Salmonella at Egg Farm Traced to 2008

A major egg producer linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has sickened more than 1,500 people conducted tests as far back as 2008 that indicated the possible presence of the dangerous bacteria in its henhouses, according to records released on Tuesday by Congressional investigators. The records show that there were 73 instances over about two years in which sponges swabbed on egg conveyor belts and other areas in Wright County Egg’s barns showed the presence of salmonella bacteria, including the strain that infects eggs and causes human illness. In at least one case, further tests showed that the toxic form, Salmonella enteritidis, was present. Records the company provided to Congress, however, “did not show whether Wright County Egg took appropriate steps to protect the public after receiving the positive test results,” Representative Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, wrote in a letter this week to Austin J. DeCoster, the owner of the company...more

FDA poised to impose limits on antibiotic use in meat animals

Dispensing antibiotics to healthy animals is routine on the large, concentrated farms that now dominate American agriculture. But the practice is increasingly condemned by medical experts who say it contributes to a growing scourge of modern medicine: the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including dangerous E. coli strains that account for millions of bladder infections each year, as well as resistant types of salmonella and other microbes. Now, after decades of debate, the Food and Drug Administration appears poised to issue its strongest guidelines on animal antibiotics yet, intended to reduce what it calls a clear risk to human health. They would end farm uses of the drugs simply to promote faster animal growth and call for tighter oversight by veterinarians. The agency’s final version is expected within months, and comes at a time when animal confinement methods, safety monitoring and other aspects of so-called factory farming are also under sharp attack. The federal proposal has struck a nerve among major livestock producers, who argue that a direct link between farms and human illness has not been proved. The producers are vigorously opposing it even as many medical and health experts call it too timid...more

12th annual Sheep Wagon Days kicks off today in Craig

If ever there were a reason to adopt a sheep’s state of mind, the next few days would be an ideal time to follow the flock. The 12th annual Craig Sheep Wagon Days begins today on the grounds of the Wyman Museum. Running through the weekend, the agri-tourism event includes numerous educational demonstrations about the heritage of sheep ranching in the area and the craftsmanship of yesteryear. Blacksmiths, saddle-makers and leather workers will be on hand to show attendees what life was like when regional ranchers created their own tools and equipment in the 1800s and early 1900s. Exhibitions about weaving, butter-making, sheep-shearing and branding also give the experience of life on the ranch for local students and visitors...more

Baxter Black: It's your head or your pocketbook

I was sitting on the beach reading the Malibu, Calif., newspaper to acquaint myself with local concerns. There were the usual stories: real estate, recession, anti-motorcycle rants, the Interior Secretary's visit to the park and the anti-rodenticide brigade. The second page had a story complete with photos of a very sick bobcat. One of the Valley Wildlife Care group diagnosed him as having "active rodenticide poisoning." I called the group's number. The answering machine said they were too busy to handle "information calls" since they were deluged with people bringing in injured birds, mostly baby birds that had fallen from their nests. They require so much care. They reported that in order to save the anemic bobcat, a healthy bobcat donor had arrived from almost 200 miles away to administer a blood transfusion. The prognosis was "poor." As a kid I can remember trying to feed baby birds with an eyedropper and taping splints on varmints' broken legs. I don't think I saved many. Rocket forward 50 years and veterinary medicine is now capable of performing almost any procedure that can be done in humans. The question then arises, is there any limit on how much one can reasonably spend to save a dying bobcat? How much would Gandhi spend?...more

Song Of The Day #407

Ranch Radio's selection today is She Took by Johnnie Lee Wills.

This version is on his 14 track LP album Rompin', Stompin', Singin', Swingin' on Bear Family Records.

Recent violence forces Juarez to cancel Diez y Seiz celebration

Heavy security has moved in as Mexico celebrates the bicentennial of its independence. Worries that drug cartels could launch an attack during the holiday festivities has the country on edge. Those fears have led Juarez to cancel its Diez Seis de Septiembre, Independence Day celebration. The mood in Juarez is tense. And this year's celebration should have been bigger than ever. September 16 marks 200 year's since Mexico declared independence from Spain, but vendors are struggling to sell even a few flags. Last year the streets were filled with festive stands as Juarez prepared for the independence day holiday. But this year the border city has cancelled the public celebration. The mayor will still give the grito - or re-enact the cry for independence. But the ceremony will be brief and is not expected to attract a crowd...more

Here is the KENS-TV news report:

Neighbors fearful of violence in the desert

In the wake of a recent murder, where a man was shot and burned on the Ironwood Forest National Monument this weekend, people living in the area are worried for their safety. "These things happen a lot, and have happened over the years quite a bit." Cindy Coping is talking about the violence near her home Northwest of Tucson. "You're very aware of your surroundings at all times, you're armed most of the time. And you know when somebody's coming down the road you take notice of it and you get a good look at them," Coping said. Coping, a cattle rancher, worries because of incidents like this when detectives found a body shot and burned South of her ranch this weekend. "It came to a head in 2007 when we had a murder out here, a mass shooting." She's referring to a shooting that happened just outside their home. Four gunmen opened fire on this truck carrying 10 illegal immigrants, three of them died. "People were left out here, some of them were, they were spread out over quite a distance."...more

Pinal County sheriff, residents plead for anti-smuggling help

But in July, the Murphrees saw more than the occasional mountain lion. For at least three days, a man appeared to be surveying the area from a cave on the mountainside. The Pinal County Sheriff's Office believes that man, a Mexican national who has since been deported, was a lookout for smugglers. "It's scary," Pennee Murphree said. "We just want the public to know it's close and it's real and there's a criminal element there." The Murphrees and other residents told their stories Wednesday alongside Sheriff Paul Babeu, who is calling for more federal help while at the same time asking the county to fund an anti-smuggling unit of his own. Babeu said government officials have been dismissive of his claims of escalating violence associated with illegal immigration and drug smuggling. He said 14 bodies - all connected to drug or human smuggling - were found in the Pinal County desert between January and August and that Sheriff's Office calls for assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol through July nearly topped all requests for help made last year. Residents are also reporting more run-ins with smuggling elements, Babeu said. Nancy Henderson was at work last Tuesday when her home outside Arizona City was burglarized, presumably by smugglers or illegal immigrants. Gone were a cache of guns, batteries, food, night vision gear and socks. Tracks from her home led into the desert. "This isn't happening at the border," Henderson said. "This is happening in my backyard, and I strongly believe if something's not done now to stop these people, it's going to be in all your backyards before long. . . . This is America, the land of the free, and I don't feel free right now."...more

Mexican police neutralize car bomb in border city

Mexican police carried out the controlled detonation of a car bomb Saturday in the troubled border city of Ciudad Juarez, across from Texas. A phone tip around midnight led authorities to a dead body in a car in a shopping center parking lot, the federal Public Safety Department said in a statement. In a second car, police found the bomb. Agents deactivated the device and removed most of the explosive material to analyze it before safely detonating the vehicle, the department said. There were no injuries. Juarez is the same city where drug traffickers staged the first successful car bombing in Mexico, killing three people in July. There have been three other vehicle explosions in recent weeks in Ciudad Victoria, capital of the border state of Tamaulipas...more

