NEWS ROUNDUP

Panel: Consider nuclear power Greenhouse gas emissions in Utah can be reduced through energy conservation, investing in new coal technologies and developing more renewable energy. But the state's leaders also should consider the potential of nuclear power plants, a climate change panel decided Tuesday. The decision to raise nuclear power from a low- to mid-level priority for countering global warming came after some members of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change declared the group's work would not be legitimate unless nuclear power were treated seriously. Doing otherwise, said Farm Bureau CEO Randy Parker, "draws into question the balance and validity of this group, right here, right now." The challenge, supported by Utah Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, and Rocky Mountain Power representative Carol Hunter, came after 10 of 21 panelists voted to boost nuclear power's status on a list of ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The panelists wholeheartedly supported a host of other measures to fight global warming that previously have provoked more debate than agreement among policymakers, industry and conservationists....
Dyson: Climate models are rubbish British-born physicist Freeman Dyson has revealed three "heresies", two of which challenge the current scientific orthodoxy that anthropogenic carbon causes climate change. "The fuss about global warming is grossly exaggerated," writes Dyson in his new book Many Colored Glass: Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe, published on Wednesday. He pours scorn on "the holy brotherhood of climate model experts and the crowd of deluded citizens who believe the numbers predicted by the computer models". "I have studied the climate models and I know what they can do. The models solve the equations of fluid dynamics, and they do a very good job of describing the fluid motions of the atmosphere and the oceans. They do a very poor job of describing the clouds, the dust, the chemistry, and the biology of fields and farms and forests," writes Dyson. Biomass holds the key to carbon, he writes - leaving us to infer that he thinks the human contribution is negligible. Overall, Dyson issues a plea for more scientific research into the behaviour of the planet's biomass....
Panelists offer mixed views on wilderness Would federally designated wilderness in Doña Ana County hinder law enforcement along the international border? Panelists and attendees speaking at a forum hosted by U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce on Wednesday in Anthony had conflicting views. Doña Ana County Sheriff Todd Garrison said he's concerned about the wilderness proposal. Garrison said his department responds to calls from the public who report illegal activity in regions proposed. "I'm concerned if we do have that wilderness ..., there won't be as many people out there," he said. "My concern then would be the smuggling and the illegal (immigrants)." Las Crucen Jodi Denning spoke during a public input session at the end of the meeting, saying she's worried about the impact wilderness will have on the safety of law enforcement officials. "I cannot begin to understand how someone could look another person squarely in the eye and tell that person that they believe that an animal, or even worse, a plant is more important than that person's life — and I'm talking about law enforcement ...," she said. "That is truly in my mind unconscionable." Denning is a member of the group People for Preserving Our Western Heritage....
Editorial - BLM should take a second look at ashes request t's a nice option for grieving families. Instead of a traditional burial or inurnment, the cremated ashes of loved ones are scattered in a special place — the ocean, a favorite mountainside, a meadow, even from a plane. In 2003, nearly 29 percent of Americans who died were cremated and that number is expected to jump to almost 46 percent by 2025. Montana's rate is even higher, with a 55 percent cremation rate in 2003. The U.S. Forest Service's policy is to reject all requests to scatter remains on its lands, citing concerns that survivors of the deceased may try to interfere with management of the land. That's understandable, but we like the approach of the National Park Service better. The Grand Canyon National Park, for example, steers people looking to scatter remains away from sites that tribes consider sacred. Alaska's Denali National Park looks at requests individually and generally grants them. The BLM and the Forest Service should at least try to come up with a similar process....
Ranch sale a model of cooperation: Land owners, environmentalist find common ground Along the golden slopes of Bobcat Ranch, recently planted rows of native grasses bend in the breeze, just across a dirt road from the field where grazing cattle served as weed control in May. Ranchers and conservationists have found common ground at the 7,000-acre spread, literally and ideologically. In late July, Audubon California purchased the ranch in a transaction that reflects a spirit of increasing cooperation among environmental groups and private landowners. “People are tired of agriculture and environmentalists butting heads,” said Vance Russell, director of Audubon's Landowner Stewardship Program, which will manage the property. “Both agriculture and environment lose when you pave over areas.” The serene landscape, silent except for the occasional call of an acorn woodpecker, offers no hint that in 2000, when it was last sold, developers considered transforming the site into an upscale housing division and a golf course. Instead, Regent Trust Co. of Great Britain purchased the land, and the property survived as a working ranch where cattle will share space with preservation-oriented research and restoration projects....
Measure would ban 'captive hunting' of deer, elk A proposed ballot initiative would prohibit private hunting preserves in North Dakota from taking paying customers to hunt deer, elk and other big game in fenced areas. Critics of the measure said it would violate landowners' property rights. Earlier this year, the North Dakota Legislature defeated a similar proposal to ban hunting within fenced preserves, concluding the move would step on the property rights of game farm operators. North Dakota has more than 100 registered deer and elk farms, many of which offer hunters the chance to come on their property for a fee. Shawn Schafer, of Turtle Lake, said the measure's language would even prohibit ranchers from raising big game to be butchered and sold for the meat....
