Tuesday, March 07, 2017

Refuge manager, fish biologist tell jurors how they felt scared, violated during occupation; Prosecutors closing argument

The manager of the Malheur National Wildife Refuge and its former fish biologist returned to the witness stand Tuesday to testify about the fears they felt just before and during the armed takeover of the federal bird sanctuary. Manager Chad Karges, who was aware Ammon Bundy and followers were in the Burns area in late November and December 2015, said he placed loaded guns at every door of his home "just because of the threats I had seen'' involving Bundy and his family's standoff with federal agents in Bunkerville, Nevada, in 2014. After Christmas that year, Karges told his children and grandchildren not to venture into Burns. Karges said he didn't feel comfortable reporting to work at the refuge after the seizure by Bundy and his followers on Jan. 2, 2016, because of the presence of armed guards in the refuge tower and on its premises as he'd seen in media reports. Karges said he also received a law enforcement briefing five days after the takeover and learned of threats made by the occupiers. He ordered his staff to evacuate from Harney County, he said...Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight then delivered his closing argument, which ran about an hour and 25 minutes. "This case is about four defendants who went too far,'' Knight said. They embraced occupation leader Ammon Bundy's call to take a hard stand in the protest of the federal government and its prosecution of two Harney County ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr. and son Steven Hammond. The Hammonds were ordered to return to federal prison on Jan. 4, 2016, to serve out five-year sentences for setting fire to public land. But the defendants "pushed the limits of civil society,'' Knight argued. He advised jurors once again not to search for evidence of a formal agreement or contract between the defendants, but to evaluate all the evidence, statements by the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators and social media posts -- and infer what occurred...more

Senate passes bill ending Obama-era land rule (BLM 2.0)

The Senate on Tuesday voted to end a land management rule finalized in the closing days of the Obama administration. Lawmakers scuttled the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) “Planning 2.0” rule, a measure to modernize federal land management strategies. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution against the rule is the latest measure pushed by Republicans taking aim at Obama-era rules. Once President Trump signs the resolution, it will be the third successful CRA challenge to an environmental measure so far this year. Conservatives have opposed the BLM’s regulation, which they say gives the federal government too much influence over public land decisions and marginalizes state and local input. “Instead of greater transparency, BLM delivered a new process that ensures less transparency,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said during floor debate Tuesday. “Instead of expanding public participation, Western states are looking at fewer and weaker opportunities to influence the management of local lands. Planning 2.0 also turns the relationship between the federal, the state and the local governments on its head.” Supporters of the rule, though, said it was designed to overhaul the communication process between federal and state officials, something that hasn’t been updated since the early 1980s...more

Bishop Statement on Senate Passage of the CRA to Overturn BLM’s Planning 2.0 Rule

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2017
CONTACT: 
Parish Braden, Elise Daniel or Molly Block (202) 226-9019


Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 44 (Rep. Liz Cheney, WY-at large), a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to repeal the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Planning 2.0 rule.

“This rule emboldened federal bureaucrats and placed special interests ahead of local communities and states in resource management decisions. I am pleased the Senate followed the House in passing this joint resolution to restore decision making power to the people who actually live in these areas. These communities need more say, not less,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) stated.

Planning 2.0 impacts every decision the BLM makes for its 245 million acres of land and over 700 million acres of sub-surface minerals across the West. The rule weakens opportunities for communities to weigh in with local expertise on proposed Resource Management Plans and prioritizes Obama-era administrative memorandum over Congressionally enacted laws governing the BLM’s planning process.

“I am very pleased the Senate voted today to overturn BLM Planning 2.0. Planning 2.0 was a misguided and damaging attempt by the Obama administration to undermine the rights of state and local governments to manage resources and land use inside their own districts,” Rep. Cheney said. “I was honored to introduce the bill repealing 2.0 in the House, and welcome its passage today in the Senate.”
Background:
On February 7, 2017, the House passed H.J. Res 44 under the Congressional Review Act by a bipartisan vote of 234-186. Over 60 organizations representing counties and localities, governors, farm bureaus, the livestock industry and energy groups supported the passage of the CRA. Click here for more information.

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A Report On Ranch Radio



We've hit a milestone of sorts. Over the weekend Ranch Radio went over 1 million views and currently has 1,233 subscribers. For those who like playlists where you can just turn it on and let it run, there are 8 playlists.

Out of 796 videos, the top 5 tunes, based on number of plays, are:

 
1.  Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch - I'll Fly Away 

2.  Marty Robbins - Cowboy In A Continental Suit 

3. Hank Snow - I Don't Hurt Anymore  

4. Ian Tyson - Claude Dallas  

5. Merle Haggard - Old Man From The Mountain 

It's a lot of work, but I'm pleased to see how many people are enjoying my efforts.


Industry Awaits Legislators’ Next Move Regarding Emissions

With President Donald Trump in the White House, regulations are in the crosshairs with requirements concerning methane emissions, venting and flaring in the oil and gas industry among the primary environmental targets. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 2 said it withdrew a mandate that required oil and gas companies to report their methane emissions. The directive was issued in 2016 to help the EPA determine how to best reduce methane and other emissions from existing sources. The possibility of undoing some regulations put in place by the Obama administration, which put clean energy and fighting climate change among the nation’s priorities, has industry groups pushing hard for change. But it also has environmental groups on edge. Among the regulations that could be axed is the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) waste prevention rule, also known as the venting and flaring rule, for oil and gas production sites on federal and Indian land. Most oil and gas production occurs on state and private land. The law, which took effect in January, requires operators to take various actions to reduce waste of gas such as limiting routine flaring and using equipment to detect leaks among other requirements. It also establishes criteria for when flared gas qualifies as waste and when it is subject to royalties...more

Planes, pits & snowmobiles: how scientists get good data

by Emily Benson


In the middle of a clearing, beneath the bright blue bowl of the western Colorado sky, two scientists stood chest-deep in a pit dug into the snow. Crisp morning sunlight glinted off the blocky metal trowel in Andrew Hedrick’s hand. Hedrick, a hydrology technician, stuck the instrument into the solid white wall before him, withdrew it — now loaded with snow — and delicately skimmed off the extra flecks. Amid the muffled whine of snowmobiles ferrying researchers and equipment around the field site, he weighed the snow, then emptied his trowel, ready for another sample. Researchers will use the information Hedrick collected to validate new ways to measure snow and calculate the density of the snowpack — which, together with its depth, indicates how much water it contains. A handful of other scientists, from agencies and universities across the globe, swirled around the clearing and among nearby spruce trees. The researchers measured the snow with poles and rulers, radar and microwave sensors, and even packed a cooler with snow samples destined for micro-CT scanning at a lab in New Hampshire. Overhead, sensors affixed to airplanes made similar measurements throughout the day. Snow delivers about 60 to 70 percent of the West’s water supply. The snowpack is an icy natural reservoir that swells throughout the winter, then melts during the summer, providing rivers, agricultural fields, and communities with water. But the amount of moisture in snow varies, and keeping track of how wet snow is across an entire landscape — information essential to the resource managers, farmers and scientists who forecast water supplies and flood potential — has proven difficult...more