Juarez Violence Changing Lives: UTEP Students Affected

In May, 2010, UTEP student Alejandro Ruiz Salazar, 19—also an employee of the Graduate School—was the first known UTEP student slain in Juarez since the beginning of the current drug war. The same day, former UTEP student Jorge Pedro Gonzalez Quintero, 21, was murdered. According to Steve McCraw, Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the situation in Mexico is worse now than the Colombian drug war of the 1980s and 1990s ever was. “Colombia was never threatened like the government of Mexico is with the level of violence,” McCraw stated at a Capitol hearing. “At first, we all saw the violence and murders as something that would never happen to us but now so many families have been torn apart, and a once prosperous, to some extent happy city, has been destroyed,” Acosta commented. As of July, 2010, a new record for fatalities has been reached in Juarez: 1,645 homicides in a seven-month period. Despite President Felipe Calderon’s war against organized crime, 6,022 crimes have taken place in Juarez from January 2008 to July 24th of this year. This deadly toll includes children, men, women, and even foreigners that have lost their lives in this dangerous city. Mexican federal authorities report that 25% of homicides related to organized crime in the country are committed in Juarez alone...more

LA Times: The killings don't stop in Ciudad Juarez

Drug-related violence continues to consume Ciudad Juarez in northern Mexico, just across the border from El Paso. Last Thursday's toll of 25 killed over a three-hour period rattled a city that is already accustomed to numerous deaths a day. It was the highest single-day toll recorded in the border city since the violence erupted there more than two years ago. Victims in Thursday's shootings range in age from 15 to 67. They were mostly ambushed inside their homes, reports the El Paso Times. Ciudad Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said the killings were believed to be acts of retaliation by the Juarez cartel for an alleged kidnapping of a child by the rival Sinaloa cartel. What's not clear is what all those victims had to do with the alleged kidnapping...more

Mexico's Top Migration Official Quits After Senate Hearing

Mexico's commissioner of National Migration Institute has resigned after being summoned by the Senate in the wake of the massacre of 72 migrants by suspected drug traffickers that shocked a northern Mexican state bordering Texas, U.S. Senators summoned Cecilia, who is also the former president of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean, to explain measures her office had taken to protect migrants moving through Mexico. Cutting across party lines, the senators condemned the massacre and acknowledged that Mexico could not "demand respect for its nationals in the United States" when it "does not assure the dignified treatment" of migrants from other countries on its own territory...more

Front-and-center sheriff does not take role lightly

With appearances on cable news channels and in front of Congress members increasing exponentially these last few months, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever has become one of the most visible faces and loudest voices representing the efforts of local-level law enforcement to force the hand of the federal government to take stronger measures to secure the nation's border with Mexico. "It's been an interesting set of circumstances that have led to this," Dever said in a phone interview Thursday. Dever was speaking from New Mexico, where his position in the national conversation about border security was highlighted once again after he was elected chairman of the Southwest Border Sheriff's Coalition. "All of these guys are saying the same thing, speaking with one voice," he said of the sheriffs from 26 border counties that make up the organization, which was formed three years ago in an effort to better combat border violence...more

Deputies Rope & Handcuff 7-Foot Alligator Near Florida School

Deputies in Florida had to handcuff a rather unusual suspect -- a 7.5-foot-long alligator. Three deputies in a Tampa-area school trapped an alligator roaming lounging against a wall near the Forest Lakes Elementary school Monday morning. A crossing guard at a Tampa-area school spotted the gator around the time children would be walking to school. She immediately called the deputies, who called a trapper when they arrived. The trapper wasn't able to get to the area right away, and the alligator started moving toward the intersection where kids were crossing to get to school, according to the sheriff's office. The deputies roped the gator's neck and tail as the animal rolled and thrashed, its tail breaking off chunks of stucco from a nearby wall. Deputies later secured the gator's mouth with electrical tape and handcuffed its hind legs. Florida Fish and Wildlife officials took custody of the animal until the trapper arrived. Fox

This may start a new headin' & heelin' event. I expect Denny Gentry will be promoting this at the World Series of Team Roping finals. I'm sure Gator Ropes will be a big sponsor.

A friend and I were discussing the pro's, con's and possible problems with gator roping this afternoon, and he later sent the following:

A common problem for team roping producers is: what to do with corriente cattle once they get too big. Cattle are forced to be slaughtered and eaten by the same ropers that tormented them during their earthly days. Luckily for gators there is a reptile rescue for gators in Mosca, Colorado. Established in 1990, on an old tilapia farm and fed by geo-thermal hot springs. Here the gators can live out their lives in comfort and ease. There is even a “gator rodeo” for reptile reminiscing about the old days when they out ran the ropers. All of this is true, although I can’t believe someone actually has gators near Alamosa.

Do ya think he is kidding? Then go check out Colorado Gator & Reptile Park

My friend also said there would be a place for the gators to go prior to final retirement:

As the gators age and become slower, they are relegated to serve as roping stock in “businessmen’s" roping around the country. These older, more sophisticated gentlemen really like the handbags, wallets, boots and briefcases given away as prizes.

As a former roper though, I know there are many questions about gator roping that need an answer. For instance:

Will this be a team tyin' event rather than team roping? In other words the ropers are tied hard and fast and the header dismounts and ties a square knot (rather than handcuffs) on the hind legs?

Or will it be dally team roping, and if so does the heeler catch the tail (like the deputies) or those short hind legs? How do you make a gator "hop" anyway?

Will Gentry have to modify the settings on the WS Barrier for gator ropings?

Will corriente gators from Mexico turn out to be superior to the Florida variety?

How much will you have to pay the guys in the strippin' chute?

Clem McSpadden used to have big pasture ropings, so couldn't we do the same with gators? I would propose the ropings be held in a Wildlife Refuge. Hey Gentry, I'd be glad to help you on that one. Just call Obama and tell him you're a community organizer from Crow Flats and I'm sure you'll get it approved right away.

The Green Police

Beware the green police. They don't carry guns and there's no police academy to train them, but if you don't recycle your trash properly, they can walk up your driveway and give you a $100 ticket. They know what's in your trash, they know what you eat, they know how often you bring your recycles to the curb -- and they may be coming to your town soon. That is, if they're not already there. In a growing number of cities across the U.S., local governments are placing computer chips in recycling bins to collect data on refuse disposal, and then fining residents who don't participate in recycling efforts and forcing others into educational programs meant to instill respect for the environment. From Charlotte, N.C., to Cleveland, Ohio, from Boise, Idaho, to Flint, Mich., the green police are spreading out. And that alarms some privacy advocates who are asking: Should local governments have the right to monitor how you divide your paper cups from your plastic forks? Is that really the role of government? In Dayton, Ohio, chips placed in recycle bins transmit information to garbage trucks to keep track of whether residents are recycling -- a program that incensed Arizona Sen. John McCain, who pointed out that the city was awarded half a million dollars in stimulus money for it...more

Montana Coalition Formed to Oppose National Monument

A coalition of several Montana industry associations has been formed to oppose President Obama's plan to set aside millions of acres in Montana as a national monument. They plan to stand in opposition to the plan on Sept 16, when Robert Abbey, (pictured) Washington, D.C., director of the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), will speak in Malta about the proposal at the invitation of Phillips County Commissioners. The President's plan "would halt Montana's economic recovery," says Dave Galt, Executive Director of the Montana Petroleum Association. "Montana's major employers are industries that work the land to produce products that people use: coal, energy, and food. The administration's Monuments proposal would mean the end of the line for many farmers, ranchers and companies. And, it would mean more shuttered schools in rural communities," said Galt. Many school districts, which rely upon revenues from natural resource production are joining forces with the coalition, which in addition to the MPA includes, the Montana Farm Bureau, the Montana Mining Assoc., Montana Rural Education Association, Montana Stockgrowers Assoc., and Montana Woods Products Assoc...more

