NOTE TO READERS
I will be travelling Friday & Saturday, returning home Sunday evening. The laptop will be with me, and if the internet connections are good, will still be blogging away. Will definitely try to do the Saturday Night thing as Julie Carter has a great one for you.
Friday, January 14, 2005
NEWS ROUNDUP
Wolf talks start quietly, but could get loud Idaho senators resumed discussions on one of their most common — and one of their least favorite — topics Wednesday: wolves. But this time, the state is another step closer to being able to manage the wolves without as much oversight from the federal government. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's Office of Species Conservation director, Jim Caswell, walked the Senate Resources and Conservation Committee through a slate of new rules that will go into effect Feb. 2. The wolves still will be protected by Washington, D.C., but livestock and pet owners will get much more flexibility to harass and kill wolves that threaten their animals. Wolves were all but extinct in Idaho for years, with just a few lone animals wandering down from Canada. In 1995, against the Idaho Legislature's will, wolves were reintroduced and managed by the Nez Perce Tribe and the federal government. Now, Caswell estimated, there are at least 450 wolves in the state, plus an additional 150 pups from this summer....
Ranchers bear added burden Jim Melin has been living with predators for a long time. He raises cattle and sheep on privately owned bench land shadowed by the Absaroka Range. Bears and lions sometimes attack his animals. So do coyotes, foxes and domestic dogs. But wolves are something else. The father of 11 children -- the youngest is only 3 -- Melin had made it a habit to send his dogs off with the smaller kids when they played outside. "They'll run off a bear or a lion," he said of the dogs. "But they're an attractant to a wolf. So now what do you do?" He keeps an eye on his kids. He keeps his dogs inside at night. Watching his livestock all the time impossible, though he does what he can. For the past three or four years, he said, he's lost no lambs to eagles or coyotes. Foxes might have taken a handful of newborn animals. Dogs have killed a half-dozen sheep and bears have claimed a similar number. But wolves, he said, have killed 49 sheep, although not all those losses could be proven. He also blames wolves for the loss of 10 newborn calves one year. That time, he had gathered the herd for calving and a pack of wolves walked by. They didn't attack, but they startled the mother animals....
Depredations have climbed sharply over the past two years Livestock losses to wolves have been greater than predicted. Livestock losses to wolves have been less than predicted. Which statement you want to believe depends on how you want to do your figuring. The 1994 environmental impact statement outlining wolf reintroduction said wolves in the Yellowstone National Park area would kill between one and 32 cattle yearly, an average of 19 animals. It also predicted the wolves would kill between 17 and 110 sheep, an average of 68. The same document predicted a recovered wolf population would number about 100 wolves. However, there are now at least 300 wolves in the greater Yellowstone area. If you calculate the averages, losses to wolves since 1995 have averaged 16 cattle and 68 sheep, well within the averages even though there are three times the predicted level of wolves. But the averages don't tell the whole story. Depradations have climbed sharply over the past two years. In 2004, the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife, which pays ranchers for confirmed or probable losses, wrote checks for 200 sheep and 56 cattle in greater Yellowstone. That's roughly twice the predicted levels....
Wolves welcome - just not big, bad ones Members of the state's Wolf Management Working Group told the Colorado Wildlife Commission on Thursday that wolves are welcome in Colorado - as long as they behave themselves. The 14-member group spent six months on a draft management plan, agreeing unanimously on a number of issues, including impacts on livestock and wildlife, damage payments to livestock producers, and the need to monitor wolf movements and behaviors. "This is the first step in what we could do if a wolf wanders in from a neighboring state," said Gary Skiba, state Division of Wildlife wolf coordinator....
Attorney General's Office Asks Builder to Drop Racketeering Suit In an unusual move, the California attorney general's office has asked a San Diego developer to drop a federal racketeering lawsuit that accuses three U.S. Forest Service employees and an environmental activist of conspiring to block a proposed luxury condominium development on Big Bear Lake. The suit is an example of an improper use of the courts "by powerful interests against private citizens to suppress legitimate 1st Amendment activity," Deputy Atty. Gen. Harrison Pollak of the office's environmental unit said in a letter to the developer. A dozen years ago, California passed a law to combat what legislators saw as efforts by companies to intimidate individuals who got involved in public debates. The sponsor, then a state senator, was Bill Lockyer, now the state attorney general. Pollak said he believed the current case marked only the second time since the passage of the law that the attorney general's office has gotten involved in this way in a federal case. The suit, filed by developer Irving Okovita, alleges that the Forest Service workers used a small environmental group, the Friends of Fawnskin, as "racketeering enterprise" to block the development. The workers and their supporters accuse Okovita of using the racketeering law to retaliate against them....
Appeals Court OKs Fire Site Logging An appeals court Thursday lifted its injunction barring salvage logging from the site of the nation's worst wildfire in 2002 -- an issue that has pitted environmentalists against the timber industry and Bush administration. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided a lower court judge did not abuse his discretion when he refused to stop salvage logging on old-growth forest in the Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon. Six timber sales amounting to 47 million board feet were conducted in the area and brought $2 million. Lifting the preliminary injuction "will allow us to move forward with economic recovery and restoration of the land," said forest supervisor Scott Conroy....
Woman giving up in battle over Mojave land After decades, Connie Connelly is resigned to leaving her rustic home in the northeastern Mojave National Preserve for a mobile-home in remote Wyoming, pending the close of escrow later this month. "I plan on moving on as quick as possible," said Connelly, 44, who has been battling federal authorities' efforts to evict her from the venerable general store her family turned into a homestead in 1966. The house sits on five windswept acres near the state line, about 23 miles from Primm, Nev. Connelly, who pleaded not guilty in August to a charge of trespassing on federal land, was due in federal court today but that hearing is to be continued until next month. If convicted, she faces up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Prosecutors have said they will take Connelly's move into consideration as they decide whether to pursue the case. Faced with possible jail time and a fine she cannot afford, Connelly said she ultimately had no choice but to agree to move. But she would prefer to stay in the six-room home she shares with 11 dogs, a cat and a horse. "I am still praying for a miracle," Connelly said. "I just feel sick."....
Mad-cow probe focuses on batch of special feed Federal investigators have narrowed the search for the source of the latest mad-cow case down to a “readily available” grain supplement an Alberta farmer bought nearly a year after strict new safeguards were put into place. In the spring of 1998, Wilhelm Vohs, who had for years fed his cattle nothing but grain grown on his central Alberta ranch, bought a nutritional supplement for his fresh crop of Charolais calves, hoping it would enhance their development. He thought the calf-starter feed consisted of minerals, vitamins and grain. “I bought that feed in good faith,” Mr. Vohs, a 46-year-old rancher from Innisfail, told reporters gathered in his community's town hall....
Beef ID program sparks dispute A feud over whether the state of South Dakota should operate an animal ID database as part of Gov. Mike Rounds' South Dakota Certified Beef program erupted Wednesday during the first day of committee hearings in the 2005 Legislature. A meeting of the Joint Appropriations Committee hearing with top state Agriculture Department officials ended up in an argument with Agriculture Secretary Larry Gabriel and state veterinarian Sam Holland on one side and private database owner Marshall Edleman on the other. Edleman told the committee that he believes not only should the state's database not be established because it would compete with private companies launching animal ID database businesses, but he also said cattle producers should shun government-managed databases because of privacy concerns. He cited the fact that a nonprofit group posted subsidies USDA paid to individual farmers on the Internet as a situation to be avoided. "People are much more willing to participate in a system if they know they are dealing with a private entity. We're very afraid that this type of information — how many cattle you own and where they're located —would get out there," Edleman said. "If, as producers, we're paying to put in the information and store it, we should be able to control it. And for the interest of the taxpayers, we need to keep it in private industry."....
Panel endorses stronger livestock disease reporting requirements Supporters of stricter requirements for reporting livestock diseases say the benefits of disclosure outweigh the possible damage of a false alarm. A legislative committee on Thursday endorsed a measure that would require the state veterinarian to establish and manage a list of contagious or infectious diseases deemed a threat to livestock. Ranchers, private veterinarians, government agencies and anyone with ''jurisdiction'' over infected animals would have to report any suspected illnesses on the list. The measure, recommended 9-0 by the House Agriculture Committee, moves forward amid concern about another case of mad cow disease in Canada and brucellosis worries in Wyoming....
Ranching never looked so good! The Women's Movement has put on many different hats over the years. Long before Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and concerns about glass ceilings came to public attention, however, the women of the West had been putting on the ten-gallon hat, so to speak - quietly assuming traditionally "male" roles on the ranch. They did this without complaint, without revolution, but with a quiet acceptance of accomplishing what needed to be done with men, or without them. Such women are the subject of "Hard Twist: Western Ranch Women," an exhibit of 61 photographs by celebrated photographer Barbara Van Cleve. The Rockwell Museum of Western Art will host the exhibition from January 13 to April 24, 2005. "Hard Twist," which is also the title of a book of photographs on the same subject by Van Cleve, details the lives of modern women ranchers in large-scale black and white photographs. The pictures, most of them close ups, convey both the daily routine involved in ranching and the emotions connected to it. The exhibit will open with a presentation by Van Cleve at 6:00 p.m., and a reception with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, following her talk on January 13th. Van Cleve will be joined by Linda Davis, one of her subjects, who is featured in the exhibit. Davis will be on hand to talk with participants about her experiences running a ranch. Museum members and youth 17 and under are invited free of charge....
Cowboy poet is rodeo parade grand marshal Cowboy poet, humorist and columnist Baxter Black has been chosen grand marshal for this year's La Fiesta de los Vaqueros on Feb. 24. "I normally don't accept accolades of this sort, but I told them I would accept on one condition: That they allow me to bring some real cowboys along," said Black, a Benson-area resident since 1997. "I'll have a 'posse' from down in this part of the world - mostly old cowboys - in the parade with me." The parade, expected to have about 120 entries in this, its 80th year, usually takes about 2 1/2 hours to finish. "I've always been supportive of rodeo. This is the sport of my kind of people," said Black, a former large-animal veterinarian before becoming a nationally known entertainer. "The Tucson Rodeo is pretty fancy and it's quite an honor to be asked to be their parade marshal."....
Why we do the things we do "This cowboy life is sure romantic ain't it?" John Blount grinned at me from under the brim of his cap secured under a hood. I grinned, too, but kept my mouth closed so the cold air wouldn't hurt my teeth. Those of us who ranch, farm, day work, ride salebarn pens or any other "agricultural pursuit" (that phrase will ring a bell if you are an FFA member or alumnus) do it purely because we love it. Don't argue with me. You know it's true. In the best of years, we break even - if you don't count the payments. Any number of weather or disease disasters can wreck an entire season's work, stealing any chance of profit in what may be only 15 minutes of hail, wind or water. But, we don't quit. Why?....
Wolf talks start quietly, but could get loud Idaho senators resumed discussions on one of their most common — and one of their least favorite — topics Wednesday: wolves. But this time, the state is another step closer to being able to manage the wolves without as much oversight from the federal government. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's Office of Species Conservation director, Jim Caswell, walked the Senate Resources and Conservation Committee through a slate of new rules that will go into effect Feb. 2. The wolves still will be protected by Washington, D.C., but livestock and pet owners will get much more flexibility to harass and kill wolves that threaten their animals. Wolves were all but extinct in Idaho for years, with just a few lone animals wandering down from Canada. In 1995, against the Idaho Legislature's will, wolves were reintroduced and managed by the Nez Perce Tribe and the federal government. Now, Caswell estimated, there are at least 450 wolves in the state, plus an additional 150 pups from this summer....
Ranchers bear added burden Jim Melin has been living with predators for a long time. He raises cattle and sheep on privately owned bench land shadowed by the Absaroka Range. Bears and lions sometimes attack his animals. So do coyotes, foxes and domestic dogs. But wolves are something else. The father of 11 children -- the youngest is only 3 -- Melin had made it a habit to send his dogs off with the smaller kids when they played outside. "They'll run off a bear or a lion," he said of the dogs. "But they're an attractant to a wolf. So now what do you do?" He keeps an eye on his kids. He keeps his dogs inside at night. Watching his livestock all the time impossible, though he does what he can. For the past three or four years, he said, he's lost no lambs to eagles or coyotes. Foxes might have taken a handful of newborn animals. Dogs have killed a half-dozen sheep and bears have claimed a similar number. But wolves, he said, have killed 49 sheep, although not all those losses could be proven. He also blames wolves for the loss of 10 newborn calves one year. That time, he had gathered the herd for calving and a pack of wolves walked by. They didn't attack, but they startled the mother animals....
Depredations have climbed sharply over the past two years Livestock losses to wolves have been greater than predicted. Livestock losses to wolves have been less than predicted. Which statement you want to believe depends on how you want to do your figuring. The 1994 environmental impact statement outlining wolf reintroduction said wolves in the Yellowstone National Park area would kill between one and 32 cattle yearly, an average of 19 animals. It also predicted the wolves would kill between 17 and 110 sheep, an average of 68. The same document predicted a recovered wolf population would number about 100 wolves. However, there are now at least 300 wolves in the greater Yellowstone area. If you calculate the averages, losses to wolves since 1995 have averaged 16 cattle and 68 sheep, well within the averages even though there are three times the predicted level of wolves. But the averages don't tell the whole story. Depradations have climbed sharply over the past two years. In 2004, the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife, which pays ranchers for confirmed or probable losses, wrote checks for 200 sheep and 56 cattle in greater Yellowstone. That's roughly twice the predicted levels....
Wolves welcome - just not big, bad ones Members of the state's Wolf Management Working Group told the Colorado Wildlife Commission on Thursday that wolves are welcome in Colorado - as long as they behave themselves. The 14-member group spent six months on a draft management plan, agreeing unanimously on a number of issues, including impacts on livestock and wildlife, damage payments to livestock producers, and the need to monitor wolf movements and behaviors. "This is the first step in what we could do if a wolf wanders in from a neighboring state," said Gary Skiba, state Division of Wildlife wolf coordinator....
Attorney General's Office Asks Builder to Drop Racketeering Suit In an unusual move, the California attorney general's office has asked a San Diego developer to drop a federal racketeering lawsuit that accuses three U.S. Forest Service employees and an environmental activist of conspiring to block a proposed luxury condominium development on Big Bear Lake. The suit is an example of an improper use of the courts "by powerful interests against private citizens to suppress legitimate 1st Amendment activity," Deputy Atty. Gen. Harrison Pollak of the office's environmental unit said in a letter to the developer. A dozen years ago, California passed a law to combat what legislators saw as efforts by companies to intimidate individuals who got involved in public debates. The sponsor, then a state senator, was Bill Lockyer, now the state attorney general. Pollak said he believed the current case marked only the second time since the passage of the law that the attorney general's office has gotten involved in this way in a federal case. The suit, filed by developer Irving Okovita, alleges that the Forest Service workers used a small environmental group, the Friends of Fawnskin, as "racketeering enterprise" to block the development. The workers and their supporters accuse Okovita of using the racketeering law to retaliate against them....
Appeals Court OKs Fire Site Logging An appeals court Thursday lifted its injunction barring salvage logging from the site of the nation's worst wildfire in 2002 -- an issue that has pitted environmentalists against the timber industry and Bush administration. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided a lower court judge did not abuse his discretion when he refused to stop salvage logging on old-growth forest in the Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon. Six timber sales amounting to 47 million board feet were conducted in the area and brought $2 million. Lifting the preliminary injuction "will allow us to move forward with economic recovery and restoration of the land," said forest supervisor Scott Conroy....
Woman giving up in battle over Mojave land After decades, Connie Connelly is resigned to leaving her rustic home in the northeastern Mojave National Preserve for a mobile-home in remote Wyoming, pending the close of escrow later this month. "I plan on moving on as quick as possible," said Connelly, 44, who has been battling federal authorities' efforts to evict her from the venerable general store her family turned into a homestead in 1966. The house sits on five windswept acres near the state line, about 23 miles from Primm, Nev. Connelly, who pleaded not guilty in August to a charge of trespassing on federal land, was due in federal court today but that hearing is to be continued until next month. If convicted, she faces up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine. Prosecutors have said they will take Connelly's move into consideration as they decide whether to pursue the case. Faced with possible jail time and a fine she cannot afford, Connelly said she ultimately had no choice but to agree to move. But she would prefer to stay in the six-room home she shares with 11 dogs, a cat and a horse. "I am still praying for a miracle," Connelly said. "I just feel sick."....
Mad-cow probe focuses on batch of special feed Federal investigators have narrowed the search for the source of the latest mad-cow case down to a “readily available” grain supplement an Alberta farmer bought nearly a year after strict new safeguards were put into place. In the spring of 1998, Wilhelm Vohs, who had for years fed his cattle nothing but grain grown on his central Alberta ranch, bought a nutritional supplement for his fresh crop of Charolais calves, hoping it would enhance their development. He thought the calf-starter feed consisted of minerals, vitamins and grain. “I bought that feed in good faith,” Mr. Vohs, a 46-year-old rancher from Innisfail, told reporters gathered in his community's town hall....
Beef ID program sparks dispute A feud over whether the state of South Dakota should operate an animal ID database as part of Gov. Mike Rounds' South Dakota Certified Beef program erupted Wednesday during the first day of committee hearings in the 2005 Legislature. A meeting of the Joint Appropriations Committee hearing with top state Agriculture Department officials ended up in an argument with Agriculture Secretary Larry Gabriel and state veterinarian Sam Holland on one side and private database owner Marshall Edleman on the other. Edleman told the committee that he believes not only should the state's database not be established because it would compete with private companies launching animal ID database businesses, but he also said cattle producers should shun government-managed databases because of privacy concerns. He cited the fact that a nonprofit group posted subsidies USDA paid to individual farmers on the Internet as a situation to be avoided. "People are much more willing to participate in a system if they know they are dealing with a private entity. We're very afraid that this type of information — how many cattle you own and where they're located —would get out there," Edleman said. "If, as producers, we're paying to put in the information and store it, we should be able to control it. And for the interest of the taxpayers, we need to keep it in private industry."....
Panel endorses stronger livestock disease reporting requirements Supporters of stricter requirements for reporting livestock diseases say the benefits of disclosure outweigh the possible damage of a false alarm. A legislative committee on Thursday endorsed a measure that would require the state veterinarian to establish and manage a list of contagious or infectious diseases deemed a threat to livestock. Ranchers, private veterinarians, government agencies and anyone with ''jurisdiction'' over infected animals would have to report any suspected illnesses on the list. The measure, recommended 9-0 by the House Agriculture Committee, moves forward amid concern about another case of mad cow disease in Canada and brucellosis worries in Wyoming....
Ranching never looked so good! The Women's Movement has put on many different hats over the years. Long before Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and concerns about glass ceilings came to public attention, however, the women of the West had been putting on the ten-gallon hat, so to speak - quietly assuming traditionally "male" roles on the ranch. They did this without complaint, without revolution, but with a quiet acceptance of accomplishing what needed to be done with men, or without them. Such women are the subject of "Hard Twist: Western Ranch Women," an exhibit of 61 photographs by celebrated photographer Barbara Van Cleve. The Rockwell Museum of Western Art will host the exhibition from January 13 to April 24, 2005. "Hard Twist," which is also the title of a book of photographs on the same subject by Van Cleve, details the lives of modern women ranchers in large-scale black and white photographs. The pictures, most of them close ups, convey both the daily routine involved in ranching and the emotions connected to it. The exhibit will open with a presentation by Van Cleve at 6:00 p.m., and a reception with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, following her talk on January 13th. Van Cleve will be joined by Linda Davis, one of her subjects, who is featured in the exhibit. Davis will be on hand to talk with participants about her experiences running a ranch. Museum members and youth 17 and under are invited free of charge....
