Vilsack Could Be Shifted to Commerce Post

President-elect Barack Obama is trying to find a replacement for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has withdrawn his name from consideration to be Secretary of Commerce in the Obama cabinet. Richardson has been sidelined by a federal ethics probe into a $1.5 million state contract to CDR Financial Products of California. There has been some speculation that the President-elect may do some shuffling within the cabinet because of a lack of alternatives for the Secretary of Commerce. According to the New York Daily News, an anonymous source has said that former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack may be moved from the Secretary of Agriculture slot into the commerce position. Some believe there are more viable candidates to select from to head USDA.

Final Rule for COOL Signed

On Thursday before a press briefing, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer signed the final rule for mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling, which will be submitted into the Federal Register Friday. "This is not a food safety issue, this is not a competitive issue or a trade issue," Schafer said. "This is a marketing issue; this is the ability for U.S. producers to label our meats and let the consumer decide." Mandatory COOL applies to meats and produce. Modifications to COOL have been advocated by several groups during the waiting period between the interim rule and the final rule. Those modifications will be reflected when the rule is published in the Federal Register. "All in all we struck a good balance with the rules and regulations on the COOL legislation," Schafer said. "Some people wanted it to be more, some people wanted it to be less, but it is a good balance. It's something that we are real proud of finally accomplishing it since 2002 when we've been working on it."

USDA Meeting with Mexican Officials

Mexico will resume imports from 20 U.S. meat processing plants it suspended in December. According to USDA spokeswoman Laura Reiser, Mexico has accepted the corrective action plans submitted by the plants. In addition, action plans from five additional U.S. plants have been received by USDA. The agency is expected to forward those plans to the Mexican government. In the meantime, U.S. and Mexican officials will meet next Monday to discuss a Mexican proposal to ban shipment of U.S. meat products in large containers. The proposal would go into effect Jan. 15. The U.S. Meat Export federation says, under the proposal, Mexico would only allow shipments of carcasses, half carcasses and pieces when packaged in boxes or on pallets. According to USMEF Communications Director Joe Schuele there isn't a lot of justification or explanation for why Mexico wants to make this change. USDA has asked USMEF to gather information from processors ahead of Monday's meeting on what types and how much product would be affected, as well as the cost and time needed to switch from combos to other packaging alternatives. It is believed the change would impact nearly 80% of what is shipped to Mexico.

APHIS is Requiring New Cattle Facility in Mexico

The United States has done its part. Now it is up to Mexico to build a new facility near San Luis, Arizona capable of properly handling cattle being imported into the United States. USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final rule that adds San Luis as a port to control the import of Mexican cattle infested or exposed to fever ticks or tick-borne diseases. Meant to protect U.S. livestock, federal regulations require that cattle from Mexico be inspected individually at APHIS-approved facilities on the Mexican side of the border. They must be certified as being free of ticks. If ticks are found, the cattle must be dipped in a solution to kill the parasites. The cattle are then quarantined for 10 to 14 days before being re-inspected. If additional ticks are found, the process must be repeated. APHIS will prohibit the import of cattle into the United States through the San Luis port until a new facility for handling livestock is constructed on the Mexican side of the border and equipped with facilities that allow proper chute inspection, dipping and testing required under APHIS regulations.

Inspector General to Investigate Soybean Checkoff

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer has responded to the petition the American Soybean Association filed on Dec. 10, 2008 asking for an investigation of the United Soybean Board and the U.S. Soybean Export Council to make sure soybean checkoff funds are being properly used. Schafer signed a memorandum recommending that the Office of the Inspector General conduct an audit and if necessary an investigation of the National Soybean Checkoff. "ASA is doing what is in the best interest of soybean farmers ethically, legally and financially," said ASA President Johnny Dodson, a soybean producer from Halls, Tenn. "Ignoring serious allegations of abuse or sweeping them under the rug would have been wrong and would have done a disservice to all soybean farmers who are paying the checkoff. Investigating and then correcting any problem areas is the right thing to do for U.S. soybean farmers. ASA hopes we will have a more responsive and accountable soybean checkoff as a result." Among the allegations that prompted ASA to petition USDA for an investigation are potential evasions of salary and administrative caps, conflicts of interest, an improper sexual relationship that disrupted the management of the Japanese foreign office, misuse of checkoff and federal funds as well as other charges....

