Thursday, December 07, 2006

FINDLAW RECENT CASE SUMMARIES

ENVTL. LAW & POLICY CTR. V. US NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMM'N
7th Circuit, Case No. 06-1442

NRC dismissal of environmental groups' intervention in early site permit proceedings for new nuclear power facilities is affirmed where: 1) the NRC was not arbitrary or capricious in adopting the applicant's goals as the purpose behind the site permit; 2) it was reasonable for the NRC to conclude that NEPA did not require consideration of energy efficiency alternatives; 3) it was reasonable for the NRC to delay the need-for-power analysis until the combined license application; and 4) the Board satisfied NEPA's procedural requirements and rendered a decision that thoughtfully considered all reasonable alternatives.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/061442p.pdf



OREGON NATURAL RES. COUNCIL V. US BUREAU OF LAND MGMT.
9th Circuit, Case No. 05-35245

In an action under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenging an Environmental Analysis conducted in connection with a logging project in Oregon, summary judgment in favor of the Bureau of Land Management on mootness grounds is reversed where the case was not moot, and an environmental assessment (EA) was inadequate as it: 1) failed to disclose and consider quantified and detailed information regarding the cumulative impact of the logging project combined with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable logging projects; and 2) it was tiered to other documents that did not contain the requisite site-specific information about cumulative effects.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0535245p.pdf
NEWS ROUNDUP

Court upholds $600K to rancher in suit vs. environmental group An Arizona appeals court on Wednesday upheld a jury's $600,000 judgment to a rancher in a defamation lawsuit, rejecting an environmental group's argument that documents it posted on the Internet were shielded by the First Amendment. The Court of Appeals upheld a Pima County Superior Court jury's award of compensatory and punitive damages to Jim Chilton in his lawsuit against the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit group with offices in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, D.C. A lawyer for the rancher said the appellate court stood up for a person wrongly defamed, while an attorney for the center said the ruling trampled citizens' right to petition for redress of grievances. Chilton said he and his business, Chilton Ranch and Cattle Co., were defamed by false postings the center made on its Web site. The postings referred to alleged overgrazing on Chilton's grazing allotment, issued by the U.S. Forest Service for 21,500 acres in the Arivaca area northwest of Nogales. The center unsuccessfully opposed the 10-year renewal granted for Chilton's grazing permit, and the group subsequently posted links to the center's appeal and related photographs on its Web site. The environmental group argued that the documents were shielded by state and federal constitutional protections for the right to petition the government over grievances because the appeal and photographs submitted with it were public records related to official proceedings. The three-judge Court of Appeals panel in Tucson said the center did not raise the issue of constitutional protections until too late in the case. The center asked for extra leeway on that point, but the court refused, saying that the jury found evidence of "actual malice" that indicated that the center knew that some of the material was false....
Cattlemen take progressive stance on wolf control If the federal government doesn't expedite efforts to make Idaho the principal agent for wolf control, the Idaho Cattle Association will sue. The organization passed the resolution to potentially bring suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior at its 93rd annual meeting in Sun Valley earlier this week. Idaho has met recovery efforts established by the Endangered Species Act, the cattlemen say, and therefore the state, not the federal government, should have the right to control and maintain the wolf population within state boundaries. Since 2004, Idaho has been designated as an agent of the federal government for wolf management. According to Idaho Fish and Game statistics, as of October of this year, numbers for calves killed by wolves are up by 17 percent from the entire year of 2005, with 21 dead animals recorded. During the same time frame, wolves have killed 170 sheep as compared to 148 killed in 2005. In 2004, the agency confirmed that 105 sheep were killed. The numbers of dogs are down from 2005. So far in 2006, four dogs have been killed compared to 10 in 2005. Three dogs were killed in 2003. Mike Webster, outgoing ICA president, said one wildlife biologist told him that for every one killed animal found there are six to eight more that wouldn't be found....
Close Wolf Encounters; Brushes Between Kids and Lobos Leave Parents Fearful A couple of encounters between children and reintroduced Mexican gray wolves this fall have some residents of southwestern New Mexico's Gila country worried. In one case, three wolves approached 14-year-old J.C. Nelson while he was on a hunting trip with his father. In another, a wolf attacked and injured a family dog while a young girl was nearby. Joe Nelson, J.C.'s father, said: "He was just out there in the woods and some wolves surrounded him. They didn't attack but were waiting for the chance." The Nelsons were hunting south of Reserve on Oct. 22 when J.C. strayed about half a mile from his father. He came across a group of three wolves moving toward him and backed up against a tree. One stayed in front of him while the other two circled around. They came within 20 or 30 feet of the boy and left after five to 10 minutes, according to Morgart and Nelson. Carlie Gatlin, whose husband manages a ranch in the Gila, said a family dog was killed by a wolf near their house about two months ago. "I don't let the kids go outside unless they have two-way radios," she said. "I've heard of a lot more encounters going on."....
Column - Animals Gone Wild "Is he mentally ill?" asked Fox-News anchor Julie Banderas. She was quizzing an "expert" about the black bear that attacked campers in Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest earlier this year. The animal killed a six-year-old girl and mauled her mother and brother. To listen to Banderas and her expert, the bear acted out of character. Looking to do what his kind usually do -- have a Teddy Bear's Picnic -- he was seized by an illogical urge to rip into flesh with his pointy teeth and sharp claws. Naturally, Banderas reached for the therapeutic idiom to divine Teddy's terrible conduct. When crocodiles devoured a number of young Floridian women back in May, naturalist Maria Thomson was also ready with a cross-species adaptation of liberal root-causes thinking. "The alligator isn't the problem. It's humans," she snipped. "We're pushing them to the limit." Time magazine opted to describe the Florida feeding frenzy as "a ghastly coincidence." That's right: a prehistoric killing machine attacks easy prey -- humans -- and the "experts" blame its victims (or their remains), while assuring the potential prey that the beast's behavior is abnormal. "Every so often, [animals] push back." After all, they are being forced "to share territory that humans [mistakenly, obviously] consider their own," Time vaporized....
Forest management petition pulled back Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. pulled back the state's roadless forest petition last month following a federal court decision that has thrown the Bush administration's whole petition process into question. But the respite will likely be only temporary. Officials from Utah's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office told a group of rural county commissioners here Wednesday that the state will likely follow through and file its petition, albeit through a different process. "The big concern I keep hearing is that we've got to manage these forests," said Lynn Stevens, director of the state's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office. "I don't see any reason for any more restrictive designations." That was certainly the refrain of the gathered commissioners, who are seeking to quash the Forest Service's roadless designation in order to open up more of the forest and boost their economies through timber and energy development. Utah's roadless petition, at least in its draft form, seeks to do just that, calling for the elimination of all roadless restrictions and relying on the Forest Service's planning process - with input from local officials - to guide land-use decisions....
Home-building slump cuts into sawmills' income, workers as lumber prices fall Dozens of sawmills around the country are laying off workers, shutting down temporarily or trimming hours, as a steep drop in home building hits demand and prices. New home construction and existing home renovation account for 75% of demand for U.S. softwood lumber, which includes pine, spruce and fir. As housing starts have tumbled nearly 30% in the past year, some softwood product prices taken a similar drop. Production at Western sawmills is off 6% in the first nine months of the year, and is expected to fall still more. Mills are also curtailing operations in the South, which produces about a third of U.S. softwood. "In lumber, basic economic rules apply: supply and demand. The demand dropped off quickly, and so did the price," says Joe Kusar, vice president of Tolleson Lumber, the largest lumber maker in Georgia. Tolleson Lumber has been operating a four-day-a-week schedule since late summer, due primarily to the slowing housing market. In Northern California, Pacific Lumber said Dec. 1 that it was laying off 90 people, or 19% of workers....
Mark Rey: Public land laws are due for an overhaul The system of laws governing public land management in the United States is disjointed and archaic, according to Mark Rey, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment. Addressing those gathered for a conference on “Challenges Facing the U.S. Forest Service,” presented by the University of Montana’s O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, the keynote speaker referred to the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act, and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act as process-oriented measures with broad and lofty goals. He deemed other laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act Zero Discharge Standard “absolutist proscriptions.” “The administration of the laws are governed by different agencies with different levels of expertise,” Rey told the group, adding that the various agencies have different objectives and missions; different outlooks on the acceptable level of risk in their decision making, and on addressing or attempting to address the very same policy questions…all while they are bearing in mind the Jeffersonian principle that laws should change as society changes and institutions should keep up with the times. In many respects his comments echoed the sentiments of former Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Jack Ward Thomas, who had addressed the conference earlier in the day. Referring to the Forest Service through the use of an analogy, Thomas had told the group that the best horse in the government’s stable was cross-hobbled. “She can run like no other before,” he said. Take off the hobbles, remove the blindfold, ease up on the spurs and let her run. As a way of bringing his point about the antiquated nature of the existing laws, Rey pointed out that the Environmental Policy Act was enacted by Congress in 1969 and has never since been amended or modified; that the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, was last amended in the early 1980s, and is now extremely overdue for re-authorization; the National Forest Management Act became law in 1976 and was amended significantly only once in 1977, and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act that was enacted in 1976 has not been significantly amended....
Corporation wants to drill on Mt. Taylor After drilling six exploratory holes by Mt. Taylor earlier this year in search of uranium, the Western Energy Development Corporation is asking for state and federal permission to drill 47 more. The Canadian-based resource company submitted its plans to the U.S. Forest Service late last month for approval. The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is expecting the company to request a state permit soon. It will make Western Energy the latest in a new wave of companies rushing to confirm their New Mexico reserves in the face of rising uranium prices. Several groups fighting this trend fear the mining will scar the land, contaminate their ground water and desecrate a sacred Native American site....
Nolan Ryan victim of cattle theft High beef prices have led to a resurgence of stolen livestock, prompting the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association to start offering rewards for modern-day rustlers who use pickups instead of horses and prey on animals of absentee owners, the Fort Worth-based industry group announced Tuesday. Reflecting the upsurge, 5,199 cattle were recovered by the association’s field detectives in 2005, more than double the previous year’s number. Among victims in 2006 was baseball legend-turned-rancher Nolan Ryan, whose herd was allegedly thinned by 30 head by a former ranch hand, the son of a well-known cattle family who themselves are members of the Cattle Raisers, said Larry Gray, the association’s director of law enforcement....
So, you wanna be a cowboy? Sallie Gregis has always dreamed of riding in an old-fashioned cattle drive. Today, she's finally getting her chance. The Sumter County woman is among about 400 people heading out on the trail for the Great Florida Cattle Drive across Osceola County. Today through Saturday, the ranchers, wranglers and would-be cowboys will drive 500 Cracker cows south across 50 miles of ranch land to celebrate Florida's ranching heritage. The event is an 1800s-era re-enactment of a traditional Florida cattle drive. Organizers have placed great emphasis on authenticity, banning participants from wearing ball caps, T-shirts or tennis shoes. Even the cattle have been tested to make sure they are genuine Florida Cracker cows -- small cattle with large horns and feet, descendants of the herds brought to Florida by Spanish settlers in the 1500s. Participants will ride on horseback or travel by covered wagon. At night, they will stay in primitive camps that each highlight different eras of Florida's history: a Spanish Colonial settlement, a Timucua village and a Civil War camp, among others....
Cowboy trades radio for rodeo Luke Branquinho is having a much better time at the National Finals Rodeo. A year ago, Branquinho was part of the broadcast team for the ProRodeo Radio Network. While Branquinho didn't mind the steady work, he would have much rather been a participant. "It was definitely hard watching," Branquinho said of playing the role of interested spectator. "My gut ached when I walked in here (Thomas and Mack Center) to do the radio program. Especially because you wanted to be competing. "But there was nothing I could do about it." What made it tougher was that Branquinho didn't get an opportunity to defend the world steer wrestling title he won 2004 in the same building. A torn pectoral muscle injury suffered in June took him out for the rest of 2005. Branquinho is making up for lost time in 2006. The Los Alamos, Calif., cowboy won his second straight go-round Wednesday night with a 3.9-second run to vault into the lead of the world standings....

