High court pulls reins on eminent domain
In a sharp rebuke to aggressive urban renewal authorities, the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday overturned Arvada's effort to condemn part of a lake for a Wal-Mart project.
The court said Arvada's urban renewal authority could not rely on a 1981 finding of blight to justify using eminent domain in an area that had been redeveloped since then.
"I think the court is sending a message to urban renewal authorities - you've gone too far," said Allan Hale, a Denver lawyer who specializes in eminent domain law. "The courts have not reined them in, until now."
The decision comes at a time when public protests over eminent domain abuses have prompted state legislators to draft bills that would severely restrict how governments can forcibly purchase property.
The Arvada lake case has been a rallying point, not only in the north Jefferson County town of 102,000, but also for dozens of poster-carrying protesters to hearings at the Capitol in recent weeks....
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Mad-cow beef 4 times amount earlier said
The amount of beef potentially contaminated by the nation's first mad-cow case was nearly four times higher than the federal government initially reported, The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said.
When the USDA launched the recall of affected meat Dec. 23, officials put the total at 10,400 pounds, or 5.2 tons, a figure they repeated for nearly two months. But the actual amount was 38,000 pounds, or 19 tons, the agency now acknowledges.
The total swelled because meat from the infected cow was mingled with meat from many other animals when it was ground into hamburger.
Officials at the two Oregon plants that processed and distributed the meat said they knew within a day exactly how much had been sold and where it had gone.
Consumer advocates say the delay in reporting the true amount shows how difficult it is for the public to get timely information about contaminated meat and points up flaws in a recall process they say favors the meat industry over public health.
Where did meat go?
Meat linked to December's case of mad-cow disease in Yakima County wound up in about 580 grocery stores, restaurants and markets, 270 of them in Washington. The rest were scattered across Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada and Montana.
"I find it frightening," said Elisa Odabashian, senior policy analyst for Consumers Union. "USDA should be telling people how much tainted product is out there and where it is."
USDA spokesman Steven Cohen said the agency didn't update the total because it was more concerned with tracking down the beef. "What's important is how quickly you can remove it, not the final poundage."
And he stressed that the chance anyone who ate the meat will contract the human form of the fatal disease is slight, because the most infectious tissues, including the brain and spinal cord, were removed when the cow was slaughtered.
USDA estimates about half of the meat — 21,000 pounds — was returned. The rest was either eaten or discarded by consumers. The agency never revealed the grocery stores or restaurants that sold the beef, because that information is considered proprietary. Several grocery chains voluntarily alerted customers, though few identified which specific stores received the contaminated meat. Restaurants generally provided no warning other than a notice posted inside....
The amount of beef potentially contaminated by the nation's first mad-cow case was nearly four times higher than the federal government initially reported, The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said.
When the USDA launched the recall of affected meat Dec. 23, officials put the total at 10,400 pounds, or 5.2 tons, a figure they repeated for nearly two months. But the actual amount was 38,000 pounds, or 19 tons, the agency now acknowledges.
The total swelled because meat from the infected cow was mingled with meat from many other animals when it was ground into hamburger.
Officials at the two Oregon plants that processed and distributed the meat said they knew within a day exactly how much had been sold and where it had gone.
Consumer advocates say the delay in reporting the true amount shows how difficult it is for the public to get timely information about contaminated meat and points up flaws in a recall process they say favors the meat industry over public health.
Where did meat go?
Meat linked to December's case of mad-cow disease in Yakima County wound up in about 580 grocery stores, restaurants and markets, 270 of them in Washington. The rest were scattered across Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada and Montana.
"I find it frightening," said Elisa Odabashian, senior policy analyst for Consumers Union. "USDA should be telling people how much tainted product is out there and where it is."
USDA spokesman Steven Cohen said the agency didn't update the total because it was more concerned with tracking down the beef. "What's important is how quickly you can remove it, not the final poundage."
And he stressed that the chance anyone who ate the meat will contract the human form of the fatal disease is slight, because the most infectious tissues, including the brain and spinal cord, were removed when the cow was slaughtered.
USDA estimates about half of the meat — 21,000 pounds — was returned. The rest was either eaten or discarded by consumers. The agency never revealed the grocery stores or restaurants that sold the beef, because that information is considered proprietary. Several grocery chains voluntarily alerted customers, though few identified which specific stores received the contaminated meat. Restaurants generally provided no warning other than a notice posted inside....
DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY
Ranching On The Front Lines
When the USFS began implementing the impoundment of the Laney's cattle, the local law stepped in. Cliff Snyder, Catron county Sheriff, was one player who took his oath of office seriously. Acting in the best interest of the residents of his county, many of whom had suffered livestock losses at the hands of the USFS, contributing to long-term damage to the county's economic structure, the Sheriff issued a letter tothe USFS. He informed them that they would not violate state law in impounding the livestock, and if they did, he would arrest anyone caught rustling the cattle. Due to the Sheriff's ultimatum, the full story on the ranch dispute was finally made available to the contractors hired to gather the cattle. Those contractors promptly quit.
Rusty McCorkell was one of them
Rusty and his sons are contract cattlemen the agency hires to gather feral livestock throughout the region. He says he was put off the job that could have paid him over a hundred thousand dollars when he heard the Laneys argument. Rusty says the agency didn't provide him with all the information he needed to make a clear decision when they put out the contract. Rusty says, "I want the Laneys to win this, If the shoe was on the other foot, I would want the chance to see this through."
When Rusty called the contracting officer and told them he wanted out, he was initially threatened with legal recourse. Though the USFS has since apologized to McCorkell for the muscling he received, they did make a feeble attempt to convince him that he had been threatened by the Laneys, suggesting that was the reason he quit. Rusty is very clear that he wanted no part of ruining the Laneys chances to win this argument once and for all. While Rusty feels the USFS has been a fair employer in the past, and will work for them again, he hasn't changed his mind on accepting the contract. The USFS is still on the hunt for a cowman with enough ability to impound the Laney cattle.
For his courage in supporting the state constitution and rural community, Sheriff Snyder was advised by the New Mexico Attorney General, to allow state law to be broken and to facilitate the impoundment of the Laney cattle. If he chose to continue on the current course, he was subject to arrest by federal marshals.
New Mexico is a sovereign state, and the duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county. The sheriff has law enforcement powers exceeding that of any other state or federal official. Yet, The New Mexico Attorney General has allowed the Catron county sheriff to understand he will receive no support from the state if he protects the people in his county and forces the federal agency to comply with the state laws.
The Attorney General's office, has in effect, approved and embraced the enforcement of a court decision that does not compel any agency of the New Mexican government to treat the Forest Service differently from any other landowner. The Tenth Circuit Court only authorized the Forest Service, under its regulations, to impound and remove the Laney livestock. But, they are still subject to State laws. Just as the truck that hauls the cattle to the sale will have to have a license and obey the speed limit, so too will the Forest Service have to adhere to the State laws for seizing another's property. And that will require a trip to a State Court to prove the title to the land the Forest Service says the Laneys are trespassing on....
Forest Service finds contractor, closes Laney allotment
The U.S. Forest Service found a contractor to remove cattle from the Diamond Bar Allotment in Catron County, N.M..
Kit and Sherry Laney are the ranchers who lost their ability to graze on land in the Gila and Apache national forests when a federal judge ordered their cattle removed from the property on Dec. 23, 2003.
The Forest Service shut down all access to the allotment last Friday to prepare for the removal. That was about two weeks after the scheduled removal was delayed because the initial contractor was rumored to have backed out.
"We want to make sure the gathering, removal and impoundment of the unauthorized livestock is done in the most safe and efficient manner for everyone concerned," Gila National Forest public information officer Andrea Martinez said. The forest's Web site indicates that the cattle will be shipped to Los Lunas, N.M., for eventual sale.
Martinez told the Courier on Thursday that a contractor was found. She said the contractor wants to work under the condition of anonymity due to the recent amount of media attention the case has received.
"The new contractor has asked us to keep his name confidential, and we're going to honor that," she said.
The case received more media attention after Catron County Sheriff John Snyder faxed a letter to the Forest Service saying that allowing the removal would violate New Mexico State law. In the letter he says his duty to uphold New Mexico's Constitution obligated him to stop the removal.
Since the letter was published, Martinez said she met with Snyder and Catron County Commissioner Ed Wehrheim to ensure compliance with the removal.
On Feb. 19, the Laneys sent out a press release stating that they will file legal action after the removal takes place.
"We will file legal action in a state court of proper jurisdiction against all individuals, whether Forest Service personnel, its contractor personnel, livestock auction personnel, or New Mexico State officials, who are involved in the decisions and/or actions to round up, haul, and/or sell our cattle," the last line of the release said. The beginning of the release explains the Laneys' legal reasoning for the action.
"The Federal District Court Order requiring the removal of our cattle is limited to the 'national forest system lands.' We again give notice that our cattle are not ranging on national forest system lands, but rather on our undisputed privately owned vested fee interest (estate) in the lands within our ranches. Therefore, we are in compliance with the court orders. Also, the Forest Service has no jurisdiction to authorize either its personnel, its contractor personnel, or New Mexico public officials to remove our cattle in violation of New Mexico state law. Our cattle cannot be lawfully and legally rounded up, hauled and sold without a transfer of ownership to another party. It will, therefore, be an illegal action for a brand inspector or livestock board member to transfer ownership of our cattle to the Forest Service without our consent."
The concept of who is responsible for the land is an issue of argument between the opposing parties.
Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity (a conservation group) said the Laneys are not grazing on private property, but are grazing on national forest land.
He made his comment in reference to a previous article from the Courier, which stated, "Kit and Sherry Laney are ranchers in Catron County, N.M., and recently lost the ability to graze on their private property."
Robinson said in an e-mail to the Courier about the quote, "This is in error. Their private property is not the subject of any of the many court rulings they have lost. Rather, areas depicted on maps for a century as 'Gila National Forest' and 'Apache National Forest' have been judged by the courts to be Gila National Forest and Apache National Forest; not private property. This mistake is inflammatory and assumes as fact the position of one of the parties to this conflict, despite all the court rulings to the contrary."
Several ranchers disagree with Robinson by referring to the Hage v. United States decision.
Bunny Dryden sent the Courier an article from the February 2004 edition of Arizona Cattlelog, the official publication of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association. In the article, writer Henry Lamb referred to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) and the use of federal adjudicators to resolve quarrels between ranchers over land and water rights.
Lamb said the adjudicators helped define animal units per month (AUMs) per ranch.
He wrote, "These AUMs and the defined territory became the allotments attached to the water rights of the ranchers. Both the right to water and to the forage, and access (rights of way) to the forage, were already owned by the ranchers."
Lamb said the ranchers paid the adjudicators "range improvement funds" and adjudication costs. He said, "Environmentalists, and in recent years, the federal government, have ignored these historical facts, and have held that the land and water in the West belong to the federal government, and may be used by the ranchers only with the permission of the government, expressed through the allotment of AUMs for which the ranchers pay. This new interpretation of the ownership of 'public' land was imposed on Wayne Hage a decade ago, when his cattle were taken by the government and sold, because Wayne did not have the permits the government said were necessary."
Lamb says the government uses this argument to go on a "rampage" against ranchers and suggests that the Hage ruling could halt decisions, such as the rulings that have gone against the Laneys. Lamb quotes Judge Loren A. Smith (from the Hage case) who said, "The court is not of the opinion that the lack of a grazing permit that prevents access to federal lands can eliminate Plaintiff's vested water rights... that predate the creation of the permit system."
Robinson is quick to point out the repeated decisions the Laneys have lost, despite their arguments. He said the Courier changed the meaning of one of his statements from a previous article. The quote that Robinson sent the Courier was, "The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them in 1999. Now, their unauthorized livestock are again destroying precious streams and their vegetation and wildlife owned by all Americans; hundreds of square miles of some of the most beautiful and wild country in the lower 48 states."
An editing decision caused the Courier to remove this phrase: "The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them in 1999." Instead, a reference to Robinson's comments in July preceded the word "Now."
The article from the Courier also referred to the ability to graze on public lands as "grazing rights."
Robinson referenced the 1999 ruling from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and noted that it said neither the Forest Service nor the language in the decision refers to "grazing rights." He said the use of this term is the Laneys' opinion, not fact.
"The correct term is 'grazing privileges,' " Robinson said. "Furthermore (regarding the same passage), there is nothing precedent-setting about the decision. The precedent was set in the 1911 Supreme Court Case of Light v. United States. Since then, the Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed that ruling (most recently in Public Lands Council v. Babbitt in 2000)."
The Laneys have been fined $64,000 by the government for damages by the illegal grazing, as was deemed and upheld by the courts, he said. Robinson sent the Courier a copy of the ruling from the case.
The ruling documents unauthorized grazing use rates and how they apply to the Laneys. It also notes that the Laneys do not contest the actual calculations of the damage but with the concept of the damage itself. The reason $64,000 is not a final number of damages is explained on page four of the ruling: "The United States notes that it cannot calculate the final damages for unauthorized grazing until all trespassing livestock have been removed, counted and categorized. Additionally, the amount of damages to restore areas on which livestock have trespassed cannot be ascertained until the resource damages assessment has been completed. The United States contends this will take several weeks."
To contact John Kamin, call 428-2560 (ext. 240) or e-mail him at johnk@eacourier.com
Ranching On The Front Lines
When the USFS began implementing the impoundment of the Laney's cattle, the local law stepped in. Cliff Snyder, Catron county Sheriff, was one player who took his oath of office seriously. Acting in the best interest of the residents of his county, many of whom had suffered livestock losses at the hands of the USFS, contributing to long-term damage to the county's economic structure, the Sheriff issued a letter tothe USFS. He informed them that they would not violate state law in impounding the livestock, and if they did, he would arrest anyone caught rustling the cattle. Due to the Sheriff's ultimatum, the full story on the ranch dispute was finally made available to the contractors hired to gather the cattle. Those contractors promptly quit.
Rusty McCorkell was one of them
Rusty and his sons are contract cattlemen the agency hires to gather feral livestock throughout the region. He says he was put off the job that could have paid him over a hundred thousand dollars when he heard the Laneys argument. Rusty says the agency didn't provide him with all the information he needed to make a clear decision when they put out the contract. Rusty says, "I want the Laneys to win this, If the shoe was on the other foot, I would want the chance to see this through."
When Rusty called the contracting officer and told them he wanted out, he was initially threatened with legal recourse. Though the USFS has since apologized to McCorkell for the muscling he received, they did make a feeble attempt to convince him that he had been threatened by the Laneys, suggesting that was the reason he quit. Rusty is very clear that he wanted no part of ruining the Laneys chances to win this argument once and for all. While Rusty feels the USFS has been a fair employer in the past, and will work for them again, he hasn't changed his mind on accepting the contract. The USFS is still on the hunt for a cowman with enough ability to impound the Laney cattle.
For his courage in supporting the state constitution and rural community, Sheriff Snyder was advised by the New Mexico Attorney General, to allow state law to be broken and to facilitate the impoundment of the Laney cattle. If he chose to continue on the current course, he was subject to arrest by federal marshals.
New Mexico is a sovereign state, and the duly elected sheriff of a county is the highest law enforcement official within a county. The sheriff has law enforcement powers exceeding that of any other state or federal official. Yet, The New Mexico Attorney General has allowed the Catron county sheriff to understand he will receive no support from the state if he protects the people in his county and forces the federal agency to comply with the state laws.
The Attorney General's office, has in effect, approved and embraced the enforcement of a court decision that does not compel any agency of the New Mexican government to treat the Forest Service differently from any other landowner. The Tenth Circuit Court only authorized the Forest Service, under its regulations, to impound and remove the Laney livestock. But, they are still subject to State laws. Just as the truck that hauls the cattle to the sale will have to have a license and obey the speed limit, so too will the Forest Service have to adhere to the State laws for seizing another's property. And that will require a trip to a State Court to prove the title to the land the Forest Service says the Laneys are trespassing on....
Forest Service finds contractor, closes Laney allotment
The U.S. Forest Service found a contractor to remove cattle from the Diamond Bar Allotment in Catron County, N.M..
Kit and Sherry Laney are the ranchers who lost their ability to graze on land in the Gila and Apache national forests when a federal judge ordered their cattle removed from the property on Dec. 23, 2003.
The Forest Service shut down all access to the allotment last Friday to prepare for the removal. That was about two weeks after the scheduled removal was delayed because the initial contractor was rumored to have backed out.
"We want to make sure the gathering, removal and impoundment of the unauthorized livestock is done in the most safe and efficient manner for everyone concerned," Gila National Forest public information officer Andrea Martinez said. The forest's Web site indicates that the cattle will be shipped to Los Lunas, N.M., for eventual sale.
Martinez told the Courier on Thursday that a contractor was found. She said the contractor wants to work under the condition of anonymity due to the recent amount of media attention the case has received.
"The new contractor has asked us to keep his name confidential, and we're going to honor that," she said.
The case received more media attention after Catron County Sheriff John Snyder faxed a letter to the Forest Service saying that allowing the removal would violate New Mexico State law. In the letter he says his duty to uphold New Mexico's Constitution obligated him to stop the removal.
Since the letter was published, Martinez said she met with Snyder and Catron County Commissioner Ed Wehrheim to ensure compliance with the removal.
On Feb. 19, the Laneys sent out a press release stating that they will file legal action after the removal takes place.
