Saturday, February 28, 2004
DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY
Allotment to be closed before roundup, impoundment
Gila National Forest officials say they’re closing the Diamond Bar allotment to the public this weekend.
The closure will allow a contractor to prepare for a roundup and impoundment of all cattle on federal land used by the ranch.
A contractor who would round up more than 400 cattle from the Diamond Bar was found during the past week. The preparations will include bringing in equipment, corrals and other necessities.
The closure of the allotment includes shutting several roads and trails that lead in and out of the range lands.
Ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney have said they will not interfere with the contractors’ roundup, but they say they will monitor the event.
They contend the roundup is illegal because they own a vested fee interest in areas the federal government claims to control.
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Contact: Paragon Foundation, Inc.
505-434-8998
Press Release
2/26/2004
For Immediate Release
The continuing conflict between ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney and the United States Forest Service (USFS) is taking on even broader implications. Already to some observers the Laney case overshadows a major constitutional showdown between state and federal government on jurisdictional issues as well as criminal liability.
The USFS has been attempting to remove the Laneys and their cattle from the Gila National Forest near Silver City, New Mexico for over ten years. The USFS cites federal regulatory authority over the national forest as the basis of their removal demand. Environmental groups, such as the Forrest Guardians of Silver City, support the removal of the trespassing ranchers on public lands.
In a court battle, which has spanned a decade, the Laneys have countered that they own vested stock water rights in the area under state law, which fore-dates the creation of the Gila National Forest in 1907. They argue that their stock water rights were granted for the express purpose of livestock grazing which gives them an inheritable right to use the land which the federal government cannot extinguish without payment of just compensation. The Laneys cite long-standing and recent court decisions to support their claim. The grazing rights, according to the Laneys were never part of the National Forest and therefore not subject to USFS regulation. The Laneys cite long standing US Supreme Court decisions which hold that “land to which rights or claims of another attach is not pubic land.
The USFS and environmentalists on the other hand, cite numerous court cases supporting the USFS authority to regulate grazing in the National Forest.
The question which appears to be emerging, is one of property tights under state law as opposed to regulatory authority under federal law. USFS regulations are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. In simple terms, can federal regulation extinguish property rights created under state law?
The controversy has led supporters of the Laneys to demand that the local sheriff, District Attorney and State Attorney general support the Laneys in the protection of their property. Environmental groups, on the other hand, have demanded that the USFS enforce the grazing regulations applicable to the National Forest and remove the Laneys even by force if necessary.
The United States Supreme Court decision in U.S. v New Mexico, 1978 would appear to support the Laney’s claim to stock water rights. The US Supreme court decision in Curtin v Benson, 1911 would appear to support the Laney’s claim of prior existing rights to graze. A recent US Court of Federal Claims decision would be persuasive in upholding Laney’s claim to prior existing grazing and water rights. The IRS has historically recognized the ownership of inheritable rights in forest grazing allotments for inheritance tax purposes.
One of the problems that appears to be emerging is the existence of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the USFS and the state agencies, such as the Brand Board, whereby the state agencies have agreed to allow federal regulation to go Unchallenged in property disputes involving ranchers. These MOUs also may involve Local sheriffs, District Attorneys and even the State Attorney General.
Constitutional scholars and jurists throughout the country have observed that a major constitutional conflict is emerging out of the Laney case. If federal rules and regulations can be used to extinguish grazing and water property rights created under state law without compensation, then no property would be safe from federal regulatory seizure.
A recent ruling out of the Federal District Court in Wyoming has held that where government agency employees have collaborated with environmental groups to destroy property rights, those employees can be tried as individuals under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The issue is not a small one according to some observers. G.B. Oliver, Executive Director of the Paragon Foundation, a supporter of the Laneys, points out that currently throughout the west there are about 200 million dollars in actual or potential taking claims outstanding against the United States over the same issue. Former congresswoman and property rights advocate, Helen Chenoweth-Hage commented that the states and local governments who have signed MOUs with the federal government unilaterally abrogate ranchers property rights, are setting themselves up for joint liability for the taking of rancher’s property rights. The cost to local and state governments would be devastating, she said.
The USFS and environmentalists currently show no sign of relenting. The USFS is continuing to press forward with a Federal District Court action to remove the Laneys and their livestock. The Forest Guardians have served notice on the USFS that if the USFS fails to act, the environmentalists will take measures to evict the Laneys. It would appear that a major constitution crisis is emerging in the remote ranches of southwestern New Mexico, which could have a major impact on property owners throughout the country.
Permalink
Allotment to be closed before roundup, impoundment
Gila National Forest officials say they’re closing the Diamond Bar allotment to the public this weekend.
The closure will allow a contractor to prepare for a roundup and impoundment of all cattle on federal land used by the ranch.
A contractor who would round up more than 400 cattle from the Diamond Bar was found during the past week. The preparations will include bringing in equipment, corrals and other necessities.
The closure of the allotment includes shutting several roads and trails that lead in and out of the range lands.
Ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney have said they will not interfere with the contractors’ roundup, but they say they will monitor the event.
They contend the roundup is illegal because they own a vested fee interest in areas the federal government claims to control.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Contact: Paragon Foundation, Inc.
505-434-8998
Press Release
2/26/2004
For Immediate Release
The continuing conflict between ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney and the United States Forest Service (USFS) is taking on even broader implications. Already to some observers the Laney case overshadows a major constitutional showdown between state and federal government on jurisdictional issues as well as criminal liability.
The USFS has been attempting to remove the Laneys and their cattle from the Gila National Forest near Silver City, New Mexico for over ten years. The USFS cites federal regulatory authority over the national forest as the basis of their removal demand. Environmental groups, such as the Forrest Guardians of Silver City, support the removal of the trespassing ranchers on public lands.
In a court battle, which has spanned a decade, the Laneys have countered that they own vested stock water rights in the area under state law, which fore-dates the creation of the Gila National Forest in 1907. They argue that their stock water rights were granted for the express purpose of livestock grazing which gives them an inheritable right to use the land which the federal government cannot extinguish without payment of just compensation. The Laneys cite long-standing and recent court decisions to support their claim. The grazing rights, according to the Laneys were never part of the National Forest and therefore not subject to USFS regulation. The Laneys cite long standing US Supreme Court decisions which hold that “land to which rights or claims of another attach is not pubic land.
The USFS and environmentalists on the other hand, cite numerous court cases supporting the USFS authority to regulate grazing in the National Forest.
The question which appears to be emerging, is one of property tights under state law as opposed to regulatory authority under federal law. USFS regulations are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. In simple terms, can federal regulation extinguish property rights created under state law?
The controversy has led supporters of the Laneys to demand that the local sheriff, District Attorney and State Attorney general support the Laneys in the protection of their property. Environmental groups, on the other hand, have demanded that the USFS enforce the grazing regulations applicable to the National Forest and remove the Laneys even by force if necessary.
The United States Supreme Court decision in U.S. v New Mexico, 1978 would appear to support the Laney’s claim to stock water rights. The US Supreme court decision in Curtin v Benson, 1911 would appear to support the Laney’s claim of prior existing rights to graze. A recent US Court of Federal Claims decision would be persuasive in upholding Laney’s claim to prior existing grazing and water rights. The IRS has historically recognized the ownership of inheritable rights in forest grazing allotments for inheritance tax purposes.
One of the problems that appears to be emerging is the existence of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the USFS and the state agencies, such as the Brand Board, whereby the state agencies have agreed to allow federal regulation to go Unchallenged in property disputes involving ranchers. These MOUs also may involve Local sheriffs, District Attorneys and even the State Attorney General.
Constitutional scholars and jurists throughout the country have observed that a major constitutional conflict is emerging out of the Laney case. If federal rules and regulations can be used to extinguish grazing and water property rights created under state law without compensation, then no property would be safe from federal regulatory seizure.
A recent ruling out of the Federal District Court in Wyoming has held that where government agency employees have collaborated with environmental groups to destroy property rights, those employees can be tried as individuals under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The issue is not a small one according to some observers. G.B. Oliver, Executive Director of the Paragon Foundation, a supporter of the Laneys, points out that currently throughout the west there are about 200 million dollars in actual or potential taking claims outstanding against the United States over the same issue. Former congresswoman and property rights advocate, Helen Chenoweth-Hage commented that the states and local governments who have signed MOUs with the federal government unilaterally abrogate ranchers property rights, are setting themselves up for joint liability for the taking of rancher’s property rights. The cost to local and state governments would be devastating, she said.
The USFS and environmentalists currently show no sign of relenting. The USFS is continuing to press forward with a Federal District Court action to remove the Laneys and their livestock. The Forest Guardians have served notice on the USFS that if the USFS fails to act, the environmentalists will take measures to evict the Laneys. It would appear that a major constitution crisis is emerging in the remote ranches of southwestern New Mexico, which could have a major impact on property owners throughout the country.
Permalink
Friday, February 27, 2004
DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY
TEMPORARY AREA CLOSURE IMPLEMENTED FOR DIAMOND BAR ALLOTMENT
Silver City, NM – Effective, Saturday, February 28, 2004, at 8:00 a.m., a temporary public closure of the Diamond Bar allotment, Gila National Forest, will be re-implemented to allow the contractor to start preparations for the removal and impoundment of the unauthorized livestock. “After a couple of delays, we are now prepared for the removal and impoundment to start as soon as the contractor is set up,” says Wilderness District Ranger Annette Chavez.
To conduct the livestock removal in the most safe and efficient manner for everyone involved, Ranger Chavez says the area closure helps us to provide for public safety, protection of property, and minimizes public activities that may hinder the gathering and removal activities. “We will periodically review the area closure to determine its usefulness,” adds Ranger Chavez.
The area closure prohibits all entry along Forest Road 150 below the private lands at Wall Lake (township 11S, range 12 W, section 15), south to the south rim of Rocky Canyon (township 14S, range 11 W, section 8), and all the area within the 147,000-acre Diamond Bar allotment. Exceptions to the area closure include private property owners who will be allowed to travel to and from their properties; any federal, state or local Officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty; or persons with a permit specifically authorized by the Gila National Forest.
Trails that will be closed include:
---trail #40 in Diamond Creek including Middle Diamond Creek from the junction of Forest Road 150 to the junction of the Continental Divide trail #74
---Continental Divide Trail #74 from the junction of Trail #40 south to the junction of Trail # 74
---trail #74 to the junction of Forest Road 150 and encompassing trails #75, 76, 75A, 72, 481, 73, 707, 68, 69, 67, and 308
---to the west of Forest Road 150: trails include trail #803, 700, 95, 94, 716, 708, 713, East Fork of the Gila River from private property at Trails End Ranch to the private land at Lyons Lodge
Closure of the land area includes the area described as the Diamond Bar Allotment:
---on the northwest side from the confluence of Adobe Canyon and the East Fork Gila River to Forest Road 225 easterly to the junction of Forest Road 18 north along Forest Road 18 for approximately 1/2 mile, then continuing east to Forest Road 159
---from Forest Road 150, east to the southwest slope of Round Mountain
south along the Crest Trail to Diamond Peak and on to Reeds Peak
---the south border lays along trail #74 to Signboard Saddle to a cattle guard in Rocky Canyon and Forest Road 150
---continuing west to the north rim area of Apache Creek across the lower end of Black Canyon to the East Fork of the Gila River
---the west boundary is the East Fork of the Gila River north to Adobe Canyon
An area closure map is available for review at local Ranger District offices.
Permalink
TEMPORARY AREA CLOSURE IMPLEMENTED FOR DIAMOND BAR ALLOTMENT
Silver City, NM – Effective, Saturday, February 28, 2004, at 8:00 a.m., a temporary public closure of the Diamond Bar allotment, Gila National Forest, will be re-implemented to allow the contractor to start preparations for the removal and impoundment of the unauthorized livestock. “After a couple of delays, we are now prepared for the removal and impoundment to start as soon as the contractor is set up,” says Wilderness District Ranger Annette Chavez.
To conduct the livestock removal in the most safe and efficient manner for everyone involved, Ranger Chavez says the area closure helps us to provide for public safety, protection of property, and minimizes public activities that may hinder the gathering and removal activities. “We will periodically review the area closure to determine its usefulness,” adds Ranger Chavez.
The area closure prohibits all entry along Forest Road 150 below the private lands at Wall Lake (township 11S, range 12 W, section 15), south to the south rim of Rocky Canyon (township 14S, range 11 W, section 8), and all the area within the 147,000-acre Diamond Bar allotment. Exceptions to the area closure include private property owners who will be allowed to travel to and from their properties; any federal, state or local Officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty; or persons with a permit specifically authorized by the Gila National Forest.
Trails that will be closed include:
---trail #40 in Diamond Creek including Middle Diamond Creek from the junction of Forest Road 150 to the junction of the Continental Divide trail #74
---Continental Divide Trail #74 from the junction of Trail #40 south to the junction of Trail # 74
---trail #74 to the junction of Forest Road 150 and encompassing trails #75, 76, 75A, 72, 481, 73, 707, 68, 69, 67, and 308
---to the west of Forest Road 150: trails include trail #803, 700, 95, 94, 716, 708, 713, East Fork of the Gila River from private property at Trails End Ranch to the private land at Lyons Lodge
Closure of the land area includes the area described as the Diamond Bar Allotment:
---on the northwest side from the confluence of Adobe Canyon and the East Fork Gila River to Forest Road 225 easterly to the junction of Forest Road 18 north along Forest Road 18 for approximately 1/2 mile, then continuing east to Forest Road 159
---from Forest Road 150, east to the southwest slope of Round Mountain
south along the Crest Trail to Diamond Peak and on to Reeds Peak
---the south border lays along trail #74 to Signboard Saddle to a cattle guard in Rocky Canyon and Forest Road 150
---continuing west to the north rim area of Apache Creek across the lower end of Black Canyon to the East Fork of the Gila River
---the west boundary is the East Fork of the Gila River north to Adobe Canyon
An area closure map is available for review at local Ranger District offices.
Permalink
NEWS ROUNDUP
Forest Service trades land with logging company The U.S. Forest Service and California's largest private landowner have agreed to a land swap they say will benefit both of them and the public. The Forest Service will give Anderson-based Sierra Pacific Industries 1,843 acres of the Eldorado National Forest, broken into 14 parcels, in exchange for 16 parcels totaling 3,394 acres, under an agreement posted this week. The lands were appraised at equal market value, the Forest Service said. The exchange will reduce the need for Sierra Pacific to build new roads to its parcels within what are supposed to be roadless areas, helping the company manage its property more efficiently and meet federal and state laws, the Forest Service said.... Lawmakers want Frank Church airstrips kept open Idaho's congressional delegation says pilots have used four backcountry airstrips for more than two decades. And the lawmakers want them kept open. The U-S Forest Service recently ruled that four airstrips in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness would be shut down except for emergency use. The ruling is part of the revised management plan for the wilderness.... Salvage logging is key issue for forest ecologists A group of forest ecologists wants the world to stop rushing to turn trees killed by wildfire into lumber, arguing that salvage logging undermines many of the ecological benefits of fire. In an opinion piece in the journal Science on Thursday, seven forest ecologists from universities in the United States, Canada and Australia suggested a better course would be for forest managers to develop policies that exempt areas such as natural parks, nature reserves and drinking water sources from salvage logging.... Column: Biscuit salvage sale: a lost opportunity for Oregon After a yearlong study, the U.S. Forest Service has concluded that the Siskiyou National Forest land burned by last year's Biscuit Fire needs a massive restoration effort including reforestation, road and stream rehabilitation and timber salvage. If implemented, this will be one of the largest timber sales in Oregon history, more timber than has been produced from all the public lands in the Northwest in some years. Unfortunately, the Forest Service's plan is misguided at its very foundation, and we will likely never see these benefits.... Mo. River plan allows barge operations The Army Corps of Engineers issued a new Missouri River plan Friday that would allow continued barge traffic between Sioux City, Iowa, and St. Louis, perpetuating a 15-year battle between environmentalists and businesses. Corps officials said the new plan anticipates steady levels for barge shipping, enough water for power generation and considerably more water in big reservoirs in Montana and the Dakotas. Conservationists have long argued that the Missouri should be returned to its natural state, before it was dammed and channeled beginning in the 1940s, with a spring rise and shallow summer flow to aid endangered species.... New act changes protection for endangered species (Canada) New federal legislation is about to dramatically change the way endangered plants and animals are protected in Canada. The Species at Risk Act goes into force June 1. It will add another layer of protection for endangered animals under federal legislation. The law will brings in incentives and penalties designed to protect threatened animals and plants on all federal land. It can also override the provinces in their own jurisdiction and on private land. Some Alberta landowners are concerned that the act could hurt them financially, if large chunks of their grazing land are declared off-limits. But the government says Ottawa can compensate landowners if they end up being hurt by the new legislation.... GRAY WOLF DE-LISTING PART I Since its introduction into the Idaho wilderness in 1995, the Gray Wolf has sparked debate between those looking to restore the wolf population and those wanting to keep the wolf out of Idaho. In the first part of his series, Mark Browning takes a look at the Gray Wolf's return to Idaho. Good morning everyone. Few things in Idaho and Wyoming have stirred the emotion, the passion, and the debate as have the efforts to restore a Gray Wolf population to this region, and now possibly remove federal protection by de-listing the wolf from the endangered species list. Tonight, in the first of a week long look at the issue, we look at events over the past decade that has brought us to this point of potential de-listing.... GRAY WOLF DELISTING PART II Part two of the debate over wolves in Idaho continues. Mark Browning looks at the toll the re-introduction of wolves has taken on local ranchers.... GRAY WOLF DELISTING PART III In part three of "The Gray Wolf: A Wild Cry of Success," Mark Browning looks at some of the myths involved of the sometimes emotional issue of wolf delisting.... Tight vote expected on 'basin of origin’ bill Rep. John Salazar expects to stump the House floor this morning in hopes of convincing his colleagues to approve the state’s first basin-of-origin protection in more than 80 years. “If this bill is passed, rural Colorado will no longer have to fear that water diversions will be shoved down their throats,” the San Luis Valley Democrat said.... Campus Wolfs Down Film on Price of Lupine Liberty A film showing tonight will bring a heated environmental debate from the wilderness of Idaho to the screen at Campbell Hall. "Cost of Freedom" follows wolves relocated from Canada to Idaho as part of an effort to restore endangered species in the United States. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service captured 66 wolves in Canada and released them in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Filmmaker Vanessa Schulz said that as part of the relocation, the wolves were given special "experimental-nonessential" status, which permits the killing of wolves if they attack livestock.... Ranchers support consolidated public lands management Ranchers gave their support Friday to a plan that would consolidate management of 1.3 million acres of national forest and rangeland in Twin Falls and Cassia counties. Consultants for the Idaho Department of Lands held a meeting Friday night at the Idaho Farm Bureau office in Twin Falls to gauge reactions to the proposal they plan to put forward in the form of federal legislation.... Redrock lands rank among most endangered 'BioGems' Utah lands targeted by activists for wilderness protection -- and by energy companies for oil and gas exploration -- are among the most endangered places in the Western Hemisphere, according to one of the nation's largest environmental groups. For the fourth year in a row, the redrock wilderness of southern and eastern Utah on Thursday landed on the list of "BioGems" designated by the Washington, D.C.-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The group hopes the listing will bring more national, even international, attention to portions of a 9.1 million-acre Utah wilderness proposal that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is opening up to oil and gas companies.... BLM begins dunes study A federal agency has launched a four-month program to monitor a threatened plant that has led to closures in the California desert's most popular off-roading area. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Thursday that 33 interns will scour the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area until June looking for Pierson's milk-vetch and other imperiled wildlife to establish populations counts.... Column: Grazing permit buyout fair, will end range warThe national and Arizona voluntary grazing permit buyout bills, currently pending in Congress, offer a "win-win" solution for ranchers and the environment. A total of 180 Arizona ranchers and 190 environmental organizations are supporting the Arizona bill and a permanent buyout option, and the list of supporters is growing. Yet there are still uninformed naysayers who don't realize that the buyout will help ranchers, protect the environment, and save taxpayers money. Opponents to the legislation fear that once ranchers receive the buyout payment, they'll likely sell off private base properties, thus accelerating land fragmentation and development. To the contrary, with the money ranchers receive from the buyout, they'll not only have money to keep their private property, but they can also buy other private lands to ranch.... Park in Colorado stirs EPA concern Hike through Rocky Mountain National Park, enjoy the wildlife and take a deep breath of mountain air - as long as you're not asthmatic. The wind blows enough pollution from sprawling metropolitan Denver on some days that the park violates federal clean-air standards for ozone. The Environmental Protection Agency probably will include the park when it declares 11 counties along Colorado's Front Range in violation of the Clean Air Act.... Trust-land reform bill proposed A plan to change the way Arizona manages nearly 10 million acres of undeveloped state trust land was delivered Friday to the governor and the Legislature on its way to a possible spot on the Nov. 2 ballot. Outlined in more than 100 pages of revisions to state law and the state Constitution, the plan aims to create more open space around the edges of cities, raise more money for public schools and better protect millions of acres in rural Arizona. If voters approve the changes, about 287,000 acres would be set aside as open space immediately and an additional 387,000 acres would be eligible for preservation by cities and private organizations.... Court stops exhumation of fabled ranch scion An appellate court has halted exhumation of a rancher's body in a paternity lawsuit with claims to a 400,000-acre ranch now largely controlled by the Catholic Church. The 13th Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld its Feb. 9 order stopping the exhumation of fabled ranch scion John G. Kenedy. The court clarified its order Thursday after plaintiff attorneys questioned whether it applied to different cases alleging that John G. Kenedy, believed sterile due to childhood mumps, left an heir after all.... Column, Meet the Farm Bureau: Does it Speak for the Family Farmer—or for Large-Scale Agribusiness? The state of family farming in America can perhaps be gauged by one of AFBF’s own polls, which asked its 5.4 million members how they would rate the overall condition of their rural towns. Some 32 percent said they were “withering slowly,” and another 20 percent said they were “hanging by a thread.” AFBF is the nation’s largest trade organization for farmers, but an increasing number of farmers and farming groups say its corporate-friendly policies favor large agribusiness interests. And they ask if most of AFBF’s members really are farmers, since the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that only 2.1 million Americans meet that definition.... Cattlemen Push Beef with Bush A U.S. meat industry group on Friday accused the Bush administration of moving too slowly to normalize beef and cattle trade with Canada and called for an immediate end to all controls put in place last spring after mad cow disease was discovered in Alberta. "The time for incremental half-measures ... has long since passed," the American Meat Institute, which represents major meat packers, wrote in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. USDA spokeswoman Julie Quick said it was premature to comment on a request to fully open beef and cattle trade with Canada. She also rejected AMI's criticisms that the agency has been slow to normalize trade with Canada, saying it was a "top priority." ....HONED ON THE RANGE Byron Fort walks out his back door into a winter morning as gray-white as his mare, Dolly, and as cold and forbidding as a barbed-wire fence. Leaning into the stinging wind, he pushes his 88-year-old bones across a thin layer of snow toward some corrals and stalls off to the side of his house. The snow had come in the night. So had a calf from a young Angus cow. Anticipating both, Fort had put the cow in a stall the afternoon before so she wouldn't drop her offspring wet and frail into an exposed pasture where it'd likely freeze to death before it could draw its first breaths.... On The Edge Of Common Sense: Bad luck comes in threes on the ranch In the old days, I resigned myself that bad luck came in threes: three flat tires, three smashed fingers or three social faux pas. It's comforting to know that good ol' Dakota Mike is still proving my theory. And I'm not even counting the initial injury that resulted in a swollen right knee that put him down for a solid week....