Cowboy poet is rodeo parade grand marshal Cowboy poet, humorist and columnist Baxter Black has been chosen grand marshal for this year's La Fiesta de los Vaqueros on Feb. 24. "I normally don't accept accolades of this sort, but I told them I would accept on one condition: That they allow me to bring some real cowboys along," said Black, a Benson-area resident since 1997. "I'll have a 'posse' from down in this part of the world - mostly old cowboys - in the parade with me." The parade, expected to have about 120 entries in this, its 80th year, usually takes about 2 1/2 hours to finish. "I've always been supportive of rodeo. This is the sport of my kind of people," said Black, a former large-animal veterinarian before becoming a nationally known entertainer. "The Tucson Rodeo is pretty fancy and it's quite an honor to be asked to be their parade marshal."....
Why we do the things we do "This cowboy life is sure romantic ain't it?" John Blount grinned at me from under the brim of his cap secured under a hood. I grinned, too, but kept my mouth closed so the cold air wouldn't hurt my teeth. Those of us who ranch, farm, day work, ride salebarn pens or any other "agricultural pursuit" (that phrase will ring a bell if you are an FFA member or alumnus) do it purely because we love it. Don't argue with me. You know it's true. In the best of years, we break even - if you don't count the payments. Any number of weather or disease disasters can wreck an entire season's work, stealing any chance of profit in what may be only 15 minutes of hail, wind or water. But, we don't quit. Why?....
Thursday, January 13, 2005
NEWS ROUNDUP
Rancher files libel lawsuit against environmental group A rancher from Arivaca is suing Tucson's Center for Biological Diversity, claiming the environmental group defamed him. Jim Chilton's libel suit seeks unspecified monetary damages. He claims that a news release and photo captions posted on the center's Web site in July 2002 contain "false, unfair, libelous and defamatory statements" about Chilton's management of his 21,500-acre Montana Allotment, northwest of Nogales. Chilton's wife, Sue, was appointed to the state Game and Fish Commission in 2001 over the strenuous objections of environmentalists....
Rancher raps state on methane reservoirs Long before a field inspection was commissioned last year, state regulators should have had some idea that a large number of coal-bed methane water storage ponds were without permits, a Campbell County rancher says. Ed Swartz lives on Wildcat Creek in northern Campbell County. In 2003, the state conducted an aerial survey of Wildcat Creek in gathering information related to Swartz's lawsuit against the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. The Swartz vs. DEQ lawsuit was settled in 2003. On Tuesday, Swartz said the permitting problems on Rawhide Creek exemplify the need for more involvement from the state. "The state of Wyoming is supposed to protect the existing water rights from unpermitted reservoirs that are interfering with (those with water rights), and they have really dropped the ball," Swartz said. "Those of us who could afford to do it, we have to take them to court to try to protect rights that the state of Wyoming should have been protecting for us all along."....
Feds designate 51 miles in Wyoming as butterfly plant habitat Fifty one miles of stream banks in two southeastern Wyoming counties have been designated by the federal government as a protected habitat for a threatened plant. The new critical habitat designation for the Colorado butterfly plant will not result in a loss of access or a change in the way the land can be used for now. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the land may be subject to special management in the future. Conservationists lauded the move Tuesday. The agency originally proposed designating 8,486 acres in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska as critical habitat for the Colorado butterfly plant. But the agency cut that back to 3,538 acres - all in Wyoming's Laramie and Platte counties - after some landowners and local governments implemented conservation measures and research determined the plant no longer existed and could not be grown in other areas....
Reliving reintroduction: Wolves still call park home a decade later The trek through fluffy snow and near-zero temperatures was like walking through a memory. Exactly 10 years earlier, wolf biologists, politicians and others had hiked the same trail through two feet of snow, winding along a nearly frozen creek, through a ravine, and finally to a 1-acre pen tucked against a hillside above Lamar Valley. They carried steel crates that contained young wolves from Canada that would be the foundation of Yellowstone's returning population. On Wednesday morning, about 25 people retraced the route on skis and snowshoes until they reached the Rose Creek pen, a roughly circular enclosure built from tall chain-link panels and topped with an overhang bending inward to prevent any wolf from climbing out....
Aggressive birds blamed for declining fishery at famous walleye lake Now that new walleye regulations will be implemented on Minnesota's famed Leech Lake, anglers are eager to deal with the flying culprits believed to be dragging down the lake's walleye population. About 10,000 doubled-crested cormorants, a fish-eating species, made their home on the lake's Little Pelican Island last year, and local anglers want them controlled. "That's the No. 1 thing people are saying,'' says Roy Huddle, owner of the 75-year-old Huddle's Resort on the lake's south shore. "They're saying, 'We've got to get rid of these cormorants.' " The black, gangly birds are a wildlife paradox. In recent decades, they've rebounded dramatically in Minnesota and other Great Lakes states after DDT and other harmful chemicals were banned 30 years ago. But they're also blamed for decreased walleye and perch populations on Leech Lake as well as other fish species around the country. An adult cormorant eats about 1 pound of fish daily, and the cormorant population on Leech Lake has exploded since 1998, when 73 breeding pairs were surveyed....
Oft-hazed bison killed in park National Park Service rangers shot and killed a female bison in Yellowstone National Park Wednesday morning after repeated hazing failed to keep the animal off private property, a park spokeswoman said. "This is a bison that had been hazed four times," Cheryl Matthews said. Each time the animal was herded off private ranch land north of Gardiner, it became more resistant to hazing, she said. So the Park Service made the decision to kill the animal....
Dead Cow Washes Ashore On SF Beach A dead cow that washed onto San Francisco's Ocean Beach will be buried in the sand where it was found, a National Park Service spokeswoman said Wednesday. The cow washed ashore around sunset Tuesday on Ocean Beach near Noriega Street, said spokeswoman Christine Powell. The park service assessed the situation Tuesday night and decided to bury the animal on the beach. Powell said crews arrived on the beach Wednesday morning with equipment to bury the cow just as they do when dead whales wash ashore. The park service may never know where the cow came from, Powell said, but recent heavy rains might have contributed to the cow ending up in the ocean....
Question stalls wilderness case A case that could determine whether 600,000 acres in Colorado - and millions more nationwide - are eligible for wilderness protection remained on hold Wednesday, when a federal appeals panel questioned whether it even belonged in the 10th Circuit Court. The case involves Interior Secretary Gale Norton's 2003 decision to retroactively yank the Bureau of Land Management's authority to recommend areas for congressional wilderness designation. The three judges on the panel sharply questioned attorneys for Earthjustice and the government as to whether the Denver court was the appropriate venue for the case. That's because there's some confusion about whether a lower court is finished with the case in which Earthjustice and other environmental groups challenged Norton's action. "We are a court of review," said Judge Mary Beck Briscoe of Kansas, "and I am at a loss to find anything to review." She called the uncertainty about the status of the case "a bit bizarre."....Group wants federal panel to nix deal that opened lands to drilling is the Denver Post article on the same topic.
Border bandits Trespass laws are serious business in Colorado. Even wild horses can't get away with the crime. Each winter, wild horses from the Adobe Town herd management area in Wyoming migrate across the state line, often pushed south by harsh weather. The horses settle in the Powder Wash area of Moffat County, where they become the problem of the Bureau of Land Management's Little Snake Field Office. In Adobe Town, the Rawlins Field Office manages the herd. Because of jurisdiction laws, Rawlins BLM staff can't simply cross the state line and gather the horses, said Chuck Reed, a wild horse specialist with the Rawlins Field Office....
Industrial gas users list policy aims A group of US industrial consumers of natural gas will submit to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 24 a long list of incentives to both reduce demand and expand supplies of gas in order to drive down prices. The Consumers Alliance for Affordable Natural Gas (CAANG) claims US natural gas prices are two or three times their historical levels—"the highest in the industrial world"—primarily because of government policies that have encouraged use of the clean-burning fuel while restricting producers' access to domestic reserves. CAANG members say the resulting high energy costs are eroding their abilities to compete....
Column: Do or Dry The residents of Page, Ariz., have seen a steady decline in the nearly 2 million people who visited nearby Lake Powell Reservoir some six years ago. And little wonder, too. Water levels at the reservoir have shrunk gradually, sometimes even alarmingly. For a while last summer, the lake was shrinking at a rate of up to a foot every four days. Currently, water levels at the reservoir are down below 37 percent of what’s normally called “full.” Recent moisture aside, the news does indeed appear grim. The National Park Service has spent millions of dollars extending boat ramps. And for the first time this year, the company that runs concessions at the reservoir will close most of its services during the winter. The Bureau of Reclamation says it will take at least 10 years of merely average river flows to fill the reservoir up again. Water levels haven’t been this low since President Nixon started bringing troops home from Vietnam. And unless wet weather continues well into 2005, the hydroelectric penstocks used to generate electricity at the dam could be shut off as early as the first part of 2006 for lack of water....
Column: Gila water settlement is good for New Mexico It seemed in some ways to be counter to the flow of history when President Bush, in December, signed a bill that allocates a minimum of $66 million and possibly as much as $128 million for water development in Southwest New Mexico. Included in the massive Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act, the funding is for development of up to 14,000 acre-feet per year of new water supplies to meet water supply demands in the Southwest Water Planning Region of New Mexico, including costs associated with planning and environmental compliance activities and environmental mitigation and restoration. Thee has not been a major reclamation project built within New Mexico since the completion of the San Juan-Chama Development Project in the 1970s....
Permit system may protect river The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission is seeking public comment on a special recreation permit system proposed for the Blackfoot River in Western Montana. The new rule would require a permit for commercial use, a competitive event, or an organized group activity on the Blackfoot River. A permit also would be needed for any of those events on Fish, Wildlife and Parks or Bureau of Land Management lands along the river. There would be no limit on the number of permits issued. The purpose of the permit system would be to manage group sizes, ensure compatability with the recreating public, and to protect natural resources in or along the river....
Title holder will defend his ugly truck at festival Mark Godbey is proud enough of his 1975 "ugly truck" that he might even throw a 30th birthday party for it sometime this year. Here's a guy that really gets into the "ugly" business. Mark has that chiseled handsome look, so he isn't automatically the kind of person you would expect to let his pride boil over when he talks about his 30-year-old pickup truck. But, you see, Mark is defending his Ugly Truck title in February when the battered old steel boxes go on parade during the Balde Eagle Festival....
Rancher files libel lawsuit against environmental group A rancher from Arivaca is suing Tucson's Center for Biological Diversity, claiming the environmental group defamed him. Jim Chilton's libel suit seeks unspecified monetary damages. He claims that a news release and photo captions posted on the center's Web site in July 2002 contain "false, unfair, libelous and defamatory statements" about Chilton's management of his 21,500-acre Montana Allotment, northwest of Nogales. Chilton's wife, Sue, was appointed to the state Game and Fish Commission in 2001 over the strenuous objections of environmentalists....
Rancher raps state on methane reservoirs Long before a field inspection was commissioned last year, state regulators should have had some idea that a large number of coal-bed methane water storage ponds were without permits, a Campbell County rancher says. Ed Swartz lives on Wildcat Creek in northern Campbell County. In 2003, the state conducted an aerial survey of Wildcat Creek in gathering information related to Swartz's lawsuit against the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. The Swartz vs. DEQ lawsuit was settled in 2003. On Tuesday, Swartz said the permitting problems on Rawhide Creek exemplify the need for more involvement from the state. "The state of Wyoming is supposed to protect the existing water rights from unpermitted reservoirs that are interfering with (those with water rights), and they have really dropped the ball," Swartz said. "Those of us who could afford to do it, we have to take them to court to try to protect rights that the state of Wyoming should have been protecting for us all along."....
Feds designate 51 miles in Wyoming as butterfly plant habitat Fifty one miles of stream banks in two southeastern Wyoming counties have been designated by the federal government as a protected habitat for a threatened plant. The new critical habitat designation for the Colorado butterfly plant will not result in a loss of access or a change in the way the land can be used for now. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the land may be subject to special management in the future. Conservationists lauded the move Tuesday. The agency originally proposed designating 8,486 acres in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska as critical habitat for the Colorado butterfly plant. But the agency cut that back to 3,538 acres - all in Wyoming's Laramie and Platte counties - after some landowners and local governments implemented conservation measures and research determined the plant no longer existed and could not be grown in other areas....
Reliving reintroduction: Wolves still call park home a decade later The trek through fluffy snow and near-zero temperatures was like walking through a memory. Exactly 10 years earlier, wolf biologists, politicians and others had hiked the same trail through two feet of snow, winding along a nearly frozen creek, through a ravine, and finally to a 1-acre pen tucked against a hillside above Lamar Valley. They carried steel crates that contained young wolves from Canada that would be the foundation of Yellowstone's returning population. On Wednesday morning, about 25 people retraced the route on skis and snowshoes until they reached the Rose Creek pen, a roughly circular enclosure built from tall chain-link panels and topped with an overhang bending inward to prevent any wolf from climbing out....
Aggressive birds blamed for declining fishery at famous walleye lake Now that new walleye regulations will be implemented on Minnesota's famed Leech Lake, anglers are eager to deal with the flying culprits believed to be dragging down the lake's walleye population. About 10,000 doubled-crested cormorants, a fish-eating species, made their home on the lake's Little Pelican Island last year, and local anglers want them controlled. "That's the No. 1 thing people are saying,'' says Roy Huddle, owner of the 75-year-old Huddle's Resort on the lake's south shore. "They're saying, 'We've got to get rid of these cormorants.' " The black, gangly birds are a wildlife paradox. In recent decades, they've rebounded dramatically in Minnesota and other Great Lakes states after DDT and other harmful chemicals were banned 30 years ago. But they're also blamed for decreased walleye and perch populations on Leech Lake as well as other fish species around the country. An adult cormorant eats about 1 pound of fish daily, and the cormorant population on Leech Lake has exploded since 1998, when 73 breeding pairs were surveyed....
Oft-hazed bison killed in park National Park Service rangers shot and killed a female bison in Yellowstone National Park Wednesday morning after repeated hazing failed to keep the animal off private property, a park spokeswoman said. "This is a bison that had been hazed four times," Cheryl Matthews said. Each time the animal was herded off private ranch land north of Gardiner, it became more resistant to hazing, she said. So the Park Service made the decision to kill the animal....
Dead Cow Washes Ashore On SF Beach A dead cow that washed onto San Francisco's Ocean Beach will be buried in the sand where it was found, a National Park Service spokeswoman said Wednesday. The cow washed ashore around sunset Tuesday on Ocean Beach near Noriega Street, said spokeswoman Christine Powell. The park service assessed the situation Tuesday night and decided to bury the animal on the beach. Powell said crews arrived on the beach Wednesday morning with equipment to bury the cow just as they do when dead whales wash ashore. The park service may never know where the cow came from, Powell said, but recent heavy rains might have contributed to the cow ending up in the ocean....
Question stalls wilderness case A case that could determine whether 600,000 acres in Colorado - and millions more nationwide - are eligible for wilderness protection remained on hold Wednesday, when a federal appeals panel questioned whether it even belonged in the 10th Circuit Court. The case involves Interior Secretary Gale Norton's 2003 decision to retroactively yank the Bureau of Land Management's authority to recommend areas for congressional wilderness designation. The three judges on the panel sharply questioned attorneys for Earthjustice and the government as to whether the Denver court was the appropriate venue for the case. That's because there's some confusion about whether a lower court is finished with the case in which Earthjustice and other environmental groups challenged Norton's action. "We are a court of review," said Judge Mary Beck Briscoe of Kansas, "and I am at a loss to find anything to review." She called the uncertainty about the status of the case "a bit bizarre."....Group wants federal panel to nix deal that opened lands to drilling is the Denver Post article on the same topic.
Border bandits Trespass laws are serious business in Colorado. Even wild horses can't get away with the crime. Each winter, wild horses from the Adobe Town herd management area in Wyoming migrate across the state line, often pushed south by harsh weather. The horses settle in the Powder Wash area of Moffat County, where they become the problem of the Bureau of Land Management's Little Snake Field Office. In Adobe Town, the Rawlins Field Office manages the herd. Because of jurisdiction laws, Rawlins BLM staff can't simply cross the state line and gather the horses, said Chuck Reed, a wild horse specialist with the Rawlins Field Office....
Industrial gas users list policy aims A group of US industrial consumers of natural gas will submit to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 24 a long list of incentives to both reduce demand and expand supplies of gas in order to drive down prices. The Consumers Alliance for Affordable Natural Gas (CAANG) claims US natural gas prices are two or three times their historical levels—"the highest in the industrial world"—primarily because of government policies that have encouraged use of the clean-burning fuel while restricting producers' access to domestic reserves. CAANG members say the resulting high energy costs are eroding their abilities to compete....
Column: Do or Dry The residents of Page, Ariz., have seen a steady decline in the nearly 2 million people who visited nearby Lake Powell Reservoir some six years ago. And little wonder, too. Water levels at the reservoir have shrunk gradually, sometimes even alarmingly. For a while last summer, the lake was shrinking at a rate of up to a foot every four days. Currently, water levels at the reservoir are down below 37 percent of what’s normally called “full.” Recent moisture aside, the news does indeed appear grim. The National Park Service has spent millions of dollars extending boat ramps. And for the first time this year, the company that runs concessions at the reservoir will close most of its services during the winter. The Bureau of Reclamation says it will take at least 10 years of merely average river flows to fill the reservoir up again. Water levels haven’t been this low since President Nixon started bringing troops home from Vietnam. And unless wet weather continues well into 2005, the hydroelectric penstocks used to generate electricity at the dam could be shut off as early as the first part of 2006 for lack of water....
Column: Gila water settlement is good for New Mexico It seemed in some ways to be counter to the flow of history when President Bush, in December, signed a bill that allocates a minimum of $66 million and possibly as much as $128 million for water development in Southwest New Mexico. Included in the massive Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act, the funding is for development of up to 14,000 acre-feet per year of new water supplies to meet water supply demands in the Southwest Water Planning Region of New Mexico, including costs associated with planning and environmental compliance activities and environmental mitigation and restoration. Thee has not been a major reclamation project built within New Mexico since the completion of the San Juan-Chama Development Project in the 1970s....
Permit system may protect river The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission is seeking public comment on a special recreation permit system proposed for the Blackfoot River in Western Montana. The new rule would require a permit for commercial use, a competitive event, or an organized group activity on the Blackfoot River. A permit also would be needed for any of those events on Fish, Wildlife and Parks or Bureau of Land Management lands along the river. There would be no limit on the number of permits issued. The purpose of the permit system would be to manage group sizes, ensure compatability with the recreating public, and to protect natural resources in or along the river....
Title holder will defend his ugly truck at festival Mark Godbey is proud enough of his 1975 "ugly truck" that he might even throw a 30th birthday party for it sometime this year. Here's a guy that really gets into the "ugly" business. Mark has that chiseled handsome look, so he isn't automatically the kind of person you would expect to let his pride boil over when he talks about his 30-year-old pickup truck. But, you see, Mark is defending his Ugly Truck title in February when the battered old steel boxes go on parade during the Balde Eagle Festival....
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
NEWS ROUNDUP
Column: Until conservation successes become widespread on private as well as public lands, the West will continue to be divided Looking back over the past century, the greatest shortcoming of the conservation movement in the American West has been its near-total failure to devise a strategy for privately owned land in the region. By any yardstick -- watershed acres, animal species, ecological processes -- conservation success on private land has been small. While many environmentalists correctly note that half of the West is publicly owned and thus held in trust for the public good, they rarely mention the other part of that equation: Half of the West is in private hands. This is significant because, as many researchers have written, private lands contain the most productive soils, are located at lower elevations and often include key riparian areas. Wildlife biologist Rick Knight, who teaches at Colorado State University, put it this way: "We will not be able to sustain native biodiversity in the Mountain West by relying merely on protected areas. Future conservation efforts to protect this region's natural heritage will require closer attention being paid to the role of private lands." But how? The tactics of demonization, litigation, regulation and pressure politics may be effective on public lands -- though to a diminishing degree these days -- but they're essentially useless on private land....
