NEWS ROUNDUP

U.S. EPA orders ARCO to investigate contamination at Anaconda Mine The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday ordered to the Atlantic Richfield Company to begin the comprehensive investigation into determine the nature and extent of contamination at the Anaconda Copper Mine in Yerington, Nev. The order requires ARCO to conduct a remedial investigation and feasibility study for most of the mine site, a necessary step in addressing imminent and substantial threats from hazardous substances at the former mine. The EPA established the scope of work for the investigation through discussions and coordination with Atlantic Richfield. "Beginning the comprehensive remedial investigation and feasibility study for this site is the next step toward a thorough cleanup," said Kathleen Johnson, the EPA's Superfund Branch Chief managing this site. "After the feasibility study is complete, the EPA, with assistance from Nevada Department of Environmental Protection and Bureau of Land Management, will select a final remedy and work toward the ultimate clean up."....
BLM seeks facilities, open pastures for wild horses to roam Wild horses have roamed the open range since Spanish conquistadors let them loose five centuries ago, but they’ve been under the Bureau of Land Management’s care for more than three decades. As part of its responsibility, the BLM is soliciting bids for one or more new horse pasture facilities west of the Mississippi River. Each pasture facility must be able to provide humane care for at least 750 wild horses, or as many as 1,500, over a one-year period with an option for additional one-year extensions. The current population of free-roaming horses and burros that the BLM manages is 31,000, about 3,500 more than the agency determines is an appropriate management level. The BLM drags away thousands of horses from the open range each year and places them into private care through adoption. There are about 28,000 horses and burros cared for either at corrals or pasture facilities. Without predators, herds can double in population every four years....
The Bald And the Bountiful We saw No. 1 before we even got to the place. There it was, cutting perfect parabolas out of the morning sky, God's own kite swooping and dipping joyously over the pine trees that line Route 335. Not too long ago, this alone would have been enough to pull the car over, call in to a radio station, tell the guys at work. "You know what I saw today? A bald eagle!" But we would see nine more before our visit to Maryland's Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was over. These days, and particularly in this place -- and especially at this time of the year -- bald eagles going about their morning chores seem as common as the pickup trucks they fly over. It has been a remarkable and heartening recovery for one of animaldom's great raptors, from its dark days on the endangered species list in the 1970s, '80s and '90s to steadily growing numbers today. In the Visitor Center one morning last week, my two daughters and I joined a small knot of tourists in front of a mock-up eagle's nest (a huge basket of sticks topped by a beautifully stuffed bird). But we were fixated on a monitor up above, a webcam feed from a real nest out in the refuge. We were enraptured by raptors as we watched a pair of adults fly in and out with sticks for the nest and grass for lining it. (You can see the eagle cam and a gallery of images from it at http://www.fws.gov/blackwater.)
Fire When Ready Never mind the State of the State. Shut down Capitol reconstruction all you want. But for the foreseeable future, Gov. Butch Otter will have to work pretty hard to top the media splash he made last week by saying he was ready to blast away at a wolf. "I'm prepared to bid for the first ticket to shoot a wolf myself," Otter declared to a herd of hunters gathered on the Statehouse steps. News of the millionaire-turned-rancher-turned-governor's declaration found its way quickly onto national and international news wires. By last weekend, after the story circulated through outlets ranging from ESPN, The Arizona Republic and the Ottawa Citizen in Ontario, Canada (Headline: "Governor Itching to Kill Wolves"), the story made it onto National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition." They said Otter was "on the warpath." Otter, of course, has opposed wolf reintroduction for years, so to many in the audience, his bravado wasn't new....
Gov says press, state receive different wolf stories Federal officials told newspapers one thing and state officials another about the minimum number of wolves that Wyoming will eventually be expected to support, Gov. Dave Freudenthal told the Wyoming Press Association. "We're a long way from knowing what the current status of the federal minimum target is," he said Friday at a luncheon for newspaper representatives and people who work with the media. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say they're close to submitting a plan for how wolves could be managed in the state after their removal from endangered species protection. But Freudenthal has been displeased by differing things he's heard and read. "One of the requests we made was, `Tell us who can speak on behalf of the Department of Interior.' We have yet to receive that notification," he said. "But everybody is speaking on behalf of the Department of Interior in newspapers. And what they're saying in the newspapers is different than what they said in the meeting with us." He said Interior officials said in a meeting with state lawmakers and Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., that they would accept a minimum of 10 breeding pairs of wolves in the state. "I read in the paper the other day that now they're saying, `Oh, we meant 15 breeding pairs,"' Freudenthal said. "Sort of, `Oops, we're sorry."' "Well, I've been down this road with them three times. I mean, I can negotiate with the devil himself, and I've got to know what his position is and I've got to know who speaks for him," he said. "And at this stage, we know neither of those."....
