Monday, July 07, 2014

U.K. climate minister sees U.S. and China boosting chances for global pact

The Obama administration's proposed curbs on power plant emissions have helped open the door to an international climate change deal, the United Kingdom's energy secretary said yesterday. In an interview with ClimateWire, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey called the contentious new carbon dioxide regulations under U.S. EPA "fantastic." And while there has been little evidence yet that China or other major emitters are following suit with their own fresh targets, Davey said he is optimistic. "I am absolutely convinced the Chinese have taken a decision that they must pursue a clean energy future," Davey said. Movement in the United States to ratchet back greenhouse gas emissions, he added, "gives the political space for a deal to be done." Nations have pledged to develop a new climate change agreement to be signed in Paris in 2015. Under it, all countries -- including big developing countries like China, India and Brazil -- will be expected to contribute to emissions cuts after 2020. But working out the details of what could be the world's first truly global climate agreement has been slow-going and contentious. A midyear negotiating session in Bonn, Germany, last month moved the ball forward by inches with an agreement to circulate "elements" of a draft deal. Leaders have called for a draft text to be completed at a December summit in Lima, Peru...more

Strategies to stop Fort Carson expansion

The Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition (PCEOC) was formed nine years ago to stop the expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS). To date, that effort has been successful. The board of directors decided early on that PCEOC needed to be a big tent; there was no room in the expansion battle for partisan politics or divisive ideologies. Through the years PCEOC maintained a diverse set of board members and worked with politicians and non-profits from a wide political spectrum. At various times PCEOC has been labeled “environmental wackos” and “property rights extremists.” The organization has always defied those labels and strived to represent all of Southeastern Colorado in the expansion battle. The PCEOC has always viewed stopping expansion as a layering of political and legislative obstacles that eventually made expansion unappealing to the Army. These layers fall into three general categories: Public relations, government action limiting legislation, and documentation that Southeastern Colorado has value. The National Heritage Act falls into the third category of documenting value. In 1983 the Army successfully made the public relations case that our region was an overgrazed wasteland where ranchers wanted out because they had abused the land and its resources. PCEOC documented for state and national politicians that Southeastern Colorado is a unique place where the biological, economic and cultural coexist symbiotically, not in conflict. The foundation of a unique relationship between a successful economy and ecology is private land ownership. Each rancher must operate sustainably to stay in business on his or her own land. Generational knowledge about how to run cattle and use of historical resources in today’s world are at the heart of this ecological and economic relationship (emphasis mine).

Read the column to see how private landowners were considering using a federal environmental law to keep the feds from acquiring private property.

Business Week/Bloomberg profile Sally Jewel

Many of Jewell’s formative experiences took place outside the classroom, beginning, she says, with a two-week camping trip when she was 9. “For each week we had different graduate students that taught us about nature,” she says. “The first week was about the trees and fauna of the Pacific Northwest. The second week was about meteorology and archeology and a little bit of entomology. So from a very young age I got a dose of not just being out in nature but getting to understand nature.” At 15 she made her first attempt to climb Mount Rainier, the 14,409-foot glaciated volcano visible from Seattle. In 1971, Jewell’s team found itself in a whiteout, keeping her from reaching the summit. She made it on her next try and has since topped out seven times. (She’s surely capable of an eighth: In D.C., she’s known to take the stairs to her sixth-floor office, even multiple times per day.)...more
 
The article mentions two items high on her agenda.  First is reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund so the gov't may acquire more land.  Discussions are happening in DC with R's and D's for new language.  Second is to reform oil and gas permitting so that "industry gets permission faster, while underwriting environmental impact evaluations and inspections Interior can’t afford."


In elections, sage grouse may rule the roost

An obscure, chicken-sized bird best known for its mating dance could help determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. Senate in November. The federal government is considering listing the greater sage grouse as an endangered species next year. Doing so could limit development, energy exploration, hunting and ranching on the 165 million acres of the bird’s habitat across 11 Western states. Apart from the potential economic disruption, which some officials in Western states discuss in tones usually reserved for natural disasters, the specter of the bird’s listing is reviving the centuries-old debates about local vs. federal control and whether to develop or conserve the region’s vast expanses of land. Two Republican congressmen running for the U.S. Senate in Montana and Colorado, Steve Daines and Cory Gardner, are co-sponsoring legislation that would prevent the federal government from listing the bird for a decade as long as states try to protect it. Environmentalists and the two Democratic senators being challenged, John Walsh in Montana and Mark Udall in Colorado, oppose the idea. They say they don’t want a listing, either, but that the threat of one is needed to push states to protect the bird...more

They are using the ESA as a "threat" against the states.  Here is a law that is so controversial it expired in 1992, and the only reason its been enforced is because Congress keeps funding it.  And this is a "law" so powerful the enviros and the feds use it to threaten an entire swath of states.  Why do the Republicans keep funding it?

Lawsuits seek to stop work at mines in 3 states: NM, Colo. and Montana

Coal industry representatives say lawsuits against mines in three Western states could have consequences across the U.S. as environmentalists seek changes in how mining is approved on federally owned reserves. In civil cases unfolding in Colorado, New Mexico and Montana, the group WildEarth Guardians asserts coal companies benefited from lax oversight by federal regulators. The group says the U.S. Department of Interior approved mining plans without enough public involvement, and gave little heed to the pollution caused by digging, shipping and burning coal. The group asked the courts to stop mining until the plans are re-done. The cases involve the San Juan coal mine in New Mexico, the Colowyo and Trapper mines in Colorado, and the Spring Creek mine in Montana. Combined, they employed about 1,200 workers and produced 27 million tons of coal last year, according to federal records. Attorneys for the federal government denied the environmentalists’ claims and have asked the courts to dismiss the cases. More detailed briefs from the government are due in coming weeks. A fourth case involving several mines in Wyoming was voluntarily dismissed. New Mexico-based WildEarth Guardians has a lengthy record of litigation against the coal industry. Just in the past five years its attorneys have filed dozens of lawsuits and legal petitions against agencies that regulate mining on federal lands. Yet all sides in the three lawsuits over the mining plans agree the consequences in those cases could be particularly far-reaching. Coal mines nationwide have gone through the same approval process that’s being challenged, according to a National Mining Association attorney. If the government’s defense is unsuccessful, mines across the U.S. would be threatened, the group said...more

