NEWS ROUNDUP

V.P.-Turned-Environmentalist Al Gore Creates Frenzy At U. Of T. He's a former Vice-President of the United States. His movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", is up for an Oscar. And he's the poster boy for the environment - printed on recycled paper of course. All of which is making Al Gore a hot ticket in Toronto. The American politician turned environmentalist came to the U. of T. Wednesday night for a long awaited speech, and there were throngs of fans to greet him. So were ticket scalpers, who are seeing a different type of green. Reports indicate more than 20,000 people were trying to get their hands on a ducat for the event. But there's only room for 1,500 of them inside. What tickets there were originally cost $20. They sold out almost immediately. "We had about 23,000 hits on our website, which of course collapsed the website because we couldn't sustain it," muses the U. of T.'s Ingrid Stefanovic. "So there's been a huge enthusiasm for the event." And not just huge but expensive. The demand was so high that on the Internet auction site Craig's List, people were offering up to $500 for a single pass....
Wyo. Senate turns back industry amendment A move to remove a section that industry doesn't like from a bill reforming Wyoming's eminent domain law failed Tuesday on a tie vote in the Senate. The Senate went on to adopt House Bill 124 on a strong voice vote. It comes up today or second reading in the Senate. The contentious section in the bill says fair market value can be determined by the price paid for other comparable easements. It also allows disclosure of confidential settlement agreements if a case goes to court and the judge agrees the sales price is relevant to a claim. Opponents of the section argue it will lead to more court cases if left in the bill. They also contend the existing eminent domain law works well and doesn't need a fix. The original purpose of the bill is a response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case out of Connecticut. In that case the court upheld the action of a public government entity which condemned private property and transferred it to a private entity for development....See email from Laura Goodman
Midland oilman shares water study plans An Austin hydrology and water resource specialist firm will conduct a year-long study of an aquifer under Clayton Williams' farm and the Belding area in Pecos County. Plans were presented Tuesday at Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District meeting in the Pecos County Courthouse in Fort Stockton. The meeting was set for January, but was postponed due to weather. Williams, a Midland oilman who grew up in Fort Stockton, said he studied the water under his property in the early 1980s and this is just an extension. The information will be available first to the groundwater district, then to the public through the board. Purposes of the study are to get updated information about the Edwards-Trinity aquifer and well conditions, compile data into a form that can be updated continuously and assess groundwater conditions, water quality and recharge, Thornhill Group President Mike Thornhill said. "We already know there's enough water just from producing wells to last 55 years. We know there's recharge. We want to make sure Fort Stockton has enough, not only for today, but for growth," Williams said. "We'll take the study one step at a time. If at some point Midland needs the water and we can make the economics work," Williams indicated he could sell some to Midland. " ... But that's an if."....
Pipelines studied for coalbed water The Wyoming Pipeline Authority is trying to determine whether it makes sense to develop a network of pipelines to carry coalbed methane water away from the Powder River Basin and discharge it into the North Platte or Bighorn rivers. Don Likwartz, supervisor of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said the amount of water being discharged by coalbed methane wells is growing rapidly. He said that by the end of October 2006, the industry already had produced more water than it did in all of 2005. When the final numbers are in, Likwartz expects the industry will have produced 680 million barrels of water last year. "It's going to be the highest year ever for water production," he said. Some view that as a problem because of what's in the water. Some ranchers and landowners complain that salts and other compounds in the discharged water kill trees and grass. Environmental regulators in Montana have sued Wyoming in an attempt to get the state to regulate methane water discharges into rivers that flow into Montana....
Wyo. Panel angrily rejects bill on wolf plan Several legislators who voted against a proposed wolf management bill Wednesday expressed bitter frustration with how the federal government has treated the state since the predators were reintroduced in the northern Rocky Mountains more than a decade ago. "I'm frustrated. I'm irritated," said Rep. Pat Childers, R-Cody, chairman of the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee. "Quite frankly, I'm pissed with the Fish and Wildlife Service." Childers' committee unanimously rejected a proposed Senate bill and associated amendments that would have accepted the federal government's proposal to designate a permanent management area in northwestern Wyoming. The committee vote came after several ranchers, outfitters and representatives of agricultural groups testified that wolves are killing too many elk, moose and livestock in the state....
