NEWS ROUNDUP

For Wolves, a Recovery May Not Be the Blessing It Seems The news for the wolf last week was the opposite of a cloud with a silver lining. At first glance, it seems like a win for conservation that wolves are now successful enough that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed taking wolves in Idaho and Montana off the endangered species list. But the price of success may be high. In Idaho, the governor is ready to have hunters reduce the wolf population in the state from 650 to 100, the minimum that will keep the animal off the endangered species list. “I’m prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself,” Gov. C. L. Otter said, according to The Associated Press. Of all the protected and endangered species in the United States, none has provoked stronger feelings than the wolf, reviled or revered, depending on the person. And few have been as visible a success. The proposed delisting, as it is called, comes because the population of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains is surging. Many people in the northern Rockies would like to see large numbers of wolves killed as soon as possible, which is why Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group that played a pivotal role in the wolf’s return, opposes the delisting....Isn't the New York Times just a wonderful publication. The recovery of the wolf is now a bad thing?
Bush again proposes selling national forest land For the second year in a row, the Bush administration on Monday proposed selling off up to 300,000 acres of national forests and other public land to help pay for rural schools and roads. And for the second year, Western lawmakers and environmentalists blasted the plan, saying short-term gains would be offset by the permanent loss of the land. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., the new chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee that oversees environmental spending, pronounced the plan dead on arrival. "They are just not going to do this. It's not going to happen," Dicks said. "We're going to find a way to fund the (rural) schools program without selling even one acre of public land," added Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana. Western lawmakers also were concerned about Bush's plan to cut the Forest Service budget by more than $100 million. The figure represents a 7 percent drop in expected spending for the current budget year....
President Bush Reinforces Commitment To Cooperative Conservation In 2006 Budget President Bush continued to build on the legacy of cooperative conservation established in his first term by supporting programs in the 2006 budget that promote partnerships with the American people to conserve our nation's land and water, wildlife and other natural resources. The Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce departments and the Environmental Protection Agency all fund key partnership programs that will empower states, tribes, local communities, conservation groups, private landowners and others to undertake conservation projects. These projects range from wetlands restoration efforts occurring along Ball Bay on Upper Klamath Lake; to the removal of invasive plants in Palm Beach, Fla.; to the development and implementation of self-regulating strategies to mitigate the trend of declining marine populations in Kenai Fjords, Alaska. The funding supports the president's executive order signed last year on "Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation."....
JOHANNS OUTLINES PRESIDENT BUSH'S FY 2008 AGRICULTURE BUDGET The 2008 budget reflects the President's priorities to encourage economic growth and increase our security. It also reflects the President's goal to keep spending under control and achieve a balanced budget. On January 31, the Administration announced a comprehensive set of Farm Bill proposals for strengthening the farm economy and rural America. Beginning in 2008, the budget incorporates a $500 million increase each year in the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) estimates to accommodate the cost of new farm bill proposals to be allocated among the various titles of the bill. Total USDA expenditures are estimated at about $89 billion in 2008, which is approximately the same level as 2007. Roughly 75 percent of expenditures, or $67 billion in 2008, will be for mandatory programs that provide services required by law, which include many of the nutrition assistance, commodity, export promotion and conservation programs. USDA's discretionary programs account for the remaining 25 percent of expenditures or $22 billion in 2008, which is approximately the same level as 2007....
President Bush’s FY 2008 Budget Proposes $1.8 Billion for BLM The Bush Administration today proposed a $1.8 billion budget in appropriated funds for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management. This is $57.8 million above the Fiscal Year 2007 budget request. The budget fully funds fixed costs of $44.1 million. The BLM budget features a $15 million increase to implement a new Healthy Lands Initiative that will ensure energy access while protecting habitat and wildlife in the wildlife-energy interface. The President’s proposed Fiscal Year 2008 budget for the BLM also includes $142.9 million to ensure that the agency continues to provide dependable, accessible energy from public lands in an environmentally responsible manner. Hughes said the Healthy Lands Initiative will allow the BLM to conduct landscape-scale restoration in six areas: southwest Wyoming; the northwest and southeast portions of New Mexico; southcentral Idaho; southwestern Colorado; Utah; and the three-corner state area between Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada. The money budgeted for this initiative is expected to result in an additional $10 million in in-kind and monetary contributions from Federal, state, local, and oil and gas industry partners that will work collaboratively with the BLM. The Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey are included in this initiative, providing support to the BLM’s habitat restoration goals. The 2008 budget request includes an increase of $3.1 million over FY 2007 for the BLM’s oil and gas inspection and monitoring activities, which will ensure that energy development is done in an environmentally sensitive way and that terms of energy-related permits are enforced. The 2008 budget proposes to address the split-estate issue, seeking authorization to retain funding from the sale of mineral rights to current non-Federal surface landowners. Revenue would be used to acquire important habitat....
