Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
Monday, December 07, 2015
Oklahoma City bombing secret: DNA extracted from unknown leg
The Oklahoma City Medical Examiner has partial DNA from an unmatched left leg collected from the ruins of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing, reviving the possibility of a 169th unidentified victim from the 1995 terror attack as well as defense lawyers’ long-held belief that Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols had an additional accomplice.
An Oklahoma state forensics expert told The Washington Times the DNA tests were conducted by a private lab about two years after the attack, and no known person who was in the vicinity of the building the day of the bombing is presently unaccounted for. “The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has a copy of the results. However, the results are confidential pursuant to state law,” Oklahoma Chief Toxicologist Dr. Byron Curtis said. FBI officials said Monday they were unaware of the existence of the DNA findings on the left leg, known only as human specimen P-71, and plan to obtain the data from local authorities and the private lab to investigate its relevance to the case. The request could open the door for new DNA tests with today’s vastly improved techniques. The existence of extracted DNA from the John Doe leg opens the possibility that the DNA sample could be retested using today’s more sophisticated techniques to glean more evidence about its identity.
While DNA science has vastly improved over the last two decades, the FBI lab would only retest the leg today if the agents responsible for the case made a new request, Ms. Todd explained...more
New Mexico dairy employee sentenced in animal cruelty case
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — A former employee at a New Mexico dairy has been sentenced to 364 days behind bars after pleading no contest to animal cruelty.
Prosecutors say Jose Luis Zuniga-Lira was one of four Winchester Dairy workers charged in April after undercover video showed them whipping cows with chains and wire cables and kicking and punching the animals.
Cases are pending for three other employees, who are facing a total of seven counts of animal cruelty.
Zuniga-Lira entered his plea last Friday in Chaves County District Court.
The dairy near Roswell ceased operations in September 2014 after an undercover investigation by Los Angeles-based Mercy For Animals.
Winchester Dairy subsequently halted milking operations, stopped shipments to all vendors and dispersed thousands of cows to other dairies with strong track records in animal welfare.
US faces $1 billion in trade penalties for meat labels
The World Trade Organization ruled Monday that Canada and Mexico can slap more than $1 billion in tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation for meat labeling rules it says discriminated against Mexican and Canadian livestock. At issue were U.S. labels on packaged steaks and other cuts of meat that say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered.
The WTO has previously found that the so-called "country of origin" labeling law put Canadian and Mexican livestock at a disadvantage. It ruled Monday that Canada could impose $780 million in retaliatory tariffs and Mexico could impose $228 million.
"We are disappointed with this decision and its potential impact on trade among vital North American partners," said Tim Reif, general counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Utah officials: Mexican wolf is ‘bullet’ that could destroy West
As federal wildlife officials begin another effort to revise a recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf after three failed attempts over the past two decades, Utah Wildlife Board Chairman John Bair says that no evidence will ever convince him that Mexican wolves should be allowed in Utah.
"People want to use the wolf as the silver bullet to kill the culture of the West," said Bair, a gifted auctioneer and self-proclaimed "Mormon redneck" from Springville. "There is no need to have them here other than those political reasons."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists facilitating Mexican wolf recovery planning are scheduled to meet next week at the COD Ranch outside Tucson, Ariz., with state representatives and other stakeholders. Leaders in Utah, as well as Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, are
attacking the credibility of FWS's science, alleging it is rigged to improperly include the Four Corners
region in the recovery zone for this critically imperiled wolf
subspecies. The states also object to the venue for next week's meeting
because it is has hosted meetings of conservation groups. The Utah Wildlife Board on Wednesday piled on when it dispatched a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, arguing that directing wolf recovery toward Utah "is simply bad policy, bad science, bad for the Mexican wolf, and bad for the states strapped with the burden of hosting protected wolf populations."
But a key scientist on the recovery team and Utah wildlife advocates say Utah is dead wrong. Officials are turning their back on the best wolf science and engaging in political interference to thwart an effective recovery of Mexican wolves, whose numbers in the wild have stagnated at around 100, said Kirk Robinson, executive director of the Western Wildlife Conservancy...more
Salt Lake Tribune endorses bringing wolves into Utah
What is Utah's responsibility to save the Mexican gray wolf?
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert joined governors from the other Four Corners states in pushing back
against the federal government's latest effort to revise a recovery
plan for the wolves, whose numbers in the wild are down to about 100
animals.
In their letter to Interior Secretary Sally
Jewell last month, one key argument of the governors is that the
subspecies of wolf never roamed as far north as Utah and Colorado before
they were eradicated, so the states are not appropriate for taking them
now. The Utah Wildlife Board has reiterated that in its own letter.
The governors are arguing that the scientific
deck is stacked against them in the recovery plan because it includes
scientists who dispute the argument that Mexican wolves never made it
here. It's likely wolves were in Utah at some point, but it's hard to
know which sub-species.
Further, when the intent is to save a species,
the federal Endangered Species Act does not require that it can only be
saved on land where it had historically roamed. If the science shows
that land is suitable for a recovery effort, the feds can consider it
for recovery.
The effort is severely complicated by the fact
that, historically, half or more of the Mexican gray wolves were in
Mexico. As a result, the governors are pushing for a recovery effort
that is more centered on Mexico. The effort should be international, but
it's also a reality that Mexico does not have the laws or the political
will to take wolf recovery as far as the United States can.
What's more, with or without wolves, the
habitat is not standing still, and that is due to climate change. The
temperature-associated changes that have begun and will continue may
indeed make the U.S. more of the wolves' future range, even if it
wasn't their past range. In other words, the historical argument may be
just that, history.
Western governors meet, Jewell speaks
Governors from 19 Western states called Friday for expansion of a program that screens international travelers at airports abroad, in a bid to encourage tourism and stop terrorists before they arrive in the U.S.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock told the Western Governors' Association in Las Vegas that expanding a U.S. government pre-clearance program would serve two purposes.
"First, it enhances national security by keeping potential terrorists from even arriving on U.S.," he said. "Second, it encourages tourists to travel to the U.S. by reducing the hassle and wait times at customs checkpoints" when they arrive. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell focused during a keynote speech on issues including drought, wildfires, species protection and abandoned mines. She urged states to continue working with federal officials to address them.
Jewell said adopting rules this year to protect habitat for the greater sage grouse in 11 Western states, rather than declare the chicken-sized bird an endangered species, was one example of cooperation.
The nation's top land manager acknowledged the breadth of the regulations created lots of work for lawyers.
"But I will say that it's way better than a listing," she said. "It provides certainty to developers ... states ... and the conservation community as well." The budget-busting cost of fighting wildfires was another burning issue during the twice-yearly governors' meeting.
Robert Bonnie, a U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary, said the cost of fighting wildfires has exploded from about 16 percent of the U.S. Forest Service budget in the mid-1990s to more than half the agency budget in recent drought-stricken years.
Fires this year in Washington state and California were among the worst on record, and Idaho Gov. Butch Otter noted that the so-called Soda Fire in the southwest of his state burned nearly 450 square miles.
States are calling for the federal government to classify severe wildfires as natural disasters for funding purposes.
Bonnie said the problem is that the Forest Service spent $3 billion of its $5 billion budget fighting fires that charred nearly 10 million acres in 2015, leaving few resources for needed forest management, research and recreation programs...more
Why being a good neighbor is a good idea (Malpai Borderlands)
For paid subscribers to High Country News there is an interesting article on the Malpai Borderlands Group, neighboring and osotua, which is a system of sharing, mutual support and the pooling of risks.
The article is Why being a good neighbor is a good idea and the following is an excerpt:
...This shift started two decades ago, when McDonald and many of his fellow ranchers realized they faced more than they could handle on their own: conflict with environmental groups and government agencies; a damaged ecosystem whose management was complicated by a patchwork of private, state and federal land; developers carving out 20-acre ranchettes and subdivisions. In 1994, they formed a land-management coalition called the Malpai Borderlands Group to preserve threatened open space and biological diversity across 800,000 acres. This, they hoped, would enable them to preserve their way of life — an aspiration summed up in the group’s guiding ethic: “The land comes first.”
It sounds idealistic, but it
worked. The members have mediated land and water disputes between
ranchers and facilitated conservation easements that kept large ranches
from being broken up. They have worked with biologists to protect
endangered species, including the New Mexico ridge-nosed rattlesnake and
the Chiricahua leopard frog, and started a communal grass bank that
allows ranchers facing drought to rotate their cattle onto unused land
while their own pastures recover.
“You start with something you agree
on instead of something you disagree on,” says McDonald, the group’s
executive director. He received a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1998 for his
work, which he describes as seeking “the radical center.”
The next morning, McDonald heads 10
miles down the dirt road back toward town to the ranch of Warner Glenn,
one of his nearest neighbors, for the Malpai group’s quarterly meeting.
The ranch’s great room is decorated with cattle skulls, landscape
paintings and photographs of mountain lions. About four-dozen mismatched
chairs are crowded with an unlikely mix of ranchers, state and federal
fish and game officers, Border Patrol agents, conservationists and
biologists. For several hours, they update each other on projects and
plans. The agenda might be mundane, but the diversity of stakeholders is
remarkable. The personal relationships can be as important as anything
accomplished at the meetings. Early on, attendees stuck with their own
kind — ranchers, law enforcement, scientists clustering together. Now
they fall into easy conversation with each other. Peter Warren, who
works for The Nature Conservancy in Tucson, sums up the group’s appeal
this way: “We deal with these problems better as a group than each of us
can individually.”
