weathered the drought than have surrendered, and despite mounting losses, many insist they won't quit....
Mustang Ranch sign goes up on I-80 The infamous Mustang Ranch brothel "rides on" says the Reno-area businessman awarded exclusive ownership of its trademark. "It's euphoria to have the most famous brothel name in the world," Lance Gilman said Saturday. "That name is so well-known worldwide. The Mustang Ranch rides on." A federal judge ruled Friday in favor of Gilman, who bought the gaudy pink stucco buildings that once housed the bordello in 2003 and moved them a short distance next to his Wild Horse Adult Resort & Spa near Sparks. In his ruling, Reed said Gilman assumed ownership of the trademark to the state's first legal brothel when he bought the buildings on eBay from the government for $145,000 in 2003. The judge said the U.S. Bureau of Land Management had owned the trademark because it received all Mustang Ranch assets through criminal forfeiture proceedings against Joe Conforte and later owners. The government seized the Mustang Ranch in 1999 after guilty verdicts against its parent companies and manager in a federal fraud and racketeering trial....
Cattle can be trained to eat thistles, spurge, knapweed Left to themselves, animals select a varied diet to meet their nutritional needs. They can be taught to eat things you wouldn't expect, she said. For instance, goats are typically used to browse on certain weeds in efforts to control invasive species on grazing lands, she said. "Ranchers don't want goats. They're difficult to manage, and of low value. At the same time, producers want to control noxious weeds, but chemicals are expensive. That led me to ask: Why not teach cattle to eat weeds?" she said. During this past year, Voth taught cattle to eat Distaff and Italian thistle in Marin County, Calif. Both are extremely prickly weeds generally presumed to be unpalatable. She has also taught cattle to eat Canadian thistle, leafy spurge and spotted knapweed, and she's trained lambs to eat Russian olive tree cuttings, spines and all. Livestock can be taught to eat a new weed in seven hours over a five-day period, following a seven-step program, Voth told a workshop at the third annual National Conference on Grazing Lands in St. Louis Dec. 11....
An original cowboy Deep in the pastureland of southern Comanche County, off a dirt road and down a rutted trail that leads almost to the Oklahoma line and the Cimarron River, Danny Huck, 52, has carved out the life of a cow-puncher, a real cowboy. The term comes from cowboys prodding cattle during herding. Starting in the spring and running through summer grazing season, Huck rides pastures for nearby ranchers - searches out cattle that need doctoring, checks windmills and looks after miles of fences. There aren't many of his breed left, he says. These days, cattlemen check their herds from behind the steering wheel of a pickup truck or bounce over the hills on a four-wheel ATV. "I hope I'm not the last," he says....
The cowboy way Bill Bishop sums his life in one sentence -- "I'm the luckiest man in the world. For the biggest part of my life I have got to do what I love." Bishop, 85, is a 50-year-plus Napa resident, owner of Bishop Cattle Company and one diehard cowboy. Bishop was recognized by his peers and colleagues in September, receiving the coveted 2006 Vaquero Award from the National Reined Cow Horse Association. Only eight people have received the prestigious award, which is given to someone the association believes merits it and has made contributions to the association. For the most part of his career, Bishop has been buying and selling steers. He still herds cattle when it comes time to ship them to the buyers. "I run about 1,000 cattle a year all over the county," Bishop said....
Area man pulls rare double Dick Wasson bagged a BOGO. In the case of the store ads, the expression means "buy one, get one," a two-for-one sale. In the case of the hunter from Salem who retired to Siletz, BOGO means bag one, get one. Wasson pulled off an almost unheard-of feat of bagging two antelope with a single shot. And thanks to some foresight and a little luck, Wasson's BOGO was perfectly legal. Here's how it happened....
Cowpokes Push a Herd to Honor Cowhunters of Florida's Past Symbolism abounded at the end of the cattle drive as two men rode in tandem directly behind the herd, leading the parade of wagons and riders. Mike Wilder, a cattleman, represented the remnant of working cowboys in Florida, while Andrew Bowers, a member of the Seminole Tribal Council, reflected the agricultural heritage of Florida's native people. The drive culminated in the Florida Cow Culture Celebration, and banners hung at Kenansville's rodeo pavilion incongruously featured a stylized version of "Kissimmee," with the two M's forming peaks suggestive of Walt Disney World's Space Mountain roller coaster ride. Kissimmee, 50 years ago literally a cow town, now has a main strip lined with neon-lit shops peddling souvenirs to tourists. Robert Burney, one of the cowhunters on the cattle drive, worried that the shadow of the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland might eclipse the proud past of Florida's cowboys. "This is our heritage; that's what Florida was built on," Burney said. "There's still so much more to Florida than Mickey Mouse. Half the world doesn't even know Florida is a cattle state. It's real important to educate people on the cattle industry and what we're all about."....