Wrangler-National Finals Rodeo Results

1. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., 84.5 points on Bar T Rodeo, Inc.'s Oakey Robin, $16,022. 2. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, 83.0, $12,662. 3. (tie) Jess Davis, Payson, Utah, 82.5, $6,805. Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo., 82.5, $6,805. Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo., 82.5, $6,805. 6. (tie) Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 82.0, $1,292. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz., 82.0, $1,292. 8. Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., 81.5. 9. Paul Jones, Elko, Nev., 81.0. 10. Andy Martinez, Pavillion, Wyo., 80.5. 11. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 79.5. 12. Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas, 78.0. 13. Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas, 77.0. 14. Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo., 76.0. 15. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., 74.0.

Aggregate_1. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 576.0 points on seven head. 2. Jess Davis, Payson, Utah, 575.0. 3. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., 571.5. 4. Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., 568.5. 5. Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas, 567.5. 6. Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo., 562.5. 7. Andy Martinez, Pavillion, Wyo., 560.5. 8. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz., 552.0. 9. Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo., 551.5. 10. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., 537.0. 11. Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas, 532.0. 12. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, 484.5 on six. 13. Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo., 473.0. 14. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 467.5. 15. Paul Jones, Elko, Nev., 386.0 on five.

Steer Wrestling

1. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 3.9 seconds, $16,022. 2. Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., 4.0, $12,662. 3. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 4.1, $9,561. 4. (tie) Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta, 4.4, $5,427. Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb., 4.4, $5,427. 6. Joey Bell Jr., Malakoff, Texas, 4.5, $2,584. 7. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb., 4.8. 8. (tie) Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 4.9. Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La., 4.9. 10. Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo., 5.7. 11. Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan., 13.7. 12. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, 15.6. 13. (tie) Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., NT. Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla., NT. Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, Okla., injured.

Aggregate_1. Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 33.0 seconds on seven head. 2. Joey Bell Jr., Malakoff, Texas, 34.8. 3. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 38.3. 4. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb., 42.2. 5. Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan., 45.9. 6. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, 61.8. 7. Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., 25.6 on six. 8. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 25.9. 9. Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla., 27.3. 10. Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta, 41.1. 11. Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La., 20.5 on five. 12. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 30.6. 13. Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb., 32.4. 14. Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, 20.0 on four. 15. Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo., 20.2.

Team Roping

1. Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla./Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla., 4.1 seconds, $16,022. 2. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, /Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif., 4.3, $12,662. 3. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo., 4.4, $9,561. 4. (tie) Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 4.6, $5,427. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn./Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas, 4.6, $5,427. 6. Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz./Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla., 4.8, $2,584. 7. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore./Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev., 8.5. 8. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas, 9.0. 9. (tie) David Key, Caldwell, Texas/Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas, 9.1. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore./Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash., 9.1. 11. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo./Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 14.2. 12. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas/Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas, 20.4. 13. (tie) Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas/Clay O'Brien Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas, NT. Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz./Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., NT. Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev./Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev., NT.

Aggregate_1. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn./Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas, 56.5 seconds on seven head. 2. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore./Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev., 65.5. 3. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, /Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif., 77.7. 4. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo., 84.1. 5. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore./Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash., 101.7. 6. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo./Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 105.2. 7. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 53.9 on six. 8. Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla./Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla., 75.2. 9. David Key, Caldwell, Texas/Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas, 83.7. 10. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas, 91.2. 11. Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz./Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla., 37.9 on five. 12. Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas/Clay O'Brien Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas, 39.7. 13. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas/Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas, 55.7. 14. Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz./Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 71.1. 15. Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev./Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev., 78.2 on four.

Saddle Bronc Riding

1. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 87.5 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo Co.'s Night Moves, $16,022. 2. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla., 83.5, $12,662. 3. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, 81.5, $9,561. 4. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas, 80.0, $6,719. 5. JJ Elshere, Quinn, S.D., 78.0, $4,135. 6. Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont., 77.5, $2,584. 7. Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D., 75.0. 8. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 70.5. 9. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 61.0. 10. (tie) Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah, 0.0. Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 0.0. Cody Martin, Smackover, Ark., 0.0. Glen O'Neill, Didsbury, Alberta, 0.0. Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla., 0.0. Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D., 0.0.

Aggregate_1. JJ Elshere, Quinn, S.D., 556.5 points on seven head. 2. Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 491.5 on six. 3. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 476.0. 4. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 418.5 on five. 5. Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D., 408.0. 6. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, 402.5. 7. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas, 398.0. 8. Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla., 393.0. 9. Glen O'Neill, Didsbury, Alberta, 386.5. 10. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 378.5. 11. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla., 338.5 on four. 12. Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont., 313.5. 13. Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D., 310.0. 14. Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah, 249.0 on three. 15. Cody Martin, Smackover, Ark., 238.0.

Tie-Down Roping

1. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 6.9 seconds, $16,022. 2. (tie) Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 7.8, $11,112. Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga., 7.8, $11,112. 4. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 8.0, $6,719. 5. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 8.1, $4,135. 6. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, 8.3, $2,584. 7. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga., 8.4. 8. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 8.5. 9. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, 8.8. 10. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 9.0. 11. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, 9.2. 12. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 11.7. 13. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, 12.8. 14. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., 13.3. 15. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., NT.

Aggregate _1. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 61.8 seconds on seven head. 2. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 66.5. 3. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga., 68.6. 4. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 74.0. 5. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, 75.1. 6. Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga., 76.5. 7. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., 90.9. 8. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 94.8. 9. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 97.7. 10. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 55.2 on six. 11. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 67.5. 12. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, 71.7. 13. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., 43.7 on five. 14. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, 35.7 on four. 15. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, 42.5.

Barrel Racing

1. Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas, 13.67 seconds, $16,022. 2. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, Wyo., 13.69, $12,662. 3. (tie) Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 13.73, $8,140. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 13.73, $8,140. 5. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 13.78, $4,135. 6. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 13.79, $2,584. 7. Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C., 14.05. 8. (tie) Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, 14.16. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont., 14.16. 10. Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas, 14.59. 11. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont., 18.94. 12. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas, 19.11. 13. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas, 19.45. 14. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla., 19.78. 15. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta, 23.79.

Aggregate_1. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 97.54 seconds on seven runs. 2. Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, 98.80. 3. Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C., 98.86. 4. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 101.54. 5. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, Wyo., 102.21. 6. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 102.89. 7. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas, 104.07. 8. Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas, 105.20. 9. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 108.50. 10. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont., 109.14. 11. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla., 116.18. 12. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont., 118.11. 13. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas, 128.03. 14. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta, 134.38. 15. Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas, 95.28 on six.

Bull Riding

1. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis., 84.0 points on Sankey Rodeo Co.'s Shock-N-Awe, $16,022. 2. J.W. Harris, May, Texas, 83.5, $12,662. 3. Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas, 82.5, $9,561. 4. Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho, 63.0, $6,719. 5. Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah, 60.0, $4,135. 6. (tie) Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas, injured. Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah, injured. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 0.0. D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas, injured. Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis., 0.0. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 0.0. Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah, 0.0. J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash., 0.0. Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan., 0.0. Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo., 0.0.

Aggregate_1. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis., 518.0 points on six head. 2. J.W. Harris, May, Texas, 336.5 on four. 3. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 329.0. 4. Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho, 324.0. 5. Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah, 323.5. 6. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 265.0 on three. 7. Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis., 264.0. 8. Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas, 258.0. 9. J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash., 171.5 on two. 10. (tie) Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan., 87.0 on one. Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo., 87.0. 12. Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas, 86.5. 13. Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah, 80.5. 14. (tie) D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas, 0.0. Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah, 0.0.

World Standings

All-Around Cowboy

1. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas $316,228. 2. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas 199,589 3. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga. 144,361. 4. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah 129,632. 5. Cash Myers, Athens, Texas 140,744. 6. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas 105,594. 7. Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas 94,386. 8. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore. 80,805. 9. Marty Becker, Edmonton, Alberta 77,568. 10. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D. 76,948.

Bareback Riding

1. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas (84) $215,623. 2. Andy Martinez, Pavillion, Wyo. (65) 140,298. 3. Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas (83) 128,183. 4. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore. (89) 125,786. 5. Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo. (77) 116,995. 6. Jess Davis, Payson, Utah (87) 114,801. 7. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas (93) 100,025. 8. Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo. (80) 94,843. 9. Paul Jones, Elko, Nev. (88) 87,135. 10. Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo. (86) 81,826. 11. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash. (72) 78,016. 12. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo. (79) 76,049. 13. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz. (86) 71,662. 14. Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo. (100) 71,162. 15. Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas (98) 60,013.

Steer Wrestling

1. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif. (64) $152,529. 2 Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. (64) 140,529. 3 Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore. (58) 122,392. 4 Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo. (75) 103,188. 5. Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, Okla. (65) 100,137. 6. Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La. (75) 95,695. 7. Joey Bell Jr., Malakoff, Texas (75) 93,966. 8. Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta (58) 92,403. 9. Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan. (66) 91,177. 10. Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla. (75) 89,245. 11. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb. (75) 82,810. 12. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas (69) 82,634. 13. Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb. (75) 79,067. 14. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore. (73) 75,719. 15. Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo. (75) 70,045.

Team Roping

Heading

1. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, Ariz. (59) $122,017. 2. Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas (51) 116,512. 3. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont. (60) 103,794. 4. David Key, Caldwell, Texas (60) 97,284. 5. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn. (60) 96,877. 6. Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla. (60) 92,189. 7. Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz. (58) 87,899. 8. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo. (60) 87,165. 9. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas (59) 86,630. 10. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas (60) 81,839. 11. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore. (60) 80,744. 12. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont. (59) 73,397. 13. Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev. (59) 72,149. 14. Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz. (55) 71,149. 15. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore. (59) 64,894.

Heeling

1. Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif. (57) $125,611 2. Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas (60) 118,461. 3. Clay Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas (51) 116,512. 4. Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas (60) 97,768. 5. Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla. (60) 92,189. 6. Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla. (60) 87,378. 7. Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas (59) 86,630. 8. Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo. (59) 83,063. 9. Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash. (60) 82,749. 10. Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas (60) 75,681. 11. Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev. (59) 74,873. 12. Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas (59) 73,397. 13. Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev. (59) 72,149. 14. Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz. (57) 71,149. 15. Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash. (59) 64,894.

Saddle Bronc Riding

1. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La. (77) $186,890. 2. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D. (81) 180,344. 3. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah (88) 155,834. 4. Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont. (82) 144,738. 5. Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta (88) 141,107. 6. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla. (52) 127,982. 7. Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah (78) 115,328. 8. Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D. (92) 99,654. 9. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas (93) 98,035. 10. J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D. (91) 97,580 11. Cody Martin, Smackover, Ark. (99) 87,748. 12. Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla. (94) 80,080. 13. Glen O'Neill, Didsbury, Alberta (95) 79,081. 14. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D. (97) 64,842. 15. Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D. (85) 58,274.

Tie-Down Roping

1. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas (61) $215,678. 2. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas (65) 141,408. 3. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho (75) 125,735. 4. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas (73) 117,037. 5. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga. (72) 111,285. 6. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla. (75) 107,332. 7. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla. (75) 104,538. 8. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas (74) 100,309. 9. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla. (75) 96,222. 10. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas (75) 93,914. 11. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah (75) 90,906. 12. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas (75) 83,629. 13. Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga. (75) 80,435. 14. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas (65) 78,647. 15. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla. (75) 76,440.

Barrel Racing

1, Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas $147,592, 2, Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla. 146,030. 3, Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas 134,806. 4, Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont. 120,153. 5,. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, Wyo. 106,178.6, Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla. 94,974. 7, Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz. 94,385. 8, Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas 88,191. 9,Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C. 79,154. 10. Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas 74,278. 11. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas 73,703. 12. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas 73,313. 13. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla. 71,591. 14. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta 66,331. 15. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont. 64,663.