Wolf center seeking to breed two endangered species Just beyond a path of wood chips, a gray wolf peers out from its fenced-in enclosure. The 7-year-old male, Lukas, is one of the Wolf Conservation Center's "ambassador" wolves, shown to visitors to help dispel myths about an animal that has fascinated and frightened humans. Farther up the path, past a roped-off area, are two enclosures for the center's more elusive residents - breeding pairs of Mexican gray wolves and red wolves, endangered species driven to near extinction in the 20th century. The breeding pairs don't have names. They are not shown to the public and are mostly hidden by plastic slats in their fencing to minimize contact with people and to lessen distractions during the breeding season - which ends this month. The breeding pairs are part of federal programs designed to bolster the population of both species so they can be reintroduced to their traditional ranges - the Southwest for the Mexican gray wolf and the southeastern United States for the red wolf....
Tre Arrow offers wrong lessons Tre Arrow spends his days in the Wilkinson Road jail, waiting for the legal system to deal with an extradition order that would send him back to the U.S. Before he was arrested for shoplifting in Victoria, Arrow was on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's most wanted list, accused of firebombing and burning logging and gravel trucks in Oregon. Since his arrest, he has pleaded guilty to the shoplifting charge and applied for refugee status. Arrow -- who changed his name from Michael Scarpitti for spiritual reasons -- is an environmental activist who will go any length for his cause. What makes Arrow different? Well, he has a network of supporters and $350,000 has been collected for his legal war chest. And the other inmates aren't guest lecturers in local schools....
Some wildland firefighters shun top ranks, poll finds A survey of wildland firefighters indicates many are reluctant to volunteer for supervisory jobs after an incident commander was criminally charged in the deaths of four firefighters in Washington state. But a spokeswoman for federal firefighting agencies said Wednesday there has been no decline in the numbers of firefighters signing up to lead management teams. Ellreese Daniels, a former U.S. Forest Service incident commander, was charged in federal court here last month with involuntary manslaughter and lying to investigators in the wake of the deaths of four firefighters in the Thirtymile Fire in Okanogan County in July 2001. Responding to concerns that the federal charges would make wildfire incident commanders more reluctant to serve if their decisions could lead to a prison sentence, the International Association of Wildland Fires conducted an online survey of its members Jan. 28-Feb. 15....
A speck of a species – felling pines across West The pristine mountainsides of the Gore Range, across the lower Blue River Valley, have taken on a new color lately. The red hue stretching like fingers through the normally dark-green forests is a telltale sign – even from a distance – of the devastation being wreaked by a tiny culprit, about the size of a match head: the mountain pine beetle. This color is becoming increasingly common in northern Colorado and throughout the West as the tiny beetle lays waste to vast swaths of vulnerable lodgepole pine forests, typically monocultures of trees that are weakened by drought and are all about the same mature age – perfect fodder for the voracious beetle. The destruction, which has killed millions of lodgepole pines in Colorado alone, will alter the look of the landscape and is a risk to local economies that depend on mountain tourism. It's also prompting a major response because of concerns about the threat to life and property from falling trees, as well as the increased risk of wildfire. "The forest is resetting itself on a landscape scale," says Jim Maxwell, a US Forest Service spokesman for the Rocky Mountain region....
Audit shows Interior workers exposed Workers at the massive U.S. Department of Interior headquarters in downtown Washington are exposed to potentially hazardous waste and life-threatening fire hazards, according to an internal audit. The findings come as employee health complaints have skyrocketed in connection with the large-scale renovation of the 71-year-old building, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the D.C.-based organization that released the audit Wednesday. Interior officials said they expected to find health and safety violations when they requested the audit. Most of the findings stemmed from the modernization work itself, such as the removal of asbestos and installation of new electrical systems. “The buildings are completely safe for employees and visitors,” spokesman Frank Quimby said. Officials have already started addressing the findings....