"We will file legal action in a state court of proper jurisdiction against all individuals, whether Forest Service personnel, its contractor personnel, livestock auction personnel, or New Mexico State officials, who are involved in the decisions and/or actions to round up, haul, and/or sell our cattle," the last line of the release said. The beginning of the release explains the Laneys' legal reasoning for the action.
"The Federal District Court Order requiring the removal of our cattle is limited to the 'national forest system lands.' We again give notice that our cattle are not ranging on national forest system lands, but rather on our undisputed privately owned vested fee interest (estate) in the lands within our ranches. Therefore, we are in compliance with the court orders. Also, the Forest Service has no jurisdiction to authorize either its personnel, its contractor personnel, or New Mexico public officials to remove our cattle in violation of New Mexico state law. Our cattle cannot be lawfully and legally rounded up, hauled and sold without a transfer of ownership to another party. It will, therefore, be an illegal action for a brand inspector or livestock board member to transfer ownership of our cattle to the Forest Service without our consent."
The concept of who is responsible for the land is an issue of argument between the opposing parties.
Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity (a conservation group) said the Laneys are not grazing on private property, but are grazing on national forest land.
He made his comment in reference to a previous article from the Courier, which stated, "Kit and Sherry Laney are ranchers in Catron County, N.M., and recently lost the ability to graze on their private property."
Robinson said in an e-mail to the Courier about the quote, "This is in error. Their private property is not the subject of any of the many court rulings they have lost. Rather, areas depicted on maps for a century as 'Gila National Forest' and 'Apache National Forest' have been judged by the courts to be Gila National Forest and Apache National Forest; not private property. This mistake is inflammatory and assumes as fact the position of one of the parties to this conflict, despite all the court rulings to the contrary."
Several ranchers disagree with Robinson by referring to the Hage v. United States decision.
Bunny Dryden sent the Courier an article from the February 2004 edition of Arizona Cattlelog, the official publication of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association. In the article, writer Henry Lamb referred to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) and the use of federal adjudicators to resolve quarrels between ranchers over land and water rights.
Lamb said the adjudicators helped define animal units per month (AUMs) per ranch.
He wrote, "These AUMs and the defined territory became the allotments attached to the water rights of the ranchers. Both the right to water and to the forage, and access (rights of way) to the forage, were already owned by the ranchers."
Lamb said the ranchers paid the adjudicators "range improvement funds" and adjudication costs. He said, "Environmentalists, and in recent years, the federal government, have ignored these historical facts, and have held that the land and water in the West belong to the federal government, and may be used by the ranchers only with the permission of the government, expressed through the allotment of AUMs for which the ranchers pay. This new interpretation of the ownership of 'public' land was imposed on Wayne Hage a decade ago, when his cattle were taken by the government and sold, because Wayne did not have the permits the government said were necessary."
Lamb says the government uses this argument to go on a "rampage" against ranchers and suggests that the Hage ruling could halt decisions, such as the rulings that have gone against the Laneys. Lamb quotes Judge Loren A. Smith (from the Hage case) who said, "The court is not of the opinion that the lack of a grazing permit that prevents access to federal lands can eliminate Plaintiff's vested water rights... that predate the creation of the permit system."
Robinson is quick to point out the repeated decisions the Laneys have lost, despite their arguments. He said the Courier changed the meaning of one of his statements from a previous article. The quote that Robinson sent the Courier was, "The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them in 1999. Now, their unauthorized livestock are again destroying precious streams and their vegetation and wildlife owned by all Americans; hundreds of square miles of some of the most beautiful and wild country in the lower 48 states."
An editing decision caused the Courier to remove this phrase: "The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them in 1999." Instead, a reference to Robinson's comments in July preceded the word "Now."
The article from the Courier also referred to the ability to graze on public lands as "grazing rights."
Robinson referenced the 1999 ruling from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and noted that it said neither the Forest Service nor the language in the decision refers to "grazing rights." He said the use of this term is the Laneys' opinion, not fact.
"The correct term is 'grazing privileges,' " Robinson said. "Furthermore (regarding the same passage), there is nothing precedent-setting about the decision. The precedent was set in the 1911 Supreme Court Case of Light v. United States. Since then, the Supreme Court has repeatedly reaffirmed that ruling (most recently in Public Lands Council v. Babbitt in 2000)."
The Laneys have been fined $64,000 by the government for damages by the illegal grazing, as was deemed and upheld by the courts, he said. Robinson sent the Courier a copy of the ruling from the case.
The ruling documents unauthorized grazing use rates and how they apply to the Laneys. It also notes that the Laneys do not contest the actual calculations of the damage but with the concept of the damage itself. The reason $64,000 is not a final number of damages is explained on page four of the ruling: "The United States notes that it cannot calculate the final damages for unauthorized grazing until all trespassing livestock have been removed, counted and categorized. Additionally, the amount of damages to restore areas on which livestock have trespassed cannot be ascertained until the resource damages assessment has been completed. The United States contends this will take several weeks."
To contact John Kamin, call 428-2560 (ext. 240) or e-mail him at johnk@eacourier.com
NEWS ROUNDUP
Cougars bringing cautions to Sabino Fearing that unusually bold mountain lions may attack visitors at Sabino Canyon, officials say they may be forced to close recreation areas there, relocate the cats or destroy them. Lions are a natural part of the canyon's ecosystem. But in recent months at least three of the normally shy, nocturnal cougars have been repeatedly seen in broad daylight, close to visitors and the main road. There have been reports of lions growling and not backing away when confronted by people in the canyon and surrounding neighborhoods, but no reports of injuries.... Column: Hunting for Votes Hunting and fishing may not be politically correct, but there are 47 million hunting and fishing enthusiasts in America. Add in some sympathetic family members, and suddenly the sportsmen's vote looks pretty significant. Nearly all recent presidents have enjoyed either hunting or fishing, or both. President Bush went quail hunting with his father on New Year's Day, but his most often-publicized hunting trip came a few years ago, when he went dove hunting and mistakenly shot a killdeer — a protected species of shorebird that looks a lot like a dove. Bush reported himself to the local game warden and paid the fine with no qualms.... Wilderness leadership school set for summer Think of it as sort of a summer school … for teachers. Registrations are open for the American Wilderness Leadership School — a series of weeklong workshops for teachers, students or anyone interested in outdoor education. There are two sites for the schools, which are sponsored by Safari Club International — a hunting advocacy and conservation organization with its headquarters in Tucson, Ariz. The locations are near Jackson, Wyoming, for those coming from the West and Bryant Pond, Maine, in the northeast. “Thousands of educators, many on scholarships from Safari Club International Chapters, have attended weeklong sessions at the American Wilderness Leadership School,” Taz Ridley, the chairman of the SCI Foundation Education Committee, says in a press release announcing the signups. “They have arrived generally knowing little about the great outdoors.... Grassland appeal not quite dead yet Industry, ranchers and county officials have teamed up to tell the feds: Your vision of the future of the Thunder Basin National Grassland is something we just can't live with. Although the Forest Service recently rebuffed all of the appellants' claims, neither side has given up hope. This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth for the decision records his agency used in upholding the Northern Great Plains Management Plans Revision. With that move, the USDA signalled an uncommon willingness to reexamine the decision.... Colo. officials seek input to help plan for gray wolf One of the West's most symbolic and divisive environmental battles is expected to heat up this month as the state Division of Wildlife asks Coloradans to tell them how to manage gray wolves. With wolf packs slowly moving south from Yellowstone National Park toward the state line, Colorado officials are hoping to formulate a plan before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removes the predator from the endangered species list, perhaps as soon as late this year. When the first wolves will arrive in Colorado is anyone's guess.... State may get some wolf management control Montana and Idaho officials would have some control over management of gray wolves in their states under a rule that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to propose before the end of the week.
Government officials declined to provide details of the plan, which livestock and environmental groups are wary about. The agency is ready to lay the plan on the table, because it is unable to proceed with a proposal to take wolves off the endangered species list and fully hand management to the states.... Editorial: Corps ignores upper Missouri water needs This year, the Corps' argument for giving priority to lower Missouri barge traffic is even weaker. The two largest barge companies have said they don't plan to navigate the river. That leaves just one tugboat captain in business, according to American Rivers, one of the organizations battling for better balance in river management. This decrease in barge traffic has occurred despite the fact that water and river flows have been managed for the benefit of navigation and at the expense of upriver recreation and endangered species. Meanwhile, many businesses in Montana are being devastated after years of drought and water discharges to maintain flow for the benefit of a few navigators on the lower river. Montana's pallid sturgeon are on the brink of extinction. The least tern and piping plover are without habitat. The shore of Fort Peck Lake has receded as much as 30 miles in some places. The Corps has left Montana sport fishermen and boaters up a river without enough water for recreation.... Column: Buy A Little, Steal A Lot Alabama voters have resolutely rejected higher taxation and are stridently demanding smaller, more efficient state government. Yet, Governor Riley's 2004 budget proposes that almost 17.5 million dollars of our oil and gas revenues be allocated for the removal of thousands of acres of privately owned lands from our state's tax rolls and that they be placed under government ownership in a program called "Alabama Forever Wild." This is not only a misuse of our tax dollars and a loss of future revenue for the state, but it also poses a serious threat to property owners in Alabama. This spring Alabama Forever Wild, in collusion with The Nature Conservancy, is planning to purchase 12,400 acres of land along the Alabama and Tennessee line in an area known as "The Walls of Jericho." The Nature Conservancy (TNC) eventually intends to buy 50,000 acres using revenue from Alabama's oil and gas leases and other revenues from Tennessee state grants. This is just the beginning. These 50,000 acres will only form the "core area" for a massive 3,000,000 acre tract (that's right, three million acres,) under the control of Forever Wild, TNC, and other radical environmental groups.... Supreme Court refuses to hear San Diego County toad case The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a San Diego developer's challenge to the Endangered Species Act, letting stand lower court rulings that protected the 3-inch arroyo southwestern toad. The endangered toad lives in creeks and streams in Baja California and Southern California, including northern San Diego County, where Rancho Viejo LLC planned to build a 280-home development in 2000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the company's plans to use dirt from a nearby stream bed would disturb the toad's habitat, and suggested bringing in dirt from elsewhere. But Rancho Viejo sued, arguing that the interstate commerce clause of the Endangered Species Act did not apply to the project, in part because neither the development nor the toad's habitat crossed state borders. The argument was rejected by a federal judge, and the ruling was upheld last year by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The full court declined to reconsider the case, and environmental groups welcomed the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the developer's appeal.... Experts from Government, Private Sector to be Featured At 7th National Mitigation Banking Conference in New Orleans Officials from White House Council on Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Army Corps of Engineers will join experts from the private sector's mitigation banking industry at the 7th annual National Mitigation Banking Conference being held this week in New Orleans. One of the world's newest businesses -- banks that deal not in hard currency but in wetlands and endangered species -- convenes its primary players in the nation's wetlands state March 4-5 for two days of "how-to" interactive sessions that promise both new ideas and controversy.... Bison meat donated to tribes, food banks At least 100 bison have been captured in Yellowstone National Park since Saturday, and dozens of them will be shipped to slaughter, with the meat being distributed to Native American organizations and individuals as well as food banks. However, one prominent Indian group is urging its 53 member tribes not to cooperate with the program.... Column: Parks and Past Contradictions The Black Canyon in Western Colorado is one of the world’s most splendid examples of the depths to which erosion and uplift can go. A steep gash in ancient granite, nearly 3,000 feet deep and not much wider at its rim, the Black Canyon is the kind of geological anomaly we like to single out for national park designation. The Black Canyon started on this path in 1933, with a national monument designation by Congress, and was finally consummated in 1999, with full national park status. But the Black Canyon has been in the news lately, not because of its dramatic beauty, but because of the cracks in our contradictory park creation policy. This time the issue is water. The canyon was carved by a river, and it wouldn’t be a very meaningful park without a river. But with dams and diversions upstream of the canyon, there’s no guarantee that there will always be a river through the park, let alone what kind of river. This has long been known. So, after more than 60 years of fiddling around on the quantification of a 1933 federal reserved water right on the Gunnison River, the National Park Service filed a claim in 2001 for enough water to create a spring flood in the canyon, one that would replicate the way things were in 1933.... County rejects Clover Valley easementThe Clover Valley area will not have a conservation easement anytime in the near future. During a special session, Elko County Commissioners Friday denied a proposal through the Trust for Public Lands, Ranch Open Space of Nevada and Nevada Ranch LC for the acquisition of 8,700 acres of conservation easements in the area through a Question I grant. Ranch Open Space of Nevada was incorporated by members of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association to serve as an independent but affiliated land trust.... Move of Mustang Ranch brothel goes slowly Slowly but surely, the Mustang Ranch brothel is making its way down Interstate 80 to its new location. Ralph Lynn is moving Nevada's most famous bordello one exit east after it was bought by Reno developer Lance Gilman for $145,000. Gilman bought the brothel buildings in October from the US Bureau of Land Management, which auctioned it on eBay. He's moving it to his new brothel, the Wild Horse Canyon and Spa, located off the Patrick exit near a business park. Moving the buildings was stalled in January by legal challenges filed by owners of the business park, who argue Gilman's brothel is inappropriate for the location.... Bush reshapes environmental debate Making life easier for people now gets more priority than protecting an endangered salamander. Preventing a wildfire from engulfing a home trumps not cutting down a tree. Cheap electricity prevails over cleaner air, at least for the time being. Bush sells his policies in the simplest of terms, like "healthy forests" and "clear skies." Environmentalists call those labels deliberate misnomers, intended to mask an agenda far different and more complex.... Eco-Traitor Patrick Moore has been called a sellout, traitor, parasite, and prostitute - and that's by critics exercising self-restraint. It's not hard to see why they're angry. Moore helped found Greenpeace and devoted 15 years to waging the organization's flamboyant brand of environmental warfare. He campaigned against nuclear testing, whaling, seal hunting, pesticides, supertankers, uranium mining, and toxic waste dumping. As the nonprofit's scientific spokesperson, he was widely quoted and frequently photographed, often while being taken into custody. Then, in 1986, the PhD ecologist abruptly turned his back on the environmental movement. He didn't just retire; he joined the other side. Today, he's a mouthpiece for some of the very interests Greenpeace was founded to counter, notably the timber and plastics industries. He argues that the Amazon rain forest is doing fine, that the Three Gorges Dam is the smartest thing China could do for its energy supply, and that opposition to genetically modified foods is tantamount to mass murder.... Beef prices low this spring, could rise later Beef prices will likely be depressed throughout the spring but could increase by this summer or fall as foreign markets reopen their borders to American beef, cattle experts predict. C. Wilson Gray, an extension economist with the University of Idaho's Twin Falls Research and Extension Center, blamed the low prices on increased supply and last year's announcement that a cow in Washington was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly called mad cow disease. "I think at least through the spring, we're kind of set up for as much production as the market wants to handle, so that's going to depress prices for a while," Gray said. "In the longer term, we're looking pretty good."....It's All Trew: Early-day hair curling, 'fixing' not for faint of heart Friend Onie Sims and granddaughter collect hair curling tools. Some earlier models date back to heating in a lamp chimney, charcoal burners and on top of wood stoves. It was quite an ordeal to "crimp" or as Onie calls it, "burn hair." Most early-day women did not have the time or money for such luxuries as "fixing hair." It was handier to keep their hair in a bun, held in place on the rear of their head with hairpins. Hats were worn to town and church pinned on with hatpins. At home and around the farm, heavy black hairnets kept the hair out of food and in place when working out in the wind....
Cougars bringing cautions to Sabino Fearing that unusually bold mountain lions may attack visitors at Sabino Canyon, officials say they may be forced to close recreation areas there, relocate the cats or destroy them. Lions are a natural part of the canyon's ecosystem. But in recent months at least three of the normally shy, nocturnal cougars have been repeatedly seen in broad daylight, close to visitors and the main road. There have been reports of lions growling and not backing away when confronted by people in the canyon and surrounding neighborhoods, but no reports of injuries.... Column: Hunting for Votes Hunting and fishing may not be politically correct, but there are 47 million hunting and fishing enthusiasts in America. Add in some sympathetic family members, and suddenly the sportsmen's vote looks pretty significant. Nearly all recent presidents have enjoyed either hunting or fishing, or both. President Bush went quail hunting with his father on New Year's Day, but his most often-publicized hunting trip came a few years ago, when he went dove hunting and mistakenly shot a killdeer — a protected species of shorebird that looks a lot like a dove. Bush reported himself to the local game warden and paid the fine with no qualms.... Wilderness leadership school set for summer Think of it as sort of a summer school … for teachers. Registrations are open for the American Wilderness Leadership School — a series of weeklong workshops for teachers, students or anyone interested in outdoor education. There are two sites for the schools, which are sponsored by Safari Club International — a hunting advocacy and conservation organization with its headquarters in Tucson, Ariz. The locations are near Jackson, Wyoming, for those coming from the West and Bryant Pond, Maine, in the northeast. “Thousands of educators, many on scholarships from Safari Club International Chapters, have attended weeklong sessions at the American Wilderness Leadership School,” Taz Ridley, the chairman of the SCI Foundation Education Committee, says in a press release announcing the signups. “They have arrived generally knowing little about the great outdoors.... Grassland appeal not quite dead yet Industry, ranchers and county officials have teamed up to tell the feds: Your vision of the future of the Thunder Basin National Grassland is something we just can't live with. Although the Forest Service recently rebuffed all of the appellants' claims, neither side has given up hope. This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth for the decision records his agency used in upholding the Northern Great Plains Management Plans Revision. With that move, the USDA signalled an uncommon willingness to reexamine the decision.... Colo. officials seek input to help plan for gray wolf One of the West's most symbolic and divisive environmental battles is expected to heat up this month as the state Division of Wildlife asks Coloradans to tell them how to manage gray wolves. With wolf packs slowly moving south from Yellowstone National Park toward the state line, Colorado officials are hoping to formulate a plan before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removes the predator from the endangered species list, perhaps as soon as late this year. When the first wolves will arrive in Colorado is anyone's guess.... State may get some wolf management control Montana and Idaho officials would have some control over management of gray wolves in their states under a rule that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to propose before the end of the week.