Bull Riding

1. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis. (91) $178,310. 2. Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas (90) 157,717. 3. Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah (80) 138,733. 4. Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho (84) 131,552. 5. Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah (99) 129,169. 6. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo. (78) 124,436. 7. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb. (79) 123,728. 8. J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash. (86) 113,383. 9. Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas (76) 108,971. 10. J.W. Harris, May, Texas (95) 106,240. 11. Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis. (93) 99,177. 12. Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan. (108) 89,793. 13. D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas (105) 85,344, 14. Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah (89) 84,826. 15, Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo. (93) 81,024.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

NEWS ROUNDUP

IRS eyes funds for firefighters' families The tax collector is threatening to take a big bite out of the $1 million raised for the survivors of five firefighters who were killed battling the Esperanza blaze in October. The hundreds of donors who contributed to the fund also may not be allowed to deduct their gifts on this year's tax returns, Riverside County supervisors said Tuesday. "In our haste to raise the money, we weren't thinking of the IRS codes," said Supervisor Jeff Stone, whose district suffered damages from the 42,000-acre arson fire in the San Jacinto Mountains. Bob Duistermars, president of the Central County United Way, said an Internal Revenue Service representative recently notified him that the money must be awarded for a well-documented charitable need. Otherwise, it would be considered taxable income. The United Way is overseeing distribution of the money. "Apparently the loss of your life in public service does not automatically create a charitable need," Duistermars said....
Salvage logging bill dead for year With just days remaining in the legislative session, two Republican senators say there is not enough time to take up a controversial bill to speed logging of burned forests and planting of new trees after storms and wildfires. Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho and Gordon Smith of Oregon say they will try again next year to approve the logging bill, which many Democrats and environmentalists strongly oppose. "Oregon should be allowed to manage its forests," Smith said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "There was little bipartisan support for a salvage bill in this Congress. Without broader bipartisan support in the next Congress, Oregon is going to be in a very tight bind." Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who is likely to chair the forestry subcommittee in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources panel next year, said he will look at the logging bill, but is unlikely to support anything resembling the bill that passed the GOP-led House this spring....
Rivals learn to share public land Under a wide-ranging proposed deal, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest would get 573,000 acres of new designated wilderness. But an additional 713,000 acres, in a 3.3 million-acre national forest, would be deemed suitable for logging. The Beaverhead Strategy has won backing from conservation groups, wildlife organizations, timber companies and leading public officials. Republican Secretary of State Brad Johnson calls it a "historic effort." Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer dubs it "unprecedented and visionary." And, says Bruce Ramsey, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest supervisor, "It represents to us a way out of gridlock.". It may also be a model for other places in the West, including a national forest in northeast Washington....
Agents, landowners killing more wolves Wolves caught eating what they shouldn't are paying a higher price these days. A record number have been killed this year in the northern Rocky Mountains for going after cows, sheep, dogs and other domestic animals. So far, 152 wolves have been shot by government agents or private landowners, about 50 more than last year and an eightfold increase from five years ago. In Wyoming, one-quarter of all wolves living outside Yellowstone's protective boundary were killed after reports of attacks on livestock. Wolf managers are taking a more aggressive tack with problem wolves mostly because the population in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho has soared beyond expectation in recent years. "We've got a recovered population so we're pretty hard on them if they get into trouble," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There are at least 1,264 wolves in the three states, according to new figures provided Monday....
One pass for all the parks Outdoor enthusiasts will have a new $80 annual pass, starting next year, enabling them to get into national parks, national forests and wildlife refuges. The America the Beautiful - the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass will replace annual recreation passes from five federal agencies to create one comprehensive pass. It replaces the $50 National Parks annual pass and the $65 Golden Eagle Passport that covers forest, wildlife refuges and other sites. Golden Eagle, Golden Age and Golden Access passports will remain valid until they expire. The new pass allows access to more than half a billion acres, including 193 million acres of national forests and 258 million acres under the Bureau of Land Management. "It's a big step forward for people who like to use national parks, national forests and BLM lands," said Jim Maxwell, spokesman for the Forest Service in Colorado....
West Slope uranium rush Colorado's vast stores of uranium are once again causing an unprecedented rush of investors, hedge funds and prospectors toting Geiger counters and stake poles. After three decades on hiatus, thousands of prospectors are back on the Western Slope, staking claims and seeking permits, bent on tapping the region's rich uranium reserves. And with uranium prices hitting record highs, they are ready to cash in before everyone else. The price of the metal used as raw material inside nuclear reactors has jumped nearly 100 percent during the past year, buoyed by demand from energy-hungry nations such as China and India that are embracing nuclear-fired electricity to power their galloping economies....
Gas firm to citizens: Trust us on watershed Robert C. Behner, vice president of Genesis Gas and Oil, attempted Tuesday night to make a first step toward establishing trust in the eyes of the Palisade and Grand Junction residents whose municipal watersheds the company plans to drill for natural gas. The results were mixed. Behner, along with officials from the Bureau of Land Management and the cities of Palisade and Grand Junction, kicked-off a year-long “community development” planning process during a forum Tuesday night meant to air public opinion about how the governments should work together to regulate Genesis’ drilling operation. The BLM expects the community development plan to help it and Genesis establish “best management practices,” or ways to reduce impacts of drilling on the watersheds....
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services rejects blackbird protection The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined on Tuesday to list tricolored blackbirds as an endangered species, noting that the bird's population has increased with conservation efforts and it is not threatened. The agency's decision ends a nearly two-year effort by the Center for Biological Diversity to get the birds on the Endangered Species Act. "The population numbers have increased substantially in the last four years," agency spokesman Al Donner said. "Secondly, there is a broad-based conservation effort under way that is helping the species recover." A 2004 agency survey showed the tricolored blackbird population increased to 260,000 by 2004, up from 154,000 in 2000....
Park Service proposal to kill non-native deer approved for West Marin he days of non-native deer populations in the Point Reyes National Seashore are officially numbered. A National Park Service plan to kill off fallow and axis deer by a combination of contraception and shooting has been approved and entered into the Federal Register. The deer - which biologists say have run roughshod over the park's ecosystem - will be eliminated by 2021 under the plan. "We will now get a group of people together to begin to talk about how to implement the program," said John Dell'Osso, Point Reyes National Seashore spokesman. "Nothing will start until next year." The plan to shoot the deer has been controversial, and groups such as the Marin Humane Society vow to keep fighting the plan....
Water, hope flow into valley In Los Angeles, William Mulholland is remembered as the visionary who helped transform the city from a dusty desert town into a metropolis by building a 240-mile aqueduct in 1913 that brought water from the Sierra Nevada to the city. In the Sierra Nevada's Owens Valley, though, he is bitterly regarded as the villain who stole farmers' water and drove them to ruin. Today, after decades of legal battles, Los Angeles will make amends, in a modest way, for what Mulholland and the city did. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will turn a valve and raise a steel gate to send water spilling once more into a 62-mile stretch of the Owens River, which was a rushing stream generations ago before the aqueduct diverted its flow and reduced it to a pathetic trickle. The farmers and ranchers who were ruined by the Los Angeles Aqueduct are long gone, and there is little hope the water will ever turn all of the scrubby, rocky landscape green again. But businesses hope the revitalized river will help the area's struggling towns by attracting more tourists....
Arrival of El Niño may mean dry winter for Colorado f last week's snowstorm had you dreaming about baking in the sun on a south Florida beach, there may be no need to make travel plans. Forecasters are predicting a virtual no-show for snow and slightly warmer temperatures across much of Colorado for the next few months. Scientists said last week's storm may be the last significant snow accumulation the Front Range sees until late February. "It might be the last hurrah for quite some time," said Klaus Wolter, a University of Colorado and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist. Keeping the snow and ice at bay is El Niño, a periodic warming of ocean water in the central and eastern Pacific. The warm-water mass gained strength in recent months and will influence weather conditions across the globe as long as it persists. It is forecast to last through spring. In the United States, an El Niño typically guarantees a wet winter for southern states, including the Four Corners region....
Box Elder commissioners reject road settlement The Box Elder County Commission this morning refused to go along with the county attorney's negotiated settlement of a contentious dispute over public access to a road through a mountain ranch. The settlement would have meant the county dropped criminal charges against rancher Bret Selman for closing the road in exchange for his admission that the road belongs to the county. The commission deadlocked 1-1, with Commissioner Scott Hansen voting for the settlement and Clark Davis opposing it. Suzanne Rees was absent due to illness. Chambers were packed with ATV riders, snowmobilers and elected leaders - Brigham City Mayor LouAnn Christensen was there. All were angry that those who want access were not included in settlement discussions. The reason for their opposition: The road through the Selman ranch would be closed from Nov. 1 through July 15 each year. The Selmans have always contended that the road belongs to them, and that their ability to close it is vital to the protection of Sharptail Grouse, deer and elk that live on the 7,000 acre-ranch. County Attorney Amy Hugie told the commission the Selmans have valid concerns about wildlife, vandalism and trespassing, and those were factors in the mediation session last week in Salt Lake City, where the settlement was reached....
Senate rejects $4.8 bln farm disaster aid The U.S. Senate rejected $4.8 billion in disaster aid for U.S. farmers and ranchers on Tuesday, despite pleas that tens of thousands of producers could go broke without help. Advocates vowed to try again next year, when Democrats control Congress and lawmakers try to wrap up work on bills to fund most of the federal government. The White House has threatened to veto disaster aid. Budget Committee chairman Judd Gregg, New Hampshire Republican, criticized the disaster package, saying it would send money to some growers who did not need it. But supporters said the legislation was critical to help those whose crops were hurt by drought or other damaging weather this year. Gregg derailed the package by objecting that it violated spending limits. Senators voted 57-37 to exempt it but 60 votes are needed under Senate rules, so the package failed. Gregg said the package amounted to a 23 percent increase in farm subsidies for this year.
Rancher reaches plea deal in fatal wreck A Cache County rancher charged with manslaughter for the death of a motorist whose car hit a stray steer can avoid prosecution by keeping his fences fixed and his cattle off the highway for the next two years. Darrell Kunzler, 70, was charged with second-degree felony manslaughter for a November 2004 crash on State Road 30, west of Logan, that killed 40-year-old Kimberly Johnson, a mother of six from Auburn, Wash. As part of a plea bargain agreement in which Kunzler pleaded no contest to one count of class A misdemeanor reckless endangerment, the manslaughter case may be dismissed two years from now. Kunzler faces up to a year in jail when he is sentenced for the reckless endangerment on Feb. 5 before 1st District Judge Gordon Low. Three other reckless endangerment counts were dismissed. The misdemeanors all pertain to non-fatal car/cow crashes during 2003 and 2004....
Cultivating cattle culture Batey this week will take part in the Great Florida Cattle Drive near Kissimmee. The event is like the movie "City Slickers" on steroids: hundreds of ranchers and less experienced folks riding horses and wagons on a 50-mile cattle drive over four days. Alachua County residents participating include Chris Machen, wife of University of Florida President Bernie Machen. She went on cattle drives and other horse-riding trips when her husband worked at the University of Utah, and said she couldn't pass up the chance to experience Florida's version. "This is such an adventure," she said. The inaugural Great Florida Cattle Drive was held in 1995, so organizers missed holding the sequel on the 10th anniversary. The event recreates the cattle drives typical in Florida before the fence law of the 1940s, said Larry Ellis, an organizer. "We're trying to preserve the cow culture of Florida," he said....
Ohl takes aggregate NFR lead Cody Ohl took over first place in a second category during the sixth round of the National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday. Five-time world tie-down roping champion Ohl, of Hico, already has over a $60,000 lead over Trevor Brazile of Decatur in the world standings. However, by finishing third in a time of 7.9 seconds, Ohl takes over the NFR aggregate lead from Hunter Herrin. Ohl now has earned $43,499 at the NFR compared with $42,379 for runner-up Joe Beaver of Huntsville. Taking first in the sixth round was Matt Shiozawa in 7.2 and in second was Clint Robinson in 7.7. Shiozawa, competing in his second NFR, referred to Ohl and some of his other competitors as "basically living legends." "There is a kind of a generation gap and you get into the younger guys," he said. "That is what we are facing. There is a lot of experience and gold buckles among the competitors."....