More than $2.1 Billion Requested by President Bush for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The President's FY 2008 budget request of $1.287 billion in discretionary appropriations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supports a range of important conservation initiatives, including efforts to improve our nation's native fisheries and assist landowners who volunteer to manage their property for the benefit of imperiled wildlife. The budget includes an additional $859.4 million available under permanent appropriations, most of which will be provided directly to states for fish and wildlife and restoration and conservation. The FY 2008 request provides critical support for the Service's efforts to expand fish access to stream habitat necessary for natural reproduction. The budget request includes $11.0 million for the fish passage program. This is a $6.0 million increase and will allow the FWS to participate in the Open Rivers Initiative....
Court denies injunction on Middle East Fork logging The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday turned down a request by a pair of environmental groups for an emergency injunction on Montana's first Healthy Forest Restoration Act fuel reduction project. In a two-sentence order, the three-judge panel denied the injunction request and retained the schedule for further court hearings on the matter. In December, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy rejected all claims of the WildWest Institute and Friends of the Bitterroot lawsuit that challenged the Bitterroot National Forest's Middle East Fork Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project. The ruling followed months of contentious debate over the future of a project that proposed to treat about 5,000 acres in a 25,800-acre area about two miles east of Sula. The project was designed to reduce wildland fire threats to the local community and treat areas affected by a Douglas fir bark beetle epidemic....
Group counts 6,700 elk in northern Yellowstone area Officials counted slightly more elk in and around northern Yellowstone National Park in late 2006 than they did earlier in the year, but still far fewer than were counted in 2005. The annual count is done by the Northern Yellowstone Cooperative Working Group, made up of representatives from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. On Dec. 30 the group counted 6,739 elk while flying three planes in clear weather along the park's northern boundary. That was up from 6,588 elk counted in March 2006, but well below the 9,545 that were counted in January 2005. Yellowstone biologist P.J. White said the decrease since 2005 probably is the result of predation by wolves and other large carnivores. He said predators also change elk behavior. Elk have been dispersed more, have gathered in smaller groups and have been spending more time in forested areas where they're harder to spot, he said....
Drilling begins in county-to-county water test The drilling of two holes in the Cleveland National Forest began today to test if 646 million gallons of water each day can be transported through a tunnel between Riverside and Orange counties. The Metropolitan Water District's findings could also be used to determine if construction of a vehicular tunnel is feasible. The work was postponed from a few weeks ago because the district needed clearance from the U.S. Forest Service, said spokesman Denis Wolcott. The drilling could take about three months and analysis of rock, soil and water pressure from 2,200 feet below will follow. The district board could know later this year whether a 12-mile tunnel can be constructed, though the agency does not have plans to build one immediately. The water now travels through various conduits around the mountains. The underground tunnel could be used in addition to the existing conduits....
Receiving prairie dog clearance After waiting half a year for action on a request to remove Utah prairie dogs, Cedar Ridge Golf Course and the Paiute Tribe of Utah received permits to clear their properties. John Evans, Cedar Ridge Golf Course director, said this is good news for golfers; clearing prairie dogs will make the course much more attractive. "It will make it so we can play golf again," he said. Lora Tom, Paiute Tribe of Utah chairwoman, said clearing the property will allow the tribe to grow. "We're appreciative, (and) we're surprised," she said. "It means possibilities." But receiving the permits wasn't all good news - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service changed the parameters of the permits. The golf course and Paiute Tribe will not be allowed to trap and kill any dogs; all dogs must be relocated as "live take," said Elise Boeke, USFWS ecologist. This makes the timeline to clear both properties uncertain....