Bush to address global warming in annual speech President Bush will outline a policy on global warming next week in his State of the Union speech but has not dropped his opposition to mandatory limits on greenhouse-gas emissions, the White House said on Tuesday. "It's not accurate. It's wrong," White House spokesman Tony Snow said regarding media reports suggesting that Bush would agree to mandatory emissions caps in an effort to combat global warming. Such caps could require energy conservation and pollution curbs. "If you're talking about enforceable carbon caps, in terms of industry-wide and nation-wide, we knocked that down. That's not something we're talking about," Snow said. Britain's "The Observer" newspaper reported on Sunday that senior Downing Street officials, who were not named, said Bush was preparing to issue a changed climate policy during his annual State of the Union speech on January 23. U.S. allies such as Britain and Germany have pressed for a new global agreement on climate change to replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. Bush withdrew the United States from the protocol in 2001, saying its targets for reducing carbon emissions would unfairly hurt the U.S. economy....
Land set aside for 2 rare plants in St. George area The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated more than 8,000 acres of critical habitat for two endangered pea plants in the St. George area, pleasing environmentalists — yet not upsetting the Utah Department of Transportation, which plans to build a beltway where one of the plants is found. The plants are the Holmgren milkvetch, found in Washington County, Utah, and Mohave County, Ariz., and the Shivwits milkvetch, found only in Washington County. For the first, 6,289 acres, almost all of it in Utah, was designated as critical; for the Shivwits milkvetch, 2,151 acres was designated, entirely in this state. "Critical habitat is a term defined in the Endangered Species Act," says a press release issued late last month by the Fish and Wildlife Service. "It identifies geographic areas containing features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management considerations or protection." Tony Frates, conservation co-chairman of the Utah Native Plants Society, Salt Lake City, said designation of critical habitat for the Washington County species happened because of a lawsuit by his group and the Center for Biological Diversity, Tucson, Ariz....
Colton eyeing ordinance to protect endangered fly City officials are looking to expand conservation efforts to help preserve the habitat for an endangered species of fly. The few stretches of sandy soil in the city that can support the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly are being damaged by litter and the impact of homeless camps and off-road vehicles. On Tuesday, the Planning Commission will consider a proposed ordinance that would empower the city to erect fencing or take other measures to prevent trespassing and illegal dumping on areas designated as fly conservation zones. The move is part of a strategy by the city to gain the federal government's cooperation in its bid to develop most of some 200 acres of vacant land for commercial and residential use. The city would expand conservation efforts south of the proposed commercial and residential areas for the fly....
Finding a balance: water rights for Native Americans, others uncertain New Mexico, like other Western states, is grappling with American Indian water rights. Tribes and pueblos have the oldest water rights in the state, older than those of farmers, ranchers and towns. Under New Mexico law, Indian rights to water are supposed to be met before anyone else’s. But no one ever determined how much water Indian tribes and pueblos are entitled to, and that has led to decades-long battles in court. New Mexico has settlements pending in three longtime Indian water rights cases: the Aamodt case, involving four pueblos north of Santa Fe in the Pojoaque Valley, Navajo claims in the San Juan River Basin and Taos Pueblo’s claims in the Taos Valley. All three settlements still need approval and funding from state legislators and Congress. Until the settlements are finalized, the water rights of thousands of people, Indian and non-Indian, and billions of gallons of water remain uncertain. New Mexico legislators will consider Gov. Bill Richardson’s request this session for $12 million as a down payment on the three settlements. Other legislators could ask for more or less money toward the state’s share of the costs. Only the Navajo settlement is close to a congressional debate. The other two are held up by disagreements over water supplies and costs. The projected cost to settle all three disputes is $1.2 billion....
Open-pit-mine opposition unanimous for supervisors The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to oppose mining at Rosemont Ranch in the Santa Rita Mountains. The decision doesn't stop the mine. Canadian-based Augusta Resource Corp. is in the process of seeking a permit from the U.S. Forest Service to allow an 800-acre open-pit copper mine. The mine would be on private land, but the operation requires the use of surrounding Forest Service Land. But it does put the county on record opposing the mine, despite promises from Augusta to provide $117 million worth of environmental remediation — including a $50 million endowment to buy open space in other parts of the county. The standing-room-only crowd in the board hearing room Tuesday included several dozen mine employees wearing T-shirts that said "I want 1 of the 350 jobs at the mine" But they were far outnumbered by environmentalists and residents opposed to mining....
Tests to probe whether tunnel between O.C.-Riverside is feasible Water district officials will conduct geologic tests this week to determine whether a water conduit and highway tunnel can be constructed through the Santa Ana Mountains to connect Riverside and Orange counties. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is considering a conduit to carry water from Lake Mathews near Riverside to a location near Irvine, where it would be distributed to growing southern Orange County. The giant water district has joined with transportation agencies in Orange and Riverside counties, which are studying a proposal for an 11.5-mile highway tunnel through the Cleveland National Forest in the same general area as the water line. The highway tunnel is one of several options under study to relieve traffic between the two counties and would connect Interstate 15 in Corona to the Foothill-Eastern tollway in Irvine. The most expensive version would cost a minimum of $8.5 billion....