WRANGLER NATIONAL FINALS RESULTS - SIXTH ROUND

BAREBACK RIDING

1. Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., 87.5 points on Classic Pro Rodeo, LTD.'s Wise Guy, $16,022; 2. Kelly Timberman, Mills, 85.5, $12,662; 3. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 84.5, $9,561; 4. (tie) Andy Martinez, Pavillion, Paul Jones, Elko, Nev., 83.5, $5,427; 6. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., 81.0, $2,584; 7. (tie) Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo., Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas, 80.5; 9. Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas, 78.5; 10. Jess Davis, Payson, Utah, 78.0; 11. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz., 77.5; 12. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 75.0; 13. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., 73.5; 14. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, 71.0; 15. Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo., 0.0.

Aggregate: 1. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 494.0 points on six head; 2. Jess Davis, Payson, Utah, 492.5; 3. Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas, 490.5; 4. (tie) Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., 487.0; 6. Kelly Timberman, Mills, 486.5; 7. Andy Martinez, Pavillion, 480.0; 8. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz., 470.0; 9. Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo., 469.0; 10. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., 463.0; 11. Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas, 454.0; 12. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, 401.5 on five; 13. Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo., 390.5; 14. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 388.0; 15. Paul Jones, Elko, Nev., 305.0 on four.

World standings: 1. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas (84) $214,331; 2. Andy Martinez, Pavillion, (65) 140,298; 3. Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas (83) 128,183; 4. Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo. (77) 116,995; 5. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore. (89) 109,765; 6. Jess Davis, Payson, Utah (87) 107,996; 7. Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo. (80) 88,039; 8. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas (93) 87,363; 9. Paul Jones, Elko, Nev. (88) 87,135; 10. Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo. (86) 81,826; 11. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash. (72) 78,016; 12. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo. (79) 76,049; 13. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz. (86) 70,370; 14. Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo. (100) 64,357; 15. Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas (98) 60,013.

STEER WRESTLING

1. (tie) Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La., 3.7 seconds, $14,342; 3. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 4.4, $9,561; 4. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb., 4.6, $6,719; 5. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 5.0, $4,135; 6.(tie) K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla., 5.4, $1,292; 8. Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan., 5.5; 9. Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 6.5; 10. Joey Bell Jr, Malakoff, Texas, 8.5; 11. (tie) Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta, Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb., NT; Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, Okla., injured.

Aggregate: 1. Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla., 27.3 seconds on six head; 2. Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 28.1; 3. Joey Bell Jr, Malakoff, Texas, 30.3; 4. Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan., 32.2; 5. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 34.2; 6. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb., 37.4; 7. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, 46.2; 8. Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., 21.6 on five; 9. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 22.0; 10. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 30.6; 11. Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta, 36.7; 12. Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La., 15.6 on four; 13. Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, Okla., 20.0; 14. Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb., 28.0; 15. Jason Miller, Lance Creek, 14.5 on three.

World standings: 1. Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. (64) $140,518; 2. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif. (64) 136,507; 3. Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore. (58) 109,730; 4. Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, Okla. (65) 100,137; 5. Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La. (75) 95,695; 6. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo. (75) 93,627; 7. Joey Bell Jr., Malakoff, Texas (75) 91,382; 8. Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan. (66) 91,177; 9. Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla. (75) 89,245; 10. Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta (58) 86,976; 11. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb. (75) 82,810; 12. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas (69) 82,634; 13. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore. (73) 75,719; 14. Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb. (75) 73,640; 15. Jason Miller, Lance Creek, (75) 70,045.

TEAM ROPING

1. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo./Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 4.1 seconds, $16,022; 2. Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz./Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla., 4.4, $12,662; 3. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas/Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas, 6.0, $9,561; 4. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore./Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev., 6.6, $6,719; 5. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 9.5, $4,135; 6. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore./Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash., 10.1, $2,584; 7. David Key, Caldwell, Texas/Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas, 12.5; 8. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn./Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas, 14.5; 9. Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas/Clay O'Brien Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas, 16.0; 10. Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla./Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla., 19.8; 11. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, /Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif., 24.3; 12. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Patrick Smith, Midland, , 26.7; 13. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jhett Johnson, Casper, 26.8; 14. (tie) Colter Todd,
Marana, Ariz./Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev./Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev., NT.

Aggregate: 1. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn./Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas, 51.9 seconds on six head; 2. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore./Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev., 57.0; 3. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, /Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif., 73.4; 4. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jhett Johnson, Casper, 79.7; 5. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo./Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 91.0; 6. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore./Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash., 92.6; 7. Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas/Clay O'Brien Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas, 39.7 on five; 8. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 49.3; 9. (tie) Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz./Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla./Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla., 71.1; 11. David Key, Caldwell, Texas/Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas, 74.6; 12. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Patrick Smith, Midland, , 82.2; 13. Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz./Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla., 33.1 on four; 14. Joe Beaver, Huntsville,

Texas/Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas, 35.3; 15. Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev./Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev., 78.2.

World standings (heading): 1. Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas (51) $116,512; 2. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, Ariz. (59) 109,355; 3. David Key, Caldwell, Texas (60) 97,284; 4. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont. (60) 94,233; 5. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn. (60) 91,451; 6. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo. (60) 87,165; 7. Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz. (58) 85,315; 8. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas (60) 81,839; 9. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas (59) 81,203; 10. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore. (60) 80,744; 11. Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla. (60) 76,167; 12. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont. (59) 73,397; 13. Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev. (59) 72,149; 14. Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz. (55) 71,149; 15. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore. (59) 64,894.

World standings (heeling): 1. Clay Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas (51) $116,512; 2. Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas (60) 113,034; 3. Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif. (57) 112,949; 4. Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas (60) 97,768; 5. Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla. (60) 84,794; 6. Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash. (60) 82,749; 7. Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas (59) 81,203; 8. Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla. (60) 76,167; 9. Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas (60) 75,681; 10. Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev. (59) 74,873; 11. Jhett Johnson, Casper, (59) 73,502; 12. Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas (59) 73,397; 13. Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev. (59) 72,149; 14. Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz. (57) 71,149; 15. Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash. (59) 64,894.

SADDLE BRONC RIDING

1. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, 89.0 points on Bar T Rodeo, Inc.'s Fire Fly, $16,022; 2. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla., 85.5, $12,662; 3. Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah, Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D., 84.0, $8,140; 5. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 83.0, $4,135; 6. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 82.0, $2,584; 7. Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla., 81.5; 8. Glen O'Neill, Didsbury, Alberta, 80.0; 9. JJ Elshere, Quinn, S.D., 79.5; 10.(tie) Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, Cody Martin, Smackover, 74.5; 12. Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D., 73.5; 13. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas, 70.5; 14. (tie) Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont., 0.0.

Aggregate: 1. Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 491.5 points on six head; 2. JJ Elshere, Quinn, S.D., 478.5; 3. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 405.0 on five; 4. Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla., 393.0; 5. Glen O'Neill, Didsbury, Alberta, 386.5; 6. Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D., 333.0 on four; 7. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 331.0; 8. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, 321.0; 9. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas, 318.0; 10. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 317.5; 11. Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D., 310.0; 12. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla., 255.0 on three; 13. Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah, 249.0; 14. Cody Martin, Smackover, , 238.0; 15. Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont., 236.0.

World standings: 1. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D. (81) $180,344; 2. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La. (77) 170,868; 3. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah (88) 146,273; 4. Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont. (82) 142,154; 5. Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta (88) 141,107; 6. Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah (78) 115,328; 7. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla. (52) 115,320; 8. Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D. (92) 99,654; 9. J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D. (91) 93,445; 10. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas (93) 91,317; 11. Cody Martin, Smackover, Ark. (99) 87,748; 12. Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla. (94) 80,080; 13. Glen O'Neill, Didsbury, Alberta (95) 79,081; 14. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D. (97) 64,842; 15. Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D. (85) 58,274.

TIE-DOWN ROPING

1. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 7.2 seconds, $16,022; 2. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 7.7, $12,662; 3. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 7.9, $9,561; 4. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 8.1, $6,719; 5. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, 8.3, $4,135; 6. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 8.6, $2,584; 7. Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga., 10.0; 8. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga., 10.1; 9. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 17.3; 10. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 21.9; 11. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., 23.1; 12.(tie) Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla.

Aggregate: 1. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 53.8 seconds on six head; 2. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 58.4; 3. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga., 60.2; 4. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, 66.8; 5. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 67.1; 6. Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga., 68.7; 7. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., 77.6; 8. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 86.0; 9. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 86.3; 10. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., 43.7 on five; 11. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 47.4; 12. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 58.5; 13. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, 62.9; 14. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, 26.5 on three; 15. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, 29.7.

World standings: 1. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas (61) $208,959; 2. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas (65) 141,408; 3. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas (73) 114,453; 4. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga. (72) 111,285; 5. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho (75) 109,714; 6. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla. (75) 107,332; 7. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla. (75) 104,538; 8. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas (74) 100,309; 9. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas (75) 93,914; 10. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla. (75) 92,087; 11. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas (75) 83,629; 12. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah (75) 79,794; 13. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas (65) 78,647; 14. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla. (75) 76,440; 15. Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga. (75) 69,323.

BARREL RACING

1. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 13.58 seconds, $16,022; 2. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, 13.71, $12,662; 3. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 13.73, $9,561; 4. Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas, 13.84, $6,719; 5. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 13.88, $4,135; 6. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont., 13.96, $2,584; 7. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 14.01; 8. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas, 14.16; 9.(tie) Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C., 14.25; 11. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla., 14.30; 12. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, , 18.94; 13. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont., 19.26; 14. Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas, 19.29; 15. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas, 23.90.

Aggregate: 1. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 83.76 seconds on six runs; 2. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas, 84.62; 3. Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, 84.64; 4. Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C., 84.81; 5. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 87.75; 6. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, 88.52; 7. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 89.16; 8. Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas, 91.53; 9. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 94.77; 10. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont., 94.98; 11. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla., 96.40; 12. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont., 99.17; 13. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas, 108.92; 14. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, , 110.59; 15. Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas, 80.69 on five.

World standings: 1. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas $145,008; 2. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla. 141,896; 3. Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas 134,806; 4. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont. 120,153; 5. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, 93,515; 6. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla. 86,834; 7. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz. 86,245; 8. Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C. 79,154; 9. Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas 74,278; 10. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas 73,703; 11. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas 73,313; 12. Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas 72,170; 13. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla. 71,591; 14. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta 66,331; 15. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont. 64,663.

BULL RIDING

1. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 88.5 points on Southwick Robertson Wilson's Foolish Man, $16,022; 2. Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis., 88.0, $12,662; 3. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, 87.5, $9,561; 4.(tie) B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis., J.W. Harris, May, Texas, 78.5, $5,427; 6. (tie) Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah, Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah, J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash., Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas, Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho, Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan., Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo., 0.0; Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas, Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah, D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas, injured.

