Thursday, February 12, 2009
NM water rush: Deep aquifers sought for metro growth
It's been called a modern-day gold rush. But the free-for-all isn't for sparkling bits in a stream, it's for the water - deep underground and salty - that developers and politicians hope will help keep New Mexico's metro areas growing. In Albuquerque and Santa Fe, developers and local governments have staked claims to more than 350,000 acre feet of brackish water in deep underground aquifers since 1997. But the vast bulk of those claims - amounting to roughly 325,000 acre feet - have been filed in the past year. One acre-foot equals 325,821 gallons, which can meet the annual water needs of two U.S. households. In southern New Mexico, the city of Las Cruces and two companies in Otero County also have claimed 35,000 acre feet of water from deep aquifers in the past two months, according to the state engineer's office. Brackish water in deep aquifers has little state oversight because of a loophole in state law that gives the state engineer jurisdiction of water above 2,500 feet unless it has a salt content of less than 1,000 parts per million. "Basically, right now with the way the laws are, it's just a free-for-all," State Engineer John D'Antonio said. D'Antonio is pushing for a change in state law this legislative session to give his office jurisdiction to salty water in deep aquifers...AP
Ranching, farming with arthritis workshop to be held
Workshops to help producers with arthritis farm and ranch are in Worland, Riverton and Wheatland this February. “More than 80 percent of ranchers and farmers experience some form of arthritis,” said Randy Weigel, human development specialist with the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (UW CES) and project director for Wyoming AgrAbility. “Ranchers and farmers are heavily affected by this condition, which can reduce their ability to perform work tasks efficiently.” Topics include learning the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of arthritis, myths and facts of arthritis and ways to manage pain while ranching and farming. Examples of assistive technology devices that can make life less painful and what to look for when buying assistive technology devices to help protect joints are also part of the workshop...[link]As I search the internet each night to find relevant articles to post, I've been seeing all kinds of stories about similar workshops, although this is the first one I've seen on arthritis. Now I'm handicapped from an autoimmune disease myself, but I think this is a bunch of bunk. Why aren't there workshops for carpenters with arthritis? Truck drivers with bad backs? Carpet layers with bad knees? Wayward women with the round heel disease?
I'll tell you my suspicions. I'll bet USDA has a passel of ADA money, and they are passing it out to the CES to put on these workshops. To me, the people who are really crippled are the politicians who fund these programs. They need brain surgery.
PETA dresses in KKK garb outside Westminster Dog Show
The animal rights group, which every year stages a protest at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, had two of its members dress in Ku Klux Klan garb outside Madison Square Garden on Monday. Their goal, according to a post on the PETA website, was to draw a parallel between the KKK and the American Kennel Club. "Obviously it's an uncomfortable comparison," PETA spokesman Michael McGraw told the Associated Press. But the AKC is trying to create a "master race" when it comes to pure-bred dogs, he added. "It's a very apt comparison."...USA Today
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Salazar puts expanded offshore drilling on hold
The LA Times reports:
The Obama administration put the brakes on a push to expand oil and gas drilling off America's coasts Tuesday and promised to speed development of offshore wind farms. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he will extend public comments for six months on a last-minute proposal by the Bush administration to open swaths of the California, Alaska, Atlantic and Gulf coasts for drilling. He also ordered Interior staff to compile data on the potential benefits from oil, gas and renewable development offshore and pledged public hearings on drilling, including one to be held on the West Coast. Salazar also said the department would finalize guidelines for developing wind and other renewable energy development, which Bush officials did not complete before leaving office. Salazar called the Bush drilling plan a "headlong rush" based on bad information and tilted toward "old energy."...
The Obama administration put the brakes on a push to expand oil and gas drilling off America's coasts Tuesday and promised to speed development of offshore wind farms. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he will extend public comments for six months on a last-minute proposal by the Bush administration to open swaths of the California, Alaska, Atlantic and Gulf coasts for drilling. He also ordered Interior staff to compile data on the potential benefits from oil, gas and renewable development offshore and pledged public hearings on drilling, including one to be held on the West Coast. Salazar also said the department would finalize guidelines for developing wind and other renewable energy development, which Bush officials did not complete before leaving office. Salazar called the Bush drilling plan a "headlong rush" based on bad information and tilted toward "old energy."...
Mighty Miss may solve western water woes
During the Rio Grande Inter Basin Roundtable session on Tuesday, Gunnison hay farmer Gary Hausler presented a 1,200-mile $22.5 billion proposal that would take the heat off the San Luis Valley and the West Slope to provide water for Colorado’s burgeoning Front Range cities and thirsty downstream states. Hausler proposed an innovative if not ambitious project that he admitted would not be completed in his lifetime, even if it began tomorrow - a pipeline from the Mississippi River to Colorado. “The Mississippi provides a huge source of unused water,” he said. “It provides more water than can be used.” Hausler proposed that Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska form a new interstate compact, the Central Plains Compact, that would run 1,200 miles of 22-inch diameter pipe from the Mississippi River at a point near Hickman, Kentucky, to Colorado at a point between Denver and Colorado Springs on Monument Hill. The pipeline would include laterals along the way to provide water to all of the states between the river and the Rockies. Hausler estimated the cost of the project at $22.5 billion including permits, rights of way (possibly through eminent domain), engineering and construction. He also estimated the project would span 30 years from idea to construction with about 10 years spent on forming the compact, another 10 years on permits and 10 years on the construction itself. Hausler has a mining and heavy construction background in addition to a stint in corporate finance before becoming a hay farmer and rancher near Gunnison...Alamosa Valley Courier
The Klamath Basin: The Tricky Business of Water Rights in the West
Last week, the Oregon Supreme Court agreed to decide whether irrigators in the Klamath Basin "own" water delivered by the federal Klamath Reclamation Project. This latest development is one more twist in an ongoing property rights case that illustrates both how difficult it can be to determine who holds precisely what rights in western water and how property rights claims, even spurious ones, can frustrate ecosystem restoration efforts. Usually, claims of ownership are made to recover a resource from someone else. But that's not the issue here. The United States agrees that when the Project has water available it must deliver that water to these irrigators rather than to anyone else. But the irrigators want more than that. They want the United States to pay them for having limited deliveries from the Project in the drought year of 2001 in order to protect threatened and endangered fish. Having failed so far to get that result in the federal courts, they are now using procedural maneuvering to get another bite at the apple from the Oregon courts. The 2001 "train wreck" spawned litigation on a variety of fronts. The irrigators went the takings route. They have long gotten the benefit of almost all the water in the basin, and have decided to stand on their claimed rights to that water even as the ground shifts from under them. Shortly after the water shut-off, they hired lawyers known for aggressive pursuit of property rights claims, and soon were claiming that the United States owed them a billion dollars (far more than any documented losses) under the Fifth Amendment for having "taken" their water in 2001. The United States Court of Claims ruled for the United States, finding that the irrigators did not have property rights that would support a takings claim, and that their contracts for water delivery were subservient to the Endangered Species Act. On appeal of the takings claim, the Federal Circuit decided that the property issue depended "upon complex issues of Oregon property law." It certified three questions to the Oregon Supreme Court, essentially requesting that the state court resolve those issues, which it has now agreed to do...AlterNet
Conservation group plans to sue feds over Nevada water project
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports:
A national conservation group has announced plans to sue the federal government for failing to protect endangered fish and desert tortoises that could be harmed by groundwater development plans in northern Clark County. The lawsuit promised by the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity targets the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management over agreements those agencies struck with the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the developers of Coyote Springs. Officials for the environmental group insist groundwater withdrawals by the Coyote Springs development and the water authority could destroy crucial habitat for the endangered Moapa dace, a finger-length fish only found at the headwaters of the Muddy River, 60 miles north of Las Vegas. The federally protected desert tortoise also faces habitat loss in Clark and Lincoln counties as a result of large-scale groundwater pumping and the residential development it would sustain, Mrowska said. The environmental group today sent the two federal agencies a 60-day notice of its intent to sue. Such notice is required for lawsuits brought under the Endangered Species Act...
A national conservation group has announced plans to sue the federal government for failing to protect endangered fish and desert tortoises that could be harmed by groundwater development plans in northern Clark County. The lawsuit promised by the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity targets the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management over agreements those agencies struck with the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the developers of Coyote Springs. Officials for the environmental group insist groundwater withdrawals by the Coyote Springs development and the water authority could destroy crucial habitat for the endangered Moapa dace, a finger-length fish only found at the headwaters of the Muddy River, 60 miles north of Las Vegas. The federally protected desert tortoise also faces habitat loss in Clark and Lincoln counties as a result of large-scale groundwater pumping and the residential development it would sustain, Mrowska said. The environmental group today sent the two federal agencies a 60-day notice of its intent to sue. Such notice is required for lawsuits brought under the Endangered Species Act...
First Extinct-Animal Clone Created
National Geographic News reports:An extinct animal has been resurrected by cloning for the first time—though the clone died minutes after birth. Findings revealed January 23 in the journal Theriogenology describe the use of frozen skin in 2003 to clone a bucardo, or Pyrenean ibex, a subspecies of Spanish ibex that went extinct in 2000. Scientists had cloned endangered species before, but not one that had officially died out. Study co-author Jose Folch, of the Center for Agro-Nutrition Research and Technology in Aragon, Spain, said his team plans to try cloning another this ibex this year or next. "We are not especially disappointed for the death of the cloned newborn," Folch explained in an email, because such deaths in cloning experiments are common...
Islam group urges forest fire jihad
The Age reports:
AUSTRALIA has been singled out as a target for "forest jihad" by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfirs as a weapon of terror. US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to "start forest fires", claiming "scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands". The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the "eye for an eye" doctrine. The posting - which instructs jihadis to remember "forest jihad" in summer months - says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that "this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time"....
AUSTRALIA has been singled out as a target for "forest jihad" by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfirs as a weapon of terror. US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to "start forest fires", claiming "scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands". The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the "eye for an eye" doctrine. The posting - which instructs jihadis to remember "forest jihad" in summer months - says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that "this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time"....
Western Governors study on renewable energy zones
From the Casper Star-Tribune:
The Western Governors' Association is working to identify the windiest and sunniest areas of the West -- in other words, those areas best suited for major renewable energy projects. Working with the Department of Energy, the Governors' Association this week released a draft study naming areas that contain the most potential for development of renewable energy sources, also including geothermal and hydropower. The study says renewable energy projects could generate more than 235,000 megawatts of energy in the 12 western states, Mexico's Baja California and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Association officials say the "Western Renewable Energy Zone" project is intended to bring more renewable energy online by facilitating the construction of transmission lines between resource areas and population centers. The project is soliciting public comment on its early findings...
The Western Governors' Association is working to identify the windiest and sunniest areas of the West -- in other words, those areas best suited for major renewable energy projects. Working with the Department of Energy, the Governors' Association this week released a draft study naming areas that contain the most potential for development of renewable energy sources, also including geothermal and hydropower. The study says renewable energy projects could generate more than 235,000 megawatts of energy in the 12 western states, Mexico's Baja California and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Association officials say the "Western Renewable Energy Zone" project is intended to bring more renewable energy online by facilitating the construction of transmission lines between resource areas and population centers. The project is soliciting public comment on its early findings...
