NEWS ROUNDUP

Rancher Preps for High Court Does Uncle Sam have an unqualified right to bully you through his agents into surrendering your property without just compensation after you have refused to grant him access to your land? Hot Springs County rancher Harvey Frank Robbins, his Cheyenne attorney, Karen Budd-Falen, and others held a teleconference this week with reporters from national media outlets to discuss that very question at the heart of their U.S. Supreme Court case next week. Robbins has been involved with litigation against the federal government for years stemming from conflict with Bureau of Land Management officials over his ranching operation abutting Indian and federal lands. These purported actions and others by federal agents, Robbins claims, are why he is seeking relief under the “takings” clause of the Fifth Amendment and suing BLM agents under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, for their alleged coercion to illegally extort his land....
Giving up grazing For more than half a century, the Krouse family has been running its cattle each spring into the mountains ringing the Applegate Valley to graze on open range. Shortly after June 1, the Krouses would begin the cattle drive to the alpine meadows on the southeast side of Grayback Mountain, which rises to 7,000 feet elevation south of their ranch. Krouse has agreed to a proposed $265,500 buyout of his family's historic Big Grayback grazing allotment of 19,703 acres in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. That agreement, pending the approval of Uncle Sam, also would include the family's Billy Mountain grazing allotment of 4,758 acres on U.S. Bureau of Land Management forestland immediately north of the ranch. Reached after a lengthy negotiation with the Ashland-based Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and Andy Kerr, an adviser for the group, the proposal also calls for the 480-acre Oregon Caves National Monument to be expanded by 3,410 acres to protect its water source and increase tourism in the area. Under the terms of the family's historic grazing lease, Krouse can run 70 head of cattle on the Big Grayback allotment from June 1 through the fall. The lower elevation Billy Mountain allotment allows him to graze 70 head of cattle from April 16 to June 30....
Former E. Idaho elk rancher acquitted of obstruction charge Former elk rancher Rex Rammell has been found not guilty of obstructing a police officer by refusing to get off a dead elk. The verdict is a victory for property rights and will help his $1.3 million lawsuit against Idaho state officials, Rammell said. "I'm sure it won't hurt," he told the Post Register. The six-person Fremont County jury returned the verdict in 30 minutes Friday after listening to closing arguments of the two-day trial in 7th District Court. An estimated 160 domesticated elk escaped in August from the Chief Joseph private hunting reserve operated by Rammell near Ashton in eastern Idaho. On Sept. 7, then-Idaho Gov. Jim Risch, now lieutenant governor, signed an executive order for the elk to be killed, saying they could spread disease and pollute the gene pool of wild elk. Rammell was charged in October with obstructing a police officer after he refused law enforcement orders to get off an elk that had been shot....
Elk rancher files claim against Idaho A former elk rancher who had more than 100 domesticated elk escape from his hunting preserve near the Wyoming border last fall has filed a $1.3 million tort claim against the state of Idaho, alleging it was negligent and capricious in its handling of the incident. Named in the claim are the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the state Department of Agriculture, and the governor's office, whose actions the claim says were "negligent, unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious and malicious." Tort claims are generally a precursor to a lawsuit, unless a settlement is reached. The state has 90 days to respond to the claim, which was filed Tuesday with Idaho officials by Rex Rammell of Rexburg. Jon Hanian, a spokesman for Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, said Wednesday the state would not comment because of the potential pending litigation....
Panel approves wild horse sale ban Legislation to reinstate a ban on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros was approved by the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee this week. The bill, which has received bipartisan support, would restore the prohibition on the sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros that was eliminated by a provision inserted into the fiscal year 2005 appropriations bill by then-Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. Enacted in 1971, the original law directed the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service to enforce the protection of wild horses on public lands. To the delight of Western stockmen and the consternation of wild horse advocates, Burns' amendment allowed the sale of any wild horse that has been rounded up and is more than 10 years old or has been unsuccessful in the adoption program three times....
