Song Of The Day #024

This morning we want to remind everyone of The Cowboy Dinner And Dance this Saturday night at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Capitan, NM and continue to thank Joe Delk and his family for all they've done and are doing to protect our rural heritage.

On Tuesday's Song Of The Day I gave some background on Forrest Delk and posted two songs recorded in 1949. The selections for today were recorded in 1963 at the studios of radio Station KHEY in El Paso, Texas and are a good example of the kind of dance music this band played. The musicians on these cuts are: Forrest Delk - Fiddle, Robbie Arnspiger - Mandolin, Mutt Johnson - Steel Guitar, Bob Kasten - Drums, and Buzz Wetzel - Guitar. Later in the 60's Forrest was joined by daughter Lynda, and his two sons, Jimmie & Joe.

I might add here I was at a People For Preserving Our Western Heritage meeting this week and was told that Forrest was a heck of an athlete and was an all-conference end for WNMU, back when WNMU used to play UCLA.

Please enjoy "Redskin Rag" and "Mormon Schottische" by Forrest Delk & His Gully Jumpers.

Army back to square one on Pinon Canyon

Keith Eastin, the Army assistant secretary for installations, is retiring from his job next week after having failed to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site over the past three years. Colorado Reps. John Salazar and Betsy Markey, both Democrats, announced Eastin's departure Tuesday afternoon after Eastin briefed them and staff from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about the stalled effort to expand the 238,000-acre training site northeast of Trinidad. The Army still wants to acquire 100,000 acres directly south of Pinon Canyon, but Eastin told the committee staff Tuesday they have no offers to buy or lease land and are pursuing none at this time. Ranchers and other opponents have fought the Army's expansion plans since early 2006, both in Congress and the General Assembly in Denver. "This is great news today," Markey said in a telephone press conference after the meeting. She requested the House oversight panel intervene in the Pinon Canyon dispute in March after The Chieftain reported the Army intended to announce a lease agreement with Denver businessman Craig Walker for his 70,000 acres south of the training area. Salazar, whose 3rd Congressional District includes Pinon Canyon, said he will join with Markey in asking the House Armed Service Committee for legislation this year that would permanently block any expansion at Pinon Canyon in the future...Pueblo Chieftain

A permanent block is the way to go. Otherwise, the acquisition will be hanging over the heads of the landowners for years to come. It would short circuit what will surely be additional attemps in the future to acquire all or parts of the property. Congress would then have to amend the law to allow acquisition, rather than the other way around. It will be interesting to see if Salazar can get this done. Landowners should keep the pressure on, and not relax because the immediate threat is gone. The feds never sleep.

The Environment

Every year Steven Hayward, a scholar at the Pacific Research Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, compiles his Index of Leading Environmental Indicators. And every year, his findings contradict the alarmists' warnings that the world is on the edge of environmental cataclysm. From evidence "that tropical rain forests may now be expanding faster than they are being cut down" to the improving health of U.S. ocean fisheries to better outdoor air quality in American cities with the worst air pollution, Hayward shows there's more to be optimistic about than there is to be troubled about. The Environmental Protection Agency has also published its own Report on the environment. Last year's report, the most recent, indicates outdoor air quality has improved, there's been a net gain in wetland acreage, public-source drinking-water problems are uncommon and forest land is expanding after declining for a century. Americans are actually generating no more trash per-capita than they were in 1990, our production of hazardous waste has fallen from 36 million tons in 1999 to 28 million tons in 2005, and lead levels in our blood have shown "a steady decline since the 1980s."...IBD

The Late Great Planet Girth

Over the past decade, as the earth cooled, the sun grew quiet and snow fell in Malibu, the disconnect between the computer models of Al Gore and the warm-mongers grew more apparent than ever. So much so that they started talking about "climate change" instead of "global warming." That way, everything from drought to floods was covered, even record cold winters and snowfalls. Even that's not working on an ever more skeptical public, according to a recent Rasmussen Reports national survey showing that just one of three voters — a new low — now believe that global warming is caused by human activity. Nearly half (48%) believe the cause is naturally occurring planetary trends. Just a year ago, only 34% said warming was a natural phenomenon, while 47% said human activity was placing the planet at risk of disastrous climate change. That's a huge shift. Interestingly, a growing number of Americans (58%) say we need to build more nuclear power plants, with 63% saying that finding additional sources of energy is more important than reducing the amount of energy Americans currently consume. They recognize that a growing economy requires more energy, not less, and that nukes are a pollution-free way of getting it. Not everyone is skeptical about human-caused climate change, however. On Monday, researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine blamed obesity for climate change...IBD

Warming could spur water crisis

Colorado River water users will experience frequent shortages in the coming years as warmer, drier conditions squeeze an already overburdened resource, scientists said Monday. Even without the effects of climate change, the scientists warned that the river may not produce as much water from mountain snowmelt as it did when the flow was divided among seven states in the early 1900s, some of the wettest years in centuries. The result in either case would be tough choices among water agencies about who gets water and who gives it up. In the new study, researchers found that if climate change reduces runoff into the river by as little as 10 percent, promised water deliveries to users, mostly water providers who then distribute supplies to consumers, could be missed 60 percent of the time by 2050, a failure rate that climbs to 80 percent if runoff falls further. The study was intended to provoke action among the seven states, not simply paint a doom-and-gloom scenario, said Tim Barnett, a marine physicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and co-author of the report...Arizona Republic

Court sides with EPA in power plant case

A federal appeals court has sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, denying requests by environmentalists and the Arizona Public Service Co. to review a plan that limits certain emissions from a coal-fired power plant in northwestern New Mexico. The utility, which operates the 2,040-megawatt Four Corners Power Plant, argued that the federal implementation plan finalized by EPA in 2007 was too restrictive. Environmentalists complained the plan did not take into account the region's air quality and that greater restrictions were needed to limit emissions. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver issued a 31-page ruling last week that found the EPA followed proper procedures in establishing the implementation plan...AP

Feds hunt 2 wolves that killed calf

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to kill two wolves that are believed to have killed a yearling calf in the Laramie Mountains southeast of Casper. Mike Jimenez, the service's wolf coordinator for Wyoming, says a rancher in the area of the Deer Creek drainage reported the depredation last week. Wildlife Services agents conducted a necropsy and confirmed the calf was killed by wolves. Jimenez says it's common for wolves to disperse around the state during the winter, but this is the farthest east that wolves have been spotted in Wyoming. Jimenez says the two black wolves apparently paired up southeast of Casper and are not collared. While wolves are protected as endangered species, Wildlife Services routinely kills wolves that attack livestock...AP

It may be done "routinely" in Wyoming, but not so in New Mexico. The same federal agency here goes to extreme tactics to keep from protecting the livestock industry.

Pressure mounts to resolve tariff dispute with Mexico

Mexico says the tariff is in retaliation for Congress' termination of a program that allowed Mexican truckers to ferry goods across the border and deep into the U.S.Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said the tariffs would affect roughly $10 million worth of agriculture exports in his state, striking a particularly severe blow to growers of onions, peanuts and potatoes. "With Texas farmers and ranchers working hard to overcome severe drought and hurricane damage, it is unconscionable to add to their hardships by putting up roadblocks and interfering with free trade that has benefited both countries," Staples said. The Obama administration faces growing pressure to settle the dispute. A coalition of 140 agriculture, business, food and manufacturing groups sent Obama a letter last week urging him to resolve the matter...Gannett

And you can thank the teamsters for that law.

NM management areas battle noxious, costly weeds

Rio Arriba County rancher Delfin Quintana remembers buying hay for his cattle several years ago. It wasn't long before the 80-year-old realized he got more than he had bargained for with those bundles. Noxious weeds started popping up on the range where his family has ranched for more than a century. "That's where it all started. Then the seeds spread and you're dispersing it when you're putting (the hay) out for the cattle," Quintana said. "The problem, it's bad. ... The weeds are very dominant and aggressive. They take over other plants." Soil and water conservation districts have teamed up with federal, state and local land management agencies to create noxious weed management areas throughout New Mexico. Currently, 14 cooperative weed management areas have been created in 17 counties. Management areas are sprouting as quickly as the weeds they're working to battle. Three years ago, the state had only four noxious weed management areas. By the end of this summer, the number will increase to around 17, said Jim Wanstall, Los Lunas-based state noxious weed coordinator for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture...AP

Song Of The Day #23

Today we'll move into the modern era of the Delks.

