NEWS ROUNDUP

Coyote killing contest prompt howls from foes The barren, wind-swept buttes surrounding this small ranching town will offer scant places for coyotes to hide this weekend, as some 180 hunters from across the country converge for a "calling" contest to see who can shoot the most coyotes over three days. Part predator control, part economic development ploy, the annual event began five years ago in a bid to pique outside interest in Baker, by way of a $6,000 purse funded by entrance fees, local businesses and the Baker Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. While organizers see success in the event's rapid growth, the increasing popularity of such contests is prompting a backlash from animal-rights groups and even some hunters, who contend that the shooting events trivialize the sport by turning it into a cash-fueled spectacle. For the coyote, the hunts reflect the lowly place the animal holds across the American West. As a debate rages between state and federal officials over whether its high-profile cousin, the gray wolf, should be removed from the endangered species list, the coyote is stuck with the tag of undesirable varmint, to be killed on sight....
Lawsuit aims to stop wild turkey hunt on California island An animal rights group has sued the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy in an attempt to stop the eradication of wild turkeys on Santa Cruz Island off the Central California coast. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by In Defense of Animals and a private citizen in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges the defendants have hired an Australian company called ProHunt to eradicate the turkeys in an attempt to protect the island's natural habitat. Wild turkeys were introduced to the 96-square-mile island off Santa Barbara in 1972 by a rancher. Scientists have said the kills are necessary because turkeys provide prey for golden eagles, who also kill the island's endangered foxes. Thousands of feral pigs have been killed on the island during the past 18 months for the same reason. The Nature Conservancy owns about 76 percent of the island, while the National Park Service owns the rest....
Ask the Dust Carla Scheidlinger drives her little truck down a maze of dirt roads eastward toward the looming Inyo Mountains, looking for the Owens River. Or what was once the Owens River and has been, for generations, just an empty ditch. The roads are so dry here, just north of the town of Independence, California, that even in winter the dust billows up like cold powder. The thousands of Angelenos who traverse this valley en route to Mammoth Mountain and Tahoe never see this quiet devastation. We’re on the floor of what should be a lush valley, in the flood plain of a still-powerful river with bone-saw mountains on both sides raking huge amounts of snow out of the sky, but there is no water here. There hasn’t been water in the river since Los Angeles began sucking it up 93 years ago. And then the city pumped out all the groundwater, too, and purposefully killed every plant on the valley floor from Aberdeen to Owens Lake. Scheidlinger, an environmental consultant with a group called Agrarian Research, gestures toward a series of dry irrigation canals over 100 years old, dust-filled oxbows, and depressions that should be tule ponds – wide and shallow spots in the river that fill with the reedy species of bulrush....
Who's to blame for James Kim's death? Just after Thanksgiving of 2006, a young family of four from San Francisco went missing in the rugged mountains of southwestern Oregon. James Kim, his wife, Kati, and their two daughters took a risky journey into the wilderness, and only three of them made it out alive. As most Americans know, 35-year-old technology editor James Kim died of hypothermia after setting out on foot in the snow to seek help. Some are now calling on authorities to remedy the supposed shortcomings in search and rescue procedure and federal law that were exposed in the effort to rescue the Kims. The most notable and emotionally charged voice is that of James Kim's father. In an opinion piece in Saturday's Washington Post, Spencer Kim blasted, in turn, the local authorities who conducted the search, the legal barriers to procuring crucial credit card and phone-use information in a timely way, interference from the national media, and -- especially -- the fact that a gate across a road on federal land was left unlocked. If the gate had been properly signed and locked, he argued, his son would never have driven 21 miles down a long, deserted logging road. Several days before Kim's article, Sen. Feinstein, D-Calif., sent a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne complaining about the gate and demanding an investigation. But, sadly, even if the search and rescue effort had been flawless, the results might not have changed....
Forest Service addresses open space U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has called the loss of open space in national, local and privately owned forests and grasslands "one of four great threats facing our nation's forests and grasslands," according to a Dec. 7, 2006 Forest Service announcement in the Federal Register. "Loss of open space is an issue that affects the sustainability of both the National Forests and Grasslands and private forests," according to the document. "Open space -- including public and private land, wilderness and working land -- provides a multitude of public benefits and ecosystem services we all need and enjoy." To conserve open space being lost to private land sales, industrial use, road-building and destructive land use practices, the agency says it seeks to work with a variety of organizations to develop a national plan titled the "USDA Forest Service Open Space Conservation Strategy and Implementation Plan."....