Lawmakers decry interference in horse slaughter
The Casper Star-Tribune reports:
The Wyoming House gave preliminary approval Friday to a resolution asking Congress not to interfere with the shipment and slaughter of unwanted horses. House Joint Resolution 8 urges Congress to keep out of state oversight of the transport and processing of horses. Rep. Sue Wallis, R-Recluse, who introduced the resolution, said it's a response to a federal bill that seeks to limit horse transport to Mexico and Canada. Americans currently send unwanted horses to the neighboring countries for slaughter, because slaughterhouses in the United States have closed. Wallis said the proposed Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 would be a threat to Wyoming's horse and livestock industries. She said the industries have already been hurt as domestic slaughterhouses have closed because of pressure from animal rights organizations. "It's absolutely decimating to the horse industry," Wallis said. There are an estimated 100,000 unwanted or unusable horses in the United States, according to supporters of the resolution.
The Wyoming House gave preliminary approval Friday to a resolution asking Congress not to interfere with the shipment and slaughter of unwanted horses. House Joint Resolution 8 urges Congress to keep out of state oversight of the transport and processing of horses. Rep. Sue Wallis, R-Recluse, who introduced the resolution, said it's a response to a federal bill that seeks to limit horse transport to Mexico and Canada. Americans currently send unwanted horses to the neighboring countries for slaughter, because slaughterhouses in the United States have closed. Wallis said the proposed Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 would be a threat to Wyoming's horse and livestock industries. She said the industries have already been hurt as domestic slaughterhouses have closed because of pressure from animal rights organizations. "It's absolutely decimating to the horse industry," Wallis said. There are an estimated 100,000 unwanted or unusable horses in the United States, according to supporters of the resolution.
Vilsack: U.S. should have single food inspection agency
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday he favors a single food safety agency, but he has not decided whether it should be located in the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Food and Drug Administration or an independent agency. Commenting on the salmonella peanut butter scandal, Vilsack told the U.S. Rice Federation that the issue of centralization is key because food safety is both a human health and market issue. "We are the only industrial nation to have two systems," Vilsack said, a reference to USDA's responsibility for meat, poultry and eggs and FDA's responsibility for most other food products. Noting that 325,000 Americans are hospitalized every year for treatment of food-borne illnesses and that "millions" of others have food-borne illnesses that do not require treatment, Vilsack said the government must ensure that the food supply is safe...Government Executive
Here's Your Sign
I'm sure Bill Engvall would have a ball with this:
Two people have been arrested for eating an endangered species of iguana in the Bahamas after posting pictures of the grill on Facebook. Vanessa Starr Palm, 23, of Illinois and Alexander Daniel Rust, 24, of Indiana, were arrested last Monday after pictures of the two having an iguana feast in the islands were posted on the social networking website...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Obama Backs Bush Policy, Invokes "State Secrets"
The Obama administration is backing an anti-terrorism policy of President George W. Bush, urging a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit that accuses a Boeing Co. unit of helping the CIA fly suspects overseas to be tortured. The American Civil Liberties Union, based in New York, criticized the Obama administration’s position and urged a three- judge appeals court in San Francisco to revive the Boeing case. Under Bush, the government argued national security would be jeopardized if the 2007 suit against Boeing’s Jeppesen Dataplan is allowed to proceed. Jeppesen was accused of falsifying flight plans to disguise the Central Intelligence Agency’s delivery of suspected terrorists to secret prisons where they were allegedly tortured. “Eric Holder’s Justice Department stood up in court today and said that it would continue the Bush policy of invoking state secrets to hide the reprehensible history of torture, rendition and the most grievous human rights violations committed by the American government,” said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero in a statement yesterday. “This is not change. This is definitely more of the same.” Holder, who took office last week as attorney general in the new Democratic administration, believes “it is vital to protect information that, if released, would jeopardize national security,” said the Justice Department’s Miller...From Bloomberg
Obama fails his first test on civil liberties and accountability
The entire claim of "state secrets" in this case is based on two sworn Declarations from CIA Director Michael Hayden -- one public and one filed secretly with the court. In them, Hayden argues that courts cannot adjudicate this case because to do so would be to disclose and thus degrade key CIA programs of rendition and interrogation -- the very policies which Obama, in his first week in office, ordered shall no longer exist. How, then, could continuation of this case possibly jeopardize national security when the rendition and interrogation practices which gave rise to these lawsuits are the very ones that the U.S. Government, under the new administration, claims to have banned? What this is clearly about is shielding the U.S. Government and Bush officials from any accountability. Worse, by keeping Bush's secrecy architecture in place, it ensures that any future President -- Obama or any other -- can continue to operate behind an impenetrable wall of secrecy, with no transparency or accountability even for blatantly criminal acts...Glenn Greenwald at salon.com
A rare peek at Homeland Security's files on travelers
The oversize white envelope bore the blue logo of the Department of Homeland Security. Inside, I found 20 photocopies of the government's records on my international travels. Every overseas trip I've taken since 2001 was noted. I had requested the files after I had heard that the government tracks "passenger activity." Starting in the mid-1990s, many airlines handed over passenger records. Since 2002, the government has mandated that the commercial airlines deliver this information routinely and electronically. A passenger record typically includes the name of the person traveling, the name of the person who submitted the information while arranging the trip, and details about how the ticket was bought, according to documents published by the Department of Homeland Security. Records are made for citizens and non-citizens who cross our borders. An agent from U.S. Customs and Border Protection can generate a travel history for any traveler with a few keystrokes on a computer. Officials use the information to prevent terrorism, acts of organized crime, and other illegal activity. I had been curious about what's in my travel dossier, so I made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for a copy. I'm posting here a few sample pages of what officials sent me. My biggest surprise was that the Internet Protocol (I.P.) address of the computer used to buy my tickets via a Web agency was noted. On the first document image posted here, I've circled in red the I.P. address of the computer used to buy my pair of airline tickets. The rest of my file contained details about my ticketed itineraries, the amount I paid for tickets, and the airports I passed through overseas. My credit card number was not listed, nor were any hotels I've visited. In two cases, the basic identifying information about my traveling companion (whose ticket was part of the same purchase as mine) was included in the file. Perhaps that information was included by mistake...The commercial airlines send these passenger records to Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Computers match the information with the databases of federal departments, such as Treasury, Agriculture, and Homeland Security. Computers uncover links between known and previously unidentified terrorists or terrorist suspects, as well as suspicious or irregular travel patterns. Some of this information comes from foreign governments and law enforcement agencies. The data is also crosschecked with American state and local law enforcement agencies, which are tracking persons who have warrants out for their arrest or who are under restraining orders. The data is used not only to fight terrorism but also to prevent and combat acts of organized crime and other illegal activity....
FAA says Hackers broke into agency computers
Hackers broke into the Federal Aviation Administration's computer system last week, accessing the names and Social Security numbers of 45,000 employees and retirees. The agency said in a statement Monday that two of the 48 files on the breached computer server contained personal information about employees and retires who were on the FAA's rolls as of the first week of February 2006. The server that was accessed was not connected to the operation of the air traffic control system and there is no indication those systems have been compromised, the statement said...AP
Don't worry, the feds will protect all the data they are gathering on us.
Don't worry, the feds will protect all the data they are gathering on us.
City gun statute targeted
Charges against a city man who fired a pistol into the air to stop a group from assaulting his cousin should be dropped because the city ordinance limiting the discharge of guns flies in the face of state law and the Constitution, the defendant's attorney told a county judge during a hearing Friday. Lancaster city's revised gunfire ordinance unconstitutionally restricts the right to protect oneself and others, a lawyer argued at a hearing Friday. Representing the city, attorney Neil L. Albert said the city is entitled to regulate firearms discharge under state law and the charge against Swinton is appropriate. Swinton said his cousin was being attacked and beaten by a group of assailants and that he fired a warning shot to disperse them. He had a concealed-carry permit for the gun...Intelligencer Journal
A sly fox's take on Idaho wolves
Rocky Barker writes in the Idaho Statesman:
Moscow Republican Sen. Gary Schroeder has been getting a lot of heat for his bill that would authorize the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to offer Idaho's surplus wolves to any state that will take them. Schroeder, a fur trader, hung a wolf pelt on the wall of the Senate Environment and Resources Committee hearing room Monday when he introduced the bill just to show he meant business. Under his bill, Fish and Game will send letters to other states asking them if they wanted any wolves. The strategy he espoused is that if other states won't take our extra wolves, we will have no choice but to open a hunting season or, if necessary, to allow federal agents to kill them. But Schroeder, that white-haired fox, really has another strategy, and it's aimed at the anti-wolf leaders in the state who want to pick a fight we cannot win with the federal government. When a federal judge reversed the Bush administration's delisting of wolves in the Northern Rockies, anti-wolf forces across the West sought a response that would put the pro-wolf forces, the states and the federal government on the defensive. The Montana Shooting Sports Association drafted a bill that challenges federal authority to force wolves on the state. The Montana bill, which has since been introduced in the Legislature, would void the state's cooperative management agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and void its wolf management plan. It also would declare that the wolves now in the state were out of compliance with state wolf policy, and any efforts to arrest people for killing wolves in the state would be a crime with a jail sentence. A similar bill may come in Idaho this year. But this battle has been fought and lost already...
Moscow Republican Sen. Gary Schroeder has been getting a lot of heat for his bill that would authorize the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to offer Idaho's surplus wolves to any state that will take them. Schroeder, a fur trader, hung a wolf pelt on the wall of the Senate Environment and Resources Committee hearing room Monday when he introduced the bill just to show he meant business. Under his bill, Fish and Game will send letters to other states asking them if they wanted any wolves. The strategy he espoused is that if other states won't take our extra wolves, we will have no choice but to open a hunting season or, if necessary, to allow federal agents to kill them. But Schroeder, that white-haired fox, really has another strategy, and it's aimed at the anti-wolf leaders in the state who want to pick a fight we cannot win with the federal government. When a federal judge reversed the Bush administration's delisting of wolves in the Northern Rockies, anti-wolf forces across the West sought a response that would put the pro-wolf forces, the states and the federal government on the defensive. The Montana Shooting Sports Association drafted a bill that challenges federal authority to force wolves on the state. The Montana bill, which has since been introduced in the Legislature, would void the state's cooperative management agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and void its wolf management plan. It also would declare that the wolves now in the state were out of compliance with state wolf policy, and any efforts to arrest people for killing wolves in the state would be a crime with a jail sentence. A similar bill may come in Idaho this year. But this battle has been fought and lost already...
Feds pare Colo. gas-lease sale
The Denver Post reports:
The U.S. Forest Service — facing opposition from state and local governments as well as environmental groups — withdrew 67,000 acres from a Colorado oil- and gas-lease sale set for Thursday. The state Division of Wildlife and San Miguel and La Plata counties all filed formal protest letters over the potential sale. Criticism focused on the fact the parcels were chosen based on a 1993 plan with dated science on how drilling might affect land and wildlife. The land is in the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison national forests and is home to Canada lynx, the Gunnison sage grouse and Colorado cutthroat trout. Some parcels also were in the watershed-protection area that supplies drinking water for the town of Norwood, southwest of Montrose. Norwood officials and the San Miguel commissioners also protested those parcels. "I was particularly concerned two counties and the state Division of Wildlife raised these issues," said Rick Cables, the regional forester for the Rocky Mountain region...