Removal order issued for endangered gray wolf in New Mexico A male endangered Mexican gray wolf has been targeted for removal by the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency said the six-year-old, wild born member of the San Mateo Pack has been involved in the killing of three cows in New Mexico since last March. The Fish and Wildlife Service began releasing wolves into the wild on the Arizona-New Mexico border in 1998 to re-establish the species in part of its historic range....
Wild eagles attack paraglider Britain's top female paraglider has cheated death after being attacked by a pair of "screeching" wild eagles while competition flying in Australia. Nicky Moss, 38, watched terrified as two huge birds began tearing into her parachute canopy, one becoming tangled in her lines and clawing at her head 2,500 meters (8,200ft) in the air. "I heard screeching behind me and a eagle flew down and attacked me, swooping down and bouncing into the side of my wing with its claws," Moss told Reuters on Friday. "Then another one appeared and together they launched a sustained attack on my glider, tearing at the wing." The encounter happened on Monday while Moss -- a member of the British paragliding team -- was preparing for world titles this month at Manilla in northern New South Wales state....
Farm Bureau celebrates the affordability of food In just five weeks, the average American earns enough disposable income to pay for his or her food supply for the entire year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Farm Bureau is celebrating the continued affordability of food Feb. 4-10, during Food Check-Out Week. The latest statistics compiled by the Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service indicate American families and individuals currently spend, on average, just 9.9 percent of their disposable personal income for food. Applying the current statistic to the calendar year means the average U.S. household will have earned enough disposable income – the portion of income available for spending or saving after taxes are paid – to pay for its annual food supply this week. In comparison to working 36 days to pay for food, Americans worked 77 days to pay their federal taxes, 62 days to pay for housing and household operation, and 52 days for health/medical care, according to The Tax Foundation....
Cattle quarantined after disease discovered For the first time since 1974, a reported case of bovine tuberculosis has been found in Colorado. Inspectors say a bull was sold from a Colorado owner in Douglas County to a meat packing facility in San Angelo, Texas. Colorado’s assistant state veterinarian, Keith Roehr, says evidence of the disease was discovered in the bull’s lungs during routine inspection of the carcass. Roehr says the bull’s meat was never moved beyond the facility. "The food supply is safe, the regular measures we have in place for meat inspection prevent any meat coming into the food chain that's infected,” said Roehr. The state has quarantined approximately 660 cattle from what Roehr calls “the herd of origin.” Roehr says any cow that had prolonged exposure to the bull, nose to nose specifically, may be infected....
Cattleman Calls On Others To Challenge Activists A Nebraska cattle producer and radio host is urging U.S. cattle producers to challenge anti-livestock activists through persistence and by becoming more visible and vocal. Trent Loos, who also is a syndicated radio personality from Loup City, Neb., in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association convention here, said producers need to engage with activists and "be ready to tell why they believe it's morally ethical to respectfully take the life of an animal to provide the essentials of life" to humans. "Put a face on food production," Loos said. Show up at protests and be visible and available because at least some who are there have never seen a farmer or rancher and are ready to talk, he said. Loos said it was difficult for the livestock industry to compete with the $120 million budget of the Humane Society of the U.S., but it was possible to make inroads with one-on-one meetings....
It's All Trew: Rawhide a versatile good Rawhide is defined as "the raw untreated skin of an animal, usually in a dried condition." The use of this crude leather dates back to the origins of man when he began using the by-products of food gathering. His supply of rawhide was replenished each time he killed an animal for food. The major uses of rawhide included clothing, housing, the making of tools and containers. This changed in the late 1870s with the birth of the Industrial Revolution. As the machines manufacturing war goods turned to making civilian goods, belting to drive these machines was in great demand. With the development of rubber-type materials still to be invented, the factories turned to leather belting to transfer power from overhead power shafts to the machines located below. The flint-hard, dried hides of the Great Plains buffalo were ideal if the hides were in proper condition. To attain this condition, the hunters had to stake the fresh hide down to the ground and scrape off the excess flesh. A poison solution was sprinkled over the hide to prevent insect damage. After two or more days, the hide was beaten with sticks to knock the dirt loose from the underside hair as buffalo loved to wallow in mud holes to protect against insects. The hide was turned over, sprinkled and left for another two days before folding with hair inside and tied into bales for transporting to market....