Conservation easement preserves Bass Creek ranch When Brooke and Janie Thompson gaze out their kitchen window, they can almost picture what it was like a century ago when Finnish immigrants cleared the land straddling Bass Creek for an 80-acre homestead. Last year the Thompsons enlisted the help of the Bitter Root Land Trust and preserved that view for perpetuity. By donating a conservation easement on their 80-acre ranch southwest of Florence, the Thompsons ensured that the homestead patented in 1904 by John Jacobsen will never be subdivided and will maintain its historical agriculture setting forever. For Brooke Thompson, who purchased the property in 1971 when the Bitterroot Valley was still decidedly agricultural, the legally defensible deed allows him the comfort of imagining, with some degree of certainty, what the land will look like when he and his wife are gone....
Klamath coho listing ruled illegal but protection stays for now A federal judge ruled Tuesday that coho salmon in the Klamath River should not have been listed as a threatened species without taking into account hatchery fish along with wild, but let stand the Endangered Species Act protection pending a federal review. In a repeat of his 2001 finding that struck down protection for Oregon coastal coho over the lack of genetic distinction between hatchery and wild salmon, U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan ruled from the bench in Eugene in favor of a lawsuit brought by property rights advocates challenging threatened species status for coho salmon in a region of Northern California and Southern Oregon that includes the Klamath and Rogue rivers. However, he granted a motion from NOAA Fisheries to let stand the threatened species listing until the agency completes a comprehensive review of 26 West Coast salmon listings prompted by the Oregon coastal coho ruling....
Endangered species, energy top House Resources Committee chairman's agenda Congressman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) outlined plans for his second term as chairman of the House Committee on Resources last week after he was reappointed chairman of the panel for the 109th Congress. Pombo said strengthening the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and increasing domestic energy supplies will be the committee's top priorities in his second term as chairman. Pombo said he would continue the committee's bipartisan efforts to strengthen and update the ESA, which has posted a less than 1% success rate for species recovery in the last thirty years. Last year the committee set a benchmark in its effort to achieve this goal and has already begun discussions with the Senate, the Bush Administration, and the Governors to shape legislation that will pass Congress in this session....
Groups cite sprawl as threat to 1,200 rare plants, animals Urban sprawl is gobbling up open spaces in fast-growing metropolitan areas so quickly that it could spell extinction for nearly 1,200 species of plants and animals, environmental groups say. The National Wildlife Federation, Smart Growth America and NatureServe projected that over the next 25 years, more than 22,000 acres of natural resources and habitat will be lost to development in 35 of the largest and most rapidly growing metropolitan areas. According to the groups, as many as 553 of the nearly 1,200 at-risk species are found only in those areas....
Governor blasts federal salmon efforts Gov. Ted Kulongoski demanded Monday the Bush administration commit to restoring Northwest salmon in its plan for operating Columbia Basin hydroelectric dams. "As governor, I will not sit by while the federal government attempts to dismantle our environmental legacy, undermine our values and erode our sovereignty," Kulongoski said in his State of the State address in Salem. "The time has come to draw a line and say enough! That's what I intend to do starting with the federal government's 2004 Biological Opinion for the Columbia River Power System." Kulongoski warned that he is willing to join a lawsuit brought by environmental and fishing groups over the biological opinion, which is the federal government's blueprint for balancing salmon against federally operated dams in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana....
Elk numbers bump upwards in Yellowstone Researchers last week found 15 percent more elk in the northern Yellowstone elk herd than they found in last winter's count, though the numbers are still less than half what they were 10 years ago. Biologists in four airplanes surveyed the northern reaches of Yellowstone National Park and parts of Montana last Wednesday. They found 9,545 elk, said Tom Lemke, area biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Survey conditions were good, he said, with cold weather and plenty of snow cover. Last winter, a similar survey found 8,335 elk....
Man who hit BLM officer with ATV sentenced Tom Lyn Callen was riding his A-T-V in the Big Sand Bay recreation area at Salmon Creek Reservoir in the late hours of July 3. A B-L-M ranger approached Callen on foot because he was riding in an area off-limits to motorized vehicles. When the officer was about a foot from the A-T-V, Callen accelerated. His rear wheels hit the officer in the knee and knocked him to the ground. Callen will spend six months on home confinement with electronic monitoring. Afterward, he'll serve three years supervised release. He must perform 50 hours community service.... COMMENT - Kit Laney gets 5 months in Federal prison and 5 months home confinement. Hardly seems fair does it? Either their US Attorney is more reasonable than ours, or reins and spurs are a more dangerous weapon than an ATV.
Environmentalists lose NW NPR-A lawsuit; exploration can move forward The U.S. District Court for Alaska has ruled against the Northern Alaska Environmental Center and other plaintiffs that filed a 2004 lawsuit challenging Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton’s decision to open the Northwest National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to oil and gas leasing. The 22 page decision, released Jan. 10, concludes that Interior’s actions were not “not arbitrary and capricious” as alleged by the environmental center because the cumulative impact analysis by Interior “considered a reasonable range of alternatives and gave sufficient consideration to reasonably foreseeable alternatives.” Further the court found that the department’s biological opinion, which was also criticized by the environmental center, “reasonably discussed the entire agency action as contemplated by the ROD (Record of Decision) and accurately and sufficiently accounted for the distribution of eiders.” The court denied the environmental center’s request for a declaratory judgment against the Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, as well as its request for a declaratory judgment against the biological opinion....
Western states in livestock tracking pilot project Livestock producers in seven Western states have embarked on a pilot program to track their animals from birth to death, part of a move to safeguard consumers and livestock from mad cow disease. The Northwest Pilot Project hopes to find workable and cost-effective livestock identification and tracking systems, says coordinator Julie Morrison of the Idaho Cattle Association. Before a national system is put in place, livestock producers want to try out systems that use regional solutions and existing technology, Morrison said Tuesday. "We don't want one-size-fits-all solutions," she said. The western pilot project involves a coalition of cattlemen's and dairy associations, state departments of agriculture, universities and other industry groups. It covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Utah, Nevada and Hawaii. The trial will involve about 27,000 head of livestock — mostly beef cattle and dairy cows, but also about 1,100 sheep — and will use several types of identification systems, Morrison said....
Staging a comeback: Reopening of Japanese market vital for state's cattlemen By late spring or early summer Japan will open its market to U.S. beef, an export destination that was slammed shut on Christmas Eve 2003, after one of the United States' 96 million head of cattle tested positive for mad cow disease. Japan was one of 58 countries that closed its borders to U.S. beef that day, all acting within 24 hours of the finding in a herd in Mabton, Wash., but it's the U.S. beef industry's most lucrative export market. In 2004, the closure meant a loss of some $60 million to California beef exporters and $1.5 billion to the U.S. beef industry. The Asian market is key to the industry, with South Korea, China/Hong Kong and Taiwan being California producers' second, third and fourth major destinations. Those markets, too, remain closed....
Cattle ranchers at stock show differ over ending ban on Canadian beef As ranchers readied their cattle for sale here Monday at the National Western Stock Show, their opinions about whether the U.S. should lift its import ban on Canadian beef ran the gamut. Some like the high prices their cattle have fetched since the ban was imposed. Others say a protracted trading halt could put smaller U.S. meatpackers out of business, hurting ranchers over the long haul. And while many say a reopening of the border is inevitable, they want to see trade resume with Japan first....
Rabies Detected in an Illinois Horse Illinois agriculture and health officials announced last week that a LaSalle County horse tested positive for rabies at the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA) laboratory in Galesburg on Dec. 10, 2004. Eleven people received preventive rabies treatment following exposure to the horse on the small family farm at which it was stabled. According to state public health veterinarian Connie Austin, DVM, MPH, the horse, which was less than two years old, began showing clinical signs of illness on Dec. 4 and was euthanized on Dec. 9 after its condition deteriorated. Results from the state laboratory indicated rabies, and brain samples were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where the virus infecting the horse was identified as a skunk strain of rabies. "It was important to us to find out whether it was the bat strain or the skunk strain, since the skunk strain can result in epidemics in the skunk population which can spill over into other animals." said Austin. Any wild animal, like a raccoon, skunk, fox, coyote, or bat, can have rabies and transmit it to people. Currently, bats are the primary mammal positive for rabies in Illinois....
Column: Until conservation successes become widespread on private as well as public lands, the West will continue to be divided Looking back over the past century, the greatest shortcoming of the conservation movement in the American West has been its near-total failure to devise a strategy for privately owned land in the region. By any yardstick -- watershed acres, animal species, ecological processes -- conservation success on private land has been small. While many environmentalists correctly note that half of the West is publicly owned and thus held in trust for the public good, they rarely mention the other part of that equation: Half of the West is in private hands. This is significant because, as many researchers have written, private lands contain the most productive soils, are located at lower elevations and often include key riparian areas. Wildlife biologist Rick Knight, who teaches at Colorado State University, put it this way: "We will not be able to sustain native biodiversity in the Mountain West by relying merely on protected areas. Future conservation efforts to protect this region's natural heritage will require closer attention being paid to the role of private lands." But how? The tactics of demonization, litigation, regulation and pressure politics may be effective on public lands -- though to a diminishing degree these days -- but they're essentially useless on private land....
Conservation easement preserves Bass Creek ranch When Brooke and Janie Thompson gaze out their kitchen window, they can almost picture what it was like a century ago when Finnish immigrants cleared the land straddling Bass Creek for an 80-acre homestead. Last year the Thompsons enlisted the help of the Bitter Root Land Trust and preserved that view for perpetuity. By donating a conservation easement on their 80-acre ranch southwest of Florence, the Thompsons ensured that the homestead patented in 1904 by John Jacobsen will never be subdivided and will maintain its historical agriculture setting forever. For Brooke Thompson, who purchased the property in 1971 when the Bitterroot Valley was still decidedly agricultural, the legally defensible deed allows him the comfort of imagining, with some degree of certainty, what the land will look like when he and his wife are gone....
Klamath coho listing ruled illegal but protection stays for now A federal judge ruled Tuesday that coho salmon in the Klamath River should not have been listed as a threatened species without taking into account hatchery fish along with wild, but let stand the Endangered Species Act protection pending a federal review. In a repeat of his 2001 finding that struck down protection for Oregon coastal coho over the lack of genetic distinction between hatchery and wild salmon, U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan ruled from the bench in Eugene in favor of a lawsuit brought by property rights advocates challenging threatened species status for coho salmon in a region of Northern California and Southern Oregon that includes the Klamath and Rogue rivers. However, he granted a motion from NOAA Fisheries to let stand the threatened species listing until the agency completes a comprehensive review of 26 West Coast salmon listings prompted by the Oregon coastal coho ruling....
Endangered species, energy top House Resources Committee chairman's agenda Congressman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) outlined plans for his second term as chairman of the House Committee on Resources last week after he was reappointed chairman of the panel for the 109th Congress. Pombo said strengthening the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and increasing domestic energy supplies will be the committee's top priorities in his second term as chairman. Pombo said he would continue the committee's bipartisan efforts to strengthen and update the ESA, which has posted a less than 1% success rate for species recovery in the last thirty years. Last year the committee set a benchmark in its effort to achieve this goal and has already begun discussions with the Senate, the Bush Administration, and the Governors to shape legislation that will pass Congress in this session....
Groups cite sprawl as threat to 1,200 rare plants, animals Urban sprawl is gobbling up open spaces in fast-growing metropolitan areas so quickly that it could spell extinction for nearly 1,200 species of plants and animals, environmental groups say. The National Wildlife Federation, Smart Growth America and NatureServe projected that over the next 25 years, more than 22,000 acres of natural resources and habitat will be lost to development in 35 of the largest and most rapidly growing metropolitan areas. According to the groups, as many as 553 of the nearly 1,200 at-risk species are found only in those areas....
Governor blasts federal salmon efforts Gov. Ted Kulongoski demanded Monday the Bush administration commit to restoring Northwest salmon in its plan for operating Columbia Basin hydroelectric dams. "As governor, I will not sit by while the federal government attempts to dismantle our environmental legacy, undermine our values and erode our sovereignty," Kulongoski said in his State of the State address in Salem. "The time has come to draw a line and say enough! That's what I intend to do starting with the federal government's 2004 Biological Opinion for the Columbia River Power System." Kulongoski warned that he is willing to join a lawsuit brought by environmental and fishing groups over the biological opinion, which is the federal government's blueprint for balancing salmon against federally operated dams in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana....
Elk numbers bump upwards in Yellowstone Researchers last week found 15 percent more elk in the northern Yellowstone elk herd than they found in last winter's count, though the numbers are still less than half what they were 10 years ago. Biologists in four airplanes surveyed the northern reaches of Yellowstone National Park and parts of Montana last Wednesday. They found 9,545 elk, said Tom Lemke, area biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Survey conditions were good, he said, with cold weather and plenty of snow cover. Last winter, a similar survey found 8,335 elk....
Man who hit BLM officer with ATV sentenced Tom Lyn Callen was riding his A-T-V in the Big Sand Bay recreation area at Salmon Creek Reservoir in the late hours of July 3. A B-L-M ranger approached Callen on foot because he was riding in an area off-limits to motorized vehicles. When the officer was about a foot from the A-T-V, Callen accelerated. His rear wheels hit the officer in the knee and knocked him to the ground. Callen will spend six months on home confinement with electronic monitoring. Afterward, he'll serve three years supervised release. He must perform 50 hours community service.... COMMENT - Kit Laney gets 5 months in Federal prison and 5 months home confinement. Hardly seems fair does it? Either their US Attorney is more reasonable than ours, or reins and spurs are a more dangerous weapon than an ATV.
Environmentalists lose NW NPR-A lawsuit; exploration can move forward The U.S. District Court for Alaska has ruled against the Northern Alaska Environmental Center and other plaintiffs that filed a 2004 lawsuit challenging Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton’s decision to open the Northwest National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to oil and gas leasing. The 22 page decision, released Jan. 10, concludes that Interior’s actions were not “not arbitrary and capricious” as alleged by the environmental center because the cumulative impact analysis by Interior “considered a reasonable range of alternatives and gave sufficient consideration to reasonably foreseeable alternatives.” Further the court found that the department’s biological opinion, which was also criticized by the environmental center, “reasonably discussed the entire agency action as contemplated by the ROD (Record of Decision) and accurately and sufficiently accounted for the distribution of eiders.” The court denied the environmental center’s request for a declaratory judgment against the Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, as well as its request for a declaratory judgment against the biological opinion....
Western states in livestock tracking pilot project Livestock producers in seven Western states have embarked on a pilot program to track their animals from birth to death, part of a move to safeguard consumers and livestock from mad cow disease. The Northwest Pilot Project hopes to find workable and cost-effective livestock identification and tracking systems, says coordinator Julie Morrison of the Idaho Cattle Association. Before a national system is put in place, livestock producers want to try out systems that use regional solutions and existing technology, Morrison said Tuesday. "We don't want one-size-fits-all solutions," she said. The western pilot project involves a coalition of cattlemen's and dairy associations, state departments of agriculture, universities and other industry groups. It covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Utah, Nevada and Hawaii. The trial will involve about 27,000 head of livestock — mostly beef cattle and dairy cows, but also about 1,100 sheep — and will use several types of identification systems, Morrison said....
Staging a comeback: Reopening of Japanese market vital for state's cattlemen By late spring or early summer Japan will open its market to U.S. beef, an export destination that was slammed shut on Christmas Eve 2003, after one of the United States' 96 million head of cattle tested positive for mad cow disease. Japan was one of 58 countries that closed its borders to U.S. beef that day, all acting within 24 hours of the finding in a herd in Mabton, Wash., but it's the U.S. beef industry's most lucrative export market. In 2004, the closure meant a loss of some $60 million to California beef exporters and $1.5 billion to the U.S. beef industry. The Asian market is key to the industry, with South Korea, China/Hong Kong and Taiwan being California producers' second, third and fourth major destinations. Those markets, too, remain closed....
Cattle ranchers at stock show differ over ending ban on Canadian beef As ranchers readied their cattle for sale here Monday at the National Western Stock Show, their opinions about whether the U.S. should lift its import ban on Canadian beef ran the gamut. Some like the high prices their cattle have fetched since the ban was imposed. Others say a protracted trading halt could put smaller U.S. meatpackers out of business, hurting ranchers over the long haul. And while many say a reopening of the border is inevitable, they want to see trade resume with Japan first....
Rabies Detected in an Illinois Horse Illinois agriculture and health officials announced last week that a LaSalle County horse tested positive for rabies at the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA) laboratory in Galesburg on Dec. 10, 2004. Eleven people received preventive rabies treatment following exposure to the horse on the small family farm at which it was stabled. According to state public health veterinarian Connie Austin, DVM, MPH, the horse, which was less than two years old, began showing clinical signs of illness on Dec. 4 and was euthanized on Dec. 9 after its condition deteriorated. Results from the state laboratory indicated rabies, and brain samples were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where the virus infecting the horse was identified as a skunk strain of rabies. "It was important to us to find out whether it was the bat strain or the skunk strain, since the skunk strain can result in epidemics in the skunk population which can spill over into other animals." said Austin. Any wild animal, like a raccoon, skunk, fox, coyote, or bat, can have rabies and transmit it to people. Currently, bats are the primary mammal positive for rabies in Illinois....
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
MAD COW DISEASE
Canada Confirms New Case of Mad Cow Authorities confirmed on Tuesday another case of mad cow disease in the western province of Alberta -- the second animal found to have the deadly brain-wasting disease in Canada since U.S. officials announced last month they would resume the cross-border cattle trade in March. Canadian officials said no part of the cow -- the third case of the disease ever found in Canada -- has entered the human or animal feed system. But the announcement may strengthen the position of a group of U.S. cattlemen who have sued to block the lifting of the ban. The cattlemen say allowing the trade will hurt U.S. producers and put consumers at risk. U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said Tuesday they are sending a team to Canada to evaluate the latest mad cow case before deciding whether to change their plan to resume imports....
Two Mad Cows in 10 Days A Coincidence - Canada Chief Vet Finding two cases of mad cow disease in 10 days is a coincidence and does not indicate a growing problem with bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Canada, the country's chief veterinarian said Tuesday. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed a case of brain-wasting BSE in an Alberta dairy cow on Jan. 2, and announced Tuesday it had found another from an unrelated Alberta purebred beef farm. "The frequency with which the last two cases has been detected is indicative of random occurrence," Brian Evans told reporters. Evans said officials expected to unearth an additional small number of cases as they stepped up testing for the disease after finding the country's first home-grown case in May 2003....
U.S. Reviews Import Plan as Canada Has 3rd BSE Case The U.S. will review a government plan to renew cattle imports from Canada, where officials today confirmed the nation's third case of mad cow disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will send a technical team to Canada to evaluate the circumstances surrounding Canada's recent mad cow cases, Ron DeHaven, the chief of USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, said today in an e-mailed statement. ``The result of our investigation and analysis will be used to evaluate appropriate next steps'' for the U.S. plan to resume imports in March, DeHaven said....