The Malpai Borderlands Group has
formalized a particular Western trait that has long defined daily life
around here. “Neighboring,” some call it, a way of giving others their
privacy while remaining available in case they need you. The notion
captures a kind of frontier ideal, an acceptance of the individual’s
autonomy and self-reliance, tempered by recognition of the precarious
and occasionally dangerous nature of outdoor work and the environment.
This basic cooperation has roots far deeper and wide-reaching than these
particular ranchers and their ancestors; in fact, it fueled humanity’s
early success and our continued prosperity as a species. And it’s a part
of ourselves we would all do well to understand, and even cultivate, as
we face an increasingly complicated future.
Sandoval: Jewell says OK to use Nevada's maps
Gov. Brian Sandoval said a few issues concerning the sage grouse land use plan have been resolved and he is committed to fixing others with U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
“There was an agreement by the Secretary to use our maps,” he said after speaking with Jewell at the Western Governors Association’s winter meeting Friday in Las Vegas.
This assures the future of projects such as Washoe County’s Veterans Cemetery and prospective sites for new schools near Reno. Sandoval said his staff has seen the maps and the documents will be discussed publicly Dec. 10 during the Sagebrush Ecosystem Council meeting.
Sandoval said Jewell acknowledged the importance of the state’s Conservation Credit System. The system would allow “stakeholders” to accrue mitigation credits on public lands through the system.
“She is committed to working with a pilot project,” Sandoval said. “She’ll give Nevada the opportunity to show that it works.”
Sandoval said a date for the pilot program has not been set.
He said a lawsuit filed by several counties, including Elko, and mining companies and the state Attorney General doesn’t help the negotiations but won’t hinder his talks with Jewell.
He said Jewell will clear up any inconsistencies in the agency.
“The Secretary has committed to putting out an instructional memorandum … to eliminate the ‘he said, she said’ surrounding the impact of the listing decision and land use plan on stakeholders,” Sandoval said...more
Why are Western attorneys general going rogue?
by Elizabeth Shogren
In Nevada and Colorado, the governors are challenging the legitimacy of
the lawsuits and the authority of their attorneys general...more
Have we reached the time where defending the state and questioning federal authority is "going rogue"?
The article, though, is a good summary of the issue, and raises some interesting questions. For instance, what if the issue was reversed? That would be where the governor asks the AG to sue and the AG refuses. Let's take New Mexico, with a Republican governor and Democrat AG. If Gov. Martinez wants the state to sue the feds on one of these issues, can she force the AG to do so? Both are constitutional officers, but who calls the shots?
When Interior Secretary Sally Jewell
announced in September that the greater sage grouse would not be listed
as endangered, Nevada’s Brian Sandoval, a Republican, was one of four
Western governors on the stage, applauding.
States retained management of the bird in what Sandoval described as a
“big win” resulting from intense negotiations. “It’s a lot easier to
fight than it is to work together,” he said. Just a month later, though,
Nevada’s attorney general, Republican Adam Laxalt, defied Sandoval,
joining a lawsuit challenging federal plans to protect grouse habitat. A
public row ensued, with the governor’s office declaring that Laxalt was
acting on his own behalf, not the state’s. He fired back with a press
release calling the governor “wrong.”
Currently, two Western attorneys general are suing the federal
government over high-profile environmental issues against their
governors’ wishes. Colorado’s Republican attorney general, Cynthia
Coffman, is suing to block President Barack Obama’s signature climate
change initiative, the Clean Power Plan, despite Democratic Gov. John
Hickenlooper’s explicit objections.
Both attorneys general were elected a year ago with the support of a lot
of outside money, signaling big donors’ appreciation for the importance
of these offices, as states push back against the federal government.
“There is a perception that the (Obama) administration is running
roughshod over states’ interests,” says Idaho Attorney General Lawrence
G. Wasden, especially in Western states, where large portions of the
land and resources are owned and managed by the federal government.
The Democrats view things differently: “There are several attorneys
general who seem to see themselves as partisan warriors,” says Matt
Lee-Ashley, director of public lands at the Center for American
Progress, a liberal think tank. “They are so determined to boost their
political profile and grab headlines that they’re willing to undercut
their own state’s leadership.”
Have we reached the time where defending the state and questioning federal authority is "going rogue"?
The article, though, is a good summary of the issue, and raises some interesting questions. For instance, what if the issue was reversed? That would be where the governor asks the AG to sue and the AG refuses. Let's take New Mexico, with a Republican governor and Democrat AG. If Gov. Martinez wants the state to sue the feds on one of these issues, can she force the AG to do so? Both are constitutional officers, but who calls the shots?
The Last Big Scramble of 2015
While governments gather in Paris for the second week of a United Nations conference to hammer out a global agreement to fight climate change, a different sort of climate debate will take place in the halls of the Senate. Presidential contender and well-known climate-change doubter Ted Cruz will hold a hearing in the Space, Science and Competitiveness subcommittee of the Commerce Committee questioning the role of humans in climate change, with a witness list full of scientists who have questioned the mainstream consensus on the issue.
The House Oversight and Government
Reform’s Interior subcommittee holds a hearing Tuesday on a
proposed Interior Department rule placing limits on coal
producers operating near streams. The stream-protection rule has
been criticized by the industry for being too restrictive, but the
administration says it will protect drinking water and nearby
land.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will testify at a Wednesday hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee about her agency’s role in the August spill of mining waste in Colorado, which was caused by an EPA-backed team.
On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission will unveil draft rules that would force oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments for projects in their countries. A federal court shot down an earlier version in 2013, and now the big question is whether the revised version will provide exemptions (or loopholes, depending who you ask) that powerful oil companies such as Exxon and Shell have lobbied for.
The long-delayed regulation is required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law. It’s aimed at increasing transparency in order to combat the “resource curse”—the corruption, conflict, and poverty that often afflict energy-rich nations in Africa and elsewhere. The SEC, which has slow-walked the rule, has promised a federal judge that it would finalize the regulation by June of 2016.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will testify at a Wednesday hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee about her agency’s role in the August spill of mining waste in Colorado, which was caused by an EPA-backed team.
On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission will unveil draft rules that would force oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments for projects in their countries. A federal court shot down an earlier version in 2013, and now the big question is whether the revised version will provide exemptions (or loopholes, depending who you ask) that powerful oil companies such as Exxon and Shell have lobbied for.
The long-delayed regulation is required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law. It’s aimed at increasing transparency in order to combat the “resource curse”—the corruption, conflict, and poverty that often afflict energy-rich nations in Africa and elsewhere. The SEC, which has slow-walked the rule, has promised a federal judge that it would finalize the regulation by June of 2016.
Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1533
Etienne "A-10" Etcheverry likes swing by clarinetist Artie Shaw, and I like gypsy swing by guitarist Django Reinhardt. Our Swingin' Monday selection, Chicago, is by an Italian group called Django's Fingers and combines both styles. So here you go A-10, from Italy, via Mesquite, to Monticello Creek - some great swing.
https://youtu.be/qJREJcecPGc
https://youtu.be/qJREJcecPGc
Sunday, December 06, 2015
Cowgirl Sass & Savvy
Ten things you didn’t know about me
by Julie Carter
One of the trends to hit social media, and there are many, is to make a list of things people don’t know about you. As a writer, I have developed a relationship with my readers over the 13 years of this column’s existence and perhaps there are some things about me you don’t know.
1. The very first color TV show I ever watched was “Bonanza.” That moves the awkwardness of “how old are you” right out of the way.
2. At home on the ranch where I grew up, Mickey Mouse was not a Disney character, but a bratty black Shetland pony that caused considerable grief – from dumping my dad on the frozen ground and breaking his tail bone to running off with the toboggan we had him hitched to and tearing it up on the gate post as he whipped into the corral.
3. As a kid, there was plenty of opportunity to play Superman, Tarzan and Peter Pan. My brothers actually thought I could fly. My magic flying dust was the white powdered boric acid in a little green jar. I’d tell them to leave the room, I’d jump up on the kitchen counter, tell them to come back and they’d actually believe I FLEW up there. I used that gullibility for years.
4. I was the oldest and at first there were two younger brothers. One I sort of liked as long as I could beat him up or outrun him, the other I tolerated but didn’t care if he couldn’t keep up. The third brother came along after my heart was so set on having a sister, and he wasn’t. My dad told me I could dress him like a girl once in a while just to make up for it. So I did. Fortunately it didn’t psychologically scar him too much, and any latent frustrations were taken out on new Army recruits during his stint as a Drill Instructor.
5. My mother made sure I was cooking and sewing before I was a teen so when they told me I had to take Home Ec. in school, I rebelled seriously, right to the point of arguing my case in the superintendent’s office. I didn’t win. I got my first “C” ever in the eighth grade when I’d irritated the Home Ec. teacher beyond her tolerance.
6. I was a lone girl in a world of boys so I grew up being one of the guys with my competitive nature always striving to outdo them. My horse and my dogs were my buddies while the boys, our cousins and a couple others that lived at the ranch had their “boys” club. At least my “club” members kept my secrets. No blabbing the location of our secret hideout.
7. We lived quite remote from civilization where summers were endless and my favorite hours were spent riding my horse through the mountains. If a friend came to stay with me, we rode horses for fun. My parents only had two rules – let them know which direction we were headed and when they could expect us back. And no racing the horses, which of course we didn’t until we were out of sight of the house.