Permalink
Forest Service trades land with logging company The U.S. Forest Service and California's largest private landowner have agreed to a land swap they say will benefit both of them and the public. The Forest Service will give Anderson-based Sierra Pacific Industries 1,843 acres of the Eldorado National Forest, broken into 14 parcels, in exchange for 16 parcels totaling 3,394 acres, under an agreement posted this week. The lands were appraised at equal market value, the Forest Service said. The exchange will reduce the need for Sierra Pacific to build new roads to its parcels within what are supposed to be roadless areas, helping the company manage its property more efficiently and meet federal and state laws, the Forest Service said.... Lawmakers want Frank Church airstrips kept open Idaho's congressional delegation says pilots have used four backcountry airstrips for more than two decades. And the lawmakers want them kept open. The U-S Forest Service recently ruled that four airstrips in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness would be shut down except for emergency use. The ruling is part of the revised management plan for the wilderness.... Salvage logging is key issue for forest ecologists A group of forest ecologists wants the world to stop rushing to turn trees killed by wildfire into lumber, arguing that salvage logging undermines many of the ecological benefits of fire. In an opinion piece in the journal Science on Thursday, seven forest ecologists from universities in the United States, Canada and Australia suggested a better course would be for forest managers to develop policies that exempt areas such as natural parks, nature reserves and drinking water sources from salvage logging.... Column: Biscuit salvage sale: a lost opportunity for Oregon After a yearlong study, the U.S. Forest Service has concluded that the Siskiyou National Forest land burned by last year's Biscuit Fire needs a massive restoration effort including reforestation, road and stream rehabilitation and timber salvage. If implemented, this will be one of the largest timber sales in Oregon history, more timber than has been produced from all the public lands in the Northwest in some years. Unfortunately, the Forest Service's plan is misguided at its very foundation, and we will likely never see these benefits.... Mo. River plan allows barge operations The Army Corps of Engineers issued a new Missouri River plan Friday that would allow continued barge traffic between Sioux City, Iowa, and St. Louis, perpetuating a 15-year battle between environmentalists and businesses. Corps officials said the new plan anticipates steady levels for barge shipping, enough water for power generation and considerably more water in big reservoirs in Montana and the Dakotas. Conservationists have long argued that the Missouri should be returned to its natural state, before it was dammed and channeled beginning in the 1940s, with a spring rise and shallow summer flow to aid endangered species.... New act changes protection for endangered species (Canada) New federal legislation is about to dramatically change the way endangered plants and animals are protected in Canada. The Species at Risk Act goes into force June 1. It will add another layer of protection for endangered animals under federal legislation. The law will brings in incentives and penalties designed to protect threatened animals and plants on all federal land. It can also override the provinces in their own jurisdiction and on private land. Some Alberta landowners are concerned that the act could hurt them financially, if large chunks of their grazing land are declared off-limits. But the government says Ottawa can compensate landowners if they end up being hurt by the new legislation.... GRAY WOLF DE-LISTING PART I Since its introduction into the Idaho wilderness in 1995, the Gray Wolf has sparked debate between those looking to restore the wolf population and those wanting to keep the wolf out of Idaho. In the first part of his series, Mark Browning takes a look at the Gray Wolf's return to Idaho. Good morning everyone. Few things in Idaho and Wyoming have stirred the emotion, the passion, and the debate as have the efforts to restore a Gray Wolf population to this region, and now possibly remove federal protection by de-listing the wolf from the endangered species list. Tonight, in the first of a week long look at the issue, we look at events over the past decade that has brought us to this point of potential de-listing.... GRAY WOLF DELISTING PART II Part two of the debate over wolves in Idaho continues. Mark Browning looks at the toll the re-introduction of wolves has taken on local ranchers.... GRAY WOLF DELISTING PART III In part three of "The Gray Wolf: A Wild Cry of Success," Mark Browning looks at some of the myths involved of the sometimes emotional issue of wolf delisting.... Tight vote expected on 'basin of origin’ bill Rep. John Salazar expects to stump the House floor this morning in hopes of convincing his colleagues to approve the state’s first basin-of-origin protection in more than 80 years. “If this bill is passed, rural Colorado will no longer have to fear that water diversions will be shoved down their throats,” the San Luis Valley Democrat said.... Campus Wolfs Down Film on Price of Lupine Liberty A film showing tonight will bring a heated environmental debate from the wilderness of Idaho to the screen at Campbell Hall. "Cost of Freedom" follows wolves relocated from Canada to Idaho as part of an effort to restore endangered species in the United States. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service captured 66 wolves in Canada and released them in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Filmmaker Vanessa Schulz said that as part of the relocation, the wolves were given special "experimental-nonessential" status, which permits the killing of wolves if they attack livestock.... Ranchers support consolidated public lands management Ranchers gave their support Friday to a plan that would consolidate management of 1.3 million acres of national forest and rangeland in Twin Falls and Cassia counties. Consultants for the Idaho Department of Lands held a meeting Friday night at the Idaho Farm Bureau office in Twin Falls to gauge reactions to the proposal they plan to put forward in the form of federal legislation.... Redrock lands rank among most endangered 'BioGems' Utah lands targeted by activists for wilderness protection -- and by energy companies for oil and gas exploration -- are among the most endangered places in the Western Hemisphere, according to one of the nation's largest environmental groups. For the fourth year in a row, the redrock wilderness of southern and eastern Utah on Thursday landed on the list of "BioGems" designated by the Washington, D.C.-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The group hopes the listing will bring more national, even international, attention to portions of a 9.1 million-acre Utah wilderness proposal that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is opening up to oil and gas companies.... BLM begins dunes study A federal agency has launched a four-month program to monitor a threatened plant that has led to closures in the California desert's most popular off-roading area. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Thursday that 33 interns will scour the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area until June looking for Pierson's milk-vetch and other imperiled wildlife to establish populations counts.... Column: Grazing permit buyout fair, will end range warThe national and Arizona voluntary grazing permit buyout bills, currently pending in Congress, offer a "win-win" solution for ranchers and the environment. A total of 180 Arizona ranchers and 190 environmental organizations are supporting the Arizona bill and a permanent buyout option, and the list of supporters is growing. Yet there are still uninformed naysayers who don't realize that the buyout will help ranchers, protect the environment, and save taxpayers money. Opponents to the legislation fear that once ranchers receive the buyout payment, they'll likely sell off private base properties, thus accelerating land fragmentation and development. To the contrary, with the money ranchers receive from the buyout, they'll not only have money to keep their private property, but they can also buy other private lands to ranch.... Park in Colorado stirs EPA concern Hike through Rocky Mountain National Park, enjoy the wildlife and take a deep breath of mountain air - as long as you're not asthmatic. The wind blows enough pollution from sprawling metropolitan Denver on some days that the park violates federal clean-air standards for ozone. The Environmental Protection Agency probably will include the park when it declares 11 counties along Colorado's Front Range in violation of the Clean Air Act.... Trust-land reform bill proposed A plan to change the way Arizona manages nearly 10 million acres of undeveloped state trust land was delivered Friday to the governor and the Legislature on its way to a possible spot on the Nov. 2 ballot. Outlined in more than 100 pages of revisions to state law and the state Constitution, the plan aims to create more open space around the edges of cities, raise more money for public schools and better protect millions of acres in rural Arizona. If voters approve the changes, about 287,000 acres would be set aside as open space immediately and an additional 387,000 acres would be eligible for preservation by cities and private organizations.... Court stops exhumation of fabled ranch scion An appellate court has halted exhumation of a rancher's body in a paternity lawsuit with claims to a 400,000-acre ranch now largely controlled by the Catholic Church. The 13th Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld its Feb. 9 order stopping the exhumation of fabled ranch scion John G. Kenedy. The court clarified its order Thursday after plaintiff attorneys questioned whether it applied to different cases alleging that John G. Kenedy, believed sterile due to childhood mumps, left an heir after all.... Column, Meet the Farm Bureau: Does it Speak for the Family Farmer—or for Large-Scale Agribusiness? The state of family farming in America can perhaps be gauged by one of AFBF’s own polls, which asked its 5.4 million members how they would rate the overall condition of their rural towns. Some 32 percent said they were “withering slowly,” and another 20 percent said they were “hanging by a thread.” AFBF is the nation’s largest trade organization for farmers, but an increasing number of farmers and farming groups say its corporate-friendly policies favor large agribusiness interests. And they ask if most of AFBF’s members really are farmers, since the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that only 2.1 million Americans meet that definition.... Cattlemen Push Beef with Bush A U.S. meat industry group on Friday accused the Bush administration of moving too slowly to normalize beef and cattle trade with Canada and called for an immediate end to all controls put in place last spring after mad cow disease was discovered in Alberta. "The time for incremental half-measures ... has long since passed," the American Meat Institute, which represents major meat packers, wrote in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. USDA spokeswoman Julie Quick said it was premature to comment on a request to fully open beef and cattle trade with Canada. She also rejected AMI's criticisms that the agency has been slow to normalize trade with Canada, saying it was a "top priority." ....HONED ON THE RANGE Byron Fort walks out his back door into a winter morning as gray-white as his mare, Dolly, and as cold and forbidding as a barbed-wire fence. Leaning into the stinging wind, he pushes his 88-year-old bones across a thin layer of snow toward some corrals and stalls off to the side of his house. The snow had come in the night. So had a calf from a young Angus cow. Anticipating both, Fort had put the cow in a stall the afternoon before so she wouldn't drop her offspring wet and frail into an exposed pasture where it'd likely freeze to death before it could draw its first breaths.... On The Edge Of Common Sense: Bad luck comes in threes on the ranch In the old days, I resigned myself that bad luck came in threes: three flat tires, three smashed fingers or three social faux pas. It's comforting to know that good ol' Dakota Mike is still proving my theory. And I'm not even counting the initial injury that resulted in a swollen right knee that put him down for a solid week....
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NEWS ROUNDUP
Omitted pieces put back in fire report U.S. Forest Service officials have reinserted much of the information previously blacked out of their report investigating the deaths of Idaho wildland firefighters Jeff Allen and Shane Heath, with one major exception — the names of everyone involved. The only people identified in the Cramer Fire accident report are Allen and Heath. Forest Service officials once again edited out the names of fire managers in the modified report, but reinserted their titles in some places. So while a reader can now determine which fire officials made which decisions that led to the deaths of Allen and Heath on July 22, they won´t be able to identify them — a key omission for critics of the Forest Service.... What’s next The Forest Service is conducting a misconduct investigation into the Cramer Creek Fire and will issue proposed disciplinary actions before fire season begins this year. Fire officials did not identify which employees are being investigated, what the possible penalties could be, or whether the penalties will be made public.... No fishing: U.S. Forest Service rejects request from local angling-conservation club for a catch-and-release season at Spirit Lake The U.S. Forest Service has rejected a request to allow limited catch-and-release trout fishing at Spirit Lake on the north side of Mount St. Helens. The Clark-Skamania Flyfishers, a Vancouver-based angling and conservation club, made the request in early January to Cliff Ligons, manager of the the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. The lake has been closed to fishing since the massive eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980.... Turkeys fly into a controversy With the release of 82 more turkeys in the Ochoco Mountains earlier this month, spring turkey hunters will have more opportunity for success. But not everyone is excited about the releases. The Central Oregon Audubon Society has expressed concern over the continued transplanting of the non-native game bird and would like to see the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife discontinue any further releases of turkeys in Central Oregon and other areas of the state until a review of turkey management plans can occur.... America's new coal rush After 25 years on the blacklist of America's energy sources, coal is poised to make a comeback, stoked by the demand for affordable electricity and the rising price of other fuels. At least 94 coal-fired electric power plants - with the capacity to power 62 million American homes - are now planned across 36 states. The plants, slated to start coming on line as early as next year, would add significantly to the United States' generating power, help keep electricity prices low, and boost energy security by offering an alternative to foreign oil and gas. But they would also pump more airborne mercury and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide into the air.... Senators Should Consider Environmental Impacts of Judicial Nominations For the first time ever, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has included in its National Environmental Scorecard a vote on a nominee to the federal courts. William H. Pryor was nominated by President Bush in April 2003 to fill a lifetime seat on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals of federal environmental cases in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. On July 31, 2003, Pryor’s supporters fell seven votes short of the 60 needed to end debate on Pryor’s nomination and force a vote on the Senate floor. However, Mr. Pryor was recently given a recess appointment to that same seat, which will expire at the end of the next Senate session.... Column: Cry of the wolf The new census of northwest Montana’s wolves shows declining numbers, and that casts doubt on the government’s contention that the population is robust enough to remove from federal protection as an endangered species. In the annual count by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the region’s gray wolves numbered only 92 in 2003, down from 108 the year before. More importantly, only four pairs of wolves produced at least two pups that survived the year. The year before, 11 breeding pairs were counted.... Editorial: Wolf change shouldn't wait for Wyoming Wolves have been restored to self-sustaining numbers in the Northern Rockies. It's time to release them from the extraordinary protective custody of the federal government and for the states to assume responsibility for managing wolves in conjunction with other wildlife. Montana and Idaho are ready, willing and able to assume control of wolf management, but Wyoming is not. Our neighbor to the south is playing games with the issue, and the result has been to stall progress toward scratching wolves off the endangered species list. The Department of Interior will not - and legally cannot - take wolves off the endangered species list until the states adopt plans for managing the animals in ways that will ensure their perpetuation. Montana and Idaho have done just that. Wyoming came up with a plan, but it included a provision allowing wolves to be shot on sight in certain areas. Federal officials rejected Wyoming's plan, largely for that reason. Right now, Wyoming officials are debating whether to revise their plan or to go to court in an attempt to force the feds to approve their plan.... Wyoming House ready for wolf battle After retreating a day earlier from a possible lawsuit against the federal government for its rejection of the state's wolf-management plan, the Wyoming House reversed itself again Wednesday and voted to bolster the case for a court battle. With little debate, representatives voted 44-14 for a bill that aligns state law with the now-rejected Game and Fish Commission's management plan for gray wolves. Conforming statutes to the plan is seen as a way to strengthen the state's hand in a possible suit.... Column: Is chronic wasting disease the new mad cow? The good news about CWD is that—at least so far—there is no established link between eating or handling venison and vCJD, the devastating human disease linked to beef consumption in England. And, though research at this moment is not yet complete, CWD has not seemed to infect the unlucky cows, goats, and sheep that have been kept in close quarters with infected deer and elk. Still, TSE diseases develop slowly, over a minimum of 15 months to 17 months after exposure, and there is not yet enough evidence to rule out cross-species transmission altogether. Having learned from the British government's mistakes in the BSE crisis, no national or state government agencies have made out-and-out exhortations to continue eating venison from the infected areas (e.g., à la John Gummer, the British secretary of agriculture who famously endeavored to demonstrate the safety of British beef by feeding a hamburger to his 4-year-old daughter). But the issue is complicated by the fact that those who consume venison and elk meat are often the hunters who slaughter the animals—they thus must decide for themselves whether their quarry is safe for consumption.... Artist forced to surrender art because he used eagle feathers What Juneau artist Mark Horn considered a spiritual expression, federal authorities considered a possible crime. Three pieces displayed at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council came under scrutiny of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement officers because they contained eagle feathers. Agent Sam Friberg said Friday that he couldn't comment about the ongoing investigation, except to say that it was limited to exhibits involving eagle feathers.... More park bison sent to slaughter The National Park Service has sent another 27 bison to a slaughterhouse after they tested positive for exposure to the disease brucellosis. That brings this winter's total slaughter of animals captured inside Yellowstone National Park to 53 animals. Another 36 captured animals that tested negative for exposure to the disease are being held in a beefed-up corral until spring, when enough green grass emerges inside the park to keep the shaggy giants from wandering out of the park.... Saddle up One of the oldest traditions of the West — mule rides into the Grand Canyon — will resume on March 23. The National Park Service suspended the trips last September for the first time in a century so it could do trail maintenance. The move worried some longtime fans who thought the rides might never return. But the Park Service says the closure was never meant to be permanent.... More drilling on tap for Padre The National Park Service announced Thursday that it will allow a Corpus Christi company to start drilling what will become the eighth natural gas well on the otherwise undeveloped barrier island. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates 80 billion cubic feet of natural gas lies beneath the 130,454-acre seashore — the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. That's enough gas to satisfy the nation's entire demand for about two days, according to the American Gas Association, an industry group.... Fearing 'Unprecedented Land Grab' During Election Year, Group Urges 60,000 Interior Department Employees to Use Tipline The nonprofit Campaign to Protect America's Lands (CPAL) announced that it is sending an email today to 59,684 Department of Interior employees urging them to use a confidential tipline (1- 866-LANDTIP or http://www.landtip.org) to report any new anti-environment rules or other steps related to America's public lands, parks or wilderness areas that may crop up in the coming months. CPAL's goal is to thwart a whole new round of special-interest proposals that are expected to clog Interior if panicked industry executives come to believe that President Bush is unlikely to serve a second term.... Unexplained elk deaths in Wyo. leave wildlife officials puzzled In the last three weeks, about 275 elk, mostly breeding-age cows in prime condition, have been found either dead or paralyzed in a 3-square-mile area just north of the Colorado border. "They go to lie down, and then they can't get up," Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman Tom Reed said Thursday. "Their heads are up and they bark at you when you approach. But they can't move." State biologists are euthanizing the stricken animals and have examined about a dozen carcasses in an attempt to find the cause of the deaths. Whatever is killing the elk has yet to affect the horses, cows, calves and antelope observed in the area. Scavengers like coyotes, ravens or magpies that are feeding on the carcasses also appear to be immune.... Tyson Asks Judge to Reverse $1.28 Billion Verdict The nation's largest beef packer, Tyson Foods Inc., said Thursday it has asked a federal judge to throw out a jury's $1.28 billion verdict that the company illegally manipulated cattle prices. Tyson asked visiting U.S. Senior District Judge Lyle Strom to enter a substitute ruling or order a new trial. A jury last week sided with a group of cattlemen who accused the Arkansas-based company of using contracts with a select few ranchers to drive cattle prices down for other producers. "Given the complexity of the issues presented and the consequences of this court's decision to an entire industry ... it is important that judgment be entered on the evidence actually presented and the applicable law rather than on the jury's instincts regarding the 'spirit of the law,'" Tyson lawyers said in court papers filed Wednesday.... USDA resists increased mad cow testing The United States Department of Agriculture is blocking small beef packing companies and ranchers from testing their cattle for mad cow disease. The beef packing companies and ranchers see the increased testing as a way to restore consumer confidence and enable their products to be exported to Japan and other countries that shut their borders to U.S. beef in December after the detection of a mad cow-infected animal in Washington state.... North Texas woman recalls rodeo life, wins in the '50s Many little girls dream of riding horses and barrel racing; and for a Decatur lady, that dream was a reality in her early years, when she competed in the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA), now the Womens Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). The success of those rides, earned LaTonne (rhymes with baton) Sewalt Enright a place in the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame (TRCHF). Following the hall-of-fame legacy of both her dad Royce, a 1946 world champion calf roper, and her younger brother Ronnye, a reserve world champion calf roper, LaTonne was among the 16 others who were inducted in the hall on Feb. 14....
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Omitted pieces put back in fire report U.S. Forest Service officials have reinserted much of the information previously blacked out of their report investigating the deaths of Idaho wildland firefighters Jeff Allen and Shane Heath, with one major exception — the names of everyone involved. The only people identified in the Cramer Fire accident report are Allen and Heath. Forest Service officials once again edited out the names of fire managers in the modified report, but reinserted their titles in some places. So while a reader can now determine which fire officials made which decisions that led to the deaths of Allen and Heath on July 22, they won´t be able to identify them — a key omission for critics of the Forest Service.... What’s next The Forest Service is conducting a misconduct investigation into the Cramer Creek Fire and will issue proposed disciplinary actions before fire season begins this year. Fire officials did not identify which employees are being investigated, what the possible penalties could be, or whether the penalties will be made public.... No fishing: U.S. Forest Service rejects request from local angling-conservation club for a catch-and-release season at Spirit Lake The U.S. Forest Service has rejected a request to allow limited catch-and-release trout fishing at Spirit Lake on the north side of Mount St. Helens. The Clark-Skamania Flyfishers, a Vancouver-based angling and conservation club, made the request in early January to Cliff Ligons, manager of the the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. The lake has been closed to fishing since the massive eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980.... Turkeys fly into a controversy With the release of 82 more turkeys in the Ochoco Mountains earlier this month, spring turkey hunters will have more opportunity for success. But not everyone is excited about the releases. The Central Oregon Audubon Society has expressed concern over the continued transplanting of the non-native game bird and would like to see the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife discontinue any further releases of turkeys in Central Oregon and other areas of the state until a review of turkey management plans can occur.... America's new coal rush After 25 years on the blacklist of America's energy sources, coal is poised to make a comeback, stoked by the demand for affordable electricity and the rising price of other fuels. At least 94 coal-fired electric power plants - with the capacity to power 62 million American homes - are now planned across 36 states. The plants, slated to start coming on line as early as next year, would add significantly to the United States' generating power, help keep electricity prices low, and boost energy security by offering an alternative to foreign oil and gas. But they would also pump more airborne mercury and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide into the air.... Senators Should Consider Environmental Impacts of Judicial Nominations For the first time ever, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has included in its National Environmental Scorecard a vote on a nominee to the federal courts. William H. Pryor was nominated by President Bush in April 2003 to fill a lifetime seat on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals of federal environmental cases in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. On July 31, 2003, Pryor’s supporters fell seven votes short of the 60 needed to end debate on Pryor’s nomination and force a vote on the Senate floor. However, Mr. Pryor was recently given a recess appointment to that same seat, which will expire at the end of the next Senate session.... Column: Cry of the wolf The new census of northwest Montana’s wolves shows declining numbers, and that casts doubt on the government’s contention that the population is robust enough to remove from federal protection as an endangered species. In the annual count by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the region’s gray wolves numbered only 92 in 2003, down from 108 the year before. More importantly, only four pairs of wolves produced at least two pups that survived the year. The year before, 11 breeding pairs were counted.... Editorial: Wolf change shouldn't wait for Wyoming Wolves have been restored to self-sustaining numbers in the Northern Rockies. It's time to release them from the extraordinary protective custody of the federal government and for the states to assume responsibility for managing wolves in conjunction with other wildlife. Montana and Idaho are ready, willing and able to assume control of wolf management, but Wyoming is not. Our neighbor to the south is playing games with the issue, and the result has been to stall progress toward scratching wolves off the endangered species list. The Department of Interior will not - and legally cannot - take wolves off the endangered species list until the states adopt plans for managing the animals in ways that will ensure their perpetuation. Montana and Idaho have done just that. Wyoming came up with a plan, but it included a provision allowing wolves to be shot on sight in certain areas. Federal officials rejected Wyoming's plan, largely for that reason. Right now, Wyoming officials are debating whether to revise their plan or to go to court in an attempt to force the feds to approve their plan.... Wyoming House ready for wolf battle After retreating a day earlier from a possible lawsuit against the federal government for its rejection of the state's wolf-management plan, the Wyoming House reversed itself again Wednesday and voted to bolster the case for a court battle. With little debate, representatives voted 44-14 for a bill that aligns state law with the now-rejected Game and Fish Commission's management plan for gray wolves. Conforming statutes to the plan is seen as a way to strengthen the state's hand in a possible suit.... Column: Is chronic wasting disease the new mad cow? The good news about CWD is that—at least so far—there is no established link between eating or handling venison and vCJD, the devastating human disease linked to beef consumption in England. And, though research at this moment is not yet complete, CWD has not seemed to infect the unlucky cows, goats, and sheep that have been kept in close quarters with infected deer and elk. Still, TSE diseases develop slowly, over a minimum of 15 months to 17 months after exposure, and there is not yet enough evidence to rule out cross-species transmission altogether. Having learned from the British government's mistakes in the BSE crisis, no national or state government agencies have made out-and-out exhortations to continue eating venison from the infected areas (e.g., à la John Gummer, the British secretary of agriculture who famously endeavored to demonstrate the safety of British beef by feeding a hamburger to his 4-year-old daughter). But the issue is complicated by the fact that those who consume venison and elk meat are often the hunters who slaughter the animals—they thus must decide for themselves whether their quarry is safe for consumption.... Artist forced to surrender art because he used eagle feathers What Juneau artist Mark Horn considered a spiritual expression, federal authorities considered a possible crime. Three pieces displayed at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council came under scrutiny of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement officers because they contained eagle feathers. Agent Sam Friberg said Friday that he couldn't comment about the ongoing investigation, except to say that it was limited to exhibits involving eagle feathers.... More park bison sent to slaughter The National Park Service has sent another 27 bison to a slaughterhouse after they tested positive for exposure to the disease brucellosis. That brings this winter's total slaughter of animals captured inside Yellowstone National Park to 53 animals. Another 36 captured animals that tested negative for exposure to the disease are being held in a beefed-up corral until spring, when enough green grass emerges inside the park to keep the shaggy giants from wandering out of the park.... Saddle up One of the oldest traditions of the West — mule rides into the Grand Canyon — will resume on March 23. The National Park Service suspended the trips last September for the first time in a century so it could do trail maintenance. The move worried some longtime fans who thought the rides might never return. But the Park Service says the closure was never meant to be permanent.... More drilling on tap for Padre The National Park Service announced Thursday that it will allow a Corpus Christi company to start drilling what will become the eighth natural gas well on the otherwise undeveloped barrier island. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates 80 billion cubic feet of natural gas lies beneath the 130,454-acre seashore — the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. That's enough gas to satisfy the nation's entire demand for about two days, according to the American Gas Association, an industry group.... Fearing 'Unprecedented Land Grab' During Election Year, Group Urges 60,000 Interior Department Employees to Use Tipline The nonprofit Campaign to Protect America's Lands (CPAL) announced that it is sending an email today to 59,684 Department of Interior employees urging them to use a confidential tipline (1- 866-LANDTIP or http://www.landtip.org) to report any new anti-environment rules or other steps related to America's public lands, parks or wilderness areas that may crop up in the coming months. CPAL's goal is to thwart a whole new round of special-interest proposals that are expected to clog Interior if panicked industry executives come to believe that President Bush is unlikely to serve a second term.... Unexplained elk deaths in Wyo. leave wildlife officials puzzled In the last three weeks, about 275 elk, mostly breeding-age cows in prime condition, have been found either dead or paralyzed in a 3-square-mile area just north of the Colorado border. "They go to lie down, and then they can't get up," Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman Tom Reed said Thursday. "Their heads are up and they bark at you when you approach. But they can't move." State biologists are euthanizing the stricken animals and have examined about a dozen carcasses in an attempt to find the cause of the deaths. Whatever is killing the elk has yet to affect the horses, cows, calves and antelope observed in the area. Scavengers like coyotes, ravens or magpies that are feeding on the carcasses also appear to be immune.... Tyson Asks Judge to Reverse $1.28 Billion Verdict The nation's largest beef packer, Tyson Foods Inc., said Thursday it has asked a federal judge to throw out a jury's $1.28 billion verdict that the company illegally manipulated cattle prices. Tyson asked visiting U.S. Senior District Judge Lyle Strom to enter a substitute ruling or order a new trial. A jury last week sided with a group of cattlemen who accused the Arkansas-based company of using contracts with a select few ranchers to drive cattle prices down for other producers. "Given the complexity of the issues presented and the consequences of this court's decision to an entire industry ... it is important that judgment be entered on the evidence actually presented and the applicable law rather than on the jury's instincts regarding the 'spirit of the law,'" Tyson lawyers said in court papers filed Wednesday.... USDA resists increased mad cow testing The United States Department of Agriculture is blocking small beef packing companies and ranchers from testing their cattle for mad cow disease. The beef packing companies and ranchers see the increased testing as a way to restore consumer confidence and enable their products to be exported to Japan and other countries that shut their borders to U.S. beef in December after the detection of a mad cow-infected animal in Washington state.... North Texas woman recalls rodeo life, wins in the '50s Many little girls dream of riding horses and barrel racing; and for a Decatur lady, that dream was a reality in her early years, when she competed in the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA), now the Womens Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). The success of those rides, earned LaTonne (rhymes with baton) Sewalt Enright a place in the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame (TRCHF). Following the hall-of-fame legacy of both her dad Royce, a 1946 world champion calf roper, and her younger brother Ronnye, a reserve world champion calf roper, LaTonne was among the 16 others who were inducted in the hall on Feb. 14....