Government officials declined to provide details of the plan, which livestock and environmental groups are wary about. The agency is ready to lay the plan on the table, because it is unable to proceed with a proposal to take wolves off the endangered species list and fully hand management to the states.... Editorial: Corps ignores upper Missouri water needs This year, the Corps' argument for giving priority to lower Missouri barge traffic is even weaker. The two largest barge companies have said they don't plan to navigate the river. That leaves just one tugboat captain in business, according to American Rivers, one of the organizations battling for better balance in river management. This decrease in barge traffic has occurred despite the fact that water and river flows have been managed for the benefit of navigation and at the expense of upriver recreation and endangered species. Meanwhile, many businesses in Montana are being devastated after years of drought and water discharges to maintain flow for the benefit of a few navigators on the lower river. Montana's pallid sturgeon are on the brink of extinction. The least tern and piping plover are without habitat. The shore of Fort Peck Lake has receded as much as 30 miles in some places. The Corps has left Montana sport fishermen and boaters up a river without enough water for recreation.... Column: Buy A Little, Steal A Lot Alabama voters have resolutely rejected higher taxation and are stridently demanding smaller, more efficient state government. Yet, Governor Riley's 2004 budget proposes that almost 17.5 million dollars of our oil and gas revenues be allocated for the removal of thousands of acres of privately owned lands from our state's tax rolls and that they be placed under government ownership in a program called "Alabama Forever Wild." This is not only a misuse of our tax dollars and a loss of future revenue for the state, but it also poses a serious threat to property owners in Alabama. This spring Alabama Forever Wild, in collusion with The Nature Conservancy, is planning to purchase 12,400 acres of land along the Alabama and Tennessee line in an area known as "The Walls of Jericho." The Nature Conservancy (TNC) eventually intends to buy 50,000 acres using revenue from Alabama's oil and gas leases and other revenues from Tennessee state grants. This is just the beginning. These 50,000 acres will only form the "core area" for a massive 3,000,000 acre tract (that's right, three million acres,) under the control of Forever Wild, TNC, and other radical environmental groups.... Supreme Court refuses to hear San Diego County toad case The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a San Diego developer's challenge to the Endangered Species Act, letting stand lower court rulings that protected the 3-inch arroyo southwestern toad. The endangered toad lives in creeks and streams in Baja California and Southern California, including northern San Diego County, where Rancho Viejo LLC planned to build a 280-home development in 2000. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the company's plans to use dirt from a nearby stream bed would disturb the toad's habitat, and suggested bringing in dirt from elsewhere. But Rancho Viejo sued, arguing that the interstate commerce clause of the Endangered Species Act did not apply to the project, in part because neither the development nor the toad's habitat crossed state borders. The argument was rejected by a federal judge, and the ruling was upheld last year by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The full court declined to reconsider the case, and environmental groups welcomed the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the developer's appeal.... Experts from Government, Private Sector to be Featured At 7th National Mitigation Banking Conference in New Orleans Officials from White House Council on Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Army Corps of Engineers will join experts from the private sector's mitigation banking industry at the 7th annual National Mitigation Banking Conference being held this week in New Orleans. One of the world's newest businesses -- banks that deal not in hard currency but in wetlands and endangered species -- convenes its primary players in the nation's wetlands state March 4-5 for two days of "how-to" interactive sessions that promise both new ideas and controversy.... Bison meat donated to tribes, food banks At least 100 bison have been captured in Yellowstone National Park since Saturday, and dozens of them will be shipped to slaughter, with the meat being distributed to Native American organizations and individuals as well as food banks. However, one prominent Indian group is urging its 53 member tribes not to cooperate with the program.... Column: Parks and Past Contradictions The Black Canyon in Western Colorado is one of the world’s most splendid examples of the depths to which erosion and uplift can go. A steep gash in ancient granite, nearly 3,000 feet deep and not much wider at its rim, the Black Canyon is the kind of geological anomaly we like to single out for national park designation. The Black Canyon started on this path in 1933, with a national monument designation by Congress, and was finally consummated in 1999, with full national park status. But the Black Canyon has been in the news lately, not because of its dramatic beauty, but because of the cracks in our contradictory park creation policy. This time the issue is water. The canyon was carved by a river, and it wouldn’t be a very meaningful park without a river. But with dams and diversions upstream of the canyon, there’s no guarantee that there will always be a river through the park, let alone what kind of river. This has long been known. So, after more than 60 years of fiddling around on the quantification of a 1933 federal reserved water right on the Gunnison River, the National Park Service filed a claim in 2001 for enough water to create a spring flood in the canyon, one that would replicate the way things were in 1933.... County rejects Clover Valley easementThe Clover Valley area will not have a conservation easement anytime in the near future. During a special session, Elko County Commissioners Friday denied a proposal through the Trust for Public Lands, Ranch Open Space of Nevada and Nevada Ranch LC for the acquisition of 8,700 acres of conservation easements in the area through a Question I grant. Ranch Open Space of Nevada was incorporated by members of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association to serve as an independent but affiliated land trust.... Move of Mustang Ranch brothel goes slowly Slowly but surely, the Mustang Ranch brothel is making its way down Interstate 80 to its new location. Ralph Lynn is moving Nevada's most famous bordello one exit east after it was bought by Reno developer Lance Gilman for $145,000. Gilman bought the brothel buildings in October from the US Bureau of Land Management, which auctioned it on eBay. He's moving it to his new brothel, the Wild Horse Canyon and Spa, located off the Patrick exit near a business park. Moving the buildings was stalled in January by legal challenges filed by owners of the business park, who argue Gilman's brothel is inappropriate for the location.... Bush reshapes environmental debate Making life easier for people now gets more priority than protecting an endangered salamander. Preventing a wildfire from engulfing a home trumps not cutting down a tree. Cheap electricity prevails over cleaner air, at least for the time being. Bush sells his policies in the simplest of terms, like "healthy forests" and "clear skies." Environmentalists call those labels deliberate misnomers, intended to mask an agenda far different and more complex.... Eco-Traitor Patrick Moore has been called a sellout, traitor, parasite, and prostitute - and that's by critics exercising self-restraint. It's not hard to see why they're angry. Moore helped found Greenpeace and devoted 15 years to waging the organization's flamboyant brand of environmental warfare. He campaigned against nuclear testing, whaling, seal hunting, pesticides, supertankers, uranium mining, and toxic waste dumping. As the nonprofit's scientific spokesperson, he was widely quoted and frequently photographed, often while being taken into custody. Then, in 1986, the PhD ecologist abruptly turned his back on the environmental movement. He didn't just retire; he joined the other side. Today, he's a mouthpiece for some of the very interests Greenpeace was founded to counter, notably the timber and plastics industries. He argues that the Amazon rain forest is doing fine, that the Three Gorges Dam is the smartest thing China could do for its energy supply, and that opposition to genetically modified foods is tantamount to mass murder.... Beef prices low this spring, could rise later Beef prices will likely be depressed throughout the spring but could increase by this summer or fall as foreign markets reopen their borders to American beef, cattle experts predict. C. Wilson Gray, an extension economist with the University of Idaho's Twin Falls Research and Extension Center, blamed the low prices on increased supply and last year's announcement that a cow in Washington was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly called mad cow disease. "I think at least through the spring, we're kind of set up for as much production as the market wants to handle, so that's going to depress prices for a while," Gray said. "In the longer term, we're looking pretty good."....It's All Trew: Early-day hair curling, 'fixing' not for faint of heart Friend Onie Sims and granddaughter collect hair curling tools. Some earlier models date back to heating in a lamp chimney, charcoal burners and on top of wood stoves. It was quite an ordeal to "crimp" or as Onie calls it, "burn hair." Most early-day women did not have the time or money for such luxuries as "fixing hair." It was handier to keep their hair in a bun, held in place on the rear of their head with hairpins. Hats were worn to town and church pinned on with hatpins. At home and around the farm, heavy black hairnets kept the hair out of food and in place when working out in the wind....
Sunday, February 29, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
Column: Beware 'Sound Science.' It's Doublespeak for Trouble When George W. Bush and members of his administration talk about environmental policy, the phrase "sound science" rarely goes unuttered. On issues ranging from climate change to the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain, our president has assured us that he's backing up his decisions with careful attention to the best available research. It's not just Bush: Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Chris Cannon of Utah and Jim Gibbons of Nevada, have announced the formation of a "Sound Science Caucus" to ramp up the role of "empirical" and "peer reviewed" data in laws such as the Endangered Species Act. And last August the Office of Management and Budget unveiled a proposal to amplify the role of "peer review" in the evaluation of scientific research conducted by federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It all sounds noble enough, but the phrases "sound science" and "peer review" don't necessarily mean what you might think. Instead, they're part of a lexicon used to put a pro-science veneer on policies that most of the scientific community itself tends to be up in arms about.... Final wolf-management bill dies Wyoming's case against the federal government over the rejection of its wolf-management plan may now be a little murky after the final bill dealing with the issue died in the Senate. House Bill 111 failed to get out of the Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee on Friday, committee chair Sen. Delaine Roberts, R-Etna, said.... Beach closures to resume Monday as plover nesting season begins For the next seven months, one beach will have limited hours and restricted access, another will have ropes outlining off-limit areas, and a third will make large sections off-limits to off-road vehicles. Each stretch of coast is operated by a different agency -- the Air Force, the county and the state -- but the one common factor linking the Surf, Guadalupe and Oceano beaches is a federally protected shorebird: the western snowy plover.... Enviro Group Sues Wind Farm to Stop Bird Deaths Giant wind turbines at Altamont Pass, California, are illegally killing more than 1,000 birds of prey each year, according to a lawsuit filed January 12 by the Center for Biological Diversity. The suit demands an injunction halting operation of the turbines until and unless protective measures are taken and highlights increasing concerns regarding a power source long hailed as environmentally friendly by environmental activist groups.... Pombo Calls for Changes to Endangered Species Act House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-California) marked the 30th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by pledging to introduce incremental changes designed to facilitate cooperation between citizen-landowners and the federal government. Citing the fact that in the past 30 years very few species have recovered to the point of removal from endangered status, Pombo noted private citizens need more federal cooperation and incentives to create and maintain habitat hospitable to endangered species.... Deputies shoot, kill mountain lion near elementary school Sheriff's deputies shot and killed a mountain lion near an elementary school Friday after a golfer reported being stalked by the animal. The incident began about 9 a.m. when the golfer heard a rustling in bushes behind him and came face-to-face with a mountain lion four feet away, said sheriff's Sgt. Peggy Frailey. Three deputies kept the animal contained in the brush until officers from the state Department of Fish and Game arrived about an hour later and advised deputies to shoot and kill the animal, said Lt. Mike Ference of the state agency.... Splintered sage grouse group seeks outside help The Gunnison Sage Grouse Working Group (GSGWG), formed in 1995, is a model for a collaborative, community-driven process. It is comprised of a diverse group of individuals, committed to restoring the Gunnison Sage Grouse population. They have worked through tough issues and used consensus to develop, implement, and evaluate a conservation plan while increasing public awareness of the vulnerable and unique bird species that calls the Gunnison Basin home. But there is a catch: the sage grouse populations are continuing to shrink in numbers in spite of the group’s conservation plan; populations have declined by 30 percent in the last two years. And the GSGWG is fragmented, with members disagreeing over what needs to be done, which has threatened the continued existence of the group. Divisive issues for the group include the role cattle grazing on public lands plays in effecting sage grouse, and what strategies could be used to mitigate the impact of grazing. In addition, the group disagrees on the need for federal listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species and is concerned with the effects that may bring, particularly to private landowners.... E-Mail Blast Seeks Data on Bush Plans For Public Lands An advocacy group that opposes President Bush's environmental policies e-mailed nearly 60,000 Interior Department employees Thursday to seek help in identifying White House initiatives that could threaten national parks and wilderness areas. Peter Altman, director of the Campaign to Protect America's Lands, said the goal of the e-mail blast was to help detect federal rule changes sought by industry that the administration might more vigorously pursue if Bush faces a tough reelection contest.... Utah Oil and Gas Leases Stir Criticism The Bush administration has moved ahead with its plan to auction oil and gas leases on environmentally sensitive lands in Utah, reaping millions of dollars from broad swaths of lands near a national monument. A detailed analysis of the leases auctioned to date, conducted by the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that opposed the leases, found that they encompass dozens of critical wildlife habitats that are now open for development. In many cases, the leases were purchased by contributors to President Bush's reelection campaign.... Wildlife, Gas Fields Squeeze Into a Key Migratory Corridor The cluster of mule deer munching on sagebrush peeking out of the snow seems unfazed by the screeching, whooshing and clanging from the drilling rig less than 100 feet away. But as they quietly graze on this wind-swept plateau in southwestern Wyoming, these animals are at the center of an intensifying tug of war over the fate of vast stretches of federal land in the Rocky Mountains. Their chosen feeding spot on this frigid winter day, the Pinedale Anticline, has been a crucial winter range and migratory corridor for big game for thousands of years. During the winter, it hosts Serengeti-like congregations of animals — some 100,000 mule deer, pronghorn, moose, elk and bighorn sheep. In the last few years, it has also become a booming natural gas field, supplying clean energy to heat and cool houses and fuel electric power plants in California and elsewhere in the West.... Lake Powell in peril? If the continuing drought in the West doesn't end soon, water experts say you can imagine the unimageinable. Lake Powell, the 25 million acre-foot reservoir formed by Glen Canyon Dam in 1968, is now less than half full. It's not a philosophical question about the reservoir being half empty or half full. It didn't fill up last year. Since the drought of 2002, it's draining faster than it's filling. While water experts admit there are lot of "ifs" in their calculations, they are beginning to get concerned. Eagle County's Eagle River is a tributary of the Colorado River. If the drought, now in its third year, continues at current rates -and forecasts vary - the huge lake could be drained by 2010, leaving Colorado to supply 7.5 million acre-feet it agreed to supply downstream states under the 1922 Colorado River Interstate Compact.... Slaughterville Declines Proposal to Become Veggieville In recent years, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights group, has asked the cities of Rodeo, Calif., Hamburg, N.Y., and Fishkill, N.Y., to switch to more "animal friendly" names. All refused. Two weeks ago, in yet another defeat to the organization's renaming efforts, officials declined to change their town's name from Slaughterville to Veggieville, Okla.... Estelle Reel, forgotten Frontier politician She campaigned across the prairie with the best of the men, dancing through scandal. Her political acumen made her the highest-ranking woman of her day to serve in the federal government, and when she got to Washington, D.C., she wore a $2,000 Parisian gown. In 1895, Estelle Reel became the first woman in the nation to be elected to statewide office. She promoted herself with finesse, eventually earning a federal appointment from President McKinley. In 1894, Reel sent campaign brochures containing her photograph to voters throughout Wyoming, reportedly causing numerous cowboys to ride as many as sixty miles to cast their ballots for the pretty woman candidate. She traveled with her Republican counterparts -- all men -- throughout the state on stagecoaches, on horseback, and in wagons to speak to voters, often dancing with them at the dances held following political rallies.... A Hummer Alongside a Horse? The Rodeo Must Be in Houston The caravans of trail riders have streamed into the city with their covered wagons and horses, the carnival lights are aglow and the air is smoky with barbecue fires. It's rodeo time in Houston, when Texas comes to town. And so, Friday night nearly 4,800 trail riders with more than 200 wagons converged on Houston from 14 distant points, traveling historic trails of the pioneers. It is a tradition that began in 1952 when a rodeo official, stymied by bad weather that grounded his flight, vowed never to attend another Houston livestock show "where I couldn't ride my horse home.".... On The Edge Of Common Sense: Unless I'm in New Zealand, I'll order American lamb I was in a nice restaurant in California recently. The menu included sumptuous entrees that featured ribeye steak and filet mignon. I noticed they also offered gourmet lamb chops. I asked, as I always do, if it was American lamb or imported from New Zealand. The waitress didn't know, so the owner came out. She said it was imported from New Zealand. We had a discussion. She gave no ground, even saying that she preferred the imported lamb because it didn't have that 'gamey' taste. She had no feeling, sympathetic, patriotic, isolationist, political, or otherwise for supporting American sheep producers. She was a businesswoman....