8. I learned at a very young age the delight of writing and receiving letters. When I wasn’t writing a letter, I was reading a book. Both, I believe, formed the foundation for my writing today. My mother taught us all the wonders of visiting other places, times and people through the magic of books and there never seemed to be a shortage of them. I grew up reading some of the same books she read as a child because she had saved them.
9. I was born in Southern Colorado and have lived most my life in Colorado and New Mexico with the exception of a couple short stints in Southern California and one in Arizona. I quit counting the number of times I’ve moved since high school graduation when it tallied past 25. I make wherever I am and in whatever I am living “home”… until the next one.
10. I’ve only broken two bones in my life. One my collar bone when a horse bucked me off, and then the outside of my right hand hairline cracked when I got it caught and cinched down in my dallies dragging calves in the branding pen. All things, places and stupidity considered, that’s a miracle.
by Julie Carter
One of the trends to hit social media, and there are many, is to make a list of things people don’t know about you. As a writer, I have developed a relationship with my readers over the 13 years of this column’s existence and perhaps there are some things about me you don’t know.
1. The very first color TV show I ever watched was “Bonanza.” That moves the awkwardness of “how old are you” right out of the way.
2. At home on the ranch where I grew up, Mickey Mouse was not a Disney character, but a bratty black Shetland pony that caused considerable grief – from dumping my dad on the frozen ground and breaking his tail bone to running off with the toboggan we had him hitched to and tearing it up on the gate post as he whipped into the corral.
3. As a kid, there was plenty of opportunity to play Superman, Tarzan and Peter Pan. My brothers actually thought I could fly. My magic flying dust was the white powdered boric acid in a little green jar. I’d tell them to leave the room, I’d jump up on the kitchen counter, tell them to come back and they’d actually believe I FLEW up there. I used that gullibility for years.
4. I was the oldest and at first there were two younger brothers. One I sort of liked as long as I could beat him up or outrun him, the other I tolerated but didn’t care if he couldn’t keep up. The third brother came along after my heart was so set on having a sister, and he wasn’t. My dad told me I could dress him like a girl once in a while just to make up for it. So I did. Fortunately it didn’t psychologically scar him too much, and any latent frustrations were taken out on new Army recruits during his stint as a Drill Instructor.
5. My mother made sure I was cooking and sewing before I was a teen so when they told me I had to take Home Ec. in school, I rebelled seriously, right to the point of arguing my case in the superintendent’s office. I didn’t win. I got my first “C” ever in the eighth grade when I’d irritated the Home Ec. teacher beyond her tolerance.
6. I was a lone girl in a world of boys so I grew up being one of the guys with my competitive nature always striving to outdo them. My horse and my dogs were my buddies while the boys, our cousins and a couple others that lived at the ranch had their “boys” club. At least my “club” members kept my secrets. No blabbing the location of our secret hideout.
7. We lived quite remote from civilization where summers were endless and my favorite hours were spent riding my horse through the mountains. If a friend came to stay with me, we rode horses for fun. My parents only had two rules – let them know which direction we were headed and when they could expect us back. And no racing the horses, which of course we didn’t until we were out of sight of the house.
8. I learned at a very young age the delight of writing and receiving letters. When I wasn’t writing a letter, I was reading a book. Both, I believe, formed the foundation for my writing today. My mother taught us all the wonders of visiting other places, times and people through the magic of books and there never seemed to be a shortage of them. I grew up reading some of the same books she read as a child because she had saved them.
9. I was born in Southern Colorado and have lived most my life in Colorado and New Mexico with the exception of a couple short stints in Southern California and one in Arizona. I quit counting the number of times I’ve moved since high school graduation when it tallied past 25. I make wherever I am and in whatever I am living “home”… until the next one.
10. I’ve only broken two bones in my life. One my collar bone when a horse bucked me off, and then the outside of my right hand hairline cracked when I got it caught and cinched down in my dallies dragging calves in the branding pen. All things, places and stupidity considered, that’s a miracle.
Old Corrals and Society
Rancher hands
Old Corrals and Society
Lessons in History
By Stephen L. Wilmeth
My hands
are sore.
As I look
at them, I am reminded of other hands that have influenced my life. I once even
contemplated devoting a bit of a time to photographing interesting hands and
crafting their stories of living. I wish I had pictures of my grandparents’
hands … all of them. The hands of my grandfather laid one over the other across
his saddle horn stand out. I don’t believe I ever saw him wear a pair of
gloves. In fact, he once told me never to hire a man who smoked a pipe or wore
gloves. His rationale was that every time you needed him he’d be fiddling with
that pipe or those gloves. He was pretty north south.
One of the
current ailments of my hands is a burn suffered from a brush with an acetylene
torch. It is made worse by now wearing gloves to avoid another similar
adventure, and pulling them on and off is keeping the burn aggravated and
weeping. I have tried bandaging it, but by midmorning I have rubbed bandages off.
The torch
incident occurred while hanging a gate in yet another old set of pens we are
rebuilding. Rebuilding an old corral is probably a lot like filling a tooth. The
more you work the more you realize how much work there is to do. There is
usually also a new found sense of respect for the long forgotten vaqueros who
built the remnants that are still standing. In our case, there is evidence of
at least three stages of construction. The first is an old standing picket
fence built out of upright cedar staves that were probably cut by hand on the
higher elevations of the ranch. We will reinforce that part and it will
continue to be used in salute to those old cowboys. The look will be preserved.
The second
stage of construction was a combination railroad tie, net wire, and cable arrangement
that we are stabilizing by replacing broken ties, stretching the cable back
into place, and re-hanging gates. At least one and maybe two of the gates will
be reset in the alley to allow the safe handling of cattle that are not yet
suitable for respectable house guests.
The third
stage of construction was more recent. It is an amalgamation of baling wire,
panels, pallets, broken gates, pieces of lumber and more baling wire tied
together each time cattle were worked. It is a combination of fix and repair
daily that makes you wonder how something or somebody wasn’t hurt when cattle
were worked. Its passage from sight has been celebrated by repeated bonfires
with the intention of burying the noncombustible remains as far from sight as
possible. We wish it and its memory … good riddance.
New additions
will include 16’ gates replacing all the wire gates leading into the water and
dry lots to accommodate large numbers of incoming cattle, the replacement of
every working gate in the original corral, a full bull panel enclosure around
the original water trough, overheads for all gates, the construction of a
completely new load up equipped with a sweep to make loading not just safe, but
efficient, and the addition of three hundred cedar staves and posts to solidify
the holding pens outside of the corrals. At least two troughs will be added so
cattle can be overnighted without remixing them.
The process
has taken on a dynamic air. It isn’t a complete overhaul of history. Rather, it
is an exercise that traced the great cowboy ideas of the past with new
additions that make sense. The use of the pens will be more efficient and safe.
The good points of each stage of construction will continue to be an intrinsic
part of the whole. It is a blend of old and new. By no means is it a complete
transformation nor is it and excessive outlay of money. As much recycled
material is being used as new. It is a stepwise evolution. Even the color of
the old pens has made an impression on the project. The patina glow of
weathered metal and wood is supremely appealing. Gone now are my thoughts of painting
anything. We may give the weathered, exposed wood a shot of used oil to stuff
some life back into it, but we’ll keep the weathered ranch look.
Perhaps the
look of time worn hands of my past has influenced that decision … perhaps a
study of my own hands has made me view many things much differently.
Parallels in society
Everybody
should read the writings of Charles Gave.
In 13
paragraphs, he’ll provide a more modern history lesson of the volatile Middle
East than years of formal education. He started by describing the Syria of his
youth. It was “a marvel of diversity, a true kaleidoscope of races and
religions. All the great empires of the past … from the Mesopotamians to the
Ottomans … had passed through, and all had left their traces.”
“Clustered
around the citadel of Aleppo, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the
world, one found the Armenian quarter, next to the Jewish district, itself next
to the Greek settlement,” he continued. “All were surrounded by Muslim areas …
and, for the most part, all these various peoples lived peaceably together,
doing business with each other in good faith.”
Education
was provided by religious orders. “Boys attended schools run by the Jesuits,
and the girls were taught by Christian nuns regardless of denomination.”
Of course,
that is now all gone. There is no longer a Jew on the southern shores of the
Mediterranean outside of Israel. Half the population of Baghdad in the 18th
Century was Christian and, today, Christians of all denominations have either
disappeared or are under severe pressure. Those in Egypt face daily attacks.
What used to be a model of mutual order has broken down completely.
Gave
assigns his country, France, with blame through what he describes as historical
missteps. Rather than relying on steadying influences from the strengths of
local community, “an intrinsic part of the system that was a diverse and
resilient society”, France effectively created a unitary state in Syria with
centralized institutions for the army, police, civil administration, justice,
education, and health. Strong influences of local controls gave way to the
state. In order to protect themselves, each and every ethnic community began to
attempt to seize control of the apparatus of the state.
Without a
strong moderating force of any kind, the various Muslim sects leveraged
themselves into power, and, with the assumption of power, lesser sects,
particularly the Sunnis who theretofore contributed to maintaining order,
sought outside help from Saudi Arabia. From the bank vaults and the Wahhabi
power brokers in Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi mosques began to be planted
everywhere. The goal became to “purify” the Middle East by returning the region
and the rest of the world to an “original” form of Islam unpolluted by
non-Wahhabi religions and the last 1400 years of history. Aided by the support
of French diplomacy under presidents Chirac, Sarkozy, and Hollande the
avalanche of extremism is fully involved. The result is only two things are being
taught today (and only to boys) … the Koran and religious extremism.
