Forest Service Roadblock

Chris Galvanek and his neighbors moved out to the Lost Pine neighborhood near Harrietta to get away from it all. They knew they'd have longer drives to their jobs in Cadillac, but say it's was worth it. "We're out in the middle of God's Country. We enjoy living here." They live two and a half miles from the nearest paved road. And that hasn't been a problem for them. They even plowed it in the winter themselves. Galvanek says, "This road has always been cared for by the people who live in this subdivision and has been open for years." Except this winter that changed. Galvanek says, "The U.S. Forestry Department has told us it's illegal to drive down it." Assistant Ranger of the Huron Manistee National Forests John Hojnowski says, "That was never authorized and we had difficulty finding out who was actually doing the snowplowing and this year we had several complaints come in about the snowplowing and we were able to contact the people who were doing it and tell them they needed to discontinue that." He says this stretch of road on national forest land is a seasonal road for vehicles. And in the winter it is managed only as a snowmobile trail. So from November 1st to April 1st Galvanek and the two dozen other neighbors have to drive around adding more than a dozen miles each way...read more

25 percent of gas-tax funds are diverted to sidewalks, bike paths, scenic trails

America's highway system is not delivering the high-quality transportation a competitive economy needs. Congestion gridlocks our urban expressways, costing Americans $76 billion per year in wasted time and fuel. The interstate highways, begun 50 years ago, are wearing out and will need repairs and reconstruction costing many hundreds of billions of dollars. Two national commissions have estimated that the shortfall in productive highway investment (federal, state and local) is in the vicinity of $60 billion to $90 billion per year. We invented the federal Highway Trust Fund in 1956, promising motorists and truckers that all proceeds from a new federal gas tax would be spent on building the interstate system. They aren't. Congress has expanded federal highway spending beyond interstates to all types of roadways. And ever since 1982, a portion of those "highway user taxes" have been diverted to urban transit. Today, the federal role in transportation includes mandating sidewalks, funding bike paths and creating scenic trails. As a result, spending exceeds gas-tax revenues and the Highway Trust Fund is broke. Some claim this is because the 18.3-cents-per-gallon federal gas tax needs to be raised. But drivers can fairly put the blame on the fact that 25 percent of gas-tax funds are diverted to non-highway uses...read more

NY Times Editorial On Sage Grouse

Hemmed in by residential development and the nation’s demand for energy, the number of sage grouse has dropped from 16 million to a few hundred thousand scattered across 11 Western states. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to decide soon whether to place the bird on the endangered species list. The service is unlikely to do so, at least for now. The mandated protections could seriously inhibit coal mining, oil and gas exploration and other businesses vital to Western economies. It also could slow the development of wind power, a resource cherished by conservationists. There is a compromise solution that could give the grouse a fighting chance. And that would be for the service to place the sage grouse high on its list of 270 or so “candidate species.” That acknowledges that the species is in trouble, asks federal and state land management agencies to work harder to protect the bird’s habitat, and holds out the promise — or threat — of more stringent protections if these agencies fail to do so...read more

CSU researchers say shell serum could save trees from bark beetles

Colorado scientists are liquefying crab and shrimp shells shipped from Iceland to produce a serum which, when poured on pine trees, appears to prevent bark beetles from killing the trees. The Colorado State University scientists who helped develop the serum propose aerial spraying to treat forests across the Rocky Mountain West, where beetles have ravaged millions of acres. But so far, they have been unable to attract the support of the U.S. Forest Service for widespread application. "We don't find any downside to it," said CSU microbiologist Jim Linden, one of two scientists guiding commercial production at a factory near Loveland. Dousing healthy lodgepole pines with the gold-colored serum "certainly is part of the toolbox of ways to counteract the beetle," Linden said. "It is inexpensive and safe." NASA sponsored the initial research that led to developing the serum, which contains chitosan — a carbohydrate found in the shells of crabs, shrimp and the pine beetles themselves. Chitosan can stimulate trees' secretion of sap, which can block beetles from eating into the bark, where they lay eggs and spread a blue fungus that clogs and chokes trees. "What has the Forest Service done for us? They've just let the trees die," Stoner said. "I've offered it up to government agencies to address the pine beetle epidemic. I just want somebody to start using it. We've got a huge problem."...read more

Report: climate, not beetles, main cause of forest fires

A new report by four forest ecologists says climate rather than beetles is the main cause of forest fire risk, and that risk is best addressed by creating defensible spaces around homes instead of logging in the backcountry. The report, available at http://nccsp.org, was prepared on behalf of the nonprofit National Center for Conservation Science and Policy and is based on a scientific literature review. It questions the worth of a proposed Colorado rule that would allow for limited logging in roadless portions of national forests for purposes that include protecting communities and municipal watersheds from fires and the spread of insects and disease in trees. Report authors said Tuesday that forests being attacked by beetles in Colorado and other states are naturally dense, and large and severe fires in those forests are the norm. They said drought and warm temperatures are such major factors in creating high fire risk that beetle outbreaks do little to add to that risk...read more

Song Of The Day #252

Any consideration of young artists with big hits would have to include LeAnn Rimes and her 1996 recording of Blue. Originally written by Bill Mack for Patsy Cline in the 60's, it served as the lead single on her album Blue, and reached Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart and was certified "multi-platinum" in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.