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Wednesday, February 25, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
Cattle Battle Continues in New Mexico Kit Laney's family has been ranching in the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico since 1883, but the Laney family lifestyle could all come to an end with the U.S. Forest Service threatening to impound and move Laney's cattle. Eighty-five percent of Laney’s range is considered federal land, and he has so far refused to remove his 300 head of cattle, which the Forest Service says are trespassing. However, based on the fact that his family was ranching on these grounds before the Forest Service even existed, Laney is fighting the 1997 court order that ordered him off his Diamond Bar Ranch, now sitting inside the national forest and protected from use under federal law.... Senators urged to fight energy bill The mayor of Great Falls joined outfitters, ranchers, housewives and about 50 others Wednesday, calling on Montana's senators to reject a proposed federal energy bill. The group, primarily from communities along the Rocky Mountain Front, fired off a letter to the senators, saying the proposed energy bill would sacrifice Montana's wild heritage of ranching, hunting and fishing in the name of corporate profits. "As property owners, hunters, anglers, and conservationists, we respect the Front's working, agricultural heritage and its world-class wildlife populations," they wrote. "The Front is a showcase for how Montanans are working together to care for the land and create a robust economy.".... Governors pass Guinn resolution Gov. Kenny Guinn applauded the decision Tuesday by the Western Governors Association to unanimously pass a resolution to support the sage grouse conservation plan developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service.... Save the Peaks effort draws 200 A crowd of approximately 200 gathered to listen to tribal representatives assert a message that they’ve repeated again and again ever since the first ski lodge was erected on the San Francisco Peaks approximately five decades ago. The message to the Forest Service is clear—the Peaks are sacred and economic interests of a handful of investors cannot outweigh the spiritual and cultural interests of 13 Arizona tribes.... Grand Teton turns 75, still leaving tourists and locals in awe As early as 1897, Col. S.B.M. Young, Yellowstone's acting superintendent, proposed expanding Yellowstone's boundaries south to encompass portions of northern Jackson Hole. The proposal drew little interest from Congress or the Interior Department. Mather and Albright began working with Wyoming's congressional delegation to make that happen. Congressman Frank Mondell offered a bill in 1918, and a year later the House unanimously approved a revised version. However, the bill died in the Senate after Idaho Sen. John Nugent worried that expanding Yellowstone would trump sheep grazing. Sheep ranchers weren't alone in their opposition. Ranchers worried about losing grazing privileges. Forest Service employees feared losing management authority. Dude ranchers opposed improved roads, new hotels and competition from concessioners.... Public Lands meet in Washington D.C. Members of Nevada's Legislative Committee on Public Lands will travel to Washington, D.C., today and Thursday for an information tour. Committee members, led by Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, will discuss public lands issues of importance to Nevada. On the packed agenda are issues like the proposed listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species; fire suppression policies of the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service; mining and grazing regulations; efforts to combat noxious weeds and invasive species; policies on wild horses and burros; and the impacts of proposed federal legislation and rulemaking on Nevada's public lands.... San Carlos considers signing memorandum The San Carlos Apache Reservation is considering joining the new management program for the Blue Range Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program. Arizona Game and Fish Department Nongame Chief Terry Johnson said during a Thursday interview that the reservation is considering joining the Adaptive Management Work Group. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Coordinator John Oakleaf attended the Jan. 28 meeting and gave a confirmed depredation count of 63 since the reintroduction project began. This number was challenged by Laura Schneberger of the New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association who listed 240 depredations. Her count is much larger than Oakleaf's because the numbers are unconfirmed by the field team. The field team must be notified immediately after a potential wolf attack to confirm the death. Ranchers such as Schneberger and Greenlee County's Daisy Mae Cannon said that more time needs to be given to contact the team after a potential depredation.... Editorial: Denver potential loser in South Platte plan But that's not all. The board would kick in $1 million toward an "endowment" to fund improvements along the river; guarantee minimum and maximum stream flows for the protection of trout fishing; accept a permanent ban on new projects in Eleven Mile and Cheesman canyons, and create two organizations to monitor streamflow management and any proposed water projects. Considering Colorado's recent water woes, that's quite a sacrifice. What might the water board be getting in return? A promise from the U.S. Forest Service and certain environmental groups not to ask for "wild and scenic" designation along 72 miles of the river between Eleven Mile Reservoir and Waterton Canyon. Such designation would stop all development there and prevent the water board from creating any more storage. What kind of deal is that, you might reasonably ask.... Rare frog to spawn a lawsuit Conservationists have put the federal government on notice that they plan to sue for not protecting a rare Southwestern frog on the brink of extinction. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) on Monday joined with the Arizona-based conservation group, the Center for Biological Diversity, to file a 60-day notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for not including the relict leopard frog on the threatened and endangered species list.... Real Michigan wolverine spotted for first time in about two centuries A biologist has confirmed the sighting of a real Michigan wolverine, about 200 years after the species was last seen in the state that uses the small but ferocious animal as its unofficial nickname. Coyote hunters spotted a wolverine near Ubly, about 90 miles north of Detroit. Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Arnie Karr saw the forest predator Tuesday and snapped pictures of the animal as it ran out of the woods and across a field.... Farmers and ranchers feel heat for fish kill A Northern California fish kill that went unpunished three years ago has come back to bite the farmers and ranchers who caused it. The listing of coho salmon as an endangered species this month by the Fish and Game Commission means that the same ranchers must now obtain an Incidental Take Permit or be subject to a $10,000 fine for each fish killed. In return for that permit, the Department of Fish and Game can then require any conditions it desires regarding future river diversions and operations on private land to restore the species.... Creeks designated for Santa Ana sucker The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday it has designated more than 21,000 acres of streams in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties as critical environment for a bottom-feeding fish called the Santa Ana sucker. The designation complied with a judge's order last year in a lawsuit brought by environmental groups that say the freshwater sucker's habitat has decreased because of water diversions and development. They say the species is now found in less than a quarter of its historic range.... Rancher: Wolf Agent 'trespassed' A Meeteetse rancher says the federal official in charge of wolves in Wyoming illegally handled four wolves in his calving pasture recently. Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not have permission to be on private land when he was discovered with four tranquilized wolves south of Meeteetse on Feb. 14, rancher Randy Kruger said. Larsen Ranch Co. owners say they may ask Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric to file criminal trespass charges against the Fish and Wildlife Service. A ranch stockholder and employee, Kruger said Wednesday he was driving across a pasture off Gooseberry Creek at 3 p.m. Feb. 14 when he "caught two men hiding in the bushes." They were under a high bank by the road, out of sight. "It seemed quite alarming to me," he added. "I stopped to see what they were up to." They had four wolves laid out, tranquilized. Kruger identified the men as Jimenez and Wes Livingston of Cody.... Plan seeks more park visitors The National Park Service and tourism industry officials yesterday announced a campaign to reverse a decline in visitors to America's 388 designated national sites. Born from a new partnership signed by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIAA), the U.S. Department of Interior's National Park Service (NPS) and the National Park Foundation, the "See America's National Parks" campaign is scheduled to begin this spring.... Wild horse advocates protest BLM thinning Wild horse advocates, convinced too many animals are being removed from Nevada ranges, took their message Wednesday to the state Capitol. Despite persistent rain and cold temperatures, 15 placard-carrying demonstrators rallied along Carson Street for two hours. Their key point: Major herd reductions throughout the state threaten the long-term viability of the state’s wild horses.... Green groups back suit by SUWA A virtual Who's Who of environmental groups — plus 14 state governments — are arguing in briefs that federal environmental law would be completely undermined if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns a Utah case now before it. For example, 14 state attorneys general wrote that would mean the Interior Department's "stewardship responsibility over federal lands, including wilderness study areas, are largely immune from federal (court) scrutiny" — no matter how bad a job it might be doing. At issue is a lawsuit by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance against Interior Secretary Gale Norton contending the Bureau of Land Management is not doing as much as required by law to protect wildernesslike areas in Utah from damage by off-road vehicles. It also says the BLM is not following its own land-use plans.... Northern Cheyenne sue BLM over coalbed methane study The Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe is suing the federal Bureau of Land Management alleging the agency failed consult with it on cultural resources that may be affected by an expansion of a coalbed methane project near Decker. The tribe said BLM violated consulting requirements in the National Historic Preservation Act and failed to give the tribe a chance to comment on the BLM's review prior to the agency.... Bush wants to drill in Otero Mesa; Gov. Richardson thinks not An unusual coalition of New Mexicans has formed over the oil and grass drilling on Otero Mesa in southern New Mexico. The southern New Mexico mesa was until recently known only to hikers, outdoor enthusiasts and ranchers. Ranchers, hunters and environmentalists are trying to stave off the oil and gas companies eager to gain access to pristine lands such as Otero Mesa. Gov. Bill Richardson attended the forum and received a standing ovation from the 700-plus, statewide crowd when he signed executive order 2004-005. The former Department of Energy secretary had strong reasons for believing Otero Mesa should be protected.... BLM, greens win round in route dispute Three rural Utah counties have lost another court battle in their ongoing campaign to control dirt roads on public lands. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell on Tuesday denied all substantive motions by the counties while granting those filed by federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and the Sierra Club. Campbell ruled that Garfield, Kane and San Juan counties do not have so-called RS 2477 rights to 15 of 16 disputed routes on lands administered by the BLM. The judge also found that the counties violated federal law by grading and re-aligning the routes in 1996 without the BLM's consent.... U.S. House OKs local control of Oregon Dunes land A bill transferring about 69 acres of federal land near the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to local control won final Congressional approval Tuesday. The House unanimously approved the measure, which is intended to improve access to the dunes and boost public safety. The bill would transfer land along the Oregon coast south of the Umpqua River, near Winchester Bay, from the federal Bureau of Land Management to Douglas County.... Interior Department won't negotiate over trails The Department of Interior has declined to negotiate with Alaska over recognizing historic trails due to disputes over the legality of an earlier agreement with Utah, but Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski says he doesn't want to wait. Asked if that meant a lawsuit is brewing, Murkowski said "anything's possible." Last year, Murkowski had asked the Interior Department to start negotiating an agreement similar to one the agency had reached with Utah in 2003 concerning historic trails under the federal Revised Statute 2477.... Utah loses a round in battle on N-waste The state lost yet another round in its legal battle to keep high-level nuclear waste out of Utah when a Washington, D.C., federal appeals court ruled Tuesday the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction to license private nuclear waste facilities. Furthermore, the court ruled that even though the Department of Energy would not take over private nuclear storage facilities, nothing in the law or the congressional debates "suggests that Congress intended to prohibit private use of private away-from-reactor facilities." The ruling is one of a litany of setbacks for the state, which has lost on almost every issue it has raised. In this case, the state argued the NRC did not have jurisdiction to license private waste facilities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act — an argument rejected by the D.C. court.... Residents will be asked to conserve water The city of Casper will begin asking residents next month to voluntarily conserve water and may impose mandatory water restrictions in April. The voluntary restrictions and the possible mandatory limits on water usage result from the ongoing drought and a call likely to be made on the North Platte River to fill the Inland Lakes Reservoir in western Nebraska, Casper Public Utilities Manager David Hill said. The Inland Lakes water rights on the North Platte date back to 1904 and are older than any rights held by the Central Wyoming Regional Water System, Hill said.... Farmers sue state over new fees The California Farm Bureau Federation filed suit Wednesday to block the state from collecting $50 million a year in new fees the Legislature imposed on rural landowners as part of last summer's budget agreement. The suit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, argues that the fees constitute a tax increase and therefore require a two-thirds vote approval by the Legislature. Officials at the Farm Bureau also argue there is no connection between the cost of the services provided to the landowners and the fees they are being asked to pay -- as required by state law before a fee can be imposed.... Beef recall secrecy fought State health officials said Tuesday they will continue efforts to change a controversial agreement with the federal government so that the California public could be notified immediately of beef recall details. A memorandum of understanding between the state Department of Health Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture prevents public access to the details of the voluntary beef recall made after the nation's first known case of mad cow disease. "We believe that to do our jobs as effectively as possible we need to be able to tell consumers who may have been exposed to the product where the product went," said Jim Waddell, chief of the DHS food and drug branch.... Facing the Bull: The Most Dangerous Eight Seconds in Sports On May 29, 2003, Mike Lee sat atop Chili, a nearly 1,700-pound (772-kilogram) bull at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's rodeo in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Lee, just 20 years old, was tense, shaking his neck, and taking deep breaths. His left hand clutched the "bull rope" bound behind the beast's front legs. Chili heaved and snorted and tried to maneuver his body in the tight-fitted, gated steel chute. Surrounding Lee in the arena, the crowd roared, awaiting what some sports commentators consider the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.... Winning rodeos job one for Fords It was more than 30 years ago that two brothers from Colorado first appeared on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association tour, featuring a hard-spurring, go-for-broke style of bareback riding that got the attention of rodeo fans everywhere. Bruce and Glen Ford, from Greeley, Colo., set a standard in the event that many bareback riders have copied over the years. Bruce went on to win five world titles and earned 19 trips to the National Finals Rodeo. He was later inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Glen qualified for the 1976 NFR, but failed to win a world championship. Now make way for the next generation of Fords. Royce, Bruce's son, and Heath, Glen's son, are starting to make an impact on the rodeo scene....
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Cattle Battle Continues in New Mexico Kit Laney's family has been ranching in the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico since 1883, but the Laney family lifestyle could all come to an end with the U.S. Forest Service threatening to impound and move Laney's cattle. Eighty-five percent of Laney’s range is considered federal land, and he has so far refused to remove his 300 head of cattle, which the Forest Service says are trespassing. However, based on the fact that his family was ranching on these grounds before the Forest Service even existed, Laney is fighting the 1997 court order that ordered him off his Diamond Bar Ranch, now sitting inside the national forest and protected from use under federal law.... Senators urged to fight energy bill The mayor of Great Falls joined outfitters, ranchers, housewives and about 50 others Wednesday, calling on Montana's senators to reject a proposed federal energy bill. The group, primarily from communities along the Rocky Mountain Front, fired off a letter to the senators, saying the proposed energy bill would sacrifice Montana's wild heritage of ranching, hunting and fishing in the name of corporate profits. "As property owners, hunters, anglers, and conservationists, we respect the Front's working, agricultural heritage and its world-class wildlife populations," they wrote. "The Front is a showcase for how Montanans are working together to care for the land and create a robust economy.".... Governors pass Guinn resolution Gov. Kenny Guinn applauded the decision Tuesday by the Western Governors Association to unanimously pass a resolution to support the sage grouse conservation plan developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service.... Save the Peaks effort draws 200 A crowd of approximately 200 gathered to listen to tribal representatives assert a message that they’ve repeated again and again ever since the first ski lodge was erected on the San Francisco Peaks approximately five decades ago. The message to the Forest Service is clear—the Peaks are sacred and economic interests of a handful of investors cannot outweigh the spiritual and cultural interests of 13 Arizona tribes.... Grand Teton turns 75, still leaving tourists and locals in awe As early as 1897, Col. S.B.M. Young, Yellowstone's acting superintendent, proposed expanding Yellowstone's boundaries south to encompass portions of northern Jackson Hole. The proposal drew little interest from Congress or the Interior Department. Mather and Albright began working with Wyoming's congressional delegation to make that happen. Congressman Frank Mondell offered a bill in 1918, and a year later the House unanimously approved a revised version. However, the bill died in the Senate after Idaho Sen. John Nugent worried that expanding Yellowstone would trump sheep grazing. Sheep ranchers weren't alone in their opposition. Ranchers worried about losing grazing privileges. Forest Service employees feared losing management authority. Dude ranchers opposed improved roads, new hotels and competition from concessioners.... Public Lands meet in Washington D.C. Members of Nevada's Legislative Committee on Public Lands will travel to Washington, D.C., today and Thursday for an information tour. Committee members, led by Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, will discuss public lands issues of importance to Nevada. On the packed agenda are issues like the proposed listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species; fire suppression policies of the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service; mining and grazing regulations; efforts to combat noxious weeds and invasive species; policies on wild horses and burros; and the impacts of proposed federal legislation and rulemaking on Nevada's public lands.... San Carlos considers signing memorandum The San Carlos Apache Reservation is considering joining the new management program for the Blue Range Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program. Arizona Game and Fish Department Nongame Chief Terry Johnson said during a Thursday interview that the reservation is considering joining the Adaptive Management Work Group. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Coordinator John Oakleaf attended the Jan. 28 meeting and gave a confirmed depredation count of 63 since the reintroduction project began. This number was challenged by Laura Schneberger of the New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association who listed 240 depredations. Her count is much larger than Oakleaf's because the numbers are unconfirmed by the field team. The field team must be notified immediately after a potential wolf attack to confirm the death. Ranchers such as Schneberger and Greenlee County's Daisy Mae Cannon said that more time needs to be given to contact the team after a potential depredation.... Editorial: Denver potential loser in South Platte plan But that's not all. The board would kick in $1 million toward an "endowment" to fund improvements along the river; guarantee minimum and maximum stream flows for the protection of trout fishing; accept a permanent ban on new projects in Eleven Mile and Cheesman canyons, and create two organizations to monitor streamflow management and any proposed water projects. Considering Colorado's recent water woes, that's quite a sacrifice. What might the water board be getting in return? A promise from the U.S. Forest Service and certain environmental groups not to ask for "wild and scenic" designation along 72 miles of the river between Eleven Mile Reservoir and Waterton Canyon. Such designation would stop all development there and prevent the water board from creating any more storage. What kind of deal is that, you might reasonably ask.... Rare frog to spawn a lawsuit Conservationists have put the federal government on notice that they plan to sue for not protecting a rare Southwestern frog on the brink of extinction. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) on Monday joined with the Arizona-based conservation group, the Center for Biological Diversity, to file a 60-day notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for not including the relict leopard frog on the threatened and endangered species list.... Real Michigan wolverine spotted for first time in about two centuries A biologist has confirmed the sighting of a real Michigan wolverine, about 200 years after the species was last seen in the state that uses the small but ferocious animal as its unofficial nickname. Coyote hunters spotted a wolverine near Ubly, about 90 miles north of Detroit. Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Arnie Karr saw the forest predator Tuesday and snapped pictures of the animal as it ran out of the woods and across a field.... Farmers and ranchers feel heat for fish kill A Northern California fish kill that went unpunished three years ago has come back to bite the farmers and ranchers who caused it. The listing of coho salmon as an endangered species this month by the Fish and Game Commission means that the same ranchers must now obtain an Incidental Take Permit or be subject to a $10,000 fine for each fish killed. In return for that permit, the Department of Fish and Game can then require any conditions it desires regarding future river diversions and operations on private land to restore the species.... Creeks designated for Santa Ana sucker The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday it has designated more than 21,000 acres of streams in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties as critical environment for a bottom-feeding fish called the Santa Ana sucker. The designation complied with a judge's order last year in a lawsuit brought by environmental groups that say the freshwater sucker's habitat has decreased because of water diversions and development. They say the species is now found in less than a quarter of its historic range.... Rancher: Wolf Agent 'trespassed' A Meeteetse rancher says the federal official in charge of wolves in Wyoming illegally handled four wolves in his calving pasture recently. Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not have permission to be on private land when he was discovered with four tranquilized wolves south of Meeteetse on Feb. 14, rancher Randy Kruger said. Larsen Ranch Co. owners say they may ask Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric to file criminal trespass charges against the Fish and Wildlife Service. A ranch stockholder and employee, Kruger said Wednesday he was driving across a pasture off Gooseberry Creek at 3 p.m. Feb. 14 when he "caught two men hiding in the bushes." They were under a high bank by the road, out of sight. "It seemed quite alarming to me," he added. "I stopped to see what they were up to." They had four wolves laid out, tranquilized. Kruger identified the men as Jimenez and Wes Livingston of Cody.... Plan seeks more park visitors The National Park Service and tourism industry officials yesterday announced a campaign to reverse a decline in visitors to America's 388 designated national sites. Born from a new partnership signed by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIAA), the U.S. Department of Interior's National Park Service (NPS) and the National Park Foundation, the "See America's National Parks" campaign is scheduled to begin this spring.... Wild horse advocates protest BLM thinning Wild horse advocates, convinced too many animals are being removed from Nevada ranges, took their message Wednesday to the state Capitol. Despite persistent rain and cold temperatures, 15 placard-carrying demonstrators rallied along Carson Street for two hours. Their key point: Major herd reductions throughout the state threaten the long-term viability of the state’s wild horses.... Green groups back suit by SUWA A virtual Who's Who of environmental groups — plus 14 state governments — are arguing in briefs that federal environmental law would be completely undermined if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns a Utah case now before it. For example, 14 state attorneys general wrote that would mean the Interior Department's "stewardship responsibility over federal lands, including wilderness study areas, are largely immune from federal (court) scrutiny" — no matter how bad a job it might be doing. At issue is a lawsuit by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance against Interior Secretary Gale Norton contending the Bureau of Land Management is not doing as much as required by law to protect wildernesslike areas in Utah from damage by off-road vehicles. It also says the BLM is not following its own land-use plans.... Northern Cheyenne sue BLM over coalbed methane study The Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe is suing the federal Bureau of Land Management alleging the agency failed consult with it on cultural resources that may be affected by an expansion of a coalbed methane project near Decker. The tribe said BLM violated consulting requirements in the National Historic Preservation Act and failed to give the tribe a chance to comment on the BLM's review prior to the agency.... Bush wants to drill in Otero Mesa; Gov. Richardson thinks not An unusual coalition of New Mexicans has formed over the oil and grass drilling on Otero Mesa in southern New Mexico. The southern New Mexico mesa was until recently known only to hikers, outdoor enthusiasts and ranchers. Ranchers, hunters and environmentalists are trying to stave off the oil and gas companies eager to gain access to pristine lands such as Otero Mesa. Gov. Bill Richardson attended the forum and received a standing ovation from the 700-plus, statewide crowd when he signed executive order 2004-005. The former Department of Energy secretary had strong reasons for believing Otero Mesa should be protected.... BLM, greens win round in route dispute Three rural Utah counties have lost another court battle in their ongoing campaign to control dirt roads on public lands. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell on Tuesday denied all substantive motions by the counties while granting those filed by federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and the Sierra Club. Campbell ruled that Garfield, Kane and San Juan counties do not have so-called RS 2477 rights to 15 of 16 disputed routes on lands administered by the BLM. The judge also found that the counties violated federal law by grading and re-aligning the routes in 1996 without the BLM's consent.... U.S. House OKs local control of Oregon Dunes land A bill transferring about 69 acres of federal land near the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to local control won final Congressional approval Tuesday. The House unanimously approved the measure, which is intended to improve access to the dunes and boost public safety. The bill would transfer land along the Oregon coast south of the Umpqua River, near Winchester Bay, from the federal Bureau of Land Management to Douglas County.... Interior Department won't negotiate over trails The Department of Interior has declined to negotiate with Alaska over recognizing historic trails due to disputes over the legality of an earlier agreement with Utah, but Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski says he doesn't want to wait. Asked if that meant a lawsuit is brewing, Murkowski said "anything's possible." Last year, Murkowski had asked the Interior Department to start negotiating an agreement similar to one the agency had reached with Utah in 2003 concerning historic trails under the federal Revised Statute 2477.... Utah loses a round in battle on N-waste The state lost yet another round in its legal battle to keep high-level nuclear waste out of Utah when a Washington, D.C., federal appeals court ruled Tuesday the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction to license private nuclear waste facilities. Furthermore, the court ruled that even though the Department of Energy would not take over private nuclear storage facilities, nothing in the law or the congressional debates "suggests that Congress intended to prohibit private use of private away-from-reactor facilities." The ruling is one of a litany of setbacks for the state, which has lost on almost every issue it has raised. In this case, the state argued the NRC did not have jurisdiction to license private waste facilities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act — an argument rejected by the D.C. court.... Residents will be asked to conserve water The city of Casper will begin asking residents next month to voluntarily conserve water and may impose mandatory water restrictions in April. The voluntary restrictions and the possible mandatory limits on water usage result from the ongoing drought and a call likely to be made on the North Platte River to fill the Inland Lakes Reservoir in western Nebraska, Casper Public Utilities Manager David Hill said. The Inland Lakes water rights on the North Platte date back to 1904 and are older than any rights held by the Central Wyoming Regional Water System, Hill said.... Farmers sue state over new fees The California Farm Bureau Federation filed suit Wednesday to block the state from collecting $50 million a year in new fees the Legislature imposed on rural landowners as part of last summer's budget agreement. The suit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, argues that the fees constitute a tax increase and therefore require a two-thirds vote approval by the Legislature. Officials at the Farm Bureau also argue there is no connection between the cost of the services provided to the landowners and the fees they are being asked to pay -- as required by state law before a fee can be imposed.... Beef recall secrecy fought State health officials said Tuesday they will continue efforts to change a controversial agreement with the federal government so that the California public could be notified immediately of beef recall details. A memorandum of understanding between the state Department of Health Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture prevents public access to the details of the voluntary beef recall made after the nation's first known case of mad cow disease. "We believe that to do our jobs as effectively as possible we need to be able to tell consumers who may have been exposed to the product where the product went," said Jim Waddell, chief of the DHS food and drug branch.... Facing the Bull: The Most Dangerous Eight Seconds in Sports On May 29, 2003, Mike Lee sat atop Chili, a nearly 1,700-pound (772-kilogram) bull at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's rodeo in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Lee, just 20 years old, was tense, shaking his neck, and taking deep breaths. His left hand clutched the "bull rope" bound behind the beast's front legs. Chili heaved and snorted and tried to maneuver his body in the tight-fitted, gated steel chute. Surrounding Lee in the arena, the crowd roared, awaiting what some sports commentators consider the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.... Winning rodeos job one for Fords It was more than 30 years ago that two brothers from Colorado first appeared on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association tour, featuring a hard-spurring, go-for-broke style of bareback riding that got the attention of rodeo fans everywhere. Bruce and Glen Ford, from Greeley, Colo., set a standard in the event that many bareback riders have copied over the years. Bruce went on to win five world titles and earned 19 trips to the National Finals Rodeo. He was later inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Glen qualified for the 1976 NFR, but failed to win a world championship. Now make way for the next generation of Fords. Royce, Bruce's son, and Heath, Glen's son, are starting to make an impact on the rodeo scene....