The U.S. Forest Service — facing opposition from state and local governments as well as environmental groups — withdrew 67,000 acres from a Colorado oil- and gas-lease sale set for Thursday. The state Division of Wildlife and San Miguel and La Plata counties all filed formal protest letters over the potential sale. Criticism focused on the fact the parcels were chosen based on a 1993 plan with dated science on how drilling might affect land and wildlife. The land is in the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison national forests and is home to Canada lynx, the Gunnison sage grouse and Colorado cutthroat trout. Some parcels also were in the watershed-protection area that supplies drinking water for the town of Norwood, southwest of Montrose. Norwood officials and the San Miguel commissioners also protested those parcels. "I was particularly concerned two counties and the state Division of Wildlife raised these issues," said Rick Cables, the regional forester for the Rocky Mountain region...
Hot And Bothered
Last summer, doctors in Melbourne, Australia, diagnosed the first case of climate change delusion. It affected a 17-year-old who was refusing to drink water and had been admitted to the psychiatric unit at Royal Children's Hospital. He thought that if he took a drink, millions of people would die from the drought effects of global warming. Doctors said he'd been depressed for eight months and had "visions of apocalyptic events." We don't know if Al Gore has been depressed, but he has certainly had "visions of apocalyptic events" that he's been all too eager to share. He'll be pleased to hear that, according to the Boston Globe, Dr. Robert Salo, the psychiatrist in charge of the unit where the teenager was treated, "has now seen several more patients with psychosis or anxiety disorders focused on climate change." Children who are "having nightmares about global-warming-related natural disasters" are also booking appointments. As troubling as climate change delusion is to its victims and their families, it's exactly what the global warming alarmists have been trying to inflict. Last year, for instance, the 148,000-member American Psychological Association, which believes "we know how to change behavior and attitudes," admitted that it was embarking on a campaign to, in essence, condition the public to unthinkingly believe that human behavior is causing an environmental crisis. Among the association's goals was to rid the media of "balanced" reports on global warming and to use taxpayers' money to fund the initiative...IBD
Environmental Protection, in Name Only
The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, promised during her confirmation hearing to base agency policies and decisions on science, not politics: “If I am confirmed, I will administer with science as my guide, ” she said. “Political appointees will not compromise the integrity of EPA’s technical experts to advance particular regulatory outcomes.” There are two reasons for skepticism. First, the EPA has long been a haven for zealots in career positions and for scientifically insupportable policies, so it has little integrity to compromise. It has a sordid history of incompetence, duplicity, and pandering to the most extreme factions of the environmental movement, all of which are likely to become even worse during the Obama administration. Second, Ms. Jackson herself is a veteran of 16 years at the EPA, during which she developed some of the agency’s most unscientific, wasteful, and dangerous regulations. While at the EPA, Ms. Jackson worked on Superfund (officially the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act), an ongoing EPA program intended to clean up and reduce the risk of toxic-waste sites. This program was originally conceived as a short-term project—$1.6 billion over five years to clean up some 400 sites (by law, at least one per state and, not coincidentally, about one per congressional district). But it has grown into one of the nation’s largest public-works projects: more than $30 billion spent on about 1,300 sites. UC-Davis medical economist J. Paul Leigh has analyzed the occupational hazards of environmental cleanup projects. He concluded that the risks of fatality to cleanup workers—a dump-truck driver involved in a collision or a laborer run over by a bulldozer, for example—are considerably larger than the cancer risks to individual residents that might result from exposures to unremediated sites...Henry I. Miller at National Review
The Nature Conservancy: We are committed to replacing lost property taxes
From the Clark Fork Chronicle:
Editor's Note: Mineral County Commissioners wrote to The Nature Conservancy Jan. 29 expressing opposition to HB 14, which would convert former Plum Creek Timber lands to public ownership. The county leaders noted that public ownership would result in a net loss of tax revenue to the county, including $30,000 per year to the Alberton School District. The following letter represents The Nature Conservancy's response.
February 9, 2008
Mineral County Commissioners
Mineral County Courthouse
300 River Street
Superior, Montana 59872
RE: Fish Creek and Mineral County
Dear Commissioners:
Thank you for your letter dated January 29, 2009, expressing your concerns about the eventual ownership of Fish Creek. As an organization with decades of experience working in partnership with rural landowners and county commissions in Montana, we appreciate and understand your concerns regarding potential public ownership or Fish Creek and the related fiscal impact as conveyed to us by Chris Bryant. our western Montana director of outreach.
As Chris reiterated to you at your meeting on the 29th, we are committed to working with you and the residents of Mineral County to find solutions to the potential fiscal impact on your tax base that could result should lands in the Fish Creek and Nemote Creek areas be sold to the State of Montana. We don't know yet who the eventual owners of Fish Creek will be (state or private), so it's impossible to know the exact fiscal impact, if any, at this time. As Chris has stated, our policy is to pay property taxes on lands while under our ownership. We want to put the tax issue behind us so we can effectively partner with you on issues ranging from stewardship during our interim ownership to eventual disposition of these lands. To that end, we commit to coming up with a solution that mitigates the fiscal impact of state ownership – should that occur – to Mineral County and the Alberton School District. One model of such a solution could be similar to our approach with Powell County, which took the form of a lump sum payment from The Nature Conservancy that Powell County is investing to provide perpetual returns in the amount of their tax loss. Your county's needs and our project may require a different approach, and we will tailor a solution that meets these needs.
We are encouraged by your commitment to work with us through a yet-to-be-created citizen advisory committee. We have a long record in this state with community-based conservation, and we hope we can develop a strong working relationship with residents and organizations in Mineral County. This project is just beginning and will take years of work to successfully complete. We look forward to having you as a partner.
In terms of your position on House Bill 14, we hope that you will take some time to listen to the testimony of the dozens of loggers, ranchers. and Potomac area residents who see this project as a chance to keep their economy and Montana way of life whole. Given what is at stake for your fellow Montanans in the Potomac Valley. we hope you will join them in support of this measure.
Sincerely,
Kat Imhoff
State Director
Editor's Note: Mineral County Commissioners wrote to The Nature Conservancy Jan. 29 expressing opposition to HB 14, which would convert former Plum Creek Timber lands to public ownership. The county leaders noted that public ownership would result in a net loss of tax revenue to the county, including $30,000 per year to the Alberton School District. The following letter represents The Nature Conservancy's response.
February 9, 2008
Mineral County Commissioners
Mineral County Courthouse
300 River Street
Superior, Montana 59872
RE: Fish Creek and Mineral County
Dear Commissioners:
Thank you for your letter dated January 29, 2009, expressing your concerns about the eventual ownership of Fish Creek. As an organization with decades of experience working in partnership with rural landowners and county commissions in Montana, we appreciate and understand your concerns regarding potential public ownership or Fish Creek and the related fiscal impact as conveyed to us by Chris Bryant. our western Montana director of outreach.
As Chris reiterated to you at your meeting on the 29th, we are committed to working with you and the residents of Mineral County to find solutions to the potential fiscal impact on your tax base that could result should lands in the Fish Creek and Nemote Creek areas be sold to the State of Montana. We don't know yet who the eventual owners of Fish Creek will be (state or private), so it's impossible to know the exact fiscal impact, if any, at this time. As Chris has stated, our policy is to pay property taxes on lands while under our ownership. We want to put the tax issue behind us so we can effectively partner with you on issues ranging from stewardship during our interim ownership to eventual disposition of these lands. To that end, we commit to coming up with a solution that mitigates the fiscal impact of state ownership – should that occur – to Mineral County and the Alberton School District. One model of such a solution could be similar to our approach with Powell County, which took the form of a lump sum payment from The Nature Conservancy that Powell County is investing to provide perpetual returns in the amount of their tax loss. Your county's needs and our project may require a different approach, and we will tailor a solution that meets these needs.
We are encouraged by your commitment to work with us through a yet-to-be-created citizen advisory committee. We have a long record in this state with community-based conservation, and we hope we can develop a strong working relationship with residents and organizations in Mineral County. This project is just beginning and will take years of work to successfully complete. We look forward to having you as a partner.
In terms of your position on House Bill 14, we hope that you will take some time to listen to the testimony of the dozens of loggers, ranchers. and Potomac area residents who see this project as a chance to keep their economy and Montana way of life whole. Given what is at stake for your fellow Montanans in the Potomac Valley. we hope you will join them in support of this measure.
Sincerely,
Kat Imhoff
State Director
Monday, February 09, 2009
Oregon ranchers sue Forest Service in dispute over grazing
A ranching couple in Dayville, who last summer was forced by a federal court to stop grazing cattle on a Malheur National Forest parcel, is now suing the U.S. Forest Service, stating the agency needs to do something about the wild horses in the area. The federal lawsuit is the latest step in a dispute over which animals — and how many of them — should be allowed in the Murderers Creek area southwest of John Day. And the ranchers say the Forest Service needs to cut the number of wild horses on the Malheur National Forest by about half to comply with the agency’s own standards. For years, Loren and Piper Stout have grazed cattle on a parcel of Forest Service land in the Murderers Creek area. But as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association, a federal judge issued an injunction in 2008 stating the Stouts could not graze cattle in the area while he considered the case. “For a small family ranch like that, that was pretty devastating,” Scott Horngren, the Stouts’ attorney, said previously. The Oregon Natural Desert Association has been working on the issue since 2003, said staff attorney Dave Becker. Its goal is to get the Forest Service and other agencies to study the impact of grazing on Murderers Creek, a tributary of the John Day River that is important habitat for steelhead, he said. Steelhead are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act...Update: For a more thorough coverage of the issue see Wild horses, elk threaten to overcrowd rangelands
Boom in gas drilling fuels contamination concerns in Colorado
The Christian Science Monitor reports:
When Lisa Bracken noticed gas bubbling to the surface of Divide Creek, which runs along one side of her 60 acres in western Colorado, she suspected another gas “seep.” It had happened once before, in 2004, after faulty natural-gas drilling in the vicinity contaminated the creek with benzene and methane. Her concern, though, is not confined to the small waterway. Her cottonwood and pinyon trees are dying, along with parts of meadowland that her family manages for wildlife, and Ms. Bracken believes the likely culprit is methane seepage stemming from one or more of the 11 natural-gas wells within a mile of her property – though independent investigations have not been able to prove a link. “It is so frustrating to watch the land die,” she says. Bracken does not think the current drought is responsible. “We have seen it go through drought cycles, but nothing like this. The land has lost its ability to sustain itself.” Her concern and that of others is putting new scrutiny on a drilling practice knows as “fracing,” short for hydraulic fracturing. A common component of natural-gas extraction worldwide, fracturing operations inject water, sand, and a cocktail of chemicals at high pressure into rock formations thousands of feet below the surface, opening existing fractures in the rock and allowing gas to rise through the wells. The practice makes drilling possible in areas that 10 to 20 years ago would not have been profitable, including parts of Colorado, which accounts for 6.2 percent of natural-gas produced in the US. The concerns center mainly around the injected fluid. Most comes back to the surface, but 30 to 40 percent is never recovered, according to industry estimates...Colborn’s work and complaints from residents living near drilling operations are spurring policymakers to take a closer look at hydraulic fracturing. US Reps. Diana DeGette (D) and John Salazar (D), both of Colorado, have introduced legislation that would repeal the Safe Drinking Water Act exemption for hydraulic fracturing and force energy companies to reveal the contents of the fracturing fluids...