Environmentalists call for 'do-over' on management plan

A coalition of environmentalists and landowners is calling on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to rewrite its proposed management plan for federal lands around Buffalo, arguing that the current draft would roll back protections aimed at preventing oil and gas development on areas unsuitable for drilling. BLM officials defended their proposal. The draft Buffalo Resource Management Plan, which will govern 780,000 acres of BLM surface land and 4.8 million acres of federal minerals, clarifies past ambiguities about where companies are allowed to drill and will mean more consistent management in the region, they said. Industry officials, meanwhile, welcomed the move, saying it provided companies flexibility while also ensuring conservation goals are met. The debate highlighted the rising stakes in the Powder River Basin, where oil development is now increasing. The BLM projects that 1,773 wells will be drilled in coming decades throughout the western reaches of the basin covered under the Buffalo plan. An additional 2,721 coal-bed methane wells are expected to be drilled in the area. Under the 1984 plan governing the Buffalo region, development was prohibited on slopes greater than 25 percent. It was restricted in areas susceptible to erosion and locations where reclamation efforts were deemed unlikely to succeed. The draft plan would allow companies to drill in those areas provided they produce site-specific plans saying how they intend to mitigate environmental concerns. "It can really hurt private landowners who have federal minerals beneath them," said Jill Morrison, an organizer at the Powder River Basin Resource Council, a Sheridan-based landowner's group. "The reason those stipulations were put in place originally was to protect those fragile landscapes and those areas that really can’t be reclaimed."...more 

Mormon crickets descend into Idaho

Mormon crickets are moving through Oneida County in southeastern Idaho and damaging valuable farm crops, according to agriculture officials. Mormon crickets are known to cause damage to crops and rangeland if they break out in large swarms. The small insect, related to the grasshopper, doesn’t fly but can migrate great distances and travel in wide bands. Mormon crickets are common in southern Idaho but populations have been low over the past two years, according to USDA information provided to the newspaper. The last outbreak was in 2006 in eastern Idaho. Scientists are still unsure what causes the cricket outbreaks. In Oneida County, Mormon crickets have been counted as high as 15 crickets per square yard...more

Murder or suicide in Roy, NM?

Geraldine Ray, the 89-year-old matriarch of a well-known Harding County ranching family, was found unresponsive in bed on Jan. 9. Jerry, as she was known, was the daughter of homesteaders who was born and raised on the family ranch, and news of her death spread fast in Roy, a village of a little more than 200 people. She was a hunter, a singer and fiddler with The Gloom Chasers band back in the ’40s, and a fixture at community events. Sadness quickly turned to unease when police called her passing a “suspicious death” and strung crime scene tape around the old brick ranch house where she lived with her only daughter, Donna. Police interviewed members of the Ray family, and took fingerprints and DNA samples from both Donna Ray and her ex-husband. They came back to Roy three months later with an arrest warrant...more

Sunday, July 06, 2014

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

You can't see the feather but I'm sure it's there
New twister initiation

By Julie Carter

Nothing smells better to a cowboy than a sweaty horse as long as it’s his favorite except maybe a pretty girl, as long as she’s his favorite.

A quality horse worthy of a cowboy’s love and respect doesn’t just happen – there are many hours and countless miles invested between a pretty little colt and a good finished horse.

Starting colts is part of the normal operation on most ranches. The young cowboys look forward to it and a new crop of colts will keep them busy.

Sometimes extra hands are hired to help and occasionally there’s a twister who likes nothing better than to ride a horse that likes to buck. The horses will get in the spirit of this and some will pitch every time a rider swings up just because both the rider and the horse like to show off.

Billy was such a horse. With this reputation, he was known as the “initiation horse,” saved for the new hires.

Initiations provide a little fun with newcomers to see if they were worth their salt. They would rope Billy out of the horse herd, and he would stand quietly while he was saddled and the cowboy got topside.

Once the new twister was aboard, he would swallow his head. If the twister made a ride, he was accepted as an equal. If he was thrown high enough for the birds to build a nest in his hat, times would be hard for him for a while.

If a new hand didn’t strike the old hands just right, they would skip the initiation “for fun” part and Billy would be on a temporary vacation.

A new twister had shown up at the ranch late one evening. He allowed that he had come to help these boys out a little.

He had recently been working at the feed store in town, but was ready to outpunch anybody around – assured that he was loaded up with cowboy skill. 

The regular cowboy crew looked him over, took in the boots with 18” high tops, under-slung heels and britches tucked in. They saw that he had a hat with a big turkey feather.  They didn’t miss the attitude either.

Before light the next morning all the hands gathered at the horse pen. The wagon boss was roping out horses to work that day. The new hand stood around, anxious to get to work on this big, prestigious outfit. 

With dead accuracy, the boss laid a houlihan loop over one horse after another for the waiting cowboys. When the crew had their mounts, the boss dropped a loop over a big, stout-looking dun. 

When the loop settled, the dun set back, blew a few rollers out of his nose and wouldn’t come out of the herd. Finally, one of the hands, who was already mounted, had to dally him up and drag him out.

The boss told the new hand: “Here’s your horse. His name is Sam Bass, he’s 7 years old and you won’t need that bridle. He’s still in a hackamore.”

Proving that attitude doesn’t always replace intelligence, the new twister took in all the expectant faces, looked over the dun blowing snot in front of him and told the foreman, “You can take Mr. Sam Bass and stick him up your …”

It rhymed. No one knew that this new twister was also a poet.

The turkey feather pluming above his hat was last seen fading off into the sunrise as the feed store cowboy headed back to town.

Julie never aspired to “twister” status, but can be reached for comment at jcarternm@gmail.com

I hasten to add the image and caption are mine, not Julie's.


Liberty and Justice … for Government only


The continuing power of the telephone and the pen
Independence Week
Liberty and Justice … for Government only
By Stephen L. Wilmeth