Cattle Prices Rise as U.S. Seen Delaying Canadian Import Plan Cattle prices in Chicago rose to a 13- month high on speculation that the U.S. will withdraw a plan to resume imports of beef and live cattle from Canada because of a new case of mad cow disease. Canada, which supplied 5 percent of the cattle slaughtered in the U.S. in 2002, today disclosed a third case of the disease since May 2003. The U.S. said last week it plans to resume Canadian imports after a 19-month ban that reduced supplies available to beef producers such as Tyson Foods Inc. ``The odds are increasing with a possible new case of mad cow disease in Canada that the U.S. will at least delay opening the border to Canadian cattle,'' said Andy Gottschalk, a livestock analyst for HedgersEdge.com LLC in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Cattle futures for February delivery rose 1.325 cents, or 1.5 percent, to 91.875 cents a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price for a most-active contract since Dec. 3, 2003....
North Dakotans want border kept closed after new mad cow case North Dakota officials on Tuesday called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reconsider its decision to reopen the border to Canadian beef, after the second confirmed case of mad cow disease in the province of Alberta this year. Wade Moser, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, said ranchers have little faith that USDA is doing everything possible to keep the disease out of the United States. "It's too bad that we can't trust our own government," he said....
U.S. beef producers having second thoughts about supporting border opening U.S. beef producers were having second thoughts about supporting a reopening of the border to Canadian cattle Tuesday after word of a third mad cow case north of the border. And U.S. agriculture officials said they are sending a technical team to Canada to investigate the latest case before saying whether they'll continue their support of resuming the cattle trade. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association demanded an investigation into whether Canada is complying with a feed ban that was supposed to prevent the spread of the disease. "Once the questions concerning Canada's compliance with its BSE firewalls have been adequately answered, NCBA members will consider their position on the Canadian rule and efforts to reopen the border," president Jan Lyons said in a release. "We are very, very concerned with the age of this animal and compliance with the feed ban," said association spokesman Karen Batra. "Our position on reopening the border - we've got some concerns on that." Batra said the group's members will insist the U.S. government rethink its plan to reopen the border in March if they don't have the answers they're looking for by then....
France Says Mad Cow Cases Fall Again in 2004 France said on Tuesday the number of confirmed mad cow cases in the country in 2004 fell more than 60 percent to 54 from a year earlier following tests on some 2.9 million cattle. Following the mad cow epidemic in Britain in the 1990s, mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), spread to France causing a national crisis in 2000, prompting mass culls, beef-on-the-bone bans and extra tests on cattle. Nine people have been diagnosed in France with vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease), the human form of BSE and six have died. In Britain more than 140 people have died of the disease. The French farm ministry said of the 54 BSE cases last year, eight were detected in the framework of a national surveillance system, 29 under the animals at risk programme and 17 from the compulsory screening of older cattle at slaughterhouses. Confirmed cases stood at 137 in 2003, 239 in 2002 and 274 in 2001, it added in a statement....
Major human mad cow epidemic unlikely A major epidemic of the human form of mad cow disease is unlikely, scientists say. Estimates of how many people are likely to develop the fatal brain disease from eating meat contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) have varied widely. But researchers at Imperial College London said on Wednesday they believed only about 70 future cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) would be diagnosed in the country. "We think that the epidemic will be quite small in terms of cases that have arisen from consumption of beef," said epidemiologist Dr Azra Ghani. Because of the long incubation period, which scientists estimate could be from 10 to 20 years, it has been difficult to predict how many cases of vCJD there will be. Up to November 1 last year, 146 people had died from definitive or probable vCJD in Britain, the Department of Health says....
Canada Confirms New Case of Mad Cow Authorities confirmed on Tuesday another case of mad cow disease in the western province of Alberta -- the second animal found to have the deadly brain-wasting disease in Canada since U.S. officials announced last month they would resume the cross-border cattle trade in March. Canadian officials said no part of the cow -- the third case of the disease ever found in Canada -- has entered the human or animal feed system. But the announcement may strengthen the position of a group of U.S. cattlemen who have sued to block the lifting of the ban. The cattlemen say allowing the trade will hurt U.S. producers and put consumers at risk. U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said Tuesday they are sending a team to Canada to evaluate the latest mad cow case before deciding whether to change their plan to resume imports....
Two Mad Cows in 10 Days A Coincidence - Canada Chief Vet Finding two cases of mad cow disease in 10 days is a coincidence and does not indicate a growing problem with bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Canada, the country's chief veterinarian said Tuesday. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed a case of brain-wasting BSE in an Alberta dairy cow on Jan. 2, and announced Tuesday it had found another from an unrelated Alberta purebred beef farm. "The frequency with which the last two cases has been detected is indicative of random occurrence," Brian Evans told reporters. Evans said officials expected to unearth an additional small number of cases as they stepped up testing for the disease after finding the country's first home-grown case in May 2003....
U.S. Reviews Import Plan as Canada Has 3rd BSE Case The U.S. will review a government plan to renew cattle imports from Canada, where officials today confirmed the nation's third case of mad cow disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will send a technical team to Canada to evaluate the circumstances surrounding Canada's recent mad cow cases, Ron DeHaven, the chief of USDA's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, said today in an e-mailed statement. ``The result of our investigation and analysis will be used to evaluate appropriate next steps'' for the U.S. plan to resume imports in March, DeHaven said....
Cattle Prices Rise as U.S. Seen Delaying Canadian Import Plan Cattle prices in Chicago rose to a 13- month high on speculation that the U.S. will withdraw a plan to resume imports of beef and live cattle from Canada because of a new case of mad cow disease. Canada, which supplied 5 percent of the cattle slaughtered in the U.S. in 2002, today disclosed a third case of the disease since May 2003. The U.S. said last week it plans to resume Canadian imports after a 19-month ban that reduced supplies available to beef producers such as Tyson Foods Inc. ``The odds are increasing with a possible new case of mad cow disease in Canada that the U.S. will at least delay opening the border to Canadian cattle,'' said Andy Gottschalk, a livestock analyst for HedgersEdge.com LLC in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Cattle futures for February delivery rose 1.325 cents, or 1.5 percent, to 91.875 cents a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price for a most-active contract since Dec. 3, 2003....
North Dakotans want border kept closed after new mad cow case North Dakota officials on Tuesday called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reconsider its decision to reopen the border to Canadian beef, after the second confirmed case of mad cow disease in the province of Alberta this year. Wade Moser, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association, said ranchers have little faith that USDA is doing everything possible to keep the disease out of the United States. "It's too bad that we can't trust our own government," he said....
U.S. beef producers having second thoughts about supporting border opening U.S. beef producers were having second thoughts about supporting a reopening of the border to Canadian cattle Tuesday after word of a third mad cow case north of the border. And U.S. agriculture officials said they are sending a technical team to Canada to investigate the latest case before saying whether they'll continue their support of resuming the cattle trade. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association demanded an investigation into whether Canada is complying with a feed ban that was supposed to prevent the spread of the disease. "Once the questions concerning Canada's compliance with its BSE firewalls have been adequately answered, NCBA members will consider their position on the Canadian rule and efforts to reopen the border," president Jan Lyons said in a release. "We are very, very concerned with the age of this animal and compliance with the feed ban," said association spokesman Karen Batra. "Our position on reopening the border - we've got some concerns on that." Batra said the group's members will insist the U.S. government rethink its plan to reopen the border in March if they don't have the answers they're looking for by then....
France Says Mad Cow Cases Fall Again in 2004 France said on Tuesday the number of confirmed mad cow cases in the country in 2004 fell more than 60 percent to 54 from a year earlier following tests on some 2.9 million cattle. Following the mad cow epidemic in Britain in the 1990s, mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), spread to France causing a national crisis in 2000, prompting mass culls, beef-on-the-bone bans and extra tests on cattle. Nine people have been diagnosed in France with vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease), the human form of BSE and six have died. In Britain more than 140 people have died of the disease. The French farm ministry said of the 54 BSE cases last year, eight were detected in the framework of a national surveillance system, 29 under the animals at risk programme and 17 from the compulsory screening of older cattle at slaughterhouses. Confirmed cases stood at 137 in 2003, 239 in 2002 and 274 in 2001, it added in a statement....
Major human mad cow epidemic unlikely A major epidemic of the human form of mad cow disease is unlikely, scientists say. Estimates of how many people are likely to develop the fatal brain disease from eating meat contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) have varied widely. But researchers at Imperial College London said on Wednesday they believed only about 70 future cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) would be diagnosed in the country. "We think that the epidemic will be quite small in terms of cases that have arisen from consumption of beef," said epidemiologist Dr Azra Ghani. Because of the long incubation period, which scientists estimate could be from 10 to 20 years, it has been difficult to predict how many cases of vCJD there will be. Up to November 1 last year, 146 people had died from definitive or probable vCJD in Britain, the Department of Health says....
NEWS ROUNDUP
Montana cancels bison hunt set for Sat. Afraid of the bad publicity, Montana on Monday canceled what would have been the state's first bison hunt in more than a decade. The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission's 4-1 vote came less than a week after new Gov. Brian Schweitzer expressed strong misgivings about the hunt and the potential damage to the state's reputation. The monthlong hunt had been set to begin Saturday. Commissioner Shane Colton said he was worried that the furor over the hunt "may actually be a quick finish to bison hunting." But John Brenden, the only commissioner opposed to canceling the hunt, chastised fellow members for surrendering to pressure from out-of-state critics....
Biologists: Wolves need larger roaming area Government biologists propose expanding the area where endangered Mexican gray wolves have been allowed to roam under a federal program intended to return the wolves to the wild. The current boundaries in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona are causing too many wolves to be captured, removed from the wild or relocated, according to a five-year review of the program by members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the New Mexico and Arizona game and fish departments. Captures and relocations are hindering the success of the program, the report said. Rules for re-establishing wolves bar the animals from setting up territories outside the official recovery area boundaries or from being released directly into New Mexico....
Editorial: Alarmist rhetoric belies logging trend The U.S. Forest Service today sells about 2 billion board feet of timber from the national forests. That's down from almost 14 billion board feet in 1987. That's right: National forest logging has declined nearly 85 percent over the past two decades. Private and state forests have always provided the lion's share of U.S. timber production - more now than ever. Seemingly overlooked amid all the shouting about chain-saw massacres is that the agency's whole approach to logging has changed. Logging for the sake of providing timber for the wood products industry no longer is a significant agency objective, much less the dominant one. There's still logging. There may be more or less logging in the future. But the Forest Service now considers logging to be a means to an end, not the highest and best use of the national forest. The agency's focus is to maintain - sometimes first to restore - healthy, natural forests. Doing so sometimes requires removing vegetation, including trees. Reducing excessive fire danger created by overgrown forests, controlling disease and insect outbreaks, and improving wildlife habitat are among the reasons to remove trees from the forest. Sometimes controlled burning is the best way to get the job done. Sometimes logging is better....
Fed agencies look toward job openings nationally, downsizing locally Nationwide, it's a good time to launch a career with federal natural resource management agencies as they face a graying work force, officials say. About half of the U.S. Forest Service's employees and 40 percent of the Bureau of Land Management staff will be eligible for retirement in the next five years, numbers that are also reflected locally. "I would say the opportunities are very good" for getting a job, said Roy Roosevelt, director of human resources for the regional office of the Forest Service, which oversees Oregon and Washington. However, officials are less certain about the job outlook in the Northwest, due to decreased logging on federal lands....
Outlook for forestry jobs parallels declining enrollment at colleges Educators and those in the public and private timber industry agree jobs in the woods are far from dead. In fact, there aren't enough qualified individuals to fill the openings. Declining enrollment over the past 15 years at Oregon State University and colleges with natural resource departments across the country speaks to a trend toward less interest in forestry and natural resources among young people. Perceptions that jobs don't exist correlated with decreased logging of old growth on federal forests in the 1990s. Mills closed and workers were laid off throughout the Northwest. Private industry had to retool to handle smaller logs. Despite those changes, both the private industry and federal agencies say the job outlook is bright. The market shook out and adjusted, and many private companies survived....
Future Foresters After another internship in Yreka, Calif., the following summer, he became one of the newest additions to the Lone Rock forest engineering staff. He surveys property lines, sets logging units and marks future roads with brightly colored flags, examining things like terrain, soil type and locations of streams. Carter, 25, graduated from Roseburg High School in 1997 and Oregon State University's forest engineering program in the College of Forestry in 2003. He couldn't have picked a better time to enter the field. He's one of many young faces that will increasingly fill natural resource positions as private industry and federal agencies adjust to a generational shift....
Logging rises on public land Timber cut from the Northwest's national forests rose by more 50 percent in 2004, the second straight year of increases since logging on federal lands in Washington and Oregon dipped to historically low levels in 2002. About 500 million board feet of timber were cut from national forests in Washington and Oregon last year, a harvest valued at $61 million, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Federal forest managers say 2005 levels will likely match or surpass last year's timber cuts in the Northwest's 19 national forests, and some industry leaders would like to ratchet up the annual number to 1 billion board feet over the long term. But despite the recent rise and new Bush Administration rules seen as more favorable to logging interests, federal officials and industry observers say they don't expect to see steep increases in logging in national forests anytime soon because the industry has downsized and shifted to other sources for logs....
State steps up CBM enforcement Wyoming officials are stepping up enforcement efforts in light of rampant environmental violations in the coal-bed methane industry. The state engineer's office recently found that 153 of 217 "on-channel" water storage reservoirs in one drainage alone were not properly permitted. The agency is asking operators to "cease storage" until the reservoirs are brought into compliance -- an action that could potentially suspend some gas production. "What we found was stunning," State Engineer Patrick Tyrell said Monday....
Drilling boom increases rifts over property, mineral rights Now, skyrocketing gas and oil prices - plus new drilling technology that makes exploration possible in new areas - have increased the number of wells in Colorado. In turn, the development has sparked more conflicts between surface and mineral owners. While the state does not keep statistics on the number of conflicts, state and county officials agree the disputes have climbed with the prices of gas and oil. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is meeting today to discuss ways to mediate the disputes, and a Democratic lawmaker says she will propose legislation this year that would increase the rights of surface owners....
New year spawns more legal tangling in Canada-U.S. lumber trade battle Ottawa is clearing the way for retaliatory tariffs against American goods and is also headed to the Court of International Trade in New York next week. The federal Department of International Trade took the first step this week toward imposing up to $200 million in retaliatory sanctions, claiming the United States hasn't complied with one of the World Trade Organization rulings in the complex dispute. The move is largely procedural and sanctions, if they happen, are at least a year away....
Ranchers group suing US Agriculture Department to stop Canadian beef imports An American ranchers group launched a lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Agriculture Department in a bid to prevent imports of Canadian cattle and a broader range of beef products. R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America, based in Billings, Mont., says the department's recent decision to drop the cattle ban and allow beef products from older cows was arbitrary, capricious, poorly researched and illegal. In its 35-page lawsuit, the organization contends that Canadian imports pose health risks for American consumers, could infect U.S. cattle with mad cow disease and will cost U.S. producers up to $3 billion US....
Saddle mecca In today's high-tech world of mass production, it may come as a surprise to learn that custom Western saddle makers are "alive and well," according to Bruce King of the world-famous King's Saddlery in Sheridan. Don King, Bruce's father, has long been credited with being the driving force behind the so-called "Sheridan Saddle." The style, involving tight, intricate flower patterns deeply tooled into the leather, creating an almost three-dimensional effect, has become extremely popular throughout the country. According to Don Butler, another legendary Sheridan saddle maker and owner of Butler's Custom Cowboy Shops in Sheridan and Cody, "most of the country is trying to emulate the saddle makers in Sheridan."....
Montana cancels bison hunt set for Sat. Afraid of the bad publicity, Montana on Monday canceled what would have been the state's first bison hunt in more than a decade. The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission's 4-1 vote came less than a week after new Gov. Brian Schweitzer expressed strong misgivings about the hunt and the potential damage to the state's reputation. The monthlong hunt had been set to begin Saturday. Commissioner Shane Colton said he was worried that the furor over the hunt "may actually be a quick finish to bison hunting." But John Brenden, the only commissioner opposed to canceling the hunt, chastised fellow members for surrendering to pressure from out-of-state critics....
Biologists: Wolves need larger roaming area Government biologists propose expanding the area where endangered Mexican gray wolves have been allowed to roam under a federal program intended to return the wolves to the wild. The current boundaries in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona are causing too many wolves to be captured, removed from the wild or relocated, according to a five-year review of the program by members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the New Mexico and Arizona game and fish departments. Captures and relocations are hindering the success of the program, the report said. Rules for re-establishing wolves bar the animals from setting up territories outside the official recovery area boundaries or from being released directly into New Mexico....
Editorial: Alarmist rhetoric belies logging trend The U.S. Forest Service today sells about 2 billion board feet of timber from the national forests. That's down from almost 14 billion board feet in 1987. That's right: National forest logging has declined nearly 85 percent over the past two decades. Private and state forests have always provided the lion's share of U.S. timber production - more now than ever. Seemingly overlooked amid all the shouting about chain-saw massacres is that the agency's whole approach to logging has changed. Logging for the sake of providing timber for the wood products industry no longer is a significant agency objective, much less the dominant one. There's still logging. There may be more or less logging in the future. But the Forest Service now considers logging to be a means to an end, not the highest and best use of the national forest. The agency's focus is to maintain - sometimes first to restore - healthy, natural forests. Doing so sometimes requires removing vegetation, including trees. Reducing excessive fire danger created by overgrown forests, controlling disease and insect outbreaks, and improving wildlife habitat are among the reasons to remove trees from the forest. Sometimes controlled burning is the best way to get the job done. Sometimes logging is better....
Fed agencies look toward job openings nationally, downsizing locally Nationwide, it's a good time to launch a career with federal natural resource management agencies as they face a graying work force, officials say. About half of the U.S. Forest Service's employees and 40 percent of the Bureau of Land Management staff will be eligible for retirement in the next five years, numbers that are also reflected locally. "I would say the opportunities are very good" for getting a job, said Roy Roosevelt, director of human resources for the regional office of the Forest Service, which oversees Oregon and Washington. However, officials are less certain about the job outlook in the Northwest, due to decreased logging on federal lands....
Outlook for forestry jobs parallels declining enrollment at colleges Educators and those in the public and private timber industry agree jobs in the woods are far from dead. In fact, there aren't enough qualified individuals to fill the openings. Declining enrollment over the past 15 years at Oregon State University and colleges with natural resource departments across the country speaks to a trend toward less interest in forestry and natural resources among young people. Perceptions that jobs don't exist correlated with decreased logging of old growth on federal forests in the 1990s. Mills closed and workers were laid off throughout the Northwest. Private industry had to retool to handle smaller logs. Despite those changes, both the private industry and federal agencies say the job outlook is bright. The market shook out and adjusted, and many private companies survived....
Future Foresters After another internship in Yreka, Calif., the following summer, he became one of the newest additions to the Lone Rock forest engineering staff. He surveys property lines, sets logging units and marks future roads with brightly colored flags, examining things like terrain, soil type and locations of streams. Carter, 25, graduated from Roseburg High School in 1997 and Oregon State University's forest engineering program in the College of Forestry in 2003. He couldn't have picked a better time to enter the field. He's one of many young faces that will increasingly fill natural resource positions as private industry and federal agencies adjust to a generational shift....
Logging rises on public land Timber cut from the Northwest's national forests rose by more 50 percent in 2004, the second straight year of increases since logging on federal lands in Washington and Oregon dipped to historically low levels in 2002. About 500 million board feet of timber were cut from national forests in Washington and Oregon last year, a harvest valued at $61 million, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Federal forest managers say 2005 levels will likely match or surpass last year's timber cuts in the Northwest's 19 national forests, and some industry leaders would like to ratchet up the annual number to 1 billion board feet over the long term. But despite the recent rise and new Bush Administration rules seen as more favorable to logging interests, federal officials and industry observers say they don't expect to see steep increases in logging in national forests anytime soon because the industry has downsized and shifted to other sources for logs....
