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