Ranchers voice concern over bombing range expansion

Ray Jilek said he worries his Spearfish business will be crippled if the Air Force goes ahead with plans to dramatically increase its training airspace across South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. The chief pilot at Eagle Aviation joined about 100 other people Tuesday at the first of several listening sessions over the proposed expansion of the Powder River Training Complex, where B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress bomber pilots train. Jilek expressed concern over an Air Force plan that would at times redirect his flights to and from Billings, Mont. “This effectively will cripple aviation in our area,” Jilek said after the hearing at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn. “I’m concerned that they haven’t even considered the business traveler who will wait an extra four hours.” Ranchers said the area will be ruined by the noise of the bombers flying at only 500 feet and upward of 500 mph. “We treasure our peace and quiet,” said rancher Marvin Kammerer, who ranches near Ellsworth Air Force Base. “If it’s so safe, then why don’t they just fly over Rapid City at midnight and let them hear the sound of freedom?”...more

Fracking for natural gas: EPA hearings bring protests

Public hearings over hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" brought hundreds of protesters to Binghamton, N.Y., Monday, carrying signs and shouting slogans either opposing or favoring expansion of the controversial process for extracting natural gas from shale. The Environmental Protection Agency's public hearings are part of a broad investigation, begun in March, into the human health and environmental effects of fracking – focusing on air pollution and water pollution. The chemical effects that fracking fluids may have on water supplies after being injected into the ground to extract gas are a special focus. But a new study conducted for the American Public Power Association (APPA) suggests that if wider use of natural gas in electric power production comes to pass nationwide – as many analysts now expect – such controversies may be just beginning. "Even if fracturing continues, serving a much larger market will require even more drilling that is already at record levels," the APPA study found...more

N.M. official: Headwaters deserve special protection

Nearly half of New Mexico's surface water comes from federal forest lands, and some of those headwater streams, lakes and wetlands deserve special protections to ensure they continue providing clean water for the state, a top official with the New Mexico Environment Department said Tuesday. Marcy Leavitt, head of the department's Water and Wastewater Division, was among the experts who testified before the Water Quality Control Commission at the start of a four-day hearing at the state capitol. The commission is considering a petition by the department that aims to designate about 700 miles of rivers and streams, 29 lakes and more than 4,900 acres of wetlands in a dozen wilderness areas as so-called "outstanding national resource waters." The designation would protect the waters by prohibiting any activities that would degrade water quality. Critics, including the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association and some local water groups, argue that resources in wilderness areas are already protected and that such a broad designation could harm rural New Mexico. Two state senators Democrat Phil Griego, of San Jose, and Republican Clint Harden, of Clovis also raised objections during Tuesday's hearing. They pointed to a joint memorial passed by the Legislature in 2009 that opposed the outstanding waters initiative until more scientific data could be collected. Officials with the New Mexico Game and Fish Department testified that providing additional protections to headwaters could benefit wildlife, including threatened and endangered species...more

Oilfield truck traffic hurting county roads

Increased oilfield traffic in the southern reaches of Eddy County is causing damage to county roads that were not built to accommodate heavy trucks. To address the issues, county leaders, Bureau of Land Management officials from the Carlsbad Field Office and representatives from the oil and gas industry are meeting to see if a coalition can be formed to help the county with road maintenance and road development in the future. Jim Stovall, BLM Carlsbad Field Office manager, said last week BLM staff and county commissioners sat down together for a preliminary meeting. Future meetings will include representatives from the oil and gas industry. Eddy County Commissioner Tony Hernandez said oil and gas traffic has increased at an "extreme rate," especially in District 1, which is his district. "Those vehicles are doing a lot of damage to our roads. The roads are old rural roads that were probably built 30 to 40 years ago and utilized by the ranching community" Hernandez said. "The roads were not built to accommodate heavy oilfield trucks. I get phone calls on a daily basis regarding county road conditions. It's not that our road department is not doing its job. They can't keep up with the maintenance because of the rough conditions of the county roads caused by oilfield traffic."...more

Cooper earns biggest career win at Justin Boots Playoffs

A win at one rodeo can change everything. Just ask Clif Cooper. The 22-year-old Decatur, Texas, cowboy earned the biggest win of his career when he roped and tied a calf in 8.0 seconds in the final round of the Justin Boots Playoffs, Sept. 12 at the Fair & Events Center. Cooper won $13,500 overall, and the triumph moved him from 18th to seventh place in the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour Standings, assuring him a spot in the Justin Boots Championships, Sept. 23-25, in Omaha, Neb. The middle son of ProRodeo Hall of Famer Roy Cooper, Clif came into the competition unheralded and with $17,686 in Tour money. He left western Washington a different man and with total Tour money of $31,186. “I have always said I was the late bloomer, and it was going to happen sooner or later,” Clif Cooper said. Clif’s older brother, Clint, and younger brother, Tuf, have both qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo twice...more

Song Of The Day #406

Ranch Radio will hurry back to the traditional sound for the rest of the week.

Today's selection is Hey Joe! by Carl Smith.

You'lll find the tune on his 20 track CD The Essential, 1950-1956.

How Food Recalls Work – A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Distribution Technology

This is from an interesting post at The Distribution Blog:

However, not all farmers are keeping tabs on everything that flows out of their farm. Surprisingly, despite all the recalls in recent years, farmers are not legally required to track their produce. I spoke about this issue with Dennis Ferrarelli of Produce Pro, Inc., a leading provider of software for the distribution of perishable goods, and he emphasized the importance of planning ahead. In fact, some industry groups are advocating for recall planning guidelines, such as the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI). The PTI’s ultimate goal is supply chain-wide adoption of electronic traceability for every case of produce by the year 2012. In order to accomplish this, the PTI has encouraged use of the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), which would include a company’s unique prefix and reference numbers for the individual product. With such specificity written into each GTIN, companies could pinpoint the contamination source and recall only the affected items, avoiding a disastrous total recall. However, many farmers pass on this opportunity because they are often expected to front the costs related to traceability themselves. By the time a farm has paid for its GS1 Company prefix, installed barcode scanners and printers, and made arrangements to label every case with a barcode, it could be looking at a $200,000 implementation. So, each farmer has a choice: spend a lot of money upfront to make food recalls easier or save that money and hope a recall never happens. Similar to the health insurance situation, traceability advocates would like to force farmers to make the first choice for the presumed benefit of the farm as well as the consumer. Should farmers be legally required to join these initiatives? Will the U.S. government stop walking on eggshells with this issue before we find ourselves talking about the great food recall of 2011? Share your opinion in the comments section below.