When Lisa Bracken noticed gas bubbling to the surface of Divide Creek, which runs along one side of her 60 acres in western Colorado, she suspected another gas “seep.” It had happened once before, in 2004, after faulty natural-gas drilling in the vicinity contaminated the creek with benzene and methane. Her concern, though, is not confined to the small waterway. Her cottonwood and pinyon trees are dying, along with parts of meadowland that her family manages for wildlife, and Ms. Bracken believes the likely culprit is methane seepage stemming from one or more of the 11 natural-gas wells within a mile of her property – though independent investigations have not been able to prove a link. “It is so frustrating to watch the land die,” she says. Bracken does not think the current drought is responsible. “We have seen it go through drought cycles, but nothing like this. The land has lost its ability to sustain itself.” Her concern and that of others is putting new scrutiny on a drilling practice knows as “fracing,” short for hydraulic fracturing. A common component of natural-gas extraction worldwide, fracturing operations inject water, sand, and a cocktail of chemicals at high pressure into rock formations thousands of feet below the surface, opening existing fractures in the rock and allowing gas to rise through the wells. The practice makes drilling possible in areas that 10 to 20 years ago would not have been profitable, including parts of Colorado, which accounts for 6.2 percent of natural-gas produced in the US. The concerns center mainly around the injected fluid. Most comes back to the surface, but 30 to 40 percent is never recovered, according to industry estimates...Colborn’s work and complaints from residents living near drilling operations are spurring policymakers to take a closer look at hydraulic fracturing. US Reps. Diana DeGette (D) and John Salazar (D), both of Colorado, have introduced legislation that would repeal the Safe Drinking Water Act exemption for hydraulic fracturing and force energy companies to reveal the contents of the fracturing fluids...
Burning our bucks in the woods
From The Oregonian:The Forest Service is slated to receive from Congress $300 million to pay for hazardous fuels reduction projects on federal land. Hazardous fuels reduction includes removing small trees from forests, mowing brush and prescribed burning. The National Fire Plan created the hazardous fuels reduction program. The Forest Service says the fuels program is intended "to help save the lives of firefighters and citizens and to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire to our communities, forests, and rangelands." Since its adoption in 2001, the NFP's hazardous fuels program has treated fuels on 29 million acres at a cost of $2 billion. So what's been the return on our $2 billion investment? Has the program saved lives, reduced fires or protected communities? From 2001 through 2007, 136 firefighters have lost their lives in the line of duty. In the preceding seven-year period (1994-2000), 130 firefighters died. Under the NFP, fires have burned an average of 7 million acres each year. In the seven-year period before the NFP, fires burned 4 million acres a year. In the last seven years, firefighting costs averaged $1.4 billion a year. In the preceding period before the NFP, costs averaged half that amount. Under the NFP, 1,482 houses have been lost annually to wildfires (most are in Southern California), compared to an average 563 houses lost yearly in the two years (for which I have data) before the NFP....
Forest Land Area from 1630 to 2002
About 30 percent of the 2.3 billion acres of land area (745 million acres) in the U.S. is forest today as compared to about one-half in 1630 (1.0 billion acres). Some 300 million acres of forest land have been converted to other uses since 1630, predominantly because of agricultural uses in the East. The forest resources of the U.S. have continued improving in general condition and quality, as measured by increased average size and volume of trees. This trend has been evident since the 1960s and before. The total forestland acreage has remained stable since 1900...Source
Alliance with feds proposed
From the Daily Inter Lake:
A plan to coordinate natural-resource planning between Flathead County and the U.S. Forest Service and ultimately make forest management more efficient was unveiled this week by the county's Natural Resource Committee. Committee members outlined operating protocols, a draft memorandum of understanding and a proposed letter that would be sent to Flathead National Forest Supervisor Cathy Barbouletos once the plan is adopted by the county. National forest land accounts for more than half the acreage of Flathead County and it's imperative, committee chairman Fred Hodgeboom said, for the county to promote increased active management on national forest land that will provide long-term sustainable revenue to the federal treasury and Flathead County. The committee cited several detrimental effects from the county's proximity to federal forest land, including increased catastrophic wildfires and exposure to unhealthy smoke levels; damage to watersheds, riparian zones, fisheries and water quality due to increased nutrients from smoke and soil erosion; wildlife losses; spiraling firefighting costs; and loss of income to county businesses from depreciated and ruined timber. A process for federal and local government coordination is outlined in numerous federal laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, the committee noted. The letter to Barbouletos would formally "invoke" that under-utilized coordination process in those laws...
A plan to coordinate natural-resource planning between Flathead County and the U.S. Forest Service and ultimately make forest management more efficient was unveiled this week by the county's Natural Resource Committee. Committee members outlined operating protocols, a draft memorandum of understanding and a proposed letter that would be sent to Flathead National Forest Supervisor Cathy Barbouletos once the plan is adopted by the county. National forest land accounts for more than half the acreage of Flathead County and it's imperative, committee chairman Fred Hodgeboom said, for the county to promote increased active management on national forest land that will provide long-term sustainable revenue to the federal treasury and Flathead County. The committee cited several detrimental effects from the county's proximity to federal forest land, including increased catastrophic wildfires and exposure to unhealthy smoke levels; damage to watersheds, riparian zones, fisheries and water quality due to increased nutrients from smoke and soil erosion; wildlife losses; spiraling firefighting costs; and loss of income to county businesses from depreciated and ruined timber. A process for federal and local government coordination is outlined in numerous federal laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, the committee noted. The letter to Barbouletos would formally "invoke" that under-utilized coordination process in those laws...
Hawn begins jail sentence
The Flume reports:
Texas businessman Jeff Hawn, who arranged the killing of 32 bison belonging to rancher Monte Downare in South Park last spring, will be treated like any other inmate at the Park County Jail during his 10-day sentence, which began on Feb. 2. At least that's the intention of the Park County Sheriff's Office, which plans to put Hawn to work preparing food for other inmates. Hawn, who is the chief executive officer of Seattle software company Attachmate, surrendered himself to jail on Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. and will spend five days behind bars before a brief respite over the weekend. Then he will turn himself back into jail on Feb. 9 and spend another five days in jail to complete his sentence. Park County Undersheriff Monte Gore said Hawn would be assigned a job he would be required to do, and he would be housed with the general population of inmates during his stay in jail...
Texas businessman Jeff Hawn, who arranged the killing of 32 bison belonging to rancher Monte Downare in South Park last spring, will be treated like any other inmate at the Park County Jail during his 10-day sentence, which began on Feb. 2. At least that's the intention of the Park County Sheriff's Office, which plans to put Hawn to work preparing food for other inmates. Hawn, who is the chief executive officer of Seattle software company Attachmate, surrendered himself to jail on Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. and will spend five days behind bars before a brief respite over the weekend. Then he will turn himself back into jail on Feb. 9 and spend another five days in jail to complete his sentence. Park County Undersheriff Monte Gore said Hawn would be assigned a job he would be required to do, and he would be housed with the general population of inmates during his stay in jail...
New Study Tallies Corn Ethanol Costs
The NY Times reports:
In the latest installment of the debate over the emissions impact of corn-based ethanol, researchers from the University of Minnesota and other institutions found that corn ethanol is worse for health and the environment than regular gasoline, and far worse than cellulosic ethanol. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looked at various types of fuels’ climate and health costs — defined as a combination of health costs from the emission of fine particulate matter, and climate costs from issues like mitigation, carbon capture and the damage from sea-level rise or crop loss. The findings identified corn ethanol (corn is the main feedstock for ethanol produced in the United States) as more “costly” than cellulosic ethanol or even regular gasoline, though the range of cost estimates was wide and dependent on a large number of variables.
The new study, whick is available here(pdf), says the total cost of gasoline, including climate and health costs, can be half that of ethanol.
See Corn-based ethanol worse than gasoline, enviro study says for more information on this issue, including info on NM ethanol plants and their source of power.
In the latest installment of the debate over the emissions impact of corn-based ethanol, researchers from the University of Minnesota and other institutions found that corn ethanol is worse for health and the environment than regular gasoline, and far worse than cellulosic ethanol. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looked at various types of fuels’ climate and health costs — defined as a combination of health costs from the emission of fine particulate matter, and climate costs from issues like mitigation, carbon capture and the damage from sea-level rise or crop loss. The findings identified corn ethanol (corn is the main feedstock for ethanol produced in the United States) as more “costly” than cellulosic ethanol or even regular gasoline, though the range of cost estimates was wide and dependent on a large number of variables.
The new study, whick is available here(pdf), says the total cost of gasoline, including climate and health costs, can be half that of ethanol.
See Corn-based ethanol worse than gasoline, enviro study says for more information on this issue, including info on NM ethanol plants and their source of power.
Horse slaughter facility promoted
The Bismark Tribune reports:
Despite federal pressure to ban horse slaughtering entirely, a House committee agreed with two state lawmakers on Friday that the state should set aside money to study the possibility of opening an equine processing plant in North Dakota. Ranchers, veterinarians and horse breeders filled the Capitol's Brynhild Haugland room, where they told lawmakers on the House Agriculture Committee that processing unwanted horses for meat is a more humane and profitable alternative than abandoning or euthanizing them. They were testifying in favor of a bill that would set aside up to $75,000 in agriculture fuel tax revenue for a study to see if North Dakota could feasibly - and legally - open a horse slaughterhouse. "The actions in Washington, D.C., have created a problem for horse owners," said Rep. Rod Froelich, D-Selfridge, who is co-sponsoring the legislation with Sen. Joe Miller, R-Park River. Froelich said the problem started when the U.S. Agriculture Department stopped funding federal meat inspectors two years ago to oversee the nation's three horse slaughterhouses. The plants closed amid a growing chorus of political fervor to shut down the horse slaughterhouses, leaving horse owners with fewer options for unwanted horses. Congress also is considering a bill that would prohibit the consumption of horse meat. As a result, Froelich said the market for unwanted horses has plummeted, sometimes costing horse owners more money to simply transport their animals to a ring compared to the amount of money they could expect to get in return for them. Greg Kitto, a North Dakota veterinarian who treats horses, told the committee that he's seen an increase in requests for him to euthanize horses in recent years, which he said correlates to the closure of three horse processing plants in Illinois and Texas. While testifying, the veterinarian of 34 years held up a photo of an emaciated horse lying in a field. It had starved to death after its owner abandoned it a few weeks back. Kitto said that is what some horse owners have resorted to because they can no longer care for nor afford the animal, which can carry an annual price tag of about $2,200...