Column: Beware 'Sound Science.' It's Doublespeak for Trouble When George W. Bush and members of his administration talk about environmental policy, the phrase "sound science" rarely goes unuttered. On issues ranging from climate change to the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain, our president has assured us that he's backing up his decisions with careful attention to the best available research. It's not just Bush: Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Chris Cannon of Utah and Jim Gibbons of Nevada, have announced the formation of a "Sound Science Caucus" to ramp up the role of "empirical" and "peer reviewed" data in laws such as the Endangered Species Act. And last August the Office of Management and Budget unveiled a proposal to amplify the role of "peer review" in the evaluation of scientific research conducted by federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It all sounds noble enough, but the phrases "sound science" and "peer review" don't necessarily mean what you might think. Instead, they're part of a lexicon used to put a pro-science veneer on policies that most of the scientific community itself tends to be up in arms about.... Final wolf-management bill dies Wyoming's case against the federal government over the rejection of its wolf-management plan may now be a little murky after the final bill dealing with the issue died in the Senate. House Bill 111 failed to get out of the Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee on Friday, committee chair Sen. Delaine Roberts, R-Etna, said.... Beach closures to resume Monday as plover nesting season begins For the next seven months, one beach will have limited hours and restricted access, another will have ropes outlining off-limit areas, and a third will make large sections off-limits to off-road vehicles. Each stretch of coast is operated by a different agency -- the Air Force, the county and the state -- but the one common factor linking the Surf, Guadalupe and Oceano beaches is a federally protected shorebird: the western snowy plover.... Enviro Group Sues Wind Farm to Stop Bird Deaths Giant wind turbines at Altamont Pass, California, are illegally killing more than 1,000 birds of prey each year, according to a lawsuit filed January 12 by the Center for Biological Diversity. The suit demands an injunction halting operation of the turbines until and unless protective measures are taken and highlights increasing concerns regarding a power source long hailed as environmentally friendly by environmental activist groups.... Pombo Calls for Changes to Endangered Species Act House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-California) marked the 30th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by pledging to introduce incremental changes designed to facilitate cooperation between citizen-landowners and the federal government. Citing the fact that in the past 30 years very few species have recovered to the point of removal from endangered status, Pombo noted private citizens need more federal cooperation and incentives to create and maintain habitat hospitable to endangered species.... Deputies shoot, kill mountain lion near elementary school Sheriff's deputies shot and killed a mountain lion near an elementary school Friday after a golfer reported being stalked by the animal. The incident began about 9 a.m. when the golfer heard a rustling in bushes behind him and came face-to-face with a mountain lion four feet away, said sheriff's Sgt. Peggy Frailey. Three deputies kept the animal contained in the brush until officers from the state Department of Fish and Game arrived about an hour later and advised deputies to shoot and kill the animal, said Lt. Mike Ference of the state agency.... Splintered sage grouse group seeks outside help The Gunnison Sage Grouse Working Group (GSGWG), formed in 1995, is a model for a collaborative, community-driven process. It is comprised of a diverse group of individuals, committed to restoring the Gunnison Sage Grouse population. They have worked through tough issues and used consensus to develop, implement, and evaluate a conservation plan while increasing public awareness of the vulnerable and unique bird species that calls the Gunnison Basin home. But there is a catch: the sage grouse populations are continuing to shrink in numbers in spite of the group’s conservation plan; populations have declined by 30 percent in the last two years. And the GSGWG is fragmented, with members disagreeing over what needs to be done, which has threatened the continued existence of the group. Divisive issues for the group include the role cattle grazing on public lands plays in effecting sage grouse, and what strategies could be used to mitigate the impact of grazing. In addition, the group disagrees on the need for federal listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species and is concerned with the effects that may bring, particularly to private landowners.... E-Mail Blast Seeks Data on Bush Plans For Public Lands An advocacy group that opposes President Bush's environmental policies e-mailed nearly 60,000 Interior Department employees Thursday to seek help in identifying White House initiatives that could threaten national parks and wilderness areas. Peter Altman, director of the Campaign to Protect America's Lands, said the goal of the e-mail blast was to help detect federal rule changes sought by industry that the administration might more vigorously pursue if Bush faces a tough reelection contest.... Utah Oil and Gas Leases Stir Criticism The Bush administration has moved ahead with its plan to auction oil and gas leases on environmentally sensitive lands in Utah, reaping millions of dollars from broad swaths of lands near a national monument. A detailed analysis of the leases auctioned to date, conducted by the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that opposed the leases, found that they encompass dozens of critical wildlife habitats that are now open for development. In many cases, the leases were purchased by contributors to President Bush's reelection campaign.... Wildlife, Gas Fields Squeeze Into a Key Migratory Corridor The cluster of mule deer munching on sagebrush peeking out of the snow seems unfazed by the screeching, whooshing and clanging from the drilling rig less than 100 feet away. But as they quietly graze on this wind-swept plateau in southwestern Wyoming, these animals are at the center of an intensifying tug of war over the fate of vast stretches of federal land in the Rocky Mountains. Their chosen feeding spot on this frigid winter day, the Pinedale Anticline, has been a crucial winter range and migratory corridor for big game for thousands of years. During the winter, it hosts Serengeti-like congregations of animals — some 100,000 mule deer, pronghorn, moose, elk and bighorn sheep. In the last few years, it has also become a booming natural gas field, supplying clean energy to heat and cool houses and fuel electric power plants in California and elsewhere in the West.... Lake Powell in peril? If the continuing drought in the West doesn't end soon, water experts say you can imagine the unimageinable. Lake Powell, the 25 million acre-foot reservoir formed by Glen Canyon Dam in 1968, is now less than half full. It's not a philosophical question about the reservoir being half empty or half full. It didn't fill up last year. Since the drought of 2002, it's draining faster than it's filling. While water experts admit there are lot of "ifs" in their calculations, they are beginning to get concerned. Eagle County's Eagle River is a tributary of the Colorado River. If the drought, now in its third year, continues at current rates -and forecasts vary - the huge lake could be drained by 2010, leaving Colorado to supply 7.5 million acre-feet it agreed to supply downstream states under the 1922 Colorado River Interstate Compact.... Slaughterville Declines Proposal to Become Veggieville In recent years, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights group, has asked the cities of Rodeo, Calif., Hamburg, N.Y., and Fishkill, N.Y., to switch to more "animal friendly" names. All refused. Two weeks ago, in yet another defeat to the organization's renaming efforts, officials declined to change their town's name from Slaughterville to Veggieville, Okla.... Estelle Reel, forgotten Frontier politician She campaigned across the prairie with the best of the men, dancing through scandal. Her political acumen made her the highest-ranking woman of her day to serve in the federal government, and when she got to Washington, D.C., she wore a $2,000 Parisian gown. In 1895, Estelle Reel became the first woman in the nation to be elected to statewide office. She promoted herself with finesse, eventually earning a federal appointment from President McKinley. In 1894, Reel sent campaign brochures containing her photograph to voters throughout Wyoming, reportedly causing numerous cowboys to ride as many as sixty miles to cast their ballots for the pretty woman candidate. She traveled with her Republican counterparts -- all men -- throughout the state on stagecoaches, on horseback, and in wagons to speak to voters, often dancing with them at the dances held following political rallies.... A Hummer Alongside a Horse? The Rodeo Must Be in Houston The caravans of trail riders have streamed into the city with their covered wagons and horses, the carnival lights are aglow and the air is smoky with barbecue fires. It's rodeo time in Houston, when Texas comes to town. And so, Friday night nearly 4,800 trail riders with more than 200 wagons converged on Houston from 14 distant points, traveling historic trails of the pioneers. It is a tradition that began in 1952 when a rodeo official, stymied by bad weather that grounded his flight, vowed never to attend another Houston livestock show "where I couldn't ride my horse home.".... On The Edge Of Common Sense: Unless I'm in New Zealand, I'll order American lamb I was in a nice restaurant in California recently. The menu included sumptuous entrees that featured ribeye steak and filet mignon. I noticed they also offered gourmet lamb chops. I asked, as I always do, if it was American lamb or imported from New Zealand. The waitress didn't know, so the owner came out. She said it was imported from New Zealand. We had a discussion. She gave no ground, even saying that she preferred the imported lamb because it didn't have that 'gamey' taste. She had no feeling, sympathetic, patriotic, isolationist, political, or otherwise for supporting American sheep producers. She was a businesswoman....
Saturday, February 28, 2004
DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY
Allotment to be closed before roundup, impoundment
Gila National Forest officials say they’re closing the Diamond Bar allotment to the public this weekend.
The closure will allow a contractor to prepare for a roundup and impoundment of all cattle on federal land used by the ranch.
A contractor who would round up more than 400 cattle from the Diamond Bar was found during the past week. The preparations will include bringing in equipment, corrals and other necessities.
The closure of the allotment includes shutting several roads and trails that lead in and out of the range lands.
Ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney have said they will not interfere with the contractors’ roundup, but they say they will monitor the event.
They contend the roundup is illegal because they own a vested fee interest in areas the federal government claims to control.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Contact: Paragon Foundation, Inc.
505-434-8998
Press Release
2/26/2004
For Immediate Release
The continuing conflict between ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney and the United States Forest Service (USFS) is taking on even broader implications. Already to some observers the Laney case overshadows a major constitutional showdown between state and federal government on jurisdictional issues as well as criminal liability.
The USFS has been attempting to remove the Laneys and their cattle from the Gila National Forest near Silver City, New Mexico for over ten years. The USFS cites federal regulatory authority over the national forest as the basis of their removal demand. Environmental groups, such as the Forrest Guardians of Silver City, support the removal of the trespassing ranchers on public lands.
In a court battle, which has spanned a decade, the Laneys have countered that they own vested stock water rights in the area under state law, which fore-dates the creation of the Gila National Forest in 1907. They argue that their stock water rights were granted for the express purpose of livestock grazing which gives them an inheritable right to use the land which the federal government cannot extinguish without payment of just compensation. The Laneys cite long-standing and recent court decisions to support their claim. The grazing rights, according to the Laneys were never part of the National Forest and therefore not subject to USFS regulation. The Laneys cite long standing US Supreme Court decisions which hold that “land to which rights or claims of another attach is not pubic land.
The USFS and environmentalists on the other hand, cite numerous court cases supporting the USFS authority to regulate grazing in the National Forest.
The question which appears to be emerging, is one of property tights under state law as opposed to regulatory authority under federal law. USFS regulations are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. In simple terms, can federal regulation extinguish property rights created under state law?
The controversy has led supporters of the Laneys to demand that the local sheriff, District Attorney and State Attorney general support the Laneys in the protection of their property. Environmental groups, on the other hand, have demanded that the USFS enforce the grazing regulations applicable to the National Forest and remove the Laneys even by force if necessary.
The United States Supreme Court decision in U.S. v New Mexico, 1978 would appear to support the Laney’s claim to stock water rights. The US Supreme court decision in Curtin v Benson, 1911 would appear to support the Laney’s claim of prior existing rights to graze. A recent US Court of Federal Claims decision would be persuasive in upholding Laney’s claim to prior existing grazing and water rights. The IRS has historically recognized the ownership of inheritable rights in forest grazing allotments for inheritance tax purposes.
One of the problems that appears to be emerging is the existence of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the USFS and the state agencies, such as the Brand Board, whereby the state agencies have agreed to allow federal regulation to go Unchallenged in property disputes involving ranchers. These MOUs also may involve Local sheriffs, District Attorneys and even the State Attorney General.
Constitutional scholars and jurists throughout the country have observed that a major constitutional conflict is emerging out of the Laney case. If federal rules and regulations can be used to extinguish grazing and water property rights created under state law without compensation, then no property would be safe from federal regulatory seizure.
A recent ruling out of the Federal District Court in Wyoming has held that where government agency employees have collaborated with environmental groups to destroy property rights, those employees can be tried as individuals under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The issue is not a small one according to some observers. G.B. Oliver, Executive Director of the Paragon Foundation, a supporter of the Laneys, points out that currently throughout the west there are about 200 million dollars in actual or potential taking claims outstanding against the United States over the same issue. Former congresswoman and property rights advocate, Helen Chenoweth-Hage commented that the states and local governments who have signed MOUs with the federal government unilaterally abrogate ranchers property rights, are setting themselves up for joint liability for the taking of rancher’s property rights. The cost to local and state governments would be devastating, she said.
The USFS and environmentalists currently show no sign of relenting. The USFS is continuing to press forward with a Federal District Court action to remove the Laneys and their livestock. The Forest Guardians have served notice on the USFS that if the USFS fails to act, the environmentalists will take measures to evict the Laneys. It would appear that a major constitution crisis is emerging in the remote ranches of southwestern New Mexico, which could have a major impact on property owners throughout the country.
Allotment to be closed before roundup, impoundment
Gila National Forest officials say they’re closing the Diamond Bar allotment to the public this weekend.
The closure will allow a contractor to prepare for a roundup and impoundment of all cattle on federal land used by the ranch.
A contractor who would round up more than 400 cattle from the Diamond Bar was found during the past week. The preparations will include bringing in equipment, corrals and other necessities.
The closure of the allotment includes shutting several roads and trails that lead in and out of the range lands.
Ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney have said they will not interfere with the contractors’ roundup, but they say they will monitor the event.
They contend the roundup is illegal because they own a vested fee interest in areas the federal government claims to control.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Contact: Paragon Foundation, Inc.
505-434-8998
Press Release
2/26/2004
For Immediate Release
The continuing conflict between ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney and the United States Forest Service (USFS) is taking on even broader implications. Already to some observers the Laney case overshadows a major constitutional showdown between state and federal government on jurisdictional issues as well as criminal liability.
The USFS has been attempting to remove the Laneys and their cattle from the Gila National Forest near Silver City, New Mexico for over ten years. The USFS cites federal regulatory authority over the national forest as the basis of their removal demand. Environmental groups, such as the Forrest Guardians of Silver City, support the removal of the trespassing ranchers on public lands.
In a court battle, which has spanned a decade, the Laneys have countered that they own vested stock water rights in the area under state law, which fore-dates the creation of the Gila National Forest in 1907. They argue that their stock water rights were granted for the express purpose of livestock grazing which gives them an inheritable right to use the land which the federal government cannot extinguish without payment of just compensation. The Laneys cite long-standing and recent court decisions to support their claim. The grazing rights, according to the Laneys were never part of the National Forest and therefore not subject to USFS regulation. The Laneys cite long standing US Supreme Court decisions which hold that “land to which rights or claims of another attach is not pubic land.
The USFS and environmentalists on the other hand, cite numerous court cases supporting the USFS authority to regulate grazing in the National Forest.
The question which appears to be emerging, is one of property tights under state law as opposed to regulatory authority under federal law. USFS regulations are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. In simple terms, can federal regulation extinguish property rights created under state law?
The controversy has led supporters of the Laneys to demand that the local sheriff, District Attorney and State Attorney general support the Laneys in the protection of their property. Environmental groups, on the other hand, have demanded that the USFS enforce the grazing regulations applicable to the National Forest and remove the Laneys even by force if necessary.
The United States Supreme Court decision in U.S. v New Mexico, 1978 would appear to support the Laney’s claim to stock water rights. The US Supreme court decision in Curtin v Benson, 1911 would appear to support the Laney’s claim of prior existing rights to graze. A recent US Court of Federal Claims decision would be persuasive in upholding Laney’s claim to prior existing grazing and water rights. The IRS has historically recognized the ownership of inheritable rights in forest grazing allotments for inheritance tax purposes.
One of the problems that appears to be emerging is the existence of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the USFS and the state agencies, such as the Brand Board, whereby the state agencies have agreed to allow federal regulation to go Unchallenged in property disputes involving ranchers. These MOUs also may involve Local sheriffs, District Attorneys and even the State Attorney General.
Constitutional scholars and jurists throughout the country have observed that a major constitutional conflict is emerging out of the Laney case. If federal rules and regulations can be used to extinguish grazing and water property rights created under state law without compensation, then no property would be safe from federal regulatory seizure.
A recent ruling out of the Federal District Court in Wyoming has held that where government agency employees have collaborated with environmental groups to destroy property rights, those employees can be tried as individuals under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The issue is not a small one according to some observers. G.B. Oliver, Executive Director of the Paragon Foundation, a supporter of the Laneys, points out that currently throughout the west there are about 200 million dollars in actual or potential taking claims outstanding against the United States over the same issue. Former congresswoman and property rights advocate, Helen Chenoweth-Hage commented that the states and local governments who have signed MOUs with the federal government unilaterally abrogate ranchers property rights, are setting themselves up for joint liability for the taking of rancher’s property rights. The cost to local and state governments would be devastating, she said.
The USFS and environmentalists currently show no sign of relenting. The USFS is continuing to press forward with a Federal District Court action to remove the Laneys and their livestock. The Forest Guardians have served notice on the USFS that if the USFS fails to act, the environmentalists will take measures to evict the Laneys. It would appear that a major constitution crisis is emerging in the remote ranches of southwestern New Mexico, which could have a major impact on property owners throughout the country.
Friday, February 27, 2004
DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY
TEMPORARY AREA CLOSURE IMPLEMENTED FOR DIAMOND BAR ALLOTMENT
Silver City, NM – Effective, Saturday, February 28, 2004, at 8:00 a.m., a temporary public closure of the Diamond Bar allotment, Gila National Forest, will be re-implemented to allow the contractor to start preparations for the removal and impoundment of the unauthorized livestock. “After a couple of delays, we are now prepared for the removal and impoundment to start as soon as the contractor is set up,” says Wilderness District Ranger Annette Chavez.
