NEWS ROUNDUP

BLM takes action against Oakley rancher for grazing cattle on land without a permit The Bureau of Land Management on Thursday hand delivered a notice of intent to Oakley rancher Bruce Bedke to impound Bedke's cattle grazing on public land. Bill Baker, acting BLM Twin Falls district manager, said the action follows numerous attempts to bring Bedke into compliance with federal grazing regulations. A longtime BLM grazing permittee, Bedke is in trespass for grazing his cattle in the Goose Creek Allotment southeast of Burley without a permit and has refused five offers by the BLM Burley field office and Baker to accept and sign renewed permits. Bedke has until July 26 to resolve the matter or BLM will impound his cattle. "This is a serious concern for us, and we sincerely hope that Mr. Bedke will bring his actions into compliance with the federal regulations, thus sparing all of us the painful action of an impoundment," Baker said. Impoundments are rare for BLM. Out of the almost 1,900 Idaho operators BLM permits to graze on public lands, BLM has had to resort to impounding livestock only twice in the last 10 years, said BLM spokeswoman Heather Tiel....
Water war heats up Central Nevada farmers like Roderick McKenzie fear booming Las Vegas is going to suck them dry. They're fighting a plan to pump billions of gallons of water south across the desert, saying it would eat up groundwater supplies and could spell the end for ranchers and farmers in rural valleys. With one ruling in hand for billions of gallons of rural Nevada water, the water supplier for sprawling southern Nevada is pressing for billions of additional gallons a year -- in a move that pits farmers and ranchers against developers eager to keep the gambling mecca booming. The Southern Nevada Water Authority wants to draw more than 11.3 billion gallons of groundwater a year from the Delamar, Dry Lake and Cave valleys, all in central Lincoln County and along the route of a proposed water pipeline that like a giant straw will stretch 250 miles across the state. That amount of water, expanded through reuse and other means, could supply more than 100,000 homes in the fast-growing Las Vegas area. But critics fear the plan would dry up groundwater supplies and could spell the end for ranching and farming in the rural valleys....
Army sees bigger Piñon role Tomorrow's Army will increasingly rely on unmanned aerial vehicles and robots connected by a wireless computer network to detect and destroy the enemy. As technology advances, and computer-driven machines with cameras collect intelligence and record enemy conversations, fewer soldiers will be needed to cover larger battlefields. It's one of the main reasons the Army wants to acquire more than 400,000 acres at Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site in southern Colorado - to create a larger, more realistic training environment for troops. For residents of the Piñon Canyon area, the question is, just how large does the Army want that playground to be? The Army is growing. By 2012, the Army will have 74,200 more soldiers than it did before Sept. 11, 2001. By 2011, 45,400 soldiers once stationed overseas will be at U.S. installations. Fort Carson already is poised to receive 10,000 new troops from Fort Hood, Texas, and the Pentagon has dangled the possibility that at least one more brigade - about 3,500 troops - could come to Fort Carson. As the Army transforms from a slow- moving force on industrialized equipment to self-contained "units of action," brigade combat teams will be more mobile and more lethal. And with the new technology comes a need for space. The Army says the training ground needed for one brigade is 138,000 to 161,000 acres - 143 percent of what it was before the Persian Gulf War....
Prison sentences symbolize decline of radical environmentist movement More than a decade after they began setting fires across the West, remnants of the radical Earth Liberation Front stood before a federal judge, one by one, to hear her decide: Had they committed acts of domestic terrorism? And so a violent chapter in the environmental movement ended — with a whimper. Once feared by some and admired by others for their willingness to use any means necessary, these militants are in decline. "Radical environmentalism failed," said James Johnston of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. "Whether radical environmentalists admit it or not, they failed." Although crimes by environmental and animal-rights militants still occur, they have been sporadic. And although authorities cannot declare victory over radical militants, the movement has been significantly weakened....
Rich horsemen get special ticket to ride An elite group of 150 wealthy horsemen got special permission to ride through the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Area in southern Colorado during a weeklong, 100-mile trip that ends today. Wilderness advocates are crying foul, arguing that if a large troop of Boy Scouts tried to pass through the same area, the U.S. Forest Service would turn them down. TinaMarie Ekker, of the Montana-base group Wilderness Watch, said that in this case, money bought special privileges. The Roundup Riders of the Rockies, a secretive fraternity that has been conducting swanky rides through the Rockies for nearly 60 summers, paid about $15,000 to get a permit and pay for any damage they caused to trails or wetlands. Normally, a "25-heartbeat policy" governs groups in Wilderness Areas. That means that no group with more than 25 people or animals will be allowed in Wilderness Areas. The Spanish Peaks were declared wilderness in 2000....
Pair of Mexican wolves to be removed from wild The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to permanently remove two Mexican gray wolves from a pack in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in northeastern Arizona. The wolves are part of the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program in New Mexico and Arizona. Officials want to remove two wolves because of 4 incidents in which its pack preyed upon sheep. The wild-born pack is made up of 6 adult and yearling wolves and an unknown number of 2-month-old pups. The agency says removing 2 of the older animals should successfully stop the pack from preying on the sheep....