I asked Joe Delk for some background on The Delk Band, and here's what he provided:


"My dad, Forrest Delk started playing for dances in 1934 and this year, 2009, makes it 75 years that our family has had the honor of playing for country dances here in New Mexico. My mother tells me that I went to my first dance when I was two weeks old.

My sister, Linda, brother, Jimmy and I grew up going to school during the week, working cattle on the weekend and going to dances on Saturday night. As I look back now, playing for dances was something my dad did not only for his enjoyment but because it was what he did for our community. . .a way of life. Now at 61 years, I am trying to carrying on the tradition that my dad started.

My brother and I started playing with my dad when I was twelve years old and we played for dances throughout southwestern New Mexico.

My wife, Diane and I married in 1968 and were blessed with three sons, Neal, Mark and Byron. Needless to say, the boys started going to dances with us at a very early age. I made sure that there were instruments around so the boys were exposed to fiddles and guitars early on.

Neal picked up the guitar, Mark the drums and Byron the bass guitar and with me on the fiddle, we had a band and we named it simply “The Delk Band”. The first dance we played for was in Truth or Consequences, N.M. in July, 1984. I will never forget that night.

Here I was with three boys ages 12, 11 and 9, about to play the first tune we ever played at a dance. The tune I selected to start with was Maiden’s Prayer. As I looked at the crowd waiting for us to begin, I looked at the boys and I wondered to myself, what in the heck do I think I’m doing? I was so nervous that my hands were shaking almost uncontrollably. But, I had to get started because our crowd was eagerly waiting for us to begin.

I placed the fiddle under my chin, looked around to make sure Mark was ready and I drew the bow across the “D” string playing the first note of the song. My right hand was shaking so bad that the bow started bouncing on the string and I could not get it to stop. But I had no choice but to keep going. I played the first several bars of Maiden’s Prayer with the bow bouncing all over the place. It was pretty bad.

Gib and Johnnie Jo Bartlett were the first people on the dance floor. I will be forever grateful.

Thankfully my boys helped me get through that first song and we went on and played for those folks in Truth or Consequences for the next ten years.

My dad could not have been more proud of his grandsons especially when he would get on stage and play with them. The boys and I will celebrate 25 years of playing for dances this coming July."


A great story, and a great family. A story that will be continued this Saturday at the "Cowboy Dinner & Dance" in Capitan, NM. For particulars, go here.

The Delk Band, as a unit, has never cut a cd, but Mark Delk has recorded an excellent album with 13 great tunes. The liner notes to the album state "Dedicated To The Memory Of My Grandfather, Forrest Delk." In the notes Mark says, "I will be forever grateful for the love and encouragement I've received from each of my grandparents, but especially from 'Grandpa Delk'who instilled in me the love of 'good dance music.' It is with a happy heart that I dedicate this CD to his memory."

I really like Mark's up tempo rendition of "Bummin' Around", but FileFactory didn't. I could never get it to sound just right, and rather than risk Mark coming over here and tipping me over in my wheelchair, I'm going with "Milk Cow Blues."

Mark's CD is distributed by Bootheel Productions, PO Box 879, Mesilla Park, NM 88047 (575) 524-1233.

Interior staff's top seats in limbo

The Interior Department's Web site links to a page highlighting key officials. It's blank. The department, which manages millions of acres of public lands, including large swaths of Utah, is still waiting for most of its top people. At the moment, Secretary Ken Salazar is the only official who has been confirmed by the Senate to serve at the department under President Barack Obama and several others are awaiting hearings or votes. Part of the holdup stems from a clash with Utah's two senators and part with a slowdown of the vetting process to appoint new political designees for the department. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee gave its nod to Hayes' nomination, though Bennett's hold means it won't move on the Senate floor. A similar hold has been placed on Tom Strickland, who was named assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife, though Bennett denies he's blocking that one. When it returns to session today, the Senate is expected to start tackling nominations of several other departments, though it's unclear when some of the Interior designees will get hearings. The Obama administration, too, has yet to name some positions, including the director of the Bureau of Land Management...Salt Lake Tribune

Obama's federal appointees share a green streak

When Ned Farquhar was appointed to a key position in the Interior Department on April 7, the nation's biggest environmental group, the Sierra Club, seemed ecstatic. The agency has immense power over environmental policies in the West, managing 500 million acres of federal land, endangered species programs, mining and drilling leases. As the deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals, Farquhar will be "an environmental champion," gushed Sierra Clubber Matt Kirby in the Lay of the Land blog. Farquhar has proved his green mettle: He worked several years for the Natural Resources Defense Council and advocated for clean energy around the West from his base in Albuquerque. Before that, he advised New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on such issues. The selection of Farquhar points to an emerging pattern. So far, at least 10 people with ties to environmental groups or other conservation efforts have been named to fill senior positions. They include: David Hayes, a former senior fellow at the World Wildlife Fund and chairman of the board of American Rivers, is the new deputy Interior secretary (the agency's #2 job). Tom Strickland, who helped create the Great Outdoors Colorado program (using lottery revenues for open space and wildlife habitat), is Interior's new assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks...High Country News

Desert clash in West over solar potential, water

A westward dash to power electricity-hungry cities by cashing in on the desert's most abundant resource — sunshine — is clashing with efforts to protect the tiny pupfish and desert tortoise and stinginess over the region's rarest resource: water. Water is the cooling agent for what traditionally has been the most cost-efficient type of large-scale solar plants. To some solar companies answering Washington's push for renewable energy on vast government lands, it's also an environmental thorn. The unusual collision pits natural resources protections against President Barack Obama's plans to produce more environmentally friendly energy. The solar hopefuls are encountering overtaxed aquifers and a legendary legacy of Western water wars and legal and regulatory scuffles. Some are moving to more costly air-cooled technology — which uses 90 percent less water — for solar plants that will employ miles of sun-reflecting mirrors across the Western deserts. Others see market advantages in solar dish or photovoltaic technologies that don't require steam engines and cooling water and that are becoming more economically competitive...AP

Park Service Protests Big Solar Expansion in Nevada Desert

The National Park Service is sounding an alarm about plans for scores of big solar power plants in Southern Nevada, according to an inter-agency memo posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). NPS predicts harm to national parks in the region due to water scarcity, habitat disturbance, air pollution, sound pollution and light pollution lightening night skies. The February 9, 2009 memo from NPS Pacific Regional Director Jon Jarvis to the Acting Nevada U.S. Bureau of Land Management Director Amy Leuders details concerns about 63 utility-scale solar projects slated for BLM lands in southern Nevada. Jarvis cites potential negative impacts for Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Mojave National Preserve, and the Devils Hole section of Death Valley National Park. Above all, Jarvis stressed the lack of water to operate the solar facilities...Common Dreams

Drilling requires water permits

In a decision that brings some natural-gas operations under state water law and bolsters private-property rights, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that coal-bed methane gas wells must get water-well permits. The ruling means energy companies must prove to the state engineer that their drilling is not impinging upon senior water rights. If the methane wells do affect neighboring water supplies, companies must provide a plan for increasing those supplies. "In Colorado, water is just as important as gas, and this ruling protects water from drilling," said Bill Vance, an Archuleta County rancher who was a plaintiff in the lawsuit. The ruling comes three weeks after the legislature passed a comprehensive set of oil and gas operating rules. "They are all part of an effort to strike a balance for property owners," said Sarah Klahn, Vance's attorney. The Colorado Oil and Gas Association said the ruling will "just add more fuel to the fire of uncertainty affecting the oil and gas business in Colorado."...Denver Post