Despite federal pressure to ban horse slaughtering entirely, a House committee agreed with two state lawmakers on Friday that the state should set aside money to study the possibility of opening an equine processing plant in North Dakota. Ranchers, veterinarians and horse breeders filled the Capitol's Brynhild Haugland room, where they told lawmakers on the House Agriculture Committee that processing unwanted horses for meat is a more humane and profitable alternative than abandoning or euthanizing them. They were testifying in favor of a bill that would set aside up to $75,000 in agriculture fuel tax revenue for a study to see if North Dakota could feasibly - and legally - open a horse slaughterhouse. "The actions in Washington, D.C., have created a problem for horse owners," said Rep. Rod Froelich, D-Selfridge, who is co-sponsoring the legislation with Sen. Joe Miller, R-Park River. Froelich said the problem started when the U.S. Agriculture Department stopped funding federal meat inspectors two years ago to oversee the nation's three horse slaughterhouses. The plants closed amid a growing chorus of political fervor to shut down the horse slaughterhouses, leaving horse owners with fewer options for unwanted horses. Congress also is considering a bill that would prohibit the consumption of horse meat. As a result, Froelich said the market for unwanted horses has plummeted, sometimes costing horse owners more money to simply transport their animals to a ring compared to the amount of money they could expect to get in return for them. Greg Kitto, a North Dakota veterinarian who treats horses, told the committee that he's seen an increase in requests for him to euthanize horses in recent years, which he said correlates to the closure of three horse processing plants in Illinois and Texas. While testifying, the veterinarian of 34 years held up a photo of an emaciated horse lying in a field. It had starved to death after its owner abandoned it a few weeks back. Kitto said that is what some horse owners have resorted to because they can no longer care for nor afford the animal, which can carry an annual price tag of about $2,200...
Battling an old enemy - fever tick
The Monitor reports:The U.S. Department of Agriculture's first customer on a Friday afternoon is a golden-brown Beefmaster bull. As he stands for inspection in the pen behind R.Y. Livestock Sales in Rio Grande City, two USDA specialists run practiced hands over his sides, looking for a disease-bearing tick that can grow to the size of a ripe blueberry. Satisfied, they urge the reluctant animal into a stinking, mud-brown bath; he steps uneasily down the stairs of the concrete basin and enters with a pungent splash. The unpleasant swim is a precautionary investment for the animal's new owner, Manuel Izaguirre Jr. A tick infestation on his Circle I Ranch could spell disaster for the small business. With the price of beef low and some big buyers wary of taking on cattle from areas under quarantine for disease-carrying pests, some South Texas cattle ranchers say their business is suffering and under-supported. And on the small, family-owned ranches that dot the region, more part-time cowboys are choosing to hang up their spurs rather than fight an old, costly enemy. For the few dozen ranchers Hidalgo, Starr, Brooks and Zapata counties whose pastures are designated "infected," the dip is a ritual repeated once every two weeks for nine months to rid their animals — and their land — of the Boophilus annulatus, or fever tick, a Central American pest that can carry a vicious bovine disease...
Skilled hazers are steer wrestlers most prized partners
...Coming into the short go-around in sixth place, K.C. had hoped for a nice paycheck, but a hard running steer stole his chances for that. At least his eighth place in the short-go will cover part of the fees and gas for their 1,800 mile trip — once last weekend for the first/second go, then again this weekend for the short-go. Zack’s chances for some earnings hadn’t been as bright as K.C.’s since his first two times hadn’t placed him, but he made the long trip with K.C. to serve as his hazer. We knew he was just as disappointed with the results since a hazer who helps a bull dogger into the win column can earn one-eighth of the paycheck. The Denver winner of the short-go won $7,713; his hazer earned $964 — not a bad deal for a weekend trip. Particularly for the winter “big barn” rodeos (think Denver, Ft. Worth, Rapid City, Houston) but often throughout the season, contestants choose to fly to a rodeo and “borrow” a doggin team. Since winter rodeos are often weeks apart and most contestants aren’t yet committed to driving every single day like they do during the summer season, flying is often more feasible. As long as they’re confident someone they know with a “good” doggin team is planning to haul to the rodeo, they’ll make this choice. Most doggers either have their own team and a traveling partner who serves as a hazer, or they travel in a pack using a top quality horse that may or may not belong to someone in the rodeo rig. In addition, there are some non-contestant cowboys who haul to rodeos (usually regionally) to provide a team and serve as the hazer in hopes of making some money. In that instance, rodeo etiquette usually dictates that one-fourth of the winnings go to the owner of the doggin team. In other situations where only a hazer is needed, one-eighth of the winnings go to him. The arrangements made among contestants vary greatly...From Ag Journal
Basketball player from Texas Panhandle shows grand champion steer at Stock Show
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports:
Callie Stedje played in her eighth-grade basketball game Thursday night, the Gruver Greyhounds vs. the Spearman Lynxettes. The Greyhounds lost, but Callie didn’t have much time to stew over it. She hopped in her uncle’s pickup, got herself comfortable and settled in for a 389-mile ride to Fort Worth. She pulled in at 3 a.m., just a few hours before having to prepare her coal-black steer Blackjack to be shown at the Fort Worth Stock Show. Blackjack then promptly ran the table. The 1,298-pound European crossbred steer was named grand champion of the Stock Show on Friday, bringing home the prestigious honor to a 13-year-old fifth-generation farmer and rancher...
Callie Stedje played in her eighth-grade basketball game Thursday night, the Gruver Greyhounds vs. the Spearman Lynxettes. The Greyhounds lost, but Callie didn’t have much time to stew over it. She hopped in her uncle’s pickup, got herself comfortable and settled in for a 389-mile ride to Fort Worth. She pulled in at 3 a.m., just a few hours before having to prepare her coal-black steer Blackjack to be shown at the Fort Worth Stock Show. Blackjack then promptly ran the table. The 1,298-pound European crossbred steer was named grand champion of the Stock Show on Friday, bringing home the prestigious honor to a 13-year-old fifth-generation farmer and rancher...
It's All Trew: Indian trails full of mysteries
Delbert Trew writes in the Amarillo Globe-News:
Few things are more enjoyable to Ruth and I than prowling the Trew Ranch. Now in the family for over 60 years, the changes wrought by Mother Nature and time continually fascinate. Ownership history goes back almost to the end of the Red River Wars of 1875. The ranch abstracts show where Lewis Carhart, founder of Saint's Roost and Clarendon, sold land to Sir Alfred Rowe, an English rancher and founder of the RO Ranch and the town of McLean. He was also body No. 109 recovered after the Titanic sank in 1912. Our north boundary is marked by Old Trails Ridge where Indians traveled from the creek bottoms of Oklahoma to Tucumcari Mountain. This same ridge was chosen to place the Rock Island Railroad in 1900 to 1902. Even later, in 1927, the ridge was designated Route 66, one of the earliest highway crossings America. One short stretch of land 200 yards wide displays Indian trails, an old dirt highway, a coast-to-coast fiber-optic telephone line, the Rock Island Railroad right-of-way, Old Route 66 and both lanes of I-40. A 3-inch rain two years ago left a buffalo skeleton showing in a cutbank buried about 3 feet below the surface. It appeared to be a yearling-past with the hump ribs just beginning to form. Occasionally we find flint scrapers and arrowheads. More likely we find piles of flint chips where an Indian lookout watched over his group camping below in the canyon, while sitting on the cap rock watching for enemies or settlers...
Few things are more enjoyable to Ruth and I than prowling the Trew Ranch. Now in the family for over 60 years, the changes wrought by Mother Nature and time continually fascinate. Ownership history goes back almost to the end of the Red River Wars of 1875. The ranch abstracts show where Lewis Carhart, founder of Saint's Roost and Clarendon, sold land to Sir Alfred Rowe, an English rancher and founder of the RO Ranch and the town of McLean. He was also body No. 109 recovered after the Titanic sank in 1912. Our north boundary is marked by Old Trails Ridge where Indians traveled from the creek bottoms of Oklahoma to Tucumcari Mountain. This same ridge was chosen to place the Rock Island Railroad in 1900 to 1902. Even later, in 1927, the ridge was designated Route 66, one of the earliest highway crossings America. One short stretch of land 200 yards wide displays Indian trails, an old dirt highway, a coast-to-coast fiber-optic telephone line, the Rock Island Railroad right-of-way, Old Route 66 and both lanes of I-40. A 3-inch rain two years ago left a buffalo skeleton showing in a cutbank buried about 3 feet below the surface. It appeared to be a yearling-past with the hump ribs just beginning to form. Occasionally we find flint scrapers and arrowheads. More likely we find piles of flint chips where an Indian lookout watched over his group camping below in the canyon, while sitting on the cap rock watching for enemies or settlers...
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Cowgirl Sass & Savvy
Making a new friendJulie Carter
Cowboy life is as much about the stops made as the road traveled. The same applies for the cowgirl.
Her cowboy had, all his life, been restless and ambitious. As a couple, they had cowboyed in every corner of their home state of Texas. Twenty-some-odd years into the partnership, they landed on a big ranch they bought in New Mexico. It was their just rewards for the thousands of long hours in the saddle during their formative years.
She had made at least one very good friend at every stop on this Western road of life. And each new place taught her that in every hundred miles across the country, the customs and the cowboys changed.
She learned, sometimes the hard way, that you can't out-native the natives. She discovered that the best way for survival in a new place with new folks was to find a seemingly responsible local and listen to his stories.
Now she was a mighty far-piece from home, so was on the lookout for such a candidate.
She learned that her nearest neighbor was quite familiar with their new ranch. He had worked there as a button and been the foreman for a number of years. When moving to their new ranch, she had noticed the neighbor's ranch entrance sign with his name and brand on it.
As she gradually got settled in and unpacked, she had planned to go meet this new neighbor. However, it happened a little quicker than expected. Her best friend, Heidi the cowdog, also a Texan, had discovered the local porcupines in an up-close and most serious way.
The cowgirl needed help for her Heidi and her head cowboy wasn't in the state. She loaded Heidi in the pickup and headed to the neighbors.
Over needle-nose pliers and everybody that happened to be there helping to hold the dog, the acquaintance was made.
Like all ranchers, they first had to establish a couple of things of common ground. First, it isn't ever a good idea to look in the old cistern. You never can predict what might be in there looking back at you. And second, with the drought, the government and the cattle market, they would all be lucky to still be alive by the end of the year.
Those requisites safely handled, the cowgirl and the neighbor got down to some regular neighborly visiting.
The new neighbor allowed that he knew their place pretty well from working there and would be happy to show her a few things.
They went back to her outfit, saddled up, and rode to a picturesque canyon where he related the history of the area and the fact there were remnants of Indian artifacts and petroglyphs.
She studied the ancient signs that translated to fending off witchcraft, the sign for water, hunting, directions, water carrier, danger, snakes and many of the other special graphics that the Indians had embellished on rocks around their encampments.
Finally she got to one that looked obviously newer than some of the ancient symbols carved in the stone. This resembled a diamond bar diamond.
She thought about that a minute and it finally came to her what she was looking at.
She realized that this was her neighbor's ranch brand.