States Attack U.S. Endangered Species Act Rules

More than a dozen state attorneys general are asking Pres. Donald Trump to throw out recent federal rules regulating the environment for endangered or threatened plants and animals. The states claim the rules, which enlarge the definition of species habitat, give the federal government excessive power over state and private lands. The rules govern implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and were made a year ago by Pres. Barack Obama’s administration. In January the state officials sent a letter to the Trump transition team asking for repeal, arguing the rules will cost states and private land owners billions of dollars by blocking or delaying the use or development of their properties. “It’s such a massive land grab by the federal government,” Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge says. But at least one study shows implementation of the ESA has affected very few development projects during the current decade. Rutledge, along with Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange (who has since been appointed to the U.S. Senate) spearheaded the letter. Their states and others also filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in November challenging the new rules. Those rules state, essentially, that agencies determining areas critical to the survival of an endangered species should consider two types of land: One is land currently occupied by that species; the other comprises nearby but unoccupied areas that contain resources, like food or shelter, critical to the species’s survival, or could become so if the species shifts its range. The attorneys general want the rules rolled back to language used since 1984. At that time, they claim, the rules stipulated that after listing a species as endangered or threatened, federal agencies designate critical habitat only in areas where the species is found at that moment. The attorneys say the rollback would protect private property owners from the uncertainty of having their land declared critical habitat if agencies believe the land may at some point in the future be needed for the species recovery...more

Tempers flare, nerves fray in trial against Bundy supporters

A downtown Las Vegas courtroom provided scenes as wild as a Western movie Monday when federal prosecutors and defense attorneys battled over nearly every piece of evidence presented in the trial against six of rancher Cliven Bundy’s supporters. Defense attorneys tried to block a government witness from testifying. A prosecutor invoked an evidence rule that led even the judge to flip open a legal handbook. A juror made a wisecrack that caused one lawyer to raise concerns of potential bias. By 4 p.m., U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro had sent the jury home early and told them not to return until Wednesday. The day’s most hotly disputed footage was played outside the presence of the jury when defense lawyer Todd Leventhal tried to bring into evidence a video from the April 2014 standoff in Bunkerville. The video was captured by a Fox News cameraman, and Leventhal, who represents Bundy supporter O. Scott Drexler, wanted the judge to let him play it when he cross-examined Bureau of Land Management Ranger Gregory Johnson. Johnson testified as a government witness Monday. On April 12, 2014, he was recorded on dashboard camera footage using a megaphone to repeatedly order protesters to disperse. The protesters, who were gathered near the site where federal authorities had been impounding Bundy’s cattle, screamed angrily. At one point on the footage, authorities referenced a man walking towards them — “blue shirt, looks like press.” The cameraman was identified in court only by his surname, Lynch. Defense lawyers tried to use the footage he captured to bolster their arguments that protesters could not understand law enforcement’s instructions from 200 yards away on a windy day. On the video, Lynch walks toward the cattle impoundment site where federal authorities were headquartered. “I do not have a weapon — I am shooting for Fox News,” he yelled. “May I approach so this doesn’t end in bloodshed … the people don’t want to get hurt.” “You are in violation of a U.S. District Court order,” Johnson’s voice boomed over the megaphone. “I am the press!” Lynch shouted. “Go back.” “Why? Why can’t you talk to me?!” “You are in violation …” “I have no weapon! Are you really gonna shoot these people?” Lynch exclaimed. “We can’t hear your announcement that far away.” Navarro would not allow the video into evidence Monday, but she told Leventhal he could play it for jurors if he calls Lynch as a defense witness...more

Trump’s new Gulf of Mexico oil and gas drilling proposal looks a lot like Obama’s

The Trump administration on Monday announced an offshore oil and gas drilling proposal in the Gulf of Mexico that appears to mirror a plan offered by his predecessor a few months ago. In one of his first acts after last week’s Senate confirmation, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed leasing 73 million acres off Florida, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi over five years starting in August. The offer includes more than 13,700 lease blocks extending three miles to 230 miles offshore, according to an Interior Department statement. “Opening more federal lands and waters to oil and gas drilling is a pillar of President Trump’s plan to make the United States energy independent,” Zinke said in the statement. “The Gulf is a vital part of that strategy to spur economic opportunities for industry, states and local communities, to create jobs and homegrown energy and to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.” But the plan is similar to a five-year proposal by the Obama administration to lease 66 million acres in the same location, the gulf’s “Western, Central and Eastern planning areas” where water is as shallow as nine feet and as deep as 11,000 feet. As he prepared to leave office, President Obama banned drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans for the next five years, but allowed it in the gulf with lease plans offered primarily off gulf states other than Florida...more

Outfitting and dude ranch big business in Montana

It’s not unusual for tourism-related businesses to combine services, such as the dude ranch stays, pack trips and guided hunting trips offered by JJJ Wilderness Ranch out of Augusta, said Norma Nickerson, director of the Institute for Tourism & Recreation Research at the University of Montana. Providing a blend of related offerings, which all revolve at least partly on providing horses for riding and pack trips, “allows such businesses to be a little less seasonal,” she said. “They also get a different clientele in the summer enjoying dude ranch activities or scenic pack trips than those who might relish hunting trips in the fall.” Those sorts of services – dude ranches, pack trips and outfitter-guided hunts – are common throughout Montana and contribute a lot to state and local economies, Nickerson said. There are about 550 active licensed outfitters in Montana, split between hunting and fishing roles, with some doing both, he said. They employ an estimated 1,600 seasonal guides, with many of those spending the rest of the year in such roles as teachers, college students and even winter ski instructors...more