As Wild Horses Breed, a Voice for Contraception

The long-simmering controversy over what to do with America’s wild horses has come to a boil again. Last summer federal officials said they had so many wild horses in captivity — about 34,000 and growing — that they wanted authority to euthanize them, and some states are considering slaughter. It costs $27 million a year to care for the animals, according to the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the wild horse program. In February, Representatives Nick J. Rahall, Democrat of West Virginia, and Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, introduced federal legislation to prevent slaughter. The real answer, according to Jay F. Kirkpatrick, director of the nonprofit science and conservation center at ZooMontana in Billings, is an immunocontraceptive called P.Z.P. “There’s more than 30,000 wild horses on the range out there, and they are reproducing,” Dr. Kirkpatrick said. “The real problem isn’t what to do with excess horses, it’s reproduction. What do you with excess dogs and cats? You spay and neuter.” Dr. Kirkpatrick, 69, has been using the birth control drug porcine zona pellucida, or P.Z.P., since 1988 to control horse and deer populations. He has been promoting its use for the federal government’s wild horses of the West for almost as long, with no luck yet...NY Times

Pulitzers recognize the public watchdogs

A five-part Los Angeles Times series on the futility of government efforts to quell the growing threat of wildfires won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday, and the New York Times claimed five of journalism's highest awards in a year that recognized the watchdog function of the press even as newspapers struggle to survive. In their wildfire articles, reporters Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart reported that costly aerial drops of water and retardant often were ordered against firefighters' better judgment because they "make good television" and helped win political points for local officials. The series took 15 months from conception until publication last summer. It took seven months alone to get the results of a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Forest Service that provided details on the effort to quell the so-called Zaca fire. The 2007 blaze burned a quarter-million acres in the Los Padres National Forest outside Santa Barbara. The details ranged from the innocuous -- the lip balm used by the firefighters -- to the costs of aerial drops. The tab for one day of firefighting was more than $2.5 million. Despite such expenses, the series showed, fire protection policies were not working, and bigger, deadlier fires were raging...LA Times

America's Cattle Farmers and Ranchers Support Wildlife, Ecosystems

New survey data show that America's cattle farmers and ranchers are raising a lot more than just cattle on their ranches. From endangered species to native trees and grasses, America's farms and ranches are hosting, and often actively supporting wildlife, natural ecosystems and the environment. Eighty-eight percent of cattle farmers and ranchers surveyed said their land includes areas that support wildlife. More than half report wildlife populations on their land have increased in the past 10 years. That's important because approximately 73 percent of land in the United States is privately owned, and the majority of the country's natural wildlife habitats are found on those lands, according to information cited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In fact, the land managed by America's farmers and ranchers supports migratory birds, fish and other wildlife, including many threatened and endangered species ranging from whooping cranes in Nebraska to gopher tortoises thriving on a cattle ranch in Florida. Nationally, rangelands and pastures currently provide food and habitat for many types of wildlife, including deer, pronghorn antelope, elk and prairie chickens. During the past several years, 46,000 acres of private land, mostly on working farms and ranches, were re-established to benefit the grizzly bear, and approximately 120,000 acres of similar private lands were restored to benefit the bald eagle. In fact, in the Eastern and Central United States, wildlife is almost entirely dependent on ranch, farm and other private lands. And because 85 percent of U.S. grazing lands are unsuitable for producing crops, grazing animals more than doubles the area that can be used to produce food...PRWeb

Opinions differ on whether location of Four Corners is wrong

Thousands have trekked to the middle of nowhere just to be in the only place in America where you can step foot in four states at once. Well, it turns out they may not have. Tourists who think they're putting a hand or foot in each of four states at the Four Corners area may be missing the mark - by about 2.5 miles. According to a report being distributed by the Associated Press, the National Geodetic Survey says the Four Corners marker showing the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is about 2.5 miles west of where it should be. According to The Associated Press, the intended location was 109 degrees west longitude and 37 degrees north latitude. But, because of surveying errors, the popular tourist spot is actually just a bit off. The experts said Monday the accurate location lies to the east of U.S. 160 in Colorado and northeast of the San Juan River as it flows into New Mexico. "That's a long ways to be off," said David Bronson, surveyor of San Juan County, Utah. Still, he said the monument's present location is the accepted one. The only place in the United States where four state boundaries come together was first surveyed by the U.S. government in 1868 during the initial survey of Colorado's southern boundary line...9News

Legislation Introduced to Protect Livestock from Greenhouse Regulations

Former Secretary of Agriculture Senator Mike Johanns, R-Neb., has co-sponsored legislation that would protect animal agriculture from any greenhouse gas regulations put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. Last Friday, EPA announced it had determined that greenhouse gases may endanger public health or welfare. The ruling faces a 60-day public comment period. Johanns says this EPA proposal could have devastating consequences to the livestock sector. "This 'cow tax' could cost farmers and ranchers tens of thousands of dollars per farm per year," he said. The proposed legislation would amend the Clean Air Act to preclude regulation of naturally occurring livestock emissions, including methane and carbon dioxide. If the EPA definition of air pollutants includes methane, USDA estimated that any agricultural operation of more than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle, 200 hogs or 500 acres of corn would be subject to emission fees...Farm Futures

Twenty-one polo horses die in Florida

Officials are still trying to determine what caused the death of 21 polo horses in South Florida Sunday. The animals, owned by a team from Caracas, Venezuela, had just arrived at the U.S. Polo Tournament in Wellington when 14 of them collapsed. Another seven were disoriented and staggering. Dr. Scott Swerdlin of the Palm Beach Equine Club, International Polo's consulting veterinarian group says 14 died at the grounds, one was euthanized and the others died within 45 minutes at the Venezuelan team’s barn. Swerdlin believes the deaths were due to feed or shots. He does not believe it was intentional. The horses suffered pulmonary edema, which means fluid accumulated in their lungs, and cardiogenic shock. Officials say whatever killed the horses was not airborne or contagious. Necropsies will be conducted on the horses with the preliminary findings expected late Monday or Tuesday...Brownfield

Cowboy Dinner and Dance - Honoring Rural Families, Rural Traditions and our Rural Heritage

April 25, 2009

Lincoln County Fairgrounds - Capitan, NM

The Gila Livestock Growers Association (GLGA) www.gilalivestockgrowers.org and the Americans for the Preservation of Western Environment (APWE) www.amprowest.org are sponsoring a Cowboy Dinner and Dance at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Capitan, New Mexico on April 25, 2009. Dinner starts at 6:00 pm and the dance at 8:00 pm.

Music by Joe Delk, Bucky Allred and The Delk Band featuring Neal, Mark and Byron Delk, Robert Flowers, Roswell; Roy Garcia, Las Cruces; Dee Ford, Alma; Ty Martin, Silver City; Michael Dean, Muleshoe, TX and a special appearance by Jacy Yarbrough, Winston, NM.

Not too long ago, Saturday-night dances were a common occurrence at many rural locations throughout New Mexico. Families, friends and neighbors coming together to share a meal, visit with one another and enjoy an evening of dancing. We can certainly refer to those days as “the good ole days” and we want to show our younger generation what it was like and allow our older generation to remember the way it was.

There will be no admission charge for the Cowboy Dinner and Dance. All are welcome. However, this is a fundraising event and we ask that you contribute what you can. All monies raised in this effort will be utilized to help end the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program and preserve our rural heritage.

The Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program has evolved into an assault on our rural way-of-life by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) with the help and support of extremist environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, Wildearth Guardians and the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.

Today, the people and communities in and around the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area, which encompasses the Gila and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, are bearing the brunt of the devastating impact the wolf reintroduction program is having on the people and communities that are forced to live with wolves on their ranches, in their yards and in their communities.

The FWS operates under federal law that requires them to work with local government to insure that federal programs are not in violation of local laws or local custom and culture. Federal law requires the FWS to consult with, cooperate with and be consistent with the laws and rights of local government that represents the people. FWS is either not aware of these federal laws or they just plain don’t care because they will run over local elected officials who may feel threatened or intimidated by the actions of federal agencies.

The Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program has been grossly mismanaged by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local residents are paying the price. The program is a bust. Ranches have been lost, local businesses are suffering, elk hunting in the Gila will never be what it once was and families are being put in danger every day.

Help us to stop the injustice in the Gila and Apache National Forests before it spreads to other areas of New Mexico.

So, put on your dancin’ boots, saddle up and come to the Cowboy Dinner and Dance in Capitan on April 25th because we’re figurin’ on having an old fashioned good time!