She was 13 years old.

ATF Confiscates Toy Guns

In the same week that the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing a landmark Second Amendment case, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) wrongfully confiscated $12,000 worth of Airsoft toy guns. The shipment of Airsoft toy guns was seized in customs by a BATFE agent who made a determination that the inner mechanism of the Airsoft toys could easily be modified to accommodate real ammunition. The toys were confiscated as a result and the BATFE has promised to destroy them. The Airsoft toy guns fire round BBs that are basically tiny plastic beads. Most of the Airsoft toy is made of plastic and would blow-up if you tried to fire real ammunition through it. Clearly, the agent who confiscated the Airsoft toy guns has no real-world understanding of live firearms. There is absolutely no way that an Airsoft toy could be converted into a real firearm. Why is this agent still employed by the BATFE? Doesn't it seem like you should know what a firearm is if you are going to work for the Burearu of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives? It is also worth noting that the same models of Airsoft toys guns that were confiscated are readily available and legal all over the country and have been for years. As usual, the BATFE agent is not required to prove his claims. He simply made a ridiculous accusation and confiscated private property without due process...read more

Using Guns to Protect Liberty

In the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. Because the District is a federal enclave, however, the court stopped short of deciding whether the Second Amendment applies to the states - and whether individuals can assert its protections against gun regulations in places like Chicago, New York and San Francisco. In March, the Supreme Court will begin to answer this unresolved question - already answered affirmatively just last week by Washington state's Supreme Court - when it hears arguments in McDonald v. Chicago, a challenge to Chicago's handgun ban - in which the final briefs were filed earlier this month. One of the things many people don't realize is that the case is much more about the 14th Amendment than the second, because the original conception of the Bill of Rights - including the Second Amendment - only applied its protections to the federal government. It was not until the post-Civil War 14th Amendment that the Constitution protected individual rights against state tyranny, guaranteeing that no state could, for example, "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." Using this due-process clause, the Supreme Court has selectively applied almost all of the Bill of Rights against the states. A different 14th Amendment clause, however, forbidding states from passing "any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States," is a better way of extending the right to keep and bear arms. This privileges or immunities clause provides an approach that not only is more historically accurate, but prevents some of the judicial overreach legal observers of all stripes deride...read more

Baby survives parents' global warming suicide pact

Francisco Lotero, 56, and Miriam Coletti, 23, shot their daughter and her toddler brother before killing themselves. Their son Francisco, two, died instantly after being hit in the back. However, their unnamed daughter cheated death after the bullet from her father's handgun missed her vital organs. Her parents said they feared the effects of global warming in a suicide note discovered by police...read more

A Blizzard Of Lies From Al Gore

Al Gore resurfaces in an op-ed to say that nobody's perfect, everybody makes mistakes and climate change is still real. And he has some oceanfront property in the Himalayas to sell you. If hyperbole and chutzpah had a child, it would be the opening paragraph of Gore's op-ed in Sunday's New York Times. Gore surfaced from the global warming witness-protection program to opine that despite admissions of error and evidence of fraud by various agencies, we still face "an unimaginable calamity requiring large-scale, preventive measures to protect human civilization as we know it." Perhaps he's trying to protect his investments as he knows them, for he is heavily involved in enterprises that deal with carbon offsets and green technology. If the case for climate change is shown to be demonstrably false, a lot of his green evaporates like moisture from the ocean. Interestingly, it's that moisture from the ocean that he uses to defend his failed hypothesis. The blizzards that have buried the Northeast, he writes, are proof of global warming because record evaporation due to warming is what produces record snows. Except that supporters of his theory not long ago argued exactly the opposite...read more

Climategate professors rebuked by scientific body

Scientists at the heart of the Climategate row were yesterday accused by a leading academic body of undermining science's credibility. The Institute of Physics said 'worrying implications' had been raised after it was revealed the University of East Anglia had manipulated data on global warming. The rebuke - the strongest yet from the scientific community - came as Professor Phil Jones, the researcher at the heart of the scandal, told MPs he had written 'some pretty awful emails' - but denied trying to suppress data. Giving evidence to a Science and Technology Committee inquiry, the Institute of Physics said: 'Unless the disclosed emails are proved to be forgeries or adaptations, worrying implications arise for the integrity of scientific research and for the credibility of the scientific method. 'The principle that scientists should be willing to expose their results to independent testing and replication by others, which requires the open exchange of data, procedures and materials, is vital.' Last month, the Information Commissioner ruled the CRU had broken Freedom of Information rules by refusing to hand over raw data...read more