Texas ‘Hog Apocalypse’ Poison Put on Hold

A state judge granted a meat company’s temporary restraining order suspending Texas Department of Agriculture emergency rules authorizing use of a warfarin-based poison on feral hogs. Wild Boar Meats sued the state in Travis County Court on March 1. Wild Boar, based in Hubbard, between Dallas and Waco, buys dead wild boar and sells licenses to hunters to kill wild boar and bring the carcasses to its plant for processing. The Department of Agriculture announced its administrative rule change on Feb. 21. It classified the warfarin-based hog bait, Kaput Feral Hog Lure, as a limited-use pesticide. “This solution is long overdue. Wild hogs have caused extensive damage to Texas lands and loss of income for many, many years,” defendant Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in the announcement. “With the introduction of this first hog lure, the ‘Hog Apocalypse’ may finally be on the horizon.” Miller said the approval of warfarin for feral hog control was a result of 10 years of research by Scimetrics, the maker of Kaput, and the Department of Agriculture. Warfarin is an anticoagulant that was used for many years against feral hogs in Australia. Critics, including the Sierra Club, say wildlife that feeds on the carcass of a poisoned hog could spread the poison through the food chain and environment. Wild Boar Meats says in the lawsuit that the use of warfarin-based poison on feral hogs is not feasible for ranch owners in Texas. “Many property owners want to hunt and consume feral hogs, or lease their land to feral-hog hunters — not poison the feral hogs,” the complaint states. “Many property owners do not like or trust poison or the effects and risks of poison on domestic animals (e.g., dogs, cats), livestock, wildlife, and the environment. Many property owners do not want to incur the expense of a program that is doomed to failure or, at best, minimal, temporary success.” Ranchers will be forced to move livestock from pastures designated for the hog poison, Wild Boar says. The wild hogs must be conditioned to learn how to open the containers with the poison, and this will lead to an influx of hogs from other properties, and the separate pasturing must continue for 90 days after the last use of the poison, according to Kaput’s own instructions. Kaput’s instructions also say that the warfarin poison cannot be used near water sources and that poisoned hogs must be buried. “A poisoned feral hog may well end up on neighboring property, and the property owner may have no idea that a poisoned hog is on the property, much less any program or desire for burial. That would expose the poison-containing carcass to other wildlife, including birds of prey, vultures, coyotes, raccoons, etc. — or even domestic dogs and cats,” Wild Boar says in the complaint...more

Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1797

Fun yesterday - but we are deadly serious today as we pay homage to the Endangered Species Act. To demonstrate our affection we bring you Brother, It's All Lunchmeat To Me by the Cornell Hurd Band. This beautiful tune is on their 2004 CD CEN-TEX Serenade.  THE WESTERNER http://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

https://youtu.be/Tryp9sz6v5w

Wind-driven wildfire grows to 30,000 acres in northeast Colorado; firefighters estimate 50 percent containment


High winds gusting to 60 mph drove a wildfire across more than 30,000 acres in northeastern Colorado on Monday, forcing the evacuation of three schools and threatening as many as 900 homes in rural Logan County. At least four structures, including three homes, were destroyed by fire, and several others were in danger, the Logan County Emergency Management Office said. By Monday evening, fire commanders on the scene estimated 50 percent containment. They planned to monitor hot spots throughout the night. The county’s emergency management office placed automated calls to 900 homes in Logan County, telling residents to be prepared to evacuate, office spokeswoman Marilee Johnson said. All of the homes are between County Road 49 and the Sedgwick County line to the east, she said...more

Battling the blaze: an overview of area fires

Multiple fires broke out in the area, and fire crews worked to extinguish them as quickly as they could.
The "Dumas Complex" fire
This fire is now 75 percent contained.
Crews said it stretched across 25,000 acres and affected two major Panhandle highways.
The Dumas Complex fire is a combination of multiple small fires that began north of Amarillo just after 1 p.m. Monday, March 6 and at one point threatened 150 homes.
The fire burned at speeds up to 30 miles per hour, according to Texas A&M Forest Service.

Source: Amarillo Fire Department's Twitter account
The Potter County Sheriff's Office said this fire was responsible for injuring five firefighters battling the blaze.
One of those firefighter is from the Pantex Fire Department, two are with the Skellytown Fire Department, and authorities are still unsure what department the remaining two crew members were with.
Smoke produced from the fire closed S.H. 136 and forced the road’s closure early in the afternoon.
Workers at the River Road Water Reclamation Facility north of Amarillo were evacuated around 3 p.m. It is unknown if any of those workers were injured.
The cause of the fire is unknown. 
Beaver, OK
Authorities estimate more than 60,000 acres have been burned in a large range fire in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Photo credit: Jason Hillman
The Beaver County Sheriff’s Office said local and state firefighters were forced to retreat from a heavily burning area due to the fire’s intensity.
Air tankers continued to monitor the fire from above.
Gate and Beaver County were ordered to evacuate to the Fairview Church.
Ochiltree County
Firefighters from Lipscomb, Hemphill and Roberts counties continue to battle a fire in Ochiltree County that burned over 40,000 acres as of 9:30 p.m.

Source: Jason Vanosdol 
200 homes were threatened and people in Higgins were ordered to evacuate to Shattuck, Oklahoma.
Residents of Glazier were also evacuated and were told to go to the Canadian High School gymnasium.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Gray County
3:00 a.m. - Officials at the Wheeler County Sheriff's office confirm 3 people have died in the Gray County fire.
An optional evacuation order was issued for the north east corner of Gray County but has since been lifted.
As of last night, no structures were lost and the cause of the blaze is unknown.
---------
A fire in Gray County spread to Wheeler County, and an optional evacuation was issued for the north east corner of Gray County.
People in Mobeetie and Old Mobeetie were ordered to evacuate earlier in the day but due to wind shifts the fire missed the area and the evacuation was lifted.
Authorities reported no structures were lost and the cause of the fire is unknown.
Wheeler County Fire
The fire that originated in Gray County is now burning in Wheeler County as of 11:18 p.m.

Source: Wheeler County Sheriff's Office
The fire is currently about 6 miles north of Lela and I-40.
The Wheeler County Sheriff's Office says residents in Shamrock, Lela and west to the county line should be mindful of the fires in the area and should be prepared to evacuate at a moments notice.
Swisher County
Fire crews put out two fires in Swisher County near Tuila.
The first fire was west of Tulia from FM 1424 to Highway 86.
The second was two miles southeast of Tulia on FM 1318.
Those fire were contained.
The cause of the fire is unknown. 
Seward County, KS
Fire crews in Kansas requested help from the Oklahoma Forrest Service to deal with a fire north of Liberal.
However, they were unable to assist because their resources were all dispatched.
That fire was contained but is still burning.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
Copyright 2017 KFDA. All rights reserved.

Monday, March 06, 2017

Malheur Occupier's Father Calls His Son A Liar In Federal Court

Defense witnesses in the second trial stemming from last year’s occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge provided new details and refuted previous testimony about a Dec. 29, 2015, meeting in Burns, Oregon. That meeting, which occupier Blaine Cooper and occupation leader Ammon Bundy spoke about in their testimony, could be key in the case. Cooper testified occupiers decided at that meeting they would take over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The government has pointed to the meeting as evidence there was a conspiracy. That evidence was not part of last fall’s trial, which ended in the acquittals of occupation leaders — including Bundy. Bruce Joseph “BJ” Soper, a founding member of the Pacific Patriots Network, testified Monday he was also at the meeting with Bundy, Cooper, Patrick, Ryan Payne and others. Soper testified at the federal courthouse in Portland that Bundy believed a rally in Burns scheduled for Jan. 2, 2017, was a good start, but “he felt a harder stand needed to be taken.” Soper said Bundy briefly mentioned occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, too, but added there wasn’t a specific plan. Soper said it was in the context of a number of ideas Bundy offered for how people could better support the Hammonds. “There was a lot that was talked about that day,” Soper testified. Like the others who have spoken about the meeting, Soper testified that nothing was decided Dec. 29 and that many of the meeting-goers, including himself, didn’t like the idea of occupying the wildlife refuge. Blaine Cooper’s father and stepmother also testified Monday. Cooper said he suffered abused from his father during his childhood and, as a result, lives with post-traumatic stress disorder. Lindalee Hicks, Cooper’s stepmother of nearly 30 years, said he was “never” abused. Patrick’s standby attorney, Andrew Kohlmetz, asked Hicks if her stepson has a reputation of being untruthful. She said he did. That testimony was seconded by Stanley Blaine Hicks, Cooper’s father, who also refuted the claim that he abused his son. Kohlmetz asked whether Cooper was a truthful person. “The opinion is he’s prone to lying when it serves his purposes,” Hicks said...more