Republicans Request Full Committee Hearing on Dangerous Federal Lands Near Southern Border

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sep 14 - Today, all 20 Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee sent a letter to Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) highlighting the recent violence and increase of criminal activities on public lands near the U.S.-Mexico border. Letter excerpts: “Drug smuggling, murders, human trafficking and other illegal activities have become prevalent on America’s public lands, including National Parks, National Forests, Wildlife Refuges, and other protected areas near our Southern border. In June, the Washington Post reported that since 2006 over 23,000 people have been killed due to drug violence in Mexico—violence that is spilling into, and through, our federal lands.” “As the Committee of jurisdiction over the majority of our federal lands and considering the gravity of the current situation, we believe it is this Committee’s duty to act to ensure that both public safety and environmental protection are achieved on public lands by taking the steps necessary to fully secure the border against cartels and criminals. The American people deserve straight answers from the agencies responsible for protecting our borders and public lands. There is simply no excuse for allowing government policies to continue that hamper the Border Patrol and create paths of access to violent criminal activity. This situation is what led Republicans to introduce a legislative solution (H.R. 5016) that very simply ensures the Border Patrol has the authority to achieve operational control of the border on public lands.” “In addition to calling both Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano before the Committee, we request that a hearing include witnesses from the relevant agencies, including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. State and local law enforcement should also be included.”...Press Release

New Nonprofit To Take Over Wolf Payments

Defenders of Wildlife on Friday wrapped up its long-standing program of compensating ranchers for livestock killed by endangered Mexican gray wolves, as the payment program is shifted to another nonprofit organization. Now Fish and Wildlife is in the process of setting up a board of stakeholders, including both ranchers and conservationists, that will decide how to disburse funds managed by the Washington, D.C.-based National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The program has been dubbed the Mexican Wolf Interdiction Trust Fund. The payments will compensate ranchers for animal losses attributed to wolves, as well for trying to minimize conflicts between lobos and livestock. Those efforts could include hazing wolves, setting up fencing or paying range riders to protect herds, according to Tom Buckley, spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service's regional office in Albuquerque. Caren Cowan, executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, said "it was very generous of Defenders to do a program at all, since we believe it was the federal government's responsibility." But Cowan said the standard Defenders had set for a confirmed wolf kill in order for ranchers to receive compensation was "so high that we believe only a small percentage of the animals killed was being compensated." Cowan said she hoped the board determining payments from the Mexican Wolf Interdiction Trust Fund employs a lower standard for confirmed wolf kills...more

Lawsuit Could End Fire Retardant Use After 2011

As many as nine air tankers have dropped retardant -- a mixture of water, fertilizer and red dye -- on both the Fourmile Canyon fire in Boulder County and the Reservoir Road fire in Larimer County. The retardant is used to build a perimeter around a fire and not dropped directly on the flames to put out the fire. "It's not an extinguishment, it's a retardant. It's basically there to slow down and help the ground crews 100 percent," said David Stickler, a pilot for one of the lead planes that guides and acts as a lookout for an air tanker. "You want to stop it so when the fire's coming up towards the house, it's going to slow down at that point and let the ground firefighters get in there and knock it down the rest of the way." A federal lawsuit filed in 2003 and another in 2008 by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics calls into question the use of fire retardant. The lawsuit suggests the mixture jeopardizes fish, plants and other habitat...more

OUR VIEW: Radicals try to stop firefighting planes (vote)

What’s more dangerous? Forest fires or lawsuits by radical environmental groups?...They look to the sky, hoping for the comfort of aircraft that drop red retardant — missions flown by brave men and women who have long been considered essential special forces in our wars against wildfires. Maybe the right drop will save their home. But the sky is empty, devoid of the aircraft that fly into smoke. The planes are grounded because environmentalists feared fire retardant might kill fish, or harm endangered plants. They filed a lawsuit to stop the aerial missions. One of the litigants spoke about a conspiracy called the “fire industrial complex,” in which government spends millions to enrich private contractors who dump retardant. If this lawsuit and the odd conspiracy theory sound far-fetched, they are not. It is all in the works. An environmental group known as the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics filed suit to stop the aerial drops twice since 2003, and in July a judge gave them a favorable ruling instead of laughing them out of court...more

BLM denies it sent mustangs to slaughter auction

Wild horse advocates are asking the federal government to investigate allegations that the Bureau of Land Management sent 172 Nevada mustangs to an auction attended by "slaughter buyers" in July. The horses were rounded up by the BLM in the Pilot Creek Valley area near Wendover and auctioned off in Fallon on July 10. By law, federally-protected horses can't be sold for slaughter, but the agency says the horses sent to the auction were abandoned domestic horses or their offspring, not federally-protected mustangs. Such "estray" or "feral" horses aren't covered by the 1971 law that protects established herds of free-roaming mustangs. Federally-protected wild horses can't be legally sold for food, but estrays can be sold for eventual slaughter in Mexico or Canada, where firms provide horse meat for human and animal consumption. "I'm disgusted the BLM did what it did with these horses," said Jill Starr, president of Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue. Starr bought 169 of the horses at the auction. Six have been adopted and the remainder will be offered for adoption or released in a sanctuary, she said. "The BLM makes the majority of the decisions on estrays based on physical appearance and or brands on the animals as well as history of unauthorized horse activity in the area," said Bryan Fuell, field manager of BLM's Elko District Office...more

Forest Service will spend $10 million to return Cold War site to nature

The U.S. Forest service says it will spend $10 million to raze a former Cold War defense facility and return its mountaintop site to nature. On a 5,960-foot mountain peak 40 miles east of San Diego, the Laguna Mountain Air Force base was a busy place in the Cold War as hundreds of personnel -- technicians, radar scanners and military brass -- tracked Soviet submarines cruising off San Diego, prepared to alert the nation in case of nuclear attack, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The federal government wants to raze the mountaintop complex of nearly a dozen gutted and derelict structures closed for 25 years. The Forest Service will stage a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday to open the restoration project, which is expected to be completed by early 2012...more

Your "stimulus" funds at work. A more complete story is here.

Tucson-based advocacy group makes industry of suing on behalf of wildlife

Wearing a rakishly unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt and two days’ worth of stubble, Kieran Suckling looks more like an auto mechanic than one of the most influential and polarizing wildlife conservationists in the country. But when he talks about how he came to devote a career to animal advocacy, he betrays an academic career steeped in philosophy and biological diversity. It’s a philosophy that has catapulted Suckling – and the Tucson-based group he co-founded and now directs, the Center for Biological Diversity – to the forefront of the 21st century conservation movement. The group has achieved its high profile in part through its litigation-based approach to conservation. Since July 1, for example, the center has filed 12 lawsuits to prevent development around the country that it contends would threaten various endangered species. Even the center’s detractors, however, concede that it is remarkably successful at effecting change through litigation. Suckling boasts that the center has achieved a favorable outcome in 93 percent of the lawsuits in which it has participated...more

"rakishly unbuttoned"? My, my.

Wal-Mart Accused by Labor Union, Farmers of Suppressing Agriculture Prices

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the target of an unlikely alliance between a labor union and farmers and ranchers who say the world’s largest retailer is using its power to hold down prices in the agriculture industry. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which has tried unsuccessfully to unionize Wal-Mart’s employees, is urging the Obama administration to broaden its antitrust inquiry into meat, dairy and seed businesses to include the retailer. Wal-Mart’s defenders say its policies benefit consumers, ensuring them low prices. The viewpoint of the union, the UFCW, is echoed by such groups as the National Farmers Union, a 190,000-member organization. Until recently, farmers and ranchers had mostly been directing their ire at meat producers such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. Now some are saying Wal-Mart, whose motto is “Save money. Live better,” is unfairly cutting food costs at their expense. “We’ve got to really join forces if we’re going to win against this abusive market power,” Mike Callicrate, a rancher based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said in an interview. Wal-Mart’s critics said they anticipate, after years of government reluctance to regulate farming, that President Barack Obama will inject more competition into the food-producing business. Antitrust investigators usually are concerned about rising, not falling prices, which are a cornerstone of Wal-Mart’s business strategy, said Andrew Gavil, a law professor at Howard University in Washington...more