To conduct the livestock removal in the most safe and efficient manner for everyone involved, Ranger Chavez says the area closure helps us to provide for public safety, protection of property, and minimizes public activities that may hinder the gathering and removal activities. “We will periodically review the area closure to determine its usefulness,” adds Ranger Chavez.
The area closure prohibits all entry along Forest Road 150 below the private lands at Wall Lake (township 11S, range 12 W, section 15), south to the south rim of Rocky Canyon (township 14S, range 11 W, section 8), and all the area within the 147,000-acre Diamond Bar allotment. Exceptions to the area closure include private property owners who will be allowed to travel to and from their properties; any federal, state or local Officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty; or persons with a permit specifically authorized by the Gila National Forest.
Trails that will be closed include:
---trail #40 in Diamond Creek including Middle Diamond Creek from the junction of Forest Road 150 to the junction of the Continental Divide trail #74
---Continental Divide Trail #74 from the junction of Trail #40 south to the junction of Trail # 74
---trail #74 to the junction of Forest Road 150 and encompassing trails #75, 76, 75A, 72, 481, 73, 707, 68, 69, 67, and 308
---to the west of Forest Road 150: trails include trail #803, 700, 95, 94, 716, 708, 713, East Fork of the Gila River from private property at Trails End Ranch to the private land at Lyons Lodge
Closure of the land area includes the area described as the Diamond Bar Allotment:
---on the northwest side from the confluence of Adobe Canyon and the East Fork Gila River to Forest Road 225 easterly to the junction of Forest Road 18 north along Forest Road 18 for approximately 1/2 mile, then continuing east to Forest Road 159
---from Forest Road 150, east to the southwest slope of Round Mountain
south along the Crest Trail to Diamond Peak and on to Reeds Peak
---the south border lays along trail #74 to Signboard Saddle to a cattle guard in Rocky Canyon and Forest Road 150
---continuing west to the north rim area of Apache Creek across the lower end of Black Canyon to the East Fork of the Gila River
---the west boundary is the East Fork of the Gila River north to Adobe Canyon
An area closure map is available for review at local Ranger District offices.
TEMPORARY AREA CLOSURE IMPLEMENTED FOR DIAMOND BAR ALLOTMENT
Silver City, NM – Effective, Saturday, February 28, 2004, at 8:00 a.m., a temporary public closure of the Diamond Bar allotment, Gila National Forest, will be re-implemented to allow the contractor to start preparations for the removal and impoundment of the unauthorized livestock. “After a couple of delays, we are now prepared for the removal and impoundment to start as soon as the contractor is set up,” says Wilderness District Ranger Annette Chavez.
To conduct the livestock removal in the most safe and efficient manner for everyone involved, Ranger Chavez says the area closure helps us to provide for public safety, protection of property, and minimizes public activities that may hinder the gathering and removal activities. “We will periodically review the area closure to determine its usefulness,” adds Ranger Chavez.
The area closure prohibits all entry along Forest Road 150 below the private lands at Wall Lake (township 11S, range 12 W, section 15), south to the south rim of Rocky Canyon (township 14S, range 11 W, section 8), and all the area within the 147,000-acre Diamond Bar allotment. Exceptions to the area closure include private property owners who will be allowed to travel to and from their properties; any federal, state or local Officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty; or persons with a permit specifically authorized by the Gila National Forest.
Trails that will be closed include:
---trail #40 in Diamond Creek including Middle Diamond Creek from the junction of Forest Road 150 to the junction of the Continental Divide trail #74
---Continental Divide Trail #74 from the junction of Trail #40 south to the junction of Trail # 74
---trail #74 to the junction of Forest Road 150 and encompassing trails #75, 76, 75A, 72, 481, 73, 707, 68, 69, 67, and 308
---to the west of Forest Road 150: trails include trail #803, 700, 95, 94, 716, 708, 713, East Fork of the Gila River from private property at Trails End Ranch to the private land at Lyons Lodge
Closure of the land area includes the area described as the Diamond Bar Allotment:
---on the northwest side from the confluence of Adobe Canyon and the East Fork Gila River to Forest Road 225 easterly to the junction of Forest Road 18 north along Forest Road 18 for approximately 1/2 mile, then continuing east to Forest Road 159
---from Forest Road 150, east to the southwest slope of Round Mountain
south along the Crest Trail to Diamond Peak and on to Reeds Peak
---the south border lays along trail #74 to Signboard Saddle to a cattle guard in Rocky Canyon and Forest Road 150
---continuing west to the north rim area of Apache Creek across the lower end of Black Canyon to the East Fork of the Gila River
---the west boundary is the East Fork of the Gila River north to Adobe Canyon
An area closure map is available for review at local Ranger District offices.
NEWS ROUNDUP
Forest Service trades land with logging company The U.S. Forest Service and California's largest private landowner have agreed to a land swap they say will benefit both of them and the public. The Forest Service will give Anderson-based Sierra Pacific Industries 1,843 acres of the Eldorado National Forest, broken into 14 parcels, in exchange for 16 parcels totaling 3,394 acres, under an agreement posted this week. The lands were appraised at equal market value, the Forest Service said. The exchange will reduce the need for Sierra Pacific to build new roads to its parcels within what are supposed to be roadless areas, helping the company manage its property more efficiently and meet federal and state laws, the Forest Service said.... Lawmakers want Frank Church airstrips kept open Idaho's congressional delegation says pilots have used four backcountry airstrips for more than two decades. And the lawmakers want them kept open. The U-S Forest Service recently ruled that four airstrips in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness would be shut down except for emergency use. The ruling is part of the revised management plan for the wilderness.... Salvage logging is key issue for forest ecologists A group of forest ecologists wants the world to stop rushing to turn trees killed by wildfire into lumber, arguing that salvage logging undermines many of the ecological benefits of fire. In an opinion piece in the journal Science on Thursday, seven forest ecologists from universities in the United States, Canada and Australia suggested a better course would be for forest managers to develop policies that exempt areas such as natural parks, nature reserves and drinking water sources from salvage logging.... Column: Biscuit salvage sale: a lost opportunity for Oregon After a yearlong study, the U.S. Forest Service has concluded that the Siskiyou National Forest land burned by last year's Biscuit Fire needs a massive restoration effort including reforestation, road and stream rehabilitation and timber salvage. If implemented, this will be one of the largest timber sales in Oregon history, more timber than has been produced from all the public lands in the Northwest in some years. Unfortunately, the Forest Service's plan is misguided at its very foundation, and we will likely never see these benefits.... Mo. River plan allows barge operations The Army Corps of Engineers issued a new Missouri River plan Friday that would allow continued barge traffic between Sioux City, Iowa, and St. Louis, perpetuating a 15-year battle between environmentalists and businesses. Corps officials said the new plan anticipates steady levels for barge shipping, enough water for power generation and considerably more water in big reservoirs in Montana and the Dakotas. Conservationists have long argued that the Missouri should be returned to its natural state, before it was dammed and channeled beginning in the 1940s, with a spring rise and shallow summer flow to aid endangered species.... New act changes protection for endangered species (Canada) New federal legislation is about to dramatically change the way endangered plants and animals are protected in Canada. The Species at Risk Act goes into force June 1. It will add another layer of protection for endangered animals under federal legislation. The law will brings in incentives and penalties designed to protect threatened animals and plants on all federal land. It can also override the provinces in their own jurisdiction and on private land. Some Alberta landowners are concerned that the act could hurt them financially, if large chunks of their grazing land are declared off-limits. But the government says Ottawa can compensate landowners if they end up being hurt by the new legislation.... GRAY WOLF DE-LISTING PART I Since its introduction into the Idaho wilderness in 1995, the Gray Wolf has sparked debate between those looking to restore the wolf population and those wanting to keep the wolf out of Idaho. In the first part of his series, Mark Browning takes a look at the Gray Wolf's return to Idaho. Good morning everyone. Few things in Idaho and Wyoming have stirred the emotion, the passion, and the debate as have the efforts to restore a Gray Wolf population to this region, and now possibly remove federal protection by de-listing the wolf from the endangered species list. Tonight, in the first of a week long look at the issue, we look at events over the past decade that has brought us to this point of potential de-listing.... GRAY WOLF DELISTING PART II Part two of the debate over wolves in Idaho continues. Mark Browning looks at the toll the re-introduction of wolves has taken on local ranchers.... GRAY WOLF DELISTING PART III In part three of "The Gray Wolf: A Wild Cry of Success," Mark Browning looks at some of the myths involved of the sometimes emotional issue of wolf delisting.... Tight vote expected on 'basin of origin’ bill Rep. John Salazar expects to stump the House floor this morning in hopes of convincing his colleagues to approve the state’s first basin-of-origin protection in more than 80 years. “If this bill is passed, rural Colorado will no longer have to fear that water diversions will be shoved down their throats,” the San Luis Valley Democrat said.... Campus Wolfs Down Film on Price of Lupine Liberty A film showing tonight will bring a heated environmental debate from the wilderness of Idaho to the screen at Campbell Hall. "Cost of Freedom" follows wolves relocated from Canada to Idaho as part of an effort to restore endangered species in the United States. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service captured 66 wolves in Canada and released them in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Filmmaker Vanessa Schulz said that as part of the relocation, the wolves were given special "experimental-nonessential" status, which permits the killing of wolves if they attack livestock.... Ranchers support consolidated public lands management Ranchers gave their support Friday to a plan that would consolidate management of 1.3 million acres of national forest and rangeland in Twin Falls and Cassia counties. Consultants for the Idaho Department of Lands held a meeting Friday night at the Idaho Farm Bureau office in Twin Falls to gauge reactions to the proposal they plan to put forward in the form of federal legislation.... Redrock lands rank among most endangered 'BioGems' Utah lands targeted by activists for wilderness protection -- and by energy companies for oil and gas exploration -- are among the most endangered places in the Western Hemisphere, according to one of the nation's largest environmental groups. For the fourth year in a row, the redrock wilderness of southern and eastern Utah on Thursday landed on the list of "BioGems" designated by the Washington, D.C.-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The group hopes the listing will bring more national, even international, attention to portions of a 9.1 million-acre Utah wilderness proposal that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is opening up to oil and gas companies.... BLM begins dunes study A federal agency has launched a four-month program to monitor a threatened plant that has led to closures in the California desert's most popular off-roading area. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Thursday that 33 interns will scour the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area until June looking for Pierson's milk-vetch and other imperiled wildlife to establish populations counts.... Column: Grazing permit buyout fair, will end range warThe national and Arizona voluntary grazing permit buyout bills, currently pending in Congress, offer a "win-win" solution for ranchers and the environment. A total of 180 Arizona ranchers and 190 environmental organizations are supporting the Arizona bill and a permanent buyout option, and the list of supporters is growing. Yet there are still uninformed naysayers who don't realize that the buyout will help ranchers, protect the environment, and save taxpayers money. Opponents to the legislation fear that once ranchers receive the buyout payment, they'll likely sell off private base properties, thus accelerating land fragmentation and development. To the contrary, with the money ranchers receive from the buyout, they'll not only have money to keep their private property, but they can also buy other private lands to ranch.... Park in Colorado stirs EPA concern Hike through Rocky Mountain National Park, enjoy the wildlife and take a deep breath of mountain air - as long as you're not asthmatic. The wind blows enough pollution from sprawling metropolitan Denver on some days that the park violates federal clean-air standards for ozone. The Environmental Protection Agency probably will include the park when it declares 11 counties along Colorado's Front Range in violation of the Clean Air Act.... Trust-land reform bill proposed A plan to change the way Arizona manages nearly 10 million acres of undeveloped state trust land was delivered Friday to the governor and the Legislature on its way to a possible spot on the Nov. 2 ballot. Outlined in more than 100 pages of revisions to state law and the state Constitution, the plan aims to create more open space around the edges of cities, raise more money for public schools and better protect millions of acres in rural Arizona. If voters approve the changes, about 287,000 acres would be set aside as open space immediately and an additional 387,000 acres would be eligible for preservation by cities and private organizations.... Court stops exhumation of fabled ranch scion An appellate court has halted exhumation of a rancher's body in a paternity lawsuit with claims to a 400,000-acre ranch now largely controlled by the Catholic Church. The 13th Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld its Feb. 9 order stopping the exhumation of fabled ranch scion John G. Kenedy. The court clarified its order Thursday after plaintiff attorneys questioned whether it applied to different cases alleging that John G. Kenedy, believed sterile due to childhood mumps, left an heir after all.... Column, Meet the Farm Bureau: Does it Speak for the Family Farmer—or for Large-Scale Agribusiness? The state of family farming in America can perhaps be gauged by one of AFBF’s own polls, which asked its 5.4 million members how they would rate the overall condition of their rural towns. Some 32 percent said they were “withering slowly,” and another 20 percent said they were “hanging by a thread.” AFBF is the nation’s largest trade organization for farmers, but an increasing number of farmers and farming groups say its corporate-friendly policies favor large agribusiness interests. And they ask if most of AFBF’s members really are farmers, since the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that only 2.1 million Americans meet that definition.... Cattlemen Push Beef with Bush A U.S. meat industry group on Friday accused the Bush administration of moving too slowly to normalize beef and cattle trade with Canada and called for an immediate end to all controls put in place last spring after mad cow disease was discovered in Alberta. "The time for incremental half-measures ... has long since passed," the American Meat Institute, which represents major meat packers, wrote in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. USDA spokeswoman Julie Quick said it was premature to comment on a request to fully open beef and cattle trade with Canada. She also rejected AMI's criticisms that the agency has been slow to normalize trade with Canada, saying it was a "top priority." ....HONED ON THE RANGE Byron Fort walks out his back door into a winter morning as gray-white as his mare, Dolly, and as cold and forbidding as a barbed-wire fence. Leaning into the stinging wind, he pushes his 88-year-old bones across a thin layer of snow toward some corrals and stalls off to the side of his house. The snow had come in the night. So had a calf from a young Angus cow. Anticipating both, Fort had put the cow in a stall the afternoon before so she wouldn't drop her offspring wet and frail into an exposed pasture where it'd likely freeze to death before it could draw its first breaths.... On The Edge Of Common Sense: Bad luck comes in threes on the ranch In the old days, I resigned myself that bad luck came in threes: three flat tires, three smashed fingers or three social faux pas. It's comforting to know that good ol' Dakota Mike is still proving my theory. And I'm not even counting the initial injury that resulted in a swollen right knee that put him down for a solid week....