Defense calls last witnesses in second refuge takeover trial

This article from The Oregonian covers the same ground as others posted, with the exception of the role of the FBI plant and the testimony of Sandra Anderson:

The defense is expected to wrap up Tuesday morning. Prosecutors plan to call two refuge employees during rebuttal: manager Chad Karges and fish biologist Linda Beck. They'll be able to testify about any fears they had that may have influenced their decisions not to return to work during the 41-day occupation of the federal wildlife sanctuary. Jeff Banta and Sandra Anderson, two occupiers who were among the final four holdouts at the refuge last winter before surrendering on Feb. 11, 2016, also took the witness stand Monday for the defense. Banta, acquitted of all charges last fall, spoke of FBI informant Fabio Minoggio and how in late January 2016, Minoggio, posing as an occupier, led military-style training for the Bravo security team at the refuge. Minoggio told Bravo members, of which Banta was one, to meet him at the refuge boat launch, Banta said. Minoggio, according to Banta, conducted scenario-type training, teaching occupiers how to pull a motorist from a vehicle to interrogate them at gunpoint. On his way to the boat launch area, Banta said he drove over a rope attached to a fire hose. Once he reached the site and got out, Minoggio "tells us we're all dead,'' Banta recounted. "He proceeded to train us how to use a fire hose to disable a vehicle,'' Banta explained. Banta, who had no prior military experience, also testified that Minoggio led the Bravo security group in target shooting. He had the men walk in formation and fire at targets, but at times, "he'd discharge his firearm behind us,'' Banta said. He'd fire straight up into the air or into the ground, Banta said. During the training, Banta said he fired three to five rounds. "He was basically kind of seeing how we reacted under pressure,'' Banta said.As Sandra Anderson was called in and walked up to the witness stand, her husband Sean Anderson stood for her in the courtroom gallery at the back of the room. Both were set to join the four defendants on trial but accepted plea deals days before jury selection. They were among the last four holdouts at the refuge before their surrender on Feb. 11, 2016. Anderson testified that she, her husband and others remaining at the refuge after Jan. 26, 2016 - the day Bundy was arrested and police fatally shot occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum -  there was some talk about building trenches. Defense lawyer Jesse Merrithew, who represents Ryan who is accused of using a refuge excavator to dig a trench on the property, asked what purpose the trenches served. Anderson said it was to serve as a defense against possible assault from the FBI. "We needed to slow them down to give us time to prepare our defense,'' she said. What kind of defense did she and others plan against FBI armored vehicles? "Anything we could to stay alive,'' she said tearfully...more

Defense Witnesses Describe Fear At Malheur Refuge After Occupier Died

The U.S. District Court in Portland was packed Monday for what appeared be the final day of defense witnesses in the second trial stemming from last year’s occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The defense continued to argue the refuge was a peaceful place where people were learning about the Constitution and land rights. Attorneys also called witnesses who spoke about what drove them to the refuge in eastern Oregon’s high desert. Some witnesses for the defense said they were never prevented by law enforcement from entering the refuge. One of the FBI’s informants testified her handler never told her being at the refuge was breaking the law. Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, sharply focused their cross-examination.mores on the fact federal employees were not able to go to work during the 41-day armed occupation...more

Subpoena For Former OPB Reporter Quashed In Malheur Occupation Case

A former OPB reporter will not be compelled to testify about his interview with an occupation leader during last year’s takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. In January 2016, former OPB reporter John Sepulvado, now with KQED in California, interviewed occupation leader Ryan Bundy about the refuge takeover. Prosecutors want to play the audio interview for the jury, which is tasked with deciding whether four defendants are guilty of federal charges related to their occupation of the wildlife refuge. An attorney for OPB and Sepulvado argued that testifying in the case would violate journalists’ legal privilege not to testify about their sources. Case law in this area holds some ambiguity. Courts are asked to weigh the need to gather evidence in balance with the benefits of a healthy free press. Defense attorneys raised questions about the veracity of Sepulvado’s edited audio. If prosecutors were permitted to play the interview for the jury, attorney Jesse Merrithew, representing defendant Jake Ryan, promised to counter with evidence to question Sepulvado’s credibility. At Friday’s hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown affirmed journalists’ privilege and granted Bosworth’s motion to quash the subpoena...more

DuBois column


A rogue agent, three trials, and hummingbird eggs, traveling tortoises and obese bumble bees

A rogue agent

You may recall the extravagant demands made by BLM last year for the Burning Man event in Nevada. They sought, "trailers, flush toilets, washers and dryers and vanity mirrors.” Also included was a 24-hour, full-service kitchen with a menu of "10-ounce steaks, 18-ounce pork ribs, poultry, ham, fish, vegetables, potatoes, bread, salad bar with five toppings and three dressings and desserts." And those desserts?  They had to include "assorted ice cream flavors, Popsicles and ice cream sandwiches, as well as cakes, cookies, pies, cobblers, puddings and pastries."

It turns out the agent-in-charge for this BLM operation was one Dan Love, who was also the agent-in-charge for the Cliven Bundy fiasco in Nevada.

In late January the Inspector General’s office (OIG) for the Department of Interior released a report on abuse of authority and ethical breaches by a federal employee, whom we now know was Dan Love. The OIG found the Supervisory Agent “violated Federal ethics rules when he used his influence with Burning Man officials to obtain three sold-out tickets and special passes for his father, girlfriend, and a family friend.” In addition, they found that he “directed on-duty BLM law enforcement employees to drive and escort his family during the event with BLM-procured, all-terrain and utility type vehicles.” The report also confirmed “the Supervisory Agent’s girlfriend stayed overnight with him in his BLM assigned trailer, contrary to restrictions in the operations plan for the event”, that he “violated Federal ethics regulations by having a subordinate employee make a hotel reservation for his guests”, and he misused his BLM official vehicle while hauling his girlfriend around the event.

Investigators said the agent called other employees and encouraged them not to cooperate. Investigators also said the agent used intimidation to discourage his co-workers from speaking with investigators, telling one: "You know, if you don't side with me, grenades are going to go off and you'll get hit."