Editorial - Evolving cooperation The program that brought the endangered Mexican gray wolf back to the Southwest is evolving to ensure its survival. That's good news for wolves and for the public, which has long understood the importance of restoring this top predator to an ecosystem that was poorer without it. Wolves were slaughtered to near extinction at public expense for the sake of cattle ranching, and ranchers remain the staunchest opponents of the recovery program. They need to find a little humility. Ranchers who graze their cattle on the public lands do not own those lands; they are tenants. The owners of that land - the public - passed laws that establish the value of preserving and restoring endangered species. Like wolves. Ranchers have long complained about the economic damage to their operations because wolves sometimes take cattle. OK. But they also complain about a compensation program established by Defenders of Wildlife to reimburse them for losses. To put it tactfully, ranchers lack a satisfactory comfort level with this environmental group. Making ranchers feel that their livelihood is not threatened by wolves is important to the long-term success of the reintroduction program. Benjamin Tuggle, Southwest regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, understands that. He's working to establish a fund to which ranchers and environmentalists could contribute and from which ranchers could get compensation. Local groups that included ranchers would decide the payout. There would be oversight....
Salazar gives Army conditions on Pinon Canyon If the Army wants support for expanding the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, it must discard the use of eminent domain, create an economic development fund to help the region, and allow ranchers to graze the land through leasing agreements - according to Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. In a letter to Assistant Army Secretary Keith Eastin this week, Salazar spelled out a list of requirements that will affect whether he ultimately supports expanding PCMS, the 238,000-acre training ground southwest of La Junta. The Army wants to add another 418,000 acres to PCMS - a goal that has prompted a broad front of opposition from ranchers and communities that border the training area. Earlier this week, a House committee of the General Assembly approved legislation that would withdraw the state's consent for the federal government to expand PCMS through property condemnation or eminent domain....
Once threatened Aleutian geese crowd Northern California pastures Once on the verge of extinction, Aleutian geese have made a healthy comeback—but some ranchers say the grass-eating birds have become so prolific they're destroying Northern California's valuable cow pastures. The Aleutian goose looks like a petit Canada goose, mostly brown with a black neck and white patch under its beak. They spend the summer nesting season in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, then head down the Pacific Flyway to California's northern coast and the San Joaquin Valley. Escaped foxes from Alaskan fur farms hunted them throughout the early 20th century. By the 1970s fewer than 1,000 Aleutian geese were left. They became protected under the 1971 U.S. Endangered Species Act. Ecologists' efforts to reduce the fox population and rebuild the goose population were successful. The birds were removed from the endangered list in 2001. The population is now thought to exceed 100,000, growing as much as 20 percent a year. Farmers and ranchers say hordes of Aleutian geese are stripping pastures of grass, leaving cows hungry. Aleutians love sweet, high-protein grass seedlings—new shoots on recently grazed land....
Tumbleweeds tamed by fence cleaner Stelter is a New Leipzig native and an owner of Stelter Repair, a three-generation welding shop with a reputation for good work far and wide. Stelter's been thinking about those problem tumbleweeds and how they get stuck to fences since 2002. It was a year like this one. Tumbleweeds filled ditches and barbed wire all around the countryside. He put his thoughts and his ability together and invented a fence cleaner. He and his son, Preston, built two of them and are working on a third. They've been tinkering and experimenting in their shop not far from the now-closed Leipziger Hoff German restaurant and out in the field. What they came up with is a pull-along piece, attached to tractor hydraulics, that has two basic functions. Stelter is applying for a patent on the first function of the cleaner. So, without giving away his trade secret, the first part sweeps weeds out of the fence. The second part grabs and grinds the weeds, leaving a windrow of chopped vegetation in its wake for baling or decomposition. It leaves fences clean enough to eat lunch off....
Subsidy tensions high Ross Hirschfeld says folks have been talking behind his back ever since the local paper reported that he has been getting millions of dollars in farm subsidies from Washington. Exactly how much Hirschfeld and other farmers get from Uncle Sam has become common knowledge around here because an environmental group has been posting names and figures on its Web site as part of its campaign against the nation’s multibillion-dollar farm-subsidy program. At small-town coffee shops across the countryside, talk about the weather and Nebraska football now competes with gossip about who is getting big bucks from Washington. The Hirschfeld family – Hirschfeld, his brothers and his son – received $2.64 million from 1995 to 2005. The Hirschfelds farm mostly corn on a 5,000-acre spread near York and are among the top subsidy recipients in Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District. It surpassed all districts in the nation in 2005 with $992 million in subsidies....