Forest Service trades land with logging company The U.S. Forest Service and California's largest private landowner have agreed to a land swap they say will benefit both of them and the public. The Forest Service will give Anderson-based Sierra Pacific Industries 1,843 acres of the Eldorado National Forest, broken into 14 parcels, in exchange for 16 parcels totaling 3,394 acres, under an agreement posted this week. The lands were appraised at equal market value, the Forest Service said. The exchange will reduce the need for Sierra Pacific to build new roads to its parcels within what are supposed to be roadless areas, helping the company manage its property more efficiently and meet federal and state laws, the Forest Service said.... Lawmakers want Frank Church airstrips kept open Idaho's congressional delegation says pilots have used four backcountry airstrips for more than two decades. And the lawmakers want them kept open. The U-S Forest Service recently ruled that four airstrips in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness would be shut down except for emergency use. The ruling is part of the revised management plan for the wilderness.... Salvage logging is key issue for forest ecologists A group of forest ecologists wants the world to stop rushing to turn trees killed by wildfire into lumber, arguing that salvage logging undermines many of the ecological benefits of fire. In an opinion piece in the journal Science on Thursday, seven forest ecologists from universities in the United States, Canada and Australia suggested a better course would be for forest managers to develop policies that exempt areas such as natural parks, nature reserves and drinking water sources from salvage logging.... Column: Biscuit salvage sale: a lost opportunity for Oregon After a yearlong study, the U.S. Forest Service has concluded that the Siskiyou National Forest land burned by last year's Biscuit Fire needs a massive restoration effort including reforestation, road and stream rehabilitation and timber salvage. If implemented, this will be one of the largest timber sales in Oregon history, more timber than has been produced from all the public lands in the Northwest in some years. Unfortunately, the Forest Service's plan is misguided at its very foundation, and we will likely never see these benefits.... Mo. River plan allows barge operations The Army Corps of Engineers issued a new Missouri River plan Friday that would allow continued barge traffic between Sioux City, Iowa, and St. Louis, perpetuating a 15-year battle between environmentalists and businesses. Corps officials said the new plan anticipates steady levels for barge shipping, enough water for power generation and considerably more water in big reservoirs in Montana and the Dakotas. Conservationists have long argued that the Missouri should be returned to its natural state, before it was dammed and channeled beginning in the 1940s, with a spring rise and shallow summer flow to aid endangered species.... New act changes protection for endangered species (Canada) New federal legislation is about to dramatically change the way endangered plants and animals are protected in Canada. The Species at Risk Act goes into force June 1. It will add another layer of protection for endangered animals under federal legislation. The law will brings in incentives and penalties designed to protect threatened animals and plants on all federal land. It can also override the provinces in their own jurisdiction and on private land. Some Alberta landowners are concerned that the act could hurt them financially, if large chunks of their grazing land are declared off-limits. But the government says Ottawa can compensate landowners if they end up being hurt by the new legislation.... GRAY WOLF DE-LISTING PART I Since its introduction into the Idaho wilderness in 1995, the Gray Wolf has sparked debate between those looking to restore the wolf population and those wanting to keep the wolf out of Idaho. In the first part of his series, Mark Browning takes a look at the Gray Wolf's return to Idaho. Good morning everyone. Few things in Idaho and Wyoming have stirred the emotion, the passion, and the debate as have the efforts to restore a Gray Wolf population to this region, and now possibly remove federal protection by de-listing the wolf from the endangered species list. Tonight, in the first of a week long look at the issue, we look at events over the past decade that has brought us to this point of potential de-listing.... GRAY WOLF DELISTING PART II Part two of the debate over wolves in Idaho continues. Mark Browning looks at the toll the re-introduction of wolves has taken on local ranchers.... GRAY WOLF DELISTING PART III In part three of "The Gray Wolf: A Wild Cry of Success," Mark Browning looks at some of the myths involved of the sometimes emotional issue of wolf delisting.... Tight vote expected on 'basin of origin’ bill Rep. John Salazar expects to stump the House floor this morning in hopes of convincing his colleagues to approve the state’s first basin-of-origin protection in more than 80 years. “If this bill is passed, rural Colorado will no longer have to fear that water diversions will be shoved down their throats,” the San Luis Valley Democrat said.... Campus Wolfs Down Film on Price of Lupine Liberty A film showing tonight will bring a heated environmental debate from the wilderness of Idaho to the screen at Campbell Hall. "Cost of Freedom" follows wolves relocated from Canada to Idaho as part of an effort to restore endangered species in the United States. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service captured 66 wolves in Canada and released them in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Filmmaker Vanessa Schulz said that as part of the relocation, the wolves were given special "experimental-nonessential" status, which permits the killing of wolves if they attack livestock.... Ranchers support consolidated public lands management Ranchers gave their support Friday to a plan that would consolidate management of 1.3 million acres of national forest and rangeland in Twin Falls and Cassia counties. Consultants for the Idaho Department of Lands held a meeting Friday night at the Idaho Farm Bureau office in Twin Falls to gauge reactions to the proposal they plan to put forward in the form of federal legislation.... Redrock lands rank among most endangered 'BioGems' Utah lands targeted by activists for wilderness protection -- and by energy companies for oil and gas exploration -- are among the most endangered places in the Western Hemisphere, according to one of the nation's largest environmental groups. For the fourth year in a row, the redrock wilderness of southern and eastern Utah on Thursday landed on the list of "BioGems" designated by the Washington, D.C.-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The group hopes the listing will bring more national, even international, attention to portions of a 9.1 million-acre Utah wilderness proposal that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is opening up to oil and gas companies.... BLM begins dunes study A federal agency has launched a four-month program to monitor a threatened plant that has led to closures in the California desert's most popular off-roading area. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Thursday that 33 interns will scour the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area until June looking for Pierson's milk-vetch and other imperiled wildlife to establish populations counts.... Column: Grazing permit buyout fair, will end range warThe national and Arizona voluntary grazing permit buyout bills, currently pending in Congress, offer a "win-win" solution for ranchers and the environment. A total of 180 Arizona ranchers and 190 environmental organizations are supporting the Arizona bill and a permanent buyout option, and the list of supporters is growing. Yet there are still uninformed naysayers who don't realize that the buyout will help ranchers, protect the environment, and save taxpayers money. Opponents to the legislation fear that once ranchers receive the buyout payment, they'll likely sell off private base properties, thus accelerating land fragmentation and development. To the contrary, with the money ranchers receive from the buyout, they'll not only have money to keep their private property, but they can also buy other private lands to ranch.... Park in Colorado stirs EPA concern Hike through Rocky Mountain National Park, enjoy the wildlife and take a deep breath of mountain air - as long as you're not asthmatic. The wind blows enough pollution from sprawling metropolitan Denver on some days that the park violates federal clean-air standards for ozone. The Environmental Protection Agency probably will include the park when it declares 11 counties along Colorado's Front Range in violation of the Clean Air Act.... Trust-land reform bill proposed A plan to change the way Arizona manages nearly 10 million acres of undeveloped state trust land was delivered Friday to the governor and the Legislature on its way to a possible spot on the Nov. 2 ballot. Outlined in more than 100 pages of revisions to state law and the state Constitution, the plan aims to create more open space around the edges of cities, raise more money for public schools and better protect millions of acres in rural Arizona. If voters approve the changes, about 287,000 acres would be set aside as open space immediately and an additional 387,000 acres would be eligible for preservation by cities and private organizations.... Court stops exhumation of fabled ranch scion An appellate court has halted exhumation of a rancher's body in a paternity lawsuit with claims to a 400,000-acre ranch now largely controlled by the Catholic Church. The 13th Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld its Feb. 9 order stopping the exhumation of fabled ranch scion John G. Kenedy. The court clarified its order Thursday after plaintiff attorneys questioned whether it applied to different cases alleging that John G. Kenedy, believed sterile due to childhood mumps, left an heir after all.... Column, Meet the Farm Bureau: Does it Speak for the Family Farmer—or for Large-Scale Agribusiness? The state of family farming in America can perhaps be gauged by one of AFBF’s own polls, which asked its 5.4 million members how they would rate the overall condition of their rural towns. Some 32 percent said they were “withering slowly,” and another 20 percent said they were “hanging by a thread.” AFBF is the nation’s largest trade organization for farmers, but an increasing number of farmers and farming groups say its corporate-friendly policies favor large agribusiness interests. And they ask if most of AFBF’s members really are farmers, since the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that only 2.1 million Americans meet that definition.... Cattlemen Push Beef with Bush A U.S. meat industry group on Friday accused the Bush administration of moving too slowly to normalize beef and cattle trade with Canada and called for an immediate end to all controls put in place last spring after mad cow disease was discovered in Alberta. "The time for incremental half-measures ... has long since passed," the American Meat Institute, which represents major meat packers, wrote in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. USDA spokeswoman Julie Quick said it was premature to comment on a request to fully open beef and cattle trade with Canada. She also rejected AMI's criticisms that the agency has been slow to normalize trade with Canada, saying it was a "top priority." ....HONED ON THE RANGE Byron Fort walks out his back door into a winter morning as gray-white as his mare, Dolly, and as cold and forbidding as a barbed-wire fence. Leaning into the stinging wind, he pushes his 88-year-old bones across a thin layer of snow toward some corrals and stalls off to the side of his house. The snow had come in the night. So had a calf from a young Angus cow. Anticipating both, Fort had put the cow in a stall the afternoon before so she wouldn't drop her offspring wet and frail into an exposed pasture where it'd likely freeze to death before it could draw its first breaths.... On The Edge Of Common Sense: Bad luck comes in threes on the ranch In the old days, I resigned myself that bad luck came in threes: three flat tires, three smashed fingers or three social faux pas. It's comforting to know that good ol' Dakota Mike is still proving my theory. And I'm not even counting the initial injury that resulted in a swollen right knee that put him down for a solid week....
NEWS ROUNDUP
Omitted pieces put back in fire report U.S. Forest Service officials have reinserted much of the information previously blacked out of their report investigating the deaths of Idaho wildland firefighters Jeff Allen and Shane Heath, with one major exception — the names of everyone involved. The only people identified in the Cramer Fire accident report are Allen and Heath. Forest Service officials once again edited out the names of fire managers in the modified report, but reinserted their titles in some places. So while a reader can now determine which fire officials made which decisions that led to the deaths of Allen and Heath on July 22, they won´t be able to identify them — a key omission for critics of the Forest Service.... What’s next The Forest Service is conducting a misconduct investigation into the Cramer Creek Fire and will issue proposed disciplinary actions before fire season begins this year. Fire officials did not identify which employees are being investigated, what the possible penalties could be, or whether the penalties will be made public.... No fishing: U.S. Forest Service rejects request from local angling-conservation club for a catch-and-release season at Spirit Lake The U.S. Forest Service has rejected a request to allow limited catch-and-release trout fishing at Spirit Lake on the north side of Mount St. Helens. The Clark-Skamania Flyfishers, a Vancouver-based angling and conservation club, made the request in early January to Cliff Ligons, manager of the the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. The lake has been closed to fishing since the massive eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980.... Turkeys fly into a controversy With the release of 82 more turkeys in the Ochoco Mountains earlier this month, spring turkey hunters will have more opportunity for success. But not everyone is excited about the releases. The Central Oregon Audubon Society has expressed concern over the continued transplanting of the non-native game bird and would like to see the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife discontinue any further releases of turkeys in Central Oregon and other areas of the state until a review of turkey management plans can occur.... America's new coal rush After 25 years on the blacklist of America's energy sources, coal is poised to make a comeback, stoked by the demand for affordable electricity and the rising price of other fuels. At least 94 coal-fired electric power plants - with the capacity to power 62 million American homes - are now planned across 36 states. The plants, slated to start coming on line as early as next year, would add significantly to the United States' generating power, help keep electricity prices low, and boost energy security by offering an alternative to foreign oil and gas. But they would also pump more airborne mercury and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide into the air.... Senators Should Consider Environmental Impacts of Judicial Nominations For the first time ever, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has included in its National Environmental Scorecard a vote on a nominee to the federal courts. William H. Pryor was nominated by President Bush in April 2003 to fill a lifetime seat on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals of federal environmental cases in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. On July 31, 2003, Pryor’s supporters fell seven votes short of the 60 needed to end debate on Pryor’s nomination and force a vote on the Senate floor. However, Mr. Pryor was recently given a recess appointment to that same seat, which will expire at the end of the next Senate session.... Column: Cry of the wolf The new census of northwest Montana’s wolves shows declining numbers, and that casts doubt on the government’s contention that the population is robust enough to remove from federal protection as an endangered species. In the annual count by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the region’s gray wolves numbered only 92 in 2003, down from 108 the year before. More importantly, only four pairs of wolves produced at least two pups that survived the year. The year before, 11 breeding pairs were counted.... Editorial: Wolf change shouldn't wait for Wyoming Wolves have been restored to self-sustaining numbers in the Northern Rockies. It's time to release them from the extraordinary protective custody of the federal government and for the states to assume responsibility for managing wolves in conjunction with other wildlife. Montana and Idaho are ready, willing and able to assume control of wolf management, but Wyoming is not. Our neighbor to the south is playing games with the issue, and the result has been to stall progress toward scratching wolves off the endangered species list. The Department of Interior will not - and legally cannot - take wolves off the endangered species list until the states adopt plans for managing the animals in ways that will ensure their perpetuation. Montana and Idaho have done just that. Wyoming came up with a plan, but it included a provision allowing wolves to be shot on sight in certain areas. Federal officials rejected Wyoming's plan, largely for that reason. Right now, Wyoming officials are debating whether to revise their plan or to go to court in an attempt to force the feds to approve their plan.... Wyoming House ready for wolf battle After retreating a day earlier from a possible lawsuit against the federal government for its rejection of the state's wolf-management plan, the Wyoming House reversed itself again Wednesday and voted to bolster the case for a court battle. With little debate, representatives voted 44-14 for a bill that aligns state law with the now-rejected Game and Fish Commission's management plan for gray wolves. Conforming statutes to the plan is seen as a way to strengthen the state's hand in a possible suit.... Column: Is chronic wasting disease the new mad cow? The good news about CWD is that—at least so far—there is no established link between eating or handling venison and vCJD, the devastating human disease linked to beef consumption in England. And, though research at this moment is not yet complete, CWD has not seemed to infect the unlucky cows, goats, and sheep that have been kept in close quarters with infected deer and elk. Still, TSE diseases develop slowly, over a minimum of 15 months to 17 months after exposure, and there is not yet enough evidence to rule out cross-species transmission altogether. Having learned from the British government's mistakes in the BSE crisis, no national or state government agencies have made out-and-out exhortations to continue eating venison from the infected areas (e.g., à la John Gummer, the British secretary of agriculture who famously endeavored to demonstrate the safety of British beef by feeding a hamburger to his 4-year-old daughter). But the issue is complicated by the fact that those who consume venison and elk meat are often the hunters who slaughter the animals—they thus must decide for themselves whether their quarry is safe for consumption.... Artist forced to surrender art because he used eagle feathers What Juneau artist Mark Horn considered a spiritual expression, federal authorities considered a possible crime. Three pieces displayed at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council came under scrutiny of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement officers because they contained eagle feathers. Agent Sam Friberg said Friday that he couldn't comment about the ongoing investigation, except to say that it was limited to exhibits involving eagle feathers.... More park bison sent to slaughter The National Park Service has sent another 27 bison to a slaughterhouse after they tested positive for exposure to the disease brucellosis. That brings this winter's total slaughter of animals captured inside Yellowstone National Park to 53 animals. Another 36 captured animals that tested negative for exposure to the disease are being held in a beefed-up corral until spring, when enough green grass emerges inside the park to keep the shaggy giants from wandering out of the park.... Saddle up One of the oldest traditions of the West — mule rides into the Grand Canyon — will resume on March 23. The National Park Service suspended the trips last September for the first time in a century so it could do trail maintenance. The move worried some longtime fans who thought the rides might never return. But the Park Service says the closure was never meant to be permanent.... More drilling on tap for Padre The National Park Service announced Thursday that it will allow a Corpus Christi company to start drilling what will become the eighth natural gas well on the otherwise undeveloped barrier island. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates 80 billion cubic feet of natural gas lies beneath the 130,454-acre seashore — the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. That's enough gas to satisfy the nation's entire demand for about two days, according to the American Gas Association, an industry group.... Fearing 'Unprecedented Land Grab' During Election Year, Group Urges 60,000 Interior Department Employees to Use Tipline The nonprofit Campaign to Protect America's Lands (CPAL) announced that it is sending an email today to 59,684 Department of Interior employees urging them to use a confidential tipline (1- 866-LANDTIP or http://www.landtip.org) to report any new anti-environment rules or other steps related to America's public lands, parks or wilderness areas that may crop up in the coming months. CPAL's goal is to thwart a whole new round of special-interest proposals that are expected to clog Interior if panicked industry executives come to believe that President Bush is unlikely to serve a second term.... Unexplained elk deaths in Wyo. leave wildlife officials puzzled In the last three weeks, about 275 elk, mostly breeding-age cows in prime condition, have been found either dead or paralyzed in a 3-square-mile area just north of the Colorado border. "They go to lie down, and then they can't get up," Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman Tom Reed said Thursday. "Their heads are up and they bark at you when you approach. But they can't move." State biologists are euthanizing the stricken animals and have examined about a dozen carcasses in an attempt to find the cause of the deaths. Whatever is killing the elk has yet to affect the horses, cows, calves and antelope observed in the area. Scavengers like coyotes, ravens or magpies that are feeding on the carcasses also appear to be immune.... Tyson Asks Judge to Reverse $1.28 Billion Verdict The nation's largest beef packer, Tyson Foods Inc., said Thursday it has asked a federal judge to throw out a jury's $1.28 billion verdict that the company illegally manipulated cattle prices. Tyson asked visiting U.S. Senior District Judge Lyle Strom to enter a substitute ruling or order a new trial. A jury last week sided with a group of cattlemen who accused the Arkansas-based company of using contracts with a select few ranchers to drive cattle prices down for other producers. "Given the complexity of the issues presented and the consequences of this court's decision to an entire industry ... it is important that judgment be entered on the evidence actually presented and the applicable law rather than on the jury's instincts regarding the 'spirit of the law,'" Tyson lawyers said in court papers filed Wednesday.... USDA resists increased mad cow testing The United States Department of Agriculture is blocking small beef packing companies and ranchers from testing their cattle for mad cow disease. The beef packing companies and ranchers see the increased testing as a way to restore consumer confidence and enable their products to be exported to Japan and other countries that shut their borders to U.S. beef in December after the detection of a mad cow-infected animal in Washington state.... North Texas woman recalls rodeo life, wins in the '50s Many little girls dream of riding horses and barrel racing; and for a Decatur lady, that dream was a reality in her early years, when she competed in the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA), now the Womens Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). The success of those rides, earned LaTonne (rhymes with baton) Sewalt Enright a place in the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame (TRCHF). Following the hall-of-fame legacy of both her dad Royce, a 1946 world champion calf roper, and her younger brother Ronnye, a reserve world champion calf roper, LaTonne was among the 16 others who were inducted in the hall on Feb. 14....