Then, on February 14 of this year the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee requested the OIG expand their investigation into Mr. Love to include charges of destruction of federal records, witness tampering and obstruction of a Congressional investigation.

All this, and yet agent Love is reportedly to be the star witness for the feds in the Nevada standoff case.

Triple trials

We’ve got three trials going on right now:  The remaining defendants in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge takeover, the charges against Ammon Bundy’s attorney, and the first defendants in the Nevada standoff.

Of the remaining seven defendants in Malheur case, three have plead guilty to misdemeanor trespassing in exchange for other charges being dropped.  All three were sentenced to a one-year probation. At a pretrial hearing for the others, an interesting issue came up concerning warrants. It appears the arrest warrant for one defendant was dated a day after he was arrested. “We have a fundamental problem with the government’s reliance on the arrest warrant,” Judge Brown said. “It’s very curious to me that [FBI agents] all testified to an arrest warrant when there isn’t one,” stated Brown.

In the case of Ammon Bundy’s attorney, the judge has dropped one charge but has denied his request for a jury trial and ordered a bench trial instead.

Opening statements have been given in the trial of the initial defendants in the Nevada standoff case. The prosecutor painted a picture of outgunned and outmanned federal agents who had no choice but to release the cattle. The defense said the group did not venture to the cattle pens until after the Sheriff told them the feds were leaving. No conspiracy was involved they said. Prosecutors have asked the judge to narrow the focus of the trial to the day of the standoff, and to prohibit defense teams from referring to federal land policies. Defense lawyers argued that if the government hopes to prove conspiracy, the jury has to hear what the defendants believe and why they went to the Bundy ranch.

We should know the verdicts in time for next month’s column.

Wolves up, ranchers down

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has completed their annual survey for Mexican wolves, finding a minimum of 113 of the critters, as compared to 97 in 2015. Other findings were:
  • There are a total of 21 packs, with a minimum of 50 wolves in New Mexico and 63 wolves in Arizona.
  • The 2016 minimum population count includes 50 wild­born pups that survived through the end of the year compared to 23 pups surviving in 2015. 
  • Six wolf pups were cross-fostered in 2016. Three are known to be alive, one of which is radio collared.
The feds also reported there were 13 wolf mortalities last year, two of which occurred during the survey and 11 which are under investigation.

The numbers aren’t near so good for federal land ranchers.

The Coalition for Self-Government in the West has just released a new study titled Dusty Trails: The Erosion of Grazing in the American West. They took a look at the numbers for grazing administered by the Bureau of Land Management for the years 1949-2014.

During the 65-year period for the study, they found that AUMs authorized by the BLM declined from 14,572,272 to 7,160,432. The number of permittees suffered a similar decline, from 21,081 to 10,187.

They also have tables for individual states. For New Mexico, the number of authorized AUMs declined from 2,117,347 to 1,151,492, or 46 percent. The number of permittees has plunged from 4,030 to 1,399, a whopping decline of 65 percent.

I’m told the original figures were compiled by a career BLM employee, but the higher ups told him to not publish them. I wonder why?

Tortoise translocation

In 2013 Congress added 88,000 acres to the Marine Air Corp’s Air Ground Combat Center. Problem is, this area is supposedly prime habitat for the endangered desert tortoise. The solution: the military will move, by helicopter, around 1,200 of those tortoises to BLM land outside the boundaries of the combat center. And the really good news it will only cost $50 million to complete the project.

Fat Bees

It turns out the real Obesity Crisis is in bumblebees. Within a few decades the rusty-patched bumblebee has declined by 90 percent, and recently became the first such critter to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Pesticides? Climate Change? Habitat Destruction? Not so fast say some research entomologists. They’ve discovered a parasitic fungus in drone bees, which slides down the throat to the gut. There the fungus swells in the soft tissue between the bumblebee’s organs until the drone grows so plump it can’t bend its abdomen to mate with the queen, and the colony eventually dies out.

Hummingbird eggs

In the San Francisco bay area they have a $70 million bridge project underway. About two dozen trees were to be removed to widen the freeway. But, the nest and an egg of an Anna’s hummingbird was discovered in one of the trees. That species is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the tree can’t be removed until the nest is empty.

So here’s the situation created in our country by the DC Deep Thinkers. To further a project like the above, the government can condemn private property. They can take your home, your business, your property. But they can’t move a hummingbird egg.

Until next time, be a nuisance to the devil and don’t forget to check that cinch.

Frank DuBois was the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003, is the author of a blog: The Westerner (www.thewesterner.blogspot.com) and is the founder of The DuBois Rodeo Scholarship and The DuBois Western Heritage Foundation

This column originally appeared in the March editions of New Mexico Stockman and the Livestock Market Digest.  



Years after water well explosion, Texas family still waiting for answers from agency

More than two and a half years have passed since Cody and Ashley Murray’s water well exploded, transforming their Palo Pinto County ranch into an emergency scene. With their burns healed and gone to scars, the couple and their two young children have since returned to their 160 acres outside of Perrin, about 60 miles northwest of Fort Worth. The Murrays still lack a trusted source of local drinking water. And they're still waiting for answers about whether nearby gas production was to blame for the fireball that shot toward Cody’s face that August day — and why the Texas Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulator, seemed to miss signs warning that something like that could happen in their cattle-and-pumpjack-sprinkled slice of the Barnett Shale. Outside experts have linked the explosion to nearby gas drilling. The Railroad Commission won’t comment on details of its investigation, other to confirm that it remains open. The blast was caused by a buildup of methane gas in the water well that caused enough pressure to send water spraying in the family's pump house. Ashley Murray turned off the well pump and asked her husband to investigate, and when he turned it back on, the gas exploded, severely burning Cody, his father Jim; and Alyssa, Cody’s 4-year-old daughter. Cody Murray took the brunt of the flames; with burns on his arms, upper back, neck, forehead and nose, the former oilfield worker spent a week in a burn unit...more

Study - Ag producers faster, stronger than other occupations

A study conducted by Trinity College Dublin recently surveyed nearly 6,000 people from a wide range of backgrounds to examine the relationship between changes in occupation and physical functionality later in life. Published in the Journals of Gerontology, the study found that survey participants from farming backgrounds walked 0.04m/s faster when compared to other occupational groups. And it begins with proper nutrition as youngsters. According to an article printed in The Bullvine, “The authors point to historic evidence from the Irish National Nutrition Survey in the late 1940s, which indicates that children from farming backgrounds had higher intakes of potatoes, milk and eggs. Other studies have also reported that childhood milk consumption was associated with faster walking speed in later life.” The study also looked at grip strength and found that farmers could grasp between 
0.86kg and 1.5kg higher on average compared with the other occupational groups...more