Parallels
History,
allowed to be influenced by local controls, customs and culture, usually finds
peaceful equilibrium. Just like my corrals, attention to what works should not
just be upheld but held inviolate. Changing for the sake of change or for the
tyrannical seizure of rights to create a unitary state of central control has
dramatic consequences. Diverse and resilient societies represented by
communities and states will always lose their intrinsic identities and societal
balances. Chaos invariably results.
The Middle
East is in turmoil, but are we any different?
We find ourselves in the same glide
path. Our states, which should be distinct, self influenced and directed laboratories
of local perfection, are increasingly wards of the unitary state. We are adrift
and are increasingly forced to seek methods to seize control of the political
apparatus in order to protect our own communities.
Tomorrow, I am going back to work
on my corral project. Only there can I approach the freedom of decision making
that was envisioned by our Constitution. I’ll savor the weathered panels,
patina coloration, and logic of bovine inclinations. I am part of that history
and I am humbled by that inclusion. I’ll attempt not to project myself into it
in a manner that is disrespectful or unduly critical. I’ll honor what happened
before I arrived.
Respect will be extended by maintaining
the intrinsic best ideas of local customs and diverse culture.
Stephen
L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “We are running headlong into
an abyss that parallels the chaos the world. What worries us all sick … is the
absence of leadership which, even conditionally, has our best interests in
mind.”
Some quotes from Edmund Burke (1729-1797) seem appropriate here, as this is not just a recent battle.
"A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken
together, would be my standard of a statesman."
"People will not look forward to posterity, who
never look backward to their ancestors."
"The science of government being, therefore, so
practical in itself, and intended for such practical purposes, a matter which
requires experience, and even more experience than any person can gain in his
whole life, however sagacious and observing he may be, it is with infinite
caution that any man ought to venture upon pulling down an edifice which has
answered in any tolerable degree for ages the common purposes of society, or on
building it up again without having models and patterns of approved utility
before his eyes."
Baxter Black - Dean's Driving School
Dean was in his eighties and still drove
his pickup. This concerned his best friend Jack, who questioned the
wisdom of riding with him. Dean based his self-confidence on the fact
that he lived in western Kansas where you could drive from Hugoton to
Bird City and never see a person wearing a suit and a tie!
Dean was a cattle feeder and planned a trip to Sublett. He invited Jack to go with him. Against his better judgment, Jack agreed. Dean insisted on driving. To the credit of Kansas, the speed limit is high. Twenty miles from home, the truck started shaking. They pulled off on the shoulder and made an inspection. One of the rear tires was low.
On close examination they found a nail in the tread. These two wise sages pondered whether to try and fix it, which would entail crawling underneath the truck, letting the spare tire down, dragging it out from under the bed, jacking up the vehicle, spinning off the lugs, muscling the LT 265/70R 17 tire, etc., etc., etc.
Dean made an executive decision; don’t pull the nail out, turn around and race back home before the air escapes out of the tire completely. Brilliant! Then have the tire fixed in town. Jack, who was a little younger, took over the driving, with Dean’s approval.
They were flying (80 mph) down the long, bare, two-lane road, the tire thumping and shaking the steering wheel as Dean egged Jack on! As you would guess, they attracted the attention of a lonely Kansas State Trooper who turned on his flashing lights and pulled them over.
Dean was a cattle feeder and planned a trip to Sublett. He invited Jack to go with him. Against his better judgment, Jack agreed. Dean insisted on driving. To the credit of Kansas, the speed limit is high. Twenty miles from home, the truck started shaking. They pulled off on the shoulder and made an inspection. One of the rear tires was low.
On close examination they found a nail in the tread. These two wise sages pondered whether to try and fix it, which would entail crawling underneath the truck, letting the spare tire down, dragging it out from under the bed, jacking up the vehicle, spinning off the lugs, muscling the LT 265/70R 17 tire, etc., etc., etc.
Dean made an executive decision; don’t pull the nail out, turn around and race back home before the air escapes out of the tire completely. Brilliant! Then have the tire fixed in town. Jack, who was a little younger, took over the driving, with Dean’s approval.
They were flying (80 mph) down the long, bare, two-lane road, the tire thumping and shaking the steering wheel as Dean egged Jack on! As you would guess, they attracted the attention of a lonely Kansas State Trooper who turned on his flashing lights and pulled them over.
Shorting the American Economy
by Steve Forbes
Wealthy individuals including Tom Steyer and others are driving an effort to effectively “short sell” the American economy by attacking oil, natural gas and coal producers while touting the benefits of “green” energy resources that are still unreliable or are contributing minuscule amounts of power to our nation’s energy demands.
For those who are unfamiliar with investing, “shorting” a stock means that an investor who thinks a stock will go down in price will borrow shares of that stock from a brokerage firm and then sell those shares. If that stock does indeed go down, the speculator can buy it at a lower price and make money. Short-sellers love to see stocks they target suffer big declines in their prices.
“Shorting” is exactly the strategy of many well-funded, radical environmentalists who are targeting our traditional energy producers and our manufacturing base while supporting a “green energy” agenda that cannot survive in a free market without huge government subsidies — our tax dollars — to buttress them. The agenda of many of these wealthy activist donors is to target and eventually take down our fossil fuel industry. That is simply a recipe for disaster.
Sure, it sounds great to talk about conserving energy and reducing carbon and other emissions. But the inconvenient truth is that the United States is presently at a near 30-year low in carbon emissions. No wonder: our energy producers spent $90 billion to develop zero and low carbon technologies between 2000 and 2014.
The Tom Steyers of the world want to ignore that we all benefit from a healthy U.S. energy industry. Domestic energy production — oil and natural gas — is now saving the average U.S. household $360 annually. Further, our fossil fuel industry has been one of the few bright spots in our lagging economy. Oil and natural gas industry jobs increased 40 percent between 2007 and 2013 even while the U.S. economy weakened, declining three percent.
We enjoy enhanced national security through domestic energy production. This and reasonable U.S. energy prices promote job growth with some one hundred new manufacturing plants planned by 2018.
Yet those who work actively to stifle U.S. energy production are clearly getting the president’s attention as well as leaders of the Democratic Party. We have watched the president in the waning months of his term empower agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and others, to move forward with a plague of new environmental regulations governing carbon, methane and ozone emissions that will require oil, natural gas and coal producers to pay costly fines or shut down.
Wealthy individuals including Tom Steyer and others are driving an effort to effectively “short sell” the American economy by attacking oil, natural gas and coal producers while touting the benefits of “green” energy resources that are still unreliable or are contributing minuscule amounts of power to our nation’s energy demands.
For those who are unfamiliar with investing, “shorting” a stock means that an investor who thinks a stock will go down in price will borrow shares of that stock from a brokerage firm and then sell those shares. If that stock does indeed go down, the speculator can buy it at a lower price and make money. Short-sellers love to see stocks they target suffer big declines in their prices.
“Shorting” is exactly the strategy of many well-funded, radical environmentalists who are targeting our traditional energy producers and our manufacturing base while supporting a “green energy” agenda that cannot survive in a free market without huge government subsidies — our tax dollars — to buttress them. The agenda of many of these wealthy activist donors is to target and eventually take down our fossil fuel industry. That is simply a recipe for disaster.
Sure, it sounds great to talk about conserving energy and reducing carbon and other emissions. But the inconvenient truth is that the United States is presently at a near 30-year low in carbon emissions. No wonder: our energy producers spent $90 billion to develop zero and low carbon technologies between 2000 and 2014.
The Tom Steyers of the world want to ignore that we all benefit from a healthy U.S. energy industry. Domestic energy production — oil and natural gas — is now saving the average U.S. household $360 annually. Further, our fossil fuel industry has been one of the few bright spots in our lagging economy. Oil and natural gas industry jobs increased 40 percent between 2007 and 2013 even while the U.S. economy weakened, declining three percent.
We enjoy enhanced national security through domestic energy production. This and reasonable U.S. energy prices promote job growth with some one hundred new manufacturing plants planned by 2018.
Yet those who work actively to stifle U.S. energy production are clearly getting the president’s attention as well as leaders of the Democratic Party. We have watched the president in the waning months of his term empower agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and others, to move forward with a plague of new environmental regulations governing carbon, methane and ozone emissions that will require oil, natural gas and coal producers to pay costly fines or shut down.
Environmentalism is the "New Age" Socialism
by Helen Raleigh
...Deep down, environmentalism isn't about saving the planet, but is a disguised anti-Capitalism movement and it's most vocal advocates won't deny their true intention. I have travelled around the world and I noticed that the freer the country, the better quality of the air one breathes. Anyone who wants to save the planet should promote freedom, private property rights and voluntary exchange. In a word, if you want better environment, embrace capitalism.
Comparing environmentalism and socialism side by side, you can see many similarities between these two ideologies:
Both were created by elitist intelligentsias who believed they have the moral responsibility to save the masses who are too dumb for their own good. For our own benefit, the benevolent elitists decide how to best organize the economy and live our lives. Both ideologies rely heavily on the power of the State to impose their visions on everyone else. For instance, socialism organizes the means of production and distribution of outcomes through central planning; while environmentalism demands government regulations to enforce their ideal way of living upon everyone else and punish anyone who doesn't obey.