Sharpshooters cull deer in northwestern Minnesota Sharpshooters are culling deer in northwestern Minnesota to try to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis. Six sharpshooters with the U.S. Department of Agriculture began killing deer on Tuesday at 56 baited sites in an area east of Thief River Falls, and more shooters are expected to arrive this week. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife health program coordinator Michelle Powell said the culling likely will continue through March. She estimates that hundreds of deer will be shot. The deer are being killed in an area where an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis has infected both cattle and wild deer. DNR aerial surveys indicate there are about 1,000 deer in the area. "It's extremely critical," Powell said. "The risk of not stopping it basically means an ongoing transmission potential between deer and cattle."....
Anti-cruelty bill advances (Colo) A sweeping animal protection bill that would ban everything from bestiality to dogs' riding unrestrained in the back of pickups was endorsed by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The bill also would extend domestic violence protection orders to pets, make it easier to pursue felony charges in animal abuse cases, remove a requirement that veterinarians get a court order to euthanize some seriously injured or abused animals and change the definition of dangerous dogs. But rural lawmakers objected to its broad nature and the pickup ban. "What I see is a real difference between urban and rural Colorado," Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, said of the pickup provision, which includes an exemption for ranching and farming. "If anyone's been out to the Western Slope lately, that's how the dog goes to work. That's how the dog travels with the family." Indeed, some witnesses expressed concern that the measure would hinder the ability of ranchers and rural law enforcement officers to shoot injured animals without a veterinarian's consent....
Mad-cow scrutiny is scaled way back While Washington ranchers are raising a fuss over Canadian cattle and the danger of mad-cow disease, the region's only mad-cow testing lab is quietly preparing to close March 1. The lab at Washington State University in Pullman opened after the nation's first mad-cow case spurred a flurry of new safeguards against the fatal, brain-wasting disease. But three years later, many of those measures are being dismantled. Others proposed after the infected dairy cow was discovered in Mabton, Yakima County, never materialized. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently scaled back mad-cow testing by more than 90 percent, leading to closure of the WSU lab and several others around the country. The agency has backed off plans for a mandatory animal-tracking system, which can help identify the source of an infection and other animals at risk, and now says the program will be voluntary. Several of the unappetizing — and risky — practices that came to light in the wake of the initial mad-cow case are still allowed, including the use of cow blood as a food supplement for calves. And even the prohibition on slaughtering sickly cows, called downers, for human consumption has not been made permanent, though it is being enforced....
Sitting Bull's kin seek home for chief's bones Sitting Bull's four surviving great-grandchildren want the bones of their famous ancestor moved from a cement-clad grave in South Dakota to Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana. Ernie LaPointe of Lead, S.D., the spokesman for the family, said that for 50 years, Sitting Bull's grave on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Mobridge, S.D., has been neglected and dishonored. Now, LaPointe says, new owners of the property plan to exploit the legendary Lakota political and spiritual leader's memory. LaPointe and his sisters, Marlene Little Spotted Horse Andersen, Ethel Little Spotted Horse Bates and Lydia Little Spotted Horse Red Paint, sent letters Wednesday advising government and tribal officials in the Dakotas and Montana of their intent to have the remains moved. "This is to notify you and other interested parties of family right and authority to re-inter our Great-Grandfather Sitting Bull to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana," it says. "We do this because North Dakota, South Dakota and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have not honored their promise for proper care and maintenance of our Grandfather's burial site."....
Bones aren't Sitting Bull's, some say Some contend that the bones cemented into the ground at Mobridge, S.D., aren't those of Sitting Bull, but of an unknown man placed in his grave in the middle of the night after the Hunkpapa Sioux leader's death. For a century or more, rumors have circulated that Sitting Bull's body was spirited away by his followers and reburied in Canada. That's the story Jerome First Jr., 70, of Poplar, heard from his father and grandfathers. "Years ago, when I was younger, my Dad told me that when Sitting Bull was sick and near death that he told the old chiefs he wanted to be buried in Turtle Mountain just across the border in Canada where he went after the Little Bighorn," First said. Even before Sitting Bull was killed Dec. 15, 1890, he knew he was dying, First said. "Sitting Bull had a dream of his death and he knew there would be a fight over his grave," First recounted....
