Obama administration reverses Bush policy on bull trout habitat

The Obama administration on Tuesday greatly expanded protections for waterways critical to the restoration of threatened bull trout, making it tougher for agencies to approve logging, mining and livestock grazing across a large swath of federal land in the West. The final rule issued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service represented a major expansion of the streams, lakes and reservoirs protected as critical habitat for the fish, primarily on federal lands in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Nevada, and a reversal of Bush administration policy on endangered species. The new ruling protects 19,000 miles of streams, which is five times more than the 2005 rule, and 490,000 acres of lakes and reservoirs, which is more than three times greater than previously ordered. But the 754 miles of marine shoreline in Washington state was a reduction to make room for U.S. Navy testing grounds. The bull trout is not a trout, but a char. Its numbers have declined about 60 percent, and it has disappeared from about half its historical range due to logging, mining, dam construction, and livestock grazing that have warmed and muddied the water it lives in and cut off migration routes. Nonnative fish species introduced for anglers compete for scarce habitat. It survives mostly in backcountry areas far from people...more

Wolves: How Many Are There?

At a Kalispell meeting focused on wolves last week, outdoorsmen and ranchers made it clear they want three things: the return of state management, revised wolf population numbers and, in the absence of local control, federal rule changes that better protect livestock in Northwest Montana. For the first, they stated their case to U.S. House Rep. Dennis Rehberg, who hosted the session at Flathead Valley Community College and has drafted one of several bills aimed at delisting gray wolves in Montana and Idaho. For the second, they offered their own statistics, in quantities of lost livestock and diminished game sightings during hunting season. Ranchers argue that many livestock kills aren't confirmed or documented. Hunters say they don’t harvest or see nearly the number of elk and deer as in years past. Larry Campbell told the 12-person panel that he had killed a bull elk for 14 straight years before his streak ended two years ago. “I’ve seen more wolves than I’ve seen elk,” he said. “That’s not a good sign.”...more

Western Watersheds Project v. IBLA

WESTERN WATERSHEDS PROJECT, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
INTERIOR BOARD OF LAND APPEALS, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, AND UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 09-35708.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted September 1, 2010—Seattle, Washington.
Filed October 12, 2010.

OPINION

HAWKINS, Senior Circuit Judge.

In this appeal, which involves the interplay between the issuance or renewal of Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") grazing permits and the fee-shifting provisions of the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA"), Western Watersheds Project ("Western Watersheds") appeals the summary judgment determination that EAJA fees were not available to Western Watersheds because its environmental claims were brought in a grazing permit renewal proceeding. We agree with the district court's reasoning and affirm.

Read the entire Opinion here.

Arizona Rethinking Open Range Laws? One Word for the New York Times: Bull

Arizona's not really "Rethinking Open Range Laws," despite a New York Times article published on Monday with that headline. The article by Marc Lacey offers only one source to back up that headline, Democratic State Representative Daniel Patterson of Tucson, who Lacey says has introduced a bill "pushing for an end to Arizona's open range law..." Patterson's proposed change of law died in the last Legislative session without so much as a hearing. In fact, Patterson -- who, like other State Representatives, is fighting to get re-elected in November -- refused to stand by the statements attributed to him in the article when we called him today. We don't think the NY Times writer misquoted Patterson -- rather, it seems Patterson doesn't want to draw any more attention to his statements, even though he proudly posted the article on his own blog site. The catchy headline drew us into the online article today. But we had to chuckle at the Lacey's outsider take, even before we talked to Patterson. Patterson would not agree or admit he's "pushing for an end to Arizona's open range law." When we asked if the quote about "getting rid" of the open range law was correct, we got a 20-second pause. "Hello?" we asked, thinking the call had been dropped. Patterson was still there. But he refused to answer the question. "We want to change the law," he repeated a couple of times, implying that he no longer wanted to "get rid of" the law -- if he ever did...more

The Nature Conservancy Hires Architect to Design Facilities for Canyonlands Research Center

The Nature Conservancy announced the hire of Salt Lake City-based architecture firm CRSA to begin designing facilities for the Canyonlands Research Center in southeast Utah. The facilities will be located at the Conservancy’s Dugout Ranch, south of Moab, and will provide year-round housing and laboratories for visiting scientists. The design and construction of the facilities, as well as ongoing operations, will seek minimal impacts to the environment and feature carbon neutral concepts. Facility design is the most recent step in the launch of the Canyonlands Research Center, a unique collaborative that brings together scientists, public land managers and local land users to protect the natural resources of the Colorado Plateau or “Four Corners” region. Through research on issues such as wildlife and water management, grazing and recreation use issues, the Canyonlands Research Center will develop science-based strategies to help public land managers and private landowners improve protection for natural resources...press release