Aggregate: 1. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis., 434.0 points on five head; 2. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, 329.0 on four; 3. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 265.0 on three; 4. Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis., 264.0; 5. Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah, 263.5; 6. Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho, 261.0; 7. J.W. Harris, May, Texas, 253.0; 8. Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas, 175.5 on two; 9. J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash., 171.5; 10. (tie) Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan., Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo., 87.0 on one; 12. Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas, 86.5; 13. Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah, 80.5; 14. D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas, 0.0

World standings: 1. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis. (91) $162,288; 2. Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas (90) 157,717; 3. Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah (80) 134,598; 4. Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah (99) 129,169; 5. Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho (84) 124,833; 6. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, (78) 124,436; 7. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb. (79) 123,728; 8. J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash. (86) 113,383; 9. Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas (76) 99,410; 10. Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis. (93) 99,177; 11. J.W. Harris, May, Texas (95) 93,578; 12. Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan. (108) 89,793; 13. D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas (105) 85,344; 14. Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah (89) 84,826; 15. Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo. (93) 81,024.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

NEWS ROUNDUP

Aspenite's film shows what's at stake with energy boom Aspen native Mark Harvey has spent a lifetime traveling the West, and lately it's been disturbing for him. Harvey witnessed how the energy boom ravaged public lands in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah and Montana. He thinks more people would be upset with the Bush administration if they could see what he has seen. So he made a film to document how future generations will pay the price of coaxing natural gas out of the ground long after the wells play out. Some of the West's most sensitive lands are scarred forever; others are threatened. He hopes exposing the impacts will spur Americans, and particularly Westerners, to play a greater role in determining whether areas get drilled or preserved. "We're at the beginning of an energy boom that could last for years," Harvey said. Harvey is the director and co-producer, with Laurel Garrett, of "A Land Out of Time."....
'Collateral damage' -- residents fear murky effects of energy boom Other residents near the epicenter of the Rockies' energy boom are starting to worry about their health, too, and who, exactly, is looking out for them. The federal government leaves much of the regulation up to state officials -- and in Colorado, some residents fear there isn't nearly enough oversight to keep them safe. "We're collateral damage out here," said Bill Solinger, whose family has had respiratory problems, headaches and fatigue since gas drilling exploded in the Rifle area. Most of the regulation of Colorado's oil and gas industry falls to the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a state agency charged with promoting energy development. The commission has agreements with the state health department to enforce clean-water and hazardous-waste laws, though it has no health experts on staff. The Oil and Gas Accountability Project in Durango and other groups recently asked the commission and the health department to require detailed disclosure of all chemicals used in oil and gas production, and to require that the effects of the chemicals be monitored. The health department said it doesn't have "the resources, capabilities or authority" to demand the information. The commission, meanwhile, said it believes it has the authority but "is not aware of a need for those requirements." Yet complaints -- from foul odors to bloody noses to fatigue and pain -- are increasing in areas around gas wells in Colorado, New Mexico, Alabama and Alberta, Canada, said Lisa Sumi, research director for the accountability project....
Bush Poised to Allow Oil Drilling in America's Fish Basket Sometime this week, President George W. Bush is expected to lift a presidential moratorium protecting Alaska’s Bristol Bay from oil and gas drilling that was imposed by his father. The presidential moratorium, banning exploration and production in the Outer Continental Shelf of the North Aleutian Basin was imposed in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound two years earlier. The area includes the commercial fishing grounds of Bristol Bay, described by Professor Rick Steiner of the University of Alaska's marine advisory program as "the breadbasket of entire Bering Sea." House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, says lifing the moratorium would be a mistake....
Congress takes up offshore drilling bill Tuesday as it pushes toward adjournment Congress is making a final push to open a large area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, aware the Democratic majority next year is less likely to embrace new offshore energy development. The House was to vote Tuesday on a Senate plan to open 8.3 million acres of the Gulf that is now off limits to drilling and also steer hundreds of millions of dollars of federal royalty payments to four Gulf coast states — a windfall for Louisiana, which would get about half the money. The drilling bill is one of a string of measures House GOP leaders have readied for this week's "lame-duck" session under an expedited procedure that bars amendments, but also requires a two-thirds vote for approval. Environmentalists have lined up against the bill and some Republicans are cool toward the measure, favoring a more expansive offshore energy development plan that passed the House in June that would have lifted drilling bans along both the East and West coasts. Senate leaders said the House bill had no chance in the Senate....
BLM broke environmental law, appeals court rules A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management violated environmental law when it sold old-growth timber in southwestern Oregon without considering the cumulative harm that so much logging was having on northern spotted owls and salmon. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reversed the ruling of U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan in Eugene, despite the fact that the trees in the Mr. Wilson timber sale had already been felled. The panel sent the case back to Hogan with orders to have BLM revise the environmental assessment to take a "hard look" at past and future logging in nearby areas. In the majority opinion, Judge Alfred T. Goodwin wrote that BLM had violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider seven other past and future timber sales in the West Fork of Cow Creek watershed and what that would do to habitat for the threatened northern spotted owl and salmon. The ruling noted that BLM's environmental analysis was based on broader looks at the impacts of logging that did not specifically address the harm caused by past, present and future logging. It added that the BLM decided to log despite the fact that the environmental analysis found that four timber sales in the area would remove up 1,000 acres of old-growth habitat, and that future logging would remove some of the last old-growth in some sections....
Scenic AZ areas part of surge in land filings nterest in starting mines in Arizona has skyrocketed because of rising metal and mineral prices, leading to a sharp increase in the number of land claims filed in the state in the last 3 1/2 years, according to an environmental group's study. The claims have been most concentrated in Northern and Central Arizona, particularly in the Grand Canyon, Wickenburg and Superior areas. But companies and individuals have filed claims seeking mining rights across some of Southern Arizona's most mineral-laden and scenic areas: near Patagonia, west of Tombstone, the Santa Rita Mountains, north of Oracle Junction, near Safford, in the Altar Valley southwest of Tucson and near the Baboquivari Mountains. The possibility of more mines in the state raises the prospect of more jobs, more environmental conflict and more efforts to change the long-debated federal 1872 Mining Law. In a new study, the Environmental Working Group, an environmental research and advocacy group, says it found that companies and individuals filed claims in Arizona on 208,000 acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land from January 2003 through September 2006. That's more than the combined areas of Saguaro and Petrified Forest national parks....
High court to decide BLM case The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide some issues from a case in which a Wyoming rancher charges that employees with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management stripped him of his federal land grazing permits because he refused to give the agency easements over his land. The Supreme Court on Friday announced it will consider the case, which centers on whether BLM officials can be sued personally under federal racketeering law for their official actions. Thermopolis rancher Harvey Frank Robbins maintains that BLM workers pulled his grazing permits and otherwise persecuted him to try to get him to give the government road access. Cheyenne lawyer Karen Budd-Falen, who represents Robbins, said she has never argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. "I am very excited, and very nervous - especially a case that I believe is going to define private property rights vis-a-vis the federal government," Budd-Falen said. Budd-Falen said the Supreme Court will also consider whether citizens enjoy a constitutional right to be free from retaliation by government employees if they exclude the government from their property. Budd-Falen said the government argues that the federal employees shouldn't be sued even if they violated or conspired to violate Robbins' property rights because the government, and not the employees themselves, stood to gain by the action....
Return of panthers spurs contention Schoolteacher Theresa Ryan sensed an eerie presence behind her as she sat at a picnic table at her boyfriend's rural home. Then she heard the breathing. "I turned around and there was a panther 15 feet away. We were face-to-face," she said. "It had no place to go except at me or by me." She flailed her arms and screamed to scare the cat. "It just sauntered away -- no hurry. It was never afraid," she said. "It was very freaky." For decades, such encounters with Florida panthers were extraordinarily rare, like the endangered animals themselves. But in recent years, panthers have rebounded from the brink of extinction to about 100 on the southwestern edge of the Everglades, prompting officials to warn residents to be aware of the cats and to keep their children close at dusk and dawn. The big cats have since killed emus from a zoo, and goats and dogs from rural backyards. Documented panther attacks on livestock jumped from two in 2004 to six so far this year, and 10 panthers have been killed on highways this year alone....
Tree sitters protest plans to cut oaks at UC Berkeley Three protesters hoping to save a grove of oaks in front of UC Berkeley's Memorial Stadium held out hope Monday that the university today will drop its plans to remove the trees to build a $25 million sports training complex. American Indian leader Zachary Running Wolf, 43, and environmentalist Jess Walsh, 20, have been in the trees since early Saturday. UC Berkeley philosophy student Aaron Diek, 21, joined them Saturday afternoon. "I plan to stay up here until the university decides to build somewhere else and save this grove for the community or until I'm forcibly removed," said Running Wolf, who last month ran an unsuccessful campaign for Berkeley mayor. After three days, the trio, who had gone without much sleep because police were shining lights into the tree several times each night, said their spirits were high....
Environmental fears about chemicals grow Growing evidence that chemicals in the environment can interfere with animals' hormone systems — including the discovery that male Potomac River fish are growing eggs — has environmentalists and scientists focused on a new question: Are humans also at risk? A decade ago, the very idea that pollutants could interfere with a body's chemical messages was near the fringes of science. But now, it is an urgent topic around the world. In recent years, researchers have linked some common chemicals to troubling changes in laboratory rodents and wild animals, including reproductive defects, immune-system alterations and obesity. For now, no connections to human ailments have been proved....
National animal ID system argument flares up
Incoming House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-MN, supports mandatory National Animal Identification System (NAIS), but one state group is calling for an end to efforts underway to implement the national system altogether. Leaders of the Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (VICFA) say the NAIS is an "illusion of safety" and "destruction of freedom" that will expose private information to a federal agency and carry costs that will be too high for livestock producers to offset with questionable global market access. The Sauk Centre Herald in Peterson's home state of Minnesota recently reported the congressman said he finds the U.S. Department of Agriculture's current voluntary NAIS plan "screwed up" and he "strongly believes the government needs to set the rules and require standardization."....
Animal ID program not appeasing critics Sharon Zecchinelli raises a couple of pigs, lambs, turkeys and two dozen chickens in her backyard. The 50-year-old chef-turned-farmer says she knows more about her animals' health than she knows about her children's. To her, a federal government plan to require farmers and ranchers to register their animals in a national database goes too far. And she remains skeptical about it, despite a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that participation in the National Animal Identification System will be voluntary, not mandatory as originally contemplated. The premise registration and animal identification idea, which is aimed at tracking animals to help prevent the spread of mad cow disease, avian flu and other diseases, has divided the nation's livestock farmers. Some see it as necessary for disease prevention, others say it would be onerous and an unwarranted intrusion by government. Rick Parizo, a dairy and hog farmer in Milton, said he supports premise registration but not the tracking of every animal. "I'll sell my animals first before I let them come through and tag every single animal," he said. To date about 23 percent of ranches, farms, feed lots and other livestock facilities have registered their premises with the Agriculture Department. Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Texas have decided not to require premise registration, while Wisconsin, Indiana have mandatory programs. Michigan will require premise registration for cattle starting in March....
It's All Trew: Quirky gimmicks keep 'em coming I'm not sure whether some entrepreneurs are a bit more unique in their thinking, try a little harder or may be a little smarter, but I am continually amazed at the "gimmes and gimmicks" used to draw customers into their establishments. When Gabe Parson, inventor of the K-Bob's franchise, opened the Red River Steakhouse in McLean, Cozy made sure all change possible was in shiny 50-cent pieces and two-dollar bills. Seems both are highly collectible to customers. A unique feature of Cowboy Morning Breakfast in Palo Duro Canyon is Hodie serving an excellent meal atop white paper on a serving tray. All visitors there remarked and noticed this feature, plus it sure saved washing a lot of dishes. During our travels around the country, some experiences stick out in our minds. Usually it is a gimmick at a restaurant or bar. For example, at Cloudcroft, N.M., the Texas Bar and Restaurant has hundreds of one-dollar bills stapled to the ceiling with the owner's name written as an autograph. I believe the establishment has been operating some 30 years or more....
Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Results - Round 5

Bareback Riding

1. (tie) Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 87.0 points on Carr Pro Rodeo's River Boat Annie, and Jess Davis, Payson, Utah, 87.0 points on Carr Pro Rodeo's Real Deal, $14,342. 3. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., 86.0, $9,561. 4. Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo., 85.5, $6,719. 5. (tie) Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas, and Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo., 85.0, $3,359. 7. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, 84.0. 8. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz., 82.5. 9. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., 82.0. 10. Andy Martinez, Pavillion, Wyo., 81.0. 11. Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., 79.5. 12. Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo., 77.0. 13. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 76.0. 14. Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas, 67.5. 15. Paul Jones, Elko, Nev., 0.0.

Aggregate_1. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 419.0 points on five head. 2. Jess Davis, Payson, Utah, 414.5. 3. Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas, 412.0. 4. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., 406.0. 5. Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo., 401.0. 6. Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., 399.5. 7. Andy Martinez, Pavillion, Wyo., 396.5. 8. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz., 392.5. 9. Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo., 390.5. 10. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., 389.5. 11. Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo., 388.5. 12. Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas, 373.5. 13. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, 330.5 on four. 14. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 303.5. 15. Paul Jones, Elko, Nev., 221.5 on three.