            The New Mexico Brand Board was created like every other department or agency to serve the public’s better interest. It all started when the community needed to enforce basic matters of human conduct by maintaining rules and guidelines. In the case of brand board, it was the matter of protecting livestock ownership and the legal authority to engage in the enterprise of stock raising. Simply hanging cattle rustlers or horse thieves didn’t set well with the more sophisticated gentry. A more civilized method of dealing with cowards and parasites was launched. Similar conditions drove the establishment of other agencies.
            The relationship between the producing public and the public servants was assumed to be mutually beneficial, but the existence was predicated on the dominion of the citizen. A bond of trust and fair dealing was expected.
            Something is happening, though, that is driving a wedge between the public and most if not all agencies. The protector is becoming the protected, and the citizen is being relegated into the more compulsory role of subject.
            I was stopped on a recent morning because I was pulling a horse trailer. I wasn’t speeding. I wasn’t driving recklessly. I was simply pulling a horse trailer.
            The stop was accompanied by flashing lights, slowing traffic and finding a place to get stopped and ready to greet the public official.
            I expected the exchange to be brief. Greetings would be exchanged, and both the official and I would be on our way. In jest, and, fully expecting a similar response, I said, “He’s not branded … go ahead and take him!”
            That was a mistake.
            The ensuing discourse certainly wasn’t the matter of public trust that it should have been nor was it becoming to either party. A report was issued and I was ordered to sign it. Having done nothing wrong, I asked what the report was for and why I had to sign it. What was said is indicative of what we are experiencing daily with our government. My assessment then and now was the entire ordeal was a matter of seeking penalty derived revenues and nothing to do with protecting livestock ownerships and the legal authority to engage in the enterprise of stock raising.
            I wasn’t even hauling livestock … I was hauling protein supplement!
            American values
            The weekly search for American values was tedious and exhausting.
There were several Supreme Court cases that shocked us into thinking that those mere mortals elevated holographically above their hallowed District of Columbia bench might actually have the sovereign citizen in mind. That conclusion must be considered elusory, however, because all but one of the case votes were razor thin and only a gnat’s eye lash between hope for our future and permanent despair. Most folks I know expected worst case from the decisions, but they each prompted a momentary pause. Quiet praise was offered in abundance.
The real values demonstration actually took place in … Israel.
It was there American culture influenced Benjamin Netanyahu struck back with vengeance at the evil that would dare harm three Israeli youth who will never see twenty years of life. He didn’t hesitate to strike 34 targets in Hamas controlled Gaza in retaliation as soon as it was discovered those three young men had been killed.
Wouldn’t it be reassuring to expect our sitting president to have the same unerring reaction and respect for our lives? We know that won’t be the case, hence, it is incumbent upon us to recognize and praise such sacred duty when and where we find it. More often than not we must now look toward Israel to find such dignities. Similar actions certainly aren’t coming from the White House.
As the American independence week ends, the harvest of tax payments continues to run at record pace. Loyal, productive Americans are forking out their mandatory and increasing association fees for some nebulous paradigm of freedom. There can’t be celebration, however, because the acceleration of spending continues unabated.
There can be no rationalization of this pell-mell rush to oblivion. We can only come to one conclusion … the horror of the conduct of this government surpasses all understanding.
That pen just keeps on hurling
From the geyser of presidential order assaults, came another memorandum on June 23. It was entitled ‘Enhancing Workplace Flexibilities and Work-Life Programs’. The memorandum outlined the path for federal workers to balance their responsibilities at work and their personal needs at home and at play. The bottom line is the president has ordered the implementation of programs that allow workers in all federal departments and agencies to set their own work schedules. He claims this is necessary in order “to attract, empower, and retain a talented and productive workforce in the 21st century."
The language in the memo is astonishing.
Among many requirements, we should expect part time and job sharing employees. There will be effort given to define core hours and limiting those hours to only hours that are necessary. There will be private space “to express milk” for nursing mothers. Telework will be heralded. Progressive leave transfer policies will be created as will leave banks where leave time can be brokered. Matters of psychological, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking situations will be parlayed into leave policy.
Counselors will be appointed to assist employees in recognizing the need for such leave.
A ‘Workplace Flexibility Index’ using data from the ‘Federal Viewpoint Survey’ will be instituted “to expand and make most effective use of all workplace flexibilities”. Barriers or limitations of future Work-Life programs will be struck down.
This, of course, is all being done on the basis of this president’s “record of leadership through better education and training, and … improved tracking of outcomes and accountability.”
Huh?
These inmates are not just long time occupants of the Washington asylum! They have expanded their tentacles into the chrome and glass of reform schools, penitentiaries, undefended borders, and halls of misinformation collegiate institutions. To allow federal employees to rule their own surroundings is a sucker punch against the American citizenry.
It is unacceptable, and it … they must be controlled!
Celebratory ebb tide
Please excuse me for suffering from celebratory lethargy.
There was a genuine attempt to find some uplifting message for Independence week, but the national debacles far outweigh any and all celebration. We are witnessing our country dismantled in front of our eyes with an epic perversion of the Constitution. It continues with a prodigious plundering of the powers reserved for We, the people. Effort to conceal the agenda is now unmasked and fully revealed. Our sovereignty exists only in words. It certainly isn’t manifested in actions that sanctify life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
If there is a matter of exaltation rather than eulogy for our history, it must be drawn from those Sons of Liberty who pledged their lives for this American experiment. Joseph Warren provides the example. Warren was the immensely important catalyst and facilitator of the original Boston cadre of patriots who laid the underpinnings for our independence. Whereas Sam Adams was the rabble rouser and John Adams the intellectual tower, Dr. Warren was the archivist of integrity and moral firmness and courage. His ability to manage the foundational efforts of the independence effort has been underappreciated. He held in check huge personalities and then drove the skirmish hierarchy with zest and single mindedness when action had to take place. His words are hauntingly important.
“Now is no time to shrink from any hazard … I will set her (America) free or die.”
In both cases, and, true to his word, he did. He died defending the breastworks at Breeds Hill. His influence was so bitterly despised by the British his lifeless body was bayoneted to an unrecognizable state and then tossed into a hole with other patriots.
In retrospect, his death was monumental and may have prolonged the conflict.  
Today, we need his proxy more than ever. We need his power of conscience to guide our discretion, but … we also need his courage to drive us of when it is time to act.

Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “Yes, “now is no time to shrink from any hazard … (We) will set her free or die.”

Baxter Black: Don't forget the cowboy and horse in cattle work


Sometimes, when we go to our livestock meetings and see all the technology we forget about the cowboy and the horse.

The booths and presentations show us injecting or collecting samples to determine breed traits, DNA, source verification, average daily gain, or to treat for parasites, disease, or to stimulate growth. It all looks so orderly as the healthy steer standing in the hydraulic chute smiles at the camera while the hired hand in a clean shirt demonstrates a procedure with music playing in the background.

I will remind modern agriculture practitioners there are still places where a cowboy and a horse are an essential part of management. For example, feeder cattle on wheat grass or ranches where they still calve "outside" or summer mountain pastures. These are examples where it is more expedient to treat the critter where you find it, rather than try and drive or haul them to a squeeze chute or trap two miles away.

If you have the luxury of a two-man crew, the method is obvious; head and heel them. But for the lone rider, his skills must be at a higher level. The beast; a cow with a wire around her foot or a steer with pink eye must be 1) caught 2) restrained 3) treated 4) released.