Texas Department of Agriculture Launches Program to Eradicate Wild Hogs

The Texas Department of Agriculture is launching a new campaign called “Get the Hog Outta Texas” in an effort to remove wild hogs and curb the damage done to private property by them in the state of Texas. The challenge, which runs through the end of October, will reward the county that removes the most hogs with a grant. The challenge has recruited nearly 60 counties so far. A growing number of feral hogs, also called wild hogs, has posed a challenge for the state of Texas for decades; more recently, however, the problem has extended into urban and suburban areas. There are nearly two million wild hogs in Texas, the highest population in the United States. This number continues to grow every year due to high reproduction rates of wild hogs and a lack of natural predators. While these animals may appear harmless, they can cause millions of dollars in damage to urban yards, parks, golf courses, crops and private property. Wild hogs can also carry diseases and contribute to E. coli in Texas water, such as streams, ponds and watersheds...more

Here is the Texas Farm Bureau video:



When they are finished in Texas they should move their program to DC.

EPA Perpetuates Ethanol Scam in New Regulations

Perhaps the ethanol subsidies would constitute wiser policy if the claims of ethanol advocates (including the farmers who benefit from the government payout) were anywhere near the truth. Aside from the dubious benefit of catering domestic policy to a climate panic that more thorough scientific inquiry has discredited, ethanol production itself actually swells carbon emissions. Although it burns cleaner than straight gasoline, ethanol is produced using energy from electric plants that still burn fossil fuels (along with the modes of transportation and harvest), more than offsetting its environmental benefits. Additionally, the whole biofuel project is an expensive experiment that distracts from more viable clean power alternatives: hydro, solar, and that greatly maligned boogeyman, nuclear energy. That the ethanol lobby has succeeded in pushing its agenda at taxpayer cost is shameful. That the EPA is aiding and abetting in this process while ignoring superior solutions is par for the course. Until the appointees who make these decisions are replaced, the American public should put their hope for serious energy and environmental reform in the candidates they elect this November...more

Search for ape man continues against the odds

That ever elusive figure known as Bigfoot, or Yeren (wild man) to the Chinese, is bouncing back to life as a group of Chinese scientists and explorers scout around for international help to mount a new search for it - even though the debate over its existence has lingered for decades. Bigfoot, also known elsewhere as the abominable snowman, in this case refers to a half-man, half-ape creature in the Shennongjia Nature Reserve, in a remote, mountainous part of Hubei province, in Central China. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, authorities organized three high-profile expeditions to search for signs of Bigfoot, but came up empty handed. In view of the large amount of expenditure required for these expeditions, the government decided to put a stop to them. Nonetheless, curiosity about the mysterious man-like creature still lingered among experts and ordinary folk alike. Then, last November, the Wild Man Research Association was founded in Hubei, pulling in more than 100 members interested in the search for Yeren, including a number of scientists and experts. These included the 75-year-old Wang Shancai, of the Hubei Relics and Archaeology Institute, who is vice-president of the association, and happens to be a strong believer in Bigfoot. In spite of the fact that while those expeditions in the 1970s and 1980s yielded little other than some hair, a footprint, and some excrement suspected of belonging to Yeren, there was no conclusive proof, but Wang is undeterred. He said there were more than 400 people who claimed to have seen Bigfoot in the Shennongjia area over the last century. And he's gotten support from a local "witness", Zhang Jiahong, a sheep rancher in the town of Muyu in the nature reserve, who says he saw two wild men as recently as September 2005. What did they look like? Zhang told China Daily on Monday that they had "hairy faces, eyes like black holes, prominent noses, faces that resembled both a man and a monkey, disheveled hair, and stood more than 2 meters tall"...more

Gas drilling has blighted my life

My wife, Donna, and I have lived for 32 years on our ranch in Pavillion, Wyo., a lush agricultural area surrounded by the Wind River and Owl Creek mountains. In this dry region, we’re lucky to have an irrigation district that delivers clean water from the Wind River to the several hundred farmers and ranchers in the area. We’ve worked hard to develop this place, raise our two kids and tend to our cattle and horses. I’m a Vietnam vet and Donna works in our local school district. At this stage in life, I thought I’d have time to enjoy our 4-year-old granddaughter as she learns how to ride a horse like her granddad does. Instead, I’m watching everything we’ve worked for poisoned by the oil and gas industry. I’m even reluctant to have my grandchild visit because of the chemical contamination in our water, soil and air. In 2004, Encana drilled a well about 500 feet from my house and even closer to my drinking water well. In the past, we always had clean, fresh water, but soon our water began to taste and smell like gas and the well began producing less water. Encana agreed to test the water and chlorinate it, and during testing the company hauled water into a cistern for us. About seven months later, I decided to drill a new well since I was pretty sure the old one was contaminated. While drilling the new well, we hit gas, our new water well blew out and we were forced to evacuate our home. We had a hydrogeologist and drilling experts come out. They told us hydraulic fracturing had caused methane to migrate and collect underground. That meant that the fracturing chemicals were also moving around...more