World Standings_1. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas (84), $214,331. 2. Andy Martinez, Pavillion, Wyo. (65), $134,871. 3. Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas (83), $128,183. 4. Jess Davis, Payson, Utah (87), $107,996. 5. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore. (89), $107,181. 6. Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo. (77), $100,973. 7. Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo. (80), $88,039. 8. Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas (93), $87,363. 9. Paul Jones, Elko, Nev. (88), $81,708. 10. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash. (72), $78,016. 11. Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz. (86), $70,370. 12. Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo. (86), $69,164. 13. Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo. (79), $66,488. 14. Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo. (100), $64,357. 15. Chad Klein, Stephenville, Texas (98), $60,013.

Steer Wrestling

1. Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 3.9 seconds, $16,022. 2. Joey Bell Jr., Malakoff, Texas, 4.2, $12,662. 3. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb., 4.3, $9,561. 4. Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb., 4.4, $6,719. 5. Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., 4.7, $4,135. 6. (tie) Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan., and Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla., 4.8, $1,292. 8. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 5.3. 9. Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, 6.5. 10. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, 9.4. 11. Lee Graves, Canada, 18.6. 12. (tie) Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo., Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., and Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La., NT.

Aggregate_1. (tie) Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 21.6 seconds on five head, and Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., 21.6. 3. Joey Bell Jr., Malakoff, Texas, 21.8. 4. Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla., 21.9. 5. Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan., 26.7. 6. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 29.8. 7. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb., 32.8. 8. Lee Graves, Canada, 36.7. 9. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, 40.8. 10. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 18.3 on four. 11. Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, 20.0. 12. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 25.6. 13. Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb., 28.0. 14. Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La., 11.9 on three. 15. Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo., 14.5.

World Standings_1. Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb. (64), $140,518. 2. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif. (64), $122,165. 3. Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore. (58), $109,730. 4. Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, (65), $100,137. 5. Joey Bell Jr., Malakoff, Texas (75), $91,382. 6. Jason Lahr, Emporia, Kan. (66), $91,177. 7. Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla. (75), $87,953. 8. Lee Graves, Calgary, (58), $86,115. 9. Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo. (75), $84,065. 10. Gabe Ledoux, Kaplan, La. (75), $81,353. 11. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas (69), $81,342. 12. Linn Churchill, Valentine, Neb. (75), $76,091. 13. Dru Melvin, Tryon, Neb. (75), $73,640. 14. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore. (73), $71,585. 15. Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo. (75), $70,045.

Team Roping

1. (tie) Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas/Clay O'Brien Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas, and Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla./Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla., 4.0 seconds, $14,342. 3. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, /Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif., 4.2, $9,561. 4. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 4.4, $6,719. 5. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas, 4.5, $4,135. 6. David Key, Caldwell, Texas/Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas, 4.6, $2,584. 7. Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz./Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 4.7. 8. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn./Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas, 6.1. 9. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore./Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash., 7.5. 10. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore./Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev., 10.8. 11. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo., 13.8. 12. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas/Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas, 16.3. 13. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo./Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 24.9. 14. (tie) Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz./Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla., and Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev./Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev., NT.

Aggregate_1. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn./Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas, 37.4 seconds on five head. 2. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, /Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif., 49.1. 3. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore./Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev., 50.4. 4. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo., 52.9. 5. Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz./Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 71.1. 6. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore./Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash., 82.5. 7. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo./Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 86.9. 8. Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas/Clay O'Brien Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas, 23.7 on four. 9. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 39.8. 10. Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla./Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla., 51.3. 11. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas, 55.5. 12. David Key, Caldwell, Texas/Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas, 62.1. 13. Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev./Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev., 78.2. 14. Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz./Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla., 28.7 on three. 15. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas/Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas, 29.3.

World Standings (Heading)_1. Speed Williams, De Leon, Texas (51), $116,512. 2. Matt Sherwood, Queen Creek, Ariz. (59), $109,355. 3. David Key, Caldwell, Texas (60), $97,284. 4. Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont. (60), $94,233. 5. Chad Masters, Clarksville, Tenn. (60), $91,451. 6. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas (59), $77,068. 7. Nick Sartain, Alva, Okla. (60), $76,167. 8. Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore. (60), $74,025. 9. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont. (59), $73,397. 10. Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz. (58), $72,653. 11. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas (60), $72,277. 12. Jay Adams, Logandale, Nev. (59), $72,149. 13. Colter Todd, Marana, Ariz. (55), $71,149. 14. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo. (60), $71,144. 15. Matt Funk, Hermiston, Ore. (59), $62,310.

World Standings (Heeling)_1. Clay Cooper, Morgan Mill, Texas (51), $116,512. 2. Allen Bach, Weatherford, Texas (60), $113,034. 3. Walt Woodard, Stockton, Calif. (57), $112,949. 4. Kory Koontz, Sudan, Texas (60), $97,768. 5. Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas (59), $77,068. 6. Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla. (60), $76,167. 7. Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo. (59), $73,502. 8. Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas (59), $73,397. 9. Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev. (59), $72,149. 10. Cory Petska, Lexington, Okla. (60), $72,132. 11. Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz. (57), $71,149. 12. Cody Hintz, Spring Creek, Nev. (59), $68,154. 13. Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash. (60), $66,728. 14. Cole Bigbee, Stephenville, Texas (60), $66,119. 15. Bucky Campbell, Benton City, Wash. (59), $62,310.

Saddle Bronc Riding

1. (tie) Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 87.0 points on Bar T Rodeo Inc's Millers Wheel, and Rod Hay, Canada, 87.0 points on Stace Smith Pro Rodeos's Big Jet, $14,342. 3. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla., 86.5, $9,561. 4. J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D., 86.0, $6,719. 5. (tie) Glen O'Neill, Canada, and Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla., 85.5, $3,359. 7. Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah, 83.0. 8. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 82.5. 9. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 82.0. 10. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas, 81.5. 11. Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont., 74.0. 12. (tie) Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, Cody Martin, Smackover, Ark., Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D., and Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D., 0.0.

Aggregate_1. Rod Hay, Canada, 417.0 points on five head. 2. J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D., 399.0. 3. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 331.0 on four. 4. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 322.0. 5. Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla., 311.5. 6. Glen O'Neill, Canada, 306.5. 7. Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D., 249.0 on three. 8. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas, 247.5. 9. Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D., 236.5. 10. Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont., 236.0. 11. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 235.5. 12. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, 232.0. 13. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla., 169.5 on two. 14. Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah, 165.0. 15. Cody Martin, Smackover, Ark., 163.5.

World Standings_1. Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D. (81), $176,210. 2. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La. (77), $170,868. 3. Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont. (82), $142,154. 4. Rod Hay, Canada (88), $141,107. 5. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah (88), $130,252. 6. Rusty Allen, Lehi, Utah (78), $107,188. 7. Billy Etbauer, Edmond, Okla. (52), $102,658. 8. J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D. (91), $93,445. 9. Jeff Willert, Belvidere, S.D. (92), $91,514. 10. Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas (93), $91,317. 11. Cody Martin, Smackover, Ark. (99), $87,748. 12. Bobby Griswold, Geary, Okla. (94), $80,080. 13. Glen O'Neill, Canada (95), $79,081. 14. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D. (97), $62,258. 15. Bryce Miller, Buffalo, S.D. (85), $58,274.

Tie-Down Roping

1. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, 8.5 seconds, $16,022. 2. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, 8.6, $12,662. 3. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 8.8, $9,561. 4. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 8.9, $6,719. 5. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., 9.6, $4,135. 6. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 9.9, $2,584. 7. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 10.3. 8. (tie) Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., and Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga., 11.3. 10. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 12.8. 11. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga., 13.6. 12. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, 15.2. 13. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 19.6. 14. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 21.3. 15. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, NT.

Aggregate_1. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., 43.7 seconds on five head. 2. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 45.9. 3. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga., 50.1. 4. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 50.3. 5. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., 54.5. 6. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, 58.5. 7. Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga., 58.7. 8. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 59.9. 9. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, 62.9. 10. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 64.4. 11. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 77.4. 12. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 39.7 on four. 13. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 41.2. 14. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, 26.5 on three. 15. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, 29.7.

World Standings_1. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas (61), $199,398. 2. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas (65), $141,408. 3. Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga. (72), $111,285. 4. Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas (73), $110,319. 5. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla. (75), $107,332. 6. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla. (75), $104,538. 7. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas (74), $100,309. 8. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas (75), $93,914. 9. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho (75), $93,692. 10. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla. (75), $85,369. 11. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas (75), $83,629. 12. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas (65), $78,647. 13. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla. (75), $73,856. 14. Doug Pharr, Resaca, Ga. (75), $69,323. 15. Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah (75), $67,132.

Barrel Racing

1. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 13.77 seconds, $16,022. 2. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont., 13.89, $12,662. 3. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 13.91, $9,561. 4. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 13.93, $6,719. 5. Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C., 13.99, $4,135. 6. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas, 14.03, $2,584. 7. (tie) Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, and Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas, 14.09. 9. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla., 14.34. 10. Lindsay Sears, Canada, 14.37. 11. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, Wyo., 18.93. 12. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont., 19.24. 13. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 19.36. 14. Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas, 20.97. 15. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas, 23.96.

Aggregate_1. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 70.03 seconds on five runs. 2. Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, 70.39. 3. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas, 70.46. 4. Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C., 70.56. 5. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 74.17. 6. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, Wyo., 74.81. 7. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 75.28. 8. Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas, 77.69. 9. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont., 79.91. 10. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., 80.76. 11. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont., 81.02. 12. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla., 82.10. 13. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas, 85.02. 14. Lindsay Sears, Canada, 91.65. 15. Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas, 61.40 on four.

World Standings_1. Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, $134,806. 2. Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., $132,334. 3. Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, $128,987. 4. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, Mont., $120,153. 5. Tana Poppino, Big Cabin, Okla., $86,834. 6. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., $82,111. 7. Brandie Halls, Carpenter, Wyo., $80,853. 8. Codi Baucom, Carthage, N.C., $79,154. 9. Kelly Kaminski, Bellville, Texas, $74,278. 10. Tammy Key, Ledbetter, Texas, $73,703. 11. Terra Bynum, Lubbock, Texas, $73,313. 12. Layna Kight, Summerfield, Fla., $71,591. 13. Lindsay Sears, Canada, $66,331. 14. Denise Adams, Lufkin, Texas, $65,451. 15. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont., $62,079.

Bull Riding

1. (tie) J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash., 86.0 points on Russell Rodeo Co.'s Rough-N-Ready, and Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas, 86.0 points on Rumford Rodeo and Circle A Ranch's Spin Dippin, $14,342. 3. Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho, 85.5, $9,561. 4. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis., 80.5, $6,719. 5. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 62.5, $4,135. 6. (tie) Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas, Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah, Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas, Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis., Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah, Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah, Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan., J.W. Harris, May, Texas, and Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo., 0.0.

Aggregate_1. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis., 355.5 points on four head. 2. Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah, 263.5 on three. 3. Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho, 261.0. 4. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 241.5. 5. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 176.5 on two. 6. Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis., 176.0. 7. Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas, 175.5. 8. J.W. Harris, May, Texas, 174.5. 9. J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash., 171.5. 10. (tie) Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan., 87.0 on one, and Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo., 87.0. 12. Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas, 86.5. 13. Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah, 80.5. 14. (tie) D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas, and Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah, 0.0.

World Standings_1. Matt Austin, Wills Point, Texas (90), $157,717. 2. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis. (91), $156,861. 3. Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah (80), $134,598. 4. Sonny Murphy, Herriman, Utah (99), $129,169. 5. Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho (84), $124,833. 6. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo. (78), $114,875. 7. J.C. Bean, Goldendale, Wash. (86), $113,383. 8. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb. (79), $107,706. 9. Jarrod Craig, Hillsboro, Texas (76), $99,410. 10. Cooper Kanngiesser, Zenda, Kan. (108), $89,793. 11. J.W. Harris, May, Texas (95), $88,151. 12. Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis. (93), $86,515. 13. D.J. Domangue, San Angelo, Texas (105), $85,344. 14. Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah (89), $84,826. 15. Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo. (93), $81,024.

