NEWS ROUNDUP

U.S. Forest Service aims to get kids out into the woods more Students from New York to Alaska will be exploring forests and wetlands this year as part of an effort by the U.S. Forest Service to get kids out of the classroom and into the woods. The US$1.5 million (€1.12 million) "Kids in the Woods" program is aimed at a growing problem among American school children: a lack of direct experience with nature that experts say can contribute to childhood obesity, diabetes and even attention deficit disorder. The program also is intended to nurture future environmental scientists and other Forest Service workers — an acute need for an agency with a graying work force, said Deputy Forest Service Chief Ann Bartuska. "It's an opportunity to connect kids to our national forests and to other outdoor settings," she said. The grant program, to be announced at a news conference Tuesday, includes 24 projects in 15 states. More than 23,000 children were expected to participate in the program, which is supported by a host of private groups, as well as state, federal and local agencies....
INDEPENDENT STUDY FINDS FOREST SERVICE EXERCISED APPROPRIATE AND ADEQUATE FISCAL CONTROLS IN 2006 FIRE SEASON The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that an independent Brookings Institution panel found the USDA Forest Service exercised appropriate and adequate fiscal diligence in suppressing wildfires during the record breaking 2006 fire season. The panel reviewed 19 large fires that burned more than 1.1 million acres and cost $470 million dollars to suppress. The review panel also identified several "issue areas" to help the Forest Service contain the rising costs of firefighting. Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Mark Rey said the recommendations of the panel will be acted upon immediately. "The cost of firefighting is rapidly approaching half of the Forest Service entire budget for caring for the nation's 193 million acres of national forests," Rey said. "We are doing everything we can to curb the costs of firefighting while taking every step to protect the safety of our firefighters and ensure they have appropriate tools to do their job. The panel's recommendations will help us control costs."....
Insurance firms tighten rules in wildfire areas Spooked by devastating wildfire seasons, the nation's top insurers are inspecting homes in high-risk areas throughout the West and threatening to cancel coverage if owners don't clear brush or take other precautions. The inspections have angered homeowners and watchdog groups that accuse the companies of trying to cut risk at the expense of customers, even while industry profits soar. "It certainly isn't fair for these insurers to be dumping these last-minute requirements on homeowners," said Carmen Balber of the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights. "It does make sense to require homeowners to take reasonable precautions, but some of the excessive demands that we've heard from homeowners are over the top." The requirements can range from clearing brush to cutting down trees or even installing a fireproof roof. Insurers and industry groups counter that making people take responsibility for living in the highest-risk fire areas is just sound business....
Colorado, feds start crafting rules on roadless forest land A top federal official says 4.1 million acres of roadless national forests in Colorado will remain off-limits to most development while state and federal land managers develop rules to manage the areas. The assurance came from Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who directs U.S. Forest Service policy. Rey and regional Forest Service officials met with state officials about a petition from Gov. Bill Ritter seeking protection for most of the Colorado acres in question. Rey, in an interview with The Associated Press, said it will likely take 16 to 18 months to complete the rules. In the interim, he said, the federal government will work with Colorado to protect the roadless areas if a court decision banning development on them is overturned. The fate of the roadless areas in Colorado and other states is uncertain after six years of court and policy battles....
Feds OK coalbed expansion Federal land managers have approved the Atlantic Rim coalbed methane gas project, opening the door for up to 1,800 new coalbed methane wells and 200 conventional oil and gas wells near Rawlins. The development will occur in the south-central region of the state where producers have already received the green light for up to 2,780 conventional gas wells, and where another 10,190 wells are pending approval. The Bureau of Land Management announced its decision on Monday, underscoring the economic payoff expected from exploiting the gas reserves. The project is expected to yield some 1.35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas - enough to heat nearly 20 million homes for a year, according to the BLM. The Atlantic Rim project is expected to generate $6.4 billion in economic activity, including $320 million in federal royalties. Half of the federal royalties will be directed to Wyoming state coffers. State severance taxes should generate an additional $271 million, according to the BLM. Drilling is expected to last about 20 years, with a project life span of 30 to 50 years....
Congress Investigates MacDonald's Farm Two senior House Democrats launched an inquiry today into reports that a Bush political appointee may have improperly removed a California fish from a list of threatened species in order to protect her own financial interests. Julie MacDonald, who resigned this month as Interior Department deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, was actively involved in removing the Sacramento splittail fish from the federal threatened and endangered species list at the same time that she was profiting from her ownership of a farm that lies within the habitat area of the threatened fish, according to an investigative report published Sunday by the "Contra Costa Times" newspaper. MacDonald's financial disclosure statement shows that she earns as much as $1 million per year from her ownership of the 80 acre active farm in Dixon, California. Federal law bars federal employees from participating in decisions on matters in which they have a personal financial interest....