Round-up opponents make voices heard Federally-contracted cowboys continue to gather wild horses and burros from the Spring Mountains Range despite a request for an injunction filed by a wild horse advocacy group. U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson refused to stop the U.S. Bureau of Land Management gather from proceeding as scheduled. The gather began last Wednesday near Johnnie. The action has since moved to Cold Creek by the middle of this week, another part of the Spring Mountains Herd Management Complex. BLM Spokesperson Jo Lynn Worley said Tuesday they've gathered 204 burros and 196 horses as of the end of the day Monday. The BLM rounded up 125 burros on the first day alone near Johnnie. America's Wild Horse Advocates filed an emergency motion arguing that the environmental assessment, which was released before the gather started, was flawed, inaccurate and lacked a solid grounding in legitimate, rangeland science. Judge Dawson ruled the advocates' filing failed to include scientific or technical knowledge to support their allegations. He scheduled a hearing Jan. 30 on the request for a temporary restraining order, which would be almost two weeks after contractors are scheduled to complete the gather. Worley said it may not be too late to hear the request, though the gather will be over. "We'll still have all the animals segregated. If the judge said put them all back (on the range) we could do it," she said....
Uncovering the (Sky)Truth About Wyoming’s Gas Fields When I think of oil and gas drilling, I start with OPEC – especially Saudi Arabia/Nigeria/Venezuela on the oil side and Russia on the natural gas front. What I tend to overlook is the fact that there’s serious petroleum production happening in the United States, often in areas close to major population centers or wildlife refuges. After spending some time this morning exploring SkyTruth, I don’t think I’ll overlook the impact of domestic petroleum production again. SkyTruth uses remote sensing and digital mapping technology to promote environmental awareness and sustainable resource management. With innovative technologies such as Google Earth at its disposal, SkyTruth makes scientifically robust information come alive. To better understand what they do, I spent some time browsing through their most recent project, a series of videos, images, and Google Earth downloads about the impact of natural gas drilling in the Upper Green River Valley of western Wyoming. Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management released plans to significantly expand natural gas drilling on the Pinedale Anticline, in the Jonah Field, and in the Bridger-Teton National Forest of western Wyoming. This week, SkyTruth – in partnership with the local Upper Green River Valley Coalition – offered a release of its own. It’s a web-based video and interactive media toolkit that allows the viewer to take a simulated flight over the gas fields – and to see, using time lapse technology, the impacts of historic, current and proposed drilling in some of the fastest-growing gas fields in the United States....
Big plans for little bunnies After six years of trial and error, the Oregon Zoo’s successful breeding efforts may help bring North America’s smallest rabbit back from the brink of extinction. This March, the zoo will release 12 of Washington state’s pygmy rabbits into the wild. This will be the first introduction of the endangered rabbits into their natural habitat since their removal for emergency captive breeding. Since 2000, the Oregon Zoo has worked to save pygmy rabbits through captive breeding. During this year’s breeding season, the zoo had a record number of births, with 32 kits. Washington’s Columbia Basin is geographically isolated from other pygmy rabbit populations, which makes inbreeding a problem. A lack of genetic diversity affects the number of successful litters when pygmy rabbits breed each spring and summer. Their diet consists primarily of sagebrush, which is becoming scarce in eastern Washington. Finally, wildfire is a constant threat to their habitat....
Golden Globes going green with eco-friendly party Hollywood environmentalists are throwing the first "green" Golden Globes awards bash for celebrities next week, complete with organic food, recycled paper decorations and tables made of reclaimed wood. The Environmental Media Association (EMA) and entertainment network E! will host the January 15 "Golden Green" party in Beverly Hills to mark the annual movie and television awards ceremony. Actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eva Longoria, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel Weisz and socialite Paris Hilton are among the celebrities scheduled to attend the event in a former department store set to become an eco-friendly apartment building. "Green living has become a way of life for many of today's celebrities," said Debbie Levin, EMA president. "We are proud to be the first ones to step up and create a party that unites talent and social responsibility." The party will be set in a landscape of plants and flowers in a bid to promote awareness of green issues, and the group TreePeople will plant one tree for every attendee....
Dead birds rain down on towns half a world apart It could be the plot of a horror film, but in two towns on opposite sides of the world the mysterious phenomenon of thousands of dead birds dropping out of the sky is all too real. Officials are baffled by the unexplained deaths which have affected Australia and the U.S. Three weeks ago thousands of crows, pigeons, wattles and honeyeaters fell out of the sky in Esperance, Western Australia. Then last week dozens of grackles, sparrows and pigeons dropped dead on two streets in Austin, Texas. As birds continue to die in Esperance and the town's dawn chorus remains eerily silent, vets in both countries have been unable to establish a cause of death - despite carrying out a large number of autopsies on the birds....