For contributions, please make checks payable to Gila Livestock Grower’s Association for “Preserving our Rural Heritage”. Bring your check to the Cowboy Dinner and Dance or mail to Gila Livestock Grower’s Association (GLGA), HC64, Box 30, Magdalena, NM 87825. Credit Card contributions can be made at www.wolfcrossing.org.


Joe Delk (575) 644-3082~~~~Laura Schneberger (575) 772-5753

Song Of The Day #021, #022

Joe Delk has been playing great, traditional, danceable country music for more years than I care to think about (we graduated high school the same year). And, as can be seen from the previous post, through his music and other activities, he is working hard at promoting and preserving our western way of life. So The Westerner will be honoring the Delk family this week for all of their contributions to our musical heritage and to our ranching & rural heritage.

The man who started it all was Joe's father, Forrest Delk (1917-1996), who learned to play the fiddle at age 7. In 1934 he was asked to play for a dance at Apache Grove, Arizona and after he and his musician friends arrived it came a hard rain, all the creeks ran full and nobody could get to the dance. Going home the next day they had to cross all the creeks which had washed out, and from that day on his band was known as "The Gully Jumpers." Take a gander at the OLD TIMER record label I've posted and you will see they are listed as "Fiddlin' Forrest Delk And His Gully Jumpers." They played for dances for over 60 years.

When it came to picking today's selection I just couldn't make up my mind. I have listened to Forrest's recording of "Ragged Annie" over and over and I find something new and exciting each time I hear it. But "Wagner" is such a different fiddle tune and offers an excellent example of Forrest's fiddling skills, making it hard to pass over. So to hell with it, today you'll get a "Double Dose of Delk", and in both instances hear some grand fiddling.

Both cuts were recorded in 1949 in Los Angeles, Ca. for Coast Records. They are taken from the original 78s and are on the 2 cd collection "The Recordings Of Forrest Delk & His Gully Jumpers", available from Joe Delk (575) 644-3082.

Go to folder - FileFactory.com

Report: Judge wants dam removal as an option for salmon

A federal judge weighing the federal government's salmon plan for the Columbia Basin wants the breaching of four dams on the Snake River included as a possible option should salmon runs in that river face extinction. The NW Fishletter reports that was one message U.S. District Court Judge James Redden gave in an April 2 closed door meeting with litigants involved in a lawsuit challenging the plan, called a biological opinion. "The judge wants NOAA Fisheries to add language to the BiOp that would provide a breaching 'off-ramp' in case the Snake runs collapse. That could take some fancy legal footwork, since the feds had recently announced they were not going to reopen the 2008 BiOp for consultation," the Fishletter says...The Oregonian

Stimulus money pays for Klamath dam removal study

A study on the feasibility of removing dams on the Klamath River to help struggling salmon runs is being paid for with federal stimulus money. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation regional office in Sacramento, Calif., said Friday that it has received $4 million to contract the work. The study is due by 2012. It will give the Secretary of Interior the information he needs to decide whether the benefits of removing the four aging hydroelectric dams outweigh the drawbacks. Issues include an engineering analysis of removing the concrete structures, and what happens to the sediment that has built up behind them during the past century...AP

How foolish of me to think this money was to stimulate the economy, when it was really meant to stimulate wildlife populations.

Salmon Si, Gente No.

Stay slim to save the planet

Overweight people eat more than thin people and are more likely to travel by car, making excess body weight doubly bad for the environment, according to a study from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. "When it comes to food consumption, moving about in a heavy body is like driving around in a gas guzzler," and food production is a major source of greenhouse gases, researchers Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts wrote in their study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. "We need to be doing a lot more to reverse the global trend toward fatness, and recognize it as a key factor in the battle to reduce (carbon) emissions and slow climate change," the British scientists said. They estimated that each fat person is responsible for about one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions a year more on average than each thin person, adding up to an extra one billion tonnes of CO2 a year in a population of one billion overweight people...Reuters

This is why they haven't closed Gitmo. Us hefty ones will be declared an "environmental combatant" and shipped off to Cuba.

Japanese Report Disputes Human Cause for Global Warming

The Japanese Society of Energy and Resources (JSER) has published a new study on the causes of Global Warming. Entitled, "Global warming: What is the scientific truth?”, the report highlights the differing views of five prominent Japanese scientists. All but one of the scientists disagreed that global warming is the result of human activity. While all the researchers agreed with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) statement that "warming of the climate system is unequivocal", four of the five disagreed with the claim that the primary cause of the increase was due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. The only researcher to agree with the IPCC's assertion was Emori, who is himself a member of the IPCC. Akasofu countered with the statement, "CO2 emissions have been increasing, but the rise in air temperature stopped around 2001. Climate change is due in large part to naturally occurring oscillations". Akasofu says the earth's warming trend began prior to the industrial age, and believes much of the warming seen may simply be a natural recovery from the so-called Little Ice Age, that ended in the 17th century...Daily Tech

Appeals Court Cancels Offshore Drilling Program

A program to expand oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast has been canceled by a federal appeals court because of environmental concerns. A three-judge panel in the District of Columbia says the Bush administration's Interior Department failed to consider the offshore environmental impact and marine life before approving an oil and gas leasing program in the Beaufort, Bering, and Chukchi seas. The seas are home to wildlife including polar bears, whales, seals, walruses and seabirds. The appeals court ordered the Interior Department, now run by appointees of President Barack Obama, to analyze the areas to determine environmental damage risks before moving ahead with the program. AP

The Ethanol Bubble Pops in Iowa

In September, ethanol giant VeraSun Energy opened a refinery on the outskirts of this eastern Iowa community. Among the largest biofuels facilities in the country, the Dyersville plant could process 39 million bushels of corn and produce 110 million gallons of ethanol annually. VeraSun boasted the plant could run 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet the demand for home-grown energy. But the only thing happening 24-7 at the Dyersville plant these days is nothing at all. Its doors are shut and corn deliveries are turned away. Touring the facility recently, I saw dozens of rail cars sitting idle. They've been there through the long, bleak winter. Two months after Dyersville opened, VeraSun filed for bankruptcy, closing many of its 14 plants and laying off hundreds of employees. VeraSun lost $476 million in the third quarter last year. In the fourth quarter of 2008, Aventine Renewable Energy, a large ethanol producer, lost $37 million despite selling a company record 278 million gallons of the biofuel. Last week it filed for bankruptcy. California's Pacific Ethanol lost $146 million last year and has defaulted on $250 million in loans. It recently told regulators that it will likely run out of cash by April 30. How could this be? The federal government gives ethanol producers a generous 51-cent-a-gallon tax credit and mandates that a massive amount of their fuel be blended into the nation's gasoline supplies. And those mandates increase every year. This year the mandate is 11 billion gallons and is on its way to 36 billion gallons in 2022...WSJ

Biden's Puppy Breeder: "Never, Never, Never Again"

Fifteen minutes of fame turned into four months of bitter remorse for the Chester County woman who sold the Bidens their adorable little German shepherd puppy. Linda Brown's been investigated, scorned and had her life threatened. "I thought when Joe Biden bought a puppy from me, what an honor," Brown told the Daily Local News. "Out of millions of breeders in the country, in the world, he picked me." That was December. When the story got out, Brown faced backlash from pet lovers who thought the Bidens should have opted for a shelter over a breeder to find their new puppy. PETA seized the moment as an opportunity to blame the killing of shelter animals on people who buy from breeders. The organization's TV commercial, "Buy One, Get One Killed" ran in Delaware after the Biden puppy story made headlines. Dog wardens from the state showed up at Brown's Wolf Den kennel, repeatedly, for inspections. "I was cited for a piece of kibble on the floor and five strands of dog hair. They took a picture of that, they walked around, snapped pictures and don't tell you why," Brown told the newspaper. She was found "not guilty" for each citation, but hiring a lawyer for the court hearings has cost her $4,000 so far in legal fees...NBC Local

‘Pig Book’: Congressional ‘pork’ hits $19.6 billion in 2009

Capitol Hill lawmakers added 10,160 pet projects – aka “pork barrel” projects – to this year’s government spending, fewer than in the previous budget cycle but at a higher total cost. That’s the bottom line from the Pig Book, a list of member projects inserted in annual spending bills, released Tuesday by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW). The watchdog group, which has issued the Pig Book each year since 1991, calls it “the book Washington doesn’t want you to read.” For the record: The 10,160 projects – valued at $19.6 billion – represent a 14 percent increase in the cost to taxpayers over last year’s spending on “pork.” That’s even though the number of projects went down 12.5 percent during the same period. Of the 10,160 projects is this year’s Pig Book, CAGW identified 221 earmarks worth $7.8 billion that were funded in violation of Congress’s own transparency rules...Christian Science Monitor