Group: Border fence threatens wildlife Nancy Brown drives the government truck slowly past mossy ponds, thick shrouds of beard-like Spanish moss and majestic ebony trees, gleefully identifying the song of the kiskadee and the gurgling call of the chachalaca. As the truck rounds a bend near the greenish-brown Rio Grande, a bobcat scampers ahead, disappearing into the lush subtropical foliage. Lizards dart about. A tortoise lazes in the sun. Somewhere in the forest, well-camouflaged by evolution, are ocelots and jaguarundi, both of them endangered species of cats. These are some of the natural wonders in the Rio Grande Valley that Brown and other wildlife enthusiasts fear could be spoiled by the fences and adjacent roads the U.S. government plans to erect along the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants and smugglers. Environmentalists have spent decades acquiring and preserving 90,000 riverfront acres of Texas scrub and forest and protecting their wildlife. Now they fear the hundreds of miles of border fences will undo their work and kill some land animals by cutting them off from the Rio Grande, the only source of fresh water....
‘Hefner’ bunnies threatened by feral felines Quick, guess which American magazine publisher has a species of rabbit named after him. Hugh Hefner? You peeked! The population of Hef’s own breed of bunnies on Big Pine Key has dwindled by about 50 percent in the past two years and is in danger of being wiped out by predatory kitty cats. The rabbit’s Latin name is Sylvilagus palustris hefneri. The Playboy magazine founder got the honors after he financed research that identified the species in 1980. That probably had nothing to do with his intense interest in . . . bunnies. The medium-sized, dark brown cottontail with a grayish-white belly was put on the endangered species list in 1990 when the population was estimated at 200. Wildlife officials plan to begin trapping feral cats that prey on the rabbits next week. Activists in cat suits protested when the program was announced a month ago. Refuge officials said the cats will be “humanely trapped alive” and taken to animal shelters. No word on whether anyone has shown up in a bunny suit.
Monkey dead from bubonic plague in Denver A Denver Zoo monkey has died of bubonic plague, apparently after eating a squirrel stricken with the disease, Colorado health and zoo officials said on Monday. Five squirrels and a rabbit found dead on zoo grounds tested positive for the flea-borne disease in recent weeks, Denver Zoo spokeswoman Ana Bowie said. Zookeepers on May 15 noticed the 8-year-old hooded capuchin monkey was lethargic, and the next day it was found dead in its enclosure. Zoo veterinarians sent tissue samples to a state laboratory where it was determined the animal died of the plague. The death was announced on Monday. Zoo veterinarian Dave Kenny said that the risk of plague spreading to humans was extremely low but that visitors were being urged to avoid squirrels and rabbits....
Rowdies grow out of control at Little Sahara, say critics Was it just another Easter weekend at the dunes? Or is there a problem at Little Sahara Recreation Area? An environmental group has charged that the popular gathering spot for off-highway vehicle enthusiasts in Juab County, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, has gotten out of control. As proof, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) cites a federal law enforcement report that described "near riot conditions" on two separate nights over the April 6-8 holiday weekend, plus 37 instances in which medical assistance was rendered and a final tally of 300 incidents that resulted in arrests or citations. Altogether, an estimated 35,000 people visited Little Sahara over Easter, lured as always, by the wide open and hilly terrain the dunes provide for motorized recreation. "People need to know what is happening," said Daniel Patterson, PEER's southwest director and a former BLM staffer. "I have to sound a warning about this, because we've seen it in other places, like the Imperial Sand Dunes in California, where things really got out of hand and they had big problems, even murders. "Utah doesn't want that kind of a situation," said Patterson, an ecologist. "But if BLM doesn't act soon, that's exactly the kind of situation they're going to find themselves in."....
Religious leaders urge action on warming Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are urging President George W. Bush and Congress to take action against global warming, declaring that the changing climate is a "moral and spiritual issue." In an open letter to be published on Tuesday, more than 20 religious groups urged U.S. leaders to limit greenhouse gas emissions and invest in renewable energy sources. "Global warming is real, it is human-induced and we have the responsibility to act," says the letter, which will run in Roll Call and the Politico, two Capitol Hill newspapers. "We are mobilizing a religious force that will persuade our legislators to take immediate action to curb greenhouse gases," it says. The letter is signed by top officials of the National Council of Churches, the Islamic Society of North America and the political arm of the Reform branch of Judaism. Top officials from several mainline Christian denominations, including the Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church, African Methodist Episcopal Church and Alliance of Baptists also signed the letter, along with leaders of regional organizations and individual churches....