Both treat Capitalism as their worst enemy. Both believe Capitalism to be responsible for many problems in this world: depleting the earth’s resources, damaging the environment, exacerbating poverty and class struggle. The very reason of Socialism's existence is to abolish Capitalism; while the environmentalists believe the future is a choice between Capitalism or a habitable planet-you can't have both, even though actual historical data shows otherwise: people are healthier, happier, wealthier, and live longer today, compared to decades ago, thanks to the spread of free markets and economic freedom. Capitalism is about choice, while environmentalism is about control.
Both are bent on enforcing conformity with any means necessary. Socialism enforces conformity through rationing necessities and thought-control via reeducation camps. Environmentalists have declared the end of discussion on the validity of climate change because "the science is settled." Anyone who dares to question climate activists' data, logic and accuracy is automatically denounced as a science denier. But the very nature of science means it is never settled. It is constant inquiry, as the greatest scientist of the 20th century Albert Einstein famously exclaimed, "the important thing is never stop questioning."
...Deep down, environmentalism isn't about saving the planet, but is a disguised anti-Capitalism movement and it's most vocal advocates won't deny their true intention. I have travelled around the world and I noticed that the freer the country, the better quality of the air one breathes. Anyone who wants to save the planet should promote freedom, private property rights and voluntary exchange. In a word, if you want better environment, embrace capitalism.
Comparing environmentalism and socialism side by side, you can see many similarities between these two ideologies:
Both were created by elitist intelligentsias who believed they have the moral responsibility to save the masses who are too dumb for their own good. For our own benefit, the benevolent elitists decide how to best organize the economy and live our lives. Both ideologies rely heavily on the power of the State to impose their visions on everyone else. For instance, socialism organizes the means of production and distribution of outcomes through central planning; while environmentalism demands government regulations to enforce their ideal way of living upon everyone else and punish anyone who doesn't obey.
Both treat Capitalism as their worst enemy. Both believe Capitalism to be responsible for many problems in this world: depleting the earth’s resources, damaging the environment, exacerbating poverty and class struggle. The very reason of Socialism's existence is to abolish Capitalism; while the environmentalists believe the future is a choice between Capitalism or a habitable planet-you can't have both, even though actual historical data shows otherwise: people are healthier, happier, wealthier, and live longer today, compared to decades ago, thanks to the spread of free markets and economic freedom. Capitalism is about choice, while environmentalism is about control.
Both are bent on enforcing conformity with any means necessary. Socialism enforces conformity through rationing necessities and thought-control via reeducation camps. Environmentalists have declared the end of discussion on the validity of climate change because "the science is settled." Anyone who dares to question climate activists' data, logic and accuracy is automatically denounced as a science denier. But the very nature of science means it is never settled. It is constant inquiry, as the greatest scientist of the 20th century Albert Einstein famously exclaimed, "the important thing is never stop questioning."
Drummond Hadley, cowboy, poet, conservationist, dies at 77
Drummond Hadley said he wasn’t a cowboy poet — he was a poet who was also a cowboy.
Hadley, 77 and a longtime Southern Arizonan, died Nov. 26 at his mother’s family’s home in Cooperstown, New York. Following a long illness, his death closes a career that included five published books, study under some of poetry’s greatest names of the 1960s and ‘70s, four decades of ranching in the Arizona-New Mexico borderlands, and leadership of a pioneering conservation organization of the Southwest.
An heir of the Anheuser-Busch family of St. Louis, he found common ground with border-area residents of all incomes and backgrounds.
“It is amazing how a regular guy knew so many super poets,” said Ross Humphreys, owner of three Southern Arizona ranches.
Rio Nuevo Publishers, owned by Humphreys, published Hadley’s landmark 2005 collection, “Voice of the Borderlands,” which sought to tell of the region’s people and landscape through narrative poetry.
...Humphreys was speaking of Hadley’s longtime work and friendship with poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and his association with the late Charles Olson. Olson, who mentored Hadley’s work many years ago, was considered a bridge between classical, mid-20th century figures such as Ezra Pound and Williams Carlos Williams and New American poets of the ‘60s such as Ginsberg.
...Born in St. Louis County, Missouri, on May 27, 1938, Hadley attended schools in St. Louis and graduated from the private Pomfret Academy prep school in Connecticut in 1956. He earned a B.A. in English literature in 1962 and an M.F.A. in literature in 1965 from UA.
He started writing poetry during the early 1960s, and later was befriended by New American poets such as Snyder and Ginsburg. In the preface to “Voice of the Borderlands,” Hadley explained his entry into ranching at around the same time:
“In the early 1960s, I left academia and got a job as a cowboy in the Southwestern Borderlands,” he wrote. “I took these as given as I do now: that we are created in the image of the earth, and that we become what surrounds us.
“I wanted to explore the possibility that the language used by cowboys and vaqueros would reflect some essence of the rough mountains, mesas and arroyos of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, in which they worked cattle and horses. I imagined that words might have an other than intellectual origin and understanding, that they might be rather of the body’s blood, the sweat and tears of loss and circumstance,” Hadley wrote.
In the 1960s, he worked as a cowboy on the Ella Dana and Dart ranches in Cochise County, Rancho San Bernardino in Sonora and the WS Ranch in northern New Mexico. In 1972, he moved with his family to Guadalupe Ranch in the Guadalupe Canyon area, a remote slice of southeast Arizona.
In the early 1990s, he and his neighbors and friends, including Warner and Wendy Glenn and Bill and Mary McDonald, helped establish the Malpais Borderlands Group. It’s a nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation ranching, fire ecology and open-space protection.
Around the same time, Hadley was instrumental in transferring the 272,000-acre Gray Ranch in the Animas Mountains in southwest New Mexico from the Nature Conservancy to the Animas Foundation, which he helped found.
By 2005, the Malpais Borderlands area encompassed 800,000 acres of private, federal and state land, and had developed an international reputation for trying to balance ranching and conservation, wrote Nathan Sayre in his book, “Working Wilderness: The Malpais Borderlands Group and the future of the Western Range.”
Hadley, 77 and a longtime Southern Arizonan, died Nov. 26 at his mother’s family’s home in Cooperstown, New York. Following a long illness, his death closes a career that included five published books, study under some of poetry’s greatest names of the 1960s and ‘70s, four decades of ranching in the Arizona-New Mexico borderlands, and leadership of a pioneering conservation organization of the Southwest.
An heir of the Anheuser-Busch family of St. Louis, he found common ground with border-area residents of all incomes and backgrounds.
“It is amazing how a regular guy knew so many super poets,” said Ross Humphreys, owner of three Southern Arizona ranches.
Rio Nuevo Publishers, owned by Humphreys, published Hadley’s landmark 2005 collection, “Voice of the Borderlands,” which sought to tell of the region’s people and landscape through narrative poetry.
...Humphreys was speaking of Hadley’s longtime work and friendship with poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and his association with the late Charles Olson. Olson, who mentored Hadley’s work many years ago, was considered a bridge between classical, mid-20th century figures such as Ezra Pound and Williams Carlos Williams and New American poets of the ‘60s such as Ginsberg.
...Born in St. Louis County, Missouri, on May 27, 1938, Hadley attended schools in St. Louis and graduated from the private Pomfret Academy prep school in Connecticut in 1956. He earned a B.A. in English literature in 1962 and an M.F.A. in literature in 1965 from UA.
He started writing poetry during the early 1960s, and later was befriended by New American poets such as Snyder and Ginsburg. In the preface to “Voice of the Borderlands,” Hadley explained his entry into ranching at around the same time:
“In the early 1960s, I left academia and got a job as a cowboy in the Southwestern Borderlands,” he wrote. “I took these as given as I do now: that we are created in the image of the earth, and that we become what surrounds us.
“I wanted to explore the possibility that the language used by cowboys and vaqueros would reflect some essence of the rough mountains, mesas and arroyos of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts, in which they worked cattle and horses. I imagined that words might have an other than intellectual origin and understanding, that they might be rather of the body’s blood, the sweat and tears of loss and circumstance,” Hadley wrote.
In the 1960s, he worked as a cowboy on the Ella Dana and Dart ranches in Cochise County, Rancho San Bernardino in Sonora and the WS Ranch in northern New Mexico. In 1972, he moved with his family to Guadalupe Ranch in the Guadalupe Canyon area, a remote slice of southeast Arizona.
In the early 1990s, he and his neighbors and friends, including Warner and Wendy Glenn and Bill and Mary McDonald, helped establish the Malpais Borderlands Group. It’s a nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation ranching, fire ecology and open-space protection.
Around the same time, Hadley was instrumental in transferring the 272,000-acre Gray Ranch in the Animas Mountains in southwest New Mexico from the Nature Conservancy to the Animas Foundation, which he helped found.
By 2005, the Malpais Borderlands area encompassed 800,000 acres of private, federal and state land, and had developed an international reputation for trying to balance ranching and conservation, wrote Nathan Sayre in his book, “Working Wilderness: The Malpais Borderlands Group and the future of the Western Range.”
Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1532
Hold Fast To The Right by Mac Wiseman is our gospel tune today. It's available on his CD Beside The Still Waters.
https://youtu.be/f6v_9E-msRE
https://youtu.be/f6v_9E-msRE
Friday, December 04, 2015
NM tries to collect back taxes on sales of elk-hunting permits by ranchers and landowners
State officials who have been focusing their efforts on collecting delinquent gross receipts taxes have a new target in their sights: ranchers and other landowners who are issued elk-hunting permits by the state and then sell them.