With a grin that matched his when he saw the recognition in her eyes, she knew things were going to be better now. Knowing cowboys and the ornery nature that often qualifies a friendship, she knew she had a new friend.
No words were needed. It was carved in stone.
Julie treasures her few, close friends, even if they don't have their own petroglyphs, although some of them are that old. Reach her for comment at www.julie-carter.com.
Catron County, Wolves & APWE
Catron County, N.M., Commissioner Ed Wehrheim had the information, he had the facts and figures, he had the personal experience, and he understood the issue. What he lacked was a way to educate others about it. Eight years into the Mexican Gray Wolf Reintroduction Project, and millions of dollars in damage to his county later, Wehrheim was ready to stand back and try a new approach. “Before, we’ve always tried to make them follow their own rules and regulations, and we were losing – losing livestock, losing businesses, losing money,” he said. “So we decided to take a page out of their book and work on public opinion.” That was the impetus behind Americans for Preservation of the Western Environment (APWE). “Our object is two fold - educate the public in New Mexico about what the wolf program is doing to their state, and start a fund to help anyone who has legal problems related to the wolf program,” he said. “We have presentations we take to schools, civic groups, business organizations and sporting clubs. We haven’t been turned away yet.” Included in the presentations are the facts and figures that have been causing Wehrheim, his friends, and neighbors so much frustration. “The wolf program has cost the American taxpayer $303,000 per wolf. (Game management groups) are claiming 56 wolves at this point. That’s their own figures – what they say they’ve spent. They say 200 wolves in a five year period will attack and kill or maim over 7,000 head of livestock. That’s their figures again,” he said. “As a county commissioner, who’s lived with this program for eight years now, I’d say their numbers are a little low. Closer to 10,000 to 12,000 head would be more accurate – and that’s just livestock. Game animals aren’t counted. When wolves are training pups to hunt, a pack will kill as many animals as possible; far more than they could ever eat.” “The cost of the Mexican Gray Wolf program to the New Mexico and US economy is well over $60 million in livestock killed, production lost, bankrupt business (outfitters, ranchers, town business), loss of tax revenue, and reduction of tourist visitors, and hunters,” he said. “In current economic conditions, can we stand that?”...From Ag Journal
Wehrheim says APWE has gained 10,000 members by just focusing on mid-size towns on the periphery of the wolf program. He hopes to move to urban centers in the future. They've started a website here. Membership is free but they will certainly accept donations.
Wehrheim says APWE has gained 10,000 members by just focusing on mid-size towns on the periphery of the wolf program. He hopes to move to urban centers in the future. They've started a website here. Membership is free but they will certainly accept donations.
USFWS releases wolf survey; Schneberger responds; language questioned
The USFWS has released the findings of their 2008 Mexican Wolf Population Survey:
A total of 52 Mexican wolves were counted in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico at the end of 2008, according to the annual survey conducted by the Interagency Field Team for wolf reintroduction. There were also 52 Mexican wolves recorded in the 2007 survey. Surveys are conducted in January of each year. Pups born in the summer must survive to December 31 to be counted as part of the Mexican wolf population. Fixed-wing aircraft and functional radio-telemetry were used to confirm five wolf packs on New Mexico's Gila National Forest, five packs on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, and six lone wolves - two in Arizona and four in New Mexico. The survey indicated that there were only two pairs that met the federal definition of breeding pairs at year?s end...
Seven of the 10 packs produced at least 18 pups, with 11 surviving until the end of the year. However, based on the definition in the final rule establishing the reintroduction project, the count only recognizes two breeding pairs because by year?s end, one or more of the mates in two packs had died. In addition, three packs had only a single offspring survive until December 31 (survival of two or more pups until December 31 in the year of their birth is required to qualify as a breeding pair). In two of these packs, one pup died under suspicious circumstances late in 2008, resulting in both packs not qualifying as a breeding pair...
Here's the part of the release that the media latched on to, quoting Regional Director Tuggle:
"Except for the illegal shooting or suspicious demise of seven wolves, 2008 would have seen Mexican wolf populations on the upswing again. These mortalities are an intolerable impediment to wolf recovery. We will continue to aggressively investigate each illegal wolf killing to help ensure that anyone responsible is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
That quote led to the headlines like the following:
Feds: Killings hamper Mexican wolf population...MSNBC
Illegal shooting No. 1 reason for loss of critically endangered Mexican gray wolves...New Mexico Independent
Laura Schneberger then responded with her own release:
Solving wolf livestock conflict was not prioritized in 2008 and problem wolves were left on the ground. Some ranchers were provided range riders during high depredation seasons as part of an experimental livestock conflict prevention program but clearly more genuine effort by agency personnel is necessary to develop long term solutions to wolf conflict. It may be too late for some ranchers who have had it with dealing with the agencies.
During 2008 the agency did not see a lessening of wolf removals as implied in their press release. They chose to comply with the wishes of environmental organizations who demanded the agency stop removing problem wolves...
“Instead of admitting wolf reintroduction has natural pitfalls the agency blithely attempts to blame the failures of their program on local people by implying the population would be doing better if people weren’t shooting them. I am not the only one that doesn’t appreciate those kinds of spin tactics but it has become their habit. It is somewhat disingenuous of the agencies leadership to imply that some illegal actions are the cause for their continued failure when the agency themselves have no capture collar or vaccination program for pups born in the wild. This is a sad situation because most ranchers simply don’t bother to call on the agency for intervention anymore because this year they refused to appropriately mitigate livestock depredation despite assurance of Dr. Benjamin Tuggle...
Dr. Tuggle and his press officer purposely placed that language in his press release. It is a fair question to ask why that language, including a link to another press release about prosecution, was used in their release. Was it to impress the environmental community and wolf advocates? Was it to lay the blame on the local citizens for the programs lack of success? Did it have a political/bureacratic motive aimed at the new leadership in the Department of Interior? Possibly he hoped to accomplish all three. We do know it was placed there for some reason.
Read the article in the Ag Journal on how this program is having a terrible impact on families, read Laura Schneberger's comments on the issue, and then read the inflammatory, responsibility-dodging and politically motivated language in the USFWS press release, and you will begin to understand why the local citizenry is so fed up with the mismanagement of this program by federal and state officials.
A total of 52 Mexican wolves were counted in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico at the end of 2008, according to the annual survey conducted by the Interagency Field Team for wolf reintroduction. There were also 52 Mexican wolves recorded in the 2007 survey. Surveys are conducted in January of each year. Pups born in the summer must survive to December 31 to be counted as part of the Mexican wolf population. Fixed-wing aircraft and functional radio-telemetry were used to confirm five wolf packs on New Mexico's Gila National Forest, five packs on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, and six lone wolves - two in Arizona and four in New Mexico. The survey indicated that there were only two pairs that met the federal definition of breeding pairs at year?s end...
Seven of the 10 packs produced at least 18 pups, with 11 surviving until the end of the year. However, based on the definition in the final rule establishing the reintroduction project, the count only recognizes two breeding pairs because by year?s end, one or more of the mates in two packs had died. In addition, three packs had only a single offspring survive until December 31 (survival of two or more pups until December 31 in the year of their birth is required to qualify as a breeding pair). In two of these packs, one pup died under suspicious circumstances late in 2008, resulting in both packs not qualifying as a breeding pair...
Here's the part of the release that the media latched on to, quoting Regional Director Tuggle:
"Except for the illegal shooting or suspicious demise of seven wolves, 2008 would have seen Mexican wolf populations on the upswing again. These mortalities are an intolerable impediment to wolf recovery. We will continue to aggressively investigate each illegal wolf killing to help ensure that anyone responsible is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
That quote led to the headlines like the following:
Feds: Killings hamper Mexican wolf population...MSNBC
Illegal shooting No. 1 reason for loss of critically endangered Mexican gray wolves...New Mexico Independent
Laura Schneberger then responded with her own release:
Solving wolf livestock conflict was not prioritized in 2008 and problem wolves were left on the ground. Some ranchers were provided range riders during high depredation seasons as part of an experimental livestock conflict prevention program but clearly more genuine effort by agency personnel is necessary to develop long term solutions to wolf conflict. It may be too late for some ranchers who have had it with dealing with the agencies.
During 2008 the agency did not see a lessening of wolf removals as implied in their press release. They chose to comply with the wishes of environmental organizations who demanded the agency stop removing problem wolves...
“Instead of admitting wolf reintroduction has natural pitfalls the agency blithely attempts to blame the failures of their program on local people by implying the population would be doing better if people weren’t shooting them. I am not the only one that doesn’t appreciate those kinds of spin tactics but it has become their habit. It is somewhat disingenuous of the agencies leadership to imply that some illegal actions are the cause for their continued failure when the agency themselves have no capture collar or vaccination program for pups born in the wild. This is a sad situation because most ranchers simply don’t bother to call on the agency for intervention anymore because this year they refused to appropriately mitigate livestock depredation despite assurance of Dr. Benjamin Tuggle...
Dr. Tuggle and his press officer purposely placed that language in his press release. It is a fair question to ask why that language, including a link to another press release about prosecution, was used in their release. Was it to impress the environmental community and wolf advocates? Was it to lay the blame on the local citizens for the programs lack of success? Did it have a political/bureacratic motive aimed at the new leadership in the Department of Interior? Possibly he hoped to accomplish all three. We do know it was placed there for some reason.
Read the article in the Ag Journal on how this program is having a terrible impact on families, read Laura Schneberger's comments on the issue, and then read the inflammatory, responsibility-dodging and politically motivated language in the USFWS press release, and you will begin to understand why the local citizenry is so fed up with the mismanagement of this program by federal and state officials.
Tom Brumley dies at 73; steel guitarist for Buck Owens and Rick Nelson
Tom Brumley, a legendary steel guitarist who contributed to the "Bakersfield sound" of Buck Owens and the Buckaroos in the 1960s before spending 10 years performing with Rick Nelson, has died. He was 73. During his years with Owens, from 1963 to 1969, Brumley traveled the world and played on landmark recordings such as “Together Again,” "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" and “Act Naturally.” Brumley, whose "pure" steel sound was known in the music industry as "The Brumley Touch," received an Academy of Country Music Award for No. 1 Steel Guitarist in 1966. Over the last decade, he performed or recorded with artists such as Chris Isaak, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Ray Price, Reba McEntire, Rod Stewart and Martina McBride. Born in Stella, Mo., on Dec. 11, 1935, Brumley was the third of six children. Their father was Albert E. Brumley, a gospel singer, composer and music publisher whose songs included "I'll Fly Away," "I'll Meet You in the Morning" and "Turn Your Radio On." Brumley was later inducted into the Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame...
Friday, February 06, 2009
Ken Salazar says U.S. keeping options open on Roan Plateau
The Rocky Mountain News reports:The Obama administration might reopen the debate over energy development on Colorado's Roan Plateau, and it's not going to "rush headlong" into oil shale development in the state, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters Thursday. Salazar's statements came in the wake of his first big decision as a member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet: Wednesday's announcement that he would void dozens of oil and gas leases on sensitive federal lands in southeastern Utah. The Utah decision provoked a swift backlash from Republican lawmakers and outside groups, who accused him of doing the bidding of Hollywood environmentalists and ignoring the nation's energy needs. But rather than backing down Thursday, Salazar offered some of his most forceful statements yet about the change the new administration will begin bringing to public lands policy. "The position I take is the same position I took while I was a U.S. senator," Salazar said. "There are places that are very special and should be protected. There are places which ought to be explored and developed." He said the Interior Department was in the process of examining 12 to 15 decisions made at the tail end of the Bush administration and decide, perhaps within the next month, whether to reverse them or let them stand...