Forest Service to appeal findings The U.S. Forest Service plans to appeal violations outlined in a federal safety investigative report that placed the blame on fire officials in October's fatal Esperanza Fire. Forest Service officials said the findings released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration - part of the U.S. Department of Labor - won't affect their own plan, released in May. "The Forest Service stands by our action plan," said Allison Stewart, national spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service. "OSHA's notice and citation plan won't make us change our process on the action plan." Stewart said the Forest Service intends to request an informal meeting to negotiate the violations with OSHA before the Aug.13 deadline OSHA set to have the violations corrected. OSHA's report, released Thursday, said firefighters weren't briefed on the status of the blaze and weather conditions, didn't obey a commander's orders to relocate to a safer area and didn't wear heavy protective "turn out" equipment, among other violations. The violations occurred before the burnover that killed five firefighters in the blaze....
Endangered falcons released on missile range Eleven endangered aplomado falcons were released in the northern edge of White Sands Missile Range July 11 in a joint effort to build up the falcon's population and remove it from the endangered species list. The falcons, which disappeared from the region between 1930 and 1960, were released in an effort supported by White Sands, the state of New Mexico, the Bureau of Land Management and the Peregrine Fund as well as several other organizations. The falcons were released in the northern edge of the range because the area provides the birds with the proper habitat. The area was also chosen because it borders both state and Bureau of Land Management property allowing the other agencies and governments to take part in the program. The area also provides the birds with an abundant food source. "The aplomado falcon eats small birds such as meadowlarks, lark buntings, mocking birds and insects. They will also catch bats," said Angel Montoya, a field biologist with the Peregrine Fund. The birds were released using a method called hacking. Young birds are placed in boxes on cliff sides, or in the case of the aplomado, on small towers where they can grow and acclimate to the area. According to the Peregrine Fund Web site, the birds are then fed by attendants until they are ready to fly and hunt on their own. "(The falcons) usually arrive when they are 35 days of age and they are released at 40 days of age. "That's the time that they would naturally (leave) a wild nest," Montoya said....
Dispute over desert house could pit nature against art The old adobe building near the oases ringed with shaggy palms welcomed Hollywood, hosted Gen. George Patton and inspired a desert landscape painter. But if a federal agency prevails, the ranch house where John William Hilton created his masterpieces could be demolished. The Bureau of Land Management says surveys show that Rancho Dos Palmas -- with its many additions -- lacks historical significance. A preservationist group disagrees. "To wipe out all that history ... my jaw just dropped," said Jennie Kelly, a spokeswoman for Friends of Dos Palmas. "An awful lot of people want to see the ranch house saved. "It carries a special place in our hearts." The dispute is playing out on a huge nature preserve near the Salton Sea....
Cooling off COOL? It was the last thing the House Agriculture Committee did Thursday night before producing a farm bill. Members approved changes to mandatory Country of Origin Labeling without debating it. The committee staff are still fleshing out the details, but here's what it does. COOL will include three categories of labeling, according to committee staff: * One that indicates product was born, raised and slaughtered in the United States; * One that indicates that product was not exclusively born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S.; * One that includes products entirely from other countries. For ground meat, products can be labeled with a list of countries where product may have originated. It capped off a week of intense behind-the-scenes battles over one of the most controversial parts of the last farm bill, one that Congress has delayed until 2008.
Better stock, better money Ralph Buell walked into the roughstock ready area at Frontier Park on Saturday and stopped to take in the scene. "This is a lot different than when I won here," the 1962 Cheyenne Frontier Days bareback riding champion said. "There was just a couple of small sets of stands." Buell kept up his hot streak that summer and used the $1,500 he won at the "Daddy of 'em All" to win a world title. He proudly sported his world championship belt buckle Saturday. Buell's $1,500 check pales in comparison to the more than $9,000 that 2006 bareback champ Forest Bramwell pocketed. Of course hamburgers and gallons of gas were going for a mere 25 cents in 1962. While the Frontier Park Arena has grown to feature two stadium sides and the money has gotten better, Buell said one the biggest changes he's seen in rodeo since he retired in 1968 is less apparent. "The bucking stock is so much better now," he said. "When I was at the tail end of my riding days, the horses were fading because there weren't as many wild horses around. "Then these horse ranchers got a hold of them, bred them up and now they buck really well."....
Before Vail was ... Vail Out of the aspen trees, Teodoro Salazar Ucharima rode into his camp on horseback, with his sheepdog in tow. The Peruvian shepherd had been tending to his flock for five hours already, though it was not yet noon. With his sheep under the watchful eyes of his guard dogs, he had returned to camp for lunch. His camp - the round-topped, silver wagon that's been his home for the last month - sat in a lush valley high above the town of Avon. June Creek rushed by a few yards away. Before Vail was Vail, it was sheep pastures. Even as 45 years of rapid development have erased those pastures, sheep still graze on the open range in the backcountry near the posh resorts of Vail and Beaver Creek. The flock had shifted slightly since Salazar left. He used heavily accented English-language commands for his dog. "Ty!" he yelled to the dog. "Come on!" The black border collie darted through the grass. "Come by!" he said, which told Ty to round up the sheep clockwise. "Away to me!" Salazar said, which means counterclockwise. The trails of Beaver Creek ski area were in plain view directly across the valley. Vail Mountain's Game Creek Bowl opened toward him upvalley....
Longhorn arm of the law Like all good cowboy stories, this one's been told and retold, passed down and around, shaped and honed until it shimmers with firelight and the red-orange blaze of a thousand Oklahoma suns. It doesn't matter if everyone in the room knows the ending. Tommy Morgan's eyes are bright with merriment, and it's clear he's enjoying every minute of this. "I was at the Tulsa Stockyards when I saw 'em, and my friend said 'Let's go over there and I'll choke the – out of 'em,' " the rancher says, demonstrating what his irate buddy would have done to the two guys they suspected had stolen 12 saddles – $18,000 worth – from Mr. Morgan's barn. "I was yelling, 'I've got 'em, I've got 'em,' flipping through the phone book tryin' to find someone to call." John Cummings – the guy he eventually called – grins broadly. He likes this story as much as Morgan does. As a newly minted special ranger for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, he's part of an elite cadre – a 29-member task force roaming 96.5 million miles across Oklahoma and Texas, investigating agriculture thefts by authority of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and/or the Texas Department of Public Safety. A lot of people think cattle rustling and horse thievery went out with the Conestoga wagon. They didn't. In fact, the problem has been increasing in recent years, especially in Texas and Oklahoma, where, until recently, a three-year drought increased the price of beef and thus thefts. Last year alone, rangers working the region recovered nearly $5 million in stolen property, including 3,716 head of cattle, 144 horses, 10 trailers, and 18 saddles....
Three (count 'em, 3) Texas Ranger bios As adjutant general for the nation's largest state, William Steele received a lot of mail. Appointed by Gov. Richard Coke in 1874, Steele oversaw the Frontier Battalion and Special State Troops — better known as the Texas Rangers — as well as the state's militia. Letters from district attorneys wanting Rangers to stand by to prevent violence at a session of district court, telegraphic requests from county sheriffs for assistance, letters from legislators wanting this or that and other correspondence usually covered his desk in the Capitol. In early September 1877, Steele opened a letter from Thomas J. Goree, superintendent of the state prison in Huntsville. The communication from East Texas must have stopped Steele short. It warned of a plan by Texas outlaws to violently take control of the state. The letter informed Steele that a prison inmate, while locked up in the Travis County Jail pending his transfer to Huntsville, had seen a letter outlining a scheme to distract the Rangers by recruiting Mexicans to stage a series of attacks along the frontier that would be blamed on Indians. While Rangers looked for Comanche war parties that didn't exist, the outlaws behind the plot would start breaking key colleagues from county jails, including the lockup in Austin — right across the street from the Capitol....
Yachting with FDR and riding Wyo's ranges Margie Barker returns from having breakfast in town with her caregiver, Anita Waites. She pulls on a hat and heads outside to mow the lawn. Keeping up the grounds on her Diamond 4 Ranch along French Creek has always been important to the diminutive Barker. Barker spent many of her 88 years on horseback, but no more. “My bones and my family just won’t allow it," she says. The story of Margie Barker is that of a Fifth Avenue socialite to the wife of a young Wyoming cowboy, Tom Barker. When she traded in her cotillion petticoats and socialite gowns for a pair of Western jeans, Margie never looked back. More than 60 years later, she bubbles with joy at ranch life. She met Tommy Barker at the well-known HF guest ranch northwest of Buffalo. Margie is one of five daughters of Thomas Ellis Brown and Helen Montgomery Langdon Brown, whose names were included in the 1920-30s social registers of Manhattan, N.Y. The Brown girls dated young men from affluent families and regularly attended social events at West Point. Betty Brown dated Howard Hughes for a time and one actor who played Tarzan....
El Millonario: A legend in Belen history Don José Felipe Chávez was the richest, shrewdest businessman in Belen and most of New Mexico during much of the 19th century. Rancher, farmer, merchant, retailer, wholesaler, investor, large landowner and mine owner were just some of his many business roles. He was, in fact, known in his day as "El Millonario." Born in Los Padillas in 1835, Don Felipe was a member of one of the oldest, most powerful families in New Mexico history. His father, José Chávez y Castillo, had served as an acting governor of New Mexico in the 1840s. His mother, Manuela Armijo de Chávez, was a member of the eminent Armijo family and a cousin of Manuel Armijo, the controversial frequent governor of New Mexico under Mexican rule. A natural-born businessman, Don Felipe launched his first business venture in Belen, building a mercantile store where Walgreens now stands on North Main Street. The large store was famous for its many goods and for its long counter in which hundreds of Mexican silver coins were embedded. The Chávez family had long been involved in the highly profitable trade on the Santa Fe Trail. The family's wagons shipped raw materials from Old and New Mexico and hauled manufactured goods from Missouri and beyond in the eastern United States....