State steps up CBM enforcement Wyoming officials are stepping up enforcement efforts in light of rampant environmental violations in the coal-bed methane industry. The state engineer's office recently found that 153 of 217 "on-channel" water storage reservoirs in one drainage alone were not properly permitted. The agency is asking operators to "cease storage" until the reservoirs are brought into compliance -- an action that could potentially suspend some gas production. "What we found was stunning," State Engineer Patrick Tyrell said Monday....
Drilling boom increases rifts over property, mineral rights Now, skyrocketing gas and oil prices - plus new drilling technology that makes exploration possible in new areas - have increased the number of wells in Colorado. In turn, the development has sparked more conflicts between surface and mineral owners. While the state does not keep statistics on the number of conflicts, state and county officials agree the disputes have climbed with the prices of gas and oil. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is meeting today to discuss ways to mediate the disputes, and a Democratic lawmaker says she will propose legislation this year that would increase the rights of surface owners....
New year spawns more legal tangling in Canada-U.S. lumber trade battle Ottawa is clearing the way for retaliatory tariffs against American goods and is also headed to the Court of International Trade in New York next week. The federal Department of International Trade took the first step this week toward imposing up to $200 million in retaliatory sanctions, claiming the United States hasn't complied with one of the World Trade Organization rulings in the complex dispute. The move is largely procedural and sanctions, if they happen, are at least a year away....
Ranchers group suing US Agriculture Department to stop Canadian beef imports An American ranchers group launched a lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Agriculture Department in a bid to prevent imports of Canadian cattle and a broader range of beef products. R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America, based in Billings, Mont., says the department's recent decision to drop the cattle ban and allow beef products from older cows was arbitrary, capricious, poorly researched and illegal. In its 35-page lawsuit, the organization contends that Canadian imports pose health risks for American consumers, could infect U.S. cattle with mad cow disease and will cost U.S. producers up to $3 billion US....
Saddle mecca In today's high-tech world of mass production, it may come as a surprise to learn that custom Western saddle makers are "alive and well," according to Bruce King of the world-famous King's Saddlery in Sheridan. Don King, Bruce's father, has long been credited with being the driving force behind the so-called "Sheridan Saddle." The style, involving tight, intricate flower patterns deeply tooled into the leather, creating an almost three-dimensional effect, has become extremely popular throughout the country. According to Don Butler, another legendary Sheridan saddle maker and owner of Butler's Custom Cowboy Shops in Sheridan and Cody, "most of the country is trying to emulate the saddle makers in Sheridan."....
Monday, January 10, 2005
NEWS ROUNDUP
Gray Wolves Thrive in Montana It was a frigid January day a decade ago when the first gray wolfs bolted out of crates and into the wilds of Idaho. The event was cheered by environmentalists, who had once wondered if they would ever see wolves reintroduced into the Northern Rockies, and decried by ranchers and others who had hoped it would never happen. Ten years later, passions still run deep. The wolves' incredible recovery and expansion in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have ensured that. Ranchers worry about livestock being attacked. Hunting organizers worry the wolves are decimating elk herds and threatening their livelihood. Conservationists acknowledge problems but say wolves haven't been the scourge some predicted....
Sage grouse flap: Lawsuits not the way, group says Following the federal government's final decision not to list the Greater Sage-grouse as an endangered species, the Chair of the Partnership for the West grassroots alliance issued this challenge to activist groups seeking the listing: Start spending money on sage-grouse conservation efforts, rather than on lawyers and lawsuits. "We challenge those activist groups that pushed this petition to put their money where their mouth is and start funding actual conservation efforts instead of funding lawyers and lawsuits," said Diane Hoppe, chair of the partnership and a Colorado state representative. "Federal agencies, state agencies, counties, municipalities, conservation groups and many private sector stakeholders are together spending tens of millions of dollars to help conserve sage-grouse and its habitat. What are some of these so-called environmental groups bringing to the conservation table? Little beyond a never-ending stream of destructive and costly lawsuits."....
Rancher says mountain lions taking bite out of horse herd Jarrette Johnson says mountain lions are taking a bite out of his horse herd and his wallet. The Mandaree rancher said cougars have been killing his horses for about three years. "We're in the 50-head loss so far," Johnson said. "This is my income and it's hurting it." Johnson keeps about 200 horses northwest of Mandaree, on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The terrain consists of steep buttes, deep coulees and trees. Most of the horses killed have been colts and mares, he said....
Grizzlies Losing Ground Around Yellowstone The 5-year-old male was the first of 19 grizzly bears to die in the region surrounding Yellowstone National Park and one of 50 killed in the lower 48 states, making 2004 the worst year for grizzly mortality since the animal was added to the endangered species list in 1975. The death rate in Yellowstone, where the grizzly population is estimated at 600, was 2 1/2 times higher than the 15-year average. Most worrying to wildlife biologists was the fact that females made up 60% of the dead....
Boggs' Safari hunting pals are GOP pets politically connected big-game hunting group that honored Wade Boggs for killing exotic animals donated $180,000 to lawmakers last year and is run by a former federal wildlife official. Safari Club International, which animal rights activists say endorses killing endangered species, gave most of the money to pro-hunting Republican congressmen and senators and ponied up $5,000 to the Republican National Committee, campaign finance records show. The 30,000-member, Arizona-based organization is headed by Tom Riley, a former enforcement officer for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. And current Fish and Wildlife Deputy Director Matt Hogan is a former SCI lobbyist. Animal rights activists say the ties between SCI and Fish and Wildlife pose a conflict because the federal agency is responsible for regulating the import of exotic animals and enforcing endangered species rules....
Editorial: A Property Rights 'Trophy' The 31-year-old Endangered Species Act has long been a target of loggers, oil drillers and mall builders. With powerful antagonists in Congress and the White House, the act could become a stuffed mantel trophy for the property-rights crowd. Twelve Western governors, meeting in La Jolla recently, called for more loosening of the strings. Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, for instance, whined that kangaroo rat protections jeopardized his investment in a "beautiful piece of land," otherwise perfect for a golf course or housing subdivision. Insisting that the act is a bureaucratic failure, they want Congress to make it harder to bring additional species under its umbrella and easier to bulldoze, graze or drill wildlife habitat. At their side was Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy), a former cattleman and now chairman of the House Resources Committee. Pombo sees Bush's reelection as a mandate on the Endangered Species Act and has introduced bills to do the governors' bidding. But the administration isn't waiting for Congress and has already proposed a dramatic rollback of designated habitat for imperiled salmon and trout species, and the Santa Ana suckerfish in Southern California....
Bird species face removal from Migratory Bird Treaty Act The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a list of 113 non-native human introduced bird species to the U.S. that may be removed from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as well as federal protection. The Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting written comments from the public on the list through Feb. 5. These should be mailed to Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop 4107, Arlington, VA 22203; or faxed to (703) 358-2272; or e-mailed to nonnativebirds@fws.gov. "The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the taking, killing or possessing of migratory birds unless permitted by regulations promulgated by the secretary of the Interior," a Federal Register Notice states. Migratory bird species are protected under the International Migratory Bird Management Act, established under international conventions agreed to by Canada, Mexico, Japan, Russia and the U.S. A revision of which birds qualify for international protection was called for in the 2004 Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act....
National heritage designation on the rise, as is criticism One of three heritage areas passed by Congress in November will describe the region's contributions to flying. An increase in the number of historic areas - now at 27 with more proposals pending - has created support for establishing a national program to manage the sites. It also has riled critics, who say the designations jeopardize local land rights and drive up property rates. "It has nothing to do with not wanting to see history preserved," said Carol W. LaGrasse, president of the Property Rights Foundation of America. "What we are concerned about is the designation of this area and then them bringing in money and grants to promote regional planning and landscape protection. "It makes the land too costly and exclusive and regulated for ordinary, rural people to stay." Congressional investigators have not found specific examples of a heritage area directly affecting private property use. However, the 2004 report from the General Accountability Office found that the management plans of some areas encourage local governments, sometimes through grants, to implement land-use policies that help preserve the area....
Utah BLM manager gets national award The manager of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is going to Washington next week to collect a grand award. David Hunsaker - who has been frequently vilified by rural-county officials - has been named Outstanding Public Lands Manager of the Year by the Public Lands Foundation, a Washington-based group made up of retired and current Bureau of Land Management employees who follow public-lands issues. George Lea, president of the Public Lands Foundation, said Friday that Hunsaker is being honored for his exemplary handling of the politics surrounding the controversial monument. "It was forced down the throats of people in Utah, so it takes a lot of courage to do what he has done," said Lea....
Series of storms dumps as much as 19 feet of snow in Sierra Nevada A moisture-laden winter storm piled snow deeper across the Sierra Nevada, stranding an Amtrak train, knocking out the Reno airport and shutting down major highways across the mountains. The storm was the latest in a string of powerful systems that has dumped as much as 19 feet of snow in the Sierra and 6 feet in the Reno area since Dec. 28. Forecasters called the series of storms the snowiest in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area since 1916....
Cloud Seeding's Silver Lining Hard to Prove Two years ago, as a severe drought parched much of the West, a handful of states set out to prove once and for all whether seeding clouds with chemicals could help arid regions squeeze extra rain or snowfall out of the atmosphere. Colorado and Nevada shot skyward tiny particles of silver iodide, which has a similar crystalline structure to ice, hoping to fool the clouds into creating snow. Utah tested a rarer method of snowmaking: injecting clouds with super-cooled propane gas from mountaintop tanks. It snowed. But was the snow made by man or Mother Nature?....
Stockyard Memories: Veterans recall the good, the bad and the crazy When Wade Choate was growing up in the Fort Worth stockyards, it was a rip-snorting carnival of characters, where explosives were sometimes used to settle quarrels and nobody batted an eye if a cowboy got loaded and rode his horse into the cafe. His father worked in the stockyards, as did most of their neighbors. "Some of the best people in the world lived and worked on the stockyards, and some of the worst," Mr. Choate recalls nearly six decades later. "There were cowboys and gangsters and pretty much everybody in between." The historic stockyards are a popular tourist attraction now, but in the early 1900s, so many cattle were bought and sold there that the area was nicknamed the "Wall Street of the West." By World War II, more than 4 million head of livestock were being processed a year....
On The Edge Of Common Sense: When family gatherings turn political OK, how many had a pleasant family holiday get-together disrupted by members of opposing political parties going at it tooth and nail? Me too. Was yours a tag-team match, one on one, or a mob lynching? Were they civil and did they listen to each other's opinions? Did they ask questions like, "Oh really, where did you read that?" or "Gosh, I'd really like to know more about that subject." or "Certainly, I think you're probably right. Why didn't I think of that?" If one listens closely, the debating points resemble the same ones used when two people are debating Ford vs. Chevy or Hereford vs. Angus, i.e., "It has a better tone." "I like the way it handles." "I just don't trust 'em." "He's got no mothering instinct." "The bloodline is better." "I'm sticking to what my daddy said!"....
Gray Wolves Thrive in Montana It was a frigid January day a decade ago when the first gray wolfs bolted out of crates and into the wilds of Idaho. The event was cheered by environmentalists, who had once wondered if they would ever see wolves reintroduced into the Northern Rockies, and decried by ranchers and others who had hoped it would never happen. Ten years later, passions still run deep. The wolves' incredible recovery and expansion in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have ensured that. Ranchers worry about livestock being attacked. Hunting organizers worry the wolves are decimating elk herds and threatening their livelihood. Conservationists acknowledge problems but say wolves haven't been the scourge some predicted....
Sage grouse flap: Lawsuits not the way, group says Following the federal government's final decision not to list the Greater Sage-grouse as an endangered species, the Chair of the Partnership for the West grassroots alliance issued this challenge to activist groups seeking the listing: Start spending money on sage-grouse conservation efforts, rather than on lawyers and lawsuits. "We challenge those activist groups that pushed this petition to put their money where their mouth is and start funding actual conservation efforts instead of funding lawyers and lawsuits," said Diane Hoppe, chair of the partnership and a Colorado state representative. "Federal agencies, state agencies, counties, municipalities, conservation groups and many private sector stakeholders are together spending tens of millions of dollars to help conserve sage-grouse and its habitat. What are some of these so-called environmental groups bringing to the conservation table? Little beyond a never-ending stream of destructive and costly lawsuits."....
Rancher says mountain lions taking bite out of horse herd Jarrette Johnson says mountain lions are taking a bite out of his horse herd and his wallet. The Mandaree rancher said cougars have been killing his horses for about three years. "We're in the 50-head loss so far," Johnson said. "This is my income and it's hurting it." Johnson keeps about 200 horses northwest of Mandaree, on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The terrain consists of steep buttes, deep coulees and trees. Most of the horses killed have been colts and mares, he said....
Grizzlies Losing Ground Around Yellowstone The 5-year-old male was the first of 19 grizzly bears to die in the region surrounding Yellowstone National Park and one of 50 killed in the lower 48 states, making 2004 the worst year for grizzly mortality since the animal was added to the endangered species list in 1975. The death rate in Yellowstone, where the grizzly population is estimated at 600, was 2 1/2 times higher than the 15-year average. Most worrying to wildlife biologists was the fact that females made up 60% of the dead....
Boggs' Safari hunting pals are GOP pets politically connected big-game hunting group that honored Wade Boggs for killing exotic animals donated $180,000 to lawmakers last year and is run by a former federal wildlife official. Safari Club International, which animal rights activists say endorses killing endangered species, gave most of the money to pro-hunting Republican congressmen and senators and ponied up $5,000 to the Republican National Committee, campaign finance records show. The 30,000-member, Arizona-based organization is headed by Tom Riley, a former enforcement officer for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. And current Fish and Wildlife Deputy Director Matt Hogan is a former SCI lobbyist. Animal rights activists say the ties between SCI and Fish and Wildlife pose a conflict because the federal agency is responsible for regulating the import of exotic animals and enforcing endangered species rules....
Editorial: A Property Rights 'Trophy' The 31-year-old Endangered Species Act has long been a target of loggers, oil drillers and mall builders. With powerful antagonists in Congress and the White House, the act could become a stuffed mantel trophy for the property-rights crowd. Twelve Western governors, meeting in La Jolla recently, called for more loosening of the strings. Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, for instance, whined that kangaroo rat protections jeopardized his investment in a "beautiful piece of land," otherwise perfect for a golf course or housing subdivision. Insisting that the act is a bureaucratic failure, they want Congress to make it harder to bring additional species under its umbrella and easier to bulldoze, graze or drill wildlife habitat. At their side was Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy), a former cattleman and now chairman of the House Resources Committee. Pombo sees Bush's reelection as a mandate on the Endangered Species Act and has introduced bills to do the governors' bidding. But the administration isn't waiting for Congress and has already proposed a dramatic rollback of designated habitat for imperiled salmon and trout species, and the Santa Ana suckerfish in Southern California....
Bird species face removal from Migratory Bird Treaty Act The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a list of 113 non-native human introduced bird species to the U.S. that may be removed from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as well as federal protection. The Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting written comments from the public on the list through Feb. 5. These should be mailed to Chief, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop 4107, Arlington, VA 22203; or faxed to (703) 358-2272; or e-mailed to nonnativebirds@fws.gov. "The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the taking, killing or possessing of migratory birds unless permitted by regulations promulgated by the secretary of the Interior," a Federal Register Notice states. Migratory bird species are protected under the International Migratory Bird Management Act, established under international conventions agreed to by Canada, Mexico, Japan, Russia and the U.S. A revision of which birds qualify for international protection was called for in the 2004 Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act....
National heritage designation on the rise, as is criticism One of three heritage areas passed by Congress in November will describe the region's contributions to flying. An increase in the number of historic areas - now at 27 with more proposals pending - has created support for establishing a national program to manage the sites. It also has riled critics, who say the designations jeopardize local land rights and drive up property rates. "It has nothing to do with not wanting to see history preserved," said Carol W. LaGrasse, president of the Property Rights Foundation of America. "What we are concerned about is the designation of this area and then them bringing in money and grants to promote regional planning and landscape protection. "It makes the land too costly and exclusive and regulated for ordinary, rural people to stay." Congressional investigators have not found specific examples of a heritage area directly affecting private property use. However, the 2004 report from the General Accountability Office found that the management plans of some areas encourage local governments, sometimes through grants, to implement land-use policies that help preserve the area....
Utah BLM manager gets national award The manager of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is going to Washington next week to collect a grand award. David Hunsaker - who has been frequently vilified by rural-county officials - has been named Outstanding Public Lands Manager of the Year by the Public Lands Foundation, a Washington-based group made up of retired and current Bureau of Land Management employees who follow public-lands issues. George Lea, president of the Public Lands Foundation, said Friday that Hunsaker is being honored for his exemplary handling of the politics surrounding the controversial monument. "It was forced down the throats of people in Utah, so it takes a lot of courage to do what he has done," said Lea....
Series of storms dumps as much as 19 feet of snow in Sierra Nevada A moisture-laden winter storm piled snow deeper across the Sierra Nevada, stranding an Amtrak train, knocking out the Reno airport and shutting down major highways across the mountains. The storm was the latest in a string of powerful systems that has dumped as much as 19 feet of snow in the Sierra and 6 feet in the Reno area since Dec. 28. Forecasters called the series of storms the snowiest in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area since 1916....
Cloud Seeding's Silver Lining Hard to Prove Two years ago, as a severe drought parched much of the West, a handful of states set out to prove once and for all whether seeding clouds with chemicals could help arid regions squeeze extra rain or snowfall out of the atmosphere. Colorado and Nevada shot skyward tiny particles of silver iodide, which has a similar crystalline structure to ice, hoping to fool the clouds into creating snow. Utah tested a rarer method of snowmaking: injecting clouds with super-cooled propane gas from mountaintop tanks. It snowed. But was the snow made by man or Mother Nature?....
Stockyard Memories: Veterans recall the good, the bad and the crazy When Wade Choate was growing up in the Fort Worth stockyards, it was a rip-snorting carnival of characters, where explosives were sometimes used to settle quarrels and nobody batted an eye if a cowboy got loaded and rode his horse into the cafe. His father worked in the stockyards, as did most of their neighbors. "Some of the best people in the world lived and worked on the stockyards, and some of the worst," Mr. Choate recalls nearly six decades later. "There were cowboys and gangsters and pretty much everybody in between." The historic stockyards are a popular tourist attraction now, but in the early 1900s, so many cattle were bought and sold there that the area was nicknamed the "Wall Street of the West." By World War II, more than 4 million head of livestock were being processed a year....
On The Edge Of Common Sense: When family gatherings turn political OK, how many had a pleasant family holiday get-together disrupted by members of opposing political parties going at it tooth and nail? Me too. Was yours a tag-team match, one on one, or a mob lynching? Were they civil and did they listen to each other's opinions? Did they ask questions like, "Oh really, where did you read that?" or "Gosh, I'd really like to know more about that subject." or "Certainly, I think you're probably right. Why didn't I think of that?" If one listens closely, the debating points resemble the same ones used when two people are debating Ford vs. Chevy or Hereford vs. Angus, i.e., "It has a better tone." "I like the way it handles." "I just don't trust 'em." "He's got no mothering instinct." "The bloodline is better." "I'm sticking to what my daddy said!"....
Sunday, January 09, 2005
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE WESTERNER
You catch any weather this morning?
By Julie Carter
The elections are over, holidays have come and gone and the bleakness of winter is still in front of us. The main topic of daily conversation across “ag land” has returned to the weather.
Will it snow, will it rain or how cold did it get? In this part of New Mexico dialogue is “the wind is blowing or the wind is blowing harder.”
Ranchers and farmers have a fascination for meteorologists. They hang on their every word, not believing any of what they are told and finding much satisfaction in Mother Nature proving them wrong.
“Where did this come from? That guy never said anything about it snowing today.”