Feral hogs pose potential problems Invading feral hogs are wreaking havoc on some farm and ranch lands in Quay County. And if left unchecked, the problems spread, state wildlife experts said. “We had them uproot and damage one of our fields so bad that it looked like the Army had been out there shelling,” said Quay County farmer and rancher Ted Rush. “We farm on top of the cap and they have destroyed our crops before. When we have wheat, they uproot the roots and when the Milo heads bloom, they knock down the stalks and eat the heads.” Rush, who farms and ranches 12,000 acres on the caprock, said he knows first hand that getting rid of the intruders can be a handful but is aware of the destructive implications if the animal is left unchecked. “They have been in this area for about four years,” said Rush. “I have seen some herds with as many as 30 hogs. They are nocturnal animals and can travel great distances. In the four years, I have killed over 100 of the animals. The older boars do have tusk. But, I have not killed any of them or even seen one. I bought some dogs to help me run them off my land and aid in hunting them in an effort to control the population.” Rush also said the older members of groups are savvy and difficult to hunt and kill....
Trainer: Gentleness pays Joe Wolter has a national reputation as an expert in working with difficult horses. The soft-spoken Texas rancher is known for his quiet demeanor. Just don’t call him a horse whisperer. “It’s all Hollywood,” he said during a clinic Sunday at the Louisiana Horse Expo. After finishing an afternoon clinic for experienced horsemen who listened intently to his every word, Wolter climbed off an unfamiliar horse and dug his boots into the dirt floor of the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center’s main arena. He walked toward an exit gate, hoping to get a quick lunch before he had to judge a competition, but was stopped every so often by horse enthusiasts seeking to shake his hand and to get advice. Some people consider Wolter a natural because of his knack of calming skittish horses. Wolter said his technique of horsemanship, by feel and teamwork with the horse, can be taught — and he does so, working clinics and producing videos....
"Devil's rope" meets its match Ever since Joseph Glidden patented barbed wire in 1874, the "devil's rope" has been the object of contention: beloved by cattle ranchers but decried by open-range proponents, rustlers, fence-builders (who have to handle the bloody stuff), wildlife lovers and even religious groups. It was this invention - perhaps more than any other - that helped to settle the West. But now it's rapidly fading from the landscape. Just last week, the Minturn town council gave unanimous preliminary approval to a law forbidding barbed-wire fences in the municipality. "We had a citizen who thought it was a good idea to put up a barbed-wire fence in the middle of town," Mayor Hawkeye Flaherty explained. "I'm not one for doing away with it totally. I still think there are places where you can use it." But not in Minturn, nestled between Vail and the rural remnants of Eagle County, once a ranching stronghold. Police Chief Lorenzo Martinez said there are safety concerns with the wire, noting that the fence is about neck-high to a snowmobiler unwittingly encountering it from adjacent public lands....
Sweet cowboy types: 'City Girls' want you There's New York. There's Los Angeles. And then there's all that stuff in the middle. Wichita is part of all that stuff in the middle, as I was reminded this week after getting a call from an L.A.-based television casting agent. She's looking for singles to appear on a new reality dating show on the Women's Entertainment Network, tentatively titled "City Girls." The show will be in the vein of "The Bachelor," only it will focus on big-city girls who are having trouble meeting quality big-city guys. Apparently, those men are all commitment-phobes. Who knew? "City Girls" will introduce these frustrated female sophisticates to some down-home, well-mannered farmers and ranchers who are just hanging around the Midwest waiting for their chance to gallantly open doors and bashfully compliment smiles. The casting agent called The Eagle because she was hoping we could get the word out to all the polite and gorgeous farmer/rancher types in our area. She wants them to call her immediately if they think they'd be good for the show....