Ted Turner's Land Purchases Questioned Ted Turner's men didn't flinch. As the price climbed past $8 million, $9 million, $9.5 million, they continued bidding at a rapid-fire pace. When the auction was over, they walked away with what they came for: 26,300 acres of prime ranch land, at a cost of nearly $10 million. "It hasn't taken long to find out he's serious," said Duane Kime, a rancher and Turner neighbor who was outbid by about $100,000 by the CNN founder. But what exactly is Turner serious about? The question gnaws at folks here and in other rural areas of the country where people once thought the billionaire just wanted to play cowboy. Turner has amassed 2 million acres over the past two decades to become the largest private landowner in the country. He owns large chunks of land in 11 states, with most of his holdings in New Mexico, Nebraska, Montana and South Dakota, and is restoring buffalo, cutthroat trout, wolves, black-footed ferrets and other flora and fauna that filled the Plains before the West was won. His front men say their boss doesn't have a secret agenda - he just wants to be a rancher. But each big buy only heightens the anxiety and gives rise to conspiracy theories, the most ominous of which hold that the swashbuckling Atlanta executive is bent on putting Nebraska ranchers and farmers out of business. "With him it's such a concern," said Cindy Weller, who lives on the family ranch near Mullen. "You don't know what his plan is and what he's going to do."....
Study: One-quarter of U.S. bird species at risk Almost all of Hawaii's non-migratory native birds are on a new watch list of the USA's most imperiled bird species. The list, released Wednesday by the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy, includes about one-quarter of the more than 700 species that breed in the USA. The groups cited an array of human activities — habitat loss from urban sprawl and energy development, introduction and invasion of foreign animals and disease, and global warming — as key causes of declining numbers for 217 kinds of threatened and endangered birds. Ninety-eight species are regarded at "imminent risk of extinction," Audubon president John Flicker says. "The clock is ticking. Many will not survive unless we act to save them." The birds' home territories range from tropical forests in Florida to eastern woodlands to the sagebrush deserts of the interior West....
Species face tough road despite protections The Fish and Wildlife Service could have a hard time fulfilling its renewed vow to protect the California red-legged frog and other species. Lacking money and hobbled by lawsuits, agency officials don't know when they can complete new reviews of seven controversial endangered species decisions. The agency revealed this week it must review the red-legged frog and six other species because undue political interference tainted past decisions. "These are a top priority, but we are already working with a limited staff and limited resources, and facing a number of court-ordered deadlines," Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Valerie Fellows said Wednesday. The resulting delays further stimulate frustration that's already choking the Endangered Species Act like a weed. "We all would like some resolution to this," Calaveras County Supervisor Merita Galloway said Wednesday. "Everybody is in abeyance until something definitive is decided."....
Jury awards nearly $200,000 in Osage County case A Tulsa federal jury awarded nearly $200,000 on Wednesday to an Osage County landowner who alleged that three local oil and gas producers harmed his property. Don Quarles prevailed on his claims against Spess Oil Co., the Little River Energy Co. and the Yarhola Production Co. The jury decided that Spess should pay $100,000 in actual damages and $67,500 in punitive damages to Quarles. Jurors found that Spess acted in reckless disregard toward the rights of others, which prompted the punitive damages phase of the trial against the Cleveland, Okla., company. The jury ordered that Little River Energy Co. and Yarhola Production Co. each pay $15,000 in damages. Quarles’ attorney Gentner Drummond said after the verdict, it was a “bellwether day” for Osage County ranchers....
BLM head: State, feds should work together on energy The Bureau of Land Management and Colorado officials should work together to draft a coordinated plan for energy development across the state, the federal agency’s state director said Wednesday. Sally Wisely, the BLM’s Colorado state director for two years, said she has put the idea of a more coordinated approach to Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and hopes to meet with him to discuss the idea. Sherman was unavailable for comment, but the department confirmed the BLM had made the overture. “We need a more statewide, strategic approach to energy,” Wisely said Wednesday in an interview with The Daily Sentinel editorial board. A big-picture look at energy development could yield benefits to the state and federal government, Wisely said, as the demand continues for natural gas from the Rocky Mountains....
