Piñon plan seen as 'the ultimate sacrifice' The phone rang in Able Benavidez's kitchen Friday morning. The 68- year-old rancher picked it up and told his sister the bad news. "They took me and George and everybody," he told her. By 7 a.m., Benavidez and neighbors near the Army's Piñon Canyon training grounds were discussing what they'd learned at a meeting in Trinidad the night before. Army officials announced to an outraged gathering of 600 or so that they want to acquire more than 400,000 more acres in the canyon, tripling the size of the land available to Fort Carson for maneuvers. Benavidez's 800-acre ranch - the one he and his sister grew up on - is in the line of fire. At the existing site, thousands of troops practice live ammunition battle maneuvers in tanks and other vehicles. The military says it needs more land because modern weapons shoot farther than ever before. But the expansion is almost unilaterally opposed by ranchers, farmers, other residents, local governments and a smorgasbord of state and federal elected officials. Opponents say the plan would ruin an agricultural economy and a way of life. They suspect the Army will eventually expand to a much bigger footprint, despite the military's insistence it has no such intention....
Ranchers brand new Pinon plan a loser The only things missing were the tar and feathers. The Army took the wraps off its new expansion plan for the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site on Thursday, briefing the Colorado congressional delegation in the morning and then facing a distrustful and openly hostile crowd of about 500 ranchers and their families at an evening meeting in Trinidad. The new plan was what the Army said it would be - a map showing an expansion of 413,400 acres to the 238,000-acre Pinon Canyon training area. What was new to the ranch families was the map's specifics. It calls for adding 103,000 acres directly south of the training area, another 305,000 acres to the west and finally, a slice of 5,400 acres to the north. Earlier maps had just shown a big circle around the training site, leaving ranchers to wonder where the Army's expansion lightning would strike. They found out Thursday night and they didn't like it. "When are you going to get it through your head that we don't want you here!" Donna Sneller, of the Williams Land & Cattle Co., yelled at the Fort Carson officials who made the presentation. "Why don't you go to Nevada. You've got enough land. You don't need any more of ours!" Rancher Kennie Gyurman was trembling with anger when he spoke to Lt. Col. James Rice, an Iraq veteran and training officer at Fort Carson, who helped draw the new map. Rice was trying to bring a calm, you-can-trust-me tone to the meeting, but the ranchers weren't buying. "My land is on the edge of this map of yours," Gyurman said, physically shaking with anger. "And what I want to know is: am I in your map or not? And don't tell me anymore goddam lies. You've kept us all waiting for 18 months."....
Udall seeks GAO review of Pinon Canyon expansion Rep. Mark Udall on Monday asked congressional investigators to review the Army's plans to nearly triple the size of its Pinon Canyon maneuver site in southeastern Colorado, saying landowners in the area deserve a better explanation for the reasons for the expansion. "Before the Army moves ahead much further, we need an objective review of the study the Army used to justify its proposal," Udall, a Democrat, said in a written release. "Whether the Army needs to expand in this area is too important a question to leave to the Army alone," he said. The Army wants to nearly triple the size of the site, from 368 square miles to more than 1,000 square miles. Commanders have said the expansion is needed to accommodate planned growth at Fort Carson, 150 miles northwest of Pinon Canyon in Colorado Springs, and new training needs. Opponents, including some ranchers, worry the Army will use eminent domain to force landowners to sell, although the military has said it will try to buy the land it wants from willing sellers....
Editorial - A small step on Piñon Canyon The U.S. Army's new map detailing where it hopes to expand its Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site should temper at least some of the heated opposition the proposal has generated in southeastern Colorado and elsewhere. But crucial questions remain to be answered before the plan can move forward. A map released at a public meeting in Trinidad last Thursday indicated all of the land purchases would be made north of the Purgatoire River and west of the current training site. An earlier map had also included as potential acquisitions large tracts to the northeast and south in the environmentally fragile Comanche National Grasslands. That sparked fierce opposition among ranchers in the southern area whose private holdings are interwoven with the publicly owned grasslands. Narrowing the Army's focus to the north and west removes the threat to the Picket Wire Canyon area immediately south of the existing site. That canyon contains 1,300 known dinosaur tracks and is estimated to harbor 20,000 more undiscovered tracks. It also shelters prehistoric Indian pictographs, other artifacts and portions of the Santa Fe Trail. Ruling out the grasslands also removes the threat of heavy-tracked vehicles destroying fragile soil cover and generating dust storms like those that plagued eastern Colorado in the 1950s. But the areas now under review to the north and west should be given a rigorous environmental review to ensure they can withstand the heavy use proposed by the Army....