Depending on 1) the terrain, 2) the disposition of critter, and 3) its size, the job can be 1) hard or 2) harder! In real life, catching can mean the head, the horns, the heels, one hock, or the head and front leg together. Restraining the animal usually means putting them on the ground. Since this lecture could take ten more pages, illustrated, I will discuss the case of a 300-pound bull calf that needs doctored or branded and cut. Regardless of the appendage you've roped, you can drag him slowly till he eventually lies down.

The next step is critical: Your horse must keep the rope tight while you dismount, ease to the calf, and tie at least three feet together with your piggin' string. As you're pulling back, keeping the rope tight, you throw a couple dallies around the saddle horn and top it with a half-hitch (or hooey). This holds the knot as long as the rope says tight to the calf. Then you toss the extra coils away from the action. Depending on how the calf is behaving, you wrap a loop of your rein around the tight rope and tie it back to the hanging rein. This keeps your horse's head pointed at the calf.

Pounce on the calf. Assure yourself the correct side is up if you're branding, then free him from the rope and horse. Now put the slip knot of your piggin' string over the calf's down-side front leg. Slide your body back far enough to push both his hind legs forward with your thigh. Then arrange his two hind feet to cross over the attached front leg. Make three wraps around the three feet and pull them together tight! Then one more wrap and a hooey around the front leg and he is ready to be treated.

This description of our skilled cowboy making the perfect catch and tie-down holds true, unless, of course, your horse lets slack out of your line when he shouldn't, gets tangled in the coils, the dally slips, you loop the piggin' string over your wrist, the calf gets loose and runs under the horse's belly who then deserts you three miles from the pickup and loses your rope somewhere along the way.

But don't worry ... that never happens.

House judiciary committee chairman releases key factors found during border trip

Harlingen, Texas — This week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) led a bipartisan trip to the Rio Grande Valley Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border to seek information about the sudden surge of children, teenagers, and families – largely from Central America – attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. On the first day, the congressional delegation toured several federal facilities and met with federal officials at a Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement facility, the McAllen Border Patrol Station, and Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville. The group also went on a riverine tour with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the Rio Grande River to witness firsthand the challenges the Border Patrol faces. On the second day, members spent the day at the Port Isabel Detention Facility where they met with officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), CBP, and HHS.
Below are key findings from the briefings.

1. The vast majority of Central American minors who are unaccompanied meet up with their parents who are already in the United States illegally. Further, these parents often had a role in smuggling the minors into the United States.  While touring several federal facilities, minors traveling from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras stated that they came here to be with a parent who is already in the United States illegally. At a tour of the HHS facility housing boys ages 8-17, Members were told that the phone is ringing off the hook with parents looking for their children who they know made - and often directed to make - the dangerous journey to the U.S. While Chairmen Goodlatte and Issa were on a ride-along with the Border Patrol along the Rio Grande, they witnessed the apprehension of a mother and child from El Salvador and a 15-year-old boy from Honduras.  The boy said he came to reunite with his mother, who has been in Los Angeles since he was six. Both said they were coming here in violation of law.
2. Border Patrol agents say the best way to stop this crisis is deterrence. Border Patrol agents stated unequivocally that the best way to stop the surge of Central Americans is deterrence and there must be an end of what is now essentially “catch and release.” However, it’s clear that currently there are little, if any, consequences for illegal immigration. Word has spread to the Americas and beyond that women and children are not priorities for removal, as outlined in the Obama Administration’s immigration enforcement “priorities.” Additionally, many of these minors and families are able to game the asylum process since most applications are rubberstamped for approval. In fact, an internal Department of Homeland Security report states there is proven or possible fraud in up to 70% of asylum applications.

3. Stringent environmental rules prevent Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector from accessing federal lands along the border. Border Patrol agents cited restrictions on federal lands as a burden to doing their job of securing the border. The Departments of Interior and Agriculture currently have rules that prevent Border Patrol agents from accessing federal lands within 100 miles of the border under the guise of environmental preservation. The House Judiciary Committee has passed legislation, the SAFE Act, which would stop this foolish policy.

Based on these findings, Chairman Goodlatte released the following statement:

“This trip has confirmed that the current crisis at the border is a disaster of President Obama’s own making. While there are some laws that complicate how we deal with minors from Central America coming the U.S. illegally, it is crystal clear that President Obama has many tools he could use now to quell this activity in the Rio Grande Valley and prevent minors from making the dangerous journey to the United States. If President Obama wants to stop this problem, he should enforce our immigration laws and quit using his pen and phone to create administrative legalization programs. Additionally, he needs to direct officials at the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on asylum fraud and implement deterrents to stop people from entering in violation of the law. This would send the unequivocal message that it is no longer worth the risk to subject children to the dangers of the perilous trip north to our southern border. President Obama created this crisis and he has the power to stop it now. Children’s lives are at stake, and so is the integrity of our immigration system.”

Background: The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Immigration Statistics estimates that the illegal migration of minors will grow from 6,500 in FY 2011 to an estimated 142,000 in 2015. As of last week, DHS has seen about 50,000 minors attempting to cross into the United States and over 40,000 family members for FY 2014. The estimated number to be apprehended in 2014 represents a 1,381% increase since 2011, while the projected number of 142,000 apprehensions in 2015 represents a 2,232% increase.

Members of the House Judiciary Committee joining Chairman Goodlatte in traveling to the border include Representatives Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Blake Fahrenthold (R-Texas), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), and Joe Garcia (D-Fla.).


Regular readers of The Westerner will certainly recognize no. 3.  We've been preaching about this for eight years, but folks like Obama and Tom Udall become deaf while implementing their environmental agenda.

 

Cartoons






Friday, July 04, 2014

Happy Independence Day!