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Forest Service Responds to Cattlemen Request for NEPA Reform
Forest Service Handbook Contains New Guidance
A new guidance document released today by the U.S. Forest Service contains a number of significant reforms relating to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Cattlemen have historically requested reforming the NEPA process and urged the agency to dedicate more resources to resource management rather than compliance with process requirements.
“This is great news for public lands ranchers who have struggled with the traditional NEPA process,” says Jeff Eisenberg, Public Lands Council (PLC) executive director and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) director of federal lands.
In a letter sent to USDA Director of Forest and Rangelands Jeanette Kaiser, cattlemen expressed their support for the NEPA reform measures released today as part of Chapter 90 of the Forest Service handbook for the range program.
Some of the key reforms include:
---NEPA compliance is dependent on resource status on allotments rather than to artificial deadlines imposed through regulatory requirements. NEPA for allotments will be renewed when new resource information requires new analysis.
---Allotment management will be dependent on meeting resource goals rather than artificial regulatory requirements. Within limits, permittee/agency disputes about on-and-off dates and cattle numbers will be minimized. Substantive rangeland health will be prioritized.
---NEPA analysis may be performed on more than one allotment when multiple allotments, such as those in a watershed, make a coherent ecological unit.
---The handbook guidance requires Forest Service staff to work with permittees in developing the proposed action for grazing activities. Greater cooperation between permittees and agency staff will strengthen stewardship of the resources.
“Management of the resources at the ground level, rather than compliance with unproductive paperwork procedures will yield better results for the land, and our members who graze cattle on the land,” says Eisenberg. ”For these reasons, we congratulate the agency on issuance of the new handbook guidance and look forward to its adoption by the Forest Service throughout the West.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff .Eisenberg
Dir. Federal Lands, Executive Dir. PLC, Corp Council CATL Fund
jeisenberg@beef.org
Stacey .Katseanes
Manager, Public Lands Council
skatseanes@beef.org
Permalink
Forest Service Handbook Contains New Guidance
A new guidance document released today by the U.S. Forest Service contains a number of significant reforms relating to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Cattlemen have historically requested reforming the NEPA process and urged the agency to dedicate more resources to resource management rather than compliance with process requirements.
“This is great news for public lands ranchers who have struggled with the traditional NEPA process,” says Jeff Eisenberg, Public Lands Council (PLC) executive director and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) director of federal lands.
In a letter sent to USDA Director of Forest and Rangelands Jeanette Kaiser, cattlemen expressed their support for the NEPA reform measures released today as part of Chapter 90 of the Forest Service handbook for the range program.
Some of the key reforms include:
---NEPA compliance is dependent on resource status on allotments rather than to artificial deadlines imposed through regulatory requirements. NEPA for allotments will be renewed when new resource information requires new analysis.
---Allotment management will be dependent on meeting resource goals rather than artificial regulatory requirements. Within limits, permittee/agency disputes about on-and-off dates and cattle numbers will be minimized. Substantive rangeland health will be prioritized.
---NEPA analysis may be performed on more than one allotment when multiple allotments, such as those in a watershed, make a coherent ecological unit.
---The handbook guidance requires Forest Service staff to work with permittees in developing the proposed action for grazing activities. Greater cooperation between permittees and agency staff will strengthen stewardship of the resources.
“Management of the resources at the ground level, rather than compliance with unproductive paperwork procedures will yield better results for the land, and our members who graze cattle on the land,” says Eisenberg. ”For these reasons, we congratulate the agency on issuance of the new handbook guidance and look forward to its adoption by the Forest Service throughout the West.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff .Eisenberg
Dir. Federal Lands, Executive Dir. PLC, Corp Council CATL Fund
jeisenberg@beef.org
Stacey .Katseanes
Manager, Public Lands Council
skatseanes@beef.org
Permalink
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
Rally protests elimination of forest surveys People lined the sidewalk in front of the Bureau of Land Management offices in Roseburg Monday to protest the elimination of a rule that requires land management agencies survey for rare species before logging. "All species are sacred" read one sign. "300 species lost Protection today. Environmental Laws -- Bushwhacked again" read another carried by a few Roseburg High School students.... Activists in Medford, Ore., Stage Mock Funeral to Plea for Biodiversity Monday's funeral procession in downtown Medford featured a small black coffin carried by solemn people dressed in black mourning clothes. But there was no cadaver in the casket carried at the head of a line of nearly 40 environmental activists parading in front of the Rogue River National Forest headquarters. Monday marked the last day of the 30-day comment period for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management's final supplemental environmental impact statement to remove or modify the survey-and-manage requirements for sensitive plant and animal species contained in the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan.... Forest Service captures eleven horses after several tries Eleven wild horses have been captured on the Jarita Mesa Wildhorse Territory. That’s after Carson National Forest officials last month issued a new contract to Mount Taylor Mustangs—giving it 60 days to capture 30 horses. The first roundup in April captured nine horses, and a second in December found none. Officials say the captured mustangs have been moved to a holding pen at the El Rito District Ranger office pending adoption.... Column: Oregon's Coho Salmon Are Partying Tonight - They're Not Going Extinct After All The Ninth District Court of Appeals announced today that it is throwing out the Endangered Species Act "threatened" listing of Oregon coastal coho salmon. There's going to be a lot of crow to eat by State and Federal agency operatives, Oregon editorialists and environmentalists who foisted this ESA travesty on the people of Oregon and on the resource based industries of this state. Right at the top of my crow-eating list is former Governor John Kitzhaber. This governor spent eight years in office pushing the radical environmental salmon agenda. What did he gain for the state? Economic disaster.... Oregon Coast Salmon Listing Invalidated: Ninth Circuit Dismisses Appeal of Landmark Alsea Case---Bogus ESA Protections for “Wild” Salmon Must Go Claiming victory for “good science and common sense,” Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Russ Brooks today hailed a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that effectively invalidates, once again, the listing of the Oregon Coast coho salmon as a “threatened species” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The case is Alsea Valley Alliance v. Evans, the most ground-breaking environmental decision of the last decade. “We are elated with this decision,” said Brooks. “The court dismissed an improper and needless appeal of a good, commonsense decision. By lifting the stay of the district court’s decision, people along the Oregon coast can now resume normal lives as productive citizens, no longer hampered by unnecessary restrictive regulations imposed to protect fish that didn’t need protecting to start with.”.... New Seascape initiative stretches from Costa Rica to Ecuador and protects key marine habitats In one of the most ambitious marine conservation initiatives in the western hemisphere, four Latin American nations, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation), Conservation International (CI) and others are consolidating a marine protected area that stretches from Costa Rica to Ecuador and helps safeguard some of the world's richest marine habitats and dozens of endangered species. The project, known as the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape, covers 211 million hectares (521 million acres) and extends from Costa Rica's Cocos Island National Park to Ecuador's Galapagos Island National Park and Marine Reserve. Along the way, the Seascape helps link marine protected areas in Panama and Colombia, safeguards an important migratory route for the Endangered blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and protects one of the last remaining nesting grounds in the Eastern Pacific of the Critically Endangered leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea).... Western Governors Agree to Work on Western Presidential Caucus for 2008 Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, chairman of the Western Governors' Association, and his colleagues agreed today to work toward establishing a single date for interested Western states to hold caucuses early in the 2008 Presidential primary season. He said a key purpose would be to focus national attention on Western issues, including: water, environment, energy, agriculture, wildland fire and border Mexican states and Canadian provinces.... Officials evaluate economic impacts of federal decisions What's the economic impact of opening up areas in Moffat County for oil and gas development or the value of tourists visiting the area to spot endangered species? These are some of the questions residents asked of an economic study offered through Colorado State University. At a County Commission workshop Monday, about 15 participants, including local government officials, citizens and business owners agreed to pursue five scenarios on how policy changes could potentially alter local economics.... Wyoming House backs away from wolf lawsuit, for now Wyoming lawmakers tentatively backed away from a possible lawsuit against the federal government over the state's wolf-management plan. But a proposed change adopted Tuesday by the state House could further delay efforts to remove the predators from the Endangered Species List. The quandary is: Should lawmakers hold fast to a management plan that was rejected and take its case to the courts - or should they fix the weaknesses in the state plan and begin the review process all over again? "We're faced with almost having to start over again one year later or having to file a lawsuit to enforce something we don't like," said Rep. Colin Simpson, R-Cody. Simpson successfully offered an amendment to a bill that would allow regulated hunting if 15 packs are established statewide, regardless of whether they are inside or outside Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.... Groups seeks protection for prairie dogs A New Mexico group has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to place the Gunnison's prairie dog on the Endangered Species Act list. Although the species, which is native to northern New Mexico, numbers as many as 2 million, that's down 90 percent, a spokeswoman for the group, Forest Guardians, said Monday. All four of the other species of prairie dog -- including the black-tail prairie dog found in other parts of New Mexico and many other states -- have either already been granted protection or organizations are in the process of petitioning for it, the spokeswoman said.... Valley elderberry longhorn beetle slows down project Although a big majority of Americans say they value the protection given wildlife by the federal Endangered Species Act, and don't want it weakened, Porterville could serve as a poster child for the minority view. Porterville and Porterville Unified School District are in a joint community-center and library project set for Orange Avenue. Porterville is home to elderberry shrubs. Elderberry shrubs are the sole habitat for the threatened valley elderberry longhorn beetle. In getting permission to pull out a handful of elderberry shrubs to make way for a community-center project, the city saw staff members put in hours over a period of years, spent thousands of dollars and committed to spending thousands more.... Scuttled ship in Lake Tahoe listed as historic site The century-old SS Tahoe has joined the ranks of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor and the USS Monitor in North Carolina. They're all underwater national historic sites. The SS Tahoe is Nevada's first. The steamer lying 400 feet below the surface of Lake Tahoe won the designation from the National Park Service last week. Launched in 1896, the SS Tahoe steamed thousands of circles around Lake Tahoe, carrying freight, mail and sightseers. The 169-foot "Queen of the Lake" carried up to 100 passengers. It was tied to a dock after losing its mail contract in 1934, and in 1940 was deliberately scuttled off the Glenbrook shoreline.... Column: What kind of "Heritage" are we leaving our heritage? The Mississippi River Delta Heritage Project is a project operating in the states of Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana taking in 240 counties. Most of these counties don’t even know they are included....yet. Rarely do we read the small print of a government program. The grant money is offered and we act as though we have won the lottery and go wild spending on our excessive pet projects with our "free money." Once again I have to say there is no such thing as a free lunch - or grant.... Column: Park snowmobiles, Bring ‘em on Bring ‘em on. Bring on the snowmobiles, because without them in Yellowstone National Park in the winter, you’ve sealed the place off. You’ve largely kept the American public outside this wonderland, and you’ve done something else, as well: You’ve done heavy damage to the economy of a community named West Yellowstone. Hardly any of the commentators I’ve encountered on the issue seem to care about West Yellowstone. After all, it’s not the commentators’ livelihoods being wrecked.... Editorial: Conflict whipsaws Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park just can't catch a break. Seems if it wasn't for bad news, there'd be no news at all from the home of Old Faithful. First we've got the dueling federal judges and dizzying back-and-forth of lawsuits surrounding the use of snowmobiles in the park. They'd be almost laughable, if they weren't damaging the economy of West Yellowstone in the process. On top of that, we've now got brucellosis-carrying bison ignoring park borders and heading to the slaughterhouse. It's just the kind of news Easterners need to drive home the notion that Westerners are borderline barbaric.... Environmentalists decry Nader's 'spoiler' candidacy To the Bush campaign, newly announced independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is a slow, dark horse in the race for the White House. But to environmentalists, who generally back Democrats for president, Nader is unsafe at any speed. Regarded by Democrats as a spoiler in the 2000 race, Nader's candidacy is considered more troubling this time around because environmentalists consider President Bush a greater threat to the nation's air, land and water than they imagined possible four years ago.... Bush touts $26 million in private conservation grants President Bush is touting a $26 million grant program aimed at helping private landowners protect habitat for at-risk species, although some wildlife groups fear it comes at the expense of endangered species recovery. Interior Secretary Gale Norton briefed the president on the Landowner Incentive Program on Tuesday, a day before she is scheduled to announce the $25.8 million in grants to wildlife programs in 40 states and one territory. Norton said it is a "critically important" part of the administration's effort on threatened species.... Lewis and Clark site to become national park The site where the Lewis and Clark reached the end of their journey West and first spied the Pacific Ocean would become part of the National Park system under legislation the Bush administration proposed Monday. The site near the mouth of the Columbia River, known as Station Camp, along with two other spots along the Columbia in Washington state would become part of a new Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.... Lewis & Clark Trail project grows to 20 state ranches Shortly after Philadelphia native Tom Daubert began writing historical panels for the Montana Livestock Association and its program Undaunted Stewardship, he became something of an expert on early Montana history. Since its creation a little more than two years ago, Undaunted Stewardship has grown to include 20 Montana ranches, eight of which contain historic landmarks along the Lewis and Clark Trail. The program strives to protect the environment, preserve historic sites, and keep Montana ranchland in production.... Big wildfire season predicted for drought-plagued states Drought, warm temperatures and damaged vegetation have fire experts predicting a long and destructive fire season throughout much of the interior West this year. But the national outlook is better, with the National Interagency Fire Center expecting near or below average fire seasons in Eastern states, the South and Alaska. The amount of vegetation damaged by drought and insects has been rising in the West, increasing the risk of wildfires. Nationally, more than 63,000 fires burned 3.9 million acres of land in 2003, compared to 4.45 million acres burned in an average year.... White House slows spending on energy Senior Republican Interior Department officials tried unsuccessfully to stop the White House from slowing spending for development of oil and gas on federal lands in the West. The White House moved to tighten a spigot that has poured more than $30 million into energy development - most of it in the West - during the last three years. The Bush administration offered a fiscal year 2005 budget at the beginning of February that includes a proposal to reduce the oil and gas portion of the Bureau of Land Management's budget from $88.2 million in fiscal year 2004 to $85.6 million in fiscal year 2005. It also includes a proposal to impose $3 million in user fees on energy companies that drill on BLM lands. Although Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton has defended the budget proposal since its release, Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke sharply criticized a White House plan to cut her agency's budget in a memorandum Dec. 1. Rebecca W. Watson, the department's assistant secretary for land and minerals management, also signed the memorandum.... Loggers head to Eugene for annual convention Loggers gathering for their 66th annual convention in Eugene this week said things are finally looking up for their industry after a prolonged downturn. "It has become painfully obvious that timber harvest is a necessary component of Oregon's economic health," wrote Oregon Logging Conference president Ed Hanscom, in a welcome message to conference attendees. "And with the passage of President Bush's Healthy Forest Initiative, there is a light at the end of the tunnel." Bush's initiative would allowing thinning projects on 20 million acres of federal land. Conservationists have countered that it poses threats to wildlife habitat and old growth forests.... Environmental group wants Scalia's recusal An environmental group suing Vice President Dick Cheney in U.S. Supreme Court case has asked Justice Antonin Scalia to recuse himself, citing reports that the two recently dined and hunted together. The Sierra Club filed the request two months before oral arguments are scheduled on whether executive privilege applies in a case where the vice president wants to keep information from a task force confidential. Scalia denies doing anything improper in socializing with Cheney. It is unclear whether Chief Justice William Rehnquist or the other justices have the power to force Scalia from the case.... Editorial: Again, an Assault on Alaska If at first you don't succeed in despoiling an environmental treasure, try, try again. That's apparently the White House motto for drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate should stop President Bush again, as it has for two years now. The Bush administration has been no friend to the Alaskan environment in recent months. In December, the Forest Service announced it would strip protections from the Tongass National Forest, allowing loggers to build roads to choice stands of old-growth trees. In January, the president's budget brought back his twice-defeated proposal to sell oil leases in the wildlife refuge, and Interior Secretary Gale Norton approved a plan to open millions of acres of the North Slope to drilling and loosen requirements for environmental safeguards.... EPA to Rework Rules On Incinerator Emissions The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington rejected federal rules governing incinerator emissions as inadequate yesterday, forcing the Environmental Protection Agency to rewrite the regulations. A troika of environmental groups had challenged the rules, established in 2000, arguing that they were not preventing dangerous toxins from being released into the air across the country. An industry organization had also sued, arguing that the rules treated similar companies inconsistently.... Pueblo going with flow For the first time in decades, Pueblo will cooperate with, rather than fight, Colorado Springs - to develop a $900 million pipeline from the Arkansas River up to El Paso County. In exchange, Colorado Springs will give up some of its water rights and provide other incentives to help Pueblo maintain river flows through the city - flows that will help keep its historic river walk vital and its proposed kayak course afloat.... Lander may have to pay for water The city of Lander will have to start paying for water it uses from the Worthen Meadows Reservoir, a U.S. Forest Service official said. Lander gets much of its water supply from the reservoir, which is located in the Shoshone National Forest southwest of the city. Forest Supervisor Rebecca Aus informed the city in a letter that Lander will have to start paying a $10,000 a year fee for use of the water, beginning in July.... Wyo cattle require tests For Wyoming ranchers, the other shoe has fallen. Wyoming is a Class A state for brucellosis, with all of the increased testing requirements that that implies. Long anticipated, the loss of the state's Class Free brucellosis status was made official Friday when the change was published in the Federal Register. It was made retroactive to Feb. 13. Loss of Class Free status could cost Wyoming's 6,200 rancher operations $1.5 million in new testing costs, Jim Magagna, executive director of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, estimated recently.... Farmers Win Challenge of 'Got Milk' Campaign The "Got Milk?" dairy promotion program known for putting milk mustaches on celebrities violates the First Amendment by forcing all farmers to pay for the ads, even if they disagree with them, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The unanimous 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturns a lower court's ruling that Tioga County dairy farmers Joseph and Brenda Cochran could be forced to contribute money to the campaign, even though they felt its catchy slogans did little to support sustainable agriculture products.... Budget woes threatening to squash handy bugs Colorado's budget crunch is even hitting bugs where it hurts. The Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado legislature is considering a recommendation that funding be cut for the Palisade Insectary, a unique Colorado Department of Agriculture facility that has been raising good bugs to thwart insect and weed infestations for 59 years. The impending cut does not sit well with the farmers, ranchers and landowners who have been using the insectary's bugs in lieu of costlier spraying with pesticides that, in some cases, yield inferior results.... Home on the Rangeview Or How Green Was My Valley University of Arizona researchers have created a Web site that allow users to compare greenness from one year to the next, between years, against a 14-year average and at two-week intervals. The information is invaluable for making long-term land management decisions. Ranchers, forest rangers and other natural resource managers work directly on the land nearly every day to observe changes and decide how to handle them, whether grazing cattle, monitoring wildlife or assessing fire danger. In combination with this site-specific approach, a University of Arizona satellite image database called RangeView offers these managers a bird's-eye view of broader terrain.... Skidboot & Co. Skidboot, billed as "the amazing dog," amazed members of the Collin County Bar Association's Alternative Dispute Section Friday afternoon at the Holiday Inn in McKinney. About 25 McKinney area attorneys attended the seminar, which had the theme, "Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks." However, David Hartwig says he did not train Skidboot and that Skidboot does not do tricks. Skidboot obeys full-sentence commands. Hartwig said trainers have told him that dogs can only obey one-word commands, but Skidboot has proved them wrong. Hartwig, 48, was an obscure Quinlan cowboy until Skidboot came into his life.... Champions win all in 80 seconds In a sport dominated by time, the seven champions at the 2004 Stock Show & Rodeo wasted little of it Sunday afternoon. Combined, the short-go winners used just 80 seconds to ride away with more than $35,000 in prize money.... LUCKY SOUTH DAKOTA COUPLE FINDS THEMSELVES ARRESTED AND IN HANDCUFFS The "old" west may be long gone, but vigilantes still roam on I-10. Deanne Donnelly reports. Imagine being from out of state, minding your own business on interstate-10 only to get pulled over by Pima County Sheriff's Deputies not for breaking the law, but for something special. That's exactly what happened to retired couple Nadine and Dale Larson from South Dakota.
Its part of a Tucson tradition called Welcome Travelers. It goes back 45 years. The Tucson Junior Chamber of Commerce Vigilantes started it. Now they help the Western Music Association Home Ranch Hands to keep it going. Every year during Rodeo week, a couple is "arrested" and handcuffed. It took Deputy Nicole Feldt a minute to convince the lucky Larsons to say "yes". The Larsons are in for a week of old western Rodeo fun, Tucson style. But first, they head over to the Triple "T" truck stop in the back of a deputy's car....