West Texas ranch makes no apologies for name

Mack Stark figures cattle raisers can appreciate the name of his west central Texas ranch and makes no apologies for the words in big black letters on the steel arch over the dirt and gravel driveway. The name's not exactly fit to print, but let's just say "Deep Droppings Cattle Co." or "Deep Excrement Cattle Co." wouldn't have the same effect. "That has a ring to it," the 75-year-old rancher said. A ring of truth, Lavon Stark, his wife of almost 45 years, chimes in. "If you've ever been in the cattle business, you know," she added. After all, it's why cowboy boots go up almost to your knees. That comes in handy in this part of the state, where manure runs deep and cars are outnumbered by cattle haulers rumbling along Texas Highway 36 in and out of Comanche, about 10 miles to the west of the Starks' 140-acre ranch. And thus the name Mack Stark gave to his operation "six or eight years ago" after a tough day of herding and moving cattle and, naturally, stepping in it...AP

Trio depart Beijing on epic horse ride to London

A middle-aged British woman and two Chinese companions on Saturday set off on an epic horse ride that will see them cross China, Central Asia and Europe -- and arrive in London for the 2012 Olympics. Megan Lewis, a 60-year-old British pony breeder and head of the expedition, said the three-year trek from Beijing to London was a lifelong dream. But the former geography teacher, who is raising money for charity, admitted the more than 5,000-mile (8,200-kilometre) journey was as much a test of the horses as the riders. "You know you're going to get lameness and all sorts of things with the horses, that's just part of what goes with it," she said. "But we've got a couple of nice little horses and we've got support from everyone." The first section of the trip will take the three-man team to Inner Mongolia, along the north of China, to end up at the Jiayu Pass in Gansu province in August -- the end of the Great Wall. From there, they will ride across China's westernmost region of Xinjiang, Central Asia and Europe, to eventually end up in London in time for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in 2012...AFP

Song Of The Day #020

Charles Levi Walker, Jr., was born in Copeville, Texas, on November 2, 1926 and died in 2008. At age 17 he got his first professional gig singing in a Dallas honky tonk. Not long afterword he became a vocalist with Bill Boyd's western swing band The Cowboy Ramblers. He recorded for Decca in the 50's and then became a very popular country dj in San Antonio. He had his first big hit in 1962 on Columbia with the Harlan Howard tune "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down." Other big songs for him were "Don't Squeeze My Sharmon," "Little Ole Wine Drinker Me," "Truck Driving Man," "Close All the Honky-Tonks," and "Who Will Buy the Wine?" among many others. He released over 30 albums and joined The Grand Ole Opry in 1967.

Today's selection is his 1954 recording of "Tell Her Lies And Feed Her Candy" which is available on the Pick Me Up On Your Way Down box set.

Please note I've created a Label section on this blog. Look over to right column, scroll down to Labels, then click on the Song Of The Day folder. There you will be able to play all twenty of the songs posted so far, and future ones will be added.

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

Around town from a gentler time

by Julie Carter

Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Linton motored to town on Sunday to spend the day with Mr. Linton's ailing parents. They were met at the elder Linton's home by friends Zelda and Frank Cook, and they shared an evening meal of roast pork, potatoes and fresh garden vegetables.

A delicious lemon pie and coffee for dessert complemented the evening.

If the paragraph above brought back any memories of simpler times, it is because it is typical of the news collections from small towns and communities that were printed in the local paper 50-100 years ago.

People loved to read it and the fact is, they still do.

Our own Lincoln queen, Rosalie Dunlap, writes that very kind of everyday news about comings and goings of the people in her community. When a child is born or baptized, a wedding takes place, someone gets a new porch built, a birthday is celebrated, a dog is lost or meetings of all kinds are held, it's news.

Her reports endear her to her fans.

I gleaned the following from my Colorado hometown paper that runs a section called Peaks of the Past.

The following was published exactly this way 100 years ago:

We hear it talked that Silver Cliff has two candidates for mayor. The regularly nominated one should be re-elected.

L.C. Atkinson, president of the Geyser Silver Mining Co., was an arrival from the east Tuesday, on visit to the property.

Laundry business must be flourishing. Lew Key has just bought the lot adjoining his premises on the east of Silver Cliff.

Plowed patches of ground up and down the Valley indicate that the farmers are preparing rapidly for their spring planting.

Our friend Burke of the Maverick Billiard Hall says he drank salt in his coffee last Thursday morning, and then it dawned upon him that it was the first day of April.

The opening of Edman and Clancy's last Saturday was well attended by the ladies from the towns and surrounding country. The fairer sex is all fitted out now for the Easter show.

We humans still have a basic need to stay connected to the people and events around us on an almost personal level.

Today's writing style has changed to catch the eye of a attention-deficit generation and give enough information in the first sentence to beg the patience for a paragraph.

The buzzwords and catch phrases change as fast as we can run the remote control through 300 channels and the acronyms are nearing a complete language of their own, something akin to hieroglyphics.

However, with a quiet moment and a thought, I can go to the time when a little matronly woman in a floral dress, hair in a tight bun, is sitting at lace tablecloth-covered table putting notes on a tablet with a sharpened pencil.

Thelma stood before her wall phone and gave it one quick crank.

Myrtle, down at the telephone office, answered. Thelma greeted her heartily with a "Mornin' Myrtle," and then asked to be connected to 511.

This happened only after Myrtle inquired about the family.

Thelma assured her all was well except for that touch of arthritis that hitches her git-along from time to time.

Thelma spent the afternoon sipping tea and contacting her regulars for the week's news. Who hosted Thanksgiving dinner and with whom, what kind of cake was served at the Sherry Harper baby shower, and where did the card and domino players gather this week?

Thelma could make news out of no news.

When the readers finally got a glimpse at Thelma's story, they felt like they had a visit from those mentioned throughout.

With a warm feeling in their hearts, they went back to their daily lives that didn't include an iPod, flat screen TV, computers, faxes, scanners and cell phones.

They might even have sat on the porch that evening, recalling those events they hadn't attended and those people they hadn't seen.

With all their lack of technology, I believe they were more connected to life's important things than we are today.

To connect, we may have to disconnect all those electronics of which I own, at least, one of each.

Be right back, my phones are ringing.

Julie can be reached by phone, two of them, fax, email at the website www.julie-carter.com , or, if you must, a note card

It’s The Pitts

Rubbed The Wrong Way

By Lee Pitts

My wife looked at me, as if for the first time, and said, “I think there is something really wrong with you.”

“You’ve lived with me for 35 years and you’re just now figuring that out?” I sarcastically replied. “What do you think is wrong with me this time?”

“I think you are an anthropophobiac!”

“That sounds serious. You’ve been watching Oprah again haven’t you? What does it mean and how long do I have to live?”

“You aren’t going to die, silly. It won’t kill you, it just means you are afraid of people. You haven’t been to town for two weeks, haven’t shaved in five days and you’re getting a little seedy. You’re turning into a hermit right before my eyes.”

“Its not that I don’t like people, it’s just that I don’t like them in big bunches,” I explained. “The last time I went to town there were three other people in the hardware store, including one in the same aisle as I was! It gave me the heebie jeebies!”

“You are sick. I think you need to see a shrink or a support group.”

“Too many people in a support group,” I replied. “It’s just that I prefer the company of cows to people. Now what would Oprah call that condition Miss Big Words?”

“Sick! Really sick! That’s what! People need people, haven’t you ever heard that Streisand melody,” my wife said as she sang off key, “People needing other people...”

“If you think I’m sick you should read the article I found on the Internet about frotteurs,” I said. “According to the article, frotteurs are creeps who get their sexual jollies by rubbing up against other people, especially in elevators. Just the thought of frotteurs coexisting with me on the same planet is enough to make my flesh crawl. Has Oprah ever had any of those people on her show?”

“Not that I know of,” said my wife.