Domestic Wolf Brings Headaches in Idaho Law enforcement officers in southwestern Idaho have been told by federal wildlife managers not to shoot a domesticated wolf that's been killing and maiming livestock for a month, for fear they might mistakenly kill one of the roughly 800 federally protected wild wolves that roam the state. The adult wolf, which weighs as much as 180 pounds, escaped Oct. 29 from its pen in Owyhee County on the southern bank of the Snake River. Virtually all federally protected wolves are in the Idaho mountains north of the river. Still, Sheriff Gary Aman said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials advised him to hold his fire, for now — in the rare event that one of the protected animals swam the waterway and has taken up residence in his remote region of sagebrush, rattlesnakes and just 11,000 people. "There could be a one-in-a-million possibility that this could be one of their other animals," Aman told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "It's maddening. This is a very, very aggressive, vicious animal. It's used to being around humans, it depends on humans for food and it's been out for almost a month."....
Project Noble Mustang With increased security stretching the limits and resources of government agencies nationwide, Lee Pinkerton, assistant chief patrol agent for the Spokane Sector, wanted to be sure his horse-patrol agents were equipped with hardy animals that could handle the unique demands of the 308 miles of border stretching from the Cascade Mountains to the Continental Divide. This spring, after years of leasing “domestic” horses from local contractors, Pinkerton enlisted some mustang replacements. For Pinkerton, the breed’s dense bone structure and natural resiliency made them a natural choice for miles of daily horseback patrols in the backcountry. “Nature has produced a horse adapted to the rugged places we need to go,” he explained. “They can get us into areas no other mode of transportation can, and they can do it stealthily.” To help put the program, dubbed Project Noble Mustang, in motion, the lifelong horseman joined forces with the Bureau of Land Management and the Colorado Department of Corrections. BLM manages wild horses and burros on government land. Most of this land is in the arid West, where the range’s grazing capacity requires careful monitoring. When wild horses and burros exceed the limits of their range, either in terms of forage or water, BLM officials gather the animals and offer some of them for public adoption to qualified individuals....
U.S. eases up on Canadian meat, poultry exports after problems at Alberta plant The U.S. Department of Agriculture is easing up on Canadian meat and poultry exports following problems at a now bankrupt Alberta meat-packing plant. The USDA imposed tighter exams and testing of the Canadian products on Nov. 9 over concerns that Rancher's Beef Ltd. was linked to the outbreak of a dangerous strain of E. coli that led to the second largest beef recall in U.S. history. Audits conducted by the USDA of Canadian meat plants this month have concluded that unsafe practices were limited to the Rancher's Beef Ltd. operation in Balzac, Alta., said USDA official William James. "The audits indicated the unsafe practices in Rancher's Beef were not employed by other establishments," James wrote Wednesday in a letter to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. "The increased testing has not revealed any problems with Canadian products exported to the United States. "The information from the audits and the increased testing have led us to make the decision to return to normal levels of product examinations and testing."....
From Cowboy To Competitor Making the leap into ranch-horse versatility competition has been a learning experience for Tripp Townsend and the ranch hands at Sandhill Cattle Company. But training their horses for competition has become a part of their everyday ranch routine. A decade ago, training horses for competition was the last thing on Tripp Townsend’s mind. The 36-year-old cowboy grew up riding horses in Texas and Colorado, on ranches that his father managed. The Townsends always considered their horses more than machines used to do a job, valuing good horsemanship skills and seeking ways to improve their horses’ abilities. But solid training information wasn’t as widespread as it is today, and few competitive opportunities existed for ranch horses. “My dad was a self-taught cowboy, horseman and cutting-horse trainer,” Tripp says of the elder Townsend, who passed away 13 years ago. “He showed cutting horses when he could, and he did well. We always tried to improve our horsemanship skills, but we never had the chance to learn from a professional cutting-horse trainer. Instead, we gradually learned on the job.” Tripp is now a third-generation rancher who owns and manages Sandhill Cattle Company, a small feedlot operation in Earth, Texas. There, he continues to hone his horsemanship skills with ranch work....
On the Ropes As modern technology and enviornmental regulations modify ranching in the Great Basin, the Spanish Ranch remains tied to its buckaroo traditions. Ira Wines stands in the middle of a rope corral,his big loop waiting for 58 frosty, wall-eyed geldings to settle in on the ropes. Will Neal has just wrangled the cavvy from its snow-coated pasture, and the horses’ nostrils blow steam that crystalizes in the sub-zero air. They know the drill, shuffling and slipping in the corral until each finds his spot around the perimeter—noses out and hindquarters pointed at Ira. The buckaroo boss’s tall frame helps him lift his houlihan loop high into the morning air, twirling it twice then tossing it over the ears of a leggy blaze-faced bay. The gelding initially bolts, then calmly walks toward the middle of the corral, ears perked as Will approaches with a halter. Ira catches two more, then he, Will and Eric Sligar saddle up and trot to a nearby pasture holding 560 yearlings in need of doctoring....