Grijalva, Dombeck to push Obama administration for national roadless rule

Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, a Democrat at one time under consideration for the secretary of the interior post being filled by Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, is joining forces with former Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck to push the Obama administration for a national roadless rule. And not just any national roadless rule. According to a Pew Environment Group release Thursday, Grijalva, who serves on the House subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, and Dombeck, head of both the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) during the Clinton administration, would like to see Clinton’s 2001 roadless rule reinstated. Grijalva and Dombeck will join William Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society, on Monday for a conference call moderated by Jane Danowitz of the Pew Environment Group. Their goal is to “call on incoming Obama administration to uphold the roadless rule, and to launch a new roadless protection campaign,” according to the release....

Loaded, concealed guns become legal in national parks

A new federal rule takes effect today, allowing people to carry loaded, concealed firearms in national parks in certain cases. The rule has drawn two lawsuits. It's backed by many gun-rights groups, as well as the Bush Administration, but is opposed by several groups representing current and former National Park Service employees.
Here are some answers to what the change means: Q: What's the new rule? A: You can carry loaded, concealed guns in a park controlled by the National Park Service or a wildlife refuge controlled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if the state laws where the parks and refuges are located allow concealed firearms — which Arizona does — and you have the proper concealed weapons permit. The rule change, however, does not allow the guns to be taken into federal buildings in the national parks and refuges. A ban remains on hunting and target shooting in national parks. The new rule doesn't affect national monuments such as Ironwood Forest northwest of Tucson that are run by the Bureau of Land Management. BLM doesn't restrict firearms possession. Since 1983, the federal government had allowed in national parks guns that weren't loaded, or that were in a trunk or otherwise inaccessible while driving. Before, no firearms were allowed in national parks....

Federal draft report: Delta system imperils fish

Salmon, steelhead and sturgeon in the Central Valley are being driven to extinction by Delta pumping systems and upstream reservoir operations, according to a draft federal report. The National Marine Fisheries Service has not yet released the report, but it was discussed at a meeting of scientists in Sacramento on Thursday. The impacts are so significant that the agency is also studying whether killer whales in the ocean could be imperiled by declining Central Valley salmon, their primary prey. The grave findings suggest that California's efforts to serve thirsty farms and cities while sustaining healthy fisheries will only get more difficult. A final version of the report, called a biological opinion, is expected by March 2. The Endangered Species Act empowers the fisheries service to impose new rules on state and federal water systems to protect the fish....

Sticker Shock

California is now requiring all cars sold in the state to display a sticker listing its greenhouse gas rating. Forget about considering a car's MPG rating in deciding which one to buy. Next to it will be a new and (in some eyes) far more important sticker providing the car's GHG rating, an arbitrarily concocted measure of its greenhouse gas contribution to climate change. Assembly Bill 1228 requires a sticker displaying a rank comparing "the emissions of global warming gases from all vehicles of the same model year sold in the state" be affixed to all vehicles. As if Detroit didn't have enough to worry about. First, if we believe that cars are causing climate change, it isn't the new ones we need to worry about. Just 10% of the country's almost 140 million privately owned cars and light-duty trucks emit more than half the auto-based pollution. Get them off the road before further micromanaging the auto market. Second, this edict comes in a state that has strenuously opposed nuclear power, the surest way to replace fossil fuel emissions in bulk. We don't envision nuclear-powered cars, but more nuclear plants would give those electric cars that California lists one and two on its Web site something to plug into while fueling America's and California's economic recovery....

Timber companies appeal lynx change

Timber industry organizations have filed an appeal of the lynx amendment to the management plan for national forests in Colorado. The Colorado Timber Industry Association joined the Intermountain Forest Association in appealing the Southern Rockies Lynx Amendment, which was released in November. It would apply to all seven national forests in Colorado, including the San Juan and Rio Grande in Southwest Colorado, and the Medicine Bow National Forest in southern Wyoming. The appeal, filed last month, said the amendment would have adverse effects on forest management and forest health in Colorado. "In particular, our members question the Forest Service's decision to virtually eliminate pre-commercial thinning in lodgepole pine stands in lynx habitat," Carl Spaulding, the president of the association, said in a written statement. "Lodgepole pine typically regenerates in very dense stands. Pre-commercially thinning those dense stands is a critical step in long-term forest management and in avoiding the forest conditions that have contributed to the current pine beetle epidemic."....