Great leader cast his legend in Eastern Montana Sitting Bull will be on familiar ground should his remains be re-interred at Little Bighorn Battlefield. He knew Eastern Montana well. The Lakota recognized no state boundaries in their nomadic world. Sitting Bull often camped north of the Yellowstone in the winter and hunted south of it during the summer. He prayed here, sought visions here and did battle here for nearly 30 years. At midlife, the legendary Sioux war chief and spiritual leader forged the mightiest alliance of Indian forces on the Northern Plains and won his greatest victory here. Montana knew him at the height of his power, before his sad subjection and violent death. Sitting Bull was born along the Grand River in what is now South Dakota sometime in the 1830s. Euro-Americans were already trickling toward the frontiers of the Northern Plains, displacing native populations as they advanced. The Lakota were feeling the pressure as they roamed a huge territory that included the Dakotas and parts of Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming. As they ranged westward, the Lakota increasingly clashed with other tribes in ever-shrinking Indian Country....
Art of the Saddle comes to Museum Fans of western movies and sophisticated scholars of history alike recognize the importance of the horse in the winning of the West. (Humorists often point out that, back in the old days, girlfriends and wives sometimes ran a poor second compared to a favorite Cayuse.) As revered as these four-footed friends were, however, it was the western saddle that made days, even weeks, of riding possible for cowboys, soldiers and outlaws. Beginning March 10 and continuing through Sept. 2, artful examples of this indispensable gear will come out of history's shadows and into the spotlight at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. The exhibition entitled “Art of the Saddle: A Leather Canvas in Miniature” will feature half-scale saddles designed and constructed by Wickenburg's Carson Thomas. “These are functional art forms as well as pieces of history,” said Museum Director Royce Kardinal. “Our exhibit will dramatize their significance from the 1830s to present day.”....
Rodeo show took rural cowgirls all the way to New York City When MaryAnn Mayfield Stephen went to New York in 1950 to promote the Dublin-based World Championship Rodeo, she performed alongside Milton Berle on "Texaco Star Theater." And she was so young and naive, she didn't even know Berle was the biggest star in the early days of television. In fact, when she began performing her trick-roping stunts, she scolded Berle for touching her ropes. "We didn't have television, so I had no idea who he was," Stephen said. "That shows you where I was from." The cowgirls who rode in the Dublin World Championship Rodeo may have been from the country. But in the middle of the 20th century, they participated in a sparkling spectacle that took them from Erath County all the way to New York City. Whether they were performing in the Quadrille (a square dance with horses), trick riding or roping, the women combined beauty, grace, skill and athletic ability. These were accomplished horsewomen — most could ride before they could walk — and they often performed their stunts while riding horses galloping at top speed. They dressed in sleek, flamboyant western pant suits that most made themselves. And they entertained thousands of people across the country. The World Championship Rodeo was directed by rancher and rodeo promoter Everett Colborn. He put Dublin, about 95 miles east of Abilene, on the map as the Rodeo Capital of Texas from 1937 to 1959 when the rodeo was headquartered there....
The Corn Flakes Cure The fall of 1970 found me and my bride on a place on Clear Creek on the north side of the Bear Paw Mountains. I was working for Harry Olson, and it was sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The cattle were shipped, the hay was all up, and we were doing the usual fall chores. Harry had an old wooden grain bin with a pile of rye in it that he'd thrashed a year or two before, and he wanted to take it in to the feed plant in town to have it mixed with a little barley to be made into pellets for the cows. Boy, was that some awful stuff. It was full of smut or ergot or whatever that stuff was, and the dust was as black as coal. Bein' the low man on the totem pole, it was my job to get in the bin and shovel that valuable commodity into a little auger that he'd stuffed in a window. I don't know if anyone has ever died from breathin' that black junk, but it sure wouldn't surprise me any if that were the case. I think it was beyond a doubt the worst bin I've ever had the pleasure of shovelin' in my life. By the time we finally got that truck full, I was in pretty bad shape....