NEWS ROUNDUP

Senate Defeats Climate Change Measure The Senate, after one of its first full debates on global warming, on Tuesday defeated a proposal requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the impact of climate change in designing water resources projects. The vote was 51-42 in favor of the amendment to a water projects bill, falling nine short of the 60 votes needed to approve it under the rules set for the debate. But sponsors of the proposal, led by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said it was significant that the Senate was finally facing the issue head-on. It was the first time in this session of Congress that climate change had reached a vote on the Senate floor, Kerry said. "We're making a statement here in the Senate to finally, once and for all, recognize the reality of what is happening with respect to climate change." Climate change is real, he said, "and it must be factored into our public policy in almost everything we do." The proposal would have directed the Army Corps, in drawing up future projects, to use the best available climate science to account for climate change on storms and floods....
Clinton Unveils $5 Billion Green Makeover for Cities Former President Bill Clinton today announced the creation of a $5 billion global effort to fight global warming by retrofitting existing buildings with more energy efficient products, thereby reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. A project of the Clinton Climate Initiative, the program brings together four of the world's largest energy service companies, five of the world's largest banks, and 15 of the world's largest cities to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings. President Clinton announced the Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit now underway in New York. Mayors from across the United States and around the world are at the summit to strategize on climate change issues. "Climate change is a global problem that requires local action," said Clinton. "The businesses, banks and cities partnering with my foundation are addressing the issue of global warming because it's the right thing to do, but also because it's good for their bottom line."....
Lost whales head upriver in California, sparking concern Two lost humpback whales continued their odyssey up a busy delta river channel Wednesday as hundreds of onlookers watched with a mix of amusement and concern. The mother and calf, they learned Wednesday, apparently suffered wounds inflicted by a boat propeller. Scientists said the injuries came after the pair entered the Sacramento River Delta on Sunday. Rescue workers also announced an ambitious plan beginning today to coax the rare whales back toward the open ocean. The strategy will use a series of underwater sounds — pipe-banging noises prodding the whales from behind, with recordings of feeding humpbacks played in front to lure them southward. That plan worked in 1985 when rescuers saved an errant humpback whale named Humphrey, ending the creature's much-publicized 26-day wanderings up and down the delta....
County, feds at odds over pregnant wolf Catron County Manager Bill Aymar says officials only want to prevent problems by asking the federal government to remove a pregnant Mexican gray wolf released on the county's border after it killed two cows elsewhere. But Victoria Fox, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman, says the agency has no reason to remove the wolf. The dispute over the animal - designated F924 - began as soon as she was released April 25 in southwestern New Mexico. The next day, the county demanded it be removed as an "imminent danger." Fish and Wildlife rejected the demand last week. The county has threatened to invoke an ordinance, passed in February, that claims the right to remove wolves that are accustomed to humans or have a high probability of harming children or other defenseless people, physically or psychologically. Fish and Wildlife officials say the Endangered Species Act supersedes a county ordinance, and they warn that unauthorized action against the wolf would result in federal prosecution....
Land protection move troubles feds Eagle County values its undeveloped public land, but protecting that land from development may make it less valuable, federal officials warn. The Board of County Commissioners has voted to create a "resource preservation zone" in the county, which will limit development on any federal land sold or exchanged in unincorporated Eagle County. The new rules limit residential development to one dwelling unit per 80 acres, and would require county approval for any purpose that may hurt the scenic quality or open character of the property. The regulations affect U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land. The rules go into effect only if the land is sold or exchanged, which both agencies say they usually do to raise money or to obtain land that could be better used for recreation. Typically, those parcels are isolated and don't benefit the public much, said David Boyd, spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management. "The lands we are looking at aren't parts of someone's favorite hiking trail," said Sally Spaulding, White River National Forest District spokeswoman. "It's not prime recreation land that we are trying to get rid of." Limiting the possibility of any future development on those parcels could make the land less valuable, and, in essence, make it more difficult or less profitable for federal agencies to sell or exchange, Spaulding said....As if the Feds don't take actions every day which devalues private property.