Monday, December 04, 2006

NEWS ROUNDUP

In West, Conservatives Emphasize the 'Conserve' Last month's elections, though, may signal the end of Republican dominance and fierce resistance to many conservation measures. Profound demographic and economic change seems finally to be asserting itself across the region. Westerners cast votes suggesting that the protection of their natural surroundings is not a negotiable condition for living well. "Self-interest has intersected with reality," said Limerick, chair of the board of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "To have open spaces and nice places, people realize, they cannot be a bunch of individuals pursuing self-indulgence. They have to act collectively." To that end, much of the West rejected ballot measures that could have shredded state and local land-use rules limiting growth, controlling sprawl and ensuring open space. Voters in Idaho, Washington and California soundly defeated "takings" measures, intended to compensate individual owners whose land is devalued by land-use or zoning laws. Arizona voters approved their law. Courts had earlier tossed out the measures in Montana and Nevada. At the same time, Democrats consolidated gains from 2004, picking up the governorship in Colorado, a Senate seat in Montana and two House seats in Arizona. Democrats already controlled governor's seats in Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Perhaps more significant, Democratic and Republican politicians from New Mexico to Montana have found common ground with hunters and anglers in opposing widespread energy development on wild public lands, halting drilling in several areas where the public felt that wildlife and scenic values trumped economic consideration. In the past year, bipartisan grass-roots opposition has also killed off a number of proposals to sell federal land and use the revenue to pay for governmental operations....
Growing issues: Local herd facing an uncertain future as housing developments make an impact Elk tracks crisscross the snow-covered ridge that Bert Lindler is climbing on this chilly winter afternoon. Lots of elk tracks. When he reaches his destination - a fence running down the ridgeline's spine - Lindler can't help but grin. The sharp barbs twisted into the top wire are filled with hair. On both sides of the fence, the ground is trampled by what looks to be hundreds of hooves. “Elk have a way of fixing the fence themselves if they're not quite satisfied,” he said. “They didn't seem to have much problem getting across here.” Elk sign, barbed-wire fences, snow-covered ridges. In Montana, that's something most often found in rural settings far from the hustle and bustle of busy city life. Not today. From this vantage, Lindler can easily see his home in Grant Creek's Prospect Meadows subdivision, just minutes from downtown Missoula. Looking across the narrow valley, there's plenty of other homesteads scattered about the hillsides. Certainly it's hard to imagine that this is the winter home of the wily wapiti. Lindler points across the way - “see there, that meadow” - that's where he captured the image of more than 300 elk on his digital camera last fall....
2-decade effort has kept ferret alive After two decades of captive breeding and intense recovery efforts, black-footed ferrets remain among the most endangered mammals in America, with an estimated 700 living in the wild. But they might have become extinct, were it not for a dog named Shep. More than 25 years after their discovery near Meeteetse, Wyo., former rancher John Hogg said it was Shep that first found a ferret. "Lucille happened to hear a commotion with the dog in the middle of the night," Hogg said recently, recalling a night in October 1981. "The next morning, I went out, and here was this thing lying there, dead." Thinking it was perhaps a mink, Hogg grabbed the lifeless ferret from where it lay, next to Shep's food bowl, and tossed it into a patch of weeds along the Greybull River. "But Lucille wanted to have it mounted, so I went back and got it, and we took it to the taxidermist," Hogg said. " 'Oh my god, you've got a ferret,' " Hogg recalled taxidermist Larry LaFrenchie exclaiming. "I said. 'What the hell is that?'....
Wolf hater admits poisoning protected species An outspoken opponent of U.S. government efforts to reestablish the gray wolf in western states has pleaded guilty to trying to poison the federally protected species, a U.S. prosecutor said on Friday. Tim Sundles, 48, planted meatballs laced with a poisonous pesticide in Idaho's remote Salmon-Challis National Forest in 2004 with the aim of killing wolves, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Fica. The meatballs instead poisoned a coyote, fox, magpies and three pet dogs, according to court records. He signed a written plea ahead of a scheduled trial next week. Sundles could face as much as six months behind bars and five years probation....
Climate expert: Rockies snowpack shrinks at margins The Rocky Mountains are seeing more rain than snow at the start and end of winter, an indication of global warming, an expert said. Another sign of climate change: The spring snowmelt is starting a week earlier than it did 50 years ago. Both trends could shorten the ski season. The Rockies, however, are expected to handle the changes better than New England, where low-elevation ski areas are more vulnerable to dwindling snowpacks. And Utah and Colorado's ski areas, commonly found near 10,000 feet in elevation, could benefit from feeble winters in the East. "They won't be able to ski in New England. They'll have to come to Utah," said Kevin Trenberth, a climate expert who gave a lecture Wednesday at the University of Utah. Trenberth, head of the climate-analysis section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., said climate change could make the arid West even drier, setting loose other problems. The dwindling snowpacks are more evident at lower elevations in the Rockies, leaving many of the ski areas secure for now, he said. But combined with an earlier spring, shrinking snowpacks rob moisture from the soil at the start of growing season. "It sets the stage for drought," he said....
Ski area, developer dig in heels A dispute between Wolf Creek Ski Area and a Texas businessman who wants to develop land next to it is now affecting cross-country skiers. For years, the ski area groomed cross-country trails at the bottom of the ski area for free. Businessman B.J. "Red" McCombs, who owns the land the trails cross, has accommodated the skiers. Now McCombs is preventing the ski area from grooming the trails on land where he hopes to build the Village at Wolf Creek, with plans for 222,100 square feet of commercial space and housing for up to 10,500 people. Village at Wolf Creek President Bob Honts said he closed the trails because the Pitcher family, which owns the ski area, refused to sign a long-term access agreement for the mountain....
Leases in roadless areas in limbo A court ruling prohibits holders of energy leases in roadless areas from building roads to access those areas. But it doesn't mean big changes for leases in Wyoming. That's because the only leases in roadless areas in Wyoming are in the Wyoming Range - and those leases have already been stalled. Several conservation groups have appealed the leases, saying they were offered without adequate environmental analysis. The Interior Board of Land Appeals agreed and halted development pending further investigation. Also, Gov. Dave Freudenthal has signed a "memorandum of understanding" with Forest Service officials saying that no new lease parcels would be offered in roadless areas in Wyoming until forest plans for those areas are completed....
Dream House Becomes a Roadblock in the New West Peter and Judy Riede exemplify the New West, having moved to the Rocky Mountains for the lifestyle. They retired from General Motors, and then, as avid naturalists, bought a ranch of nearly 500 acres on a dirt road near the Wyoming border. But their dream of building a home and nursing a patch of overgrazed land back to health may be derailed by the Old West. First they found out that a phosphate mine about a mile and a half from their ranch, in the Snowdrift Range, was being expanded. Then, when they refused to sell the ranch to the J. R. Simplot Company so it could build a haul road to the mine, the firm recently raised the threat of condemnation under an obscure early 20th-century mining law. “It was a shock,” Mr. Riede said. “One, that the law existed, and two, that they would use it in that way.” The law, passed in 1903, was meant as an equalizer in the Old West, intended to thwart large mining companies trying to surround a small, valuable claim with their claims and prevent access to it. Many Western states have similar provisions, which also cover other industries. Don Copple, a Boise lawyer who specializes in condemnation law, said the law clearly favored Simplot....
Little Page thirsts for Lake Powell revenue Jonah is trying to ingest a whale down on the Utah-Arizona border. After years of talking about it, the small city of Page, Ariz. - pop. 7,000 - is following through on a proposal to annex more than 21,000 acres to the north and west of town. It's all in a bid to reel in sales tax revenue from Lake Powell's Wahweap and Antelope Point marinas, where thousands of visitors eat and sleep, and moor and fuel their boats. Such an annexation would more than double the size of the city. More important, Page officials estimate the new revenue would swell the city's coffers by $400,000 to $600,000 annually, translating into improved services and new amenities for tourists and residents alike. "There are so many positives here," says Page Mayor Dan Brown, "that I don't see a downside." Others do. The area proposed for annexation includes Glen Canyon Dam, a significant portion of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and land claimed by the Navajo Nation. And that has created no small amount of friction between the city and the National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation and the tribe....
Wild west The helicopter clears the ridge under the high morning sun; then, in a kick of dust, come the horses. They run in a loose line of eight, moving across the western edge of Edwards Creek Valley faster than a trot, but measured: loping, loping, loping. Before the helicopter found them, the horses were idling in one of many canyons that splinter the Clan Alpine Mountains with steep slopes of piñon pine and gnarled sage. Nearly 30,000 wild horses roam remote pockets of the West. Nearly half are in Nevada, the state that also was home to Velma B. Johnston , a.k.a. "Wild Horse Annie," an activist who sparked a national campaign to prevent reckless slaughter of the animals. Her efforts, begun in the 1950s, led to a 1971 federal law protecting wild herds . A fire -- started by lightning, so wild, too -- scorched 6,200 acres in the Clan Alpines last summer. Federal officials who regulate the land and the mustangs contend there is not enough food in the mountains, which cover nearly 200,000 acres, to support the herd of 500; they have come to take 100 horses. Those will be put up for adoption, or live out their years in holding facilities run by the government. The thumping helicopter blades nag the herd of eight another mile. The horses draw parallel to an opening between two hillocks. Behind it hides cowboys and a quickly built corral, brought from Utah with pickups and tractor-trailers. A bareback horse waits a few hundred yards in front of the corral gate. The so-called Judas horse, there to lure his wild cousins, stands straight as his master crouches out of view. The mustangs, helicopter beating overhead, turn toward the Judas. His master gives a swat, and Judas leads the tired horses the last few hundred yards. Wild still? The gate swings shut. The mustangs, their coats black and brown and slicked with sweat, stomp, then stall. A cowboy's walkie-talkie cackles: "OK, horse trailers, he's in."....
New hopes for action at Carrizo Plain arise A federal official whom environmentalists have considered to be a dogmatic opponent of efforts to reduce cattle grazing at the Carrizo Plain National Monument is being reassigned by his agency. That has led to new hopes that a management plan for the monument in eastern San Luis Obispo County, home to a high concentration of rare and endangered species, can be finished. Marlene Braun, former manager of the monument, committed suicide May 2, 2005, at her home on the 250,000-acre national monument. She left a note saying that she could no longer take the abuse she had endured from Ron Huntsinger, the head of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Bakersfield office. Now Huntsinger is leaving his post and is moving to Washington, D.C., in January to become science coordinator for the agency. Though his new assignment was shocking to some of his fiercest critics, his departure comes in advance of the first meeting of the newly reconstituted advisory committee that will try to reassemble a resource management plan that also fell victim to the feud....
A classic clash over canyon David Bricker first rode up this narrow, lush canyon bordered by desert wilderness just outside Death Valley on a small Honda-90 dirt bike in 1969. A passable gravel road through the verdant canyon up a mountainside in Inyo County was first established in the 1870s as access to the silver-mining town of Panamint City, situated nearly 4,000 feet above the valley floor. Today the canyon is at the center of a classic preservation-versus-use conflict, like many that have erupted across the Mojave Desert for the past two decades. Closed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to off-highway vehicles in 2001 as part of a legal settlement with environmentalists, the canyon is the subject of a new suit by recreational off-roaders and people who have bought property in the ghost town and now want road access to their land. The emotional conflict is spelled out inside a phone-book sized, red-metal box at the floor of the canyon in a spot overlooking the gurgling creek a few feet below. Hikers can sign in and leave comments....
Panel seeks Adobe Town protection The Sweetwater County Commission has unanimously adopted a resolution in favor of keeping the Adobe Town area off-limits to oil and gas drilling. The commission said the remote badlands area in eastern Sweetwater County should instead be managed for public recreation and wildlife. "You can't go too many places in our county right now without seeing some sort of road, or a pipeline, or a compressor station," commission Chairman John Palleson said. Currently, 86,990 acres of Adobe Town are protected as a wilderness study area. The commission resolution called for protecting 180,910 acres from oil and gas drilling. A recent U.S. Bureau of Land Management environmental study would allow drilling of 2,000 gas wells in Carbon County in south-central Wyoming.