The day starts early with said weather watcher turning on the television to get the early weather reports, the ones he doesn’t believe anyway.
With the advent of satellite TV and remote controls, they will often watch the reports on as many as three stations and have comments for all three meteorologists, who fortunately, can’t hear them.
Once that is done, they will get on the phone, dial up a neighbor and start the conversation with, you guessed it, the weather.
“Mornin’. How’s everything goin’?
“Ah heck, just couldn’t be any better.”
“You catch any weather this morning?”
“I watched it. They are all sayin’ the same thing, we are supposed to get a little snow. But ya’ never know, they are rarely ever right on.”
“Have you got any snow up your way? Sure is colder than a well diggers back pockets here.”
“No, didn’t snow a flake but if it don’t beat all for January, it tried to rain. Never seen the likes of it. So much for the weather forcast.”
“We used to have the right kind of weather before they invented that El Nino thing. And then they came up with the big blue H that parks on top of us all summer and never lets it rain. I turn on the TV and see that weather map with that blue H and just shut it back off.”
“Well I better let ya go. I need to get some things done around here today so I can be back in the house in time to catch the weather.”
Farmers and ranchers profess to be advocates for minding their own business, but I can tell you they do a fair amount of observing their neighbor business as they drive by and it only starts with the weather.
Under the auspices of concern, they will even phone the guy up and say, “I was driving by your outfit today and notice ya’all sure didn’t get much rain this year. You found any pasture for your cattle yet or are you feedin’ them through the drought?”
Sometimes there is the appearance of favor from above with an often filled rain gauge and grass that seems to grow in spite of the weatherman.
They will tell you tales of the outfits that never seem to get rain while the ranch next door gets it all and how that barbwire fence between them is rusty on one side and shiny new on the other, where it never rains.
Rumors abound of the guy on the north side that had so much rain he is raising alligators instead of cattle.
So meanwhile back at the remote control, they tune in to watch the weather. You know, listen to that guy that lies to them all the time but that they continue hoping will bring them the weather they need to survive.
©2005 Julie Carter
We welcome submissions to be part of this Saturday night feature.
You catch any weather this morning?
By Julie Carter
The elections are over, holidays have come and gone and the bleakness of winter is still in front of us. The main topic of daily conversation across “ag land” has returned to the weather.
Will it snow, will it rain or how cold did it get? In this part of New Mexico dialogue is “the wind is blowing or the wind is blowing harder.”
Ranchers and farmers have a fascination for meteorologists. They hang on their every word, not believing any of what they are told and finding much satisfaction in Mother Nature proving them wrong.
“Where did this come from? That guy never said anything about it snowing today.”
The day starts early with said weather watcher turning on the television to get the early weather reports, the ones he doesn’t believe anyway.
With the advent of satellite TV and remote controls, they will often watch the reports on as many as three stations and have comments for all three meteorologists, who fortunately, can’t hear them.
Once that is done, they will get on the phone, dial up a neighbor and start the conversation with, you guessed it, the weather.
“Mornin’. How’s everything goin’?
“Ah heck, just couldn’t be any better.”
“You catch any weather this morning?”
“I watched it. They are all sayin’ the same thing, we are supposed to get a little snow. But ya’ never know, they are rarely ever right on.”
“Have you got any snow up your way? Sure is colder than a well diggers back pockets here.”
“No, didn’t snow a flake but if it don’t beat all for January, it tried to rain. Never seen the likes of it. So much for the weather forcast.”
“We used to have the right kind of weather before they invented that El Nino thing. And then they came up with the big blue H that parks on top of us all summer and never lets it rain. I turn on the TV and see that weather map with that blue H and just shut it back off.”
“Well I better let ya go. I need to get some things done around here today so I can be back in the house in time to catch the weather.”
Farmers and ranchers profess to be advocates for minding their own business, but I can tell you they do a fair amount of observing their neighbor business as they drive by and it only starts with the weather.
Under the auspices of concern, they will even phone the guy up and say, “I was driving by your outfit today and notice ya’all sure didn’t get much rain this year. You found any pasture for your cattle yet or are you feedin’ them through the drought?”
Sometimes there is the appearance of favor from above with an often filled rain gauge and grass that seems to grow in spite of the weatherman.
They will tell you tales of the outfits that never seem to get rain while the ranch next door gets it all and how that barbwire fence between them is rusty on one side and shiny new on the other, where it never rains.
Rumors abound of the guy on the north side that had so much rain he is raising alligators instead of cattle.
So meanwhile back at the remote control, they tune in to watch the weather. You know, listen to that guy that lies to them all the time but that they continue hoping will bring them the weather they need to survive.
©2005 Julie Carter
We welcome submissions to be part of this Saturday night feature.
OPINION/COMMENTARY
A New Paradigm for Federal Lands
Valles Caldera is something altogether different from a national park. It represents not only a fresh alternative to existing federal park and forest management, but a return to the original vision of national parks paying their own way. Whether that vision will be realized depends on how well VCNP responds to the marketbased framework created by Congress. Fed up with the amount of western land being consumed by the federal government and managed by inefficient bureaucracies, New Mexico senator Pete Domenici worked to ensure that this environmental purchase would not be business as usual. He had good reason for concern. As PERC has reported consistently, national park funding has increased over the years, but even so the National Park Service reports a $6 to $9 billion backlog of unfunded maintenance, acquisition, and resource management projects (Fretwell 2004). With most of their budgets coming from Congress, federal land managers traditionally work to satisfy the interests of politicians. They have little incentive to direct funding to its most appropriate uses, to find new sources of revenue, or to keep costs down to make ends meet....
A New Paradigm for Federal Lands
Valles Caldera is something altogether different from a national park. It represents not only a fresh alternative to existing federal park and forest management, but a return to the original vision of national parks paying their own way. Whether that vision will be realized depends on how well VCNP responds to the marketbased framework created by Congress. Fed up with the amount of western land being consumed by the federal government and managed by inefficient bureaucracies, New Mexico senator Pete Domenici worked to ensure that this environmental purchase would not be business as usual. He had good reason for concern. As PERC has reported consistently, national park funding has increased over the years, but even so the National Park Service reports a $6 to $9 billion backlog of unfunded maintenance, acquisition, and resource management projects (Fretwell 2004). With most of their budgets coming from Congress, federal land managers traditionally work to satisfy the interests of politicians. They have little incentive to direct funding to its most appropriate uses, to find new sources of revenue, or to keep costs down to make ends meet....
OPINION/COMMENTARY
Fables of Federal Regulation
You've heard the story. Industrialization and economic growth laid waste to the American environment through much of the twentieth century. Common lawbased environmental protections were ineffective, and state and local governments were unable or unwilling to address environmental concerns. As a result, environmental quality was in continuous decline until comprehensive federal legislation was adopted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The infamous 1969 Cuyahoga River fire and the massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara focused public attention on the nation's environmental plight and helped spur the passage of needed federal environmental laws. This is the conventional account of the origins of federal environmental law. It is a story often told to explain how the nation moved from a mix of property-based, common law rules and state and local regulations to a sprawling federal regulatory apparatus. But it is wrong. The conventional narrative of the origins of federal regulation is a fable....
Fables of Federal Regulation
You've heard the story. Industrialization and economic growth laid waste to the American environment through much of the twentieth century. Common lawbased environmental protections were ineffective, and state and local governments were unable or unwilling to address environmental concerns. As a result, environmental quality was in continuous decline until comprehensive federal legislation was adopted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The infamous 1969 Cuyahoga River fire and the massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara focused public attention on the nation's environmental plight and helped spur the passage of needed federal environmental laws. This is the conventional account of the origins of federal environmental law. It is a story often told to explain how the nation moved from a mix of property-based, common law rules and state and local regulations to a sprawling federal regulatory apparatus. But it is wrong. The conventional narrative of the origins of federal regulation is a fable....
OPINION/COMMENTARY
BUSH FOREST REFORMS TO BENEFIT ENVIRONMENT
Changes to forest regulations will improve management and sustainability of forests, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Environmentalists have raised objections, but the Journal says the old rules are outdated, no longer work and needed to be changed:
---The Government Accountability Office estimates that one in three forest acres is dead or dying, which has contributed to a rise in wildfires.
---Of the 1,300 species of wildlife the government has listed for protection over the past 30 years, 12 have recovered (been removed from the endangered list).
The new regulations will put environmental policy back at the local level where managers will be more capable at adapting to new threats and at much less cost:
---Managers of each of the nation’s 155 national forests and 20 grasslands now must adopt an environmental management system (EMS), which have been standard in the private sector for years.
---EMS allow local managers to introduce new science or techniques as forest conditions demand; large revisions to management plans should take 2 to 3 years, rather than an average of 7 under the existing system.
Source: Editorial, “Fixing Our Forests,” Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2004.
For text
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110436469272512422-search,00.html
BUSH FOREST REFORMS TO BENEFIT ENVIRONMENT
Changes to forest regulations will improve management and sustainability of forests, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Environmentalists have raised objections, but the Journal says the old rules are outdated, no longer work and needed to be changed:
---The Government Accountability Office estimates that one in three forest acres is dead or dying, which has contributed to a rise in wildfires.
---Of the 1,300 species of wildlife the government has listed for protection over the past 30 years, 12 have recovered (been removed from the endangered list).
The new regulations will put environmental policy back at the local level where managers will be more capable at adapting to new threats and at much less cost:
---Managers of each of the nation’s 155 national forests and 20 grasslands now must adopt an environmental management system (EMS), which have been standard in the private sector for years.
---EMS allow local managers to introduce new science or techniques as forest conditions demand; large revisions to management plans should take 2 to 3 years, rather than an average of 7 under the existing system.
Source: Editorial, “Fixing Our Forests,” Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2004.
For text
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110436469272512422-search,00.html
OPINION/COMMENTARY
Pew's Parallel Universe
The "new biotechnology," or gene-splicing, applied to agriculture and food production is here to stay. More than 80 percent of processed foods on supermarket shelves—soft drinks, preserves, mayonnaise, salad dressings—include ingredients from gene-spliced plants, and Americans have safely consumed more than a trillion servings of these foods. But opposition continues to genetically improving plants by use of these precise and predictable techniques, largely due to a drumbeat of misrepresentations by antibiotechnology activists. Some of these radicals, like Greenpeace, make no secret they intend to stop at nothing to eliminate gene-splicing from agriculture, while other groups claim not to oppose gene-splicing but only to want it "properly" regulated. They are subtler, and therefore more insidious. Reports by the lavishly funded Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, for example, receive extensive media and government attention, largely because Pew touts itself as the thoughtful, disinterested middle ground in the biotechnology debates. But Pew's PR machine saying that doesn't make it so....
Pew's Parallel Universe
The "new biotechnology," or gene-splicing, applied to agriculture and food production is here to stay. More than 80 percent of processed foods on supermarket shelves—soft drinks, preserves, mayonnaise, salad dressings—include ingredients from gene-spliced plants, and Americans have safely consumed more than a trillion servings of these foods. But opposition continues to genetically improving plants by use of these precise and predictable techniques, largely due to a drumbeat of misrepresentations by antibiotechnology activists. Some of these radicals, like Greenpeace, make no secret they intend to stop at nothing to eliminate gene-splicing from agriculture, while other groups claim not to oppose gene-splicing but only to want it "properly" regulated. They are subtler, and therefore more insidious. Reports by the lavishly funded Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, for example, receive extensive media and government attention, largely because Pew touts itself as the thoughtful, disinterested middle ground in the biotechnology debates. But Pew's PR machine saying that doesn't make it so....
OPINION/COMMENTARY
Environmentalist Propaganda for Kids
It is sad indeed that writers and photographers can so cleverly use the vast beauty of the Earth to promote wrong-headed, doomsday, collectivist philosophies. In previous issues of Environment & Climate News, I described such malevolence in my reviews of Fatal Harvest (March 2003) and America's Living Oceans (October 2003). The Future of the Earth may be the most insidious of all because its target audience is young people between the ages of 10 and 12, who are susceptible to big pictures, big print, and oversimplified concepts. Young persons who have yet to grasp a significant perspective of our history can be easily taken in by the excellent prose and attractive pictures and drawings in this book. The reader is quickly told of "the good old days" when all of life was better and the Earth was pristine, before fossil fuels destroyed our atmosphere. The authors conveniently forget to describe, for example, life in New York City in 1900, when 100,000 horses walked the streets, creating 2.5 million pounds of manure requiring daily disposal, when 15,000 horses annually died in the city, requiring sanitary disposal, or the filth and disease that horse transportation bred, all of which amply prove the inaccuracy of that fable....
Environmentalist Propaganda for Kids
It is sad indeed that writers and photographers can so cleverly use the vast beauty of the Earth to promote wrong-headed, doomsday, collectivist philosophies. In previous issues of Environment & Climate News, I described such malevolence in my reviews of Fatal Harvest (March 2003) and America's Living Oceans (October 2003). The Future of the Earth may be the most insidious of all because its target audience is young people between the ages of 10 and 12, who are susceptible to big pictures, big print, and oversimplified concepts. Young persons who have yet to grasp a significant perspective of our history can be easily taken in by the excellent prose and attractive pictures and drawings in this book. The reader is quickly told of "the good old days" when all of life was better and the Earth was pristine, before fossil fuels destroyed our atmosphere. The authors conveniently forget to describe, for example, life in New York City in 1900, when 100,000 horses walked the streets, creating 2.5 million pounds of manure requiring daily disposal, when 15,000 horses annually died in the city, requiring sanitary disposal, or the filth and disease that horse transportation bred, all of which amply prove the inaccuracy of that fable....
OPINION/COMMENTARY
Senator Exposes Partisan Environmental 'Charities' in Floor Speech
In a speech on the U.S. Senate floor October 4, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) outlined the connection between environmental groups, government funding, and their political activities. "Interestingly, these environmental groups are all tax-exempt IRS registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, meaning that contributions to these groups are tax deductible, yet all these non-profit groups are also closely associated and fund their affiliated 501(c)(4) lobbying organizations and 527 political groups," Inhofe said. "These groups profess to be the greatest stewards of the environment and solicit contributions from a variety of sources by that claim," Inhofe added. "But they demonstrate more interest in hyping apocalyptic environmental scenarios to raise money for raw Democrat political purposes, rather than working together to improve our environment for the benefit of all Americans." The recent changes in campaign finance law do not apply to charitable groups. The environmental groups described by Inhofe spent millions of dollars in what their opponents characterize as an effort to sway the election. Inhofe outlined how five environmental activist groups--the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and Environmental Defense--have been receiving funding from government grants and large foundations such as Pew Trusts, the Heinz Endowments, and the Turner Foundation....
Senator Exposes Partisan Environmental 'Charities' in Floor Speech
In a speech on the U.S. Senate floor October 4, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) outlined the connection between environmental groups, government funding, and their political activities. "Interestingly, these environmental groups are all tax-exempt IRS registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, meaning that contributions to these groups are tax deductible, yet all these non-profit groups are also closely associated and fund their affiliated 501(c)(4) lobbying organizations and 527 political groups," Inhofe said. "These groups profess to be the greatest stewards of the environment and solicit contributions from a variety of sources by that claim," Inhofe added. "But they demonstrate more interest in hyping apocalyptic environmental scenarios to raise money for raw Democrat political purposes, rather than working together to improve our environment for the benefit of all Americans." The recent changes in campaign finance law do not apply to charitable groups. The environmental groups described by Inhofe spent millions of dollars in what their opponents characterize as an effort to sway the election. Inhofe outlined how five environmental activist groups--the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and Environmental Defense--have been receiving funding from government grants and large foundations such as Pew Trusts, the Heinz Endowments, and the Turner Foundation....
Saturday, January 08, 2005
NEWS ROUNDUP
Judge kills general dam-building Coal-bed methane producers may no longer construct "in-channel" water reservoirs under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers general permit. U.S. District Judge William Downes signed a decision Friday overturning the general permit, which has allowed producers to proceed with some methane projects without seeking individual permits. The industry constructs hundreds of in-channel reservoirs in northeast Wyoming to control water that is pumped from coal seams in the production of coal-bed methane. And many of those reservoirs come under the authority of the corps. "Ranching is our lifestyle. And it (in-channel dam construction) was compromising our lifestyle completely. We have personally experienced the impacts," said Campbell County rancher Bernadette Barlow, who had testified in the case....
Lawsuit targets grazing U.S. Bureau of Land Management is in the initial stages of a court-ordered study of grazing impacts on sensitive bird species on 11 allotments in Elko County, but Western Watersheds Project now says it's not enough. Ranchers, on the other hand, are worried about grazing losses because of the Western Watersheds Project lawsuit that led to the study. The Idaho-based group recently filed a new request in federal court in Reno asking Judge Howard McKibben for an injunction to stop grazing on the 11 allotments....
Sage Grouse Doesn't Merit Protected Lists, U.S. Finds The Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that the sage grouse, a ground-dwelling bird of the arid West, will not be placed on the lists of species requiring special protection. The grouse's numbers have declined, sporadically, for the last century. A listing for special protection often requires businesses whose activities could harm the habitat of a plant or animal to take sometimes costly measures to minimize their impact. The wide range of the sage grouse, which can be found in 11 Western states, meant that listing it could have cost ranchers and oil and natural gas companies hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost time or minimized access to land. The decision, which followed the recommendation of an internal group of scientists and managers, rested in part on the idea that private-public conservation efforts, like those recently expanded by the Bureau of Land Management, would help restore and maintain existing grouse populations. But conservation groups said voluntary efforts could not be depended on to protect the bird....
Western Governors Pledge to Continue Sage Grouse Conservation Efforts Western Governors pledged today to continue their efforts to promote conservation of the Greater Sage Grouse with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's expected announcement that the bird does not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. "This is the right decision for the sage grouse, for conservation and for the West," said Gov. Bill Owens, chairman of the Western Governors' Association (WGA) and a co-lead for ESA related issues. "This decision ensures that the most effective efforts to conserve the sage grouse will continue, and it demonstrates that the states are ready and willing partners in the protection of the country's endangered species."....
Governor praises grouse decision Gov. Dave Freudenthal praised the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to leave the sage grouse off the endangered species list. "From the beginning, we have advanced the notion that the states, in conjunction with our federal partners, provide the best opportunity to conserve the sage grouse," Freudenthal said Friday. "Now we get a chance to prove that theory."....
Man's 14- year forest stay comes to end Bear Thomas-Hunter is packing up his van, his horse and his three pet wolves, and hitting the road. Forest Service officials wish he had done his packing weeks ago. Thomas-Hunter is a volunteer campground host who has lived for 14 years in a small trailer at Gould Mesa campground, tucked away at the bottom of the Arroyo Seco. Forest Service officials recently informed him by certified letter that they want him out. Howard Okamoto, recreation officer for the Los Angeles River Ranger District, said the campground doesn't need a full-time monitor between Dec. 1 and April 1....
New orders guiding federal land exchanges Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton has issued new orders guiding federal land exchanges that would prevent a repeat of Utah's errant San Rafael land swap and could affect another Utah exchange being negotiated. The guidelines will keep Interior Department negotiators from unilaterally stretching the national appraisal rules to try to take into account scenic value, endangered species habitat or public policy objectives. When those hard-to-measure values need to be addressed, negotiators can depart from the appraisal rules, but they must notify Congress and the Interior Department's inspector general and clearly explain the valuation method, Norton wrote....
Effort Under Way to Weaken U.S. Endangered Species Law For the first time in three decades, critics of the Endangered Species Act are building momentum to rewrite the law implemented to save America's threatened flora and fauna, from the star cactus to the grizzly bear. Weakening the law has been a priority for Republican Western governors, and a second Bush term provides critics of the act a prime opportunity to push the U.S. Congress for changes that would help open up vast stretches of wilderness for development. Rep. Richard Pombo of California, chairman of the House of Representatives natural resources committee, is expected to introduce legislation this session to revamp the law. Activists on both sides of the issue say there is little chance of truly gutting the act given its mission of saving plants and animals, but environmentalists fear it could become significantly watered down....