Horseback plan faces bumpy ride Local mountain bikers are geared up to fight a proposed horseback riding operation at Buttermilk this summer, if the horses are to set foot on Government Trail. Aspen Wilderness Outfitters, displaced from its traditional stomping ground at Snowmass by Base Village construction, is seeking a temporary commercial-use permit to run its horseback riding operation at Buttermilk from June through September. The Aspen Cycling Club is among those that responded by Wednesday's deadline for comments on the application. While the club doesn't object to horses at Buttermilk, members say use of Government Trail by horses is incompatible with mountain biking and hiking on the coveted singletrack. The trail crosses the face of Buttermilk and extends beyond the ski area boundary at West Buttermilk, linking up with Snowmass Ski Area to the west. Jon Hardin, owner of Aspen Wilderness Outfitters, said he's seeking a place to run his operation during Base Village construction and considers Buttermilk a logical choice, given its proximity to both Aspen and Snowmass Village. Last year, he moved the operation to Two Creeks at Snowmass but called that area "pretty constrained."....
Slash and Burn Looking toward the foothills from his office on the Colorado State University campus, Tony Cheng can see the forest for the fuelwood. Here and throughout the West, fire-prone forests could cause a rough summer, and this year’s Larimer County fire assessment gives reason for alarm: Within a 1.3 million-acre planning area consisting of private, county, state and federal lands, 48 percent is either “high” or “very high” fire hazard this summer. Mountain bark beetles, while still a relatively minor concern in Northern Colorado compared to other parts of the state, are 10 times greater from last year. Beetle infestations kill trees by the hundreds and greatly increase fire risk. Cheng’s research hints that, despite planning efforts, fire managers may not be doing enough to prevent a catastrophic wildfire. Cheng is finishing a study that reviews community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs), and his initial findings cast some doubts about their effectiveness. Created through President Bush’s Healthy Forests Restoration Act in 2003, the plans give responsibility to local, regional and state entities to identify projects that thin forests and reduce fire risks. “It’s been a good forum and a good tool, and it’s gotten local leadership moving on fire prevention,” says Boyd Lebeda, district forester for the Colorado State Forest Service. But, Lebeda adds, some plans are just a couple of pages with few details....
Cattle-free acreage in Greensprings survives challenge A Jackson County Circuit Court judge has rejected a rancher's attempt to overturn a cattle-free zone created last year on 4,400 private acres. Judge Mark Schiveley stated in an opinion handed down last week that Jennifer Walt and other ranchers will have to abide by a Jackson County Board of Commissioners decision last August to annex more than 100 properties along Highway 66 into the Greensprings Livestock District, originally created in 1974. "I think our hope is (Walt) will respond with goodwill and control the range that her cattle roam on," said Doug Frank, who owns about 220 acres that are now in the district. A livestock district, according to Oregon law, places the burden on cattle ranchers to keep their animals out of the designated land. The 100 properties previously fell under open-range law, which places the burden on landowners to keep cattle out....
Border officials outraged over fence contract proposal Texas border officials lashed out at the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday after learning of a call for bids on an up to $250 million contract to build border fencing in Laredo. The Texas Border Coalition, a group of border officials and business people, said they discovered the request for proposals on their own and were not told of it by Customs and Border Protection officials who are supposed to be keeping them in the loop on any fence plans along the Texas-Mexico border. The map, obtained by The Associated Press, took many of the officials by surprise because they thought they had an agreement with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to have input on where fencing was built. After heated meetings with state officials and Texas' U.S. senators, the Homeland Security Department issued letters to local officials saying the map was only a starting point and nothing was final. Many of the officials oppose the fence saying it will cut off cattle ranchers and cotton farmers from the Rio Grande and hurt relations with Mexico....
Fiesta de San Ysidro San Ysidro is a favorite religious figure with a population that has sometimes relied on milagros to eke a living from farming and ranching in a challenging land. So the patron saint of ranchers was a logical choice as a namesake for one of the region's most popular family festivals, La Fiesta de San Ysidro, which will celebrate its eighth year Saturday at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. "The fiesta is the museum's way of paying tribute to the state's farming traditions," said museum spokesman Craig Massey. Fiesta highlights include entertainment, lectures, demonstrations, food treats and activities for kids....