2 House Dems challenge EPA on greenhouse gases

Two top House Democrats have introduced a measure aimed at blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating pollution-causing greenhouse gases. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri want to veto the EPA's finding in December that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare...read more

Wolf-pack report raises doubts, fears

Wolf advocates are celebrating the return of wolves to Colorado after biologists for a recreational ranch northwest of here recently announced a pack may have taken up residence. But that same prospect has sparked fear in neighboring ranchers and outfitters. It has also generated a lot of skepticism from ranchers and wildlife experts. "I have ridden that area and hunted lions in that area, and I have not seen any signs nor have I heard them at night," said outfitter and ranch hand Brian Bivins, who previously lived in wolf country in Idaho and saw many wolves there. "I think the biologist lady just wants them to be there." That biologist is Cristina Eisenberg, a conservation biologist and author who lives in the wolf country of Montana. She was hired by the 300-square-mile High Lonesome Ranch where the wolves supposedly live. It is she and her crew who found the 15 samples of suspected wolf scat and several wolf tracks. It was enough evidence for wolf advocates to put out the proverbial welcome mat for a predator that was killed off in Colorado 70 years ago. But it has left the skeptics asking if wolves truly have made a home in Colorado again. Or are pro-wolf biologists and a ranch owner who are bent on biodiversity being overly enthusiastic?...read more

National Forest Service to Cut ATV Access to Public Forest Land by 90%

The National Forest Service is set to slash the amount of places that ATVs are allowed to ride by 90% this spring. Seems like just more of the same as the OHV community is already on it's heals as attempt after attempt after attempt is made to close the places we ride. Not only will this make it harder for ATV enthusiasts to find a place to ride, it will also make the few places that remain open much more crowded and dangerous to ride ATVs...read more

Agriculture to merge Forest Service programs

The Agriculture Department's Forest Service plans to merge three programs next year to better protect forests against the effects of climate change. Tim Tidwell, chief of the Forest Service, said the merger will enable Forest Service managers to consider all aspects of forest maintenance and care — timber harvesting, tree health, watershed health, wildlife and fisheries, and vegetation — within a single program. Creating "a single budget line item ... will encourage folks to look at the [total] landscape" of forest management, Tidwell said in an interview. The program merger is included in the president's $5.4 billion Forest Service budget proposed for 2011, which would represent a $61 million increase over this year's budget...read more

Bull escapes from livestock sale in Calgary, bolts into downtown neighbourhood

Good thing there's no china shops near Calgary's Stampede grounds, home to the city's annual rodeo and western-themed celebration. An animal escaped from a sale of bulls on Monday and scooted through a downtown neighbourhood before it could be corralled. The animal bolted towards a light rapid transit station that's nearby. Cattlemen were later able to lasso the wayward bull. They tied the animal to a fence until it could be loaded into a truck. Calgary police were called in for traffic control and no injuries were reported...read more

A Horse Trial

RONNIE McCORD, Appellant,
v.
WALLACE GOODE, Appellee.
No. 05-08-00939-CV.
Court of Appeals of Texas, Fifth District, Dallas.
Opinion Filed February 26, 2010.

The evidence showed that in approximately 2004 Goode allowed McCord to move a house trailer onto Goode's property and live there rent-free. In exchange, McCord agreed to help with upkeep of the property and train Goode's horses. This arrangement continued for about three years, until July 2007. During those three years, McCord, Goode, and another friend, Bob Menton, went into business together buying and selling horses. The parties referred to their relationship as a partnership, although they never formalized it in writing. In April 2004, McCord purchased two horses, one of which was a registered paint horse named Colonel Jet Leo. McCord testified that he purchased those horses for his personal use and not for the partnership. The dispute that is the subject of this lawsuit arose in the summer of 2007. The record indicates that McCord had told "everyone" that they were not to do anything with Colonel Jet Leo unless he was there. In July 2007, McCord learned that Goode's son, Justin, and a fellow rancher had taken Colonel Jet Leo to a veterinarian without McCord's permission. When McCord confronted them about it, Justin said he was just doing what his dad had told him to do and that the horse was half his dad's. McCord replied, "It may be, but nobody does anything with this horse but me." When Goode talked to McCord about his confrontation with Justin, Goode told McCord that he wanted to send Colonel Jet Leo to Oklahoma for training. McCord said he would file theft charges against anyone who took Colonel Jet Leo off the property. Goode testified that it was at this point he knew the partnership was not going to work, so he asked McCord to leave. McCord agreed. They divided the mares and their two colts, but could not agree on the disposition of Colonel Jet Leo...read more