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Rally protests elimination of forest surveys People lined the sidewalk in front of the Bureau of Land Management offices in Roseburg Monday to protest the elimination of a rule that requires land management agencies survey for rare species before logging. "All species are sacred" read one sign. "300 species lost Protection today. Environmental Laws -- Bushwhacked again" read another carried by a few Roseburg High School students.... Activists in Medford, Ore., Stage Mock Funeral to Plea for Biodiversity Monday's funeral procession in downtown Medford featured a small black coffin carried by solemn people dressed in black mourning clothes. But there was no cadaver in the casket carried at the head of a line of nearly 40 environmental activists parading in front of the Rogue River National Forest headquarters. Monday marked the last day of the 30-day comment period for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management's final supplemental environmental impact statement to remove or modify the survey-and-manage requirements for sensitive plant and animal species contained in the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan.... Forest Service captures eleven horses after several tries Eleven wild horses have been captured on the Jarita Mesa Wildhorse Territory. That’s after Carson National Forest officials last month issued a new contract to Mount Taylor Mustangs—giving it 60 days to capture 30 horses. The first roundup in April captured nine horses, and a second in December found none. Officials say the captured mustangs have been moved to a holding pen at the El Rito District Ranger office pending adoption.... Column: Oregon's Coho Salmon Are Partying Tonight - They're Not Going Extinct After All The Ninth District Court of Appeals announced today that it is throwing out the Endangered Species Act "threatened" listing of Oregon coastal coho salmon. There's going to be a lot of crow to eat by State and Federal agency operatives, Oregon editorialists and environmentalists who foisted this ESA travesty on the people of Oregon and on the resource based industries of this state. Right at the top of my crow-eating list is former Governor John Kitzhaber. This governor spent eight years in office pushing the radical environmental salmon agenda. What did he gain for the state? Economic disaster.... Oregon Coast Salmon Listing Invalidated: Ninth Circuit Dismisses Appeal of Landmark Alsea Case---Bogus ESA Protections for “Wild” Salmon Must Go Claiming victory for “good science and common sense,” Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Russ Brooks today hailed a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that effectively invalidates, once again, the listing of the Oregon Coast coho salmon as a “threatened species” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The case is Alsea Valley Alliance v. Evans, the most ground-breaking environmental decision of the last decade. “We are elated with this decision,” said Brooks. “The court dismissed an improper and needless appeal of a good, commonsense decision. By lifting the stay of the district court’s decision, people along the Oregon coast can now resume normal lives as productive citizens, no longer hampered by unnecessary restrictive regulations imposed to protect fish that didn’t need protecting to start with.”.... New Seascape initiative stretches from Costa Rica to Ecuador and protects key marine habitats In one of the most ambitious marine conservation initiatives in the western hemisphere, four Latin American nations, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation), Conservation International (CI) and others are consolidating a marine protected area that stretches from Costa Rica to Ecuador and helps safeguard some of the world's richest marine habitats and dozens of endangered species. The project, known as the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape, covers 211 million hectares (521 million acres) and extends from Costa Rica's Cocos Island National Park to Ecuador's Galapagos Island National Park and Marine Reserve. Along the way, the Seascape helps link marine protected areas in Panama and Colombia, safeguards an important migratory route for the Endangered blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and protects one of the last remaining nesting grounds in the Eastern Pacific of the Critically Endangered leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea).... Western Governors Agree to Work on Western Presidential Caucus for 2008 Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, chairman of the Western Governors' Association, and his colleagues agreed today to work toward establishing a single date for interested Western states to hold caucuses early in the 2008 Presidential primary season. He said a key purpose would be to focus national attention on Western issues, including: water, environment, energy, agriculture, wildland fire and border Mexican states and Canadian provinces.... Officials evaluate economic impacts of federal decisions What's the economic impact of opening up areas in Moffat County for oil and gas development or the value of tourists visiting the area to spot endangered species? These are some of the questions residents asked of an economic study offered through Colorado State University. At a County Commission workshop Monday, about 15 participants, including local government officials, citizens and business owners agreed to pursue five scenarios on how policy changes could potentially alter local economics.... Wyoming House backs away from wolf lawsuit, for now Wyoming lawmakers tentatively backed away from a possible lawsuit against the federal government over the state's wolf-management plan. But a proposed change adopted Tuesday by the state House could further delay efforts to remove the predators from the Endangered Species List. The quandary is: Should lawmakers hold fast to a management plan that was rejected and take its case to the courts - or should they fix the weaknesses in the state plan and begin the review process all over again? "We're faced with almost having to start over again one year later or having to file a lawsuit to enforce something we don't like," said Rep. Colin Simpson, R-Cody. Simpson successfully offered an amendment to a bill that would allow regulated hunting if 15 packs are established statewide, regardless of whether they are inside or outside Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.... Groups seeks protection for prairie dogs A New Mexico group has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to place the Gunnison's prairie dog on the Endangered Species Act list. Although the species, which is native to northern New Mexico, numbers as many as 2 million, that's down 90 percent, a spokeswoman for the group, Forest Guardians, said Monday. All four of the other species of prairie dog -- including the black-tail prairie dog found in other parts of New Mexico and many other states -- have either already been granted protection or organizations are in the process of petitioning for it, the spokeswoman said.... Valley elderberry longhorn beetle slows down project Although a big majority of Americans say they value the protection given wildlife by the federal Endangered Species Act, and don't want it weakened, Porterville could serve as a poster child for the minority view. Porterville and Porterville Unified School District are in a joint community-center and library project set for Orange Avenue. Porterville is home to elderberry shrubs. Elderberry shrubs are the sole habitat for the threatened valley elderberry longhorn beetle. In getting permission to pull out a handful of elderberry shrubs to make way for a community-center project, the city saw staff members put in hours over a period of years, spent thousands of dollars and committed to spending thousands more.... Scuttled ship in Lake Tahoe listed as historic site The century-old SS Tahoe has joined the ranks of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor and the USS Monitor in North Carolina. They're all underwater national historic sites. The SS Tahoe is Nevada's first. The steamer lying 400 feet below the surface of Lake Tahoe won the designation from the National Park Service last week. Launched in 1896, the SS Tahoe steamed thousands of circles around Lake Tahoe, carrying freight, mail and sightseers. The 169-foot "Queen of the Lake" carried up to 100 passengers. It was tied to a dock after losing its mail contract in 1934, and in 1940 was deliberately scuttled off the Glenbrook shoreline.... Column: What kind of "Heritage" are we leaving our heritage? The Mississippi River Delta Heritage Project is a project operating in the states of Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana taking in 240 counties. Most of these counties don’t even know they are included....yet. Rarely do we read the small print of a government program. The grant money is offered and we act as though we have won the lottery and go wild spending on our excessive pet projects with our "free money." Once again I have to say there is no such thing as a free lunch - or grant.... Column: Park snowmobiles, Bring ‘em on Bring ‘em on. Bring on the snowmobiles, because without them in Yellowstone National Park in the winter, you’ve sealed the place off. You’ve largely kept the American public outside this wonderland, and you’ve done something else, as well: You’ve done heavy damage to the economy of a community named West Yellowstone. Hardly any of the commentators I’ve encountered on the issue seem to care about West Yellowstone. After all, it’s not the commentators’ livelihoods being wrecked.... Editorial: Conflict whipsaws Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park just can't catch a break. Seems if it wasn't for bad news, there'd be no news at all from the home of Old Faithful. First we've got the dueling federal judges and dizzying back-and-forth of lawsuits surrounding the use of snowmobiles in the park. They'd be almost laughable, if they weren't damaging the economy of West Yellowstone in the process. On top of that, we've now got brucellosis-carrying bison ignoring park borders and heading to the slaughterhouse. It's just the kind of news Easterners need to drive home the notion that Westerners are borderline barbaric.... Environmentalists decry Nader's 'spoiler' candidacy To the Bush campaign, newly announced independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is a slow, dark horse in the race for the White House. But to environmentalists, who generally back Democrats for president, Nader is unsafe at any speed. Regarded by Democrats as a spoiler in the 2000 race, Nader's candidacy is considered more troubling this time around because environmentalists consider President Bush a greater threat to the nation's air, land and water than they imagined possible four years ago.... Bush touts $26 million in private conservation grants President Bush is touting a $26 million grant program aimed at helping private landowners protect habitat for at-risk species, although some wildlife groups fear it comes at the expense of endangered species recovery. Interior Secretary Gale Norton briefed the president on the Landowner Incentive Program on Tuesday, a day before she is scheduled to announce the $25.8 million in grants to wildlife programs in 40 states and one territory. Norton said it is a "critically important" part of the administration's effort on threatened species.... Lewis and Clark site to become national park The site where the Lewis and Clark reached the end of their journey West and first spied the Pacific Ocean would become part of the National Park system under legislation the Bush administration proposed Monday. The site near the mouth of the Columbia River, known as Station Camp, along with two other spots along the Columbia in Washington state would become part of a new Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.... Lewis & Clark Trail project grows to 20 state ranches Shortly after Philadelphia native Tom Daubert began writing historical panels for the Montana Livestock Association and its program Undaunted Stewardship, he became something of an expert on early Montana history. Since its creation a little more than two years ago, Undaunted Stewardship has grown to include 20 Montana ranches, eight of which contain historic landmarks along the Lewis and Clark Trail. The program strives to protect the environment, preserve historic sites, and keep Montana ranchland in production.... Big wildfire season predicted for drought-plagued states Drought, warm temperatures and damaged vegetation have fire experts predicting a long and destructive fire season throughout much of the interior West this year. But the national outlook is better, with the National Interagency Fire Center expecting near or below average fire seasons in Eastern states, the South and Alaska. The amount of vegetation damaged by drought and insects has been rising in the West, increasing the risk of wildfires. Nationally, more than 63,000 fires burned 3.9 million acres of land in 2003, compared to 4.45 million acres burned in an average year.... White House slows spending on energy Senior Republican Interior Department officials tried unsuccessfully to stop the White House from slowing spending for development of oil and gas on federal lands in the West. The White House moved to tighten a spigot that has poured more than $30 million into energy development - most of it in the West - during the last three years. The Bush administration offered a fiscal year 2005 budget at the beginning of February that includes a proposal to reduce the oil and gas portion of the Bureau of Land Management's budget from $88.2 million in fiscal year 2004 to $85.6 million in fiscal year 2005. It also includes a proposal to impose $3 million in user fees on energy companies that drill on BLM lands. Although Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton has defended the budget proposal since its release, Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke sharply criticized a White House plan to cut her agency's budget in a memorandum Dec. 1. Rebecca W. Watson, the department's assistant secretary for land and minerals management, also signed the memorandum.... Loggers head to Eugene for annual convention Loggers gathering for their 66th annual convention in Eugene this week said things are finally looking up for their industry after a prolonged downturn. "It has become painfully obvious that timber harvest is a necessary component of Oregon's economic health," wrote Oregon Logging Conference president Ed Hanscom, in a welcome message to conference attendees. "And with the passage of President Bush's Healthy Forest Initiative, there is a light at the end of the tunnel." Bush's initiative would allowing thinning projects on 20 million acres of federal land. Conservationists have countered that it poses threats to wildlife habitat and old growth forests.... Environmental group wants Scalia's recusal An environmental group suing Vice President Dick Cheney in U.S. Supreme Court case has asked Justice Antonin Scalia to recuse himself, citing reports that the two recently dined and hunted together. The Sierra Club filed the request two months before oral arguments are scheduled on whether executive privilege applies in a case where the vice president wants to keep information from a task force confidential. Scalia denies doing anything improper in socializing with Cheney. It is unclear whether Chief Justice William Rehnquist or the other justices have the power to force Scalia from the case.... Editorial: Again, an Assault on Alaska If at first you don't succeed in despoiling an environmental treasure, try, try again. That's apparently the White House motto for drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate should stop President Bush again, as it has for two years now. The Bush administration has been no friend to the Alaskan environment in recent months. In December, the Forest Service announced it would strip protections from the Tongass National Forest, allowing loggers to build roads to choice stands of old-growth trees. In January, the president's budget brought back his twice-defeated proposal to sell oil leases in the wildlife refuge, and Interior Secretary Gale Norton approved a plan to open millions of acres of the North Slope to drilling and loosen requirements for environmental safeguards.... EPA to Rework Rules On Incinerator Emissions The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington rejected federal rules governing incinerator emissions as inadequate yesterday, forcing the Environmental Protection Agency to rewrite the regulations. A troika of environmental groups had challenged the rules, established in 2000, arguing that they were not preventing dangerous toxins from being released into the air across the country. An industry organization had also sued, arguing that the rules treated similar companies inconsistently.... Pueblo going with flow For the first time in decades, Pueblo will cooperate with, rather than fight, Colorado Springs - to develop a $900 million pipeline from the Arkansas River up to El Paso County. In exchange, Colorado Springs will give up some of its water rights and provide other incentives to help Pueblo maintain river flows through the city - flows that will help keep its historic river walk vital and its proposed kayak course afloat.... Lander may have to pay for water The city of Lander will have to start paying for water it uses from the Worthen Meadows Reservoir, a U.S. Forest Service official said. Lander gets much of its water supply from the reservoir, which is located in the Shoshone National Forest southwest of the city. Forest Supervisor Rebecca Aus informed the city in a letter that Lander will have to start paying a $10,000 a year fee for use of the water, beginning in July.... Wyo cattle require tests For Wyoming ranchers, the other shoe has fallen. Wyoming is a Class A state for brucellosis, with all of the increased testing requirements that that implies. Long anticipated, the loss of the state's Class Free brucellosis status was made official Friday when the change was published in the Federal Register. It was made retroactive to Feb. 13. Loss of Class Free status could cost Wyoming's 6,200 rancher operations $1.5 million in new testing costs, Jim Magagna, executive director of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, estimated recently.... Farmers Win Challenge of 'Got Milk' Campaign The "Got Milk?" dairy promotion program known for putting milk mustaches on celebrities violates the First Amendment by forcing all farmers to pay for the ads, even if they disagree with them, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The unanimous 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturns a lower court's ruling that Tioga County dairy farmers Joseph and Brenda Cochran could be forced to contribute money to the campaign, even though they felt its catchy slogans did little to support sustainable agriculture products.... Budget woes threatening to squash handy bugs Colorado's budget crunch is even hitting bugs where it hurts. The Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado legislature is considering a recommendation that funding be cut for the Palisade Insectary, a unique Colorado Department of Agriculture facility that has been raising good bugs to thwart insect and weed infestations for 59 years. The impending cut does not sit well with the farmers, ranchers and landowners who have been using the insectary's bugs in lieu of costlier spraying with pesticides that, in some cases, yield inferior results.... Home on the Rangeview Or How Green Was My Valley University of Arizona researchers have created a Web site that allow users to compare greenness from one year to the next, between years, against a 14-year average and at two-week intervals. The information is invaluable for making long-term land management decisions. Ranchers, forest rangers and other natural resource managers work directly on the land nearly every day to observe changes and decide how to handle them, whether grazing cattle, monitoring wildlife or assessing fire danger. In combination with this site-specific approach, a University of Arizona satellite image database called RangeView offers these managers a bird's-eye view of broader terrain.... Skidboot & Co. Skidboot, billed as "the amazing dog," amazed members of the Collin County Bar Association's Alternative Dispute Section Friday afternoon at the Holiday Inn in McKinney. About 25 McKinney area attorneys attended the seminar, which had the theme, "Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks." However, David Hartwig says he did not train Skidboot and that Skidboot does not do tricks. Skidboot obeys full-sentence commands. Hartwig said trainers have told him that dogs can only obey one-word commands, but Skidboot has proved them wrong. Hartwig, 48, was an obscure Quinlan cowboy until Skidboot came into his life.... Champions win all in 80 seconds In a sport dominated by time, the seven champions at the 2004 Stock Show & Rodeo wasted little of it Sunday afternoon. Combined, the short-go winners used just 80 seconds to ride away with more than $35,000 in prize money.... LUCKY SOUTH DAKOTA COUPLE FINDS THEMSELVES ARRESTED AND IN HANDCUFFS The "old" west may be long gone, but vigilantes still roam on I-10. Deanne Donnelly reports. Imagine being from out of state, minding your own business on interstate-10 only to get pulled over by Pima County Sheriff's Deputies not for breaking the law, but for something special. That's exactly what happened to retired couple Nadine and Dale Larson from South Dakota.
Its part of a Tucson tradition called Welcome Travelers. It goes back 45 years. The Tucson Junior Chamber of Commerce Vigilantes started it. Now they help the Western Music Association Home Ranch Hands to keep it going. Every year during Rodeo week, a couple is "arrested" and handcuffed. It took Deputy Nicole Feldt a minute to convince the lucky Larsons to say "yes". The Larsons are in for a week of old western Rodeo fun, Tucson style. But first, they head over to the Triple "T" truck stop in the back of a deputy's car....
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NEWS ROUNDUP
Cowhands balk at rounding up cattle for Forest Service Several cowhands have balked at rounding up a beleaguered rancher’s cattle from areas of the Gila National Forest, and the U.S. Forest Service is trying to line up a new group to move the herd. The unidentified drovers were approached by Forest Service officials who told them the roundup from Diamond Bar Ranch allotments is legal. However, Diamond Bar ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney say the legality remains in dispute. Courts have ruled against the Laneys, ordering the removal of their cattle. The Forest Service, which has estimated more than 400 cattle are grazing without permits, expects to begin the roundup as soon as it can line up a new contractor to remove the herd. That’s according to Gila Forest range management officer Steve Libby. Laney, reached last night, says nobody from his side will interfere with the roundup—but they’ll document with video and film—and plan to initiate charges against those responsible.... 10 Yellowstone bison sent to slaughter The Park Service corralled 33 bison inside Yellowstone National Park on Saturday, readying them for possible slaughter less than a week after 10 bison were trapped outside the west boundary and killed. The operations are part of an ongoing battle to protect cattle outside the park from brucellosis, a disease to which bison have been exposed. Bison migrating out of the park are rounded up and shipped to slaughterhouses, operations contested by activists with Buffalo Field Campaign.... Column: Invasion of the Kennewick Men After almost eight years of labyrinthine litigation the case of Kennewick Man has ended with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and archaeological science is the winner -- for now. In a February 4 decision, the Ninth upheld the district court ruling stating that since no relationship could be established between modern American Indians and Kennewick Man -- physically, contextually, or otherwise -- he is not a Native American as defined under NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, thus NAGPRA isn't applicable. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) therefore applies and the bones can once again be studied by anthropologists. The tribes, who argue that any and all pre-Columbian remains are Native American regardless if the individual's tribe or culture still exists in modern times, are sure to appeal. Kennewick Man is the mostly complete skeleton found in 1996 in Kennewick, Washington, by two college students wading up the Columbia River to watch a series of hydroplane races. Analysis of his size -- he stood about 5 ft. 10 in. in life -- build, skull shape, and other characteristics differentiated him from known Native American populations.... Eureka opposes land sales Eureka County Commissioners are sending a letter to U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., opposing federal land acquisitions in rural northern Nevada under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. The commissioners voted Friday to send the letter stating that the board "feels strongly that federal land acquisitions in northern Nevada counties, specifically Eureka County, will have a profoundly negative affect on our rural communities.... Property Rights Scorecard Released The League of Private Property Voters (LPPV) today released it's Fifteenth Annual Congressional Vote Index, rating all members based on votes cast in 2003 and naming Champions and Enemies. 35 Champions of Property Rights and 35 Enemies of Property Rights were named in the Senate, and 192 Champions and 165 Enemies were cited in the House. The entire Vote Index can be downloaded at http://www.landrights.org/2003VI1.PDF.... Plan would put forest land under BLM rules A state-sponsored proposal suggests consolidated management of 1.3 million acres of federal forest and range lands in Cassia and Twin Falls counties under the Bureau of Land Management. A public meeting will be held Friday night at the Farm Bureau office in Twin Falls to discuss the plan. Approval would require consent from the BLM, the U.S. Forest Service and Congress. Federal legislation would be needed to shift Sawtooth National Forest lands in the two counties under the BLM's land and resource management rules -- to the extent possible. "You've got intermingled lands administered by the Forest Service and BLM. It seems clear there are ways to be more efficient," said Bob Maynard, an attorney with the law firm Perkins Coie working as a state consultant.... BLM resumes wild horse roundup The Bureau of Land Management has resumed a roundup of wild horses in a remote area 75 miles east of Fallon. Agency officials plan to remove about 100 more of the animals from the Desatoya Herd Management Area, saying current numbers are more than the land can support. The roundup netted about 200 wild horses before it was suspended last July. The BLM sought to wait until cooler weather would force the animals to lower elevations. The agency says the Desatoya area's food and water can only support 127 of the horses.... Yukon Flats proposal has some wary Some public land watchdogs say a federal proposal to hire a tribal group for work on the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge sits on shaky legal ground and sets a poor precedent by giving tribes a stronger hand in refuge operations. The chairman of the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments, though, says other refuge users have little to fear from his organization's participation in the daily tasks on the 8.5-million-acre refuge.... Federal agencies launch biotech Web site The site, found at http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov./, includes a searchable database of biotech-enhanced crops intended for food or feed that have passed US governmental reviews for food, feed or planting use in the United States. Users can search products by trade name, scientific name, applicant name, and engineered traits such as pest resistance, events or keywords. The site also features information on US laws and regulations applying to biotech-enhanced crops, the respective roles of the several federal agencies in reviewing and approving biotech-enhanced commodities, frequently asked questions, key government contacts, and capacity-building efforts undertaken by the US State Department and other agencies.... Report: Water savings less than hoped in payment effort The federal government says a $1 million project that paid irrigators above Upper Klamath Lake not to water their pastures in 2002 cut water use by only half as much as the project's sponsors estimated. The problem? The estimate didn't take into account how much water that native grasses and other vegetation would take up and allow to evaporate into the atmosphere. The project began in the spring of 2002 and was one of the Bush administration's first efforts to find solutions to the struggle that had resulted in a water cutoff and national publicity in the Klamath Basin the year before.... Ranch's virulent bird flu puts Gonzales on guard One chicken ranch has been devastated and others may be in jeopardy from a contagious strain of bird flu that chose Gonzales County to make its first U.S. appearance in 20 years, officials said Monday. Blood samples were being taken from chickens within a 10-mile radius of an unidentified ranch where more than 6,600 chickens were destroyed last week due to contamination from the H5N2 virus that causes the disease. Also under quarantine are two live-bird markets in Houston that handled poultry from the now-padlocked ranch.... Engineered DNA Found in Crop Seeds Much of the U.S. supply of ordinary crop seeds has become contaminated with strands of engineered DNA, suggesting that current methods for segregating gene-altered seed plants from traditional varieties are failing, according to a pilot study released yesterday. More than two-thirds of 36 conventional corn, soy and canola seed batches contained traces of DNA from genetically engineered crop varieties in lab tests commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based advocacy group. The actual amount of foreign DNA present in U.S. seeds appears to be small, and most engineered genes getting into the seed supply are among those that regulators have deemed safe for consumption, the report acknowledges.... United States to reopen comment period on beef ban: B.C. agriculture minister The United States will likely announce soon it plans receive public submissions on reopening the border to live cattle shipments from Canada, B.C.'s agriculture minister said Monday. John van Dongen, who joined officials from Ottawa and six other provinces for meetings with U.S. officials and industry groups, said the period for public comment will probably last 15 to 30 days....Glacier County sheriff, deputy arrested A county sheriff in Montana and one of his deputies were charged Monday with defrauding a federal emergency feed program for ranchers on American Indian reservations. A grand jury indicted both men on charges of conspiracy and fraud, accusing them of forging or altering receipts that were submitted to the American Indian Livestock Feed Program. The program, administered by the federal Farm Service Agency, provides financial assistance to ranchers on reservations who are affected by natural disasters that cut into their livestock feed. If they have to buy feed, they can submit claims through the tribe to be reimbursed for the purchases.... It's All Trew: Giveaways always a powerful gimmick Every facet of living today had a start somewhere in the past. Some of the greatest changes are shown in modern-day advertising. Gimmicks, gimmies and freebies are still the best way to attract customers to your business. How about in the old days? The earliest advertising gimmick I know of here in the West came in the form of hard-rock candy contained in a wooden case of Arbuckles Coffee. Ranch and chuck wagon cooks held sway over other employees using the candy as favors in exchange for a little help during meal or gathering fire wood. Since toilet paper was considered too expensive for use on roundups and trail drives, the empty paper sacks holding two pounds of coffee were also passed out by the cook as gifts....