Climate, other programs get deep cuts in EPA budget proposal

Under the tentative plan from the Office of Management and Budget, the agency’s funding would be reduced by roughly 25 percent and about 3,000 jobs would be cut, about 19 percent of the agency’s staff. A spokeswoman for the EPA declined to comment, but a top official said in an internal memo that EPA leaders “will do everything in our power to protect our ability to support the mission of the agency in protecting human health and the environment.” A copy of the memo from Acting Assistant Administrator Donna Vizian was obtained by the AP. Vizian said she could not verify news media accounts, but said any proposed cuts were just the start of a lengthy budget process. A final plan is subject to congressional approval, which likely is months away at the earliest. The Trump administration also would cut funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by 17 percent, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing a four-page memo from OMB that the newspaper obtained. The scientific agency, which is part of the Commerce Department, studies changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts. The draft proposal for the EPA would cut its annual budget from about $8.2 billion to $6.1 billion. Proposed cuts include reducing the climate protection budget by nearly 70 percent to $29 million, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by 97 percent to $10 million and environmental justice programs by 79 percent to $1.5 million. Environmental groups said the proposed cuts would threaten thousands of jobs and could harm health and safety protections for millions of Americans. The proposals would especially affect programs to address climate change and enforce clean air and water laws, they said. But the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank, said the proposal didn’t go far enough. “If Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt are serious about ending the national scandal that is EPA, they will accept nothing less than a 20 percent cut this year and make this year’s cut the first step in a five-year plan to replace the organization,” said Joseph Bast, the group’s president...more

Zinke Expands Hunters’ Access to Public Lands

On his first day in office Thursday, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed two orders on issues the native Montanan holds dear: hunting, fishing and access to public lands. Zinke’s first two orders expand access to public lands and increase hunting, fishing and recreation opportunities nationwide, according to a statement from the Department of Interior. “Outdoor recreation is about both our heritage and our economy. Between hunting, fishing, motorized recreation, camping and more, the industry generates thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity,” Zinke said in a statement. “Over the past eight years however, hunting, and recreation enthusiasts have seen trails closed and dramatic decreases in access to public lands across the board. It worries me to think about hunting and fishing becoming activities for the land-owning elite. This package of secretarial orders will expand access for outdoor enthusiasts and also make sure the community’s voice is heard.” Secretarial Order 3346 advances conservation stewardship, improves game and habitat management, and increases outdoor recreation opportunities by directing bureaus and agencies to immediately identify areas where recreation and fishing can be expanded. The order also requests input from the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council and Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council to provide recommendations on enhancing and expanding access on public lands and improving habitat for fish and wildlife. Secretarial Order 3347 overturns the ban on lead ammunition and fishing tackle used on Fish and Wildlife Service lands and waters...more


Do you think we'll ever see the headline Zinke Expands Ranchers Access to Public Lands? How many vacant allotments are there out there, along with other lands where livestock grazing has been administratively prohibited?

.And I don't care if Zinke rides, walks, crawls or flies to work, one of the first items he should withdraw is BLM's current policy and planning guidance on lands with wilderness characteristics (see here, here and here), which has the potential to restrict access to thousands of acres. Many will recall former Secretary Salazar withdrew his controversial order on Wildlands. The order was withdrawn, but BLM continued on and implemented the policy, naming the areas lands with wilderness characteristics instead of wildlands. This Obama-era, anti-multiple use and otherwise exclusionary policy should be revoked immediately.

The Secretarial Oder on access is embedded below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Yd5M8kgeNtOXRTNTYyc2szaXM/view?usp=sharing

Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1796 (An A-10 Special Feature)

This has to be for A-10, because 1. It Swings 2. It's his favorite topic, and 3. I'm told he has experienced this on several occasions. So for Ranch Radio's official cartoonist, here is Swing Ranch performing She's Hot To Go. The tune is on their 2002 CD Express.

https://youtu.be/0BNtsUrLQVU

Sunday, March 05, 2017

Cowgirl Sass and Savvy

It wasn’t just the rabbit pancakes

 by Julie Carter

I always remember her with extra thought on March 4th. Not because it’s a standout day for any other reason except it was my grandmother’s birthday. Still is, even though she’s been gone a good while now.

I remember not because she would be blowing out 105 candles if she were still here today. Not because of anything except the exceptional person she was in my life, and she did so without even trying. She mentored, guided, taught and loved in her manner of daily living. Not something she even thought about.

Even at the ranch, she wore a dress every day and did so well into the 1960s. And always with an apron that functioned as clothing protection and a tool for carrying things, wiping things and handling a hot skillet if needed.

In the winter in those cold old ranch houses, the kitchen was kept warm with something she was cooking and the cooking went on most all day. She would open the oven door to help warm the room a bit. In the early mornings, you would see her backed up to the open oven door with the back of her skirt lifted, letting the heat warm her up.

She cooked, canned, baked, gardened, sewed and sang the whole time she worked. “Send me the pillow that you dream on,” she would melodiously belt out like she really could sing. She could not but she didn’t care. “So darlin’, I can dream on it too.”

She spoiled each grandchild like they were the only ones. She took in a few others that saw her as a grandmother with no real lineage except love. She was fun, she was stern if needed and she was always, always there.

Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren developed the ability to quickly duck their heads, as her favorite reprimand was what we called the “sip on the head.” She would take her thumb and middle finger and snap a “thump” upside a misbehaving child’s noggin. It was worse in anticipation than it was in actual delivery, but then some kids got a few more chances to duck than others.

The days never seemed too long with all that got done from daylight to dark. The early  morning pancakes, feeding the chickens, tending to the garden, bottle feeding a couple bum lambs and maybe some jelly making, bread baking, a little sewing or some crocheting to come later.

It’s notable to mention here that she became generationally famous for her “rabbit pancakes.” No, not made from rabbit, but in the shape of a rabbit. Every child that ever ate a pancake at her house had rabbit pancakes. Most of them still eat them when they make them for their children and grandchildren.

Her kitchen always had those wholesome smells of food creativity and her dark and cold room-size pantry smelled of sauerkraut brewing in a crock, apples in a box waiting their turn for a pie or cobbler, and potatoes that still smelled of the dirt they were harvested from before the ground froze hard. The walls were lined with shelves full of mason jars filled with bounty from the garden and the orchard.

Her indulgence for kids being kids went unappreciated while we were kids. But I understand now how really special she was. She let us run and play, explore, imagine and create to our heart’s content. She shared with us stories of her childhood and yet knew we were creating our own. I don’t believe she turned a blind eye to our running the hillsides climbing huge sandstone formations or the hours spent next to the river running through the trees. But at the time, we felt completely untethered.

She has a great-granddaughter getting married this fall. As I browsed through my grandmother’s jewelry box for that “something old” to become part of the bride’s brooch bouquet, I connected to those treasured times tucked away where memories live.

I was again reminded that memories are so important for each of us, but in keeping those special moments sacred, we must not forget to make new memories with those that will be carrying them forward.

She didn’t make rabbit pancakes to be remembered decades later because of them. She made them for the fun of the moment with people she loved. It’s really that simple. Love, be loved and the memories will take care of themselves.