The Taxation and Revenue Department says it has sent hundreds of letters this fall to landowners notifying them they may owe back taxes on the transferable license authorizations they received from the state Department of Game and Fish. More letters are expected to go out.
The collection effort has some landowners in an uproar.
“There has been a great deal of confusion. … It’s turned the landowner industry on its head,” said Caren Cowan, executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association.
The tax department over the past couple of years has been trying to identify and collect gross receipts taxes in a variety of areas that it says should have been paid and weren’t.
Landowners in the Department of Game and Fish’s program called E-PLUS – for Elk Private Lands Use System – are given authorizations in recognition of their efforts in managing elk and their habitat, according to the department.
They can ignore the authorizations, use them, give them away or sell them – to individual hunters, for example, or to outfitting companies or to brokers – at whatever price they can get. The authorizations are converted to actual hunting licenses.
The tax agency’s letters to landowners say that granting a right to hunt “is a license to use the real property,” and that the receipts from the sale of that license are subject to gross receipts tax.
Cowan said that was “shocking” news to some ranchers, who likely have been paying income tax on the income from the sales of authorizations but now find they may owe thousands of dollars in back gross receipts taxes.
The state can go back six or seven years to collect, depending on whether the taxpayer had ever filed a gross receipts tax return, according to the department.
“Unfortunately, since no one knew about the rule, the landowners are being asked for records they didn’t keep on taxes they didn’t know they were supposed to pay,” said Dalene Hodnett, communications director for the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau...more
House passes bill to address abuse of EAJA
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council applaud the House passage of H.R. 3279 Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), requires oversight and transparency of funds awarded under EAJA. Philip Ellis, NCBA president and Wyoming rancher, said the bill is critical to leveling the playing field between private citizens, for which the law was intended, and the vast resources of groups who repeatedly abuse the system. “The lack of oversight and accountability has led to rampant abuse by well-funded radical environmental groups who use EAJA to advance their agendas,” said Ellis. “The simple fact that millions of dollars in taxpayer funds have been awarded, with virtually no accounting of who received the payments is unacceptable.” EAJA was originally passed in 1980 to allow plaintiffs to recover legal fees when they prevail against the federal government in court. However, it has repeatedly been exploited by environmental activist groups which target federal-lands agencies, and ultimately the ranching families who use the lands, at the expense of the taxpayer. From 2001 to 2011, environmental activist groups, some worth in excess of $50 million, have been awarded an estimated $37 million. During the same time period, more than 3,300 cases have been filed by just 12 groups, many of which were frivolous or filed on technicalities...more
So we'll get more accurate and timely reports on how they are screwing us? I'll have more to say later, but this does nothing to solve the root problem, and it's a problem the Congress doesn't want to admit exists.
So we'll get more accurate and timely reports on how they are screwing us? I'll have more to say later, but this does nothing to solve the root problem, and it's a problem the Congress doesn't want to admit exists.
Does imperiled Mexican gray wolf belong in Utah? No way, 4 states say
Federal wildlife officials are set to convene yet another effort to craft a recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf after three failed attempts over the past three decades. But leaders in Utah and three other states are
now attacking the credibility of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
science, alleging it is rigged to improperly include the Four Corners region in the recovery zone for this critically imperiled wolf subspecies. The Utah Wildlife Board on Wednesday piled on when it finalized a letter to FWS insisting the agency reconstitute the recovery team with members who are more "neutral" than the biologists currently assigned to the task.
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The team is scheduled to begin meeting next week at the COD Ranch outside Tucson, Ariz. Utah also objects to this venue, because it is has hosted meetings of conservation groups.
The states also insist on a major ground rule for the Mexican wolf recovery planning process: No consideration should be given to terrain north of Interstate 40, the freeway that cuts across Arizona and New Mexico about 130 miles south of the Utah state line.
That was the sentiment two months ago when the Utah Wildlife Board first authorized Assistant Utah Attorney General Martin Bushman to draft the letter to FWS and the Department of the Interior. A final draft was approved Wednesday, claiming the Mexican wolf's historic range lies south of Arizona's Mogollon Rim forming the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau.
The complaints raised in this letter closely align with a Nov. 13 letter to FWS director Dan Ashe signed by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and three other governors. The four states — Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona as well as Utah — are "seriously troubled" by FWS' selection of "non-neutral" scientists bent on establishing the Mexican wolf outside its historic range.
"The panel as presently constituted will be driven as much or more by personal agenda than by science. This is unacceptable," the letter states. "Given that 90 percent of the subspecies' historical range is in Mexico, any serious recovery planning effort must headline a Mexico-centric approach rather than the translocation of the subspecies out of its historical range into new, previously uninhabited ranges of northern Arizona / New Mexico and southern Utah / Colorado."
FWS spokesman Jeff Humphrey said the agency has yet to decide how it will respond to the governors' concerns.
The letters do not name the allegedly biased scientists or identify who the states do want on the team...more
Another NM County opposes wolf release
Lincoln County commissioners back Socorro County's opposition to the proposed release of Mexican gray wolves in an expanded territory, as part of a federal reintroduction program.
They understand Socorro County's opposition to the use of sites within its borders and believe if the releases move forward, Lincoln County will be next on the list, they stated in a resolution adopted last week. The resolution asks members of Congress to call for an investigation into the U.S, Fish and Wildlife Service's "disregard of the positions of the local and state government, and to defund the wolf recovery program."
In January 2015, Fish and Wildlife Service officials finalized changes to the Mexico Wolf Experimental Population Rule in Arizona and New Mexico, enlarging the recovery area from Interstate 10 to the Mexican border. That increased the territory tenfold in which the wolves can be released initially from captivity, County Manager Nita Taylor said.
On Sept. 29, 2015, the director of New Mexico Game and Fish Department denied the federal agency's request to release additional wolves in New Mexico, citing a lack of specifics about how many or where the wolves would be released, Taylor said. The state Game Commission unanimously upheld that denial.
On Oct. 1, federal agency officials proposed numerous potential wolf release sites in Socorro County. That county adopted a resolution opposing the release and Lincoln County now joins in that opposition by passing resolution 2015-22, she said.
The resolution read in part that the expanded areas offer "abundant open space for cover, water and a smorgasbord of commercial animals for a food source, and the county is concerned that the wolves would remain in the vicinity of the ready supply of food and water unless actions were taken to prevent or control the dispersion."
Commissioners contended in the resolution that Fish and Wildlife Service officials did not sufficiently consider the impacts on the county's customs, culture and the economy in the Environment Impact Statement. "Despite
the Fish and Wildlife Service's belief that it has developed a program
that will compensate counties for losses that counties incur from the
Mexican wolf, it is outrageous to think that compensation is even
quantifiable when it has taken years for the ungulate population to
develop as a result f the dedicated efforts of sportsmen, ranchers,
county agencies and the state Game and Fish," the resolution states. The
county "stands in stark opposition of the newly released record of
decision and final rule," the resolution states. Commissioners maintain
the decision is a "blatant violation of the National Environmental
Protection Act requirements."...more
Ranchers denied the drought while collecting drought subsidies
It was an anti-government rebellion in the Nevada sagebrush – with hefty taxpayer subsidies for the rebels.
In June, tough-talking ranchers in remote Battle Mountain, Nevada, defied the federal government, herding cattle onto public rangeland that had been closed to grazing to protect it during the West’s scorching drought.
That act of defiance capped two years of protest against grazing restrictions imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which manages thousands of square miles of arid federal land in Nevada.
In the end, the federal government backed down from the confrontation in Battle Mountain. The BLM canceled the drought closures and opened the range, just as the cattlemen wanted.
By denying the severity of the drought – and by claiming that “rogue” federal bureaucrats threatened them with economic ruin – the ranchers won the day. But even as the conflict played out, some of these same ranchers were collecting drought subsidies from the federal government.
On one hand, they denied the drought. On the other hand, they embraced it.
According to records obtained by Reveal, two ranching families at the center of the Battle Mountain protests received $2.2 million from a federal drought disaster relief program.
Dan Filippini, the protest leader who turned hundreds of cattle loose on the closed range, was paid $338,000 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Livestock Forage Disaster Program in 2014, records show.
Another $750,000 federal payout went to a trust and corporation associated with the Filippini family, which long has been active in ranching in Nevada.
Meanwhile, significant payments also went to the family of Battle Mountain cattleman Peter Tomera, who with his wife and sons rode on the Grass March Cowboy Express, a 2014 horseback ride to Washington, D.C., to protest the government drought restrictions. The records show that the government paid $250,000 to a Tomera family trust and another $360,000 to a family corporation.
An additional $540,000 was paid to other members of the extended Tomera family and to a related corporation, records show.
The subsidy program compensates ranchers who claim financial losses because a drought disaster has driven up the cost of feed for livestock...more
With Klamath bill uncertain, dam relicensing moves ahead
The process to relicense the hydroelectric dam system on the Klamath River will likely move forward if Congress fails to act by the end of the year on historic settlement agreements to remove four of the dams.
The Klamath River basin, which straddles Oregon and California, has long been the site of intense political fights over the sharing of scarce water between farms and fish. The agreements to remove the dams, hammered out by farmers, tribes, environmentalists and states, were a compromise to restore the river for imperiled salmon and steelhead and give farmers greater certainty about irrigation water.
Congress must pass legislation to implement the agreements, but House Republicans have blocked it for years, fearing it would set a precedent for dam removal.