The New Oil

Sitka, Alaska, is home to one of the world’s most spectacular lakes. Nestled into a U-shaped valley of dense forests and majestic peaks, and fed by snowpack and glaciers, the reservoir, named Blue Lake for its deep blue hues, holds trillions of gallons of water so pure it requires no treatment. The city’s tiny population—fewer than 10,000 people spread across 5,000 square miles—makes this an embarrassment of riches. Every year, as countries around the world struggle to meet the water needs of their citizens, 6.2 billion gallons of Sitka’s reserves go unused. That could soon change. In a few months, if all goes according to plan, 80 million gallons of Blue Lake water will be siphoned into the kind of tankers normally reserved for oil—and shipped to a bulk bottling facility near Mumbai. From there it will be dispersed among several drought-plagued cities throughout the Middle East. The project is the brainchild of two American companies. One, True Alaska Bottling, has purchased the rights to transfer 3 billion gallons of water a year from Sitka’s bountiful reserves. The other, S2C Global, is building the water-processing facility in India. If the companies succeed, they will have brought what Sitka hopes will be a $90 million industry to their city, not to mention a solution to one of the world’s most pressing climate conundrums. They will also have turned life’s most essential molecule into a global commodity. The transfer of water is nothing new. New York City is supplied by a web of tunnels and pipes that stretch 125 miles north into the Catskills Mountains; Southern California gets its water from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Colorado River Basin, which are hundreds of miles to the north and west, respectively. The distance between Alaska and India is much farther, to be sure. But it’s not the distance that worries critics. It’s the transfer of so much water from public hands to private ones. “Water has been a public resource under public domain for more than 2,000 years,” says James Olson, an attorney who specializes in water rights. “Ceding it to private entities feels both morally wrong and dangerous.” Everyone agrees that we are in the midst of a global freshwater crisis. Around the world, rivers, lakes, and aquifers are dwindling faster than Mother Nature can possibly replenish them; industrial and household chemicals are rapidly polluting what’s left...more

For a different view on water markets, visit the website of the Property and Environment Research Center.

Drilling ban lifted; uncertainties still face Gulf

Deep water oil drills quieted by a six-month moratorium will again hum off the Gulf Coast, helping an industry that, despite its dangers, puts needed money in the pockets of thousands along the Gulf Coast. What's less certain is just how soon the jobs on hold because of the six-month ban will come back to a region trying to recover. Thirty-three deep water operations were halted by the moratorium imposed as the BP oil disaster unfolded. Meeting new federal safety requirements imposed since then will take time for oil companies. "Those big rigs that left the Gulf, it's going to take them a while to come back," said Ronnie Kennier, an Empire, La., fisherman working in BP's vessel of opportunity oil clean-up program. The Obama administration, under heavy pressure from the oil industry and Gulf states and with elections nearing, on Tuesday lifted the moratorium that it imposed in April. The ban had been scheduled to expire Nov. 30, but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar moved up the deadline, saying new rules have strengthened safety and reduced the risk of another catastrophic blowout that caused more than 200 million gallons of crude to spew from BP's well a mile beneath the Gulf. A federal report said the prohibition likely caused a temporary loss of 8,000 to 12,000 jobs in the Gulf region and drilling is unlikely to resume for at least a few weeks. Todd Hornbeck, CEO of Covington, La.-based Hornbeck Offshore Services, said lifting the ban would still leave the industry in a "de facto moratorium stage" until the government fully explains how new drilling permits will be issued. "We're still in the dark," said Hornbeck, who heads one of the companies that sued to block Interior's initial moratorium. His company provides vessels and other services for the offshore industry. ight now, I'm skeptical that it will be anytime soon that permits will be issued even if the moratorium is lifted," he said...more