BLM plans 2,000 more CBM, gas wells near Rawlins The Bureau of Land Management posted its final environmental impact statement Friday, seeking to establish coal bed natural gas and conventional wells on the Atlantic Rim from Baggs to six miles south of Rawlins. Anadarko Exploration Company and other operators including Double Eagle Petroleum and Mining Company, and Warren Resources, Inc. plan a maximum of 1,800 coal bed natural gas and 200 conventional natural gas wells in the area. Drilling is expected to last for approximately 20 years, with a project lifespan of 30 to 50 years. The project area encompasses about 270,080 acres — 173,672 acres of which are federal surface, 14,060 acres owned by the state, and 82,348 acres of private land. The plan was roundly criticized by the Laramie-based Biodiversity Conservation Alliance....
Supreme Court Accepts BLM RICO Case Together with a third new case, on whether federal land-management officials can be sued under the racketeering statute for actions they take against private landowners, the additions to the court’s docket raised the metabolism of what had begun to look like an unusually quiet term. It had been just short of a month since the justices accepted any new cases. The third new case, Wilkie v. Robbins, No. 06-219, is a government appeal on behalf of employees of the Bureau of Land Management in a dispute with a Wyoming landowner who charged them with using tactics amounting to extortion to get him to grant public access to his property. The federal appeals court in Denver held that a racketeering suit based on the extortion charge could proceed....
Border refuge chiefs are skittish about fence From her office just north of the Rio Grande, Sue Sill can watch with binoculars as Mexican migrants stream across an open section of U.S. border. And that's just fine with her. The migrants are broad-tipped clearwings, red-bordered pixies and Mexican bluewings – all butterfly species rarely seen north of the river. They draw thousands of enthusiasts to the North American Butterfly Association's 100-acre riverside park every year. But efforts to stop human migrants have Dr. Sill worried. Like other federal, state and private refuge and park managers along the country's southern edge, she is waiting to see what becomes of the border fence law signed by President Bush last month. Refuge managers in South Texas want to remind Washington how hard they've labored in recent years to re-create a wildlife-friendly corridor through land that's been mostly cleared for agriculture and development. These pockets of green provide a habitat for such endangered species as the ocelot and indigo snake and fuel a multimillion-dollar ecotourism industry for one of the nation's poorest regions....
No sign found of wounded grizzly A hunter reported shooting a grizzly bear in self-defense on the Whitefish Divide last week, but Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens have not been able to find the bear. Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman John Fraley said that a father and son from the Kalispell area were hunting deer Nov. 24 on Stryker Ridge when they encountered a grizzly bear with two cubs. The man told wardens the sow bear charged and that he fired in self-defense, Fraley said. The shot apparently stopped the charge, allowing the man and his son to retreat without determining whether the bear had been wounded or killed. After the man reported the incident, warden Matt Heaton patrolled the area that day but was unable to find any trace of the bears....
Column - Species Act interference clearly documented A few weeks ago, the media uncovered illegal reversals of endangered species decisions. These reversals were ordered by Julie MacDonald, a political appointee in the Department of Interior. What's more surprising is that the Rocky Mountain News has twice printed MacDonald's claims that "there was no proof she ordered researchers to change findings" ("Groups sue over plover protection," Nov. 21), and MacDonald's challenge to "come up with a document that shows she did" ("Research cited in species decision," Nov. 1). It's one thing for MacDonald to make this claim, but for the News to fail to mention that the documents are already public and irrefutable is quite another. Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act include an e-mail from the Washington office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that reads, "Here is the revised \[white-tailed prairie dog Federal Register] notice, with the finding changed from substantial to not substantial per Julie's instructions," effectively ending consideration of Endangered Species Act protection for the species. Similarly, an e-mail concerning the Gunnison's prairie dog reads, "Per Julie please make the \[prairie dog] finding negative." In both cases, determinations already prepared by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists that species were in need of protection to avoid extinction were rubbed out by a one-line order from MacDonald. Other documents demonstrate MacDonald or other high-level officials played a role in reversing decisions to protect the Gunnison sage grouse, California tiger salamander, roundtail chub, Mexican garter snake and a Mariana Islands plant....
Conservationists Will Fight Las Cruces/El Paso Water Grab on Gila River The Center for Biological Diversity vowed to oppose transfer of water from the Gila River – New Mexico’s last free-flowing river – out of the Gila River basin to fuel urban sprawl in Las Cruces, N.M. and El Paso, Texas. Retiring state Rep.Joe Stell, D-Carlsbad, remarked at an interim Water and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Wednesday that Gila River water could be piped to Doña Ana County. His comments were reported in yesterday’s Silver City Sun-News. Stell compared Las Cruces unfavorably to Phoenix, Ariz. and implied that water from the Gila River could help turn Las Cruces into a new Phoenix. The Arizona Water Settlements Act, signed into law by President Bush in December 2004, authorizes construction of a project to remove 14,000 acre-feet of water per year from New Mexico’s upper Gila River and its tributary, the San Francisco River, for use in southwestern New Mexico. The federal government would provide up to $128 million for such a project, approximately 43 percent of the estimated $300 million construction cost....
Stockgrowers oppose Badlands proposal The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, holding to its belief that the federal government doesn't need any more land in the state, is opposing a proposal by Badlands National Park to acquire about 10,000 acres. "We're commenting to Badlands National Park against it and I'm sure we'll bring it forth to county commissioners and other areas," said Marvin Jobgen of Scenic, a South Dakota Stockgrowers Association member. The National Park Service would buy the land, which now is in private hands, and add it to the Badlands' southern and western borders. During the November meeting of the 1,800-member stockgrowers group, its federal lands committee chairman, Lester Longwood of Lemmon, said the stockgrowers' position is "that no net gain of government owned or managed property should occur. If the proposed land purchase goes through, we strongly urge that an equal amount of government land be sold to ensure that privately held land is not being reduced."....
Texas Farm Bureau seeks limits on eminent domain Saying it's still too easy for Texans to lose their land, the Texas Farm Bureau wants to overhaul state laws on how governmental bodies can seize private property. Under a proposed bill, not as many entities would have the power to take land and homes from residents. Also, if land were to be seized for pipeline or utility lines, residents would receive ongoing royalty payments in addition to the property's fair market value. No matter what the land would be used for, residents would be paid for their attorneys' and appraisal fees and given enough time to move. The issue is to be discussed at the group's 73rd annual convention starting Saturday in Arlington. The group is expected Monday, the final day, to adopt a policy that will be part of a bill submitted during the state legislative session in January....
Tracking tags undergo tests at sale barn The ability to electronically track contagious cattle diseases like hoof and mouth and tuberculosis is getting some practical test runs in 15 livestock sale barns across Kansas. Pratt Livestock Inc. is making its contribution to the tests. During their special fall calf sales, Pratt Livestock and some selected ranchers have tested the electronic tracking system which includes special ear tags for the cattle and a new double cattle chute with electronic panels that read sensors in the ear tags, said Jake Lewis, Pratt Livestock manager. "This is a prototype. A different one was built for each sale barn," Lewis said. Once cattle have been sold, they leave the sale ring and pass through one of two sides of the new chute. On each wall of the chute is an electronic panel that sends out a radio signal which reads the ear tag. There are panels on both sides of the chute so the ear tag can be in either ear, Lewis said. That information is picked up a few feet away on an electronic note book and stored for future use if a cattle disease is detected. Because the cattle just have to walk through the chute, the testing doesn't affect the sale. "It didn't seem to slow up the operation of the sale at all," Lewis said. The information is very basic, it is the location and date that particular head of livestock went through the livestock sale at Pratt. If a head of livestock develops a contagious cattle disease, the locations where the animal has been can be quickly traced, Lewis said....
R-CALF: Producers Glad USDA Declares Animal ID Voluntary R-CALF USA President and Region V Director Chuck Kiker today said he was pleased to learn the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has backed away from the agency’s original plan to make electronic animal identification a mandatory program. “We appreciate the efforts of Under Secretary Bruce Knight in particular, because he sat down with us face-to-face on more than one occasion so we could explain to him the concerns our members have about mandatory animal identification, especially since some of the driving forces behind the program were focusing on it being used as a marketing tool instead of its original intended purpose – an animal-health tool for tracking foreign animal diseases (FADs),” Kiker said. Last week, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bruce Knight made the announcement the program would remain voluntary when the agency rolled out its new 60-plus page Draft User Guide for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). “Animal identification is one of the hottest topics to come up for discussion at the many meetings R-CALF has held around the countryside the past couple of years, and we’re hopeful that USDA will continue listening to the numerous concerns expressed by independent cattle producers,” Kiker continued. “Right now, the folks that want to utilize Animal ID in their operations will have that option, and folks who don’t want anything at all to do with an Animal ID program can exercise that option as well....
US Cattle Association Wants US To Halt Beef Trade With S. Korea Cattle ranchers want the U.S. government to halt beef trade with South Korea because the country is blocking shipments from a meatpacker in Kansas. In a letter to the Bush administration on Friday, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said, "It is clear that commercially viable beef trade can't take place with South Korea." The group's president, Missouri rancher Mike John, said trade shouldn't resume without assurance from South Korea that it will follow agreed-upon rules for trade. Last week, South Korea suspended imports from Creekstone Farms Premium Beef because authorities said they found a bone fragment in boneless beef. Creekstone raises Black Angus cattle in Kentucky and slaughters them in Kansas. U.S. beef shipments had resumed only recently, after lengthy negotiations with South Korea, which banned U.S. beef after the discovery of mad cow disease in 2003 in Washington state. The country was a major buyer of U.S. beef, purchasing more than $1.2 billion in beef products in the year before the ban, according to the Agriculture Department. Only Japan was a bigger market, worth $1.4 billion annually until closing its market due to mad cow disease. Both countries have agreed to accept only boneless beef from the U.S. because some Asian countries consider bone to carry a greater risk for mad cow disease. That is stricter than international rules, which deem many bone-in cuts of beef to be safe. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has harshly criticized South Korea, arguing that officials there had "invented" a standard for imports....
Lawman's career includes hangings, son's murder charge Nabor Pacheco's law enforcement career in Tucson was a roller coaster of political and personal upheavals that included praise and condemnation by the mayor and the arrest of Pacheco's son and namesake for killing a prostitute. The lawman was part of an extensive family that was said to have emigrated from Portugal in the 1790s and held the earliest cattle brand - the "diamond-bell" brand - certified in Arizona. Nabor, who served both as Pima County sheriff and Tucson city marshal/police chief, was born July 12, 1859, in Tucson, son of Refugio and Paula (Cruz) Pacheco. His father was a prosperous farmer who was appointed a member of the county board of supervisors in April 1873, just five months before his untimely death at age 36. Nabor Pacheco worked early in his life as a cattle rancher, but later held a variety of community positions....
Frontier spirit “Any man truly worth his salt carries about himself the unmistakable imprint of his origins,” as the Texas cowboy storyteller Don Hedgpeth tells us. “Place forms character, and a man is marked … by the country he came from.” Hedgpeth is speaking in general terms, here, but it is scarcely a secret that the inspiration for his remarks is his old-time pal from the Texas Panhandle, Red Steagall — the Goodnight Award recipient for 2006, as a Westerner devoted to preserving and advancing the ranching heritage of Texas. Hedgpeth’s words serve to introduce Steagall’s best-known book as a poet and songwriter, the 2001 edition of The Fence That Me and Shorty Built. And Steagall’s great contribution to the cowboy tradition? Well, suffice that his verses and melodies have become as essential to the frontier spirit of a new century as “Home on the Range” — Kansan by origin, long since ranged into Texas and beyond — has been since the waning years of the 19th century. The annual nod to the pioneering influence of Col. Charles Goodnight seeks to honor those whose work embodies the legacy that name represents by their stewardship of the ranching traditions of bygone centuries. The objective is to keep the Goodnight influence as pertinent to these modern times as it was to the Colonel’s own day and age. Goodnight (1836–1929) was the foremost cattleman of the 19th century, an innovator whose Central Panhandle ranch gave rise to advancement in both cattle breeding and progressive business models for its industry....