NEWS ROUNDUP

Burn, baby, burn The U.S. Forest Service seems to have adopted Sherman's "scorched earth" policy. Each summer we see hundreds of thousands of acres of our priceless public lands seared, wildlife killed or displaced, air polluted with smoke, homes burned to the ground, entire communities threatened and millions of our tax dollars spent on suppression. Sherman at least had a strategic goal in mind--ending a war—but the ultimate goal of today's wildfire policy is a mystery. In years past, the firefighter's mission was clear and unequivocal—gear up to put the fire out as soon as possible. An emphasis was placed on fast initial attack, prevention and aggressive suppression. Now we sometimes see days pass with no suppression action while small fires become big. Attack is often too little, too late. Containment relies heavily on burnouts from distant fire lines and use of aircraft for water and retardant drops. Sometimes fire is contained, and sometimes it is allowed to burn to meet other objectives like improving the health of the forest. But what about the health of the citizens who live near the fires? According to Jay O'Laughlin, director of the Policy Analysis Group, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, carbon dioxide emissions from the forest fires of 2004 totaled 392 million tons, 6 percent of all our nation's energy-related emissions....
BLM allows claim, hands road to Kane County The long, contentious battle over who owns the backroads in rural Utah has taken a new twist. The Bureau of Land Management is handing over a road to Kane County. The agency's Tuesday announcement that it is turning ownership of a nine-mile strip known as the Bald Knoll Road over to the county marks the first time nationally that a road claim has been allowed under a BLM rule crafted to manage disputes after a landmark appeals-court ruling two years ago. Kane County officials on Wednesday welcomed the option for the road, which will allow them to maintain it and make improvements. But the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) argued the BLM's so-called non-binding determination cuts the public out of the decision-making and sets a precedent that could affect wilderness-quality lands. The dispute centers on Revised Statute 2477, a Civil War era mining law that granted rights of way across public land until it was repealed by Congress in 1976. When that happened, existing rights of way were grandfathered in.....
Proposed one-word change worry for landowners Deletion of a single word in federal law could seriously hamper farm drainage and conservation efforts and potentially fuel efforts to “reclaim” perceived wetlands from producers. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar’s (D-Minn.) proposed Clean Water Restoration Act would alter provisions for current federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction of U.S. “navigable” waters to control over all “waters of the U.S.” The bill, expected to come up for a fall vote, would “obliterate” administration and judicial attempts over the past 35 years to clarify federal authority over drainage and wetlands on private lands, American Farm Bureau Federation regulatory specialist Don Parrish told FarmWeek. It would impose federal jurisdiction over roadside and farm ditches, grass waterways, and adjacent “wetlands,” Parrish said. Parrish suggests 55 million to 57 million farm acres “could be swept back into the regulatory process” under Oberstar’s redefinition....
Advocate of lead ban resigns from panel A state Fish and Game commissioner, who last month indicated he would support a ban on the use of lead ammunition in areas where condors roam, resigned Thursday, saying his resignation was requested by the Schwarzenegger administration. R. Judd Hanna's resignation came the day after 34 Republican legislators sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a letter asking for his dismissal. The events were the latest in a continuing struggle over attempts by lawmakers and regulators to require deer hunters to use copper bullets in condor zones. Lead poisoning caused by ingesting bullet fragments in the carcasses of fallen animals is the leading cause of mortality among condors in the wild. An alliance of gun and hunting groups earlier called the proposed ban on lead bullets "draconian." In a letter to the commission last month, the group said the proposal "reflects a hidden agenda by some to ban all hunting in California."....
Smelt is the big fish in California water politics It's not much longer than your pinkie, an aquatic weakling that skulks in a single brackish backwater of the West. Yet the diminutive fish is a big player in California water politics. For years, the delta smelt's survival has been a bone of contention between water managers and environmentalists -- a subject of lengthy court cases and, of late, defining judicial decrees. A decision Aug. 31 by U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger requiring tougher protections for the tiny fish pushed the state's water managers toward uncharted territory in how they manage aqueduct exports out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a key source of water for much of Southern California. State water authorities warned that the ruling could cut exports from the delta by a third or more and possibly usher in widespread rationing of the sort hitting Long Beach. The smelt is seen by biologists as the key indicator of the overall health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Populations of several other fish in the delta are sagging, but the delta smelt tend to get attention from the federal bench and the media. It's a small fish for such a big spotlight. Delta smelt grow to only about 3 inches long and live about a year....