"Give me liberty or give me death." ~Patrick Henry~ Happy Independence Day! This is Tim Cox Fine Art's LAND OF THE FREE. http://www.TimCox.com/

The NSA may have another leaker on its hands

Edward Snowden has done a lot of damage to the National Security Agency by disclosing dozens of its most sensitive internet surveillance programs—but there may be a lot more to come from someone following in his footsteps. German public broadcaster Das Erste revealed yesterday the existence of a previously undisclosed NSA program called XKeyscore, which automatically logs the online identities of anyone who even searches the web for tools that might keep their activities anonymous. Experts who are familiar with Snowden’s leaked documents say that this information is from a new source.“I do not believe that this came from the Snowden documents,” wrote security expert Bruce Schneier, who had access them through his work with the Guardian. “I also don’t believe the TAO catalog came from the Snowden documents,” he said, referring to the “tailored access operations” that the NSA uses to gain access to certain priority targets. “I think there’s a second leaker out there.” XKeyscore logs the IP address of anyone searching for “privacy-enhancing software tools” like the TOR Project, free software that can ensure online anonymity that is used by millions of people a day. “The NSA is making a concerted effort to combat any and all anonymous spaces that remain on the internet,” wrote Lena Kampf, Jacob Appelbaum and John Goetz, who are all associated with the TOR Project. “Merely visiting privacy-related websites is enough for a user’s IP address to be logged into an NSA database.” The IP addresses and any surveillance data gathered through XKeystroke is kept indefinitely. “This isn’t just metadata; this is ‘full take’ content that’s stored forever,” wrote Schneier, who called it “very disturbing.” Users may also be tagged for surveillance by receiving emails or reading news articles—like this one, for example—that discuss TOR and other privacy tools...more

Thursday, July 03, 2014

NM ranching family tells feds: ‘Don’t fence us out’ - video

by 

For more than a century, the Lucero family has grazed livestock in the majestic landscape near Fenton Lake in the Santa Fe National Forest. They started with sheep and, in the 1920s, switched to cattle.
But that may all come to an end because of an endangered mouse.

“You’re taking a lot of heritage away,” said Mike Lucero, as he looks over the creek that cuts through the meadow. He was accompanied by his brother Manuel and cousin Orlando, who have brought their family’s cattle to this spot since they were children.

Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the meadow jumping mouse as an endangered species. Now, the U.S. Forest Service, which oversees the Santa Fe National Forest, is considering erecting a series of 8-foot high fences to protect the mouse’s habitat.

The Luceros, members of the San Diego Cattleman’s Association and holders of grazing permits with the federal government, say the fences will lock out their cattle — as well as those of other permit holders — from ever returning to the meadow where the livestock graze for 20 days in the spring and up to 40 days in the fall.

“We’re not insensitive to protecting the mouse,” Orlando Lucero said. “But let’s work on something that keeps everyone’s interests in mind.”

Forest Service officials in Albuquerque say no final decision has been made but, at the same time, they are required by law to comply with the Endangered Species Act. Since the meadow jumping mouse is now listed as endangered, the Forest Service is bound to take steps to protect its habitat.

Grazing was listed as one of the “a primary threats” to the mouse, said Robert Trujillo, the acting director of Wildlife, Fish and Rare Plants for the Southwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service.

 “At first, they were talking about a 300-yard fence on eight feet of either side (of the Rio Cebolla, a creek that feeds the meadow),”  Manuel Lucero said. “But you look at the (Forest Service) map now and it goes on for three and a half miles – and that’s just for this allotment.”

 In fact, the Forest Service proposal could potentially put up fencing over large swaths of the forest, including the San Antonio Campground, a popular destination for families and outdoors enthusiasts in northern New Mexico.

This is the second time in the space of two months that the meadow jumping mouse has raised hackles among people with grazing permits in the state.

Some 275 miles south, in Otero County, the Forest Service reinforced locked gates to keep out cattle from a creek called the Agua Chiquita to protect the mouse’s habitat. The move angered ranchers who tend over herds thirsty from a prolonged drought.

Here’s New Mexico Watchdog video of Mike Lucero:


http://youtu.be/o7-NkyjkJBI




First, many thanks to Rob Nicolewski at NM Watchdog for his great coverage of federal lands issues. Some recent examples would be: Why there’s a federal land dispute brewing out West, Why a chicken and a mouse are stirring debate in New Mexico, The cattle vs. mouse debate in NM, Former governor blasts Forest Service report on Ski Valley crackdown,  and Mighty mouse: Rare rodent raises tensions between ranchers, feds.

Second, Congressman Steve Pearce has weighed in on the mouse issue and ranchers in southern NM, but where is Congressman Ben Ray Lujan in supporting the Lucero family and other ranch families in northern NM?  

 

Bipartisan Western Governors Urge Endangered Species Act Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 3, 2014 - In a recent letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Governors John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) and Brian Sandoval (R-Nevada) eexpressed encouragement regarding the House of Representatives’ efforts to improve and update the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as evidenced most recently by the House Natural Resources Committee’s passage of a package of four ESA-related reform measures.  Pointing out the significant species conservation programs and comprehensive and current data provided by states, the Governors noted that the ESA “could be greatly improved through targeted reforms, particularly those that would involve states as full and equal partners in the development of scientific data, analyses and management provisions applied within listing, recovery and de-listing decisions.” 
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) expressed appreciation for the Western Governors’ bipartisan letter.  “With the important role that states are playing to help keep species off of the ESA list, I am pleased Western Governors agree that common sense, targeted reforms can improve the ESA while protecting state data and landowners rights.  Earlier this year, the House Natural Resources Committee passed four bills intended to do that. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the House to improve ESA listing data and litigation transparency and other measures to focus resources on actual data and recovery of species, rather than on lawyers.”
Western Caucus Co-Chairman Cynthia Lummis (WY-at large) stated, “I am very pleased that our western governors are adding their voice to the ESA reform effort.  The whole point of this reform effort is to find ways to bring the ESA into the 21st century, and enhancing the role of the states is a critical component.  States care deeply about conservation and have proven their abilities to understand firsthand the needs of both the species and people.  They have led the way on species science, species conservation, and species recovery.  It’s high time we recognize the importance of the states in ESA decision-making.”

 ### 
 
Press Release

Farmers, ranchers and State of Texas win whooping crane case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a district court decision on July 30 and ruled in favor of the State of Texas in a lawsuit concerning the whooping crane. It was the classic example of water for people weighed against an environmental group suing under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The Fifth Circuit concluded the environmental group, The Aransas Project (TAP), failed to prove the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) management of water permits resulted in the deaths of whooping cranes. The court also concluded an injunction imposed by District Court Judge Janice Jack on water management was an abuse of discretion. This is a great win for farmers, ranchers, property owners and all Texans who would suffer from the lower court’s opinion that overreached and relied on dubious science. TAP sued, claiming the State of Texas was responsible for the deaths of 23 cranes in an estimated population of 247 birds in the winter of 2008-09. TAP’s evidence consisted of two carcasses and the failure to see cranes during aerial surveys. In spite of this claim, the Fifth Circuit noted in its ruling the numbers of whooping cranes has continued to increase with the latest estimate of 300 in the winter 2011-12. The Fifth Circuit unanimously reversed the district court’s judgment holding that TCEQ is not liable for takes under the Endangered Species Act. They ruled the deaths of the whooping cranes that live part-time in Texas are too remote from TCEQ’s process for issuing surface water permits from the San Antonio and Guadalupe Rivers. The Fifth Circuit agreed with the position Texas Farm Bureau has taken all along. There are too many factors between TCEQ’s permitting process and purported whooping crane deaths to blame TCEQ. Hopefully, this will be the end of this ill-advised litigation...more