Mo. Supreme Court to hear Centene case The Missouri Supreme Court plans to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case that pits three Clayton property owners against Centene Corp.'s use of eminent domain in Clayton, Mo. Centene planned to begin construction on the $210 million office and retail complex project this summer. Arguments in the case of Centene Plaza Redevelopment Corp. v. Mint Properties are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. May 22. The hearing is an appeal of a St. Louis County Court ruling in January that gave deference to Clayton's Board of Aldermen, which determined the redevelopment area near Forsyth Boulevard and Carondelet is blighted. The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, ruled April 24 that the lower court's decision authorizing the use of condemnation should be halted. The three Clayton property owners -- David Danforth, Dan Sheehan and Debbie Pyzyk -- are fighting Centene's efforts to acquire their properties on Forsyth Boulevard within the redevelopment area....
The Nature Conservancy Acquires Conservation Easement on Central Florida Ranch The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), together with the Bass family, have protected land that will help save Florida scrub-jays, gopher tortoises and numerous other species. The Conservancy and the USDA through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) purchased a conservation easement over 945 acres on Bass Ranch, a working cattle ranch located in Highlands County. The acquisition was accomplished using funds donated to the Conservancy by private donors and NRCS funds under the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) of the Farm Bill. FRPP is a voluntary program that helps farmers and ranchers keep their land in agriculture. A portion of the easement was also donated by the Bass family. The easement helps to establish a habitat connection between the public lands of the Avon Park Air Force Range and Carter Creek, part of the Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area. Establishing the link between these two public lands is important for the protection of wide-ranging species, such as the Florida black bear and Florida panther, and the continuation of land management with prescribed fire....
Brucellosis probe continues Bruce Malcolm, a rancher and Republican state representative from Emigrant, said Monday that seven of the cows that tested positive for the disease brucellosis came from his herd and that he supplied bulls to the herd under quarantine in Bridger. More blood was drawn from his herd Monday, he said, and yearlings will be tested this morning. Then it’s all over but the waiting. “We’ve worked with these cows all our life, it’s like losing a member of our family,” Malcolm said. Tests are being conducted on at least two herds in the Paradise Valley and if two cows from a second herd test positive, Montana will lose its brucellosis-free status, which will be a serious economic hit to the state’s largest industry. “We’re still looking at probably the end of the week before we have test results,” said Teresa Howes, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Humans can get a form of brucellosis called undulate fever if they come in contact with infected live animals or birth material, so veterinarians and ranchers are most at risk....
End It, Don't Mend It Congress is fundamentally a gathering of horse-traders, and the body always seems to find a way to put pork into its already-lavish spending bills. When recent reports revealed that the supplemental spending bills for Iraq contained funding for peanut storage and spinach growers, Congress finally caved—apparently that was a bridge too far. But that won’t be the last we hear from farm commodity groups this year. The current farm bill, a multi-year spending program for commodity and rural programs, is due for renewal in September, and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns is causing a stir by becoming the first ag head in recent memory to submit a draft proposal of his own. Farm bills historically have been settled in back-room deals between members of Congress and commodity groups, with taxpayers, consumers and food processors left out of the loop until it was too late. The United States was founded on the idea of limited government, but somewhere along the line agriculture came to be seen as "special," and deserving of state programs and market interventions. No government agency, no matter how well-funded and extravagantly staffed, can possibly have all the knowledge to manage markets efficiently; it is better that they get out of the business altogether. That’s easier said than done though, as anyone who has seen the powerful farm lobby in action can attest. But a confluence of events this year—a Doha round of free trade agreements in need of a kick-start, budget pressures and renewed commitment to fiscal responsibility from the Democrats in Congress, and growing public awareness of the failures of farm programs—all point to the need for reform. The question is: with what do we replace the current expensive and outdated programs? How about nothing?....
It's All Trew: Measuring systems of the past During a recent parts-buying effort the "metric-measure" demon raised its ugly head again. Though the metric system is used worldwide and goes way back in history, efforts to force the United States to use the system are slow going. I know of no one personally except a few computer people who use the system on a regular basis. Sadly, I find many young people don't know the basic weights and measures chart. My father and grandfather could quote the standard weights and measurements by heart as that was a required part of their limited education. Research tells us at first all measurements, lengths and weights were determined by using human body parts. An example is, 12 hands high, two pinches of salt and four steps long. The capacity of containers were measured by counting the seeds the container would hold. An example, today's "carat" used to measure gems is derived from counting carob seed in a container. When mathematics became common numbers, decimals began to be used. The English, involved in worldwide trade for centuries, spread their weights and measurements system throughout the world including the new colonies in America....