American Buffalo: In search of a lost icon

In 2005, Steven Rinella was one of 24 random winners of a bison permit from the Copper River herd in the foothills of Alaska 's Wrangell Mountains. Despite the odds--there's only a 2 percent chance of drawing the permit, and fewer than 20 percent of those hunters are successful--Rinella managed to kill a buffalo on a snow-covered mountainside and then raft the meat back to civilization while being trailed by grizzly bears and suffering from hypothermia. Steven Rinella's fascination with buffalo began in the late 1990s when he unearthed a buffalo skull while hiking in the Madison Range in southwest Montana. A Michigan native who grew up hunting deer and honed his skills in the Upper Peninsula, he is a serious hunter and fisherman. American Buffalo is the story of the many ways in which the buffalo has shaped our national identity. Rinella takes us across the continent in search of the buffalo’s past, present, and future: to the Bering Land Bridge, where scientists search for buffalo bones amid artifacts of the New World’s earliest human inhabitants; to buffalo jumps where Native Americans once ran buffalo over cliffs by the thousands; to the Detroit Carbon works, a “bone charcoal” plant that made fortunes in the late 1800s by turning millions of tons of buffalo bones into bone meal, black dye, and fine china; and even to an abattoir turned fashion Mecca in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, where a depressed buffalo named Black Diamond met his fate after serving as the model for the American nickel.

Lands Bill Update‏ From Senator Coburn

The Senate Majority Leader has rejected offers for an agreement to limit debate or allow amendments on the omnibus lands bill (which has grown in size by several hundred pages since last year and cost by several billion dollars). As a result, it appears that Senator Reid will schedule a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the bill on Sunday.

New summaries of the Senate lands bill are available at http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=RightNow.Home&ContentRecord_id=b36992bf-802a-23ad-4476-e3362ea94666

The “highlights” of the bill are outlined at http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=73483ca7-1be8-404b-9dd6-3802e027f641

Dr. Coburn filed 13 amendments this morning. Below is a description of each. As soon as amendment numbers are available, I will send those around along with more detailed summaries of each amendment.

1. No funds may be spent on the new units to the National Park Service, new National Heritage Areas, studies, new Wild and Scenic designations, or new wilderness designations authorized by this Act until the Secretary of the Interior certifies that the maintenance backlog at the Statute of Liberty, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Gettysburg, Antietam, USS Arizona Memorial, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and the National Mall in Washington, DC have been resolved
2. Nullify all restrictions on energy exploration and production within the bill
3. Strike provision restricting access to a major natural gas reserve in Wyoming
4. Strike $1 billion California earmark to restore 500 salmon
5. Strike $3.5 million earmark for the 450th Anniversary of St. Augustine, Florida
6. Strike $5 million earmark for botanical gardens in Hawaii and Florida
7. Strike earmark allowing for the construction of a “road to nowhere” through a national wild life refuge in Alaska
8. Strike a provision that would allow a cave institute in New Mexico to receive unlimited federal funding
9. Prohibit the use of eminent domain for any provision authorized in the bill
10. Annual report detailing total size and cost of federal property
11. Disallow the National Landscape Conservation System authorization from taking effect until an investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of Interior has been completed demonstrating that there was no criminal wrongdoing by the Department (There are allegations that the employees of the National Landscape Conservation System illegally coordinated with advocacy groups to permanently authorize the office)
12. Prohibits restrictions on hunting, fishing, and the possession or use of a weapon, trap, or net in new public lands created by this Act
13. Ensures that nothing in the Act shall prevent or obstruct the planning, construction, operation, or maintenance of a border fence or immigration enforcement

Off-roading recommendations presented to NM lawmakers

A handful of state agencies has developed recommendations aimed at resolving conflicts with off-road vehicle users and curbing damage to cultural and natural resources across New Mexico. The agencies presented the recommendations to state legislators during a packed meeting at the State Capitol on Wednesday. The hours-long meeting drew off-roaders, land owners and environmentalists, all passionate about their right to enjoy public land. Democratic Sen. Phil Griego of San Jose said he plans to introduce legislation based on the recommendations and that developing an equitable way to manage off-road use is of great importance to New Mexico and the rest of the country. The recommendations — the result of 10 months of work — range from a hot line for reporting off-road violations to requiring off-roaders to get an added endorsement on their driver's licenses that would ensure they are educated on proper trail etiquette. The recommendations also call for the state Game and Fish Department to manage New Mexico's off-road vehicle recreation and for the state to coordinate with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management as they develop travel management plans for federal lands. Reese Fullerton, deputy secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, said he plans to meet with off-roaders to hear any concerns about the recommendations. But, he added, he thinks off-road groups will step up to help the state watch for improper off-road vehicle recreation....