Space for native species Wildlife managers released chemicals into the upper portions of Comanche Creek in the Carson National Forest on Wednesday, part of an ambitious effort to remove non-native fish and make room for the Rio Grande cutthroat trout in its home waters. The effort, which could take more than a decade, involves releasing the chemical rotenone into the water, a toxic agent for fish. The goal of the project is to clear non-native rainbow trout, brown trout and other fish from more than 150 miles of streams, 25 lakes and Costilla Reservoir in Northern New Mexico. Those fish generally compete with cutthroats for resources, and New Mexico’s state fish has been reduced to 10 percent of its former territory in southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico....
Phenomenon Boggles Rangers Near Santa Fe There is a mystery near Santa Fe and it is one that covers miles and miles of the Santa Fe National Forest. A blowdown wiped out thousands of trees in the forest. It is an occurrence that takes place when high winds toss sections of trees to the ground. But this one is not just a section of trees. Trees were snapped like twigs for miles near Pecos Baldy. "Thirteen hundred acres, almost 4 miles long, almost a mile wide in places, almost a continuous swath of trees just mowed down," said Miles Standish with the Santa Fe National Forest. Foresters think the trees on the ground, despite being mature, may have had only shallow root systems. "In those cases, maybe, they uprooted. And in other cases, the trees were more firmly rooted and snapped off," Standish said....
Sierra's Experimental Forest Is A Scientist's Dream It's been a year since we first told you about the Sagehen experimental forest in the Sierra-Nevada. The forest is a scientist's dream come true -- a place where research takes priority over everything else. ABC7 takes a second look at this living laboratory. The Sagehen Forest is in the Lake Tahoe Basin, a few miles north of the town of Truckee. Researchers have been coming to Sagehen for decades. But a year ago, the U.S. Forest Service officially designated 8,000 acres as an experimental forest. That insures Sagehen will be permanently preserved for research and education. Jeff Brown, Sagehen: "So now the prime focus for managing this tract is to learn from it." One of the rules here is that everyone has to share their findings. For example, a three-dimensional map of the Sagehen watershed will now be available to every scientist who comes here. It was made using global positioning satellites, a laser, and an airplane....
Sudden Oak Death: Humans Fostering Forest-destroying Disease Enjoying your August vacation? Well, (as they say in the summer movies) there's a killer in the woods. Its strike has been consistently quiet, sudden, and deadly. Unknowingly, we have all been playing into its hands... But put down that rock -- you personally are not in any danger. It's the woods themselves that are getting axed and you may be an accomplice. Melodrama aside, the threat is very serious -- the killer is an invasive, forest-destroying plant disease known as Sudden Oak Death. Caused by an (apparently) non-native water mold (Phytophthora ramorum), the disease affects a broad range of woody plants, and is particularly lethal to our native oaks. In the last few years, it has infected and killed large stands of western oaks with alarming suddenness (hence the name). From its initial California appearance sometime in the mid-1990's, the disease has been spreading rapidly, changing the landscape as it goes....
Of Cattle and Fire No fire, however, has been able to compare to the 653,100-acre Murphy Complex Fire on the border between Idaho and Nevada. Not only was it the largest fire of the summer, but the massive blaze threatened two towns, the Duck Valley Indian Reservation and numerous ranches spread out across the desolate terrain. While fire crews struggled to contain the fire, many ranchers watched as the land their livelihoods depend on was scorched. In some cases even livestock were caught by the fast-moving flames. In the wake of the fire, everyone involved has tried to assign blame. Ranchers and residents point to the state and the Bureau of Land Management, who, in turn, point to federal regulations they say tied their hands. After a tour of the affected area, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig joined the party, placing blame on grazing regulations, stating that restrictions allowed vegetation to become overgrown, providing more fuel for wildfires. But grazing in Idaho and the West is no light matter—especially not in the Jarbidge area, at the heart of the fire....
County fairboard opposes premises ID in secret ballot Custer County’s Fair Board opposes mandatory premises ID for 4-H and FFA youth. Earlier this month, the county fair board decided to sign a resolution stating opposition to the mandate requiring Colorado’s FFA and 4-H youth to obtain a premises identification in order to show their animals at the county and state fairs. Premises ID registration lists the name and address of the ranch where the animal is raised and the ranch owner. Beginning in October, Colorado State University Extension and Colorado FFA Association will require all 4-H and FFA youth enrolling in livestock projects to obtain a premises ID. At that time, the commissioners cited premises ID is voluntary for ranchers and many 4-H and FFA youth have indicated they will no longer participate in the county fair due to the new regulation....
Rodeo bull being tested for tuberculosis A Colorado rodeo bull that has been in at least a dozen states is being tested for bovine tuberculosis. Colorado Agriculture Department spokeswoman Christi Lightcap says the state's cattle industry could lose its tuberculosis-free accreditation if the bull has the disease. That would mean Colorado ranchers would have to do more testing before their cattle could be shipped across state lines. Test results are expected next week. Lightcap says the bull was tested because it came in contact with another bull that had the disease....