Declaration of Imminent Water Supply Shortage: Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners Activates City's Water Supply Shortage Plan The Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners today officially declared that a water supply shortage for the City of Long Beach is imminent, at a meeting held at the Long Beach Water Department's Groundwater Treatment Facility. In making the Declaration, the Board of Water Commissioners has activated the Long Beach Water Department's Emergency Water Supply Shortage Plan, implementing additional water use prohibitions throughout the City of Long Beach. The Declaration is a proactive measure taken to forestall or lessen the impact of an expected water supply shortage. The Declaration of an Imminent Water Supply Shortage is necessitated by the profound impact of a U.S. District Court's August 31st federal Endangered Species Act ruling; the dramatic, recent reductions in water storage levels in key reservoirs in northern California; this year's record low rainfall in the southern California coastal plain; and a continuation of the historic 8-year drought in the Colorado River Watershed, which is a significant source of imported water for southern California....Go here to read the prohibitions.
Trout lend sperm to sterile salmon Japanese scientists helped infertile salmon sire baby trout by lending them trout sperm, a technique that could save endangered species, according to research published in the United States Thursday. The scientists injected sperm cells from adult rainbow trout into the salmon, enabling the sterile fish then to produce trout sperm by itself, according to the study in the journal Science. These new sperm were then removed and inserted artificially into female salmon, causing them to lay pure trout eggs and making the male salmon fathers of baby trout. The team "produced a generation of donor-derived fish, suggesting that it may be possible to generate fish of endangered or extinct species as long as the reproductive material can be successfully preserved," the report said. "Many salmonids, members of the family that includes trout and salmon, are extinct or endangered and researchers are working to stop this trend," it explained....
Rare turtles renew in Carlsbad Nine new creatures have entered life. The nine endangered Bolson tortoises were hatched at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park and nine more are expected to come out of their shells by mid September. The hatchlings range in weight from 30 to 38 grams (less than a pound), and are the results of 19 eggs laid within two laying periods, three weeks apart. This first group of hatchlings is beginning to feed on native grasses and carrots. Once established and fully adapted to solid food, the hatchlings will be available for public viewing. Living Desert plans to keep the tortoise hatchlings at the park for at least a year, and then release them to the Armendaris Ranch who will eventually relocate them back into the wild....
Yosemite campers: A dying breed? A creature of habit, Brian Ouzounian joins a swallow-like migration each summer to this park's glacier-cleaved valley. Ouzounian has camped in Yosemite Valley in nearly every one of his 57 years, setting down stakes a week at a time with family and friends at the panoramic junction of the Merced River and Tenaya Creek. But this family tradition, which used to seem as solid as the granite cliffs, now appears imperiled to Ouzounian. Add us, he says, to the federal list: The endangered campers of Yosemite. Ouzounian, who petitions and protests, writes letters and attends park meetings, believes he is leading a fight against the extinction of his kind. People may still come in RVs and SUVs loaded with tents and sleeping bags and Coleman stoves, but the opportunities for camping — the bargain-basement entree in Yosemite Valley — have been in decline over the last decade. After a New Year's flood in 1997 cut a destructive swath through the valley, National Park Service officials abandoned several riverfront campgrounds, justifying it as a way to shrink humanity's footprint and give nature a hand up along the banks of the Merced....
Wyoming politicians confront Park Service People hoping to see Sylvan Pass outside Cody remain open in the winter got a boost this week from elected officials who sent scathing letters to the National Park Service, questioning the agency's rationale for possibly closing Yellowstone National Park's East Entrance. Gov. Dave Freudenthal, Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Rep. Barbara Cubin sent word to Park Service officials this week that they disagreed with closing Sylvan Pass because of safety concerns, and questioned why the agency is now saying the road should be closed because of cost concerns. "During all of our discussions, you have continually assured both us and the citizens of Park County that the potential decision to close the East Entrance of YNP would be based solely on the issue of employee safety," the congressional delegation wrote in a joint letter to Interior Department officials. "Time and time again, we were told the decision to close the East Entrance would not be based on funding. Therefore, we are troubled by the apparent back peddling (sic) of the NPS officials who recently suggested that funding will now play a key role in the determination of this issue." The Republicans wrote they are concerned that the Park Service is looking for reasons to close the East Entrance, rather that reasons to keep it open....