Agents Have Suspect in Wolf Killing

Law enforcement agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have wrapped up their investigation of the Aug. 6 illegal killing of an endangered Mexican gray wolf and presented the results to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Nick Chavez, Albuquerque-based special agent in charge of the FWS Southwest Region law enforcement office, said Wednesday that federal agents have a suspect in the killing of the wolf. The animal's corpse was recovered Aug. 15 on private land in the Gila Hot Springs area near the Gila Cliff Dwellings after a mortality signal was emitted Aug. 6 from its radio collar, according to a federal search warrant obtained this week by the Journal. The wolf, the alpha male of the Laredo Pack, was one of seven lobos killed under suspicious circumstances in 2008 and under investigation by Fish and Wildlife. If charges are filed, the case would be the first brought against someone in New Mexico for the illegal killing of a wolf — a violation of the Endangered Species Act punishable by up to a year in jail and fines up to $50,000 or a civil penalty of up to $25,000....

Congress Gets an Early Start to a Banner Year for Wilderness

Congress took an important first step today towards making 2009 one of the most important years for wilderness designation in nearly two decades. Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., today introduced the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, S. 22, which includes 16 separate wilderness bills totaling more than two million acres across nine states. Once passed, this will be the largest expansion of the National Wilderness Preservation System since 1994. The legislation would protect such American treasures as Oregon’s iconic Mt. Hood, California’s scenic Sierra Nevada, and ecologically significant parts of West Virginia. New wilderness would be designated in California, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Michigan, West Virginia, and Virginia. A similar lands act was blocked at the end of 2008 and the Senate adjourned without taking up the measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has committed early action on the bill this year, and the Senate could bring the bill to a vote as early as next week. Once the Senate acts, the House is expected to follow suit, and the measure could head to the President’s desk this month. Passing the omnibus lands would be a great start for wilderness in the 111th Congress — but there is much more to do. In addition to the wilderness bills already proposed in omnibus legislation, nearly two dozen other wilderness campaigns may be ready for legislation in 2009 or 2010. These efforts could add another million acres of new wilderness, making the 111th Congress one of the most productive for new wilderness designations in decades.

Key Legislation in Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009(pdf)

Rancher Versus Wolves

More than two dozen animals in Reed Point are dead after wolf attacks and one rancher is fed up. "They can have as many wolves as they want in Alaska, Canada, Yellowstone Park, but don't bring them to the Svenson ranch, they're not needed here," said Sven Svenson. He's a man who's running out of ideas and running out of ways to stop more of his animals from being killed by wolves on 10,000 acres of grazing land. "I've lost with the ones we just looked at this makes 27 head," said Svenson. "I'm sure there's stuff I haven't found yet. I won't know until I get a count in February." Svenson and his two sons have tried just about everything. "We've gone out at night and looked around and we've set up all our non-lethal decoys, the guard dogs, the flashing lights, and the scare crows and it doesn't seem to faze them any," said Eric Svenson. The family's also turned to Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks officials and also brought in federal trappers, so far they've killed one wolf, but another remains on the loose. The family remains hopeful they can get back to business on their ranch sooner rather than later. Defenders of Wildlife are planning on reimbursing the Svensons for lost animals; however the organization is currently out of money....

Oil below $43 after 12 percent fall

Oil hovered below $43 on Thursday after tumbling 12 percent overnight, its largest percentage drop in seven years, as a U.S. government report showed crude stocks rose much more than expected in the world's top energy consumer. The market will be eyeing weekly U.S. jobless claims due later in the day, and December non-farm payroll and unemployment data on Friday, which are likely to be dismal, for further clues on future demand. U.S. crude for February delivery was up 14 cents at $42.77 a barrel by 0230 GMT, after sinking 12.3 percent to $42.63 overnight, the biggest single-day percentage loss since September 24, 2001....