Trapping Ban in New Mexico

Lame duck governor Bill Richardson, Democrat, recently ordered a six month ban on legal furbearer trapping throughout the Gila and Apache National Forests in New Mexico because of reintroduced Mexican gray wolves. The reasoning within Executive Order 2010-029 states that the wolves are “suffering from human development, reduction in habitat, and hunting”. Yet no provisions in the order were made to address any of those so-called impediments to the constantly faltering reintroduction effort. Trapping was singled out instead. The order directs the Game & Fish Department to “undertake a study of the various traps” used in the so-called “wolf recovery area” and “pursue appropriate regulations to allow trapping within the Recovery Area …and…pose minimum risk of harm or injury to the Mexican gray wolf”. Well, this has already been done for legal citizen trappers, but it has NOT been regulated for wildlife agencies and their minions routinely trapping these same wolves. But the governor either doesn’t know of or care about such a discrepancy. When I worked for the Arizona Game & Fish Department, for example, shooting from vehicles and across roads, as well as the use of traps that were deemed illegal for citizens were considered “biologically justifiable” and were standard actions. Close scrutiny of the Mexican wolf reintroduction doesn’t hold up very well in this department either; and doesn’t help Governor Richardson’s reasoning at all. The federal Wildlife Services (APHIS/WS) was given the responsibility of trapping these wolves for a variety of reasons from the inception of the reintroduction program. The animals were trapped to put or change radio collars on them; to inoculate them; to relocate them or possibly to euthanize them. All of these captures were and still are done with #7 McBride foothold traps, a rig that is illegal for citizens of either Arizona or New Mexico to use...more

Court Clears NM Headwaters Protection Hearings

Hearings on protecting New Mexico's headwaters will go on as planned today. That was the word from the state Supreme Court late Monday, after the court rejected a request from the Cattle Growers Association to stop the hearings. The association is concerned about a proposal from the Environment and Game and Fish Departments to designate 700 miles of rivers and streams, 29 lakes, and about 6,000 acres of wetlands in the state as "outstanding national resource waters," and how that might interfere with grazing allotments on Forest Service land. If the proposal is approved, the U.S. Forest Service would be required to protect the current water quality of those waters, which are mostly located in wilderness areas, and include some key headwaters, according to Lorimier. "Those are streams that originate in the Gila, to streams that are ephemeral, and originate in foothills, or in higher elevations that don't have spring activity."...more

Also see this from the Cattle Growers.

NM State Fair administrator nabbed for DWI

One of the New Mexico State Fair's leading administrators was picked up late last night for drunk driving on a street just off the fairgrounds. Chief Financial Officer Joseph McIntyre was charged with his 2nd DWI Offense, but State Fair leaders aren't talking publicly about it. According to the criminal complaint, the 42-year old McIntyre was picked up on Central Avenue near Louisiana, which is located just outside of the State Fairgrounds. An Albuquerque Police officer saw McIntyre's vehicle make a U-turn in the middle of Central Avenue. When the officer tried to pull the vehicle over, the driver "came to a jerking stop in the middle of Central Avenue." Police say McIntyre had bloodshot eyes with the smell of alcohol coming from his face. He also had slurred speech...more

County Sues Farmer, Cites Too Many Crops

DeKalb County is suing a local farmer for growing too many vegetables, but he said he will fight the charges in the ongoing battle neighbors call “Cabbagegate.” Fig trees, broccoli and cabbages are among the many greens that line the soil on Steve Miller’s more than two acres in Clarkston, who said he has spent fifteen years growing crops to give away and sell at local farmers markets. “It's a way of life, like it's something in my blood,” said Miller. In January, Dekalb County code enforcement officers began ticketing him for growing too many crops for the zoning and having unpermitted employees on site. Miller stopped growing vegetables this summer and the charges were put on hold as he got the property rezoned. Two weeks after approval, however, his attorney said the county began prosecuting the old charges, saying he was technically in violation before the rezoning. Miller faces nearly $5,000 in fines, but he said he plans to fight those citations in recorders court later this month...more

Los Payasos - gov't at work.

Charlie Daniels, Unsung Singing Hero

It was some thirty years ago when I first caught a Charlie Daniels concert. He was the back-up to the Marshall Tucker Band at the old Capital Centre outside Washington D.C., and that night, he stole the show. When he finished his blazing set the audience erupted and brought him back for an encore. When the Marshall Tucker Band finished their rather good performance, it made no difference: the capacity crowd roared for yet another performance from Charlie Daniels. It’s a metaphor for his life. At a time when he should, deservedly be disappearing into the shadows, he’s back – with the crowd roaring once again. Despite recovering from a stroke and nearing his 74th birthday, Charlie still plays about 100 concerts a year, including Sean Hannity’s “Freedom Concerts” to benefit the children of our fallen and disabled U.S. soldiers through Ollie North’s Freedom Alliance. So much has Charlie become ingrained in the “Freedom Concerts” (he performed in all eight shows this year) and in the effort to support our military worldwide that he deserves his own tribute. He is America’s unsung singing hero...more

Song Of The Day #405

In honor of Charlie Daniels, the Unsung Singing Hero, Ranch Radio will continue Swingin' Monday right on into Tuesday, and bring you two Daniels tunes: The South's Gonna Do It Again and Wichita Jail.

Many enjoy reading Charlie's Soapbox Articles.

New Book and Related Campaign on CAFOs

NEWS ADVISORY

Date: September 13, 2010

From: Cyndie Sirekis, Director of News Services, AFBF

Topic: New Book and Related Campaign on CAFOs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A new 400-page hardcover photo/essay book, CAFO (Concentration Animal Feeding Operation): The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories, will be released on Oct. 1. In addition to 450 photos, the book includes essays by dozens of writer-activists including Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Tim Philpot, Anna Lappe and Wendell Berry. A collection of 30 essays from the hardcover book were published in July in a smaller, paperback version, The CAFO Reader: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories. Both books were edited by Dan Imhoff (author of Food Fight, Farming with the Wild, Paper or Plastic, Building with Vision, and Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature) and may be ordered online from University of California Press and Amazon.com.

The books strive to expose “the horrors of industrial food production.” Referring to CAFOs, the publisher notes, “It is quite possible to banish these animal factories from the face of the Earth; it only takes the will and determination of citizen activists.”

According to promos for the books, “Industrial livestock production is now a leading source of climate-changing emissions, a source of both freshwater and ocean pollution, and a significant contributor to diet-related diseases such as obesity and the spread of foodborne illnesses. The intensive concentration of animals in such crammed and filthy conditions dependent on antibiotic medicines and steady streams of subsidized industrial feeds poses serious moral and ethical concerns for all of us.”

A section of essays in the books is the basis for a related educational campaign, “Putting the CAFO out to Pasture.” Through this effort, activists are calling for major reforms to modern production agriculture, including an end to CAFOs. Consumers are urged to make changes to their diets and support public policy that fosters pasture-based farming for livestock of all types. Additional information is available online at www.cafothebook.org.

The following messages should prove helpful in the event you receive media calls regarding the books and related campaign:

• The treatment, health and well-being of farm animals are of utmost importance to farmers and ranchers. Proper animal care leads to production of high-quality milk, meat and eggs.
• Farmers and ranchers are committed to providing high-quality, healthy food products such as milk, meat and eggs. They know that healthy animals result in healthy food for consumers and that starts with top-notch animal care.
• Nutritious diets, healthy living conditions and good medical care are among the many animal welfare practices routinely used by farmers and ranchers.