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Cowhands balk at rounding up cattle for Forest Service Several cowhands have balked at rounding up a beleaguered rancher’s cattle from areas of the Gila National Forest, and the U.S. Forest Service is trying to line up a new group to move the herd. The unidentified drovers were approached by Forest Service officials who told them the roundup from Diamond Bar Ranch allotments is legal. However, Diamond Bar ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney say the legality remains in dispute. Courts have ruled against the Laneys, ordering the removal of their cattle. The Forest Service, which has estimated more than 400 cattle are grazing without permits, expects to begin the roundup as soon as it can line up a new contractor to remove the herd. That’s according to Gila Forest range management officer Steve Libby. Laney, reached last night, says nobody from his side will interfere with the roundup—but they’ll document with video and film—and plan to initiate charges against those responsible.... 10 Yellowstone bison sent to slaughter The Park Service corralled 33 bison inside Yellowstone National Park on Saturday, readying them for possible slaughter less than a week after 10 bison were trapped outside the west boundary and killed. The operations are part of an ongoing battle to protect cattle outside the park from brucellosis, a disease to which bison have been exposed. Bison migrating out of the park are rounded up and shipped to slaughterhouses, operations contested by activists with Buffalo Field Campaign.... Column: Invasion of the Kennewick Men After almost eight years of labyrinthine litigation the case of Kennewick Man has ended with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and archaeological science is the winner -- for now. In a February 4 decision, the Ninth upheld the district court ruling stating that since no relationship could be established between modern American Indians and Kennewick Man -- physically, contextually, or otherwise -- he is not a Native American as defined under NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, thus NAGPRA isn't applicable. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) therefore applies and the bones can once again be studied by anthropologists. The tribes, who argue that any and all pre-Columbian remains are Native American regardless if the individual's tribe or culture still exists in modern times, are sure to appeal. Kennewick Man is the mostly complete skeleton found in 1996 in Kennewick, Washington, by two college students wading up the Columbia River to watch a series of hydroplane races. Analysis of his size -- he stood about 5 ft. 10 in. in life -- build, skull shape, and other characteristics differentiated him from known Native American populations.... Eureka opposes land sales Eureka County Commissioners are sending a letter to U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., opposing federal land acquisitions in rural northern Nevada under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. The commissioners voted Friday to send the letter stating that the board "feels strongly that federal land acquisitions in northern Nevada counties, specifically Eureka County, will have a profoundly negative affect on our rural communities.... Property Rights Scorecard Released The League of Private Property Voters (LPPV) today released it's Fifteenth Annual Congressional Vote Index, rating all members based on votes cast in 2003 and naming Champions and Enemies. 35 Champions of Property Rights and 35 Enemies of Property Rights were named in the Senate, and 192 Champions and 165 Enemies were cited in the House. The entire Vote Index can be downloaded at http://www.landrights.org/2003VI1.PDF.... Plan would put forest land under BLM rules A state-sponsored proposal suggests consolidated management of 1.3 million acres of federal forest and range lands in Cassia and Twin Falls counties under the Bureau of Land Management. A public meeting will be held Friday night at the Farm Bureau office in Twin Falls to discuss the plan. Approval would require consent from the BLM, the U.S. Forest Service and Congress. Federal legislation would be needed to shift Sawtooth National Forest lands in the two counties under the BLM's land and resource management rules -- to the extent possible. "You've got intermingled lands administered by the Forest Service and BLM. It seems clear there are ways to be more efficient," said Bob Maynard, an attorney with the law firm Perkins Coie working as a state consultant.... BLM resumes wild horse roundup The Bureau of Land Management has resumed a roundup of wild horses in a remote area 75 miles east of Fallon. Agency officials plan to remove about 100 more of the animals from the Desatoya Herd Management Area, saying current numbers are more than the land can support. The roundup netted about 200 wild horses before it was suspended last July. The BLM sought to wait until cooler weather would force the animals to lower elevations. The agency says the Desatoya area's food and water can only support 127 of the horses.... Yukon Flats proposal has some wary Some public land watchdogs say a federal proposal to hire a tribal group for work on the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge sits on shaky legal ground and sets a poor precedent by giving tribes a stronger hand in refuge operations. The chairman of the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments, though, says other refuge users have little to fear from his organization's participation in the daily tasks on the 8.5-million-acre refuge.... Federal agencies launch biotech Web site The site, found at http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov./, includes a searchable database of biotech-enhanced crops intended for food or feed that have passed US governmental reviews for food, feed or planting use in the United States. Users can search products by trade name, scientific name, applicant name, and engineered traits such as pest resistance, events or keywords. The site also features information on US laws and regulations applying to biotech-enhanced crops, the respective roles of the several federal agencies in reviewing and approving biotech-enhanced commodities, frequently asked questions, key government contacts, and capacity-building efforts undertaken by the US State Department and other agencies.... Report: Water savings less than hoped in payment effort The federal government says a $1 million project that paid irrigators above Upper Klamath Lake not to water their pastures in 2002 cut water use by only half as much as the project's sponsors estimated. The problem? The estimate didn't take into account how much water that native grasses and other vegetation would take up and allow to evaporate into the atmosphere. The project began in the spring of 2002 and was one of the Bush administration's first efforts to find solutions to the struggle that had resulted in a water cutoff and national publicity in the Klamath Basin the year before.... Ranch's virulent bird flu puts Gonzales on guard One chicken ranch has been devastated and others may be in jeopardy from a contagious strain of bird flu that chose Gonzales County to make its first U.S. appearance in 20 years, officials said Monday. Blood samples were being taken from chickens within a 10-mile radius of an unidentified ranch where more than 6,600 chickens were destroyed last week due to contamination from the H5N2 virus that causes the disease. Also under quarantine are two live-bird markets in Houston that handled poultry from the now-padlocked ranch.... Engineered DNA Found in Crop Seeds Much of the U.S. supply of ordinary crop seeds has become contaminated with strands of engineered DNA, suggesting that current methods for segregating gene-altered seed plants from traditional varieties are failing, according to a pilot study released yesterday. More than two-thirds of 36 conventional corn, soy and canola seed batches contained traces of DNA from genetically engineered crop varieties in lab tests commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based advocacy group. The actual amount of foreign DNA present in U.S. seeds appears to be small, and most engineered genes getting into the seed supply are among those that regulators have deemed safe for consumption, the report acknowledges.... United States to reopen comment period on beef ban: B.C. agriculture minister The United States will likely announce soon it plans receive public submissions on reopening the border to live cattle shipments from Canada, B.C.'s agriculture minister said Monday. John van Dongen, who joined officials from Ottawa and six other provinces for meetings with U.S. officials and industry groups, said the period for public comment will probably last 15 to 30 days....Glacier County sheriff, deputy arrested A county sheriff in Montana and one of his deputies were charged Monday with defrauding a federal emergency feed program for ranchers on American Indian reservations. A grand jury indicted both men on charges of conspiracy and fraud, accusing them of forging or altering receipts that were submitted to the American Indian Livestock Feed Program. The program, administered by the federal Farm Service Agency, provides financial assistance to ranchers on reservations who are affected by natural disasters that cut into their livestock feed. If they have to buy feed, they can submit claims through the tribe to be reimbursed for the purchases.... It's All Trew: Giveaways always a powerful gimmick Every facet of living today had a start somewhere in the past. Some of the greatest changes are shown in modern-day advertising. Gimmicks, gimmies and freebies are still the best way to attract customers to your business. How about in the old days? The earliest advertising gimmick I know of here in the West came in the form of hard-rock candy contained in a wooden case of Arbuckles Coffee. Ranch and chuck wagon cooks held sway over other employees using the candy as favors in exchange for a little help during meal or gathering fire wood. Since toilet paper was considered too expensive for use on roundups and trail drives, the empty paper sacks holding two pounds of coffee were also passed out by the cook as gifts....
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Monday, February 23, 2004
DIAMOND BAR RANCH PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Kit & Sherry Laney
Diamond Bar Ranch
Winston, New Mexico
February 21, 2004
The Gila National Forest has sent an Amendment to its Solicitation to the parties who bid on the removal of our cattle from the Diamond Bar and Laney ranches. The Amendment provides an advisory statement that reads “This solicitation in part satisfies the Federal Court Order mandating the Forest Service to remove and impound livestock from the Diamond Bar and Laney Allotments. We do have concurrence on the legality of this court order from the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, as well as the District Attorney for Catron and Grant County. The Forest Service has been notified the Catron County Sheriff will not interfere, nor will the permittee. This amendment also serves as notice to all who will submit a proposal the possibility does exist that the permittee may attempt to prosecute individuals who remove livestock from the allotments.” [emphasis added]
The Court Order only applies to national forest system lands. We have given Notice to the Court, the Forest Service, and N.M. public officials that our cattle are not ranging on national forest system lands. We have a lawfully and legally recorded deed to a fee interest for raising cattle on the lands within the boundaries of our ranches. Since our livestock operations are not part of the national forest system lands, we are not “permittees.” We therefore, do not know whom the Forest Service is referring to by the use of this term.
Our fee interest is a separate freehold estate. This estate (fee interest) is a property right in land, the underlying title to which is held by the U.S. Government. It is privately owned real estate. Our ownership of this fee interest is not based on a frivolous claim, but on an exhaustive chain of title. Our predecessors appropriated and severed this vested fee interest from the public domain of the United States under the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation in accordance with the local laws, customs, and decisions of the courts prior to the forest reserve. Our title is as valid as any other proprietor in the State of New Mexico that holds a deed to real estate.
Our title has not been disputed, either by the Federal District Court or the U.S. Justice Department. The cornerstone of our private property rights for raising livestock is the livestock water. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Diamond Bar v. U.S., assumed without deciding that we owned the stock watering rights within our ranches. The U.S. Supreme Court went farther and ruled that not only did the ranches own the stockwater, but also cattle grazing was not a purpose for which the Gila River Forest Reserve was withdrawn from the unappropriated public lands. Also, no quiet title action has been taken against our title. Therefore, our title stands valid under New Mexico Statutes.
Regardless of any concurrences to the contrary, the fact is that neither the Forest Service, the New Mexico Attorney General, the District Attorney, the Livestock Board, nor a County Sheriff has the authority to authorize anyone to violate New Mexico State law with respect to our cattle. In the absence of a legal and lawful transfer of ownership from us to a new owner, our livestock cannot be rounded up, impounded, transported, and/or sold without the action being in violation of the New Mexico Livestock Code.
Please be advised that no Forest Service personnel or State or County public officials, including N.M. Livestock Board members or their inspectors, have the authority to transfer ownership of our cattle to any other person(s) without our consent.
Please be assured that neither we, nor anyone associated with us, will take any physical action against, or interfere with, anyone who attempts to remove our cattle. We will, however, take steps to film and/or document all actions involved in the attempted removal of our cattle and damage to our private property rights.
We will file charges in a state court of proper jurisdiction against all persons individually (not collectively as an agency) who are involved in the decisions and actions to remove our livestock and who illegally use our stockwater without our consent. We will also file civil charges against all such persons, as individuals without immunity, for any and all damages to our livestock and the productivity of our livestock herd. This is not a threat. It is merely a statement of fact.
We want the non-ranching public to understand that our ownership of a fee interest to raise livestock in our ranches does not in anyway keep them from enjoying these lands as they always have.
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PRESS RELEASE
Kit & Sherry Laney
Diamond Bar Ranch
Winston, New Mexico
February 21, 2004
The Gila National Forest has sent an Amendment to its Solicitation to the parties who bid on the removal of our cattle from the Diamond Bar and Laney ranches. The Amendment provides an advisory statement that reads “This solicitation in part satisfies the Federal Court Order mandating the Forest Service to remove and impound livestock from the Diamond Bar and Laney Allotments. We do have concurrence on the legality of this court order from the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, as well as the District Attorney for Catron and Grant County. The Forest Service has been notified the Catron County Sheriff will not interfere, nor will the permittee. This amendment also serves as notice to all who will submit a proposal the possibility does exist that the permittee may attempt to prosecute individuals who remove livestock from the allotments.” [emphasis added]
The Court Order only applies to national forest system lands. We have given Notice to the Court, the Forest Service, and N.M. public officials that our cattle are not ranging on national forest system lands. We have a lawfully and legally recorded deed to a fee interest for raising cattle on the lands within the boundaries of our ranches. Since our livestock operations are not part of the national forest system lands, we are not “permittees.” We therefore, do not know whom the Forest Service is referring to by the use of this term.
Our fee interest is a separate freehold estate. This estate (fee interest) is a property right in land, the underlying title to which is held by the U.S. Government. It is privately owned real estate. Our ownership of this fee interest is not based on a frivolous claim, but on an exhaustive chain of title. Our predecessors appropriated and severed this vested fee interest from the public domain of the United States under the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation in accordance with the local laws, customs, and decisions of the courts prior to the forest reserve. Our title is as valid as any other proprietor in the State of New Mexico that holds a deed to real estate.
Our title has not been disputed, either by the Federal District Court or the U.S. Justice Department. The cornerstone of our private property rights for raising livestock is the livestock water. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Diamond Bar v. U.S., assumed without deciding that we owned the stock watering rights within our ranches. The U.S. Supreme Court went farther and ruled that not only did the ranches own the stockwater, but also cattle grazing was not a purpose for which the Gila River Forest Reserve was withdrawn from the unappropriated public lands. Also, no quiet title action has been taken against our title. Therefore, our title stands valid under New Mexico Statutes.
Regardless of any concurrences to the contrary, the fact is that neither the Forest Service, the New Mexico Attorney General, the District Attorney, the Livestock Board, nor a County Sheriff has the authority to authorize anyone to violate New Mexico State law with respect to our cattle. In the absence of a legal and lawful transfer of ownership from us to a new owner, our livestock cannot be rounded up, impounded, transported, and/or sold without the action being in violation of the New Mexico Livestock Code.
Please be advised that no Forest Service personnel or State or County public officials, including N.M. Livestock Board members or their inspectors, have the authority to transfer ownership of our cattle to any other person(s) without our consent.
Please be assured that neither we, nor anyone associated with us, will take any physical action against, or interfere with, anyone who attempts to remove our cattle. We will, however, take steps to film and/or document all actions involved in the attempted removal of our cattle and damage to our private property rights.
We will file charges in a state court of proper jurisdiction against all persons individually (not collectively as an agency) who are involved in the decisions and actions to remove our livestock and who illegally use our stockwater without our consent. We will also file civil charges against all such persons, as individuals without immunity, for any and all damages to our livestock and the productivity of our livestock herd. This is not a threat. It is merely a statement of fact.
We want the non-ranching public to understand that our ownership of a fee interest to raise livestock in our ranches does not in anyway keep them from enjoying these lands as they always have.
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Sunday, February 22, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
Cause of blazes still eludes investigators Four months after the historic firestorms struck the region, investigators have yet to pinpoint a cause for either the Cedar, Paradise or Otay fires that burned more than 376,000 acres. As they have done almost from the first days of the disasters, investigators for the U.S. Forest Service classify the fires as "human-caused," but stop short of saying whether the blazes were accidental, resulted from negligence or were set.... Public access rights to trails creating outcry from private owners It's happening in Alpine, Mapleton and other places in Utah County. One by one, developments and private land owners block once-public trails, choking off access to public lands beyond. Around Utah Lake, a legal dispute over the border between private and public lands has put public access to the shoreline in question. The issue pits the rights of private property owners against the rights of the community at large.... All Logged out? But today, the industry that sustained him and his business, Scott Logging, has changed as much as the mill he once relied on to process his logs. The mill — formerly located along the Deschutes River in the Old Mill District — is now a mall. The forest, which was once almost entirely open to loggers, is now mostly off limits. And as the timber industry has spiraled from its high point to its current, drastically different enterprise, parts of Oregon have reeled from the change. Jobs were lost, mills shut down and communities were vacated.... Judges bars damages for Alaska Pulp Alaska Pulp Corp., which operated a mill in Sitka for nearly 40 years, had sought up to $8.7 billion in damages from the federal treasury. The Japanese-owned company won a court ruling in 2001 that the government breached its 50-year contract to supply the mill with timber from the Tongass National Forest, the country's largest national forest. A judge then agreed that when Congress enacted the Tongass Timber Reform Act in 1990, which reduced the amount of trees available for logging, it constituted a violation of Alaska Pulp's contract. The company was entitled to press for damages. But Judge Lawrence M. Baskir said in a ruling Jan. 28 said that Alaska Pulp should not get a dime from the government.... Dog owners put Valley wolf at risk A lone wolf frequenting the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area is at risk from a small group of irresponsible dog owners. "We've had people out here trying to breed their dogs with the wolf, playing ball with it, trying to feed it - it's gotten really bad in recent weeks," said Michelle Warrenchuk, a U.S. Forest Service naturalist and interpreter at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. "It's becoming habituated.".... Sagebrush finally gets respect Long derided, degraded, dug up and burned, sagebrush in the American West is finally commanding respect. Twenty-one environmental groups filed a petition in December to list sage grouse as an endangered species. That action has accelerated efforts to preserve sagebrush ecosystems on which the birds depend across 11 Western states and Canada. If sage grouse are listed, new restrictions could be placed on grazing, oil and gas development, hunting, motorized recreation, power lines, roads and farming across 110 million acres. Impacts on the economy of the West would surpass those of the listing of the northern spotted owl.... Lynx seen in Medicine Bow Four radio-collared lynxes were spotted in Medicine Bow National Forest just north of the state line, the first confirmation of the cats in the forest since one was trapped in 1856. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Canada lynxes have been transplanted in much of Colorado. Some have denned successfully and produced kittens, but many of the kittens have starved. The four lynxes in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest spent several days moving across the state line last fall.... A legendary firefighter who was both inventor and hero is to be honored with a memorial called The Pulaski Project Long before he invented the handy tool that kept forest firefighters from having to carry both an ax and a hoe, Pulaski was a Forest Service ranger in Wallace in August 1910 when the woods exploded into a firestorm, trapping 1,800 firefighters between Wallace and Avery. Drawing on his knowledge of the area, Pulaski led his 45-man crew to safety in an abandoned mine, now known as the Pulaski Tunnel. There, they lay face down through a suffocating night of smoke and heat. Their leader kept some from panicking and heading outside to certain death with the end of his pistol. He beat out flaming timbers at the mine´s entrance with horse blankets and mine water he gathered in his hat.... Napolitano says feds doing too little to ease fire threat Western states are approaching another wildfire season without enough federal action to reduce the threat faced by forest communities, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said Saturday. "Western forests are facing the triple threat of unprecedented bark beetle infestations caused by historic drought and worsened by the administration's refusal to restore forests on federal land," Napolitano said.... Editorial: Park fee plan is a bust The U.S. Forest Service spent $1.6 million building an outhouse near the Maroon Bells, then whined it didn't have money for toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Now it charges citizens a fee just to look at the famous peaks. The paradox is just one example of why the federal recreation fee demonstration program is a bust.... Idaho, Montana chafe at Wyo wolf delay The Legislature's refusal last week to change Wyoming's wolf management plan put Idaho and Montana wildlife officials in a tough spot, they said last week. "The longer wolves remain listed, the more wolves there will be," said Steve Nedeau, the state coordinator for large carnivores in Idaho's Department of Fish and Game. "Wyoming is causing the wolf populations to increase in the other states." Montana shares the same frustration, said Carolyn Sime, Montana's Fish, Wildlife and Parks wolf planning coordinator.... Stalking the Elusive Cougar...if There Is One to Stalk Officially, the eastern cougar has not prowled the great piney woods of the Adirondacks for more than a hundred years. Though still listed as a federally endangered species, it is, in the minds of state environmental officials, a phantom - extinct, kaput. Trouble is, people keep seeing them. And one man, Peter V. O'Shea Jr., a former New York City police sergeant turned self-taught naturalist, is on a campaign to make their presence known. He himself has never seen a cougar, also called a puma, mountain lion, panther or painter. But he has talked to scores of people who say they have, and he says he has seen cougar tracks four times in the past 20 years.... Park County ranchers list wolf woes Angry, frustrated and fed up, Park County ranchers listed their wolf woes to the Park County Commission Friday evening. Most of their anger was directed toward the federal government, which brought wolves back to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and 1996. "They're pathological liars," said Bob Fanning, founder of the Friends of the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd. He, along with Park County Stockgrowers President Justin O'Hair, helped write a resolution now before the commission. That document asserts that Park County has the authority to kill wolves, whether they have federal protections or not.... Coalition opposes dam spills The Coalition for Smart Salmon Recovery lends the collective voice of industry groups to a debate that's emerged as a major point of contention in the long-running, and expensive, effort to protect salmon in a river system radically altered by hydroelectric dams. Federal dam managers contend that summer spilling costs tens of millions of dollars in lost electricity sales but only provides negligible benefits to endangered fish. The coalition appealed to the governors of four Northwest states on Thursday.... Editorial: Protect salmon if you want dams The Bonneville Power Administration is exploring possible changes in some Columbia and Snake River dams' summer spills. A spill is where water is allowed to flow over the top of a dam, instead of through turbines. This protects young salmon. Reducing or eliminating the spills would be an extremely bad idea. Salmon protection efforts have been marginal, barely good enough to allow modest recovery of some runs. A federal judge has ordered better plans for fish protection, finding that the requirements of the Endangered Species Act haven't been met. Whatever legal complications a change in summer spills might create, it would be a retreat from the promises of aggressive salmon protection that, supposedly, can prevent the need to remove any dams. It would also turn the Columbia a bit more into a massive holding pond rather than a river.... Group pays ranchers to keep lands intact Gareth Plank's ranch is one of the oldest in Siskiyou County, dating back to 1850. He wants to make sure its future is as rich as its past. Plank is taking part in a new land conservation program to ensure cattle can freely roam his expansive Scott Valley ranch for decades to come. The Pacific Forest Trust, based in Santa Rosa, has protected lands all over California, Oregon and Washington for more than a decade. Now the group has started the Klamath-Cascade Project, which would receive $900,000 if approved as part of the 2005 federal budget.... Editorial: For the birds Public access to all of Oregon's coastal beaches isn't just enshrined in state law. It's also critical to the economies of Oregon's coastal towns, and part of the state's identity as a wide-open, egalitarian and outdoor-centered place. That's why the state Department of Parks and Recreation should expect to get an earful of squawks, screeches and caws from Oregon residents over plans to restrict beach access to protect the western snowy plover.... Lifeline thrown to species at risk To the surprise of many environmental groups, 12 days of often fractious negotiations at the convention on biological diversity in Kuala Lumpur resulted in a concrete programme to ensure the "significant reduction of biodiversity loss by 2010". By 2010 each country is required to designate 10% of its territory as protected. Local indigenous communities will be involved in all decisions on the management of the zones, which will also be assessed by a global monitoring network. Marine zones, to be included in the plan by 2012, will be expanded to encompass deep sea mountains and other areas in international waters rich in biodiversity but at risk from trawlers.... Smarter than your average bear Scientists have long appreciated a number of the polar bear's adaptations, which allow it to survive 20 years or more on the glacial ice of the Arctic Circle, all the while defying standard bear omnivorousness to subsist almost exclusively on seals. Classified as a marine animal, Ursus maritimus comes specially equipped with a double layer of fur, undergirded by 10 centimetres of blubber, that almost completely prevents heat loss; broad, fluffy paws that act as snowshoes, and short, solid claws that grip the ice; an elongated snout for poking into ice holes and pulling out seals; and the ability of that snout to smell prey from a distance of more than 30 kilometres.... Save room for mice, developers are told Developers on this barrier island have received notices that they may have to make room for Perdido Key beach mice because the endangered rodents have outgrown their home at a neighboring state park. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to schedule a meeting next month to discuss the issue with owners of four major projects on the Florida side of Perdido Key. The island's western tip is in Alabama.... State eyes ban on hunting female lions The Arizona Game and Fish Department is considering making it illegal to hunt female mountain lions with spotted kittens, a first for the state. There are currently no restrictions on hunting mountain lions in Arizona, and the proposal is meant to help protect females and their kittens, Game and Fish said.... Environmental cases hinge on limits of authority As early as Tuesday, the Supreme Court could begin to issue decisions on four environmental cases with implications for improving water quality, cutting air pollution and protecting unscathed federal land in the West. By the time the court term ends in June, justices will have ruled on eight cases bearing on the environment — the most heard in one term in a decade. The court will not be ruling on the constitutionality of any environmental laws. Instead, it will decide who has the authority to make decisions or how far law extends in cases that affect water, air and land quality. How the justices decide a case involving the Clean Water Act, for example, could require officials in the West to obtain permits to move water from hundreds of reservoirs and canals.... Past environmental chiefs back SUWA Top environmental officials from every presidential administration since Richard Nixon urged the Supreme Court to side with environmentalists to force the Bush administration to consider limiting off-road vehicle use on delicate Utah lands. The case, filed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, argues that the Bureau of Land Management is required by law to consider closing certain areas to prevent permanent damage by off-road vehicles. The areas at issue in the suit are potential wilderness areas. In a brief filed with the Supreme Court this week, the eight former directors of the White House Council on Environmental Quality argued that the Interior Department must take steps to protect sensitive lands in its care when factors change.... Industry, environmentalists oppose user fee plan Energy industry representatives and environmentalists are thumbing their noses at a White House proposal to reduce the Bureau of Land Management's oil and gas management budget and impose $3 million in new user fees on energy companies. Industry representatives say that there is not enough money and question the value of the user fees. Environmentalists say the money is being squandered and are concerned that energy companies will receive control over the well-permitting process in exchange for the users fees.... Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Statement on Ralph Nader: 'Monumentally Irresponsible' Following is a statement of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen on Ralph Nader: "In the last three years, the Bush administration has mounted arguably the greatest assault on our conservation laws ever seen. Mr. Nader's entry into the presidential race only increases the likelihood that assault will continue for a second term. It is monumentally irresponsible for Ralph Nader, who professes a reverence for our natural environment, to take any step that aids the President's re-election bid.... Now the Pentagon Tells Bush: Climate Change Will Destroy Us Climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters. A secret report, suppressed by US defense chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian' climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world. The document predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. The threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to its contents.... State tests birth control for geese Honk if you're sterile. That is, if you're a goose. Canada geese in parts of Oregon, including those in Bend, are participating in an experiment aimed at keeping the honking birds from proliferating. In short, many Canada goose populations in Oregon are about to get dosed with birth control.... Bioterrorism rules delay elk testing Federal rules classifying the bacteria Brucella abortus as a potential bioterrorism weapon have delayed attempts to determine the cause of a disease outbreak in Wyoming cattle. Wyoming researchers call the red tape overkill. Brucella abortus, one of several Brucella species, was classified a “select agent” following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and an anthrax scare a month later that killed five people. “The feds kind of went bonkers, and they decided they wanted complete control and inventory,” said Donal O’Toole, who directs the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory in Laramie.... Wheat Is at Forefront of Biotech Battle More than 10,000 years after nomadic hunters first harvested stands of wild wheat, researchers are working on genetically engineering mankind's oldest crop in what may become the last stand in the battle over biotech foods. With a genome five times the size of the human genome, wheat is so complex that it is one of the last major crops to undergo genetic manipulation. The food staple has become the center of the fight over genetically modified organisms....Deputies shut down hog dog match While country music played, Johnny Hayes was allowed to preside over a pig chase for kids, as well as a hog-catch for pit bulls. After, he was allowed to announce the winners. Then he was led away in handcuffs and charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty.... 1872 fight near Billings captivates local historians Only a few miles northeast of Billings, 365 soldiers and 20 surveyors and engineers scouting a corridor for the Northern Pacific Railway, fought a combined force of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho early on the morning of Aug. 14, 1872. Near the Yellowstone River, where Maj. E.M. Baker is camped in an oxbow, troopers scramble in the dark to form skirmish lines. Warriors who have stolen into camp and infiltrated the livestock herds, retreat to the bluffs as a shot rings out. It probably was fired by a startled wolfer awakened in time to prevent the theft of his gun.... Rodeo cowboys tough enough A little more than a year ago, after the crippled middle finger on his left hand was broken for the umpteenth time, former bareback riding world champion Mark Gomes had had enough. So, he had it cut off at the middle knuckle. "It was hindering me," Gomes said with a shrug....