Government stops sending surplus federal vehicles, stock to rural fire departments

Trucks, tankers and other unused federal vehicles are a critical aid to rural fire departments throughout the country, but the supply of surplus rolling stock now appears to have dried up. The federal government has ended a program that provides millions of dollars worth of equipment to thousands of rural fire departments, including nearly 800 in Oklahoma, said George Geissler, state director of forestry services. The U.S. Department of Defense ended the program when it recently decided to enforce a 25-year-old agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Geissler said. Jennifer Jones, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service, said her agency received informal notice that the Defense Department was upholding the agreement after it was determined that engines in its vehicles did not meet EPA standards. The Forest Service acts as an intermediary between the federal agencies and about 48 states that use the surplus equipment program.  One of the surplus program’s biggest benefits is that it provides vehicles that would normally cost a small fire department $150,000 to $200,000. Instead departments only have to equip the vehicle, at a cost of $30,000 to $40,000...more

If you're an entity who protects folks lives and property, the gov't will cut you off.  If you're an entity that raids homes and confiscates property, the gov't will send you armored SWAT vehicles, drones and a whole arsenal of weapons and ammo.

Thousands attend Utah counterculture fest (Rainbow Family)

A graying man clad in a towering rainbow top hat and neon sunglasses raised a sunflower high above his head in a circle of three dozen listeners. “The thing about rainbows, the thing about this place, the thing about these people,” he said Tuesday before handing the flower to the next speaker, “is love.” The man known here as Glowing Feather is one of more than 4,000 who have trekked to the annual Rainbow Family gathering about 60 miles east of Salt Lake City. Some members greet visitors with smiles and “Welcome home,” or “Loving you.” Others ask whether newcomers are wearing a bra, invite them to play nude Frisbee or simply offer up a blunt. A council of group elders asks visitors to avoid bringing alcohol, but they stress that’s a request, not a rule. The Rainbow Family has no official creed or leaders. This week, the gathering is expected to double in size as more members pour into the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest for a four-day celebration that ends Friday. On Tuesday, about two dozen officers and a drug dog climbed the two-mile path up to various camp sites. “Leash your dogs!” Members called ahead of the officials. Forgetting to do so breaks the law in national forests. Authorities say a New Hampshire woman and a man from Texas at the celebration apparently died in their sleep, but they haven’t released details. Police also say a New Mexico woman at the campsite last week stabbed a participant, seriously injuring him. On July 4, members typically join to chant one “om” on the final day of the festival, praying for peace worldwide. “We’re sending it out through our voice and our body into the earth,” said Karena Gore, who travelled from Montana. Mike Dominguez, a father of four from Hawaii, was preparing to cook 500 pounds of pasta for the final day of the celebration...more

I'm with them on peace and love, and definitely the nude Frisbee...but 500 pounds of pasta?  Guess I'll be staying home on the 4th.

Feds move to enact shooting limits in large area of Colorado land

The United States Forest Service has proposed a plan to restrict public use of a 625-mile area of Colorado, encompassing most of the state’s Front Range foothills and Interstate 70 Mountain Corridor. The plan proposes to close current areas and possibly establish new ranges for recreational sport shooting (RSS). Besides the increase in overcrowding of the area, the land is often left looking like a garbage dump. Forest Service officials assert that recreational shooting in these zones not only poses a risk to other users of the public land, but that the areas are often left littered with beer cans, old appliances used for targets, and mountains of spent casings. “We’re all working together on this, but when the recreational shooting public sees it, they’re going to get outraged very quickly,” said Steve Yamashita, acting director of the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife. The Forest Service maintains that it will establish other areas for RSS, but it has closed shooting areas in the past due to environmental concerns before offering alternative lands for shooting. After a significant number of live trees were blown to bits in Mount Evans recently, the Forest Service closed the area to shooting without offering new alternative areas for the activity...

So you can smoke dope, make love, beat drums, play naked Frisbee and cook 500 lbs of pasta on Forest Service land, but drop a beer can and they'll shut you down.  And "mountains" of spent casings?  Colo. sport shooters must all be rich.

California wind farm allowed to kill bald and golden eagles, ruffling more than feathers

By sacrificing a few bald eagles, the Obama administration may have opened a can of worms. In a bid to give alternative energy sources a boost, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has quietly granted a California wind energy farm a permit to kill a limited number of endangered bald and golden eagles that get sliced up in its giant turbines. But last week’s free pass is sparking anger from wildlife advocates and from free market advocates who ask why they don’t qualify for the same dispensation. The American Bird Conservancy filed a lawsuit last week against the 6-month-old federal rule expanding permits for killing bald and golden eagles from a maximum of five to 30 years, charging the Interior Department with “multiple violations of federal law.” Conservancy spokesman Bob Johns said the organization is on board with green energy but the Obama administration has gone too far with incentives for the wind industry. The incentives include optional guidelines on environmental rules and production tax credits. “We know we need renewables, and that’s fine. We’re not saying shut them down, we’re just saying, ‘Hey, enough’s enough, bring them into the same ballpark that everyone else is in,’” said Mr. Johns. “Give them regulations, tell them where they need to site these things, where they shouldn’t site them. Don’t give them a set of, ‘Gee, it would be nice if you did this, but if you don’t, it’s OK.’” Last week, the Fish and Wildlife Service ruffled feathers by issuing what officials called a first-of-its-kind permit that allows a 50-turbine Northern California wind farm to kill up to five golden eagles over five years. In exchange, the developer agreed to retrofit 133 utility poles to reduce eagle deaths by electrocution...more

Obama's enviro buddies get a pass on killing eagles, while some Native Americans risk fines or jail time just to possess a feather.  

Red Tapeworm 2014: Cumulative Final Rules in the Federal Register

by Wayne Crews

Let’s keep this one short. Picture is worth a thousand words, one power-hungry bureaucrat is worth a thousand congressmen, and all that.
The cumulative effect of regulation on the national economy and at the family and personal levels matters a great deal despite yearly fluctuations.
    The good news is that, final rules issued by federal agencies last year did dip a little, but proposed rules ominously are on the increase, and the president promises to go around Congress to shape society according to his left-wing biases and intractable redistributionist mindset.