As plan fails, Congress scrambles to aid rural counties A Bush administration plan to aid rural counties by selling off Forest Service land collapsed quickly on Capitol Hill. "It's DOA," Tuolumne County Supervisor Richard Pland said this week. Now, with the clock ticking and key questions unanswered, Congress must craft its own solution for helping counties blessed with more trees than tax revenues. It's a multimillion-dollar issue for California, where many counties rely on funding that seems shaky. The 38 affected California counties, and hundreds like them in other states, contain Forest Service land. They used to receive federal funding tied to timber harvest revenues. The money was used for schools and public works. But as logging declined, federal dollars shrunk. In 2000, Congress severed the connection to timber harvesting and guaranteed counties funding. Last year, that amounted to $68 million for California. With the funding about to expire, the fight now is over how to keep this money flowing....
N.D. Sens. Conrad and Dorgan support protecting native prairie U.S. Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota want native prairie protected in the farm bill. In a recent Bismarck Tribune article, both senators said they expect the Senate’s version of the farm bill to contain a Sodsaver provision designed to slow conversion of native grasslands to cropland. Sodsaver would eliminate all federal payments for crops planted on land with no previous cropping history. Landowners could still farm native grasslands but would do so at their own risk without federal assistance. Several national conservation groups and the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association support Sodsaver. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed its version of the farm bill that included Sodsaver. DU hopes the Senate backs-up the House vote with even stronger measures as it drafts its version of the bill....
Nine cows die after drinking from Delmoe Lake, algae bloom suspected Nine cows died after drinking from a popular recreational lake east of here, some after walking just a few feet away from the water, prompting a warning for people to stay out of Delmoe Lake. A witness reported watching two cows drink water from the lake, then walk a few feet before falling over dead, said Terry Sexton, Whitehall district ranger for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Officials suspect the cause could have been a blue-green algae bloom and are warning people to stay out of the lake. "Don't drink the water, don't get in the water,'' Sexton said Wednesday. Forest Service officials are posting signs warning people to stay away from the lake, said Jack de Golia, Beaverhead-Deerlodge spokesman. Blue-green algae, when in the bloom growth phase, can produce a cyanotoxin that is incredibly lethal, said Dr. Joe Hartley, a large animal veterinarian in Dillon....
U.S. officials to outline rule for resuming imports of older Canadian cows The U.S. government is set to announce the rule Friday for resuming imports of older cattle and beef products from Canada. But it will be at least two months before trade resumes because the rule must first be published in the U.S. Federal Register and cannot go into effect until 60 days after that. The Agriculture Department's chief veterinarian, John Clifford, is scheduled to outline the details. After Canada's first case of mad cow in May 2003, U.S. officials shut the border to all cattle and beef products. But in 2005, trade resumed in cows younger than 30 months of age, thought to be at less risk for contracting the disease. A group of American ranchers has been trying to restrict all imports but a U.S. appeals court decision last month said U.S. regulators were right to lift the temporary ban on Canadian cows two years ago.
Bill Would Designate The Cracker Horse As The Official State Horse Florida has a lot of state symbols and soon it could have an official state horse. A bill filed for next year's legislative session would designate the cracker horse as the official state horse. The ancestry of the cracker horse can be traced back to Spanish horses brought here in the 1500's. Used by early Spanish ranchers, the horses also played an important role in the life of the Seminole Indians. In the 1930's, ranchers started to turn to larger quarter horses for ranch work and the cracker horse became rare. The breed's survival over the last fifty years is credited to a handful of families who continued to breed Cracker Horses, including the family of state Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson.
Still in the saddle After 62 years, Colorado Saddlery still is making products to outlast horse and rider. The world's oldest Western saddlery under original ownership, Colorado Saddlery moved from Denver to Arvada a year ago and has settled into its new suburban location. The company distributes its 2,500 different products throughout North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but at heart, it's still a small local business with a handful of employees, President Jeff Van Scoyk said. In a spacious warehouse, handmade leather saddles, halters and reins are lined up to be oiled and hand-finished. Wooden bins full of bits, spurs and other metal parts line the aisles. In the showroom, mahogany, intricately detailed saddles from the 1940s and 1950s sit next to newer, lightweight trail saddles. Four young saddle makers, including Van Scoyk's father, P.R., founded Colorado Saddlery in Denver in 1945. The men had learned the craft with Denver's H.H. Heiser Company, where they built saddles for the cowboys and ranchers of the Old West. Over the years, Colorado Saddlery developed a reputation for quality, and earned such regular customers as Tommy Lee Jones and John Wayne, who discovered the company's products on a film set and became a devotee. The actors' autographed pictures decorate Colorado Saddlery's office walls....