China stakes claim to S. Texas oil, gas

State-owned Chinese energy giant CNOOC is buying a multibillion-dollar stake in 600,000 acres of South Texas oil and gas fields, potentially testing the political waters for further expansion into U.S. energy reserves. With the announcement Monday that it would pay up to $2.2 billion for a one-third stake in Chesapeake Energy assets, CNOOC lays claim to a share of properties that eventually could produce up to half a million barrels a day of oil equivalent. It also might pick up some American know-how about tapping the hard-to-get deposits trapped in dense shale rock formations, analysts said. As part of the deal, the largest purchase of an interest in U.S. energy assets by a Chinese company, CNOOC has agreed to pay about $1.1 billion for a chunk of Chesapeake’s assets in the Eagle Ford, a broad oil and gas formation that runs largely from southwest of San Antonio to the Mexican border. CNOOC also will provide up to $1.1 billion more to cover drilling costs. The deal represents China’s second try at making a big move into the U.S. oil and gas market, following a failed bid five years ago to buy California-based Unocal Corp...more

Experts tell congressional panel Station Fire could have been contained early on

A wildfire that grew into the biggest blaze in Los Angeles County history could have been contained early on if fire officials had tapped state and local agency resources, experts told a congressional panel Tuesday. Additionally, the panel sought answers about delays in the dispatch of aircraft and other resources to fight the fire at a critical juncture on the blaze's second day. Instead of relaying an order for aircraft to a joint command center of local and state firefighting agencies, a Forest Service dispatcher held it. "Between 7 and 9 a.m. was the window of opportunity to make a difference," said Will Spyrison, the Forest Service incident commander who ordered the aircraft. By the time Forest Service aircraft made runs over the fire nine hours later, it was too late. The sun had risen, heating up brush and fueling the blaze, which exploded. Two firefighters were killed and 89 homes destroyed by the fire, which burned more than 250 square miles. Forest Service officials offered little in the way of an explanation, saying they didn't know who held the aircraft order or why. "All I know is our dispatcher was told to leave the order open," said former Angeles National Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron. A recent federal review of the Station Fire's handling found Forest Service officials were reluctant to request resources from local agencies in favor of their own, Schiff said. The Forest Service pays local agencies for personnel and equipment used in fighting wildfires on federal land. As a cost-cutting measure, forest managers were urged to use their own resources in an internal memo sent out by high-ranking forest officials weeks prior to the Station Fire. Forest Service officials denied Tuesday the memo factored into their decisions. Schiff rebuffed those claims, asserting there was either a "broad policy" that prevented the orders for aircraft from going through or someone believed the fire wasn't as serious as the incident commander observed...more

Cody entrepreneurs await permits

Over the past decade, many Park County entrepreneurs have sought permits from the Shoshone National Forest to help guide residents and tourists with activities like ice climbing, mountain biking and kayaking. But no new permits for such “nontraditional” outdoor recreation activities have been issued. Kenny Gasch, with Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, has applied numerous times without success for a commercial permit to guide ice climbers, a technical and dangerous sport. Enthusiasts spend thousands of dollars each year on gear, lodging and guides in other places around the world, Gasch has said, and the Shoshone Forest southwest of Cody is among the best places in the United States to climb. On Tuesday, Root told Park County commissioners that the Shoshone Forest would be working throughout 2011 to complete a needs assessment, and might issue new permits based on the outcome of that process. Despite the delays, Gasch said Tuesday he was optimistic that commercial permits would eventually be issued for ice climbing and other nontraditional recreation activities...more

First application for a permit was in 2001. Ten years later they decide to do a "needs assessment."

The problem they all face is the word "commercial". Never a high priority for the Forest Service...not even when unemployment is hovering around 10 percent and everyone else is worried about creating jobs.

Community organizers might have some success. Maybe.

California to Sell 24 Government Buildings for $2.3 Billion

The state announced Monday it is selling 24 government office buildings — including the Ronald Reagan State Building in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Civic Center — to a group of private investors for $2.3 billion. Ron Diedrich, acting director of the California Department of General Services, announced it selected the offer from California First LLC, a partnership led by a Texas real estate firm and an Orange County private equity firm. About $1 billion of the sale will be used to pay off bonds on the buildings, leaving more than $1.2 billion to go into the state's general fund. "This sale will allow us to bring in desperately needed revenues and free the state from the ongoing costs and risks of owning real estate." Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers included the sale as part of the state budget last week...more

Excellent. Land should be next.