 
    Regulations accumulate, and the framework for tomorrow is being laid by today’s political philosophy and its corresponding enactments. 
    The bottom line is that the ceaseless annual outflow of over 3,500 final rules, and often far more, has meant that about 87,282 rules have been issued since 1993, when the first edition of Ten Thousand Commandments appeared.
    In that same amout of time, Congress passed “only” 4,224 public laws. (I’ve yearly counts in Appendix J here of “The Unconstitutionality Index.”)
    The tail wags the dog, or has become the dog, when it comes to lawmaking. I track the number of annual proposed and final rules online hereSource

Wolverine photographed in Uinta Mountains

As wildlife biologists scanned photographs taken by a trail camera in the Uinta Mountains last winter, they saw something never captured before in Utah: the first official photos of a wolverine. Kim Hersey, mammals conservation coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said biologists from the DWR and the U.S. Forest Service set four bait stations — monitored by trail cameras — along the north slope of the Uinta Mountains last January. They set the stations to capture images of elusive forest-dwelling carnivores, including wolverines. DWR and Forest Service biologists used snowmobiles to reach the areas and set up the stations. Then, this spring, they started retrieving the cameras. After retrieving the cameras, nothing unusual showed up in photos from the first, third and fourth stations. But images from the second station were a different story: They showed the first wolverine verified in Utah since a wolverine carcass was found in 1979. Hersey says biologists baited the second station with deer that had been killed by cars. Marten, jays, squirrels and a red fox were among the wildlife that raided the station. “The fox took off with the bait,” she said. “All it left behind were the wire wrappings that were supposed to secure the bait to the area.” Even though the bait was gone, the odor the carcasses left behind was enough to attract a wolverine to the area. On Feb. 18, two days after the fox made off with the bait, the camera captured its first image of the wolverine. The animal only stayed in the area about five minutes. That was enough time, though, for the motion-sensing camera to capture 27 images...more

Small Bear Creek cabin removed

Though secret structures built in the woods as housing are not as common as they once were in Telluride, a few are still around. In early June a small cabin was removed from the Bear Creek Preserve after it was discovered to be 10 feet within the preserve’s boundaries. The Town of Telluride is required to remove structures in the preserve due to a conservation easement held by the San Miguel Conservation Foundation, which has been in place since the early 1990s. Occasionally significant structures are found, but according to Lance McDonald, program manager for the Town of Telluride, they are uncommon these days in Bear Creek. “Since 1994 the town has been removing illegal structures in Bear Creek,” McDonald said. “In the ‘90s there were a lot of illegal structures, now it’s kind of like every now and then. As they appear in their various forms they are removed, and we do it in a very courteous way.” McDonald said the inhabitants of the cabin, known locally as “Grandma’s House,” were notified about a year ago that it was going to be removed. The cabin itself had likely been in place for a long time and McDonald said crews found people at the site cleaning it up for the summer. The cabin was a small structure about 12 feet tall with a metal roof, windows, floor and a loft. It had a wood stove as well as room for chairs and a table. The conservation easement for Bear Creek specifically states that no structures can be built in the conservation area, and there is also no camping allowed. However, historic structures are left in place and the aim is to keep the area as natural as possible. The Bear Creek Valley is a complex mix of U.S. Forest Service land with private property such as mining claims and town open space. It’s not always obvious what type of land a specific site might be located on and different rules apply, especially when it comes to camping...more

Texas ranchers OK beef checkoff to tout industry

Texas ranchers have voted to establish a state-level program to promote and market beef in the nation’s leading cattle-producing state. The Texas Department of Agriculture on Wednesday announced approval of the program. The no more than $1 per head assessment, each time a beef animal is sold, begins Oct. 1. The state measure will supplement a similar U.S. checkoff. The Texas Beef Checkoff program will be managed by the Beef Promotion and Research Council of Texas. Council members will be selected by Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. The department conducted the referendum at the request of cattle industry groups and under the authority of the Legislature. Voting took place the first week of June. Two-thirds of those casting ballots, people who owned cattle in the previous yearlong period, approved the measure.  AP

Migrant flight lands in California without protest

A flight shuttling Central American immigrant children and families from the Texas border arrived Wednesday in Southern California without trouble, a day after flag-waving protesters blocked another group in buses from entering a suburban border patrol facility. The latest arrivals included roughly 140 immigrants who were taken to a facility in El Centro for processing, said Lombardo Amaya, president of the local union of border patrol agents. The scene was markedly different from the one that unfolded Tuesday in Murrieta, where American-flag waving protesters forced the rerouting of Homeland Security buses to a different facility...more

Wednesday, July 02, 2014

New Mexico residents angry over housing immigrants

Residents in southeastern New Mexico crowded a town hall meeting Tuesday to express anger at the opening of a temporary detention center for immigrants suspected of entering the country illegally. Around 400 people attended the meeting in Artesia to speak out against holding up to 700 Central American women and children at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Currently, less than 200 people are at the center. City and federal officials fielded questions from residents, including how long the facility would be used for detention. Residents told federal and local authorities they were afraid the immigrants might take jobs from locals and resources away from American-born children...more

New Mexico town's mayor: Residents not expected to protest immigrants

The meeting in the small New Mexico town of Artesia was loud, volatile and emotional, and the number of people in attendance set an all-time record for a community face-off, officials said. The issue was whether the oil and farming community of 20,000 was going to protest the arrival of underage immigrants, who had entered the country illegally, at a federal facility there. In the end, Artesia Mayor Phil Burch said Wednesday that the town would not raise picket signs to protest the move. Burch said he has met with U.S. Homeland Security officials, who told them it wasn’t their wish to use the facility for the detainees, but that they had no choice. “They were told to get the facility ready.” More than 350 residents met Tuesday night in a recreational center in town. There were no arrests and most of the meeting was orderly. “We’ve never seen anything like this in Artesia,” Burch said of the town, located about 240 miles south of Albuquerque. “Then again, we don’t normally have emotional issues like this.”...more

Utah counties want Congress to let states manage wild horses

Iron and Beaver counties will not round up wild horses on their own, as they threatened earlier this spring, but instead are pressing for a dramatic change in how the horses are managed. They want the states, not the federal Bureau of Land Management, to decide how many horses can be on the range and what to do when there’s an overpopulation. A resolution to that effect, written by Beaver County Commissioner Mark Whitney, won the support of the Utah Association of Counties. He and a commissioner from Garfield County will next propose it to the National Association of Counties. That group meets late next week in New Orleans. Meanwhile, Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, is preparing legislation that would give states and Indian tribes the option to manage wild horses, much as they do other wildlife. "This really is a political problem," said Iron County Commission Chairman David Miller. "We need Congress to get off their butts." "We know that we’ve got to use a political platform to go forward on this," said Whitney, who previously had given the BLM a "drop-dead" date of July 1 to remove excess wild horses. "The last thing we want to do is anything that would create tension or an uprising or vigilantes," Whitney said Tuesday. The BLM agrees there are more wild horses on the range than the agency wants, but it had planned no roundups this year because there is no room in its long-term pastures. Nearly 50,000 horses already are stockpiled there...more