In October, U.S. Rep. Greg Walden — a staunch dam-removal opponent whose Oregon district includes one of the dams — said he was close to drafting a bill in the House. He has not released any details. His office this week said the lawmaker would convene a meeting today with key Congressional leaders to discuss “a way forward” on Klamath Basin water issues. If there’s no legislation by the end of the year, when the agreements expire, several parties indicated they might abandon the settlement.
“It’s not that we don’t believe in the deal, it’s that we’ve tried for years … and have not been able to get support in Congress,” said Craig Tucker, Klamath coordinator with the Karuk Tribe, one of four federally recognized tribes that support the agreements. “If we can get tribal leaders and ranchers to come to an agreement to share water, it’s shocking that we can’t bring our Congressmen along with us.”
Relicensing of the Klamath dams with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which licenses hydropower projects for 30 to 50 years, has been on hold for several years while groups negotiated for a federal bill...more
Feds try new strategy in wildfire rehab in southwest Idaho
The federal government has a long history of failure when it comes to restoring sagebrush rangeland scorched by wildfires.
Scientists and land managers aim to change that by using the knowledge gained in those setbacks to restore a giant swath of sagebrush steppe destroyed by a wildfire last summer in southwest Idaho and southeast Oregon.
“It’s well known that there hasn’t been much success despite the millions of dollars being invested,” said Matt Germino, a United States Geological Survey research ecologist based in Boise who specializes in sagebrush steppe ecosystems.
He decided to find out why. He looked at 25 historic sagebrush reseedings following wildfires in the Snake River Plain from 1987 to 2010 involving tens of thousands of acres.
He discovered that, on average, seeds came from 300 miles away and moved downward in elevation about 2,500 feet. Of the 25 seedings, nine resulted in no sagebrush. But five restoration seedings did produce good results.
“The most successful seedings,” Germino said, “got their seeds from areas that had almost the identical winter temperatures as the seeding site.”
The poorest restoration results, though, involved seeds that came from areas that on average were about 5.5 degrees colder in winter than where they were planted.
Though vast expanses of sagebrush often look similar, there are actually three subspecies of big sagebrush. Germino said that variability is part of the reason sagebrush are among the most successful and widely-spread plants in North America.
The most abundant subspecies is Wyoming big sagebrush. Basin big sagebrush is the most drought-tolerant. Mountain big sagebrush, meanwhile, is typically found at higher elevations.
Within those three subspecies, Germino said, are genetic variations making groups of sagebrush best adapted for particular areas.
In examining past restoration efforts, he found that burned areas typically contained Wyoming big sagebrush, but the seeds to replant those areas often came from mountain big sagebrush, resulting in failure...more
Judge Puts Lawsuit Over Badger-Two Medicine Energy Lease on Sacred Land on hold
BILLINGS — A federal judge put a lawsuit over a disputed energy lease near Glacier National Park on hold Thursday until early January, after attorneys for the government and leaseholder said they were seeking to resolve the case outside court.
The Interior Department last month said it plans to cancel the 6,200-acre lease in northwestern Montana that’s owned by Solenex LLC of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The lease was granted in 1982 in the Badger-Two Medicine area just south of Glacier — land considered sacred to the Blackfoot tribes of the U.S. and Canada.
Drilling has been held up by repeated bureaucratic delays, prompting Solenex to sue the government in 2013.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said in Thursday’s order that the case would be stayed until Jan. 8. He asked the two sides to come back on or before that date with recommendations on how the case should proceed or whether more time would be needed for negotiations.
Neither side would disclose what issues are being discussed. Solenex’s attorneys have said previously that if the leases are cancelled, their clients would be entitled to compensation.
Attorneys for the government have said the lease was improperly issued, in part because an environmental study did not consider the impact on the tribes of drilling.
The lease is on the site of the creation story for the Blackfoot tribes of southern Canada and the Blackfeet Nation of Montana. It’s located just west of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
Dozens more oil and gas leases were initially sold in the area, but over the years, most were retired or surrendered by their owners...more
Highway bill Congress passed restores crop insurance cuts
U.S. senators from the Dakotas say a transportation bill Congress passed on Thursday restores $3 billion in cuts to crop insurance made in the budget agreement completed in October, and also helps some agricultural fuel haulers.
The Senate and House overwhelmingly approved the five-year, $305 billion bill, sending it to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement that crop insurance "is a lifeline for jobs and families across rural America," and Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said it gives farmers "the certainty of knowing there is a safety net in place."
Farm-state lawmakers and agricultural groups were angered by the budget deal, saying the cut to crop insurance would hurt farmers and possibly increase the need for emergency disaster aid. They also said it would undermine improvements in the 2014 farm bill to crop insurance, which costs more than $9 billion annually...more
What Killed the Mammoths of Waco?
By
Megan Gannon
For two decades, a circus tent stood on the outskirts of Waco, Texas, not far from the point where the Bosque and Brazos rivers converge. But the real elephant attraction was below: Columbian mammoths, still preserved in their death pose, more than 60,000 years after floodwaters left them buried in mud.
The Waco Mammoth National Monument, its circus digs now replaced with a climate-controlled shelter and visitor center, became one of the country’s newest national monuments
in July. The first hints of the Ice Age graveyard were discovered by
accident in 1978, when two 19-year-olds looking for arrowheads along a
dry riverbed found mammoth bones instead. They alerted paleontologists
at Baylor University, sparking an excavation that yielded surprisingly
rich finds. Within a decade, 16 Columbian mammoths were uncovered and
lifted out of the ground in plaster jackets. A second phase revealed six
more mammoths, a camel and the tooth of a saber-tooth cat.
For two decades, a circus tent stood on the outskirts of Waco, Texas, not far from the point where the Bosque and Brazos rivers converge. But the real elephant attraction was below: Columbian mammoths, still preserved in their death pose, more than 60,000 years after floodwaters left them buried in mud.
The deposit is unique because it
preserves a nursery herd—at least six adult females and ten
juveniles—that died together in a single event. Unlike the Hot Springs
Mammoth Site in South Dakota, where over 60 juvenile and adolescent male
Columbian mammoths plummeted to their deaths over the course of many
years, the Waco site bears witness to a single, catastrophic event. And
the absence of arrowheads and other archaeological remains suggests that
the bones aren’t a heap of Paleo-Indian leftovers—this was a mass grave
from a natural disaster.
How—and when—did the animals die? New research found a likely answer within the sediments that entombed the creatures. The paper, which was recently published in Quaternary Research, concludes that the original 16 mammoths from the herd were likely standing in the wet, sandy sediment near the confluence of the two rivers when a storm hit. As floodwaters rose, the animals might have been trapped between the river and the ravine’s walls. At 12-to-14 feet tall and weighing seven to eight tons, Columbian mammoths weren’t exactly agile. Perhaps they couldn’t climb the steep slopes to escape in time. Some might have even been trapped in a mudslide. Other mammoths seem to have died in a similar storm while visiting the same area years later.
How—and when—did the animals die? New research found a likely answer within the sediments that entombed the creatures. The paper, which was recently published in Quaternary Research, concludes that the original 16 mammoths from the herd were likely standing in the wet, sandy sediment near the confluence of the two rivers when a storm hit. As floodwaters rose, the animals might have been trapped between the river and the ravine’s walls. At 12-to-14 feet tall and weighing seven to eight tons, Columbian mammoths weren’t exactly agile. Perhaps they couldn’t climb the steep slopes to escape in time. Some might have even been trapped in a mudslide. Other mammoths seem to have died in a similar storm while visiting the same area years later.
Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1531
Ranch Radio will close out the week with a tune about our old cartoon buddy Snuffy Smith. That's Johnny Acton doing the singing and you'll find the tune on Vol. One of the High On The Hog series by Cactus Records.
https://youtu.be/edupQxDQsfk
https://youtu.be/edupQxDQsfk
Thursday, December 03, 2015
Greens push Obama to seek bigger climate deal
More than 150 environmental groups are asking President Obama to go even further on global warming than what he has proposed as part of an international climate change pact.
In a letter sent Tuesday, the groups pushed Obama to increase the amount of carbon pollution the U.S. will cut as part of a climate agreement. They also said he should commit to stopping development of untapped fossil fuels on federal land while working toward a transition to 100 clean energy around the globe by 2050.
“You have the capability to negotiate a climate agreement in Paris that will mark the turning point in the world’s efforts to avert catastrophic climate damage and thus protect the human rights of present and future generations,” the coalition, which includes the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace USA among others, wrote.
The proposals are aggressive and likely won’t catch on as part of an international climate change agreement.
Obama has worked to solidify his climate change platform ahead of the on-going talks in Paris, saying the U.S. will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025 while cracking down on power sector pollution.
He has said more fossil fuels will have to stay in the ground if climate change is to be addressed. But his administration has dismissed green groups’ plea that it completely stop fossil fuel development on federal land...more
NPS releases report on actions to combat climate change in parks
The National
Park Service yesterday released a report detailing actions underway
to address climate change threats to infrastructure, recreation, and
natural and cultural resources. The report follows a
recent study that
revealed sea-level rise caused by climate change could pose a risk to
more than $40 billion worth of national park assets and resources. U.S. Secretary
of the Interior Sally Jewell highlighted the report during a meeting
in Paris with representatives from the UNESCO World Heritage
Committee, where the delegates discussed shared challenges in
protecting World Heritage sites in the face of a changing climate...more
U.S. Government and Companies Reiterate Commitment to Forest and Climate Programs
At COP21 in Paris, France, leading companies announced that they intend to prioritize their sourcing of commodities in regions implementing large-scale forest and climate programs. The U.S. welcomes this innovative new approach from Marks & Spencer and Unilever, and the expectation that other companies will join in this approach. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell attended the announcement in Paris and noted the importance of this public-private approach.