More Ethanol to Be Allowed in Cars

The Obama administration plans to allow higher levels of ethanol for gasoline used by newer cars, a step that would benefit corn growers but which has been strongly opposed by auto makers, livestock ranchers, oil refiners and some public-health advocates. As early as Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to announce it will allow ethanol levels in gasoline blends to be as high as 15% for vehicles made since 2007, up from 10% currently, according to two people familiar with the matter. For cars made between 2001 and 2006, the agency will say it is awaiting the outcome of additional research and not ready to announce a decision. The agency's move is likely to be strongly challenged by livestock ranchers, auto makers and oil refiners. While the groups have varying motives for opposing greater corn ethanol production, they—along with many environmentalists—generally say the government hasn't conducted sufficient testing to warrant higher concentrations of ethanol in motor fuels...more

Ethanol is just another agricultural subsidy

Since the 1970s, the U.S. Congress has showered the corn ethanol industry with ever-increasing mandates and subsidies. Congress has justified those subsidies by citing the industry's oft-repeated claim that increased domestic production of ethanol will cut U.S. oil imports and therefore increase America's energy security. That claim has no basis in fact. Between 1999 and 2009, while U.S. ethanol production increased seven-fold to more than 700,000 barrels per day, U.S. oil imports actually increased by more than 800,000 barrels per day. Furthermore, and perhaps most surprising, during that same time period, U.S. oil exports - yes, exports - more than doubled to some 2 million barrels per day. Data from the Energy Information Administration show that oil imports closely track U.S oil consumption. Over the last decade, as domestic oil demand grew, imports increased. When consumption fell, imports dropped. Ramped-up ethanol production levels simply had no apparent effect on oil imports or consumption. Thus, despite more than three decades of subsidies that have cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, the ethanol industry has not, and cannot, show any decline in oil imports--even during the time period when it experienced its most rapid growth...more

Rising corn prices also affect ethanol, cattle

Corn prices are up 19 percent in just the last four trading days, boosting the crop’s value by billions of dollars. However, what’s good for farmers could disrupt ethanol production and push up meat prices. Corn futures for December delivery closed Tuesday at $5.79 a bushel, up 23.25 cents from Monday and 90.5 cents from last Wednesday. As recently as mid-June, corn traded around $3.60 a bushel. Prices have risen as farmers report decreased yields because of moisture damage to corn plants. The exact gain to farmers is unclear, depending on how much of their crop has been presold for forward or futures contracts and at what prices. But hog and cattle producers now are faced with higher feed costs just as they emerge from a three-year period of losses caused by the first wave of corn price increases that began in 2007...more

Estate tax may become another nail-biter debate when lawmakers return

Interest groups on both sides of the estate tax debate are unsure how the issue will play out when lawmakers return to Washington for the post-election lame-duck session. Lawmakers face a blistering tax agenda in the lame-duck session that, left undone, will cost taxpayers trillions of dollars beginning next year. One issue is how to stop the estate tax from returning to pre-2001 levels, which means estates worth more than $1 million are hit with a tax that could be as high as 55 percent. The levy is currently repealed but, barring congressional action, it will return next year to the aforementioned level. Republicans and more than a few Democrats oppose returning to pre-2001 law, but there doesn’t seem to be a consensus for how the tax should be modified. Sources close to the matter said the fix resuscitated 2009 law, which placed a 45 percent tax on estates exceeding $3.5 million. The levy would be indexed for inflation so fewer people would become ensnared by it. But Democratic leaders opted to delay action on the Bush-era tax cuts until after the election, thereby punting a resolution on the estate tax into the lame-duck session. Several compromises on the estate tax have been floated, which include doing a retroactive fix. Another would exempt farmers from the tax, which Jennings believes could be subjected to abuse. “There’s definitely not universal support for it, because exempting farms in the way [the bill] is written could create some pretty big loopholes,” he said, adding that indecisions surrounding the tax only increase the odds that a fix will not be in place by year's end...more

NM pushes changes to outstanding waters proposal

The New Mexico Environment Department and conservation groups presented a compromise Tuesday to state regulators who are considering a proposal that would protect hundreds of miles of headwater streams, more than two dozen lakes and numerous wetlands in federal wilderness areas around New Mexico. The department first petitioned the Water Quality Control Commission to designate headwaters in a dozen federal wilderness areas around the state as outstanding water sources, which would protect streams, lakes and wetlands by prohibiting any activities that would degrade water quality. Under the compromise, temporary degradation of water quality would be allowed only in limited circumstances, such as during restoration or maintenance projects. Supporters said the compromise better defines protections for outstanding waters and keeps in place the state's strict anti-degradation policy. But it immediately drew criticism from a ranchers' group that has been fighting the department's effort to designate the waterways as "outstanding national resources waters."...more