Salazar going Hollywood?
The Denver Daily News reports:
Colorado’s Ken Salazar is facing his first major backlash as Secretary of the Interior. A national civil rights group says Salazar is “going Hollywood on us” and caving into actor Robert Redford’s demands that American oil and gas leases in Utah be cancelled. He is also being accused of going counter to the spirit of economic stimulus by cancelling the leases. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) says higher energy prices will result from the decision to scrap the leases of 77 parcels of land for oil and gas drilling in Utah’s Redrock country. The group believes low-income families feel the effects of higher energy prices more so than any other income class. “The losers are working parents, single mothers and elderly folks all over America, who count on abundant and affordable natural gas from states like Utah to remain employed, keep warm and stay alive,” said CORE spokesman Niger Innis. Redford passionately criticized a lease auction held last December in which 77 parcels, totaling 130,000 acres, were put up for auction. The sales were worth $6 million to the government. But Salazar on Wednesday ordered the Bureau of Land Management to not cash checks from winning bidders. But Salazar is even being assailed by some in his own party over the decision. Wyoming Sen. Bill Vasey, chairman of Americans for American Energy, said the decision comes at a poor time, as Western states — like the rest of the nation — are facing severe budget shortfalls. “As a state legislator who is right now looking at having to make hard choices at the state level in tough economic times, I know that natural resource developments is one of the few bright spots we have in the West,” said Vasey. He added that Utah is already considering cutting back the length of its school year, and that cancelling oil and gas leases may exacerbate that situation...
Colorado’s Ken Salazar is facing his first major backlash as Secretary of the Interior. A national civil rights group says Salazar is “going Hollywood on us” and caving into actor Robert Redford’s demands that American oil and gas leases in Utah be cancelled. He is also being accused of going counter to the spirit of economic stimulus by cancelling the leases. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) says higher energy prices will result from the decision to scrap the leases of 77 parcels of land for oil and gas drilling in Utah’s Redrock country. The group believes low-income families feel the effects of higher energy prices more so than any other income class. “The losers are working parents, single mothers and elderly folks all over America, who count on abundant and affordable natural gas from states like Utah to remain employed, keep warm and stay alive,” said CORE spokesman Niger Innis. Redford passionately criticized a lease auction held last December in which 77 parcels, totaling 130,000 acres, were put up for auction. The sales were worth $6 million to the government. But Salazar on Wednesday ordered the Bureau of Land Management to not cash checks from winning bidders. But Salazar is even being assailed by some in his own party over the decision. Wyoming Sen. Bill Vasey, chairman of Americans for American Energy, said the decision comes at a poor time, as Western states — like the rest of the nation — are facing severe budget shortfalls. “As a state legislator who is right now looking at having to make hard choices at the state level in tough economic times, I know that natural resource developments is one of the few bright spots we have in the West,” said Vasey. He added that Utah is already considering cutting back the length of its school year, and that cancelling oil and gas leases may exacerbate that situation...
Rural Utah lawmaker angered over block on drilling
From the Salt Lake Tribune:
One lawmaker says that it's time for Utah to fight back over the sale of 77 oil and gas leases disrupted last month by University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher and since shelved by the Obama administration. Rep. Mike Noel said he initiated a bill Thursday to make DeChristopher's actions a felony. "To me, it's environmental terrorism," said the Kanab rancher. "I'm really upset that he participated in taking millions [of dollars] away from the school system that he benefited from and he sits out there laughing at us." Noel told his GOP colleagues in the House that the state could miss out on $30 million in royalties over the next 15 years because those leases are now off-limits. "Utah is in the gun sights of the environmental community," Noel said, blasting the Obama administration for -- in one month -- reversing the opening of public lands, including near national parks, to drilling...
One lawmaker says that it's time for Utah to fight back over the sale of 77 oil and gas leases disrupted last month by University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher and since shelved by the Obama administration. Rep. Mike Noel said he initiated a bill Thursday to make DeChristopher's actions a felony. "To me, it's environmental terrorism," said the Kanab rancher. "I'm really upset that he participated in taking millions [of dollars] away from the school system that he benefited from and he sits out there laughing at us." Noel told his GOP colleagues in the House that the state could miss out on $30 million in royalties over the next 15 years because those leases are now off-limits. "Utah is in the gun sights of the environmental community," Noel said, blasting the Obama administration for -- in one month -- reversing the opening of public lands, including near national parks, to drilling...
Lawsuit on federal gas and oil leases is left in limbo
From the Salt Lake Tribune: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's decision to cancel 77 disputed federal oil and gas leases in Utah has left a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Interior Department in a holding pattern. On Thursday, Interior asked U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina for an indefinite timeout on the suit, which the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and 10 other conservation and historic-preservation organizations filed in December to stop a federal lease auction in Salt Lake City. The request came a day after Salazar nullified the sale of the 77 parcels listed in the suit. The parcels cover 103,000 acres of public land near Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Dinosaur National Monument, Desolation Canyon and Nine Mile Canyon. Salazar's move negated any need to argue against Urbina's Jan. 17 temporary restraining order that halted further BLM action on its Dec. 19 sale. SUWA isn't fighting Interior's request for more time, but isn't backing off either. "We're very eager to move ahead with the rest of the case," said staff attorney Steve Bloch...
Non-navigable River Blues
An interesting article from High Country News:
...In the meantime, Wylie's troubles drew activist, media and even congressional attention to the murky consequences of a 2006 Supreme Court ruling and its subsequent interpretation and enforcement. The Rapanos v. United States case was supposed to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act. Property rights activists initially hailed the court's split ruling as a victory. "Our constitutional way of life got a boost last year from the U.S. Supreme Court when the court rejected the idea that federal officials have unlimited control over every pond, puddle and ditch in our country," said the Pacific Legal Foundation, a property-rights organization. Today, however, almost no one is happy with the ruling. Environmental-ists say that Rapanos leaves thousands of once-protected streams, arroyos and wetlands without federal oversight. About 350 miles of streams were removed from federal control in a single six-month period, for instance, and enforcement of many anti-pollution cases was stopped in its tracks. Developers, meanwhile, have found the new guidelines to be even more cumbersome and time-consuming than the old ones were. In other words, it's a mess. Though Congress is poised to intervene in an attempt to clean things up, that will likely only provoke a bigger battle over the Clean Water Act and its enforcement, especially when it comes to the ephemeral waters of the arid West...
...In the meantime, Wylie's troubles drew activist, media and even congressional attention to the murky consequences of a 2006 Supreme Court ruling and its subsequent interpretation and enforcement. The Rapanos v. United States case was supposed to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act. Property rights activists initially hailed the court's split ruling as a victory. "Our constitutional way of life got a boost last year from the U.S. Supreme Court when the court rejected the idea that federal officials have unlimited control over every pond, puddle and ditch in our country," said the Pacific Legal Foundation, a property-rights organization. Today, however, almost no one is happy with the ruling. Environmental-ists say that Rapanos leaves thousands of once-protected streams, arroyos and wetlands without federal oversight. About 350 miles of streams were removed from federal control in a single six-month period, for instance, and enforcement of many anti-pollution cases was stopped in its tracks. Developers, meanwhile, have found the new guidelines to be even more cumbersome and time-consuming than the old ones were. In other words, it's a mess. Though Congress is poised to intervene in an attempt to clean things up, that will likely only provoke a bigger battle over the Clean Water Act and its enforcement, especially when it comes to the ephemeral waters of the arid West...
California farms, vineyards in peril from warming, U.S. energy secretary warns
From the LA Times:California's farms and vineyards could vanish by the end of the century, and its major cities could be in jeopardy, if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said Tuesday. In his first interview since taking office last month, the Nobel-prize-winning physicist offered some of the starkest comments yet on how seriously President Obama's cabinet views the threat of climate change, along with a detailed assessment of the administration's plans to combat it. Chu warned of water shortages plaguing the West and Upper Midwest and particularly dire consequences for California, his home state, the nation's leading agricultural producer. In a worst case, Chu said, up to 90% of the Sierra snowpack could disappear, all but eliminating a natural storage system for water vital to agriculture. In the course of a half-hour interview, Chu made clear that he sees public education as a key part of the administration's strategy to fight global warming -- along with billions of dollars for alternative energy research and infrastructure, a national standard for electricity from renewable sources and cap-and-trade legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions. He said the threat of warming is keeping policymakers focused on alternatives to fossil fuel, even though gasoline prices have fallen over the last six months from historic highs.
Environmental concerns roadblock to renewable energy
Stephanie Tavares writes in the Las Vegas Sun:
...That’s because for all their “green” credentials no renewable energy project is without its environmental drawbacks and community effects. Hydropower and the dams that come with them interrupt the natural flow of rivers and the migration and breeding of native fish; geothermal plants require water and their exploratory drilling sometimes damages the land; modern wind farms kill migratory birds and bats and kick up dust during construction; utility-scale solar photovoltaic arrays are made from sometimes toxic or unsustainably mined materials and require vast expanses of land formerly open to native animals; and solar thermal plants face the same land use issues as solar PV but also can’t operate without a good deal of water. On top of that, some wildlife biologists and environmentalists say the new transmission lines that would bring the electricity from planned electric plants to big cities such as Las Vegas often crisscross major migration routes for endangered species, destroying vegetation and affecting grazing and mating routes. “People are beginning to realize there are some problems associated with all these renewable energy sources and maybe we haven’t really thought them through like we should have,” said Mark Stermitz, an environmental lawyer...
...That’s because for all their “green” credentials no renewable energy project is without its environmental drawbacks and community effects. Hydropower and the dams that come with them interrupt the natural flow of rivers and the migration and breeding of native fish; geothermal plants require water and their exploratory drilling sometimes damages the land; modern wind farms kill migratory birds and bats and kick up dust during construction; utility-scale solar photovoltaic arrays are made from sometimes toxic or unsustainably mined materials and require vast expanses of land formerly open to native animals; and solar thermal plants face the same land use issues as solar PV but also can’t operate without a good deal of water. On top of that, some wildlife biologists and environmentalists say the new transmission lines that would bring the electricity from planned electric plants to big cities such as Las Vegas often crisscross major migration routes for endangered species, destroying vegetation and affecting grazing and mating routes. “People are beginning to realize there are some problems associated with all these renewable energy sources and maybe we haven’t really thought them through like we should have,” said Mark Stermitz, an environmental lawyer...
National Landscape Conservation System
Yesterday I posted a map of the NLCS.
If you go here there is a map of the NLCS, and you can click on your state and get a breakdown of how the legislation will impact your locality.
The NLCS is just one section of The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which some press is reporting will be voted on next week by the House. The bill, S.22, has already passed the Senate.