This move to source from jurisdictions combatting deforestation will bring together the power of global agricultural supply chains with strong government commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the announcement, areas with existing initiatives that meet certain criteria will be the first priority for supply chain sourcing, so long as quality and volume mandates can be fulfilled. The criteria include: a strategy to reduce emissions from forests and other lands; a system to measure and monitor net reductions in emissions; performance below an ambitious and decreasing emissions baseline; monitoring of social and environmental safeguards; stakeholder engagement; high-level political support; and a national U.N. Climate Change Convention contribution (INDC) that includes forests and land use...more
Obama environmentalists favor birds over business
By William Perry Pendley
Westerners cheered the Obama administration’s September decision not to designate the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act; listing would have meant more federal land lockups, additional red tape, and further litigation by environmental groups that use the act to make people do what they want. The sigh of relief had barely left western lips before federal officials declared — purportedly to protect the sage-grouse — closure of tens of millions of acres of western land to mining and imposition of a Draconian and illegal rule that kills current and future economic activity. Westerners are fighting back in court, but relief is years away.
...Immediately, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and the Idaho State Legislature filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C.; they were joined days ago by a 105-year-old mining association. Meanwhile, Nevada’s Elko County, which stands to lose $31 million annually in agriculture, mining and energy development activity, and Eureka County along with two small mining companies, sued in federal district court in Reno. A month after filing, they were joined by Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt. Recently, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association sued in federal district court in Cheyenne, contesting the planned limits on grazing.
It is not only western governors’ efforts to balance sage-grouse conservation with the need for economic activity that are being mocked by Obama officials. Decades ago, Congress, fed up with various presidents’ usurpation of its constitutional role in managing federal lands, sharply limited the executive branch’s authority to withdraw public lands, limits that the sage-grouse orders boldly ignore. Westerners are fighting back, but if the past is any indication, Congress will remain feckless, impotent and uninvolved in the face of Obama administration lawlessness.
William Perry Pendley, an attorney, is president of Mountain States Legal Foundation and author of “Sagebrush Rebel: Reagan’s Battle with Environmental Extremists and Why It Matters Today” (Regnery, 2013).
Westerners cheered the Obama administration’s September decision not to designate the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act; listing would have meant more federal land lockups, additional red tape, and further litigation by environmental groups that use the act to make people do what they want. The sigh of relief had barely left western lips before federal officials declared — purportedly to protect the sage-grouse — closure of tens of millions of acres of western land to mining and imposition of a Draconian and illegal rule that kills current and future economic activity. Westerners are fighting back in court, but relief is years away.
...Immediately, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and the Idaho State Legislature filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C.; they were joined days ago by a 105-year-old mining association. Meanwhile, Nevada’s Elko County, which stands to lose $31 million annually in agriculture, mining and energy development activity, and Eureka County along with two small mining companies, sued in federal district court in Reno. A month after filing, they were joined by Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt. Recently, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association sued in federal district court in Cheyenne, contesting the planned limits on grazing.
It is not only western governors’ efforts to balance sage-grouse conservation with the need for economic activity that are being mocked by Obama officials. Decades ago, Congress, fed up with various presidents’ usurpation of its constitutional role in managing federal lands, sharply limited the executive branch’s authority to withdraw public lands, limits that the sage-grouse orders boldly ignore. Westerners are fighting back, but if the past is any indication, Congress will remain feckless, impotent and uninvolved in the face of Obama administration lawlessness.
William Perry Pendley, an attorney, is president of Mountain States Legal Foundation and author of “Sagebrush Rebel: Reagan’s Battle with Environmental Extremists and Why It Matters Today” (Regnery, 2013).
Park's crumbling water system tests cash-strapped NPS
Grand Canyon National Park's water pipeline was among the Interior Department's most ambitious projects in the 1960s.
The 16-mile aluminum pipeline captures water gushing from a cave thousands of feet below the North Rim, snakes to the canyon floor, then surges up the arid South Rim to quench the thirst of 4.8 million park visitors every year.
It's still the park's only source of drinking water, but the pipeline is decades past its anticipated service life. Its frequent breakdowns -- as many as 30 a year -- keep park plumbers busy.
"We're patching it as it breaks," said Robin Martin, the park's chief of planning and compliance.
But with each service call costing $25,000, the pipeline repairs are straining the park's finances and the patience of hikers and campers who occasionally are asked to bring their own water or filter from the creeks. In rare circumstances, breakdowns have forced the evacuation of guests.
And so the park is planning an ambitious project to replace it.
Park managers are studying the hydrology of the North Rim springs and by early next year will ask the public to weigh in on an environmental impact statement to explore alternatives for a new pipeline.
Estimated replacement cost: $150 million, a staggering sum for a park whose annual budget is roughly $20 million.
It's a reflection of broader fiscal strain at the National Park Service as it prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2016. Systemwide, the agency faces an $11.5 billion maintenance backlog -- everything from crumbling roads and unsafe bridges to leaky bathrooms and eroding trails...more
They can't take care of what they've got, yet keep adding additional units. Transfer Forest Service, BLM and similar lands to the states and spend federal resources on bringing our National Parks back up to par.
They can't take care of what they've got, yet keep adding additional units. Transfer Forest Service, BLM and similar lands to the states and spend federal resources on bringing our National Parks back up to par.
California wasting water due to fish and inefficiency
It’s quite astounding that California’s water officials weren’t better prepared for the four-year long drought they are currently in. The Golden State is well-known for being dry, and scientists familiar with the region’s history will tell you that over the past 1,000 years the area that is now California has faced several hundred-year long “megadroughts.” Despite the well-documented reality of California’s climate, every year, even in drought years, state officials waste millions of gallons of precious water to protect a fish and they prevent markets from efficiently allocating one of California’s most desired and vital resources.
Wtate officials waste millions of gallons of precious water to protect a fish and they prevent markets from efficiently allocating one of California’s most desired and vital resources.
California’s drought has been devastating to the state’s environment, economy and its residents. This year, it will cost California about $2.7 billion and over 10,000 agricultural jobs. Nearly 600,000 acres of farmland in the state lay fallow because of the drought. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which is responsible for one-third of California’s water supply, is also at record-low levels...more
George P. Bush joins 'land grab' suit against feds
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush on Tuesday joined several
North Texas land owners and officials in a lawsuit against the federal
government over long-disputed property rights. In intervening court documents
filed against the federal Bureau of Land Management, Bush proclaimed to
challenge "the federal government's unconstitutional and arbitrary
seizure" of land along the Red River, which he said belongs to Texas. Bush's intervention is the latest chapter in a months-long dispute
over the borders of federally-held public land along the Texas-Oklahoma
line. In October, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote a letter to the BLM
denouncing an "unconscionable land grab." Twelve other parties are challenging the federal agency, including
three Texas counties, one sheriff and eight private landowners, who the
BLM has reportedly said should never have been given the deeds to parts
of their plots of land. Bush got involved because Texas General Land Office, which he heads,
owns the mineral rights beneath approximately 113 acres of the contested
land, which he said in a statement belongs to the Texas Permanent
School Fund...more
Cows, Capitalism and the Future of Cuba
Every time Gator ejaculated, Dan Marvel grossed 10 grand. At the time of his death last year, the bull was a ton and a half of genetic perfection—or as close to it as has ever been recorded for his breed (Red Brangus, a dewlapped, humpbacked strain, three-eighths Brahman, five-eighths Angus and usually russet in hue, hence the name). And he was prolific: Marvel, his owner, says with pride that Gator once produced more than 400 “straws”—a half-cubic-centimeter swizzle stick of bull semen being the standard measure—from a single ejaculation.
Gator's semen was white gold because, drop for drop, the seed of a prize-winning bull is worth more than gasoline, penicillin and human blood combined. It's not the most valuable liquid in existence (that distinction goes to scorpion venom, which has medicinal properties), but it's close. Five years ago, Marvel received an intriguing phone call from John Parke Wright, a wealthy investor from Naples, Florida. Wright knew someone who wanted to create a beef cattle herd, and his client needed a hefty amount of Gator's semen: thousands of straws. The deal would earn Marvel and his wife, Sandra, $50,000, a huge haul for them. The only catch: They had to make it happen in one of the least business-friendly places on earth: the communist island of Cuba. Six months after that chat, the Marvels were in Havana. They met Wright at a nondescript office building in Miramar, the city's diplomatic quarter, which serves as the headquarters of the National Enterprise for the Protection of Flora and Fauna, the Cuban equivalent of the Environmental Protection Agency. A receptionist led them to a small conference room with a dark wood table and chairs, the walls lined with portraits of the Castros and other Cuban leaders. As they sipped espresso and bottled water, an elderly Cuban official walked into the room and greeted them. He kissed both of Sandra's cheeks—“the Latin kind of kiss,” as she describes it. His name was Guillermo García Frías, a comandante in the Cuban army who fought alongside the Castros during the revolution, a former vice president and current head of the environmental agency.
García, who reportedly saved Fidel Castro’s life during the revolution, is Cuba’s canniest cattleman, Wright says. He had a new ranch called El Macho, he told the Marvels, and he wanted to turn it into the first large-scale, high-quality beef production operation on the island in more than five decades. He had the land: 150,000 acres in Camagüey. What he didn’t have: cows or capital...more
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