And many states did manage them, but in 1971 Congress passed the  The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.  NM challenged the act as being unconstitutional and won in district court.  However, in 1976 they Supreme Court overturned the lower court and ruled that 1. The Act is a constitutional exercise of congressional power under the Property Clause of the Constitution, which provides that "Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States."  2. The Property Clause in broad terms, empowers Congress to determine what are "needful" rules "respecting" the public lands, and there is no merit to appellees' narrow reading that the provision grants Congress power only to dispose of, to make incidental rules regarding the use of, and to protect federal property.  3. The  Property Clause must be given an expansive reading, for "[t]he power over the public lands thus entrusted to Congress is without limitations," United States v. San Francisco.  4.  Federal legislation under that Clause necessarily, under the Supremacy Clause, overrides conflicting state laws and though the Act does not establish exclusive federal jurisdiction over the public lands in New Mexico, it overrides the New Mexico Estray Law insofar as that statute attempts to regulate federally protected animals. 

Quote

"If the means to which the government of the union may resort for executing the power confided to it, are unlimited, it may easily select such as will impair or destroy the powers confided to the state governments."
-- John Taylor
(1753-1824) usually called John Taylor of Caroline, served in the Virginia House of Delegates, US Senator, writer, political pamphleteer

Obama Looks to Cabinet for More Executive Actions

President Barack Obama convened his cabinet on Tuesday to devise a new round of executive actions, disregarding Republican plans to file a lawsuit over their use. "We can't wait for Congress to get going on issues that are vital to the middle class," Mr. Obama said while flanked by his top advisers from the Defense Department, Interior Department and other cabinet agencies. "We've already seen some of the power of our executive actions." Mr. Obama highlighted steps to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors and to curtail carbon dioxide emissions. The president said more needs to be done to help the middle class. "We're going to have to be creative about how we can make real progress," he said. House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) last week said he was planning to file a lawsuit against Mr. Obama over his use of executive actions. The unusual legal action would be aimed at reining in steps Mr. Obama has taken that Republicans consider an overreach of his power. "The Constitution makes it clear that the president's job is to faithfully execute the laws. In my view, the president has not faithfully executed the law," Mr. Boehner told reporters Wednesday. He didn't specify which actions he objected to. The White House appears unfazed by the threat. Instead, Mr. Obama this week has blamed House Republicans for blocking progress on issues such as immigration and infrastructure spending and said he would move ahead on his own...more

Survey says lesser prairie chicken numbers up 20 percent from 2013

An aerial survey shows good rains in parts of the five-state range of the federally threatened lesser prairie chicken have brought a 20 percent increase in the grouse's population from last year. A release Tuesday from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies says there were 22,415 lesser prairie chickens in this year's survey, up from 18,747 last year. The increase came in the northeast Texas Panhandle, northwestern Oklahoma and south central Kansas — areas where more rain produced better prairie habitat. The bird is also in New Mexico and Colorado. In March, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the grouse as threatened. The service said the grouse had lost more than 80 percent of its traditional habitat, mostly from human activity and the ongoing drought.  AP

King Cove Residents Praise Governor for Joining in Lawsuit over King Cove Road Issue

King Cove tribal and community leaders are thanking Governor Sean Parnell after the State of Alaska announced it filed a motion yesterday to intervene in support of King Cove and the other plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed earlier this month. The state and the King Cove plaintiffs are asking the federal court to order the U.S. Interior Department to reverse its decision regarding the connector road and land exchange between the remote community and the all-weather Cold Bay airport. “We are so appreciative of the governor’s continued support of the lives, health and safety of the King Cove people,” said Della Trumble, spokeswoman for the Agdaagux Tribe and the King Cove (Native) Corporation. “While the Secretary of the Interior seems to believe that we can’t coexist with the birds, mammals and the habitat, the Governor, a lifelong Alaskan, knows better. This is so heartening to us.” Governor Sean Parnell announced Monday that the State of Alaska had filed a Motion to Intervene in support of the City of King Cove and other plaintiffs who are seeking to force the Department of the Interior to reconsider its decision regarding the proposed land exchange in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. “After years of putting birds over the well-being of Alaskans, it’s time for the Obama administration to agree to this exchange,” Governor Parnell said. “After all, the State of Alaska is willing to exchange more than 40,000 acres of state lands for merely nine miles of life-saving road.” In the congressionally approved land exchange that the Interior Department rejected, the state and King Cove Corporation would have added more than 50,000 acres of state and corporate land to the refuge in exchange for 206 acres of federal land that is necessary for the road to connect King Cove to the all-weather airport in Cold Bay...more

20 Possible Sites Named For Bison Relocation Program

Federal wildlife officials on Monday listed 20 parcels of public lands in 10 states that could be suitable for bison from Yellowstone National Park, but said it would be years before any relocation of the animals. The sites eyed for potential future herds include areas as diverse as Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park, an Iowa wildlife refuge and a North Dakota national historic site. They were identified in a long-awaited Department of Interior report that looked at using Yellowstone's bison herds to further the restoration of a species that once ranged most of the continent. Tens of millions of bison occupied North America before overhunting nearly drove them extinct by the late 19th century. Yellowstone was one of the last holdouts for the animals in the wild. It had roughly 4,600 bison at last count. During their winter migrations, the animals periodically spill into neighboring Montana, triggering large-scale, government-sponsored bison slaughters to prevent the spread of the animal disease brucellosis. Capturing the animals and shipping them to other public lands would ease those population pressures. A pilot bison relocation program in Montana has struggled for years against opposition from ranchers. They worry both about the disease and the possibility of bison competing with cattle for grazing space. Several dozen Yellowstone bison have been moved onto American Indian reservations in the state after the animals were held in quarantine for years to make sure they were disease free. Efforts to relocate another group of about 145 bison that went through the quarantine have stalled. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials in June said they were considering new requests to take the animals from tribes, private conservation groups and the state of Utah. If the park services were to revive the quarantine program and make it permanent, federal officials said it could be five years to a decade before more animals were relocated. "If we were to do this, where would you place these bison? This report gives us a head-start on that question," said Jorge Silva-Banuelos, a U.S. Interior Department official...more