Fishing, Western Heritage Intertwine In South Park Thanks to $5 million from Great Outdoors Colorado, conservation easements have been secured for 19 ranches in the Colorado mountain basin called South Park. The funding saves historic ranches and great expanses of open space in south central Colorado for the future. Several ranchers have opened up portions of their property to fishermen who pay no more than $60 per day for access to pristine trout waters. The added income is used by ranchers to restore river banks, grasslands and historic buildings, making the area rich for "heritage tourism." "We were very fortunate to be able to help these people establish their vision," said John Swartout, executive director of Great Outdoors Colorado. "And it was their vision for this 30 miles of stream and 17,000 acres and 19 ranches to be preserved and to open up recreational opportunities for citizens in Colorado ... as well as to be able to fly fish in some of the best waters in the state due to the courtesy of the landowners and the foresight of Gary Nichols and the folks in South Park."....
Bison captured in effort to contain brucellosis Forty-one bison, hazed deeper than usual into Yellowstone National Park in the past week, were captured Friday west of the park and trucked to the holding area at Stephens Creek on the north side of Yellowstone. They will be released later into the park near Gardiner. Thirty-nine animals, including 11 calves, were captured, along with a couple of bulls. The bulls were being sent to slaughter, angering bison advocates who accused the state of reneging on a promise not to kill any more bison that wander onto state and private land outside the park. The park bison, a reservoir of brucellosis, are deemed a threat to transmit the disease to cattle that graze in the area. Brucellosis causes spontaneous abortion in cattle and other animals. The latest developments were announced Friday morning by Dr. Jeanne Rankin, Montana's state veterinarian, at the beginning of a "brucellosis summit" in Lewistown during the midyear meeting of the Montana Stockgrowers Association....
Yogurt Maker, Environmental Group Aim to Save Farms The next time a consumer opens the lid on a Stonyfield Farms yogurt container they're going to see an interesting solicitation: sign a petition to preserve farmland. The aim is to urge Congress to expand farmland stewardship and protection programs in the 2007 Farm Bill. The message, printed on more than 8 million yogurt lids, will tell consumers the following: "In the time it takes you to eat this yogurt, ten acres of farmland will be lost to development." The lids will urge consumers to take action including signing a petition to Congress seeking more funds for USDA programs that reward farmers when they help preserve open spaces and provide a healthier environment, the company reports. Stonyfield Farm claims a leadership position in public outreach on health and the environment using its yogurt lids, Web site and consumer events to reach millions of consumers to build awareness and action on healthy food choices, climate change, and organic and family farming....
Two More Federal Agents Killed in Questionable Program The U.S. Department of Agriculture should stop sending its people up in aircraft to shoot coyotes, according to a petition filed with the agency by 27 conservation organizations. Pointing to two more deaths this month, the organizations argue that aerial gunning, as the practice is known, is excessively dangerous, demonstrably wasteful and biologically counterproductive. On June 1, 2007, two federal agriculture agents died when their plane crashed during an aerial gunning trip in Wayne County, Utah. Pilot Joseph Harris and gunner Glen Stevenson routinely flew on aerial hunts. The cause of the crash is under investigation. This brings the death total to 11, as well as 27 injuries, from aerial gunning accidents. The groups contend that aerial gunning is inherently risky because pilots are often distracted, flying at low altitudes with little margin for error. In the 27 recorded plane or helicopter crashes, pilots have flown into power lines, trees and land formations....
Two ecosystems, two cultures Almost every time federal wolf recovery coordinator Ed Bangs goes to a meeting about wolves in the Northern Rockies, a grizzled rancher walks up, tilts back his battered Stetson, sticks out a calloused, work-worn hand and says, “My granddad killed the last wolf in this county back in …” Yet that would hardly ever happen in the western Great Lakes region of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, where wolves were never fully exterminated and now number close to 4,000 -- about three times as many wolves as live in the Northern Rockies states of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. While the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone in 1995 stirred up a political firestorm that is hottest in the Cowboy State, the gradual comeback of Midwestern wolves happened with much less political heat or controversy. Why? Part of it appears to be history and culture, how long wolves have been present or absent, as well as the regional ecosystems....
Fightin' against the feds is all in a day's work Mike Noel leans back and folds his hands behind his head, speaking easily. But his words are not so relaxed: "Once you decide to fight, you're going to be in for the fight of your life. You got to have broad shoulders." Noel is referring to his head-butting with environmental groups such as the Grand Canyon Trust and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. But he could just as easily be talking about his decade-long battle with the Bureau of Land Management over the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. In 1996, Noel worked for the BLM doing environmental reviews. He had just finished an analysis giving the go-ahead to a proposed coal mine on southern Utah's Kaiparowits Plateau. Later that year, President Clinton designated 1.9 million acres, including the plateau, as a national monument. Anger erupted in the local communities, which had long relied on mining and ranching; schoolchildren released black balloons, and residents of nearby Kanab wore black arm bands. Monument designation also killed the coal mine and spurred tension between Noel and higher-ups. Eventually, he took an early retirement....
Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer. Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles. The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare. “The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper. All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce? Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet....