NEWS ROUNDUP

Judge Limits Navy Sonar, Citing a Threat to Wildlife A federal judge on Monday ordered the Navy to stop using medium-range sonar in training exercises off Southern California, saying that the Navy’s own assessments predicted that dozens of marine mammals, particularly deep-diving whales, could be harmed by the intense sound waves. Beaked whales, in particular, have shown great sensitivity to such sonar. Even without the tests, their numbers in the waters off the West Coast are dwindling. The judge, Florence-Marie Cooper of Federal District Court in Los Angeles, granted a preliminary injunction sought by the Natural Resources Defense Council, noting in a draft order that “mass strandings of whales following naval exercises have been documented” from the Bahamas and the Canary Islands to Greece and Taiwan. The strandings occurred after use of military sonar. The judge also criticized the Navy for curbing its efforts to mitigate the impact of the sonar exercises, adding, “What few mitigation measures remain continue to be ineffective.” The Navy has argued that without training on this widely used system, sailors’ ability to detect enemy vessels is severely hampered. Active sonar, at various frequencies, has been developed over the past two decades as diesel engines on military craft became quieter and harder to detect with passive sonar....
New Gang of Flagellants Wants Us To Suffer for Our Energy 'Greed' Imagine you’re the head of a big energy outfit – GEM, The Greedy Energy Monopoly. Your financial guys bring you their analysis of a proposal to build big new centralized solar panel arrays and strings of windmills along every mountain ridge, in place of new coal-fired generating plants: "We were kind of surprised, boss, but as we pencil it out, we can actually generate enough power to meet all our customers’ anticipated needs for the next 30 years if we go with this solar and wind package, and at a savings of 25 percent," your accountants inform you. "The customers have been whining about $200 electric bills; this would allow us to reduce those bills by 25 percent. Or, in you prefer, we could reduce their bills by 20 percent, and pocket the other 5 percent." You’d have to be nuts not to go with that plan. So why do our energy companies continue to plan and build coal-fired plants? Because the above scenario is bogus. It’s a lie. Replacing the bulk of our power generation with solar and wind and other "green" technologies may well come to pass in another century (and we’ve got enough coal to last three centuries while we get it right, so what’s the rush?) But if they could do the job for less, right now, there’d be private entrepreneurs racing to get rich by building such facilities behind every mesquite tree. And there aren’t. Why?....
Western governors blame cheatgrass for 2007 wildfire woes Four Western governors declared war Monday on cheatgrass, a nonnative weedy grass they blame for filling the West's open spaces with flammable fuels feeding this summer's massive wildfires. Still, their efforts could be complicated by a shortage of seeds of other grasses needed to restore the charred landscape before cheatgrass takes hold. In fact, some of the federal Bureau of Land Management territory where such seeds are collected has been burned. And environmentalists are leery about the plans for replanting, fearing they'll concentrate on grasses that provide forage for livestock rather than native vegetation that helps wildlife such as sage grouse. By Sept. 1, the governors want a pilot project that will include planting grasses, in hopes of preventing cheatgrass from gaining a greater foothold. Their program will also include new cross-border pacts aimed at helping states share resources and gear when fires erupt, the governors said....
Caswell confirmed as BLM director James Caswell has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new director of the Bureau of Land Management. President Bush nominated Caswell to replace Kathleen Clarke, who resigned in February. The Bureau of Land Management manages about one-eighth of the land in the United States. Caswell currently works as the head of Idaho's Office of Species Conservation. Idaho Senators Larry Craig and Mike Crapo lauded Caswell's confirmation. They say his experience qualifies him for the job and that he's known for being fair and practical. Caswell has spent 33 years in various positions with the BLM, Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Forest Service....
Panel mulls over wild land election Debate about wilderness for Doña Ana County continued Monday during a panel discussion in Las Cruces arranged by U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M. State Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, director of the local New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, was one of two panelists advocating a wilderness designation. He said he believes support for a wilderness designation is broad among community members, and that wasn't reflected on the panel make-up. Other attendees included a Randy McMillan, a Realtor; Erik Ness, with the Doña Ana County Farm and Livestock Bureau; Judd Singer, owner of Via Custom Homes; Frank DuBois, a former state agriculture secretary and Fred Huff, an off-road vehicle enthusiast. A proposed wilderness designation has concerned area ranchers, who have said it would curtail access to the land. Wilderness backers have argued land will succumb to development if it isn't protected soon. Wilderness is a federal designation that prohibits most mechanized travel. Attendees packed the Las Cruces Public Schools school board meeting room, where the forum was held. Steinborn asked wilderness supporters to applaud at the beginning of the meeting to show their presence and received a loud response. Opponents to wilderness also applauded loudly after presentations by several panelists....
Facility turning wood into ethanol The newly built plant on the outskirts of Upton, Wyo., looks a little like a cross between a sawmill and an oil refinery. And, in a way, it is. The plant recently began grinding up wood chips, sawdust and logging refuse, called slash, into ethanol fuel for automobiles. Western Biomass Energy, operated by KL Process Design Group of Rapid City, operates the new wood-waste ethanol plant. It can produce about 1.5 million gallons of ethanol per year. That's small by today's ethanol standards. Some of the new Midwestern corn-based ethanol plants are being built to produce 110 million gallons a year. But KL officials say the new plant shows their process for unlocking the sugars from cellulose, or plant fibers, can be viable. And, as the development of biomass technology progresses, more types of plant-life - wood, sugar beets and switchgrass - could be converted to liquid fuel....
Editorial - Guilt relief in global warming A new trend is to become a zero-sum contributor of greenhouse gases ("carbon neutral"). Some people avoid the lifestyle change, however, and instead purchase "offsets." But do such buy-offs really make a difference? Yes and no. The idea behind carbon offsets is simple: Make a contribution to any project that reduces greenhouse gases, such as a tree-planting scheme or a business that captures methane from landfills, and thus compensate for one's personal additions to global warming. Spend enough money and your conscience seems clear as regards being responsible for climate change. The World Bank estimates that the global market in voluntary offsets, by both businesses and individuals, grew to about $100 million in 2006, and will rise again this year. Last month, for instance, the US Forest Service announced a Carbon Capture Fund that will sell offsets to individuals. Since trees absorb CO2, the fund will underwrite tree-planting in Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota. Buyers will first use a "carbon calculator" to measure how much their activities at home, on transportation, at leisure, or on the job produce greenhouse gases, and then pay a certain amount to have seedlings planted in treeless areas. A small family, for instance, might pay under $200 per year, depending on its lifestyle. Another attempt to sell offsets is General Electric's "Earth Rewards" credit card. Up to 1 percent of each purchase with the card is used to fund programs that claim to reduce greenhouse gases....
High-country deal opens trails The most popular path to three of the state's 14,000-foot peaks near Telluride will reopen to hikers under a deal between a conservation group and a Texas developer. The Trust for Public Land has reached a tentative agreement with Rusty Nichols, owner of 220 acres of mining claims, to buy his property, which would provide access to the Silver Pick Trail that leads to Mount Wilson, El Diente Peak and Wilson Peak. There has been only limited access for the past three years. "We really have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here," said Jason Corzine, senior project manager for the nonprofit conservation group. "This is very much one of the symbols of Colorado," Corzine said, "and we can get it back into the public domain." The price was not disclosed, but the Telluride Foundation - which contributed $150,000 - pegged it at $3 million....
A Wyoming forest yearns to burn Gorgeous red sunsets and haze in the air scare the heck out of people in my part of Wyoming. We live next to the Shoshone National Forest. It is a jewel, and so remarkable that it was the first national forest created by Congress. The mountains in this 2.4 million-acre reserve in west-central Wyoming are the tallest in the state. The views in the area are breathtaking, and I am lucky enough to live within five miles of its border. But like most people who live close to the Shoshone, I fear that it will burn up. Who would be affected? Folks in towns including Lander, Dubois, the Wind River Indian Reservation, Cody and Meeteetse, to name just a few. We all know the major reasons: Fire-fighting efforts have successfully prevented blazes in the forest over the past 60 years, creating huge amounts of deadfall. The northern Rocky Mountains are also in the midst of drought - the worst in 500 years. Add to that increased visitation by campers, hikers and horseback enthusiasts, plus the subdivisions that have cropped up close to the forest and within the forest as well....
Judge: No drilling on South Shale yet The Bureau of Land Management will have to reconsider allowing natural gas drilling on South Shale Ridge north of Grand Junction after a federal judge in Denver ruled Monday that the agency’s decision to do so was arbitrary and capricious. Judge Marcia S. Krieger ruled that the BLM must stop all leasing and prevent any lease from taking effect on South Shale Ridge because the agency considered neither the full effect of drilling on threatened plants nor an option allowing energy companies to drill from outside the area without harming the surface of the wildland. Krieger said the BLM’s environmental assessment of drilling the ridge violated the National Environmental Policy Act. South Shale Ridge, a 32,000 acre wildland west of DeBeque harboring several plants, including the hookless cactus, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, was once considered for wilderness status, but was opened to oil and gas leasing two decades ago....
More Dead Wild Horses on Tonopah Test Range Federal officials are investigating the deaths of at least 55 wild horses and an antelope found near a watering hole on a ballistics and bombing range in central Nevada. A Bureau of Land Management official in Las Vegas says tissue from the animals and water samples are being tested, and results could take up to a week. The BLM and Air Force released a statement Tuesday saying the pond was believed to be the problem. It's on a dry lake bed on the Tonopah Test Range -- at least 210 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The area's home to about 250 wild horses. Workers are fencing off the pond Wednesday and setting up storage tanks to offer fresh water to wild horses and burros....
Fresh cull in foot-and-mouth zone A fresh case of foot-and-mouth disease is suspected in Surrey, the chief veterinary officer has confirmed. Cattle, within the 3km protection zone set up around the farm where the first outbreak occurred, are being culled as a precaution. Chief veterinary officer Debby Reynolds said they had detected "suspect" signs and the cows were being culled to "minimise any chance of spread". Test results, due on Tuesday, will establish if it is another outbreak. The BBC understands the new foot-and-mouth cull will affect between 50 and 100 cattle. Dr Reynolds said the second potential outbreak site was a "small number of kilometres" from Wolford farm, near Guildford, the first infected premises....
UK foot-and-mouth vaccines ordered Britain was on Monday night drawing up contingency plans to vaccinate thousands of farm animals against foot-and-mouth disease in a move that if implemented could see meat exports suspended for up to six months. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on Monday night confirmed a second case of suspected foot-and-mouth disease within 3km of the protection zone set up around the original outbreak near Guildford, south-west of London. Investigators probing the source of the first outbreak are expected to report their findings today. The European Union on Monday banned British meat, dairy and livestock exports, and the UK cannot export to other countries until it regains disease-free status. The Meat and Livestock Federation has estimated that the UK – which last year exported more than £500m ($1bn, €740m) of red meat and livestock, mostly to Europe – loses £10m for every week it cannot export....
Rancher, linguist working to preserve native language An effort to save the Mandan language may rest on the shoulders of a 75-year-old horse rancher. Experts believe Edwin Benson is the only person living who speaks fluent Mandan, the language of the American Indian tribe that became the host of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during the explorers' winter encampment in North Dakota more than 200 years ago. For past three summers, in six-hour shifts, Benson and California linguist Sara Trechter have camped out in a small office so he can speak into a microphone while Trechter takes notes. The two recently finished transcribing seven Mandan folk stories. Benson's grandfather insisted on keeping alive Mandan traditions and language. Ben Benson forbid speaking English in his home, a log cabin near the mouth of the Little Missouri River....
It's All Trew: Recreating the past with tree revival The original chapter of our ranch home began in early 1918 with a two room, board-and-bat frame dwelling sitting all alone on a hillside by an Eclipse windmill. Frank Crisp had big plans to marry, buy land from his father and start a family. Plans went astray when the intended bride got cold feet and backed out. Frank was so disgusted he joined the army in WWI. The second chapter came when his brother Enloe took over with plans of similar nature. He added two more rooms and moved in. His plans also went astray when his father sold the land to Charley McMurtry, an up and coming new rancher in the area. The third chapter saw McMurtry adding porches front and back, a cellar and topping it all off with a new pointed hip roof painted charcoal gray. A couple of good cattle years added barns, corrals and a bunkhouse with the place christened Red Camp because of the red paint applied to all. Even the windmill and cypress water tank were painted. This era lasted about thirty years until sold in 1949 to J.T. and Oma Trew....