“Well, those are the kinds of people you find in town, or at least you would if our town had an elevator. Which it doesn’t.”

“How long have you felt this way about crowds?” asked my wife.

“Ever since the first time I went to a really big city. I was 18 years old when I went to Washington D.C. for an FFA leadership conference. The whole town seemed to be filled with pickpockets and perverts. And that was just the politicians. The other residents freaked me out too. I saw things there that I’d never seen before, like subways and transvestites. Men dressed in dresses I tell you!!! I’d never seen such a thing! It was the 1960’s and I was wearing my FFA jacket and had real short hair. Those people gave me the strangest looks, as if I was the weird one.”

“They’d probably never seen an FFA’er before,” suggested my wife.

“Maybe not, but ever since then I’ve avoided any town that showed symptoms of civilization, like sewers instead of septic tanks, parking meters and elevators. You won’t catch me at a football game with 100,000 people in the stands crowded arm pit to arm pit. I’ll barely go to a local game and that’s only because the visiting strangers sit on the opposite side of the field where I can keep my eye on them.”

“This is unhealthy for you to feel this way,” said my wife. “Oprah says people like you need to be desensitized. We’ll start off slow by taking you to the auction market where you can be amongst people of your own kind. Then we’ll slowly build up your courage by taking you to bigger and bigger towns until we eventually find one with an elevator. As a final test you can enter the elevator with other strange people.”

“I don’t know why you want to punish me like this, but I’ll tell you right now... if I get on that elevator and some-body rubs up against me she’d better be good looking and wearing a dress.” I paused, “and be a real woman!”

Horse Processing Legislation

By an overwhelming 44-5 majority, Montana senators voted on April 16 to reject Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s amendments to HB 418, the controversial bill to permit horse processing and restrict court appeals seeking to halt construction of a slaughter plant. Other legislative measures regarding horse processing are on the table in 13 other states, including North Dakota and Arkansas. Montana senators agreed with their colleagues in the House of Representatives, who voted on April 8 to send the measure back to Gov. Schweitzer in its original form. In a news conference April 3 to announce the partial veto, Gov. Schweitzer said he recognized the need for horse processing, and would be willing to look at modifying the state's regulatory structure if a company wanted to build a plant in the state. However, he objected to the provisions in HB 418 that would limit environmental appeals, saying no other business in Montana received such protections. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Ed Butcher (R-Winifred), seeks to encourage construction of a processing plant by preventing Montana courts from issuing an injunction stopping or delaying the construction of an equine-processing facility. It also would have required anyone who challenges a facility's environmental permit to post a substantial bond. When it reaches his desk, Gov. Schweitzer has 10 days to either sign or veto the measure. If he takes no action, it automatically passes into law. The Governor has not made his intentions public. In North Dakota, House lawmakers on April 16 passed HB 1496, which authorizes a $50,000 study to evaluate the construction of a slaughter plant in their state, and identify legal roadblocks. The North Dakota Senate approved its version of the measure in March. Gov. John Hoeven must now decide whether to sign HB 1496 into law. He is expected to take action next week. In Arkansas, a resolution urging Congress to support equine processing has passed both the House and Senate. The measure, HCR 1004, now awaits Gov. Mike Beebe’s signature...Quarter Horse News

Hat Tip: Sue Wallis & United Horsemen's Front

Song Of The Day #019

Bill (1917-2008) and Earl (1919-1998) Bolick were born and raised in East Hickory, North Carolina. Their very religious parents taught them at an early age to sing gospel music. While each played several instruments, they eventually settled on Bill playing the mandolin and Earl playing the guitar.

They made their first radio appearance in 1935 as part of a group called "The Crazy Hickory Nuts." In 1936 they signed with RCA as a brother duo and The Blue Sky Boys were born. Their first release, Sunny Side Of Life/Where The Soul Never Dies, was an instant hit and they went on to record over 100 songs for RCA before they both left for the war in 1941. They returned in 1946, had some more hits, but didn't like the direction country music was taking, refused to have an electric guitar on their recordings, and retired from music in 1951. They were brought out of retirement in the 60's as part of the hootenanny craze and recorded a couple more albums.

Along with the Monroes, Delmores and Dixons, the Blue Sky Boys were part of the "brother sound" of early country music. Bill and Earl, though, had a unique style of harmony that influenced later artists such as the Louvin Brothers and the Everly Brothers.

This being a gospel music day, our selection by the Blue Sky Boys is I'm S-A-V-E-D, recorded in 1940. It's available on the box set Blue Sky Boys.

If you like your gospel music with a soft choral arrangement and with a modern, weak-kneed, sissified message, then this song ain't for you.

Border agroterrorism workshop heads to tribal land

Laguna Pueblo officials hope an agricultural terrorism course being held at the pueblo this week will help create a way for tribes to coordinate their emergency preparedness plans for livestock and crops with the state's plan. The course, "Preparedness and Response to Agricultural Terrorism," focuses on preparing the agricultural industry in case of a major attack, but also provides a framework for dealing with more common threats, including animal and plant diseases. It will be the first course of its kind on pueblo land and geared specifically toward pueblo farmers and ranchers. "This is the most comprehensive class available to teach how to recognize and deal with issues that might affect agriculture whether from accidental, natural or criminal cause," said Billy Dictson, co-director of the Southwest Border Food Safety and Defense Center and director of New Mexico State University's Office of Biosecurity in Las Cruces. Ken Tiller, emergency management coordinator with Laguna Pueblo, said he requested the training because the state's preparedness plan didn't address how it would coordinate with pueblos in case of an incident. "The tribes are sovereign, but most of our lands are right next door, like Laguna and Acoma, and they weren't included in the state's basic plan," Tiller said. "This is an effort to start doing outreach to the tribes and it will help fill in the gap that wasn't addressed by the state." The course, led by Louisiana State University's National Center for Biomedical Research and Training and Academy of Counter Terrorism Education, is tailored teach the tools farmers and ranchers need to create and implement a response plan, said Jeff Witte, director of agriculture biosecurity for the state Department of Agriculture and co-director of the Southwest Border Food Safety and Defense Center...AP

More Suburbanites are Raising Chickens

Mostly farm families wait to pick up the chicks, but mixed in with the rural chick-raising veterans are first-timers like Justin and Stacey DeWeese, both 25. They collect a box of 30 chicks, which they plan to raise in suburban St. Louis. Motivated by the taste of farm-fresh eggs and a desire to try something new, the couple built a coop at a friend's house and researched how to care for a flock. Stacey said the couple wants chickens "for the eggs, to watch them play in the backyard." And to "kill the bugs," Justin added. It's a phenomenon that's playing out all over the nation. Poultry dealers, chicken feed businesses and self-proclaimed "chicken enthusiasts" report city slickers and suburbanites are showing greater interest in raising small flocks of chickens far from the farm. Clearview's manager Karen Ruck said about every tenth person who calls to inquire about ordering chicks through the store says they've never raised chickens before. She hears from suburban moms, who want a few hens to teach their kids responsibility, and new gardeners, seeking birds to go with their attempts to grow backyard vegetables. Livestock feed and pet food maker Purina Mills is seeing double-digit growth for its small, 5-pound bag of all-natural poultry feed marketed since 2003 to people who raise small flocks for eggs or as companion animals. Backyard Chickens, a Web site that began to help city residents raise chickens, says its community of about 27,000 people is growing rapidly, with about 100 new members daily...AP

Are their premises registered with the USDA?