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Cause of blazes still eludes investigators Four months after the historic firestorms struck the region, investigators have yet to pinpoint a cause for either the Cedar, Paradise or Otay fires that burned more than 376,000 acres. As they have done almost from the first days of the disasters, investigators for the U.S. Forest Service classify the fires as "human-caused," but stop short of saying whether the blazes were accidental, resulted from negligence or were set.... Public access rights to trails creating outcry from private owners It's happening in Alpine, Mapleton and other places in Utah County. One by one, developments and private land owners block once-public trails, choking off access to public lands beyond. Around Utah Lake, a legal dispute over the border between private and public lands has put public access to the shoreline in question. The issue pits the rights of private property owners against the rights of the community at large.... All Logged out? But today, the industry that sustained him and his business, Scott Logging, has changed as much as the mill he once relied on to process his logs. The mill — formerly located along the Deschutes River in the Old Mill District — is now a mall. The forest, which was once almost entirely open to loggers, is now mostly off limits. And as the timber industry has spiraled from its high point to its current, drastically different enterprise, parts of Oregon have reeled from the change. Jobs were lost, mills shut down and communities were vacated.... Judges bars damages for Alaska Pulp Alaska Pulp Corp., which operated a mill in Sitka for nearly 40 years, had sought up to $8.7 billion in damages from the federal treasury. The Japanese-owned company won a court ruling in 2001 that the government breached its 50-year contract to supply the mill with timber from the Tongass National Forest, the country's largest national forest. A judge then agreed that when Congress enacted the Tongass Timber Reform Act in 1990, which reduced the amount of trees available for logging, it constituted a violation of Alaska Pulp's contract. The company was entitled to press for damages. But Judge Lawrence M. Baskir said in a ruling Jan. 28 said that Alaska Pulp should not get a dime from the government.... Dog owners put Valley wolf at risk A lone wolf frequenting the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area is at risk from a small group of irresponsible dog owners. "We've had people out here trying to breed their dogs with the wolf, playing ball with it, trying to feed it - it's gotten really bad in recent weeks," said Michelle Warrenchuk, a U.S. Forest Service naturalist and interpreter at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. "It's becoming habituated.".... Sagebrush finally gets respect Long derided, degraded, dug up and burned, sagebrush in the American West is finally commanding respect. Twenty-one environmental groups filed a petition in December to list sage grouse as an endangered species. That action has accelerated efforts to preserve sagebrush ecosystems on which the birds depend across 11 Western states and Canada. If sage grouse are listed, new restrictions could be placed on grazing, oil and gas development, hunting, motorized recreation, power lines, roads and farming across 110 million acres. Impacts on the economy of the West would surpass those of the listing of the northern spotted owl.... Lynx seen in Medicine Bow Four radio-collared lynxes were spotted in Medicine Bow National Forest just north of the state line, the first confirmation of the cats in the forest since one was trapped in 1856. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Canada lynxes have been transplanted in much of Colorado. Some have denned successfully and produced kittens, but many of the kittens have starved. The four lynxes in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest spent several days moving across the state line last fall.... A legendary firefighter who was both inventor and hero is to be honored with a memorial called The Pulaski Project Long before he invented the handy tool that kept forest firefighters from having to carry both an ax and a hoe, Pulaski was a Forest Service ranger in Wallace in August 1910 when the woods exploded into a firestorm, trapping 1,800 firefighters between Wallace and Avery. Drawing on his knowledge of the area, Pulaski led his 45-man crew to safety in an abandoned mine, now known as the Pulaski Tunnel. There, they lay face down through a suffocating night of smoke and heat. Their leader kept some from panicking and heading outside to certain death with the end of his pistol. He beat out flaming timbers at the mine´s entrance with horse blankets and mine water he gathered in his hat.... Napolitano says feds doing too little to ease fire threat Western states are approaching another wildfire season without enough federal action to reduce the threat faced by forest communities, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said Saturday. "Western forests are facing the triple threat of unprecedented bark beetle infestations caused by historic drought and worsened by the administration's refusal to restore forests on federal land," Napolitano said.... Editorial: Park fee plan is a bust The U.S. Forest Service spent $1.6 million building an outhouse near the Maroon Bells, then whined it didn't have money for toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Now it charges citizens a fee just to look at the famous peaks. The paradox is just one example of why the federal recreation fee demonstration program is a bust.... Idaho, Montana chafe at Wyo wolf delay The Legislature's refusal last week to change Wyoming's wolf management plan put Idaho and Montana wildlife officials in a tough spot, they said last week. "The longer wolves remain listed, the more wolves there will be," said Steve Nedeau, the state coordinator for large carnivores in Idaho's Department of Fish and Game. "Wyoming is causing the wolf populations to increase in the other states." Montana shares the same frustration, said Carolyn Sime, Montana's Fish, Wildlife and Parks wolf planning coordinator.... Stalking the Elusive Cougar...if There Is One to Stalk Officially, the eastern cougar has not prowled the great piney woods of the Adirondacks for more than a hundred years. Though still listed as a federally endangered species, it is, in the minds of state environmental officials, a phantom - extinct, kaput. Trouble is, people keep seeing them. And one man, Peter V. O'Shea Jr., a former New York City police sergeant turned self-taught naturalist, is on a campaign to make their presence known. He himself has never seen a cougar, also called a puma, mountain lion, panther or painter. But he has talked to scores of people who say they have, and he says he has seen cougar tracks four times in the past 20 years.... Park County ranchers list wolf woes Angry, frustrated and fed up, Park County ranchers listed their wolf woes to the Park County Commission Friday evening. Most of their anger was directed toward the federal government, which brought wolves back to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and 1996. "They're pathological liars," said Bob Fanning, founder of the Friends of the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd. He, along with Park County Stockgrowers President Justin O'Hair, helped write a resolution now before the commission. That document asserts that Park County has the authority to kill wolves, whether they have federal protections or not.... Coalition opposes dam spills The Coalition for Smart Salmon Recovery lends the collective voice of industry groups to a debate that's emerged as a major point of contention in the long-running, and expensive, effort to protect salmon in a river system radically altered by hydroelectric dams. Federal dam managers contend that summer spilling costs tens of millions of dollars in lost electricity sales but only provides negligible benefits to endangered fish. The coalition appealed to the governors of four Northwest states on Thursday.... Editorial: Protect salmon if you want dams The Bonneville Power Administration is exploring possible changes in some Columbia and Snake River dams' summer spills. A spill is where water is allowed to flow over the top of a dam, instead of through turbines. This protects young salmon. Reducing or eliminating the spills would be an extremely bad idea. Salmon protection efforts have been marginal, barely good enough to allow modest recovery of some runs. A federal judge has ordered better plans for fish protection, finding that the requirements of the Endangered Species Act haven't been met. Whatever legal complications a change in summer spills might create, it would be a retreat from the promises of aggressive salmon protection that, supposedly, can prevent the need to remove any dams. It would also turn the Columbia a bit more into a massive holding pond rather than a river.... Group pays ranchers to keep lands intact Gareth Plank's ranch is one of the oldest in Siskiyou County, dating back to 1850. He wants to make sure its future is as rich as its past. Plank is taking part in a new land conservation program to ensure cattle can freely roam his expansive Scott Valley ranch for decades to come. The Pacific Forest Trust, based in Santa Rosa, has protected lands all over California, Oregon and Washington for more than a decade. Now the group has started the Klamath-Cascade Project, which would receive $900,000 if approved as part of the 2005 federal budget.... Editorial: For the birds Public access to all of Oregon's coastal beaches isn't just enshrined in state law. It's also critical to the economies of Oregon's coastal towns, and part of the state's identity as a wide-open, egalitarian and outdoor-centered place. That's why the state Department of Parks and Recreation should expect to get an earful of squawks, screeches and caws from Oregon residents over plans to restrict beach access to protect the western snowy plover.... Lifeline thrown to species at risk To the surprise of many environmental groups, 12 days of often fractious negotiations at the convention on biological diversity in Kuala Lumpur resulted in a concrete programme to ensure the "significant reduction of biodiversity loss by 2010". By 2010 each country is required to designate 10% of its territory as protected. Local indigenous communities will be involved in all decisions on the management of the zones, which will also be assessed by a global monitoring network. Marine zones, to be included in the plan by 2012, will be expanded to encompass deep sea mountains and other areas in international waters rich in biodiversity but at risk from trawlers.... Smarter than your average bear Scientists have long appreciated a number of the polar bear's adaptations, which allow it to survive 20 years or more on the glacial ice of the Arctic Circle, all the while defying standard bear omnivorousness to subsist almost exclusively on seals. Classified as a marine animal, Ursus maritimus comes specially equipped with a double layer of fur, undergirded by 10 centimetres of blubber, that almost completely prevents heat loss; broad, fluffy paws that act as snowshoes, and short, solid claws that grip the ice; an elongated snout for poking into ice holes and pulling out seals; and the ability of that snout to smell prey from a distance of more than 30 kilometres.... Save room for mice, developers are told Developers on this barrier island have received notices that they may have to make room for Perdido Key beach mice because the endangered rodents have outgrown their home at a neighboring state park. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to schedule a meeting next month to discuss the issue with owners of four major projects on the Florida side of Perdido Key. The island's western tip is in Alabama.... State eyes ban on hunting female lions The Arizona Game and Fish Department is considering making it illegal to hunt female mountain lions with spotted kittens, a first for the state. There are currently no restrictions on hunting mountain lions in Arizona, and the proposal is meant to help protect females and their kittens, Game and Fish said.... Environmental cases hinge on limits of authority As early as Tuesday, the Supreme Court could begin to issue decisions on four environmental cases with implications for improving water quality, cutting air pollution and protecting unscathed federal land in the West. By the time the court term ends in June, justices will have ruled on eight cases bearing on the environment — the most heard in one term in a decade. The court will not be ruling on the constitutionality of any environmental laws. Instead, it will decide who has the authority to make decisions or how far law extends in cases that affect water, air and land quality. How the justices decide a case involving the Clean Water Act, for example, could require officials in the West to obtain permits to move water from hundreds of reservoirs and canals.... Past environmental chiefs back SUWA Top environmental officials from every presidential administration since Richard Nixon urged the Supreme Court to side with environmentalists to force the Bush administration to consider limiting off-road vehicle use on delicate Utah lands. The case, filed by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, argues that the Bureau of Land Management is required by law to consider closing certain areas to prevent permanent damage by off-road vehicles. The areas at issue in the suit are potential wilderness areas. In a brief filed with the Supreme Court this week, the eight former directors of the White House Council on Environmental Quality argued that the Interior Department must take steps to protect sensitive lands in its care when factors change.... Industry, environmentalists oppose user fee plan Energy industry representatives and environmentalists are thumbing their noses at a White House proposal to reduce the Bureau of Land Management's oil and gas management budget and impose $3 million in new user fees on energy companies. Industry representatives say that there is not enough money and question the value of the user fees. Environmentalists say the money is being squandered and are concerned that energy companies will receive control over the well-permitting process in exchange for the users fees.... Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Statement on Ralph Nader: 'Monumentally Irresponsible' Following is a statement of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen on Ralph Nader: "In the last three years, the Bush administration has mounted arguably the greatest assault on our conservation laws ever seen. Mr. Nader's entry into the presidential race only increases the likelihood that assault will continue for a second term. It is monumentally irresponsible for Ralph Nader, who professes a reverence for our natural environment, to take any step that aids the President's re-election bid.... Now the Pentagon Tells Bush: Climate Change Will Destroy Us Climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters. A secret report, suppressed by US defense chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a 'Siberian' climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world. The document predicts that abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies. The threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism, say the few experts privy to its contents.... State tests birth control for geese Honk if you're sterile. That is, if you're a goose. Canada geese in parts of Oregon, including those in Bend, are participating in an experiment aimed at keeping the honking birds from proliferating. In short, many Canada goose populations in Oregon are about to get dosed with birth control.... Bioterrorism rules delay elk testing Federal rules classifying the bacteria Brucella abortus as a potential bioterrorism weapon have delayed attempts to determine the cause of a disease outbreak in Wyoming cattle. Wyoming researchers call the red tape overkill. Brucella abortus, one of several Brucella species, was classified a “select agent” following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and an anthrax scare a month later that killed five people. “The feds kind of went bonkers, and they decided they wanted complete control and inventory,” said Donal O’Toole, who directs the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory in Laramie.... Wheat Is at Forefront of Biotech Battle More than 10,000 years after nomadic hunters first harvested stands of wild wheat, researchers are working on genetically engineering mankind's oldest crop in what may become the last stand in the battle over biotech foods. With a genome five times the size of the human genome, wheat is so complex that it is one of the last major crops to undergo genetic manipulation. The food staple has become the center of the fight over genetically modified organisms....Deputies shut down hog dog match While country music played, Johnny Hayes was allowed to preside over a pig chase for kids, as well as a hog-catch for pit bulls. After, he was allowed to announce the winners. Then he was led away in handcuffs and charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty.... 1872 fight near Billings captivates local historians Only a few miles northeast of Billings, 365 soldiers and 20 surveyors and engineers scouting a corridor for the Northern Pacific Railway, fought a combined force of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho early on the morning of Aug. 14, 1872. Near the Yellowstone River, where Maj. E.M. Baker is camped in an oxbow, troopers scramble in the dark to form skirmish lines. Warriors who have stolen into camp and infiltrated the livestock herds, retreat to the bluffs as a shot rings out. It probably was fired by a startled wolfer awakened in time to prevent the theft of his gun.... Rodeo cowboys tough enough A little more than a year ago, after the crippled middle finger on his left hand was broken for the umpteenth time, former bareback riding world champion Mark Gomes had had enough. So, he had it cut off at the middle knuckle. "It was hindering me," Gomes said with a shrug....
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THE FINAL WORD Issue 87 Feb. 20, 2004
Alan Guebert
1.) Cowboy justice clips meatpackers
In days of yore, cowboy justice involved six-shooters, a length of sturdy rope or both. Today, it involves federal courts, a gaggle of sturdy lawyers or both. On Feb. 17, a six cattlemen and their small gaggle of lawyers shook every bone in America's concentrated, collusive red meat industry when a federal jury in Montgomery, AL, ruled unanimously that Tyson Foods illegally pushed down US cattle prices. The jury awarded $1.28 billion in damages to the class of cattle sellers (estimated at 30,000) represented by the plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit and ordered the court to remedy the price-depressing affect packer-controlled livestock have on cash cattle prices. The verdict, called the most important event in the livestock industry since the passage of the Packer & Stockyards Act of 1921, was the result of an eight-year-long lawsuit that pitted the cattlemen against the meatpacking powerhouse. Tyson, easily the world's largest integrated poultry producer, became the nation's largest beef packer with its $2.9 billion, 2001 purchase of IBP. The case, named Pickett after its lead plaintiff, alleged that spot market cattle sellers received lower prices from IBP from early 1994 through late 2002 because the giant packer used its captive cattle supply to beat down cash prices. That action, alleged Pickett, violated the Packers & Stockyards Act. "We knew we could win (the lawsuit) if we got the facts before a jury of our peers," said Johnny Smith, one of the plaintiffs and a South Dakota cattleman, Tuesday. "All we did was show what every cattleman has known to be true for years--today's cattle markets are rigged." Plaintiff attorneys used cattlemen testimony to explain to the 12-person jury just how dysfunctional today's cash cattle market has become because of packer contact cattle: tiny, often less-than-an-hour per week selling windows to price market-ready beef; one-time take-it-or-leave-it bidding by single buyers; and buyer boycotts of selected sellers. "These guys are nothing but old-time gangsters, thugs and thieves," noted Mike Callicrate, a one-time Kansas cattle seller to Tyson/IBP and a Pickett plaintiff. "They beat your brains in with their market power and take your money." In trial testimony, C. Robert Taylor, an ag economist at Auburn University, hung numbers on Callicrate's claim. According to Taylor, econometric modeling suggested Tyson was able to lower spot market cattle prices $5.62 per hundredweight for every 100,000 head it controlled through contracts. Moreover, estimated Taylor, since Tyson controlled nearly half of the 9.5 million cattle it slaughtered annually, spot market sellers to it were drilled for $2.1 billion from early 1994 to late 2002. Tyson attorneys countered Taylor with experts of their own. According to sources who attended the trial, several Tyson witnesses, like IBP's cattle boss Bruce Bass, however, helped the cattlemen more than the packer. For example, when asked to explain IBP's cattle-buying regime, Bass noted that he informed IBP's 75 or so cattle buyers four times daily as to the supply of cattle IBP had on hand through it contracts and open market buys. He then advised them on the number of animals to purchase on the spot market and what price they should pay. Bass further explained that some weeks IBP owned as much as 190 percent of its kill needs--90 percent more than it could push through its beef slaughtering plant. Those vast amounts were the result of both controlled and spot market purchases. When that happened, Bass said, he told IBP buyers to lower spot market bids. Another defense witness, say sources, did equal damage after he asserted that one reason Tyson contracted cattle was to ensure ample supplies of "quality" cattle required by Tyson's meat buyers. Economist Taylor, however, refuted that assertion by using IBP meat quality data to show that Tyson had actually bought more quality cattle on the spot market than through contracts. "I thought much of the evidence supplied by Tyson witnesses showed there was no relationship between captive supplies and quality," noted Michael Stumo, general counsel at the Organization of Competitive Markets (OCM) who also advised Pickett attorneys. In fact, says Stumo, "Tyson never offered any evidence, testimony or internal studies to show captive cattle increased plant utilization, improved meat quality consistency or enhanced the company's ability to deliver a high quality product to its customers." Given that shortfall, Stumo adds, "IBP/Tyson gave it their best comprehensive shot in court after having eight years to prepare and a jury found their arguments were either contrived or not true." Plaintiff Smith was jubilant victory. "No one outside our group thought we could win, but we beat Goliath. And we beat them without help from what is supposed to be the cattlemen's best friend, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association." Indeed, says OCM executive director Steve Cady, "The NCBA--and the USDA, for that matter--never once helped the Pickett plaintiffs over the eight years this case has been around. That's pretty astounding. I mean this was the biggest trial in the cattle industry in nearly a century and neither played any role in it? Wow." Then again, as I noted in the Farm and Food File for Feb. 22, the absence of both "only proves that if you toss Tyson--or, for that matter, any meatpacker--in a sack with USDA and NCBA and then roll it down a hill, there would be a chicken on the top all the way down."
2.) Cowboys 1, Tyson 0; now what?
The cowboy-favoring Pickett decision is but the first step to restoring fair, transparent markets to US livestock producers, says Michael Stumo, OCM general counsel. The next step means going back to court. According to Stumo, Pickett plaintiffs sued Tyson with two specific goals. First, they wanted Tyson to reimburse them for the losses they felt Tyson had imposed on them in the cash cattle market. The jury agreed, awarding $1.2 billion in damaged to cash cattle sellers who dealt exclusively with IBP/Tyson. The jury also awarded the plaintiffs injunctive relief. In short, explains Stumo, the jury told the court to fix the broken system. "That's a more difficult problem," he says. What could injunctive relief look like? In a Feb. 19 Wall Street Journal story, plaintiff attorney David Domina gave this view: "to limit significantly the ability of the nation's biggest meatpacker to use contractual arrangements to control cattle before they are ready to be slaughtered ..." If the trial judge agrees, notes the Journal story, "The nation's meatpacking giants could be forced to return to the way they did business two decades ago--scrambling each day to buy enough cattle to keep their plants busy." Domina hinted that he might be willing to settle for Tyson having to buy 90% of its slaughter requirements in the open market. Presently, it's guessed that Tyson buys more than 50% of needs through previously negotiated contracts. At this point, however, explains Stumo, both Tyson and the winning plaintiffs will submit their injunctive relief ideas to the judge, U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom who--despite being from Omaha--was assigned the Alabama case because of his cattle market knowledge. Additionally, Strom is also on senior status--basically, semi-retired. As such, explains Stumo, he can devote more time to difficult and potentially lengthy trials. And he will. In addition to presiding over the injunctive phase of the Pickett case, Strom also is the judge of record for two more Packers & Stockyards lawsuits similar to Pickett. Both allege market monkey business by packers--one suit names Cargill's Excel as defendant; the other names Swift--who use captive supplies. Additionally, Tyson says it plans to appeal the Pickett decision.
3.) USDA mad cow miracle: Downer cows that walk
And now for the latest ricochet from the gang that has yet shoot straight. Contrary to ardent claims made by USDA, three eyewitnesses at the Moses Lake, WA slaughter plant where America's single mad cow was discovered say the animal walked to its demise Dec. 9. In short, the tallwalker USDA has repeatedly labeled as a downer was, in fact, walking tall when it was put down, according to the trucker who hauled the cow to the plant, the plant technician that actually killed the animal and the plant's co-manager. If true, the information means one of two things: either USDA covered up the actual events surrounding the BSE cow or the Washington state downer cow pulled off the greatest comeback since the 1969 New York Mets. The news of the Lazarus-like downer, reported by the Associated Press and the Washington Post Feb. 18, first surfaced in an 18-page affidavit from Tom Ellestad, co-manager of Vern's Moses Lake Meats, to the Government Accountability Project, a Washington, D.C. watchdog group. According to Ellestad affidavit, "The BSE-positive cow was not a downer." Before the affidavit landed on page 2 of the Post, however, it landed at the House Committee on Government Reform, Congress's government watchdog. Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-VA, and Ranking Minority Member Henry Waxman, D-CA, said the new information, if accurate, means "USDA's (BSE) surveillance system may need to be significantly expanded." In an 11-page, highly detailed Feb. 17 letter to USDA boss Ann Veneman, the congressmen noted that the affidavit held "serious implications for both the adequacy of the national BSE surveillance system and the credibility of the USDA." It then listed three points it said the committee would investigate. First, "Three eyewitnesses say that the BSE-infected cow was not a downer." Second, "The BSE-infected cow was not tested because it was a downer cow." And, third, "USDA had information stating that the BSE-infected cow was not a downer cow." The Davis-Waxman letter notes that co-manager Ellestad "faxed a handwritten letter to USDA's Boulder District office (on Jan 6, 2004) regarding his observations. Mr. Ellestad's fax disputed the assertion that the BSE-infected cow was sampled because it was a downer. The fax stated, 'the brain sample was not taken because this animal was non-ambulatory.' USDA has not released this information to Congress or the public." What's going on here? First, more evidence has now surfaced that USDA simply was lucky--or unlucky, given your point of view--in catching the Washington State BSE-cow. The animal wasn't tested because it was a downer; it was tested out of pure chance. In fact, Ellestad's affidavit claims the Moses Lake slaughterer had stopped accepting downer cows in Feb. 2003. Moreover, according to Ellestad, a Washington state official told him on Jan. 19, 2004, that the cow had never been a downer cow. Indeed, claimed the meatpacker, the official had noted the cow had "walked through the milking barn 3 or 4 days ..." after calving in late November. It now appears that the cow was tested, according to the Davis-Waxman letter, because the Ellestad slaughterhouse "was initially asked to participate in USDA's BSE surveillance program around June 2003. USDA offered ten dollars for every sample taken from downer cattle up to a total of 1,000 samples." However, Ellestad declined the generous USDA offer because--quite simply--the slaughterhouse did not accept downer cows. But USDA was insistent, Ellestad is quoted in the Davis-Waxman letter, because "they were having real difficulty getting plants to sample and that they were having difficulty getting the number of brain stem samples that they were expected to get." According to Ellestad, "USDA was so needful of getting samples, that they backed away from the requirement that tested animals be downers and eventually, a modified contract was offered to us." (Emphasis added by Davis and Waxman in the letter to USDA's Veneman.) Holy cow. According to Ellestad, not only did the Moses Lake plant not take downer cows, USDA knew it didn't take downer cows. And even after USDA knew the plant didn't take downer cows, it altered its lucrative BSE-testing offer to Ellestad because it was "so needful of getting samples" to prove that it was doing some--and, evidently, any was fine by it--testing. Even more remarkable--and against unfathomable odds--a BSE-positive animal walks into the Moses Lake slaughterhouse Dec. 9 and is tested before ascending to hamburger heaven. Two weeks later, USDA claims the animal was a downer despite an already clear line of established evidence to the contrary. Ever loyal Annie, however, stuck to her guns. On Feb. 19, Veneman maintained the cow was a downer. This is not at all surprising. The current gang at USDA, like the gang at the White House, seem almost pathological in their belief that the public and the press must disprove their lies before they admit the truth. More importantly, they believe, if we let their words, actions and ideas go unchallenged or if we fail to completely rout their white lies, half-lies and bald-faced lies, well, then it's our own dumb fault that we then are misled. It's gutter government at it worst, and USDA's mad cow madness takes it--really you and me--even deeper into the gutter. Once upon a time not so long ago, truth was the coin of the realm in American government. Today, with this USDA and White House at least, truth is just another downer to be disassembled, like so many cow parts, and tossed into the meat grinder.