If you go here there is a map of the NLCS, and you can click on your state and get a breakdown of how the legislation will impact your locality.
The NLCS is just one section of The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which some press is reporting will be voted on next week by the House. The bill, S.22, has already passed the Senate.
House committee recommends wolf bill
The Casper Star-Tribune reports:A legislative committee moved forward a bill Wednesday that would retain tight state control over gray wolves in Wyoming if the federal government removes the animals from the endangered species list. On Wednesday, the state House Committee on Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources recommended House Bill 32 and killed four other wolf bills. The defeated proposals included addressing most federal concerns about the state's wolf management plan and revoking the state's earlier concessions to federal concerns. House Bill 32 would emphasize protecting livestock and wild ungulates from wolves and would continue to classify wolves as predators in most of the state. The bill also authorizes the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to work in cooperation with Idaho and Montana to move wolves as necessary to assure genetic interchange among the states' wolf populations. The bill would bind Wyoming to maintaining at least seven breeding pairs of wolves outside of National Park Service lands in northwestern Wyoming, where the previously extirpated species was reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1994. Or, if Wyoming entered into a management agreement with the Park Service, the bill would call for maintaining 15 breeding pairs on Park Service and state lands within Wyoming...
Fish and Game plans to kill wolves to help elk
From the Idaho Statesman:
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is making plans for managing wolves, including a hunting season when they are removed from the endangered species list. In March, Fish and Game will recommend a wolf hunting season length and estimated mortality limits. Itexpects to recommend harvest quotas by July or August. Should wolves remain listed, Fish and Game is planning to use all options to control wolves available under the Endangered Species Act, which allows the agency to kill some wolves to benefit elk herds. Fish and Game biologists are particularly concerned about elk numbers in the Lolo elk management zone in north-central Idaho. Hunter opportunities have been reduced by 90 percent. Wolf predation is the primary cause of poor calf survival and a 13 percent average annual decline in the number of adult female elk, which is key to population stability. The tentative minimum estimate of Idaho's wolf population at the end of 2008 was 824 wolves in 88 packs and 38 breeding pairs.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is making plans for managing wolves, including a hunting season when they are removed from the endangered species list. In March, Fish and Game will recommend a wolf hunting season length and estimated mortality limits. Itexpects to recommend harvest quotas by July or August. Should wolves remain listed, Fish and Game is planning to use all options to control wolves available under the Endangered Species Act, which allows the agency to kill some wolves to benefit elk herds. Fish and Game biologists are particularly concerned about elk numbers in the Lolo elk management zone in north-central Idaho. Hunter opportunities have been reduced by 90 percent. Wolf predation is the primary cause of poor calf survival and a 13 percent average annual decline in the number of adult female elk, which is key to population stability. The tentative minimum estimate of Idaho's wolf population at the end of 2008 was 824 wolves in 88 packs and 38 breeding pairs.
Pending GAO Study on Off-Highway Vehicles Fatally Flawed
The Earth Times reports:
Nine national off-highway vehicle (OHV) groups today sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noting that an ongoing GAO study on OHV use is flawed in such a way that any findings will be skewed against OHV use on federal lands. The letter noted that GAO’s survey questions ignore ongoing federal management activities and are ambiguous, subjective and lack context. Both the BLM and the USFS are currently engaged in multi-year efforts to improve OHV management by designating which trails are open for motorized use on each Unit and Forest. The survey ignores these efforts, despite the fact the USFS process is scheduled for completion in December 2009. In addition, most of the survey questions are vague and only provide limited responses that will overstate problems and downplay successes in OHV management...
Nine national off-highway vehicle (OHV) groups today sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noting that an ongoing GAO study on OHV use is flawed in such a way that any findings will be skewed against OHV use on federal lands. The letter noted that GAO’s survey questions ignore ongoing federal management activities and are ambiguous, subjective and lack context. Both the BLM and the USFS are currently engaged in multi-year efforts to improve OHV management by designating which trails are open for motorized use on each Unit and Forest. The survey ignores these efforts, despite the fact the USFS process is scheduled for completion in December 2009. In addition, most of the survey questions are vague and only provide limited responses that will overstate problems and downplay successes in OHV management...
Photographers detail wildlife at Arizona border
From the Tucson Citizen:
Several photographers were capturing images of wildlife and landscapes at the San Pedro River earlier this week as part of an effort that will highlight the ecological implications of the border wall. They are part of a team of about 12 photographers associated with the International League of Conservation Photographers who are participating in a three-week expedition along the U.S.-Mexico border that started in San Diego last week and is heading for Texas. The team features international award-winning photographers such as Pulitzer Prize winner Jack Dykinga, Kevin Schafer, Wendy Shattil and Roy Toft. Krista Schlyer, a photographer and writer, came up with the idea for this Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition while she was working on a story in New Mexico about a transboundary bison herd that spends time in both Mexico and the United States. Schlyer, 37, who lives in Mt. Rainier, Md., said besides the photographers, the group also includes a three-member film crew from Cornell University, as well as two biologists — one from the U.S. and one from Mexico...
Several photographers were capturing images of wildlife and landscapes at the San Pedro River earlier this week as part of an effort that will highlight the ecological implications of the border wall. They are part of a team of about 12 photographers associated with the International League of Conservation Photographers who are participating in a three-week expedition along the U.S.-Mexico border that started in San Diego last week and is heading for Texas. The team features international award-winning photographers such as Pulitzer Prize winner Jack Dykinga, Kevin Schafer, Wendy Shattil and Roy Toft. Krista Schlyer, a photographer and writer, came up with the idea for this Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition while she was working on a story in New Mexico about a transboundary bison herd that spends time in both Mexico and the United States. Schlyer, 37, who lives in Mt. Rainier, Md., said besides the photographers, the group also includes a three-member film crew from Cornell University, as well as two biologists — one from the U.S. and one from Mexico...
Sheriff says he'll sign bison neglect complaint
The Sioux County sheriff says he'll sign a neglect complaint against the ranch along the North Dakota-South Dakota border where hundreds of bison broke loose. Landeis said about 1,000 starving bison have been ranging more than a dozen miles from Wilder Ranch feedlots. Fences where the animals broke out still must be fixed, he said. Dan Bauer, a Selfridge rancher, estimates the bison caused $10,000 damage to his property in hay eaten and fences wrecked. Landeis and Sioux County State's Attorney John Gosbee have told ranchers to submit damage claims. Gosbee has estimated they easily could reach $100,000...From the Dickinson Press.
Dead horses found dumped with brands cut off
KTVB.COM Idaho reports:Someone is leaving domestic horses on public land, without a way for the animals to eat or survive. The latest case involved 15 dead horses dumped on Bureau of Land Management property in Gem County in the past few weeks. BLM officials say the animals were found dead about six miles southwest of Emmett near County Line Road. The animals were found with the brand cut off the carcasses so their owner could not be identified. Overall, the BLM says 32 horses have been left dead or let loose on public land across southwestern Idaho recently. A BLM law enforcement ranger speculated that increasing hay prices and decreased demand for horses have left owners unable to pay to feed the horses, and unable to sell them - so instead they are illegally releasing them on public land.
They were told this would happen, but banned the humane slaughter of horses anyway. It will only get worse, as the next step is to ban the shipment of horses for slaughter. The ignorance and cruelty of it astounds me.
Beef groups differ on checkoff funds
From Capital Press (sub):
Conflicts between U.S., Canadian and Mexican cattle producers over the new U.S. mandatory country-of-origin meat labeling law intensified at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Beef Board annual meetings here last weekend. The NCBA voted to support use of checkoff dollars to promote U.S. beef and the Beef Board voted to open itself up to pro-labeling groups. Canadian and Mexican beef officials say trade battles over labeling are likely to continue...NCBA remains opposed to labeling, but at the meeting Saturday, Jan. 31, the membership voted to use beef checkoff money to promote U.S. beef in addition to promoting beef consumption regardless of the country of origin...The Beef Board, which would have to move to use some of the money to promote U.S. beef, did not take action on the issue. But the Beef Board voted to seek congressional approval to double the checkoff fee to $2 per head and to allow R-CALF USA and the U.S. Cattlemen's Association to be contractors for spending the checkoff money. NCBA did not go along with those ideas. It passed a resolution that the checkoff program should be "fair, cost-efficient and coordinated in order to achieve long-range goals."...
Conflicts between U.S., Canadian and Mexican cattle producers over the new U.S. mandatory country-of-origin meat labeling law intensified at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Beef Board annual meetings here last weekend. The NCBA voted to support use of checkoff dollars to promote U.S. beef and the Beef Board voted to open itself up to pro-labeling groups. Canadian and Mexican beef officials say trade battles over labeling are likely to continue...NCBA remains opposed to labeling, but at the meeting Saturday, Jan. 31, the membership voted to use beef checkoff money to promote U.S. beef in addition to promoting beef consumption regardless of the country of origin...The Beef Board, which would have to move to use some of the money to promote U.S. beef, did not take action on the issue. But the Beef Board voted to seek congressional approval to double the checkoff fee to $2 per head and to allow R-CALF USA and the U.S. Cattlemen's Association to be contractors for spending the checkoff money. NCBA did not go along with those ideas. It passed a resolution that the checkoff program should be "fair, cost-efficient and coordinated in order to achieve long-range goals."...
Legendary Pete Kitchen comes alive
The name Pete Kitchen meant nothing to me when I first came across it in my great-grandfather Sanford’s Southern Arizona letters and diaries. However, I soon learned that Kitchen had been a legend of sorts, renowned as an Indian fighter whose ranch was used as a stronghold against attacking Apaches. Historian Anne Merriman Peck described him as “probably the first American rancher in Arizona” and author Rufous K. Wyllys called him “a crack shot feared by both Indians and bandits.” Born in Kentucky in 1822, Kitchen joined the U.S. Army and went west, honing his fighting skills and arriving in Southern Arizona at the age of 31. He built his Potrero Ranch five miles above what is now the Mexican border and hired 30 Opata Indians from Sonora to help protect it. He raised cattle and hogs and was known for his excellent hams and bacon. (Based on Sanford’s above statement, for his mescal as well.) According to historian Jay J. Wagoner, Kitchen described the road to his ranch back then as “Tucson, Tubac, and to Hell.” He married a Mexican woman and is said to have worn a Mexican sombrero and serape, which may be the reason my great-grandfather often called him “Pedro.”...From the Nogales Bulletin.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Salazar Cancels Utah Oil and Gas Leases; Robert Redford Happy
Bloomberg reports:Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he is nullifying oil and natural gas drilling leases on about 130,000 acres in Utah because they are near national parks and questions have been raised about environmental reviews. “Those are American iconic treasures we need to make sure are being protected,” Salazar said on a conference call with reporters today. He also said the environmental review process “was not complete.” The government will forgo $6 million of $7.5 million in bids on the leases from a Dec. 19 auction, Salazar said. The directive today, affecting 77 of the 116 leases sold, are for areas near Dinosaur National Monument and Arches and Canyonlands national parks. “I see this announcement as a sign that after eight long years of rapacious greed and backdoor dealings, our government is returning a sense of balance to the way it manages our lands,” actor and director Robert Redford, a trustee for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement...
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