EPA Proposes Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposal today finding greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to the public's health and welfare, a determination that could trigger a series of sweeping regulations affecting everything from vehicles to coal-fired power plants. In a statement issued at noon, EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson said, "This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations." The finding identifies six gases -- carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluorid -- as contributing to global warming. EPA noted in its official announcement that in making the determination that climate change poses a threat to Americans, Jackson took into account "the disproportionate impact climate change has on the health of certain segments of the population, such as the poor, the very young, the elderly, those already in poor health, the disabled, those living alone and/or indigenous populations dependent on one or a few resources." Global warming also poses a national security threat, the statement added, as well as an environmental one. The move, coming almost exactly two years after the Supreme Court ordered the agency to examine whether emissions linked to climate change should be curbed under the Clean Air Act, marks a major shift in the federal government's approach to global warming...WashPost

Renewable Energy's Environmental Paradox

The SunZia transmission line that would link sun and wind power from central New Mexico with cities in Arizona is just the sort of energy project an environmentalist could love -- or hate. And it is just the sort of line the Interior Department has been tasked with promoting -- or guarding against. If built, the 460-mile line would carry about 3,000 megawatts of power, enough to avoid the need for a handful of coal-fired plants and to help utilities meet mandated targets for use of renewable fuel. "We have to connect the sun of the deserts and the winds of the plains to places where people live," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said recently. But the line would also cross grasslands, skirt two national wildlife refuges and traverse the Rio Grande, all habitat areas rich in wildlife. The graceful sandhill crane, for example, makes its winter home in the wetlands of New Mexico's Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, right next to the path of the proposed power line. And much of the area falls under the protection of the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM)...Washington Post

Lawyers ask judge to split sweeping grazing suit

A federal lawyer is asking a judge to break apart a sweeping lawsuit that accuses federal land mangers of putting grazing and energy ahead of preserving sage grouse on millions of acres in six western states. The lawsuit, filed last year in U.S. District Court in Boise, challenges 16 separate land use plans developed by the Bureau of Land Management in Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and California. The Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project claims the BLM violated federal environmental laws when the agency failed to properly weigh the impacts grazing and natural gas drilling have on sage grouse and its diminishing habitat. Thursday's hearing in Boise focused on procedure rather than the merits of the case. Lawyers for the government, cattlemen and energy developers argue the case should be split and argued separately in the six different states...AP

Wolves caught on camera, 23 lambs killed

A motion-detector camera has photographed two wolves killing lambs on a ranch in Eastern Oregon — the first documented wolf attack on livestock in Oregon since they started moving into the state in 1999. Baker City-area sheep rancher Curt Jacobs said Wednesday his family — third generation sheep ranchers — had been moving ewes and lambs from the ranch compound, where they had been brought in for lambing, out to pasture last week. Monday morning, Jacobs, 52, found the wolves had come back and killed more lambs. One of the cameras captured a photo of two wolves looking right at it, with dead lambs at their feet. The attack is likely to revive the contentious debate over whether ranchers should be allowed to shoot wolves on sight. "It's all right to have the animal be here," Jacobs said from his ranch. "But if every time you went to work in the morning, somebody stopped you and took your lunch pail and you couldn't say nothing about it, it would get old after awhile." Jacobs said photos of the wolves and their tracks will go into his claim for $7,300 in compensation from Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation group supporting the return of wolves to Oregon. In all he had 23 lambs killed, and others too injured to be sold. The dead lambs had suffered bites down over the rib cage...AP

Hat Tip: The Outdoor Pressroom

U.S. will approve higher ethanol blend

The U.S. government will eventually allow higher levels of ethanol to be blended into gasoline, Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen said on Tuesday. Ethanol is currently approved to make up 10 percent of gasoline, but producers have lobbied the government to increase the blend level. "I absolutely believe that when all the science is in, the efficacy of using greater than 10 percent blends will be validated," Dinneen told reporters at an Energy Information Administration summer energy outlook conference. Growth Energy and 52 ethanol manufacturers petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency last month to raise the maximum blend level for ethanol in gasoline to as much as 15 percent. Dinneen said he expects the EPA to issue a notice "within days" to begin collecting public comment on the issue. The EPA has 270 days to act on the ethanol producers' request...Reuters

Currently, ethanol receives subsidies through mandated concumption, grants, loan guarantees, tax incentives and tariffs on imports. The tax incentives alone are estimated to be $9 billion in 2009. Higher blends means more subsidies.

BMI Surveillance: The Food Police Will Be Watching You

Two doctors from the nonprofit Altarum Institute have taken a page from the Department of Homeland Security playbook, and began advocating a “Body Mass Index surveillance system” this week. What kind of surveillance? An electronic registry of children’s personal health information, gathered in order to monitor their weight. Here’s our question: Will the FBI start tapping phone conversations any time the words “cookies” and “ice cream” are spoken? Let’s hope not. Because although Body Mass Index (BMI) is a popular measurement for weight-conscious consumers, it’s simplistic to the point of being practically useless. This new surveillance system is reminiscent of the BMI “report card” that Arkansas mandated in 2003 in order to grade students’ weight. How did that work out? “The BMI testing has not put a dent in the state's number of overweight kids,” The Baltimore Sun reported three years later...CFCF

EPA releases national greenhouse gas inventory; Ag responsible for 6 %

An EPA news release from yesterday stated that, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the national greenhouse gas inventory, which finds that overall emissions during 2007 increased by 1.4 percent from the previous year. The report, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2007, is the latest annual report that the United States has submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.” The inventory report, which can be downloaded here, stated on page 34 that, “The Agricultural chapter contains anthropogenic emissions from agricultural activities (except fuel combustion, which is addressed in the Energy chapter, and agricultural CO2 fluxes, which are addressed in the Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry Chapter). Agricultural activities contribute directly to emissions of greenhouse gases through a variety of processes, including the following source categories: enteric fermentation in domestic livestock, livestock manure management, rice cultivation, agricultural soil management, and field burning of agricultural residues. CH4 and N2O were the primary greenhouse gases emitted by agricultural activities. CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation and manure management represented about 24 percent and 8 percent of total CH4 emissions from anthropogenic activities, respectively, in 2007. Agricultural soil management activities such as fertilizer application and other cropping practices were the largest source of U.S. N2O emissions in 2007, accounting for 67 percent. In 2007, emission sources accounted for in the Agricultural chapters were responsible for 6 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.”...agriculturelaw

EPA Will Mandate Tests On Pesticide Chemicals

The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time will require pesticide manufacturers to test 67 chemicals contained in their products to determine whether they disrupt the endocrine system, which regulates animals' and humans' growth, metabolism and reproduction, the agency said yesterday. Researchers have raised concerns that chemicals released into the environment interfere with animals' hormone systems, citing problems such as male fish in the Potomac River that are bearing eggs. Known as endocrine disruptors, the chemicals may affect the hormones that humans and animals produce or secrete. "Endocrine disruptors can cause lifelong health problems, especially for children," EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a statement. "Gathering this information will help us work with communities and industry to protect Americans from harmful exposure." Testing will begin this summer and will focus on whether these chemicals affect estrogen, androgen and thyroid systems. The tests eventually will encompass all pesticide chemicals. Pesticide industry officials said they had anticipated the move, which was set into motion in 1996 by the passage of the Food Quality Protection Act, and they planned to cooperate on the matter...WPost

Cure for honeybee colony collapse?

For the first time, scientists have isolated the parasite Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) from professional apiaries suffering from honeybee colony depopulation syndrome. They then went on to treat the infection with complete success, according to an April 14 announcement. In a study published in the new journal from the Society for Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Reports, scientists from Spain analyzed two apiaries and found evidence of honeybee colony depopulation syndrome (known as colony collapse disorder in the U.S.). They found no evidence of any other cause of the disease (such as the Varroa destructor, Israeli acute paralysis virus or pesticides) other than infection with N. ceranae. The researchers then treated the infected surviving under-populated colonies with the antibiotic drug flumagillin and demonstrated complete recovery of all infected colonies...Feedstuffs

NAIS meeting strikes out again

A stakeholders summit on the troubled National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Wednesday in Washington, D.C., ended -- again -- with no consensus from the livestock industry. Officials from major livestock groups, representing a full range of viewpoints on the issue, met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to lay out their positions. Vilsack called the meeting after House agricultural appropriations subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.) told him earlier this month that "the clock is ticking" on future funding for the program. Both she and House Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) have threatened to end spending based on the underperformance of NAIS, which so far has cost taxpayers more than $120 million. Following today's meeting, Vilsack announced a new round of public "listening sessions" in an attempt to find a way to design a system that works effectively for market protection and animal health. He noted that there were entrenched positions among some species groups, but he remained optimistic on finding a solution for a system that would be effective for all participants. With sharp criticism coming from Congress about the failed effort to develop such a system, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is under considerable pressure to find a solution before funding is for the program is zeroed out in the fiscal 2010 agricultural spending bill...Feedstuffs