C 2004 ag comm The Final Word comes to you each Friday by special arrangement. Alan Guebert's regular column, the Farm and Food File, is published weekly in more than 70 newspapers around the US and Canada. Contact him at AGuebert@worldnet.att.net.
Permalink
Alan Guebert
1.) Cowboy justice clips meatpackers
In days of yore, cowboy justice involved six-shooters, a length of sturdy rope or both. Today, it involves federal courts, a gaggle of sturdy lawyers or both. On Feb. 17, a six cattlemen and their small gaggle of lawyers shook every bone in America's concentrated, collusive red meat industry when a federal jury in Montgomery, AL, ruled unanimously that Tyson Foods illegally pushed down US cattle prices. The jury awarded $1.28 billion in damages to the class of cattle sellers (estimated at 30,000) represented by the plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit and ordered the court to remedy the price-depressing affect packer-controlled livestock have on cash cattle prices. The verdict, called the most important event in the livestock industry since the passage of the Packer & Stockyards Act of 1921, was the result of an eight-year-long lawsuit that pitted the cattlemen against the meatpacking powerhouse. Tyson, easily the world's largest integrated poultry producer, became the nation's largest beef packer with its $2.9 billion, 2001 purchase of IBP. The case, named Pickett after its lead plaintiff, alleged that spot market cattle sellers received lower prices from IBP from early 1994 through late 2002 because the giant packer used its captive cattle supply to beat down cash prices. That action, alleged Pickett, violated the Packers & Stockyards Act. "We knew we could win (the lawsuit) if we got the facts before a jury of our peers," said Johnny Smith, one of the plaintiffs and a South Dakota cattleman, Tuesday. "All we did was show what every cattleman has known to be true for years--today's cattle markets are rigged." Plaintiff attorneys used cattlemen testimony to explain to the 12-person jury just how dysfunctional today's cash cattle market has become because of packer contact cattle: tiny, often less-than-an-hour per week selling windows to price market-ready beef; one-time take-it-or-leave-it bidding by single buyers; and buyer boycotts of selected sellers. "These guys are nothing but old-time gangsters, thugs and thieves," noted Mike Callicrate, a one-time Kansas cattle seller to Tyson/IBP and a Pickett plaintiff. "They beat your brains in with their market power and take your money." In trial testimony, C. Robert Taylor, an ag economist at Auburn University, hung numbers on Callicrate's claim. According to Taylor, econometric modeling suggested Tyson was able to lower spot market cattle prices $5.62 per hundredweight for every 100,000 head it controlled through contracts. Moreover, estimated Taylor, since Tyson controlled nearly half of the 9.5 million cattle it slaughtered annually, spot market sellers to it were drilled for $2.1 billion from early 1994 to late 2002. Tyson attorneys countered Taylor with experts of their own. According to sources who attended the trial, several Tyson witnesses, like IBP's cattle boss Bruce Bass, however, helped the cattlemen more than the packer. For example, when asked to explain IBP's cattle-buying regime, Bass noted that he informed IBP's 75 or so cattle buyers four times daily as to the supply of cattle IBP had on hand through it contracts and open market buys. He then advised them on the number of animals to purchase on the spot market and what price they should pay. Bass further explained that some weeks IBP owned as much as 190 percent of its kill needs--90 percent more than it could push through its beef slaughtering plant. Those vast amounts were the result of both controlled and spot market purchases. When that happened, Bass said, he told IBP buyers to lower spot market bids. Another defense witness, say sources, did equal damage after he asserted that one reason Tyson contracted cattle was to ensure ample supplies of "quality" cattle required by Tyson's meat buyers. Economist Taylor, however, refuted that assertion by using IBP meat quality data to show that Tyson had actually bought more quality cattle on the spot market than through contracts. "I thought much of the evidence supplied by Tyson witnesses showed there was no relationship between captive supplies and quality," noted Michael Stumo, general counsel at the Organization of Competitive Markets (OCM) who also advised Pickett attorneys. In fact, says Stumo, "Tyson never offered any evidence, testimony or internal studies to show captive cattle increased plant utilization, improved meat quality consistency or enhanced the company's ability to deliver a high quality product to its customers." Given that shortfall, Stumo adds, "IBP/Tyson gave it their best comprehensive shot in court after having eight years to prepare and a jury found their arguments were either contrived or not true." Plaintiff Smith was jubilant victory. "No one outside our group thought we could win, but we beat Goliath. And we beat them without help from what is supposed to be the cattlemen's best friend, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association." Indeed, says OCM executive director Steve Cady, "The NCBA--and the USDA, for that matter--never once helped the Pickett plaintiffs over the eight years this case has been around. That's pretty astounding. I mean this was the biggest trial in the cattle industry in nearly a century and neither played any role in it? Wow." Then again, as I noted in the Farm and Food File for Feb. 22, the absence of both "only proves that if you toss Tyson--or, for that matter, any meatpacker--in a sack with USDA and NCBA and then roll it down a hill, there would be a chicken on the top all the way down."
2.) Cowboys 1, Tyson 0; now what?
The cowboy-favoring Pickett decision is but the first step to restoring fair, transparent markets to US livestock producers, says Michael Stumo, OCM general counsel. The next step means going back to court. According to Stumo, Pickett plaintiffs sued Tyson with two specific goals. First, they wanted Tyson to reimburse them for the losses they felt Tyson had imposed on them in the cash cattle market. The jury agreed, awarding $1.2 billion in damaged to cash cattle sellers who dealt exclusively with IBP/Tyson. The jury also awarded the plaintiffs injunctive relief. In short, explains Stumo, the jury told the court to fix the broken system. "That's a more difficult problem," he says. What could injunctive relief look like? In a Feb. 19 Wall Street Journal story, plaintiff attorney David Domina gave this view: "to limit significantly the ability of the nation's biggest meatpacker to use contractual arrangements to control cattle before they are ready to be slaughtered ..." If the trial judge agrees, notes the Journal story, "The nation's meatpacking giants could be forced to return to the way they did business two decades ago--scrambling each day to buy enough cattle to keep their plants busy." Domina hinted that he might be willing to settle for Tyson having to buy 90% of its slaughter requirements in the open market. Presently, it's guessed that Tyson buys more than 50% of needs through previously negotiated contracts. At this point, however, explains Stumo, both Tyson and the winning plaintiffs will submit their injunctive relief ideas to the judge, U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom who--despite being from Omaha--was assigned the Alabama case because of his cattle market knowledge. Additionally, Strom is also on senior status--basically, semi-retired. As such, explains Stumo, he can devote more time to difficult and potentially lengthy trials. And he will. In addition to presiding over the injunctive phase of the Pickett case, Strom also is the judge of record for two more Packers & Stockyards lawsuits similar to Pickett. Both allege market monkey business by packers--one suit names Cargill's Excel as defendant; the other names Swift--who use captive supplies. Additionally, Tyson says it plans to appeal the Pickett decision.
3.) USDA mad cow miracle: Downer cows that walk
And now for the latest ricochet from the gang that has yet shoot straight. Contrary to ardent claims made by USDA, three eyewitnesses at the Moses Lake, WA slaughter plant where America's single mad cow was discovered say the animal walked to its demise Dec. 9. In short, the tallwalker USDA has repeatedly labeled as a downer was, in fact, walking tall when it was put down, according to the trucker who hauled the cow to the plant, the plant technician that actually killed the animal and the plant's co-manager. If true, the information means one of two things: either USDA covered up the actual events surrounding the BSE cow or the Washington state downer cow pulled off the greatest comeback since the 1969 New York Mets. The news of the Lazarus-like downer, reported by the Associated Press and the Washington Post Feb. 18, first surfaced in an 18-page affidavit from Tom Ellestad, co-manager of Vern's Moses Lake Meats, to the Government Accountability Project, a Washington, D.C. watchdog group. According to Ellestad affidavit, "The BSE-positive cow was not a downer." Before the affidavit landed on page 2 of the Post, however, it landed at the House Committee on Government Reform, Congress's government watchdog. Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-VA, and Ranking Minority Member Henry Waxman, D-CA, said the new information, if accurate, means "USDA's (BSE) surveillance system may need to be significantly expanded." In an 11-page, highly detailed Feb. 17 letter to USDA boss Ann Veneman, the congressmen noted that the affidavit held "serious implications for both the adequacy of the national BSE surveillance system and the credibility of the USDA." It then listed three points it said the committee would investigate. First, "Three eyewitnesses say that the BSE-infected cow was not a downer." Second, "The BSE-infected cow was not tested because it was a downer cow." And, third, "USDA had information stating that the BSE-infected cow was not a downer cow." The Davis-Waxman letter notes that co-manager Ellestad "faxed a handwritten letter to USDA's Boulder District office (on Jan 6, 2004) regarding his observations. Mr. Ellestad's fax disputed the assertion that the BSE-infected cow was sampled because it was a downer. The fax stated, 'the brain sample was not taken because this animal was non-ambulatory.' USDA has not released this information to Congress or the public." What's going on here? First, more evidence has now surfaced that USDA simply was lucky--or unlucky, given your point of view--in catching the Washington State BSE-cow. The animal wasn't tested because it was a downer; it was tested out of pure chance. In fact, Ellestad's affidavit claims the Moses Lake slaughterer had stopped accepting downer cows in Feb. 2003. Moreover, according to Ellestad, a Washington state official told him on Jan. 19, 2004, that the cow had never been a downer cow. Indeed, claimed the meatpacker, the official had noted the cow had "walked through the milking barn 3 or 4 days ..." after calving in late November. It now appears that the cow was tested, according to the Davis-Waxman letter, because the Ellestad slaughterhouse "was initially asked to participate in USDA's BSE surveillance program around June 2003. USDA offered ten dollars for every sample taken from downer cattle up to a total of 1,000 samples." However, Ellestad declined the generous USDA offer because--quite simply--the slaughterhouse did not accept downer cows. But USDA was insistent, Ellestad is quoted in the Davis-Waxman letter, because "they were having real difficulty getting plants to sample and that they were having difficulty getting the number of brain stem samples that they were expected to get." According to Ellestad, "USDA was so needful of getting samples, that they backed away from the requirement that tested animals be downers and eventually, a modified contract was offered to us." (Emphasis added by Davis and Waxman in the letter to USDA's Veneman.) Holy cow. According to Ellestad, not only did the Moses Lake plant not take downer cows, USDA knew it didn't take downer cows. And even after USDA knew the plant didn't take downer cows, it altered its lucrative BSE-testing offer to Ellestad because it was "so needful of getting samples" to prove that it was doing some--and, evidently, any was fine by it--testing. Even more remarkable--and against unfathomable odds--a BSE-positive animal walks into the Moses Lake slaughterhouse Dec. 9 and is tested before ascending to hamburger heaven. Two weeks later, USDA claims the animal was a downer despite an already clear line of established evidence to the contrary. Ever loyal Annie, however, stuck to her guns. On Feb. 19, Veneman maintained the cow was a downer. This is not at all surprising. The current gang at USDA, like the gang at the White House, seem almost pathological in their belief that the public and the press must disprove their lies before they admit the truth. More importantly, they believe, if we let their words, actions and ideas go unchallenged or if we fail to completely rout their white lies, half-lies and bald-faced lies, well, then it's our own dumb fault that we then are misled. It's gutter government at it worst, and USDA's mad cow madness takes it--really you and me--even deeper into the gutter. Once upon a time not so long ago, truth was the coin of the realm in American government. Today, with this USDA and White House at least, truth is just another downer to be disassembled, like so many cow parts, and tossed into the meat grinder.
C 2004 ag comm The Final Word comes to you each Friday by special arrangement. Alan Guebert's regular column, the Farm and Food File, is published weekly in more than 70 newspapers around the US and Canada. Contact him at AGuebert@worldnet.att.net.
Permalink
SOME JIM BEERS COLUMNS
NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS & OTHER LIES
What is the “native ecosystem” of central Africa? Is it the forests grazed and trampled to destruction by overpopulations of elephants? Is it the bush around villages or towns that have been in place for eons? Is it the imagined plant and animal mix before Arab slave traders or conquerors from far off massacred and enslaved “native” populations? What about our UN “partners” in forcing Asians and South Americans to “preserve” “their native ecosystems?” Is Germanys’ “native ecosystem” dated before the Nazis? Before the Romans? Before the Cro-Magnons? Is England’s “native ecosystem” dated before the Battle of Hastings? Before the Roman occupation? Before the druids? Why are any of these dates or any particular mix of plants and animals worthy of note?
Plants and animals have been invading new (and often for some of them, old) habitats since time began. Plants and animals have been disappearing from habitats for almost as long. Weather, rainfall, snowfall, fire, predators, elimination of a food source, opportunity in the form of a floating log or a windstorm, and other reasons too long to mention account for these changes. In recent (geologically) times, human activities such as farming, hunting, migration, villages, ships, trade, roads, fire, domestications, and another list too long to mention introduced and diminished untold plant and animal communities. North America’s environmental changes over the past 20,000 years are spectacular and some of the most extreme known, because when the prodigious changes of the past 500 years occurred, advanced European science and record-keeping ably recorded the changes....
WHOSE HABITAT?
Ever notice how often press releases, media commentators, nature writers, and environmental programs refer to how “we” are destroying or occupying or fragmenting “their” (wolves, cougars, elephants, leopards, and a list too long to include here) habitat. The old saw usually goes “increasing human populations”, “increasing development”, “increasing roads”, “increasing recreation”, and a whole host of human-oriented “increases” are “destroying habitat”, “increasing conflicts with (put your favorite critter here)”, “destroying the ecosystem”, and another long list too big to include here. Nonsense.
Is New York City a despoiled habitat? Is Yellowstone? Is North Dakota? How about Texas or the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio? Do condos destroy habitat? Does ranching or logging? Do wolves belong in my backyard or does a golden retriever? Are Africans entitled to surroundings wherein their children are not eaten by leopards or crocodiles? How about African farmers are they entitled to grow crops free of marauding elephants like Nebraskans grow corn free of marauding buffalo? These questions represent human values and a human society that strives to manage its environment for human good....
HUNTED AND TRAPPED
I have lost count of the propaganda press releases that have crossed my desk in the past 12 months referring to the carnage wrought by hunting and trapping. “Wolves were hunted and trapped until they were extinct in the west.” “Cougars were hunted and trapped until they were extinct everywhere except the west.” “Wolverines were hunted and trapped into extinction in the west.” Lynx were hunted and trapped into near extinction throughout the northern states.” “Buffalo were hunted to extinction throughout the US.” Will saying these things 50 times or reading them 100 times make them true? The answer is NO!
If no European settler (native Americans are never credited with killing “too many” of anything) ever hunted a buffalo there wouldn’t be one more buffalo than there are today. Why? Because when increasing numbers of settlers began farms and began grazing cattle and towns cropped up everywhere, there was no room left for buffalo. They ate forage needed for cattle, they knocked down fences, they trampled crops and gardens, they endangered rural children and old folks by stampeding, they tore up roads, and were simply out of place on lands intended by us to raise families, crops, and an American society. The buffalo had to go....
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE
A nation founded on individual freedoms and guaranteed rights is not a society where powerful interests should be able to deny freedoms and eliminate traditional rights. However that is not only happening routinely today, it has steadily increased in frequency for many years. In spite of a Constitution that designates and limits the powers and responsibilities of state and Federal government, environmental and animal rights interests have been successful in transferring state authorities to the Federal government and using those contrived authorities to transform the country into a socialist dictatorship in these matters.
How did we come to accept Federal wolves for which the Federal government is not responsible when they destroy private property; unmanaged whales and seals that depress already depressed commercial fisheries; increasingly vast unmanaged Federal lands that are inaccessible, unproductive fire hazards; invented Federal authority over animal testing and dog breeding; Federal proposals to ban trapping, ban bear baiting, ban hunting with dogs, restore “Pre-Columbian ecosystems”, eradicate “Invasive Species”, finance “non-game species”, register pet owners, and on and on?....
TAKING
“Taking” is all of these things, and more. The government takes from you when they condemn your land for a road. They take from landowners when they declare “viewsheds” and “corridors” around Parks and Refuges that restrict land use. They take from all of us when National Parks close state roads. They take from you when they forcibly introduce wolves that then kill your livestock, your pets, and the big game herds that you hunt. They take your property when they declare Critical Habitat or the presence of an Endangered Species on your property and you can no longer log, mow, build a home, burn, plant, graze, run dogs, hunt, fish, boat, etc. on your property. Property owners are increasingly “agitated and distressed” by the increase in magnitude and occasions of such takings. Government bureaucrats are “captivated” and “pleased” as they increasingly take from citizens. The increasing success of “taking” private property by bureaucrats, environmental radicals, animal rights activists, and politicians is clearly “infectious” and “contagious.” Of all the examples cited, in only the first (roads) are property owners paid or compensated for the property taken by government.
The Founding Fathers knew their history. For hundreds of years Kings, barons, and Parliaments “took” property on a whim and generally for their own profit. Whether it was monasteries transferred to political allies, rural landscapes and rivers reserved for the powerful rulers pleasure, Scotch and Irish land clearances, weapons confiscated, sons taken for war or daughters taken for the powerful, or homes destroyed for the “viewsheds” of the rich; “Taking” by government was a danger to be avoided at all costs. Therefore, the 5th Amendment to the US Constitution (smack dab in the middle of what we call “The Bill of Rights”) concludes, (No person shall…)”be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” There is nothing about good causes or the environment or some group of critters being exceptions to the obligation of the government to pay “just compensation” when they take property. The perverse current definition of public use ought to also be considered in this Constitutional light....
Permalink
NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS & OTHER LIES
What is the “native ecosystem” of central Africa? Is it the forests grazed and trampled to destruction by overpopulations of elephants? Is it the bush around villages or towns that have been in place for eons? Is it the imagined plant and animal mix before Arab slave traders or conquerors from far off massacred and enslaved “native” populations? What about our UN “partners” in forcing Asians and South Americans to “preserve” “their native ecosystems?” Is Germanys’ “native ecosystem” dated before the Nazis? Before the Romans? Before the Cro-Magnons? Is England’s “native ecosystem” dated before the Battle of Hastings? Before the Roman occupation? Before the druids? Why are any of these dates or any particular mix of plants and animals worthy of note?
Plants and animals have been invading new (and often for some of them, old) habitats since time began. Plants and animals have been disappearing from habitats for almost as long. Weather, rainfall, snowfall, fire, predators, elimination of a food source, opportunity in the form of a floating log or a windstorm, and other reasons too long to mention account for these changes. In recent (geologically) times, human activities such as farming, hunting, migration, villages, ships, trade, roads, fire, domestications, and another list too long to mention introduced and diminished untold plant and animal communities. North America’s environmental changes over the past 20,000 years are spectacular and some of the most extreme known, because when the prodigious changes of the past 500 years occurred, advanced European science and record-keeping ably recorded the changes....
WHOSE HABITAT?
Ever notice how often press releases, media commentators, nature writers, and environmental programs refer to how “we” are destroying or occupying or fragmenting “their” (wolves, cougars, elephants, leopards, and a list too long to include here) habitat. The old saw usually goes “increasing human populations”, “increasing development”, “increasing roads”, “increasing recreation”, and a whole host of human-oriented “increases” are “destroying habitat”, “increasing conflicts with (put your favorite critter here)”, “destroying the ecosystem”, and another long list too big to include here. Nonsense.
Is New York City a despoiled habitat? Is Yellowstone? Is North Dakota? How about Texas or the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio? Do condos destroy habitat? Does ranching or logging? Do wolves belong in my backyard or does a golden retriever? Are Africans entitled to surroundings wherein their children are not eaten by leopards or crocodiles? How about African farmers are they entitled to grow crops free of marauding elephants like Nebraskans grow corn free of marauding buffalo? These questions represent human values and a human society that strives to manage its environment for human good....
HUNTED AND TRAPPED
I have lost count of the propaganda press releases that have crossed my desk in the past 12 months referring to the carnage wrought by hunting and trapping. “Wolves were hunted and trapped until they were extinct in the west.” “Cougars were hunted and trapped until they were extinct everywhere except the west.” “Wolverines were hunted and trapped into extinction in the west.” Lynx were hunted and trapped into near extinction throughout the northern states.” “Buffalo were hunted to extinction throughout the US.” Will saying these things 50 times or reading them 100 times make them true? The answer is NO!
If no European settler (native Americans are never credited with killing “too many” of anything) ever hunted a buffalo there wouldn’t be one more buffalo than there are today. Why? Because when increasing numbers of settlers began farms and began grazing cattle and towns cropped up everywhere, there was no room left for buffalo. They ate forage needed for cattle, they knocked down fences, they trampled crops and gardens, they endangered rural children and old folks by stampeding, they tore up roads, and were simply out of place on lands intended by us to raise families, crops, and an American society. The buffalo had to go....
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE
A nation founded on individual freedoms and guaranteed rights is not a society where powerful interests should be able to deny freedoms and eliminate traditional rights. However that is not only happening routinely today, it has steadily increased in frequency for many years. In spite of a Constitution that designates and limits the powers and responsibilities of state and Federal government, environmental and animal rights interests have been successful in transferring state authorities to the Federal government and using those contrived authorities to transform the country into a socialist dictatorship in these matters.
How did we come to accept Federal wolves for which the Federal government is not responsible when they destroy private property; unmanaged whales and seals that depress already depressed commercial fisheries; increasingly vast unmanaged Federal lands that are inaccessible, unproductive fire hazards; invented Federal authority over animal testing and dog breeding; Federal proposals to ban trapping, ban bear baiting, ban hunting with dogs, restore “Pre-Columbian ecosystems”, eradicate “Invasive Species”, finance “non-game species”, register pet owners, and on and on?....
TAKING
“Taking” is all of these things, and more. The government takes from you when they condemn your land for a road. They take from landowners when they declare “viewsheds” and “corridors” around Parks and Refuges that restrict land use. They take from all of us when National Parks close state roads. They take from you when they forcibly introduce wolves that then kill your livestock, your pets, and the big game herds that you hunt. They take your property when they declare Critical Habitat or the presence of an Endangered Species on your property and you can no longer log, mow, build a home, burn, plant, graze, run dogs, hunt, fish, boat, etc. on your property. Property owners are increasingly “agitated and distressed” by the increase in magnitude and occasions of such takings. Government bureaucrats are “captivated” and “pleased” as they increasingly take from citizens. The increasing success of “taking” private property by bureaucrats, environmental radicals, animal rights activists, and politicians is clearly “infectious” and “contagious.” Of all the examples cited, in only the first (roads) are property owners paid or compensated for the property taken by government.
The Founding Fathers knew their history. For hundreds of years Kings, barons, and Parliaments “took” property on a whim and generally for their own profit. Whether it was monasteries transferred to political allies, rural landscapes and rivers reserved for the powerful rulers pleasure, Scotch and Irish land clearances, weapons confiscated, sons taken for war or daughters taken for the powerful, or homes destroyed for the “viewsheds” of the rich; “Taking” by government was a danger to be avoided at all costs. Therefore, the 5th Amendment to the US Constitution (smack dab in the middle of what we call “The Bill of Rights”) concludes, (No person shall…)”be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” There is nothing about good causes or the environment or some group of critters being exceptions to the obligation of the government to pay “just compensation” when they take property. The perverse current definition of public use ought to also be considered in this Constitutional light....
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