Governor denies Ducks Unlimited request for land buy Gov. John Hoeven has denied a request from a hunters' group to buy a large tract of land in Sheridan County. Ducks Unlimited said it wanted to buy the 2,320-acre tract of private land to preserve wetlands in the Coteau Hills southeast of McClusky. Hoeven, in a letter to the group, said its proposed acquisition "would not create any significant new level of protection." The property "is already almost entirely encumbered by wetland and grassland conservation easements that essentially keep the area in its existing natural state," Hoeven's letter said. The number of nonprofit groups allowed to buy land in North Dakota is limited under state law. The law, added to the state's ban on corporate farming in 1985, also requires government approval for land purchases, with the governor having the final nod. The Natural Areas Acquisition Advisory Committee, which advises the governor on land purchases by nonprofits, recommended last month that Hoeven deny the Sheridan County sale....
Shooting Ranges in Santa Ynez Mountains draw ire A pair of shooting ranges in the Santa Ynez Mountains - one formal and one informal - are drawing criticism and one could be shut down. Winchester Canyon Gun Club is seeking a new 20-year permit from the U.S. Forest Service but is facing opposition from activists who complain of the club's proximity to ancient rock drawings believed to be by ancestors of the local Chumash Indians. But the club is working with the tribe and the Forest Service and renewal of the permit was likely. More endangered is Arroyo Burro, an unsupervised target-shooting area full of abandoned cars, televisions and refrigerators where marksmen can shoot whatever they want - cars, televisions, refrigerators - without paying a fee. "The area is basically used as a dump," said Jeff Bensen of the Los Padres National Forest. "For some reason, the public feels like they can go up there, trash the place and leave."....
Farmers Fear Livestock ID Mandate Independent livestock ranchers last week were quick to criticize signals that the new Congress may soon mandate implementation of the RFID-based National Animal Identification System. Signing on to the NAIS program has been voluntary since it was first proposed in 2003, but Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), the new chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said last week that he may soon push for the program to become mandatory. “The voluntary approach is a good steppingstone in the process of achieving a functioning animal ID system,” Peterson said. “But full participation may ultimately be necessary in order to ensure that we have a system that meets the needs of livestock producers and the public.” The farmers and ranchers, and the industry groups that represent them, contend that a mandatory NAIS program would impose unnecessary costs and technical challenges on their businesses....
Grass Guzzlers One popular image of the West is tranquil cattle grazing on vast expanses of golden green rangelands. Cue the cowboys and a sunset, and the stage is set for one of the most American of meals: beef. The image used to be accurate. All cattle are ruminants – that is, grass eaters. Ruminants transform grass, which people can't digest, into meat, which is very nourishing for people – and generally considered delicious. In the last 30 to 40 years, however, the majority of beef cattle in the United States have lived the last three to four months of their lives in a feedlot, or a confined animal feeding operation. There, they are fed grain – usually corn – in order to fatten them up quickly for slaughter. But some beef lovers have concerns about the environmental effects of these facilities and about animal welfare issues related to raising thousands of cattle in a confined area. Fortunately for them, there is an old-fashioned alternative: grass-fed beef....
U.S. ranchers rarin' to goat on food idea American ranchers are seeing something in goats that the rest of the world has long appreciated - food. Increasing U.S. and European interest in goat meat - low in fat and cholesterol and high in protein and iron - still has a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the world, where goats have long been the most popular domestic animal with the most widely consumed meat and milk. Since 1999, goat meat, milk and cheese consumption in the United States and imports of those products have increased sharply, according to University of California research. In addition to being promoted as a lean meat for upscale restaurants, goat is also a staple and faith-based preference of growing U.S. ethnic populations, especially Hispanics, Asians and Muslims. Charles said her local niche market consists largely of Mexican families, who buy her Boer goat meat for christenings and other special events. Small farms across the country, especially in Texas and California, are stepping up to meet the domestic demand for goat products....
From grain elevator to dream house As Jill Baumler stood in the "head house" at the very top of her grain elevator, with a large herd of bison visible through the window behind her, she pointed out the metal contraption that used to gravity- feed grain to the warren of rooms in the building below. "They could turn the spout and pour the grain into one of 13 holes," she said, "and it would fill up one of the 13 bins." Now, after more than seven years of do-it-yourself renovation, the 13 storage bins, which once held up to 28,000 bushels, or 990 cubic meters, of grain, have been transformed into a towering six-story antique-filled home that Baumler, her husband and their four dogs plan to move into this month. Buildings like theirs were often the tallest structures on the featureless plains of the American West and Midwest, and were once a sign of prosperity, a symbol of abundance being brought in from the fields. But now they are outmoded and many have been abandoned or torn down. An estimated 27,000 of these structures dotted the U.S. farm states in the 1930s, though fewer than half remain today, according to Bruce Selyem, the president and founder of the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society. At least a few of the remaining elevators — along with grain bins and silos — have been turned into homes or offices or adapted for other uses. One elevator, in Stillwater, Minnesota, was turned into a climbing gym. Some much larger grain elevators have been turned into hotels. Yet some of the most striking conversions are residential. In Minneapolis, for example, a large terminal elevator with 12 silos is being adapted into a 20- story, 229-unit mixed-income housing project called Van Cleve Court Apartments East....