Oil, gas drilling going to court The clash over expanding oil and gas drilling in the West will play out in federal court next week when environmentalists challenge a deal between Utah and the Interior Department on proposed wilderness areas that critics argue sacrifices the region's pristine areas for unbridled development. The case before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver stems from a 2003 agreement that settled a lawsuit by the state of Utah. That state opposed protecting federal land proposed by the public for wilderness designation. The deal, though, reaches far beyond Utah; it applies to millions of acres throughout the West previously shielded from development while advocates lobbied for permanent protection. "This affects millions of acres of our most pristine, remote wild lands in very fundamental ways for years to come," said Jim Angell, a lawyer with the Denver office of Earthjustice, which will represent several environmental groups in a hearing Wednesday in the federal appeals court....
Navajo pass water rights settlement The Navajo Nation Council passed a New Mexico water rights settlement and agreed to give up 44 percent of its water rights claims to the San Juan River Basin. LaVern Wagner, Resources Committee vice chairperson and delegate from Pueblo Pintado/Torreon/Whitehorse, N.M. praised passage of the water rights settlement. ''I'm proud of the prestigious 20th Navajo Nation Council delegates for taking action and voting in favor of the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement. ''This settlement agreement has been in negotiating discussions for over a decade. It is important that the settlement agreement is finally moving forward to make the terms of the water rights settlement agreement a reality to improve the social economic wellbeing and living standards of many Navajo people in New Mexico....
Students to follow leg of Gold Rush trail A group of students, including youngsters from Crane, McCamey and Rankin, will retrace the route of gold rush adventurer William P. Huff this month. Huff’s trip, recounted in a 300,000-word diary, tells of his trip from near Houston to Fresno, Calif. In this case, the four-leg trip started at Socorro Mission in El Paso on Jan. 4 and ends near Houston Jan. 29. Each morning, students will read from Huff’s diary, then travel his route that day. They will discuss diary segments in terms of content and vocabulary, but the readings are also meant to prepare students to closely compare what they will see to what Huff wrote more than 150 years ago, a news release said. Students will help harness mules, hook the wagons, learn to drive the mules, help pitch camp every night and generally experience as much of 1800s pioneer life as possible. Youngsters will also take notes along the day then find a quiet spot to record their thoughts into a tape recorder....
Cowgirl legend Kramer dies at 91 One month after her 91st birthday, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame celebrity Bobby Brooks Kramer died Wednesday evening. She was surrounded by a lifetime of trophies and awards from horse shows and cutting contests at her Billings home. Known throughout Montana and the West as an excellent horsewoman and a savvy rancher, Kramer was one of the first women to begin riding rodeo broncs for prize money. With the shortage of men after World War II and trucks and tractors replacing work horses, many horses were out of a job and got kicked out on the open range. After marrying Bud Kramer, Mrs. Kramer and her husband ranched near Cohagen in Garfield County. Part of their ranch income involved capturing these open range ponies, breaking them and selling them as riding or draft horses. For years they would ship up to 10,000 horses annually by railroad out of Ingomar....
Judge kills general dam-building Coal-bed methane producers may no longer construct "in-channel" water reservoirs under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers general permit. U.S. District Judge William Downes signed a decision Friday overturning the general permit, which has allowed producers to proceed with some methane projects without seeking individual permits. The industry constructs hundreds of in-channel reservoirs in northeast Wyoming to control water that is pumped from coal seams in the production of coal-bed methane. And many of those reservoirs come under the authority of the corps. "Ranching is our lifestyle. And it (in-channel dam construction) was compromising our lifestyle completely. We have personally experienced the impacts," said Campbell County rancher Bernadette Barlow, who had testified in the case....
Lawsuit targets grazing U.S. Bureau of Land Management is in the initial stages of a court-ordered study of grazing impacts on sensitive bird species on 11 allotments in Elko County, but Western Watersheds Project now says it's not enough. Ranchers, on the other hand, are worried about grazing losses because of the Western Watersheds Project lawsuit that led to the study. The Idaho-based group recently filed a new request in federal court in Reno asking Judge Howard McKibben for an injunction to stop grazing on the 11 allotments....
Sage Grouse Doesn't Merit Protected Lists, U.S. Finds The Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that the sage grouse, a ground-dwelling bird of the arid West, will not be placed on the lists of species requiring special protection. The grouse's numbers have declined, sporadically, for the last century. A listing for special protection often requires businesses whose activities could harm the habitat of a plant or animal to take sometimes costly measures to minimize their impact. The wide range of the sage grouse, which can be found in 11 Western states, meant that listing it could have cost ranchers and oil and natural gas companies hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost time or minimized access to land. The decision, which followed the recommendation of an internal group of scientists and managers, rested in part on the idea that private-public conservation efforts, like those recently expanded by the Bureau of Land Management, would help restore and maintain existing grouse populations. But conservation groups said voluntary efforts could not be depended on to protect the bird....
Western Governors Pledge to Continue Sage Grouse Conservation Efforts Western Governors pledged today to continue their efforts to promote conservation of the Greater Sage Grouse with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's expected announcement that the bird does not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. "This is the right decision for the sage grouse, for conservation and for the West," said Gov. Bill Owens, chairman of the Western Governors' Association (WGA) and a co-lead for ESA related issues. "This decision ensures that the most effective efforts to conserve the sage grouse will continue, and it demonstrates that the states are ready and willing partners in the protection of the country's endangered species."....
Governor praises grouse decision Gov. Dave Freudenthal praised the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to leave the sage grouse off the endangered species list. "From the beginning, we have advanced the notion that the states, in conjunction with our federal partners, provide the best opportunity to conserve the sage grouse," Freudenthal said Friday. "Now we get a chance to prove that theory."....
Man's 14- year forest stay comes to end Bear Thomas-Hunter is packing up his van, his horse and his three pet wolves, and hitting the road. Forest Service officials wish he had done his packing weeks ago. Thomas-Hunter is a volunteer campground host who has lived for 14 years in a small trailer at Gould Mesa campground, tucked away at the bottom of the Arroyo Seco. Forest Service officials recently informed him by certified letter that they want him out. Howard Okamoto, recreation officer for the Los Angeles River Ranger District, said the campground doesn't need a full-time monitor between Dec. 1 and April 1....
New orders guiding federal land exchanges Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton has issued new orders guiding federal land exchanges that would prevent a repeat of Utah's errant San Rafael land swap and could affect another Utah exchange being negotiated. The guidelines will keep Interior Department negotiators from unilaterally stretching the national appraisal rules to try to take into account scenic value, endangered species habitat or public policy objectives. When those hard-to-measure values need to be addressed, negotiators can depart from the appraisal rules, but they must notify Congress and the Interior Department's inspector general and clearly explain the valuation method, Norton wrote....
Effort Under Way to Weaken U.S. Endangered Species Law For the first time in three decades, critics of the Endangered Species Act are building momentum to rewrite the law implemented to save America's threatened flora and fauna, from the star cactus to the grizzly bear. Weakening the law has been a priority for Republican Western governors, and a second Bush term provides critics of the act a prime opportunity to push the U.S. Congress for changes that would help open up vast stretches of wilderness for development. Rep. Richard Pombo of California, chairman of the House of Representatives natural resources committee, is expected to introduce legislation this session to revamp the law. Activists on both sides of the issue say there is little chance of truly gutting the act given its mission of saving plants and animals, but environmentalists fear it could become significantly watered down....
Oil, gas drilling going to court The clash over expanding oil and gas drilling in the West will play out in federal court next week when environmentalists challenge a deal between Utah and the Interior Department on proposed wilderness areas that critics argue sacrifices the region's pristine areas for unbridled development. The case before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver stems from a 2003 agreement that settled a lawsuit by the state of Utah. That state opposed protecting federal land proposed by the public for wilderness designation. The deal, though, reaches far beyond Utah; it applies to millions of acres throughout the West previously shielded from development while advocates lobbied for permanent protection. "This affects millions of acres of our most pristine, remote wild lands in very fundamental ways for years to come," said Jim Angell, a lawyer with the Denver office of Earthjustice, which will represent several environmental groups in a hearing Wednesday in the federal appeals court....
Navajo pass water rights settlement The Navajo Nation Council passed a New Mexico water rights settlement and agreed to give up 44 percent of its water rights claims to the San Juan River Basin. LaVern Wagner, Resources Committee vice chairperson and delegate from Pueblo Pintado/Torreon/Whitehorse, N.M. praised passage of the water rights settlement. ''I'm proud of the prestigious 20th Navajo Nation Council delegates for taking action and voting in favor of the San Juan River Basin in New Mexico Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement Agreement. ''This settlement agreement has been in negotiating discussions for over a decade. It is important that the settlement agreement is finally moving forward to make the terms of the water rights settlement agreement a reality to improve the social economic wellbeing and living standards of many Navajo people in New Mexico....
Students to follow leg of Gold Rush trail A group of students, including youngsters from Crane, McCamey and Rankin, will retrace the route of gold rush adventurer William P. Huff this month. Huff’s trip, recounted in a 300,000-word diary, tells of his trip from near Houston to Fresno, Calif. In this case, the four-leg trip started at Socorro Mission in El Paso on Jan. 4 and ends near Houston Jan. 29. Each morning, students will read from Huff’s diary, then travel his route that day. They will discuss diary segments in terms of content and vocabulary, but the readings are also meant to prepare students to closely compare what they will see to what Huff wrote more than 150 years ago, a news release said. Students will help harness mules, hook the wagons, learn to drive the mules, help pitch camp every night and generally experience as much of 1800s pioneer life as possible. Youngsters will also take notes along the day then find a quiet spot to record their thoughts into a tape recorder....
Cowgirl legend Kramer dies at 91 One month after her 91st birthday, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame celebrity Bobby Brooks Kramer died Wednesday evening. She was surrounded by a lifetime of trophies and awards from horse shows and cutting contests at her Billings home. Known throughout Montana and the West as an excellent horsewoman and a savvy rancher, Kramer was one of the first women to begin riding rodeo broncs for prize money. With the shortage of men after World War II and trucks and tractors replacing work horses, many horses were out of a job and got kicked out on the open range. After marrying Bud Kramer, Mrs. Kramer and her husband ranched near Cohagen in Garfield County. Part of their ranch income involved capturing these open range ponies, breaking them and selling them as riding or draft horses. For years they would ship up to 10,000 horses annually by railroad out of Ingomar....
MAD COW DISEASE
Animal From Canada Mad Cow Herd May Have Reached U.S. The Canadian government said that an animal raised with an 8-year-old cow that had mad cow disease may have been sent to the U.S. An initial investigation suggests one cow from the infected cow's birth ``cohort'' of 141 animals may have gone to the U.S., Gary Little, senior veterinarian with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, told reporters in a conference call from Ottawa. There may be others, he said, while declining to be more specific. ``It is too early to speculate on how many animals and their BSE-status,'' Little said, referring to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the scientific name for the disease. Little said nine dairy cows from the birth cohort -- animals born on the same farm and within a year of the infected animal -- have been located and will be slaughtered and tested for BSE. Some U.S. lawmakers and a ranchers group have cited Canada's second case of mad cow disease, confirmed Jan. 2, as a reason to scuttle plans to ease a 19-month-old import ban on Canadian cattle. Tyson Foods Inc. and National Beef Packing Co. said they will cut beef production in the U.S. partly because of tight animal supplies. Beef from some of the animals being traced may have gotten into the human food chain, Little said. Those animals ``represent a very low risk,'' he said, as ``multiple cases in the same birth cohort is rare.'' ``What we can't say is that's a zero risk,'' he said. ``That doesn't exist.''....
Government tries to find cow related to infected animal Government officials were trying Friday to trace a cow shipped to the United States from the same Canadian herd as an animal infected with mad cow disease, yet officials said it was unlikely the imported cow had been infected. In Canada, investigators identified 93 dairy and 48 beef animals that were born in the year before through the year after the infected cow was delivered in October 1996. Investigators are trying to trace all 141 animals, including the one shipped to the United States. "USDA believes it is extremely unlikely that this imported cow would have been infected," said Ron DeHaven, administrator for the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Nonetheless, DeHaven said, the department is making "every reasonable effort to obtain and provide information about the disposition of this animal as well as any other birth cohorts that are traced to the United States through Canada's epidemiological investigation."....
Ottawa downplays mad cow health worries Information about the infected cow gathered so far includes:---she gave birth to two offspring, both of which have since died of causes unrelated to BSE,---her birth herd of 93 cattle comprised 55 bull calves that would have been slaughtered very young. Of the remaining 38 animals, one tested negative for BSE late last year, and another nine have been located and placed under quarantine,---another 48 beef cattle that were born on her farm of origin between 1995 and 1997 are also being sought. Some of the animals have likely died, been slaughtered or even exported to the United States, officials added....
Statement By Dr. Ron DeHaven Administrator, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service "The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working closely with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in their investigation of the Canadian dairy cow that recently tested positive for BSE. This investigation is focused on identifying birth cohorts - animals born in the same herd within one year of the affected animal. The preliminary investigation has shown that one of these birth cohorts was imported into the United States in February 2002 for immediate slaughter. USDA, in collaboration with FDA, is currently tracing the disposition of this animal and will provide further details as the investigation evolves. "Even at the height of BSE infection in Europe and the United Kingdom, it was extremely rare to have more than one animal in the same herd affected with BSE, therefore USDA believes it is extremely unlikely that this imported cow would have been infected."....
Animal From Canada Mad Cow Herd May Have Reached U.S. The Canadian government said that an animal raised with an 8-year-old cow that had mad cow disease may have been sent to the U.S. An initial investigation suggests one cow from the infected cow's birth ``cohort'' of 141 animals may have gone to the U.S., Gary Little, senior veterinarian with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, told reporters in a conference call from Ottawa. There may be others, he said, while declining to be more specific. ``It is too early to speculate on how many animals and their BSE-status,'' Little said, referring to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the scientific name for the disease. Little said nine dairy cows from the birth cohort -- animals born on the same farm and within a year of the infected animal -- have been located and will be slaughtered and tested for BSE. Some U.S. lawmakers and a ranchers group have cited Canada's second case of mad cow disease, confirmed Jan. 2, as a reason to scuttle plans to ease a 19-month-old import ban on Canadian cattle. Tyson Foods Inc. and National Beef Packing Co. said they will cut beef production in the U.S. partly because of tight animal supplies. Beef from some of the animals being traced may have gotten into the human food chain, Little said. Those animals ``represent a very low risk,'' he said, as ``multiple cases in the same birth cohort is rare.'' ``What we can't say is that's a zero risk,'' he said. ``That doesn't exist.''....
Government tries to find cow related to infected animal Government officials were trying Friday to trace a cow shipped to the United States from the same Canadian herd as an animal infected with mad cow disease, yet officials said it was unlikely the imported cow had been infected. In Canada, investigators identified 93 dairy and 48 beef animals that were born in the year before through the year after the infected cow was delivered in October 1996. Investigators are trying to trace all 141 animals, including the one shipped to the United States. "USDA believes it is extremely unlikely that this imported cow would have been infected," said Ron DeHaven, administrator for the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Nonetheless, DeHaven said, the department is making "every reasonable effort to obtain and provide information about the disposition of this animal as well as any other birth cohorts that are traced to the United States through Canada's epidemiological investigation."....
Ottawa downplays mad cow health worries Information about the infected cow gathered so far includes:---she gave birth to two offspring, both of which have since died of causes unrelated to BSE,---her birth herd of 93 cattle comprised 55 bull calves that would have been slaughtered very young. Of the remaining 38 animals, one tested negative for BSE late last year, and another nine have been located and placed under quarantine,---another 48 beef cattle that were born on her farm of origin between 1995 and 1997 are also being sought. Some of the animals have likely died, been slaughtered or even exported to the United States, officials added....
Statement By Dr. Ron DeHaven Administrator, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service "The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working closely with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in their investigation of the Canadian dairy cow that recently tested positive for BSE. This investigation is focused on identifying birth cohorts - animals born in the same herd within one year of the affected animal. The preliminary investigation has shown that one of these birth cohorts was imported into the United States in February 2002 for immediate slaughter. USDA, in collaboration with FDA, is currently tracing the disposition of this animal and will provide further details as the investigation evolves. "Even at the height of BSE infection in Europe and the United Kingdom, it was extremely rare to have more than one animal in the same herd affected with BSE, therefore USDA believes it is extremely unlikely that this imported cow would have been infected."....
Friday, January 07, 2005
NEWS ROUNDUP
Protection not likely for sage grouse Secretary of Interior Gale Norton is expected to announce today that the greater sage grouse is not warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Listing would have meant added protection for the bird, whose numbers have dropped from 2 million in the mid-19th century to fewer than 200,000. "This is great news for everyone across the West, highlighting this administration's willingness to listen to the ideas and perspectives of the scientific community, as well as local and tribal governments and those most impacted by such a listing," said U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo. He said, "Listing of the greater sage grouse would have triggered a number of cumbersome regulations and costly land-use restrictions throughout the state of Colorado." Allard said by empowering local people to develop their own conservation plans and allowing them to work in partnership to strengthen the bird population, the species can be protected and the goals of the Endangered Species Act furthered without action from the federal government....
Critter rights imperil graves The wood stork, the indigo snake and the gopher tortoise are delaying construction of a military cemetery in Florida. Environmentalists are concerned that the burial ground for veterans would harm wetlands and the endangered species that live there. Rep. Mark Foley, Florida Republican, says he is "deeply disturbed" by the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to approve quickly work on the site, west of Boynton Beach in Palm Beach County. He said animals and ponds should not take precedence over veterans....
Wolf comeback turns predator into prey The US Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced that it will now be easier for ranchers and others in the Northern Rockies to shoot wolves. Some environmentalists and animal-lovers object. But the new regulations in fact are a sign that the wolf - hunted to near-extinction over the past century - is making a healthy comeback. Gray wolves reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s are thriving, to the discomfort of elk and coyotes, who used to have the run of the place, and to the delight of tourists who gather to catch a glimpse of the mythic animal and to hear its distinctive howl. The wolf's presence there has helped restore the ecosystem to something closer to the natural, which is part of the argument for allowing wolves to live elsewhere as well - as long as they don't eat too many sheep, cows, or game animals favored by sport hunters. Meanwhile, administration officials say wolf populations in the upper Midwest have grown to the point where they can be removed from the endangered species list, and they've loosened the restrictions on shooting wolves from airplanes in Alaska....
Sierra Club Cautiously Optimistic About State Management of Wolves The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service broke new ground in endangered species management by transferring limited management authority to the states of Montana and Idaho today – a move that comes prior to the species’ official delisting. The rule change will be published in the Federal Register today, sparking a cautiously optimistic stance from the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservation group. "With broader state level participation in wolf management, wildlife managers in Montana and Idaho will now have the chance to prove themselves worthy of continuing the success the federal government has had in bringing wild wolves back from extinction in the West," said Bart Semcer, Sierra Club’s Washington, D.C. Representative for Fish and Wildlife Policy....
Grizzly Bear Livestock Kills Drop in 2004 Defenders of Wildlife paid $12,795 in grizzly bear compensation funds to ranchers and sheep growers in 2004, representing a 32% drop from the previous year. Payments were for one horse, 9 cattle and 13 sheep that were confirmed kills by grizzly bears and an additional three calves that were most likely bear kills. In all, Defenders has paid $112,668 in compensation from The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Grizzly Bear Compensation Trust since its founding in 1997. "Prevention and compensation are crucial for grizzly bear recovery in the West. While overall losses may be small, individual ranchers feel the sting when it's their sheep or cattle." said Rodger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders of Wildlife. "These initiatives help prevent problems in the first place, and promptly compensate local people when they do occur."....