Julie, whipping up a batch of rabbit pancakes, can be reached for comment at jcarternm@gmail.com


Bulls and Regulations

Chaos before Calm
Bulls and Regulations
Up close and personal
By Stephen L. Wilmeth


             There is a passage from Paul’s epistle to the Colossians that could have been written yesterday.
            At issue was the apostle’s questioning why the faithful remained harnessed to legalisms and doctrines of men when all that had been erased. “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle” were the tedious regulations and the doctrines of societal hierarchy.
“These things have the appearance of wisdom in self imposed, false humility, but have no value for the real benefits to man”, he warned.
In other words, governance will stack endless regulatory burdens, but the outcome has little to do with the wellbeing of mankind. Only biblical principals remain lasting, just, and self sustaining.
Bulls and Regulations
 Is anybody keeping score on the executive orders reversing the suffocating deluge from the departed administration?
There are some, but not as many as the campaign promised. The Trans Pacific Partnership is history. The WOTUS expansion from non-navigable back to navigable waters has been tackled, and there appears to be a clean pass for pipeline construction with American labor and American material. There is also the welcome requirement to remove two regulations for every new one written, but there is little to suggest a complete reversal of the litany of legalisms and doctrines that so burden us. From afar, some likely appeared reasonable, but, up close and personal, they are massive, powerful, and nasty beasts.
The metaphor of dangerous beasts is interesting. It reminds me of a visit years ago to that enclave of pompous sophistication, La Jolla. We were there for a function and had time to kill. We were in the village sitting at a street side pub watching people. There had been the bizarre street scenes complete with a little gold convertible with a golden bikini clad woman driving. In the back seat sat an ancient, shriveled little man wearing only a golden suntan and a pair of black Speedos. Over his left shoulder and sitting above the back seat and on the edge of the trunk was another blond prom queen clad in her own gold colored bikini. With no expression at all, they cruised up and down the street in near nudity with the only contrast from gold being the black Speedos.
It occurred to me La Jolla needed a jolt of reality. That could be accomplished with a gooseneck load of bulls. Packed tight and juicy, the caravan with that little convertible would have stopped at the stoplight whereby the bulls would be turned loose to do their duty, running and frolicking with those sun loving sophisticates.
Uncle Tom knew more than his 14 years would suggest when he heard bulls fighting high in the timber on the south face of Sacaton sometime about 1894. He discovered one of them was the big maverick bull that was known to run high in Minton Canyon. He had been run numerous times, but no cowboy had been able to turn him much less get a rope on him. With some finesse, horse, rider and bulls started off the slope. It didn’t take long, though, for the maverick to try to turn back. Tom thought he’d better try to rope him, but he ran into a tree and came close to being knocked off. He tied his rope back on his saddle and redoubled his efforts to keep the bull moving off slope.
In his account years later, Tom described how he drove the bull to an opening “just the other side of the PIT Ranch” which would have been on the mesa miles from where he first jumped the bulls. It was there he built a loop and roped the five year old maverick only to break his rope trying to wrap him around a tree. He built another loop and roped him again, but this time his rope was too short to get him tripped so he just stayed with him keeping him choked down until the bull was out of air. He had him tied down as three other cowboys appeared.
In the custom of the range, no animal was supposed to be branded unless it was done under the supervision of the cow boss when the herd was worked. Tom knew the cowboys would report what they had seen to the boss, Jim Windham, but he wasn’t about to turn that bull loose before he was branded. He built him a fire and put a 916 on him right there.
Windham never said a word to him about it. Any cowboy who was good enough to put an iron on that bull earned the right.
There was a similar bull that was caught at the Rock Springs trap (my memory of the verbal story came from a differing Rice version, but the Shelley version is in print so it is historical record).
Wild cattle were often caught in what became known as “triggers” which were devices built in entrances to fenced enclosures known as traps. Cattle could push their way in, but they were prevented from leaving. In the case of the Rock Springs bull, he had proven to be easy to catch but keeping him in the trap until he was worked had been impossible. He wasn’t just powerful he was mean and he would come to you with the deadly intentions. On one occasion, he ran Tom Shelley up the mountainside until Tom’s horse was winded and he survived only by emptying his .45 into him.
The day they roped him Tom was there with three of his sons, Edwin, Bill, and Lawrence. “You boys keep your ropes off that bull now if he runs off,” Tom had yelled as the boys entered the trap.
That was like telling those boys not to shoot a big buck the opening morning of deer season. It was Lawrence who got the first loop on him as he charged him as Lawrence sat astride his horse in an opening, anticipating turning him. He got him “forked” around a tree as the other boys got ropes on him. When Tom got to them fuming they had not followed his orders and put themselves in great jeopardy, they had the bull tied with his head tied down with the intention of limiting his ability to move when they turned him loose. They then sawed his horns off to limit any damage and started off with him. When he broke into a run Tom yelled, “Let him go!”
Bawling like a banshee he crashed through the brush on a straight line to a sheer 500’ drop, and never stopped bawling all the way to the bottom. He remained a maverick to the moment of his death.
Dusty was at his wits end trying to gather all the maverick bulls on an allotment he had purchased. He was down to the final bulls and intent on finishing the nasty and dangerous work, but the last was proving to be impossible. Finally, his cowboy proposed a Mexican remedy for the really bad one.
“Shoot him in a foot with your pistol,” he suggested.
With no reasonable alternatives and near death experiences each and every time they fooled with that bull, that is what he did. How he got him shot between the cloven hooves in a wild melee in thick brush is a good story in itself, but the deed was done. In four days, he drove like a lamb. When he got him delivered with three other similar bulls, the buyer noted that “one of them was a little gimpy, but he was okay”.
“Really?” Dusty noted with incredulity as he folded his check and put it in his pocket.
On another little soiree, Terrell had over 30 similar bulls gathered and ready to ship. Trying to keep them in the corral as they loaded was proving difficult. He had the younger fellows in there trying to load as he supervised from horseback outside the pens. He told me had to stay horseback, swinging a big loop and beating them over the head every time they tried to jump out, but they finally got them loaded.
We finally killed one of the last really bad bulls in a month long campaign ridding feral cattle out of the Basin. We had once penned him along with two other bulls at Alamo only to lose them before we got them loaded. The next time he was with a bunch of cows and I had had enough.
“Shoot him where he stands,” was the order.
Before it was over, though, a near disaster took place. Hearts were racing and everybody there that day will remember it forever.
Another day, Chris exposed himself to a bull in the gate to get him to come to a good pipe corral. I was horseback with him, but the bull was only getting hotter. When he saw Chris, he charged all high in front end bawling with his hair standing on end.  As an amputee, Chris ran like the track star he once was!
Dudley did the same thing years ago with a big crossbred bull with horns like “baseball bats”. They had nearly run out of rocks trying to get him loaded when Dudley had had enough. He had shouted instructions to close gates behind him when he got him started. He climbed in and stood in the chute in the bull’s view. Immediately, both of them were running up into the bobtail with Dudley swinging up over the cab through the pipe bars covering the truck’s bed. The bull followed him wedging himself with his head and front quarters over the top of the truck cab. It was there he rode in grandeur the 45 miles to the sales ring.
Relating the scene at the auction, the auctioneer was chanting “And, here comes another one of those good Williams bulls” as they opened both entry and exit gates, simultaneously. Like a tracer streak, the bull raced across the sales rings bellowing and looking for somebody to kill on his way.
Yes, sir! Bulls have a ways to teach you lessons not often learned in the other world. Like so many regulations they are innocuous until you have to face them up close and personal.
Then, they can become dangerous, seething monsters.

Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “The peace and understanding after resolution with both bulls and regulations is immense.”


Baxter Black: To be honest

I was walkin' through the show barn at the Stock Show. As I passed two fellers sittin' 'round a tack box, I heard the words, "Well, to be honest…"

I froze in my tracks! It's been my experience that anything preceded by those four words usually turns out to be a windy conglomeration of half-truths, excuses, sales pitches and exaggerated claims bound to make even the most gullible sucker have second thoughts.

"Well, to be honest, the guy I bought her from said she'd settled every time that he bred her. So I think my A.I. man must have a faulty tank."

"Well, to be honest," said the horse trader, "I've never seen him limp like that. It must be the humidity."

"Well, to be honest," said the purebred man to the show superintendent, "I've noticed that discoloration on her belly myself, and occasionally her calves have a white tail, but two years ago they built a nuclear power plant down the road from the farm. Shoot, even my Labrador bitch has spotted pups!'

"Well, to be honest, I'd never thought of sellin' this bull. His weight per day of age was tops in my herd and I've been offered $50,000 for him…but if you're really interested…"

"Well, to be honest," said the fieldman to the breeder, "I'd like to help you put on your sale but I'm booked that day. When is it?"


Lee Pitts: She said what?

I remember learning early in life that humans should use all five of their senses, but darn it, mine don't work any more. I've got cataracts on my eyes making the whole world cloudy, I'm going deaf from listening to too many loud auctioneers for 45 years, the feeling in the tips of my fingers has been destroyed by too much hot metal, and in the process of carving some skin cancer from my nose the Doc seemed to have also removed my smeller. My wife is disappointed I can still talk but I can't get a word in edgewise. I'm 65 going on 95.

The other afternoon I was trying to sneak in a nap because my belly ached and just when I was starting to enter la-la land I thought I heard my wife yell, "Where are (mumble, mumble) and what (mumble, mumble) you up to? You're much (mumble, mumble) quiet."

It always makes my wife nervous when she can't hear me clanging about because she thinks I'm probably making a big mess she'll have to clean up. Nine times out of ten she's right, but not this time. I was a bit irritated at her for interfering with my beauty sleep so I yelled back, "I was trying to take a nap, thank you very much." 

Then I thought I heard her reply, "You can't (mumble, mumble) a nap, it's (mumble, mumble) in the afternoon!" It was then that I realized that the noise was not emanating from the mouth of my beautiful bride but from my gastrointestinal tract. My stomach was growling. Big time. If I'd have recorded the gastro-music I'm sure it would have become a platinum selling rap song. 

I was embarrassed to admit to my wife that I'd been carrying on a conversation with my innards but fortunately for me she's starting to lose her senses too and she couldn't hear me either. Fearing ridicule, I still haven't told her that my bowels frequently speak to me.

That same day my wife and I were reading the newspaper while we ate supper when, all of a sudden, I heard my wife gasp, "Why would she write such a thing?"

"Who?" I asked.


Ranch Radio Song Of The Day #1795


Our gospel tune today is Talk To The Boss In The Sky by Elton Britt. The Tune is on his CD Ridin' With Elton. 

https://youtu.be/pgXmD-QP1Q4

Saturday, March 04, 2017

Court rules to strip Wyoming wolves of federal protections

Wolves in Wyoming should be stripped of Endangered Species Act protections and management given to the state rather than the U.S. government, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday, a decision that opens the door for hunting of the animals. U.S. wildlife managers in 2012 determined that wolves in Wyoming had rebounded from the threat of extinction and that the state plan to oversee the creatures was adequate to ensure their survival. But conservation groups sued, contending the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had acted in an arbitrary and unlawful fashion in finding Wyoming’s plan acceptable. They argued the state would fail to maintain the animals at certain population levels and would subject a portion of them to being shot on sight. A U.S. district judge sided with environmentalists in a 2014 decision and the several hundred wolves in Wyoming were once again placed under federal safeguards. The state, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency and others appealed that ruling and, on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia reversed the lower court, finding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had indeed “exercised its judgment in a reasonable way” in concluding that Wyoming’s management plan would provide wolves with sufficient protections...more

Montana Land Reliance keeps 1 million acres from subdivision

Rick Berg’s Norwegian great-grandfather settled in the Lennep Valley in the late 1880s. He became a butcher, supplying the area's miners and railroad workers, then later homesteaded and ranched sheep. In the 1950s, the ranch he founded converted to cattle. Today, Rick’s daughter and her husband are the fifth generation to operate the place. They run their Angus cattle on 10,000 acres of private and state land, much as Rick and his wife, Gayle, did in the 1980s and 90s. The only real difference between now and a century ago is the property holds a conservation easement that ensures it will remain intact and undeveloped in perpetuity. “To think what my great-grandfather, grandfather, father and I did to create this beautiful block of land, I wanted to preserve the integrity of the land everybody worked so hard to put together,” Berg said. “Nothing inspires me more than to see large, beautiful, uncluttered spaces.” Berg’s conservation easement is through the Montana Land Reliance (MLR), a private, non-profit land trust. He is one of more than 800 landowners – many of them working farmers and ranchers – who have partnered with the organization to permanently protect agricultural land, fish and wildlife habitat and open space since it began nearly four decades ago. Land trusts like MLR protect land through conservation easements, voluntary legal agreements with landowners that put limits on how the land can be used in order to conserve it. Landowners retain their property titles, which forever keep the conservation easement, even after the property is sold. The donation of an easement qualifies as a charitable contribution, so in exchange most landowners receive significant income, estate and gift tax reductions...more



I'm fully supportive of the Berg's doing what they wish with their private property. That is their right as a property owner. I do not believe, however, that others should be forced to subsidize their decision.

Let's say that I make a different decision for my property; that I'm not presumptuous enough to believe I know today what is best for my family/heirs 50 or 100 years from now, and trust they will manage the property in a manner that is most beneficial to them, and I chose to not limit or restrict their options. In that case, the government punishes me with income, estate and other taxes. If I had made the same decisions as the Bergs, my decision would be subsidized, or free from the aforementioned taxes.

I don't believe the government should subsidize one person's decision and punish another person's opposite decision on the future of their property. Leave us free to make our own property decisions without government interference.