In addition, AFBF’s Conversations on Care website contains additional information about how the vast majority of farmers and ranchers care for their animals. That includes the following messages:

• Healthy animals mean healthy food for you and your family.
• For animals to produce meat, milk and eggs, America’s farmers and ranchers must take all possible steps to ensure that animals are well cared for seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.
• As farmers and ranchers, we recognize that superior animal welfare practices lead to the production of high-quality, safe and wholesome meat, milk and eggs, and we’re constantly seeking ways to improve the well-being and comfort of our animals.
• Simply put, without healthy and content animals, farmers and ranchers would not be in business.
• Farmers and ranchers care deeply about the health, well-being and safety of our animals, and we ensure our animals’ well-being through proper management and shelter.
• Farmers and ranchers provide adequate food, water and medical care to protect our
animals’ health.
• We also provide appropriate shelter to ensure livestock can exhibit normal behaviors at rest and remain protected from disease, competition, injury and predators.
• Quality Assurance programs at the national and state levels provide farmers and ranchers with guidelines for the production of safe, wholesome animals, including recommendations on necessary animal handling and facilities.
• Standards for animal care should be based on the expertise of veterinarians, farmers, ranchers and animal scientists -- the people who work with farm animals daily.
• American farmers and ranchers have been working with veterinarians, animal scientists, agricultural engineers and animal well-being experts to continually develop and support reasonable science-based guidelines and audits.
• As the people who work with livestock 24/7, farmers and ranchers, as well as veterinarians and animal care scientists, provide the voices of experience and reason in addressing animal welfare issues.
• Changes to animal well-being guidelines should be based on data, expert analysis and economic feasibility.
• Adding unnecessary costs to U.S. production will increase the amount of food imported from places that have an inferior record on food safety and animal well-being.
• Overzealous standards will increase the price of food, negatively affecting all families trying to make ends meet.
-30-

The Thrill of Victory... The Agony of Quash / ONRW Hearing to Go Forth

For years the NMCGA and others have fought a sweeping designation of Outstanding National Resource Waters (ONRW) on forest lands in New Mexico. Even the New Mexico Legislature joined in the war passing a memorial sponsored by Representative Debbie Rodella directing the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to make ONRW designations on a stream by stream basis, as determined by science.

Driven by the WildEarth Guardians (formerly the Forest Guardians) and an Executive Order by Governor Bill Richardson on Earth Day 2008, the NMED has doggedly pushed forward a petition that defies logic. At every stage of the process the NMCGA has attempted to bring reason to the situation and to get the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) to follow its’ own rules in accepting petitions for hearing. One of the main necessities for an ONRW is baseline water quality data. The NMED has it on less than 25% of the waters it is nominating. Additionally the petition has changed since it was first accepted for hearing.

Late last Thursday a suit was filed in the Thirteenth Judicial District, Sandoval County, New Mexico, requesting a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the hearing because of the flaws in the process. The TRO was granted on the spot. The final order did not become available until late Friday.

This morning the NMED filed a motion with the New Mexico State Supreme Court to quash the TRO. In an amazing feat of judicial process, they were able to get a telephonic hearing at 3p.m. TODAY. The NMCGA attorney was given less than 30 minutes notice for this hearing. It was really no surprise that the NMED got what it wanted.

The NMED followed exactly the same path in moving forward with greenhouse gas regulations this summer.

The ONRW hearing will commence tomorrow, September 14 and is scheduled to run through the rest of the week. If it is not completed, it will reconvene on October 12.

If you have ANY time this week, please sit in on the hearing in room 307 of the State Capitol. We need all the support we can get!

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that pretty well expresses my thoughts at this point … “I can see November from my house.”

Caren Cowan
Executive Director
New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association
POB 7517
Albuquerque NM 87194

'Part of having wolves is having to kill wolves'

The re-establishment of wolf populations in the Northern Rockies was a laudable wildlife goal, and programs to protect them as they came back were necessary. But notice our use of the past tense. Wolves are back, and now they need to be managed just like any other wild critter. Last we heard, at least 1,700 wolves roam the three-state ecosystem, roughly a third of them in Montana. That's a pretty healthy population, and it exceeds the targets of recovery plans. Among the tools wildlife officials have employed to manage them are hunting seasons and, in the case of livestock depredations, trapping and sometimes killing by the managers themselves. Unfortunately, one of those tools was removed by a federal judge who blocked the 2010 wolf season in Montana and Idaho. The officials now are looking at ways to put the hunts back in place. "You just have to accept that part of having wolves is having to kill wolves," said Mark Collinge, Idaho director of the federal Wildlife Service. "As the wolf populations increase, the depredations increase and the number of wolf removals will increase," he told a reporter recently. "It's very logical." The fact is, there's been plenty of wolf killing since the first 66 wolves were carted down to Yellowstone in the '90s. It's estimated that about 1,400 have been killed by wildlife agents and ranchers since the recovery effort began...more

Tribes, ranchers may suffer if Idaho holds to threat of wolf management

Idaho’s ranchers and the Nez Perce tribe may be left to their own devices if Idaho holds to its governor’s promise of pulling out of wolf management. After meeting with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter sent Salazar an ultimatum to vent his frustration with having to manage wolves under federal rules. He said Salazar should ignore a U.S. district court ruling putting wolves under federal protection and restore state management of wolves by Oct. 7. Otherwise, the state would refuse to fill the monitoring and investigation role it’s carried out since shortly after wolves were introduced. On Friday, Idaho congressmen Mike Simpson and Walt Minnick also sent a letter to Salazar, asking him to immediately address allowing the states to manage wolf populations. Montana and Idaho managed their wolf populations for a year before a district court judge Donald Molloy ruled that endangered species cannot be managed on a state-by-state basis. Because wolves in Wyoming remained on the endangered species list, the court relisted all wolves. Since setting the Oct. 7 date, the Otter camp has backpedaled. Otter’s chief counsel, David Hensley, told the Idaho Statesman that deadlines can be moved and it’s not really a line in the sand. But should Otter hold firm, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn’t yet know what would happen with wolf management, leading to some uncertainty for ranchers on who would investigate wolf kills or eliminate problem packs. David Potts of the USFWS Pacific region, which oversees Idaho, said the service would initially step in to manage the wolves and look into options of managing with other agencies or entities...more

Wolves in the Midwest vs. the West. What’s the Difference? Us.

While the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone in 1995 stirred up a regional, political firestorm that is hottest in the Cowboy State of Wyoming, the gradual comeback of Midwestern wolves happened with much less political heat or controversy. Why is that? Midwestern wolves are not any different--in behavior, appearance or genetics--from the Canadian wolves that were reintroduced into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem more than a decade ago. “Wolves have been studied to death,” said Bangs. “We’ve got a ton of research about them from all over the world.” What’s unique about the Northern Range wolves is that scientists have a front-row seat on rapidly changing ecosystems, as plants and animals alike respond to the presence of a top predator, absent for many decades. How people feel about wolves generally depends on where people are from, agree Bangs and other researchers. Hunter-gatherers like Native Americans and Alaska trappers generally have a positive opinion about wolves, admiring their pack loyalties and cooperation, said Bangs. But they also harvest wolves for their pelts. “If livestock are economically important where you live, then predators are not well thought of,” said Bangs, explaining the hostility toward wolves among ranchers. Urban dwellers, particularly those with higher incomes and educations, are generally more supportive of wolf conservation. Adrian Treves and Lisa Naughton, researchers at the University of Wisconsin, have found that public attitudes break down in quarters – one quarter don’t care, one quarter are intensely opposed to wolves, one quarter intensely support wolves and one quarter are “swing voters,” just like in politics. Hunters have more complicated views of wolves, agree Bangs and Treves. “Hunters are willing to share (with wolves),” said Bangs, “but not everything.”...more