Circling the wagons of culinary history

Many people do not know what it was like to live and cook in the 1800s, but chuckwagon competitions bring a taste of the old life style back for people to experience and enjoy. The chuckwagon concept was invented by an Amarillo area rancher and former Texas Ranger named Charles Goodnight in the 1870s. Hogan said Goodnight turned an old Army wagon into a chuckwagon because he saw the need for a transportable kitchen on long cattle drives. A chuckwagon includes eccentric features on the outside, like authentic hooks, barrels and a chuck box full of cooking supplies located on the back of it, Hogan said. During chuckwagon competitions participants camp out and cook on a weekend like people did in the 1800s. Hogan and his partner, Greg Allen, of Rome, have gone to many chuckwagon competitions throughout the years. “(The competitors) cannot use anything during the competition that wasn’t from the 1870s. If they didn’t have it back then, we can’t use it,” he said. Some of the cooking supplies chuckwagon competitor’s use include a cast iron Dutch oven, a small bean pot and an old coffee pot. Competition organizers give each team the same kind and amount food for each wagon. “We take dry wood with us, so we can make a fire on Fridays and then use the coals to warm up our Dutch ovens for our cooking competition on Saturdays,” he said. Around noon on Fridays at the competitions, two or three judge’s evaluate each wagon, Hogan said. The judges look for authenticity on the outside of the wagon and at whether the wagon is in good shape and is usable, he explained...read more

Me & Joe and the Miliron Dun

...The talk covered topics from shooting to other sports to bicycling, with the two ranchmen and Big Joe curiously examining the Rodens' bikes. Then came the claim that was to change the lives of me and Joe. Rock seemed to inflate his chest a few inches as he flatly stated, "A man on a bicycle can outrun a man on a horse over a long distance." I thought Big Joe, Charlie, and Jimmy were going to choke on their beer. I was pretty taken back myself. Joe chewed a stem of tickle grass and looked inscrutable. A heated argument broke out, the horsemen snorting at the idea of a dude on a pedal machine even being in the running against any decent horse. Rock stuck to his guns (and his bicycles) and said he would pit Tom against any horseman that could be enlisted in a 10-mile race. "And I've got a hundred dollars that says he'll win," he declared. Charlie and Jimmy each counted $100 from their wallets, and Big Joe wrote a check. There would be a race. No details were worked out then. Everyone left the caliche pit a little mad. The horse set retired to the Bishop house for a council of war. Charlie Burke took the floor. "First thing we've got to do is pick a horse and a rider. It won't look right to have a man ride against the Roden boy. Joe and Skeeter can both handle a horse. One of them will do. I got the horse." Me and Joe raised a clamor. He wanted to ride Nick, his old gray gelding; I nominated Freckles, my little roan. Both were rejected, Nick because he was too old and Freckles because he was too soft and fat. "I got just the horse," repeated Charlie. "I was down on the Milliron Ranch last month receiving cattle. They gave me this little dun to ride, and he was plumb dandy. Fast, gentle, smart, and tough as a boot. Everybody else had to change horses during the middle of the day, but I gathered cattle on him all day, and the boys out at the place have been using him every day. He's hard and just right for this race." The next decision was the big one for me and Joe. Who would be the rider? I thought it was kind of cold-blooded when the men put us on a bathroom scale, but that settled the matter. I weighed almost 10 pounds more than the rawhide Joe. He would ride...read more

It's All Trew: Bankers are remembered for bark, bite

Ace Reed, the well-known cowboy cartoonist, made a living for years poking fun at Banker Tuffenall (Tougher-than-hell), who often left his cowboy customers reeling from his refusals to loan them money. Even the toughest, orneriest, meanest old rancher cleaned off his boots, shaved and removed his Stetson and turned meek when he entered his banker's office to ask for a loan. Among the many stories about bankers I have heard, a few stand out. The banker had a stern, pockmarked poker face, permanently set in a frown topped off by steely-gray eyes. He talked gruffly to everyone who entered. Underneath and inside, he was a kind man with a wicked sense of humor. Early on, as he became bank president, he admitted having a glass eye. This was false, as he could see very well with both natural eyes. He had no problem saying no if needed, but if he was going to say yes to a loan, he put the customer to a test, saying, "I have a glass eye. If you can tell which eye is glass, I'll give you the loan." Whatever eye was chosen, the loan was closed and the banker got a chuckle. Once, when he asked a customer why he chose the left eye as glass, the man answered, "I chose the left eye because I thought it showed a little sympathy for my problem. I knew the real eye would never do that."...read more