Omitted pieces put back in fire report U.S. Forest Service officials have reinserted much of the information previously blacked out of their report investigating the deaths of Idaho wildland firefighters Jeff Allen and Shane Heath, with one major exception — the names of everyone involved. The only people identified in the Cramer Fire accident report are Allen and Heath. Forest Service officials once again edited out the names of fire managers in the modified report, but reinserted their titles in some places. So while a reader can now determine which fire officials made which decisions that led to the deaths of Allen and Heath on July 22, they won´t be able to identify them — a key omission for critics of the Forest Service.... What’s next The Forest Service is conducting a misconduct investigation into the Cramer Creek Fire and will issue proposed disciplinary actions before fire season begins this year. Fire officials did not identify which employees are being investigated, what the possible penalties could be, or whether the penalties will be made public.... No fishing: U.S. Forest Service rejects request from local angling-conservation club for a catch-and-release season at Spirit Lake The U.S. Forest Service has rejected a request to allow limited catch-and-release trout fishing at Spirit Lake on the north side of Mount St. Helens. The Clark-Skamania Flyfishers, a Vancouver-based angling and conservation club, made the request in early January to Cliff Ligons, manager of the the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. The lake has been closed to fishing since the massive eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980.... Turkeys fly into a controversy With the release of 82 more turkeys in the Ochoco Mountains earlier this month, spring turkey hunters will have more opportunity for success. But not everyone is excited about the releases. The Central Oregon Audubon Society has expressed concern over the continued transplanting of the non-native game bird and would like to see the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife discontinue any further releases of turkeys in Central Oregon and other areas of the state until a review of turkey management plans can occur.... America's new coal rush After 25 years on the blacklist of America's energy sources, coal is poised to make a comeback, stoked by the demand for affordable electricity and the rising price of other fuels. At least 94 coal-fired electric power plants - with the capacity to power 62 million American homes - are now planned across 36 states. The plants, slated to start coming on line as early as next year, would add significantly to the United States' generating power, help keep electricity prices low, and boost energy security by offering an alternative to foreign oil and gas. But they would also pump more airborne mercury and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide into the air.... Senators Should Consider Environmental Impacts of Judicial Nominations For the first time ever, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has included in its National Environmental Scorecard a vote on a nominee to the federal courts. William H. Pryor was nominated by President Bush in April 2003 to fill a lifetime seat on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals of federal environmental cases in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. On July 31, 2003, Pryor’s supporters fell seven votes short of the 60 needed to end debate on Pryor’s nomination and force a vote on the Senate floor. However, Mr. Pryor was recently given a recess appointment to that same seat, which will expire at the end of the next Senate session.... Column: Cry of the wolf The new census of northwest Montana’s wolves shows declining numbers, and that casts doubt on the government’s contention that the population is robust enough to remove from federal protection as an endangered species. In the annual count by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the region’s gray wolves numbered only 92 in 2003, down from 108 the year before. More importantly, only four pairs of wolves produced at least two pups that survived the year. The year before, 11 breeding pairs were counted.... Editorial: Wolf change shouldn't wait for Wyoming Wolves have been restored to self-sustaining numbers in the Northern Rockies. It's time to release them from the extraordinary protective custody of the federal government and for the states to assume responsibility for managing wolves in conjunction with other wildlife. Montana and Idaho are ready, willing and able to assume control of wolf management, but Wyoming is not. Our neighbor to the south is playing games with the issue, and the result has been to stall progress toward scratching wolves off the endangered species list. The Department of Interior will not - and legally cannot - take wolves off the endangered species list until the states adopt plans for managing the animals in ways that will ensure their perpetuation. Montana and Idaho have done just that. Wyoming came up with a plan, but it included a provision allowing wolves to be shot on sight in certain areas. Federal officials rejected Wyoming's plan, largely for that reason. Right now, Wyoming officials are debating whether to revise their plan or to go to court in an attempt to force the feds to approve their plan.... Wyoming House ready for wolf battle After retreating a day earlier from a possible lawsuit against the federal government for its rejection of the state's wolf-management plan, the Wyoming House reversed itself again Wednesday and voted to bolster the case for a court battle. With little debate, representatives voted 44-14 for a bill that aligns state law with the now-rejected Game and Fish Commission's management plan for gray wolves. Conforming statutes to the plan is seen as a way to strengthen the state's hand in a possible suit.... Column: Is chronic wasting disease the new mad cow? The good news about CWD is that—at least so far—there is no established link between eating or handling venison and vCJD, the devastating human disease linked to beef consumption in England. And, though research at this moment is not yet complete, CWD has not seemed to infect the unlucky cows, goats, and sheep that have been kept in close quarters with infected deer and elk. Still, TSE diseases develop slowly, over a minimum of 15 months to 17 months after exposure, and there is not yet enough evidence to rule out cross-species transmission altogether. Having learned from the British government's mistakes in the BSE crisis, no national or state government agencies have made out-and-out exhortations to continue eating venison from the infected areas (e.g., à la John Gummer, the British secretary of agriculture who famously endeavored to demonstrate the safety of British beef by feeding a hamburger to his 4-year-old daughter). But the issue is complicated by the fact that those who consume venison and elk meat are often the hunters who slaughter the animals—they thus must decide for themselves whether their quarry is safe for consumption.... Artist forced to surrender art because he used eagle feathers What Juneau artist Mark Horn considered a spiritual expression, federal authorities considered a possible crime. Three pieces displayed at the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council came under scrutiny of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement officers because they contained eagle feathers. Agent Sam Friberg said Friday that he couldn't comment about the ongoing investigation, except to say that it was limited to exhibits involving eagle feathers.... More park bison sent to slaughter The National Park Service has sent another 27 bison to a slaughterhouse after they tested positive for exposure to the disease brucellosis. That brings this winter's total slaughter of animals captured inside Yellowstone National Park to 53 animals. Another 36 captured animals that tested negative for exposure to the disease are being held in a beefed-up corral until spring, when enough green grass emerges inside the park to keep the shaggy giants from wandering out of the park.... Saddle up One of the oldest traditions of the West — mule rides into the Grand Canyon — will resume on March 23. The National Park Service suspended the trips last September for the first time in a century so it could do trail maintenance. The move worried some longtime fans who thought the rides might never return. But the Park Service says the closure was never meant to be permanent.... More drilling on tap for Padre The National Park Service announced Thursday that it will allow a Corpus Christi company to start drilling what will become the eighth natural gas well on the otherwise undeveloped barrier island. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates 80 billion cubic feet of natural gas lies beneath the 130,454-acre seashore — the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. That's enough gas to satisfy the nation's entire demand for about two days, according to the American Gas Association, an industry group.... Fearing 'Unprecedented Land Grab' During Election Year, Group Urges 60,000 Interior Department Employees to Use Tipline The nonprofit Campaign to Protect America's Lands (CPAL) announced that it is sending an email today to 59,684 Department of Interior employees urging them to use a confidential tipline (1- 866-LANDTIP or http://www.landtip.org) to report any new anti-environment rules or other steps related to America's public lands, parks or wilderness areas that may crop up in the coming months. CPAL's goal is to thwart a whole new round of special-interest proposals that are expected to clog Interior if panicked industry executives come to believe that President Bush is unlikely to serve a second term.... Unexplained elk deaths in Wyo. leave wildlife officials puzzled In the last three weeks, about 275 elk, mostly breeding-age cows in prime condition, have been found either dead or paralyzed in a 3-square-mile area just north of the Colorado border. "They go to lie down, and then they can't get up," Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman Tom Reed said Thursday. "Their heads are up and they bark at you when you approach. But they can't move." State biologists are euthanizing the stricken animals and have examined about a dozen carcasses in an attempt to find the cause of the deaths. Whatever is killing the elk has yet to affect the horses, cows, calves and antelope observed in the area. Scavengers like coyotes, ravens or magpies that are feeding on the carcasses also appear to be immune.... Tyson Asks Judge to Reverse $1.28 Billion Verdict The nation's largest beef packer, Tyson Foods Inc., said Thursday it has asked a federal judge to throw out a jury's $1.28 billion verdict that the company illegally manipulated cattle prices. Tyson asked visiting U.S. Senior District Judge Lyle Strom to enter a substitute ruling or order a new trial. A jury last week sided with a group of cattlemen who accused the Arkansas-based company of using contracts with a select few ranchers to drive cattle prices down for other producers. "Given the complexity of the issues presented and the consequences of this court's decision to an entire industry ... it is important that judgment be entered on the evidence actually presented and the applicable law rather than on the jury's instincts regarding the 'spirit of the law,'" Tyson lawyers said in court papers filed Wednesday.... USDA resists increased mad cow testing The United States Department of Agriculture is blocking small beef packing companies and ranchers from testing their cattle for mad cow disease. The beef packing companies and ranchers see the increased testing as a way to restore consumer confidence and enable their products to be exported to Japan and other countries that shut their borders to U.S. beef in December after the detection of a mad cow-infected animal in Washington state.... North Texas woman recalls rodeo life, wins in the '50s Many little girls dream of riding horses and barrel racing; and for a Decatur lady, that dream was a reality in her early years, when she competed in the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA), now the Womens Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). The success of those rides, earned LaTonne (rhymes with baton) Sewalt Enright a place in the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame (TRCHF). Following the hall-of-fame legacy of both her dad Royce, a 1946 world champion calf roper, and her younger brother Ronnye, a reserve world champion calf roper, LaTonne was among the 16 others who were inducted in the hall on Feb. 14....
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
NEWS ROUNDUP
Cattle Battle Continues in New Mexico Kit Laney's family has been ranching in the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico since 1883, but the Laney family lifestyle could all come to an end with the U.S. Forest Service threatening to impound and move Laney's cattle. Eighty-five percent of Laney’s range is considered federal land, and he has so far refused to remove his 300 head of cattle, which the Forest Service says are trespassing. However, based on the fact that his family was ranching on these grounds before the Forest Service even existed, Laney is fighting the 1997 court order that ordered him off his Diamond Bar Ranch, now sitting inside the national forest and protected from use under federal law.... Senators urged to fight energy bill The mayor of Great Falls joined outfitters, ranchers, housewives and about 50 others Wednesday, calling on Montana's senators to reject a proposed federal energy bill. The group, primarily from communities along the Rocky Mountain Front, fired off a letter to the senators, saying the proposed energy bill would sacrifice Montana's wild heritage of ranching, hunting and fishing in the name of corporate profits. "As property owners, hunters, anglers, and conservationists, we respect the Front's working, agricultural heritage and its world-class wildlife populations," they wrote. "The Front is a showcase for how Montanans are working together to care for the land and create a robust economy.".... Governors pass Guinn resolution Gov. Kenny Guinn applauded the decision Tuesday by the Western Governors Association to unanimously pass a resolution to support the sage grouse conservation plan developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service.... Save the Peaks effort draws 200 A crowd of approximately 200 gathered to listen to tribal representatives assert a message that they’ve repeated again and again ever since the first ski lodge was erected on the San Francisco Peaks approximately five decades ago. The message to the Forest Service is clear—the Peaks are sacred and economic interests of a handful of investors cannot outweigh the spiritual and cultural interests of 13 Arizona tribes.... Grand Teton turns 75, still leaving tourists and locals in awe As early as 1897, Col. S.B.M. Young, Yellowstone's acting superintendent, proposed expanding Yellowstone's boundaries south to encompass portions of northern Jackson Hole. The proposal drew little interest from Congress or the Interior Department. Mather and Albright began working with Wyoming's congressional delegation to make that happen. Congressman Frank Mondell offered a bill in 1918, and a year later the House unanimously approved a revised version. However, the bill died in the Senate after Idaho Sen. John Nugent worried that expanding Yellowstone would trump sheep grazing. Sheep ranchers weren't alone in their opposition. Ranchers worried about losing grazing privileges. Forest Service employees feared losing management authority. Dude ranchers opposed improved roads, new hotels and competition from concessioners.... Public Lands meet in Washington D.C. Members of Nevada's Legislative Committee on Public Lands will travel to Washington, D.C., today and Thursday for an information tour. Committee members, led by Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, will discuss public lands issues of importance to Nevada. On the packed agenda are issues like the proposed listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species; fire suppression policies of the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service; mining and grazing regulations; efforts to combat noxious weeds and invasive species; policies on wild horses and burros; and the impacts of proposed federal legislation and rulemaking on Nevada's public lands.... San Carlos considers signing memorandum The San Carlos Apache Reservation is considering joining the new management program for the Blue Range Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program. Arizona Game and Fish Department Nongame Chief Terry Johnson said during a Thursday interview that the reservation is considering joining the Adaptive Management Work Group. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Coordinator John Oakleaf attended the Jan. 28 meeting and gave a confirmed depredation count of 63 since the reintroduction project began. This number was challenged by Laura Schneberger of the New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association who listed 240 depredations. Her count is much larger than Oakleaf's because the numbers are unconfirmed by the field team. The field team must be notified immediately after a potential wolf attack to confirm the death. Ranchers such as Schneberger and Greenlee County's Daisy Mae Cannon said that more time needs to be given to contact the team after a potential depredation.... Editorial: Denver potential loser in South Platte plan But that's not all. The board would kick in $1 million toward an "endowment" to fund improvements along the river; guarantee minimum and maximum stream flows for the protection of trout fishing; accept a permanent ban on new projects in Eleven Mile and Cheesman canyons, and create two organizations to monitor streamflow management and any proposed water projects. Considering Colorado's recent water woes, that's quite a sacrifice. What might the water board be getting in return? A promise from the U.S. Forest Service and certain environmental groups not to ask for "wild and scenic" designation along 72 miles of the river between Eleven Mile Reservoir and Waterton Canyon. Such designation would stop all development there and prevent the water board from creating any more storage. What kind of deal is that, you might reasonably ask.... Rare frog to spawn a lawsuit Conservationists have put the federal government on notice that they plan to sue for not protecting a rare Southwestern frog on the brink of extinction. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) on Monday joined with the Arizona-based conservation group, the Center for Biological Diversity, to file a 60-day notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for not including the relict leopard frog on the threatened and endangered species list.... Real Michigan wolverine spotted for first time in about two centuries A biologist has confirmed the sighting of a real Michigan wolverine, about 200 years after the species was last seen in the state that uses the small but ferocious animal as its unofficial nickname. Coyote hunters spotted a wolverine near Ubly, about 90 miles north of Detroit. Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Arnie Karr saw the forest predator Tuesday and snapped pictures of the animal as it ran out of the woods and across a field.... Farmers and ranchers feel heat for fish kill A Northern California fish kill that went unpunished three years ago has come back to bite the farmers and ranchers who caused it. The listing of coho salmon as an endangered species this month by the Fish and Game Commission means that the same ranchers must now obtain an Incidental Take Permit or be subject to a $10,000 fine for each fish killed. In return for that permit, the Department of Fish and Game can then require any conditions it desires regarding future river diversions and operations on private land to restore the species.... Creeks designated for Santa Ana sucker The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday it has designated more than 21,000 acres of streams in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties as critical environment for a bottom-feeding fish called the Santa Ana sucker. The designation complied with a judge's order last year in a lawsuit brought by environmental groups that say the freshwater sucker's habitat has decreased because of water diversions and development. They say the species is now found in less than a quarter of its historic range.... Rancher: Wolf Agent 'trespassed' A Meeteetse rancher says the federal official in charge of wolves in Wyoming illegally handled four wolves in his calving pasture recently. Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not have permission to be on private land when he was discovered with four tranquilized wolves south of Meeteetse on Feb. 14, rancher Randy Kruger said. Larsen Ranch Co. owners say they may ask Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric to file criminal trespass charges against the Fish and Wildlife Service. A ranch stockholder and employee, Kruger said Wednesday he was driving across a pasture off Gooseberry Creek at 3 p.m. Feb. 14 when he "caught two men hiding in the bushes." They were under a high bank by the road, out of sight. "It seemed quite alarming to me," he added. "I stopped to see what they were up to." They had four wolves laid out, tranquilized. Kruger identified the men as Jimenez and Wes Livingston of Cody.... Plan seeks more park visitors The National Park Service and tourism industry officials yesterday announced a campaign to reverse a decline in visitors to America's 388 designated national sites. Born from a new partnership signed by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIAA), the U.S. Department of Interior's National Park Service (NPS) and the National Park Foundation, the "See America's National Parks" campaign is scheduled to begin this spring.... Wild horse advocates protest BLM thinning Wild horse advocates, convinced too many animals are being removed from Nevada ranges, took their message Wednesday to the state Capitol. Despite persistent rain and cold temperatures, 15 placard-carrying demonstrators rallied along Carson Street for two hours. Their key point: Major herd reductions throughout the state threaten the long-term viability of the state’s wild horses.... Green groups back suit by SUWA A virtual Who's Who of environmental groups — plus 14 state governments — are arguing in briefs that federal environmental law would be completely undermined if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns a Utah case now before it. For example, 14 state attorneys general wrote that would mean the Interior Department's "stewardship responsibility over federal lands, including wilderness study areas, are largely immune from federal (court) scrutiny" — no matter how bad a job it might be doing. At issue is a lawsuit by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance against Interior Secretary Gale Norton contending the Bureau of Land Management is not doing as much as required by law to protect wildernesslike areas in Utah from damage by off-road vehicles. It also says the BLM is not following its own land-use plans.... Northern Cheyenne sue BLM over coalbed methane study The Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe is suing the federal Bureau of Land Management alleging the agency failed consult with it on cultural resources that may be affected by an expansion of a coalbed methane project near Decker. The tribe said BLM violated consulting requirements in the National Historic Preservation Act and failed to give the tribe a chance to comment on the BLM's review prior to the agency.... Bush wants to drill in Otero Mesa; Gov. Richardson thinks not An unusual coalition of New Mexicans has formed over the oil and grass drilling on Otero Mesa in southern New Mexico. The southern New Mexico mesa was until recently known only to hikers, outdoor enthusiasts and ranchers. Ranchers, hunters and environmentalists are trying to stave off the oil and gas companies eager to gain access to pristine lands such as Otero Mesa. Gov. Bill Richardson attended the forum and received a standing ovation from the 700-plus, statewide crowd when he signed executive order 2004-005. The former Department of Energy secretary had strong reasons for believing Otero Mesa should be protected.... BLM, greens win round in route dispute Three rural Utah counties have lost another court battle in their ongoing campaign to control dirt roads on public lands. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell on Tuesday denied all substantive motions by the counties while granting those filed by federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and the Sierra Club. Campbell ruled that Garfield, Kane and San Juan counties do not have so-called RS 2477 rights to 15 of 16 disputed routes on lands administered by the BLM. The judge also found that the counties violated federal law by grading and re-aligning the routes in 1996 without the BLM's consent.... U.S. House OKs local control of Oregon Dunes land A bill transferring about 69 acres of federal land near the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to local control won final Congressional approval Tuesday. The House unanimously approved the measure, which is intended to improve access to the dunes and boost public safety. The bill would transfer land along the Oregon coast south of the Umpqua River, near Winchester Bay, from the federal Bureau of Land Management to Douglas County.... Interior Department won't negotiate over trails The Department of Interior has declined to negotiate with Alaska over recognizing historic trails due to disputes over the legality of an earlier agreement with Utah, but Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski says he doesn't want to wait. Asked if that meant a lawsuit is brewing, Murkowski said "anything's possible." Last year, Murkowski had asked the Interior Department to start negotiating an agreement similar to one the agency had reached with Utah in 2003 concerning historic trails under the federal Revised Statute 2477.... Utah loses a round in battle on N-waste The state lost yet another round in its legal battle to keep high-level nuclear waste out of Utah when a Washington, D.C., federal appeals court ruled Tuesday the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction to license private nuclear waste facilities. Furthermore, the court ruled that even though the Department of Energy would not take over private nuclear storage facilities, nothing in the law or the congressional debates "suggests that Congress intended to prohibit private use of private away-from-reactor facilities." The ruling is one of a litany of setbacks for the state, which has lost on almost every issue it has raised. In this case, the state argued the NRC did not have jurisdiction to license private waste facilities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act — an argument rejected by the D.C. court.... Residents will be asked to conserve water The city of Casper will begin asking residents next month to voluntarily conserve water and may impose mandatory water restrictions in April. The voluntary restrictions and the possible mandatory limits on water usage result from the ongoing drought and a call likely to be made on the North Platte River to fill the Inland Lakes Reservoir in western Nebraska, Casper Public Utilities Manager David Hill said. The Inland Lakes water rights on the North Platte date back to 1904 and are older than any rights held by the Central Wyoming Regional Water System, Hill said.... Farmers sue state over new fees The California Farm Bureau Federation filed suit Wednesday to block the state from collecting $50 million a year in new fees the Legislature imposed on rural landowners as part of last summer's budget agreement. The suit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, argues that the fees constitute a tax increase and therefore require a two-thirds vote approval by the Legislature. Officials at the Farm Bureau also argue there is no connection between the cost of the services provided to the landowners and the fees they are being asked to pay -- as required by state law before a fee can be imposed.... Beef recall secrecy fought State health officials said Tuesday they will continue efforts to change a controversial agreement with the federal government so that the California public could be notified immediately of beef recall details. A memorandum of understanding between the state Department of Health Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture prevents public access to the details of the voluntary beef recall made after the nation's first known case of mad cow disease. "We believe that to do our jobs as effectively as possible we need to be able to tell consumers who may have been exposed to the product where the product went," said Jim Waddell, chief of the DHS food and drug branch.... Facing the Bull: The Most Dangerous Eight Seconds in Sports On May 29, 2003, Mike Lee sat atop Chili, a nearly 1,700-pound (772-kilogram) bull at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's rodeo in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Lee, just 20 years old, was tense, shaking his neck, and taking deep breaths. His left hand clutched the "bull rope" bound behind the beast's front legs. Chili heaved and snorted and tried to maneuver his body in the tight-fitted, gated steel chute. Surrounding Lee in the arena, the crowd roared, awaiting what some sports commentators consider the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.... Winning rodeos job one for Fords It was more than 30 years ago that two brothers from Colorado first appeared on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association tour, featuring a hard-spurring, go-for-broke style of bareback riding that got the attention of rodeo fans everywhere. Bruce and Glen Ford, from Greeley, Colo., set a standard in the event that many bareback riders have copied over the years. Bruce went on to win five world titles and earned 19 trips to the National Finals Rodeo. He was later inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Glen qualified for the 1976 NFR, but failed to win a world championship. Now make way for the next generation of Fords. Royce, Bruce's son, and Heath, Glen's son, are starting to make an impact on the rodeo scene....