Deal made to help sage grouse in West

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior are teaming up to help out the greater sage grouse. An agreement signed Tuesday by the two departments calls for the Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to work together with states and landowners to protect the chicken-size bird and its habitat. As an example, ranchers could keep cattle from grazing sage grouse areas during the bird’s breeding times. There will be monetary incentives to conserve the bird as well. About $16 million will be available this fiscal year that landowners could use to reduce threats to the birds, such as disease and invasive species, or to preserve habitat. Alan Clark, assistant director for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said Tuesday he hopes the federal government will work with land managers, states and private interests to better protect the birds. Clark said a key is to assure landowners that they will not be penalized or hurt if they take measures to protect sage grouse on their land...more

Alan Simpson, Social Security, and the Welfare Barons of the Livestock Industry

Alan Simpson, co-chair of President Obama's Deficit Commission, likens Social Security to "a milk cow with 310 million tits." But Simpson, a Wyoming rancher, is certainly familiar with a welfare "tit" that is a con game of continental magnitude maintained for "permittees," mostly ranchers like himself, who lease grazing allotments on America's public lands. This fleecing carried out on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and national forests is immense in scope. BLM alone has 18,000 permits on 157 million acres -- an area equal in size to Montana and Wyoming combined. In addition, the Forest Service manages 93 million of its public forests for some 8,000 permits. Although this land belongs to all Americans in common, it's managed primarily for a minority of permittees producing just 3% of the nation's beef. Cowboy history notwithstanding, cattle are not suited for ecosystems of the West. As Donald Peters put it in 1990, "Trying to fit European cattle into arid North American ecosystems is like putting a size-12 foot into a size-8 shoe." Aside from the well-documented ecological damage wrought by domestic livestock, and their displacement of wild native animals, the financial setup alone should incense taxpayers. Here's the rub: Permittees pay a fraction of the market. The unit used for grazing livestock is an "Animal Unit per Month" (AUM), equal to a cow and her calf (or five sheep). To graze livestock on private land, the current market now runs about $20, but permittees pay $1.35, so $18.65 for each AUM that should go into the federal till is compensated for by U.S. taxpayers -- a sum running into the hundreds of millions of dollars a year. How ironic that many haters of "big guv'ment" are major-league welfare recipients...more

I'm pretty good at "reading between the lines", and I believe Bill Willers, a retired professor of biology, is really not a fan of livestock grazing in the West.

Farmers caught in fight over buffers

In 2002, a U.S. district court judge ruled a federal agency violated the Endangered Species Act in the way it registered pesticides. The ruling set in motion a dispute now entering its ninth year involving federal and state agencies, environmental organizations, pesticide makers and farm, ranch and forestry groups. In the case brought by the Washington Toxics Coalition and other environmental organizations, Judge John Coughenour ruled that before the Environmental Protection Agency cleared for use certain pesticides, it first should have consulted with federal fisheries managers on their effects on salmon. Given that Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires federal agencies consult when their actions could affect a threatened or endangered species, the ruling wasn't surprising, said Heather Hansen, executive director of Washington Friends of Farms and Forests, which advocates for agricultural interests on pest management issues. "But there really is no simple way to (consult)," Hansen said. "Pesticides are used in agriculture, in homes, on flea collars. So how do you consult on that?" The original wording of the law didn't take complex scenarios into account, she said. "The ESA was written thinking in terms of: If you build a dam, it's in one spot at one time and you consult on that one action," Hansen said. "That is how the consultation process was envisioned: One action, one spot, one time." As the EPA prepares to restrict use of many common pesticides, farmers, ranchers and foresters appear to be the big losers. According to figures from NMFS, under currently proposed actions -- which involve no-spray buffers around streams, lakes and other water bodies -- pesticide use will be restricted on 61 percent of Washington state's total land area. Fifty-five percent of Oregon, 32 percent of California and 26 percent of Idaho would also be restricted...more

Lair of the Beasts: Chupacabras vs. Chupacabras

Over the course of the last year or so, I have found myself doing more and more radio, newspaper, magazine, and TV interviews on the phenomenon of the so-called “Texas Chupacabras” – those admittedly very strange-looking, hairless beasts that have predominantly been reported within woods and fields in and around the Austin and San Antonio areas, but that are now being seen with increasing frequency in the vicinity of the city of Dallas, very near to where my wife and I live. One of the questions that keep on surfacing during those same interviews is how, and under what particular circumstances, did these mysterious beasts manage to migrate from the island of Puerto Rico – where the Chupacabras reports began to surface in the mid-1990s – to the heart of the Lone Star State? Well, the answer to that question is very simple: they didn’t. I have been on a number of expeditions to Puerto Rico in search of the island’s blood-sucking beasts, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they exist. I have interviewed numerous ranchers, veterinarians, civil-defense employees, and members of the public who have either seen the creatures, or who have been witness to their blood-sucking activities. In most cases, the Chupacabras of Puerto Rico are described as bipedal creatures with large eyes, vicious claws and teeth, hairless monkey-like bodies, row of spikes running down the backs of their heads and necks - punk-rock Mohawk-style – and even, occasionally, sporting membranous bat-like wings. As for their mode of attack, most of the interviewees stated that the Chupacabras kill their prey by a bite to the neck and then proceeds to drink the blood...more

The Western Lit Blues

I don't like to gut fish. I grant you that a trout's fluorescent-colored guts are interesting to poke with a stick, but only for a short time, and only once in a great while. Mostly they are just slimy and smelly and get your hands all germy, which, if you are camping, say, in the Colorado mountains, is an annoying problem, because stomach ailments at 8,000 feet are never fun. There, I said it. I'll even repeat it: I do not like to gut fish. Usually I have better things to do. You may now dismiss me from the Cool Western Women's Club. I'm a writer who writes about the West and the people out here. You know, the tough outdoorsy folks who populate Western books. People who hunt, camp, ride horses, and love to gut fish. Men and women who live on ranches or fall in love with ranchers. Or the folks who have a kayak on their Subaru and suntan marks on their feet from Chaco sandals, and the people who fall in love with suntanned, Subaru-driving kayakers. I write about them because, in part, I'm that sort of person myself. I'm a ranch kid who now owns a Subaru and has crisscrossed suntan patterns on my feet all summer long. I write what I know and what I see. But I have to say: Even though I am similar to my fictional counterparts, I am also not them. There's more going on with life out here in the West than is often rendered in books. We Westerners are more complex and worldly and unique than what I sometimes find on the page, frankly. And as a writer, a reader, an observer, and a half-assed cultural critic, I'm starting to get a little worried...more

Raising sheep: a way of life

Five generations of John Noh's family have used the same Sawtooth National Forest land to graze their sheep. Some of the ancient grey wood of the corral, used year after year, is as old as the rancher's permit. The Nohs had already shipped some lambs raised in an area near Monument Peak the previous week. Now, on the morning of Aug. 30, they were across the valley bringing in sheep from Bear Hollow. Friends — many sheep ranchers themselves — showed up the night before to share food and gossip, and to help load the lambs in the morning. Starting in April, the band's 1,000 ewes were released onto public land so their lambs could grow and fatten in the high meadows. Noh employs three shepherds from South America who watched the sheep throughout summer. Now, Chilean Lorenzo Saldivia whacked his cane against the corral rails to keep the sheep moving through chutes leading into the first of two tractor-trailers, one driven by sheep rancher Mike Secrest. The Idaho sheep community is fairly small and getting smaller. Two or three ranchers recently found themselves in tough straits when the Long Butte Fire burned their winter grazing areas. Idaho has no commercial processing plants, and Noh fears the industry may lose more packers. So ranchers have assumed many roles to help each other out...more