Ticks Take Toll On Cattle

Following a treacherous winter, some ranchers in western South Dakota are already having an even worse spring. Hundreds of cattle have died and officials believe an infestation of winter ticks may be to blame. There are usually around 200 head of cattle grazing on the May ranch near Kyle. But in less than two months, a quarter of them have mysteriously died...two in the last two days. "Fifty-four head. Doesn't seem to be an end in sight. We've been doing this for thirty years. Never. Never seen anything like this," rancher Liz May said. The Mays aren't alone in their struggles. Veterinarian Norma Headlee says this season, she's seen about 250 individual cases of animals dying after being bitten by a winter tick...KELOLAND

Kilmer Asks $33 Million For New Mexico Ranch

Val Kilmer, who's failed to find a buyer for parts of his 6,000-acre New Mexico ranch, has now listed all of it for $33 million. The 49-year-old actor, who announced in February that he may run for New Mexico governor next year, says he's listing so that "someone who has the time and the finances" can maintain and preserve the property. His Pecos River ranch (with nearly six miles of the popular trout-fishing river) is about 25 miles southeast of Santa Fe and remains largely wild with canyons and pine forests. There's a main log house of about 5,600 square feet with four bedrooms, and two guest houses. The star of "The Doors" (1991) and "Batman Forever" (1995) assembled the ranch roughly 13 years ago. In 2006, he asked $18 million for 1,800 acres of the property, including the main houses. In January Mr. Kilmer offered those houses on a 1,000-acre parcel for $9 million, down from $12 million a few months earlier. John Watson, president and CEO of ranch broker Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield, has the listing...WSJ

48th annual Western Heritage Awards honors portrait book on rural life

Paul Mobley took the summer off at his cabin in Michigan to escape the thing that wore him out during his years as a commercial photographer in New York: taking pictures. Then, he saw some farmers hanging around outside a coffee shop. "I just looked at their faces and thought, ‘I have to take their picture,’” he said. "It was a kind of rebirth of my photo career.” Four years and more than 100,000 miles crisscrossing America later, Mobley figures he has captured the essence of rural life in a photo book. "American Farmer, The Heart of Our Country,” a collection of more than 200 portraits of farmers and ranchers in their native habitat, along with 45 profiles by writer Katrina Fried, has been selected for a Wrangler Award by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The Wrangler is "like winning an Oscar,” museum spokeswoman Shayla Simpson said. Mobley’s book was selected from among seven entries in the photo book category of the literary division, she said. It will be presented at the museum Saturday during the 48th annual Western Heritage Awards ceremony...The Oklahoman

Jody McCrea dies at 74

Jody McCrea, the actor son of Joel McCrea who appeared in a spate of westerns in the 1950s and '60s but was best known for his comedic work in the surf and on the sand as a regular cast member of the popular "Beach Party" movies, has died. He was 74. McCrea, whose mother was actress Frances Dee and who later became a cattle rancher in New Mexico, died of cardiac arrest April 4 in Roswell, N.M., said his brother, Peter. The strapping, 6-foot-3 McCrea launched his acting career in films in 1955 and teamed up with his movie-star father in the 1959-60 TV western "Wichita Town," in which the elder McCrea played the marshal and Jody one of his deputies. Over the next decade, McCrea appeared in about two dozen films and television shows, including the movie westerns "The Broken Land," "Young Guns of Texas," "Law of the Lawless," "Young Fury" and "Cry Blood, Apache." The beach movies provided a distinct change of pace. Beginning with "Beach Party," the 1963 American International Pictures comedy starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, McCrea appeared in "Muscle Beach Party," "Bikini Beach" "Pajama Party," "Beach Blanket Bingo" and "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini." Recalling the much taller McCrea, Avalon said, "He was a well-built, real athletic-looking guy, and he really was a surfer: He'd get on that board and surf." Although McCrea had two famous parents, Avalon said, "he never boasted about who his parents were."...LA Times

My Posts at New Mexico Liberty

For those who may be interested, here are links to my March posts to NM Liberty:

Greens Have A Reverse Tea Party

A HISTORIC EXPANSION OF GOVERNMENT

Condom Conundrum

Donating For Dollars? Bailed Out Banks Contribute To Campaigns

Is Rand Relevant?

Supporters of Free Markets Are Crazy, Says Harvard

In New Terror Video, AIG Demands Huge Ransom from U.S.

Stripper Tax In NY, "Pole" Tax In Texas

Eight Republican Senators Vote for Pork-Laden Spending Bill

"Obama Aims to Shield Science From Politics" - Does He Really?

You, Too, Can Profit from Pork and Earmarks

Not A Natural Disaster

$1.8 Million For Pig Odor Research; $200,000 For Gang Tatoo Removal

Troops Leaving Iraq, Guard Pulls Ouf Of New Orleans

Tax-free Internet shopping may be at an end

If a little-known but influential alliance of state politicians, large retailers, and tax collectors have their way, the days of tax-free Internet shopping may be nearly over. A bill expected to be introduced in the U.S. Congress as early as Monday would rewrite the ground rules for mail order and Internet sales by eliminating what its supporters view as a "loophole" that, in many cases, allows Americans to shop over the Internet without paying sales taxes. The final legislation is expected to be introduced by Sen. Mike Enzi, a Wyoming Republican, and Rep. Bill Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, who have championed similar proposals in the past. In response to complexity concerns, the pro-tax forces have offered a proposal that they hope Congress can be persuaded to adopt. The concept is called the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement, invented in 2002 by state tax officials hoping to straighten out some of sales tax laws' most notorious convolutions. Since 2003, more than 20 states have signed on, either wholly or partially, to the agreement, meaning they agree to simplify their tax codes and make them uniform. If enough states participate, proponents believe it will be easier to convince Congress to make sales collection mandatory for out-of-state retailers...cnet news

New taxes on digital downloads

Because of quirks in many state laws, sales taxes may be levied on CDs sold in storefronts but not on iTunes and other digital downloads. It's a situation that recession-weary, tax-hungry politicians are hoping to change. A growing number of states are considering laws to tax digital goods, such as iTunes songs, Amazon MP3s, or electronic books. Yet at a time when governments say they want to encourage broadband adoption and the development of a low-carbon economy, opponents say taxing digital goods sends exactly the wrong message...cnet news

Mississippi is the most recent state to adopt such a tax, it goes into effect on July 1. Seventeen other states claim the authority to tax digital downloads, and more a seeking the authority.

Note To Readers

The computer is the handicapped person’s window to the world. Well, the curtains were drawn on my two windows last night.

Regular readers know my PC has been in the shop. Last night the laptop I have been using as a backup went bonkers.

Technology giveth and technology taketh away.

I got my PC back this evening and was posting away when I noticed Blogger had a scheduled shutdown for maintenance. Damn.

I should also warn you my PC has a “temporary fix” while we wait for a part to come in.

Bottom line: You got a crippled man and a crippled oomputer trying to bring you the good and bad of what’s happening in The West.

Don’t waste your time on me, but pray this contraption I’m writing on lasts until that part arrives.

White House completes review of EPA "endangerment" finding on global warming

The White House Office of Management and Budget reports that it completed its review yesterday of EPA’s proposed finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to health and the environment. I think this means we could expect the announcement at any time – perhaps as soon as tomorrow. (Or perhaps as late as Earth Day – April 22.) It will be a landmark moment in environmental history. It’s the first step in creating a comprehensive, federal climate change policy. This ought to make a sometimes balky Congress get serious about doing something. One thing is pretty clear: if Congress doesn’t act, the Obama administration will begin to take action on global warming...Clean Air Watch

Bureaucratic micromanagement of the economy, all in the name of fighting global warming, would likely be the end result of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) endangerment finding on greenhouse gases. The endangerment finding is the first step in a long regulatory process that could lead to EPA requiring different regulations and units of emissions requirements for each gadget that emits carbon dioxide. The first target would be automobiles, but the EPA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) suggested regulations of almost everything that moves, including new regulations smaller items such lawnmowers and forklifts. The ANPR also suggests putting speed limiters on large trucks on the table as a means of reducing carbon dioxide and even suggested sharkskin boats oozing bubbles to reduce emissions from the shipping industry. You can’t make this stuff up...The Foundry