Citing Costs, U.S. Trims Critical Habitat for Santa Ana Sucker The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has eliminated critical habitat for the endangered Santa Ana sucker fish in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, saying the economic benefits of the new plan outweigh the benefits to the fish. The agency kept 8,305 acres of critical habitat for the Santa Ana sucker in Los Angeles County along the San Gabriel River and Big Tujunga Creek. Originally more than 20,000 acres, most of it along the Santa Ana River, had been designated under a court order last February. The decision is the latest by the Bush administration to scrap critical habitat, which can complicate home and road building, dams and other development. Construction on critical habitat can require additional federal permits....
Column: Endangered act At the Western Governors Association's two-day Executive Summit on the Endangered Species Act, I told the governors that the Endangered Species Act is broken – that it was born broken. The ESA is based on a flawed understanding of the Americas at Columbian contact and on the myth of the balance of nature. In addition, it is not even an endangered species act; it is an endangered subpopulation and distinct population segment act. It uses a regulatory approach born in the Nixon administration, and it ignores the role of states and landowners. It ignores incentives. A new endangered species act should correct these misunderstandings....
Coal keeps cruising Wyoming coal miners continued to break industry records in 2004, including the high-water mark for production, surprising even market analysts. More than 4,500 coal miners in the state collectively scooped 395.8 million tons of coal, according the Casper Star-Tribune's annual statewide survey. That's 19.5 million tons more than the year before -- an increase of more than 5 percent and the largest annual increase since 2001....
Drilling battle Fight brews over Valle Vidal future The 100,000-acre Valle Vidal in Northern New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains is a place of spectacular beauty, say people who've grown up in the area and people who love to visit it. New Mexico's largest elk herd makes its home there. Rio Grande cutthroat trout swim in its blue-ribbon mountain streams. And oil and gas companies want to drill there for methane trapped in underground coal-bed seams. The threat of mineral exploration is bringing together an unlikely group of bedfellows who oppose drilling in the scenic area. The Coalition for the Valle Vidal has more than 60 members so far, from a longtime Republican businessman in Raton to the Western Environmental Law Center in Taos and the town councils of Eagle Nest, Cimarron and Taos. Members include hunters, anglers, scientists, politicians and environmental activists -- groups that don't always get along in the Land of Enchantment's political landscape....
Bill proposed to force talks before drilling Rep. Kathleen Curry says her constituents have told her, loud and clear, that she should protect landowners who don't own the mineral rights to oil and gas underneath their properties from the energy companies that do own those rights. She's working on a bill to do just that. "It basically forces both parties to come to the table and negotiate a surface-use agreement before a final permit to drill can be issued," Curry said Tuesday. Curry's bill, which Rep. Mark Larson, R-Cortez, is co-sponsoring, would compensate landowners for damages from "loss of agricultural production and income, loss of land value, loss of land use, loss of value of improvements, damage to on-site water supplies and costs of surface reclamation."....
Fight bubbles up over vernal pools Controversy still swirls around the Central Valley's vernal pools, the seasonal wetlands now returning to the center of political struggle. Under legal pressure, the Bush administration this month is reconsidering which Valley lands should be deemed critical habitat for endangered vernal pool species. In time, several Valley counties could find themselves back in the same critical habitat zone that local officials thought they had once escaped. "I'm very concerned," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced. "We need to re-rally the troops who had fought this in the first place."....
Nevada Gets Green Light to Drill for Water in Desert National Wildlife Refuge Plans to drill for water within Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex moved closer to realty yesterday when the Nevada State Engineer granted the Southern Nevada Water Authority permission to drill seven groundwater wells within and around the Refuge. Pumping from the proposed wells could potentially damage springs and streams containing habitat for endangered species, including many that are found nowhere else. “Wildlife refuges are for wildlife,” said Brian Segee, staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife “The Desert Refuge is the largest wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states and one of Nevada’s greatest natural treasures. This is the last place the state should be looking to drill.”....
Drought provokes regional response: Santa Fe, Albuquerque to import water for growth, but prolonged dry spell could affect the West's source New Mexico is increasingly relying on water from the Colorado River Basin to support growth just as the federal government warns that ongoing drought might force cutbacks for all states with rights to the river. Speaking at a water conference in Nevada last month, top federal officials warned that the prolonged drought means that New Mexico and the six other states that draw from the Colorado River must devise a plan by April 1 spelling out how they can cut consumption. "We have now completed five years of drought, and we don't know when it will end," Stephen Griles, deputy secretary of the Interior, told the Colorado River Water Users Association on Dec. 17. "That is the reality we collectively face in the Colorado Basin."....
Historic AuSable River dam to be removed The AuSable River dam, built during the former mill town's lumbering days but now posing a threat to fish hatcheries, will be removed, a legislator said Thursday. After decades of debate, state and local officials have reached an agreement to dismantle the structure, which dates from the late 1800s, said state Rep. Matt Gillard, D-Alpena. The job should be done by early March. The $385,000 project will be funded by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service....
Native Americans' income increasing Native Americans, the poorest minorities in the United States, made substantial economic and social gains in the last decade of the 20th century, according to a report released Wednesday by Harvard's American Indian Project on Economic Development. The study, which compared census data from 1990 and 2000, showed income and education increased, housing improved, and poverty and unemployment decreased. Arizona tribes shared in the gains, which paved the path to independence, local Native leaders said....
Country music has strong year in 2004 Early predictions of increased album sales of Country Music in 2004 proved true with 77,912,000 units sold from Jan. 5, 2004, through Jan. 2, 2005 – a 12 percent increase over 2003, which had sales of 69,311,000 units, according to figures released today by Nielsen SoundScan. The news was promising with a 1.6 percent rebound of the total music industry following a four-year period of steady decline, which was stemmed slightly in 2003 once Internet and digital track sales were factored into the equation by Nielsen SoundScan research. Overall music purchases in 2004 exceeded 800 million for the fist time since 2000. And while the bulk of the industry slumped since that time, Country Music pushed to develop the next round of Country hitmakers. By mid 2004, the outlook was promising when for the first time in five years, Recording Industry Association of America shipments for the first half of the year increased (RIAA tabulates store shipments which are expected to be future sales to consumers and Nielsen SoundScan tracks point-of-purchase sales of recorded music product). “Country Music held its own and even enjoyed growth during a very tumultuous period for the music industry over the past five years,” said CMA Executive Director Ed Benson....
Greeley hatter making custom cowboy hat for Bush A custom cowboy hat being handcrafted by a Greeley hatter will be presented to President Bush before inauguration but probably won't be worn during the swearing in ceremony Jan. 20. ''No president has worn a hat for inauguration since JFK quit wearing them,'' said Trent Johnson, owner of Greeley Hat Works Inc. The sand-colored pure beaver felt hat will be presented to Bush by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, which each year commissions Johnson to build a custom hat for the group's president. In 2002, the cattlemen's group asked Johnson to create a one-of-a-kind hat for a Denver appearance by President Bush. Johnson said the president wears that hat regularly and keeps it handy in the Oval Office. The 2005 Republican calendar has a photograph of Bush wearing the hat on the steps of the White House....
Church favors boots-and-jeans crowd The Narrow Trail Cowboy Church in Plano may seem like a study in contradictions to some. Held beneath a covered patio at the Love and War In Texas restaurant, it attracts more suburban professionals than real rural cowhands. Yet, it's one of three so-called cowboy churches that have sprung up in Collin County in recent months with moral support from the Collin Baptist Association. Statewide, there are more than 30. This is a place where folks say they can worship God in pointy-toed cowboy boots or comfy tennis shoes without feeling judged or preached at....
Rodeo Pioneer Gerald Roberts Dead at 85 Gerald Roberts, the longtime rodeo star who worked in Western films, has died. He was 85. Roberts died Dec. 31 and was buried Wednesday in his hometown of Abilene. Roberts, whose brother and sister also were successful on the rodeo circuit, won his first world all-around world title in 1942 at the age of 22. He won a second world championship six years later. He was one of the charter members of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in Wichita in 1961, and was later inducted into the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Roberts, who started a rodeo gear company in 1964, worked in Hollywood for some time, serving as a stunt double for actors such as Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon....
Protection not likely for sage grouse Secretary of Interior Gale Norton is expected to announce today that the greater sage grouse is not warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Listing would have meant added protection for the bird, whose numbers have dropped from 2 million in the mid-19th century to fewer than 200,000. "This is great news for everyone across the West, highlighting this administration's willingness to listen to the ideas and perspectives of the scientific community, as well as local and tribal governments and those most impacted by such a listing," said U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo. He said, "Listing of the greater sage grouse would have triggered a number of cumbersome regulations and costly land-use restrictions throughout the state of Colorado." Allard said by empowering local people to develop their own conservation plans and allowing them to work in partnership to strengthen the bird population, the species can be protected and the goals of the Endangered Species Act furthered without action from the federal government....
Critter rights imperil graves The wood stork, the indigo snake and the gopher tortoise are delaying construction of a military cemetery in Florida. Environmentalists are concerned that the burial ground for veterans would harm wetlands and the endangered species that live there. Rep. Mark Foley, Florida Republican, says he is "deeply disturbed" by the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to approve quickly work on the site, west of Boynton Beach in Palm Beach County. He said animals and ponds should not take precedence over veterans....
Wolf comeback turns predator into prey The US Fish and Wildlife Service this week announced that it will now be easier for ranchers and others in the Northern Rockies to shoot wolves. Some environmentalists and animal-lovers object. But the new regulations in fact are a sign that the wolf - hunted to near-extinction over the past century - is making a healthy comeback. Gray wolves reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s are thriving, to the discomfort of elk and coyotes, who used to have the run of the place, and to the delight of tourists who gather to catch a glimpse of the mythic animal and to hear its distinctive howl. The wolf's presence there has helped restore the ecosystem to something closer to the natural, which is part of the argument for allowing wolves to live elsewhere as well - as long as they don't eat too many sheep, cows, or game animals favored by sport hunters. Meanwhile, administration officials say wolf populations in the upper Midwest have grown to the point where they can be removed from the endangered species list, and they've loosened the restrictions on shooting wolves from airplanes in Alaska....
Sierra Club Cautiously Optimistic About State Management of Wolves The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service broke new ground in endangered species management by transferring limited management authority to the states of Montana and Idaho today – a move that comes prior to the species’ official delisting. The rule change will be published in the Federal Register today, sparking a cautiously optimistic stance from the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservation group. "With broader state level participation in wolf management, wildlife managers in Montana and Idaho will now have the chance to prove themselves worthy of continuing the success the federal government has had in bringing wild wolves back from extinction in the West," said Bart Semcer, Sierra Club’s Washington, D.C. Representative for Fish and Wildlife Policy....
Grizzly Bear Livestock Kills Drop in 2004 Defenders of Wildlife paid $12,795 in grizzly bear compensation funds to ranchers and sheep growers in 2004, representing a 32% drop from the previous year. Payments were for one horse, 9 cattle and 13 sheep that were confirmed kills by grizzly bears and an additional three calves that were most likely bear kills. In all, Defenders has paid $112,668 in compensation from The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Grizzly Bear Compensation Trust since its founding in 1997. "Prevention and compensation are crucial for grizzly bear recovery in the West. While overall losses may be small, individual ranchers feel the sting when it's their sheep or cattle." said Rodger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders of Wildlife. "These initiatives help prevent problems in the first place, and promptly compensate local people when they do occur."....
Citing Costs, U.S. Trims Critical Habitat for Santa Ana Sucker The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has eliminated critical habitat for the endangered Santa Ana sucker fish in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, saying the economic benefits of the new plan outweigh the benefits to the fish. The agency kept 8,305 acres of critical habitat for the Santa Ana sucker in Los Angeles County along the San Gabriel River and Big Tujunga Creek. Originally more than 20,000 acres, most of it along the Santa Ana River, had been designated under a court order last February. The decision is the latest by the Bush administration to scrap critical habitat, which can complicate home and road building, dams and other development. Construction on critical habitat can require additional federal permits....
Column: Endangered act At the Western Governors Association's two-day Executive Summit on the Endangered Species Act, I told the governors that the Endangered Species Act is broken – that it was born broken. The ESA is based on a flawed understanding of the Americas at Columbian contact and on the myth of the balance of nature. In addition, it is not even an endangered species act; it is an endangered subpopulation and distinct population segment act. It uses a regulatory approach born in the Nixon administration, and it ignores the role of states and landowners. It ignores incentives. A new endangered species act should correct these misunderstandings....
Coal keeps cruising Wyoming coal miners continued to break industry records in 2004, including the high-water mark for production, surprising even market analysts. More than 4,500 coal miners in the state collectively scooped 395.8 million tons of coal, according the Casper Star-Tribune's annual statewide survey. That's 19.5 million tons more than the year before -- an increase of more than 5 percent and the largest annual increase since 2001....
Drilling battle Fight brews over Valle Vidal future The 100,000-acre Valle Vidal in Northern New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains is a place of spectacular beauty, say people who've grown up in the area and people who love to visit it. New Mexico's largest elk herd makes its home there. Rio Grande cutthroat trout swim in its blue-ribbon mountain streams. And oil and gas companies want to drill there for methane trapped in underground coal-bed seams. The threat of mineral exploration is bringing together an unlikely group of bedfellows who oppose drilling in the scenic area. The Coalition for the Valle Vidal has more than 60 members so far, from a longtime Republican businessman in Raton to the Western Environmental Law Center in Taos and the town councils of Eagle Nest, Cimarron and Taos. Members include hunters, anglers, scientists, politicians and environmental activists -- groups that don't always get along in the Land of Enchantment's political landscape....
Bill proposed to force talks before drilling Rep. Kathleen Curry says her constituents have told her, loud and clear, that she should protect landowners who don't own the mineral rights to oil and gas underneath their properties from the energy companies that do own those rights. She's working on a bill to do just that. "It basically forces both parties to come to the table and negotiate a surface-use agreement before a final permit to drill can be issued," Curry said Tuesday. Curry's bill, which Rep. Mark Larson, R-Cortez, is co-sponsoring, would compensate landowners for damages from "loss of agricultural production and income, loss of land value, loss of land use, loss of value of improvements, damage to on-site water supplies and costs of surface reclamation."....
Fight bubbles up over vernal pools Controversy still swirls around the Central Valley's vernal pools, the seasonal wetlands now returning to the center of political struggle. Under legal pressure, the Bush administration this month is reconsidering which Valley lands should be deemed critical habitat for endangered vernal pool species. In time, several Valley counties could find themselves back in the same critical habitat zone that local officials thought they had once escaped. "I'm very concerned," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced. "We need to re-rally the troops who had fought this in the first place."....
Nevada Gets Green Light to Drill for Water in Desert National Wildlife Refuge Plans to drill for water within Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex moved closer to realty yesterday when the Nevada State Engineer granted the Southern Nevada Water Authority permission to drill seven groundwater wells within and around the Refuge. Pumping from the proposed wells could potentially damage springs and streams containing habitat for endangered species, including many that are found nowhere else. “Wildlife refuges are for wildlife,” said Brian Segee, staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife “The Desert Refuge is the largest wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states and one of Nevada’s greatest natural treasures. This is the last place the state should be looking to drill.”....
Drought provokes regional response: Santa Fe, Albuquerque to import water for growth, but prolonged dry spell could affect the West's source New Mexico is increasingly relying on water from the Colorado River Basin to support growth just as the federal government warns that ongoing drought might force cutbacks for all states with rights to the river. Speaking at a water conference in Nevada last month, top federal officials warned that the prolonged drought means that New Mexico and the six other states that draw from the Colorado River must devise a plan by April 1 spelling out how they can cut consumption. "We have now completed five years of drought, and we don't know when it will end," Stephen Griles, deputy secretary of the Interior, told the Colorado River Water Users Association on Dec. 17. "That is the reality we collectively face in the Colorado Basin."....
Historic AuSable River dam to be removed The AuSable River dam, built during the former mill town's lumbering days but now posing a threat to fish hatcheries, will be removed, a legislator said Thursday. After decades of debate, state and local officials have reached an agreement to dismantle the structure, which dates from the late 1800s, said state Rep. Matt Gillard, D-Alpena. The job should be done by early March. The $385,000 project will be funded by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service....
Native Americans' income increasing Native Americans, the poorest minorities in the United States, made substantial economic and social gains in the last decade of the 20th century, according to a report released Wednesday by Harvard's American Indian Project on Economic Development. The study, which compared census data from 1990 and 2000, showed income and education increased, housing improved, and poverty and unemployment decreased. Arizona tribes shared in the gains, which paved the path to independence, local Native leaders said....
Country music has strong year in 2004 Early predictions of increased album sales of Country Music in 2004 proved true with 77,912,000 units sold from Jan. 5, 2004, through Jan. 2, 2005 – a 12 percent increase over 2003, which had sales of 69,311,000 units, according to figures released today by Nielsen SoundScan. The news was promising with a 1.6 percent rebound of the total music industry following a four-year period of steady decline, which was stemmed slightly in 2003 once Internet and digital track sales were factored into the equation by Nielsen SoundScan research. Overall music purchases in 2004 exceeded 800 million for the fist time since 2000. And while the bulk of the industry slumped since that time, Country Music pushed to develop the next round of Country hitmakers. By mid 2004, the outlook was promising when for the first time in five years, Recording Industry Association of America shipments for the first half of the year increased (RIAA tabulates store shipments which are expected to be future sales to consumers and Nielsen SoundScan tracks point-of-purchase sales of recorded music product). “Country Music held its own and even enjoyed growth during a very tumultuous period for the music industry over the past five years,” said CMA Executive Director Ed Benson....
Greeley hatter making custom cowboy hat for Bush A custom cowboy hat being handcrafted by a Greeley hatter will be presented to President Bush before inauguration but probably won't be worn during the swearing in ceremony Jan. 20. ''No president has worn a hat for inauguration since JFK quit wearing them,'' said Trent Johnson, owner of Greeley Hat Works Inc. The sand-colored pure beaver felt hat will be presented to Bush by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, which each year commissions Johnson to build a custom hat for the group's president. In 2002, the cattlemen's group asked Johnson to create a one-of-a-kind hat for a Denver appearance by President Bush. Johnson said the president wears that hat regularly and keeps it handy in the Oval Office. The 2005 Republican calendar has a photograph of Bush wearing the hat on the steps of the White House....
Church favors boots-and-jeans crowd The Narrow Trail Cowboy Church in Plano may seem like a study in contradictions to some. Held beneath a covered patio at the Love and War In Texas restaurant, it attracts more suburban professionals than real rural cowhands. Yet, it's one of three so-called cowboy churches that have sprung up in Collin County in recent months with moral support from the Collin Baptist Association. Statewide, there are more than 30. This is a place where folks say they can worship God in pointy-toed cowboy boots or comfy tennis shoes without feeling judged or preached at....
Rodeo Pioneer Gerald Roberts Dead at 85 Gerald Roberts, the longtime rodeo star who worked in Western films, has died. He was 85. Roberts died Dec. 31 and was buried Wednesday in his hometown of Abilene. Roberts, whose brother and sister also were successful on the rodeo circuit, won his first world all-around world title in 1942 at the age of 22. He won a second world championship six years later. He was one of the charter members of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in Wichita in 1961, and was later inducted into the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Roberts, who started a rodeo gear company in 1964, worked in Hollywood for some time, serving as a stunt double for actors such as Glenn Ford and Jack Lemmon....
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