Harris has second thoughts about cow ban

By the summer of 1887, editor Frank Harris of the Ocala Banner was beginning to feel the heated reaction to his determined campaign to get cows off the streets of Ocala, and the tone of his published comments began to shift somewhat under peer pressure. It was during his regime as mayor that the city council adopted an ordinance that would have banned cows from the streets during the day and night. These were mostly milk cows that furnished milk and butter for families and, as such, had staunch defenders to their right to wander where they pleased. Cows found on the streets were to be impounded by the town marshal, and once the ordinance was on the books, it appeared that virtually nobody wanted it. Or so it seems from published comments by Editor Harris, as he started edging backward. Confronted by an irate public, the city council backed down somewhat and amended the ordinance to ban cows only during the daylight hours. It was all right to turn them out at night, after they had been milked. After all, there was plenty of grass along the streets to feed them adequately. One of the greatest irritants, however, was the congregating of cows on the courthouse square in the center of town. Harris reserved his strongest language against that and, as a result, a fence was built around the square. Even the fence became contentious...more

Trew: Digging post holes by hand was hard work

Among the hundreds of jobs associated with farming and ranching, digging postholes by hand is by far my least favorite. Today, most postholes are dug by equipment powered by tractors, motors and hydraulics. Iron tee posts driven into the ground have pretty well replaced the need for digging post holes. But not so long ago all postholes were dug by hand with a pair of diggers. Of interest is the fact the Devil's Rope Museum in McLean has approximately 60 patented post hole diggers on display all showing different designs and mechanisms to make the job easier. I can guarantee a long hot day on a pair of diggers in hard dry ground will conjure up many ideas to make the dreaded job less work. Among the first post-hole-digger-haters were the old dyed-in-the-wool cowboys who believed any work not carried out on the back of a horse was a sin, an embarrassment and beneath their dignity. If the truth were known, the famous "Cowboy Strike" carried out at Old Tascosa was probably as much in protest of building barbed wire fences as demanding higher wages and better working conditions on the ranches. The new-fangled barbed wire fences of the Old West were a joke at first. When finally accepted as a legitimate ranch improvement it was no easy chore to construct. First, trying to establish the correct legal boundary before building was almost impossible due to the many incorrect early day surveying methods. Once surveyed and staked someone had to spend weeks with an axe and saw in a cedar canyon somewhere cutting fence posts and hauling them to the site...more

Song Of The Day #404

It's Swingin' Monday on Ranch Radio, where we bring up-tempo tunes to get your heart started for the week.

Today's selection is bluegrass fiddler Hunter Berry performing the swing number Kansas City Kitty.

The song is on his 12 track CD Wow Baby.

Storm

Helluva storm here tonight...power has gone out twice...may not be able to publish.

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

Lonesome for the old days

by Julie Carter

In some phase of the moon, or maybe it's the calendar, there seems to be yearning among a number of my acquaintances to find a piece of their past and return to the "fun" that they remember it to be.

"I'm lonesome for the old days," are the words that resonate around any conversation about said "old days" and the memories of the good times.

Class reunions and family reunions are a given for collecting people that have a history with each other. They offer a one-shot period of time to catch up on one or many years and then everyone goes home and life resumes.

Then there are those times when a simple action by one person starts a movement that gathers momentum with each day as the people involved start opening their memories to those "good old days."

Clay Mac may not know it yet, but he has done such a thing simply by agreeing to play at a benefit dance in the Rio Grande Valley later this fall. A New Mexico band legend in the honky-tonk hall of fame, Clay isn't just awesome with his music, he has a good time doing it and his fun rolls right off the platform and into the crowd.

Not far from the upcoming designated dance hall is a locally historical honky tonk called the Red Carpet, or the "Red Rug" as it was fondly referred to in the height of its day. Now just an empty building with its own ghosts, just the mention of the name invokes memories of two-stepping, beer-drinking, pool-playing wild nights. It remains a monument to the good times of decades ago.

Such are the "fun" memories of one veteran of the "good old days" who said that sometimes he gets a six-pack and pulls in the parking lot of the Red Rug and just sits there and remembers while he sips.

Built around those good old days are friendships that endure far into the future. Sadly and all too often, they are kept dormant by life and distance and the recall is locked away in the cedar chests of their honky-tonk minds.

The key to that lock can be as simple as the sound of a fiddle bow pulled across the strings. That soulful sound explodes into a song that invokes whoops, hollers and the rush of boots and jeans to the dance floor.

The phone lines have been burning up for weeks in the process of making plans for a Red Rug Reunion at the fairgrounds dance barn and Clay Mac's guaranteed good-time music.

Only briefly does any of the Red Rug alumni lament the toll that 20 years has taken on waistlines and backsides, hair color or ability to hang past midnight.

Wiser planning brought by inevitable maturity involves nearby motel reservations, designated drivers and subtle warnings to spouses that they could possibly meet a new side of their life-partner, if only briefly.

Probability is high that the recall of the good old days will be enhanced by differing stories and confusing memories.

Already the arguments have begun involving statements like, "No, that wasn't me, that was Sheila and it was at Cowboys, not at the Red Rug. Get your memories right, keep your bars straight and don't confuse my stories."

Yeeeee haw ... here comes the Red Rug gang.

‘Clunkers,’ a classic government folly

IN THE market for a used car? Good luck finding a bargain: The price of “pre-owned’’ vehicles has climbed considerably over the past year. According to Edmunds.com, a website for car buyers, a three-year-old automobile today will set you back, on average, close to $20,000 — a spike of more than 10 percent since last summer. For some popular models, the increase has been much steeper. In July, a used Cadillac Escalade was going for around $35,000, or nearly 36 percent over last July’s price. But an even bigger part of the answer is that the supply of used cars is artificially low, because your Uncle Sam decided last year to destroy hundreds of thousands of perfectly good automobiles as part of its hare-brained Car Allowance Rebate System — or, as most of us called it, Cash for Clunkers. That was the program under which the government paid consumers up to $4,500 when they traded in an old car and bought a new one with better gas mileage. The traded-in cars — which had to be in drivable condition to qualify for the rebate — were then demolished: Dealers were required to chemically wreck each car’s engine, and send the car to be crushed or shredded. Even on environmental grounds, Cash for Clunkers was an exorbitant dud. Researchers at the University of California-Davis calculated that the reduction of carbon dioxide attributable to the program cost no less than $237 per ton. In contrast, carbon emissions credits cost about $20 per ton in international markets...more

Los Payasos.

Lubbock man files federal gun suit

A Lubbock man is the plaintiff in a National Rifle Associationlawsuit claiming the federal ban on 18-to-20 year-olds buying handguns is unconstitutional. The suit claims the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms, doesn't specify that it only applies to those age 21 and over. James D'Cruz of Lubbock claims in his suit that he is trained in the proper use of handguns and believes thatif 18 year olds can vote and serve in the military, they should be able to buy a handgun from a registered dealer. Fox

Song Of The Day #403

Ranch Radio's Gospel tune this Sunday morning is Jesus Help Me To Stand by Alison Krauss & Union Station.

The song is on her 14 track CD Every Time You Say Goodbye.