Expert: Cattle face problems beyond blizzards The cattle that survived the two recent blizzards aren't out of the woods just yet, according to a professor of animal science at Colorado State University-Fort Collins. "Certainly, the critical phase where there was no access to the feed has passed," said Jack Whittier, a Colorado State Cooperative Extension beef specialist and animal science professor. "But there may be some long-term effects as a result of the back-to-back blizzards and colder temperatures." Whittier said the stress that cattle suffered during the two storms could continue to have negative effects on the animals well after winter ends. Whittier said in the next month or two, it won't be uncommon for many of the cows that are pregnant and expected to deliver this spring to abort their fetuses. "Most of the cows on the open range are pregnant and in the process of gestation. If a cow undergoes a lot of stress during this time, that can cause an abortion," he said. "In a cow, it's kind of a hierarchy thing. When it (stress) reaches a point when the fetus starts to take priority over the life of the cow, the cow will abort the fetus."....
High-tech tracking meets old-time Western ranching More and more computer chips are being used to identify livestock in Colorado and elsewhere, bringing a high-technology boost to an industry with roots in the Old West. The National Animal Identification System, a voluntary program coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and local government agencies, can be used as a safeguard to protect against the spread of animal disease, proponents say. Information gathered in the system can also be used in marketing and animal management, among other applications. In Colorado, information from the system helped quickly identify and assist ranchers in southeastern Colorado whose stock were trapped in snow by a recent wave of blizzards. Since most roads were snowed over, National Guard helicopter pilots, who were airlifting feed, couldn't visually follow highways to ranches. But coordinates of ranches registered with the system allowed rescuers to quickly and methodically find snowbound ranches. "That's what we used in the blizzard situation," said John Heller, NAIS director with the Colorado State Veterinarian's Office. "We were able to get feed to animals and ask ranchers: 'Are you guys OK? What do you need?"' More than 5,500 ranchers and livestock operators in Colorado, about 25 percent of the total, have agreed to take part in the system....
Head of the class The one-room school on Hall Meadow Lane in the Sierra Nevada mountains has just one student this year, 6-year-old Garrett Lipe. The rambunctious first-grader spends each school day learning reading, writing and math from teacher Judy Fusi, who also is his kickball playmate and lunch buddy. There just aren’t many folks living near Pole Corral Elementary School, and no wonder: The school, at an elevation of 7,200 feet, is 45 minutes on a winding road from Shaver Lake and about two hours from Fresno. The area is so remote that the road leading to the school has a locked gate to keep outsiders from driving down it during the winter. Pole Corral school dates back to at least the mid-1940s, when cattle ranchers and their families lived in the area and as many as 60 children attended, said Norman Saude, a board member for Sierra Unified School District. The school likely was named for a flat area nearby that provided a good place to corral cattle, he said....
James Addison Reavis was one of Arizona Territory's most colorful swindlers He altered and forged historic documents to prove ownership of an 11-million-acre "Spanish land grant" that included Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Maricopa, Casa Grande, Florence, Globe, Safford, Superior, Miami, Ray, Morenci and the surrounding mines, railroads and farms; most of the Gila River Indian Community; most of the San Carlos Indian Community; all of the Salt River and Fort McDowell Indian communities and the Gila, Salt, Blue, Black, San Carlos, Verde, San Francisco, San Simon, San Pedro and Santa Cruz rivers. His forgeries were so good that lawyers, congressmen, businessmen and industrialists were convinced his claim was valid. Between 1880 and 1895 Reavis coerced homeowners, landowners, mine owners, farmers, ranchers, railroad magnates and city and county governments to pay him for the right to continue to live or do business on "his land." The Silver King Mine paid $25,000. Southern Pacific Railroad paid $50,000. "The federal government reportedly offered Reavis $100 million to quiet his claim," Don Dedera wrote in 1959. "Reavis held out for $300 million."....
It’s The Pitts: Enough’s Enough Is it just me or are there getting to be far too many people on this patch of earth we call home? Don’t get me wrong, I like people, at least some of them some of the time, but there’s getting to be far too many of us. The signs are everywhere. The population in this country is now over three hundred million and every 13 seconds we add another resident. And that’s just in my town, or at least it seems like it. It took 1,000 years for the U.S. to reach one hundred million people, 52 years to reach the second hundred million and 39 years to reach three hundred million. At this rate we’ll reach four hundred million by 2040 and I sure hope I’m not around to see it. Potholes and traffic jams are signs we’ve already overrun our infrastructure and yet another immigrant arrives every 30 seconds and another baby is born every eight seconds. The number of cars and trucks on our highways has doubled since 1970 and every one of them is on the road whenever I try to go some place. Any rancher worth his salt understands the concept of carrying capacity....