Cattle Battle Continues in New Mexico Kit Laney's family has been ranching in the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico since 1883, but the Laney family lifestyle could all come to an end with the U.S. Forest Service threatening to impound and move Laney's cattle. Eighty-five percent of Laney’s range is considered federal land, and he has so far refused to remove his 300 head of cattle, which the Forest Service says are trespassing. However, based on the fact that his family was ranching on these grounds before the Forest Service even existed, Laney is fighting the 1997 court order that ordered him off his Diamond Bar Ranch, now sitting inside the national forest and protected from use under federal law.... Senators urged to fight energy bill The mayor of Great Falls joined outfitters, ranchers, housewives and about 50 others Wednesday, calling on Montana's senators to reject a proposed federal energy bill. The group, primarily from communities along the Rocky Mountain Front, fired off a letter to the senators, saying the proposed energy bill would sacrifice Montana's wild heritage of ranching, hunting and fishing in the name of corporate profits. "As property owners, hunters, anglers, and conservationists, we respect the Front's working, agricultural heritage and its world-class wildlife populations," they wrote. "The Front is a showcase for how Montanans are working together to care for the land and create a robust economy.".... Governors pass Guinn resolution Gov. Kenny Guinn applauded the decision Tuesday by the Western Governors Association to unanimously pass a resolution to support the sage grouse conservation plan developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service.... Save the Peaks effort draws 200 A crowd of approximately 200 gathered to listen to tribal representatives assert a message that they’ve repeated again and again ever since the first ski lodge was erected on the San Francisco Peaks approximately five decades ago. The message to the Forest Service is clear—the Peaks are sacred and economic interests of a handful of investors cannot outweigh the spiritual and cultural interests of 13 Arizona tribes.... Grand Teton turns 75, still leaving tourists and locals in awe As early as 1897, Col. S.B.M. Young, Yellowstone's acting superintendent, proposed expanding Yellowstone's boundaries south to encompass portions of northern Jackson Hole. The proposal drew little interest from Congress or the Interior Department. Mather and Albright began working with Wyoming's congressional delegation to make that happen. Congressman Frank Mondell offered a bill in 1918, and a year later the House unanimously approved a revised version. However, the bill died in the Senate after Idaho Sen. John Nugent worried that expanding Yellowstone would trump sheep grazing. Sheep ranchers weren't alone in their opposition. Ranchers worried about losing grazing privileges. Forest Service employees feared losing management authority. Dude ranchers opposed improved roads, new hotels and competition from concessioners.... Public Lands meet in Washington D.C. Members of Nevada's Legislative Committee on Public Lands will travel to Washington, D.C., today and Thursday for an information tour. Committee members, led by Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, will discuss public lands issues of importance to Nevada. On the packed agenda are issues like the proposed listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species; fire suppression policies of the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service; mining and grazing regulations; efforts to combat noxious weeds and invasive species; policies on wild horses and burros; and the impacts of proposed federal legislation and rulemaking on Nevada's public lands.... San Carlos considers signing memorandum The San Carlos Apache Reservation is considering joining the new management program for the Blue Range Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program. Arizona Game and Fish Department Nongame Chief Terry Johnson said during a Thursday interview that the reservation is considering joining the Adaptive Management Work Group. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Coordinator John Oakleaf attended the Jan. 28 meeting and gave a confirmed depredation count of 63 since the reintroduction project began. This number was challenged by Laura Schneberger of the New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association who listed 240 depredations. Her count is much larger than Oakleaf's because the numbers are unconfirmed by the field team. The field team must be notified immediately after a potential wolf attack to confirm the death. Ranchers such as Schneberger and Greenlee County's Daisy Mae Cannon said that more time needs to be given to contact the team after a potential depredation.... Editorial: Denver potential loser in South Platte plan But that's not all. The board would kick in $1 million toward an "endowment" to fund improvements along the river; guarantee minimum and maximum stream flows for the protection of trout fishing; accept a permanent ban on new projects in Eleven Mile and Cheesman canyons, and create two organizations to monitor streamflow management and any proposed water projects. Considering Colorado's recent water woes, that's quite a sacrifice. What might the water board be getting in return? A promise from the U.S. Forest Service and certain environmental groups not to ask for "wild and scenic" designation along 72 miles of the river between Eleven Mile Reservoir and Waterton Canyon. Such designation would stop all development there and prevent the water board from creating any more storage. What kind of deal is that, you might reasonably ask.... Rare frog to spawn a lawsuit Conservationists have put the federal government on notice that they plan to sue for not protecting a rare Southwestern frog on the brink of extinction. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) on Monday joined with the Arizona-based conservation group, the Center for Biological Diversity, to file a 60-day notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for not including the relict leopard frog on the threatened and endangered species list.... Real Michigan wolverine spotted for first time in about two centuries A biologist has confirmed the sighting of a real Michigan wolverine, about 200 years after the species was last seen in the state that uses the small but ferocious animal as its unofficial nickname. Coyote hunters spotted a wolverine near Ubly, about 90 miles north of Detroit. Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Arnie Karr saw the forest predator Tuesday and snapped pictures of the animal as it ran out of the woods and across a field.... Farmers and ranchers feel heat for fish kill A Northern California fish kill that went unpunished three years ago has come back to bite the farmers and ranchers who caused it. The listing of coho salmon as an endangered species this month by the Fish and Game Commission means that the same ranchers must now obtain an Incidental Take Permit or be subject to a $10,000 fine for each fish killed. In return for that permit, the Department of Fish and Game can then require any conditions it desires regarding future river diversions and operations on private land to restore the species.... Creeks designated for Santa Ana sucker The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday it has designated more than 21,000 acres of streams in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties as critical environment for a bottom-feeding fish called the Santa Ana sucker. The designation complied with a judge's order last year in a lawsuit brought by environmental groups that say the freshwater sucker's habitat has decreased because of water diversions and development. They say the species is now found in less than a quarter of its historic range.... Rancher: Wolf Agent 'trespassed' A Meeteetse rancher says the federal official in charge of wolves in Wyoming illegally handled four wolves in his calving pasture recently. Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not have permission to be on private land when he was discovered with four tranquilized wolves south of Meeteetse on Feb. 14, rancher Randy Kruger said. Larsen Ranch Co. owners say they may ask Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric to file criminal trespass charges against the Fish and Wildlife Service. A ranch stockholder and employee, Kruger said Wednesday he was driving across a pasture off Gooseberry Creek at 3 p.m. Feb. 14 when he "caught two men hiding in the bushes." They were under a high bank by the road, out of sight. "It seemed quite alarming to me," he added. "I stopped to see what they were up to." They had four wolves laid out, tranquilized. Kruger identified the men as Jimenez and Wes Livingston of Cody.... Plan seeks more park visitors The National Park Service and tourism industry officials yesterday announced a campaign to reverse a decline in visitors to America's 388 designated national sites. Born from a new partnership signed by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIAA), the U.S. Department of Interior's National Park Service (NPS) and the National Park Foundation, the "See America's National Parks" campaign is scheduled to begin this spring.... Wild horse advocates protest BLM thinning Wild horse advocates, convinced too many animals are being removed from Nevada ranges, took their message Wednesday to the state Capitol. Despite persistent rain and cold temperatures, 15 placard-carrying demonstrators rallied along Carson Street for two hours. Their key point: Major herd reductions throughout the state threaten the long-term viability of the state’s wild horses.... Green groups back suit by SUWA A virtual Who's Who of environmental groups — plus 14 state governments — are arguing in briefs that federal environmental law would be completely undermined if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns a Utah case now before it. For example, 14 state attorneys general wrote that would mean the Interior Department's "stewardship responsibility over federal lands, including wilderness study areas, are largely immune from federal (court) scrutiny" — no matter how bad a job it might be doing. At issue is a lawsuit by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance against Interior Secretary Gale Norton contending the Bureau of Land Management is not doing as much as required by law to protect wildernesslike areas in Utah from damage by off-road vehicles. It also says the BLM is not following its own land-use plans.... Northern Cheyenne sue BLM over coalbed methane study The Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe is suing the federal Bureau of Land Management alleging the agency failed consult with it on cultural resources that may be affected by an expansion of a coalbed methane project near Decker. The tribe said BLM violated consulting requirements in the National Historic Preservation Act and failed to give the tribe a chance to comment on the BLM's review prior to the agency.... Bush wants to drill in Otero Mesa; Gov. Richardson thinks not An unusual coalition of New Mexicans has formed over the oil and grass drilling on Otero Mesa in southern New Mexico. The southern New Mexico mesa was until recently known only to hikers, outdoor enthusiasts and ranchers. Ranchers, hunters and environmentalists are trying to stave off the oil and gas companies eager to gain access to pristine lands such as Otero Mesa. Gov. Bill Richardson attended the forum and received a standing ovation from the 700-plus, statewide crowd when he signed executive order 2004-005. The former Department of Energy secretary had strong reasons for believing Otero Mesa should be protected.... BLM, greens win round in route dispute Three rural Utah counties have lost another court battle in their ongoing campaign to control dirt roads on public lands. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell on Tuesday denied all substantive motions by the counties while granting those filed by federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and the Sierra Club. Campbell ruled that Garfield, Kane and San Juan counties do not have so-called RS 2477 rights to 15 of 16 disputed routes on lands administered by the BLM. The judge also found that the counties violated federal law by grading and re-aligning the routes in 1996 without the BLM's consent.... U.S. House OKs local control of Oregon Dunes land A bill transferring about 69 acres of federal land near the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to local control won final Congressional approval Tuesday. The House unanimously approved the measure, which is intended to improve access to the dunes and boost public safety. The bill would transfer land along the Oregon coast south of the Umpqua River, near Winchester Bay, from the federal Bureau of Land Management to Douglas County.... Interior Department won't negotiate over trails The Department of Interior has declined to negotiate with Alaska over recognizing historic trails due to disputes over the legality of an earlier agreement with Utah, but Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski says he doesn't want to wait. Asked if that meant a lawsuit is brewing, Murkowski said "anything's possible." Last year, Murkowski had asked the Interior Department to start negotiating an agreement similar to one the agency had reached with Utah in 2003 concerning historic trails under the federal Revised Statute 2477.... Utah loses a round in battle on N-waste The state lost yet another round in its legal battle to keep high-level nuclear waste out of Utah when a Washington, D.C., federal appeals court ruled Tuesday the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction to license private nuclear waste facilities. Furthermore, the court ruled that even though the Department of Energy would not take over private nuclear storage facilities, nothing in the law or the congressional debates "suggests that Congress intended to prohibit private use of private away-from-reactor facilities." The ruling is one of a litany of setbacks for the state, which has lost on almost every issue it has raised. In this case, the state argued the NRC did not have jurisdiction to license private waste facilities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act — an argument rejected by the D.C. court.... Residents will be asked to conserve water The city of Casper will begin asking residents next month to voluntarily conserve water and may impose mandatory water restrictions in April. The voluntary restrictions and the possible mandatory limits on water usage result from the ongoing drought and a call likely to be made on the North Platte River to fill the Inland Lakes Reservoir in western Nebraska, Casper Public Utilities Manager David Hill said. The Inland Lakes water rights on the North Platte date back to 1904 and are older than any rights held by the Central Wyoming Regional Water System, Hill said.... Farmers sue state over new fees The California Farm Bureau Federation filed suit Wednesday to block the state from collecting $50 million a year in new fees the Legislature imposed on rural landowners as part of last summer's budget agreement. The suit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court, argues that the fees constitute a tax increase and therefore require a two-thirds vote approval by the Legislature. Officials at the Farm Bureau also argue there is no connection between the cost of the services provided to the landowners and the fees they are being asked to pay -- as required by state law before a fee can be imposed.... Beef recall secrecy fought State health officials said Tuesday they will continue efforts to change a controversial agreement with the federal government so that the California public could be notified immediately of beef recall details. A memorandum of understanding between the state Department of Health Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture prevents public access to the details of the voluntary beef recall made after the nation's first known case of mad cow disease. "We believe that to do our jobs as effectively as possible we need to be able to tell consumers who may have been exposed to the product where the product went," said Jim Waddell, chief of the DHS food and drug branch.... Facing the Bull: The Most Dangerous Eight Seconds in Sports On May 29, 2003, Mike Lee sat atop Chili, a nearly 1,700-pound (772-kilogram) bull at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's rodeo in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Lee, just 20 years old, was tense, shaking his neck, and taking deep breaths. His left hand clutched the "bull rope" bound behind the beast's front legs. Chili heaved and snorted and tried to maneuver his body in the tight-fitted, gated steel chute. Surrounding Lee in the arena, the crowd roared, awaiting what some sports commentators consider the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.... Winning rodeos job one for Fords It was more than 30 years ago that two brothers from Colorado first appeared on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association tour, featuring a hard-spurring, go-for-broke style of bareback riding that got the attention of rodeo fans everywhere. Bruce and Glen Ford, from Greeley, Colo., set a standard in the event that many bareback riders have copied over the years. Bruce went on to win five world titles and earned 19 trips to the National Finals Rodeo. He was later inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Glen qualified for the 1976 NFR, but failed to win a world championship. Now make way for the next generation of Fords. Royce, Bruce's son, and Heath, Glen's son, are starting to make an impact on the rodeo scene....
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