Moving to Flyover Country

In the year ended June 30, 2008, 670,000 people moved between states. This is down substantially from the peak years of 2005 to 2007, when housing prices in California and its suburbs of Nevada and Arizona, Florida, the Northeast and the Northwest reached record heights never seen before. Still, despite the reduction from the most extreme bubble years, last year’s interstate migration numbers still exceeded those of 2001, 2002 and 2003 and nearly equaled 2004. Lost in the discussions of the decline has been the continuation of a seemingly inexorable secular trend: the continued migration to the “Flyover County” that many of the coastal urban elites tend to dismiss as insignificant and even unlivable. What residents of Elitia reject, millions are embracing. The new data shows a strong trend of domestic migration to Flyover Country. Between 2000 and 2008, 3,500,000 residents moved to Flyover Country. This is roughly equal to the movement of the entire population of the City of Los Angeles. Moreover, the trend has been accelerating. In the last four years, the number of people relative to the population leaving Elitia’s promised lands has increased by 60 percent....

Western history celebration will be after Stock Show parade

City kids can enjoy a bowl of campfire beans and a cowboy storyteller after the Stock Show parade Jan. 17. The annual Western Heritage Trail Drive celebration runs from noon to 4 p.m., covering two blocks between Belknap and Taylor streets in the Two City Place parking facility. The Score a Goal in the Classroom school incentive program is sponsoring the free event. "Our purpose is to educate this generation of children and their families about our rich Western heritage and its values," said Ernie Horn, executive director of Score a Goal in the Classroom. The walk-through event will cover the history of Fort Worth from 1849 to the present, Horn said, with presentations and performances by American Indians, Hispanic cowboys, Buffalo Soldiers, the Cowboys of Color, Civil War re-enactors, chuck wagon cooking teams and North Texas schoolchildren. Pam Minick of Billy Bob’s Texas will receive the Western Heritage Cowtown Legend Award, and rancher John Merrill will be honored with the Western Heritage Trail Boss Award.

Bob Lee's art came from 35 years on a ranch

Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts prepares show for beloved artist

Melissa Hubbell
Bulletin Staff Writer

Los Lunas - His name is recognized for many reasons. After all, during his short 59 years of life, Bob Lee was a college track and football legend, a third-generation state senator and a cowboy from a prominent ranching family. However, Lee is perhaps best remembered for his realistic and grand sweeping paintings of the Old West.

Bob Lee, born Aug. 13, 1933, to the prominent ranching family of Oliver M. Lee, wasn't an artistic prodigy. He didn't enter high school art competitions or get a degree in art history from a university. In fact, Lee came to art in the last half of his life, when most artists begin to give up hope of ever becoming well known.

Dubbed a "cowboy artist," Lee used a variety of ways to create the rugged Old West, including oils, gouche, pencil, pen and ink and charcoal.

His paintings are not of current day cowboys but of a time long past, with sprawling desert landscapes and herds of wild horses.

In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal entitled, "Lee's still a cowboy; he rides a canvas now," Lee said he is a Western artist because (1) he knows the art, (2) it's what he cares about and (3) its what some art buyers like to hang on their walls.

When it came to his paintings, Lee was most concerned with "getting the look right." For example, accurately painting "the way the guy sits on his horse." He thought it was important to make things look right to the people you can't fool - the real cowboys.

"It all comes down to a man and his horses," Lee told the Journal. "That's what I paint most because that's what being a cowboy is all about," he said.

Lee, who favored painting snow scenes best, said he got his ideas for his paintings from his memories of living on a ranch for the first 35 years of his life.

As a child living in Alamogordo, Lee was inspired Red Ryder, a 1940s comic book hero who was a tough cowboy.

In high school and college at the University of New Mexico, Lee briefly put Red Ryder and cowboy art behind him to focus on his athletic career, by which he was known as a legend in the college track and football world.

In both sports, Lee made the news for numerous state records, including one for a state meet 100-yard-dash. His time was a new record that stood for 19 years. In Lee's junior year at UNM, he scored 11 touchdowns and was a leader in the nation in combined punt and kickoff returns. Lee graduated in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in education.

Even after college, when Lee and his brother managed the family ranch full-time, art was never too far from his mind, even though Lee said that he thought that he would spend the rest of his life as a rancher.

During his time in the military, Lee earned his first commission on a painting.

"I painted a portrait of a little beagle for some friends while I was in the Marine Corps," Lee wrote in his biography. "I got $15 for it, and I think I was overpaid."

In 1969, at 36, Lee's art career begin to flourish. The Taos Art Gallery owner asked him if he'd be willing to show some of his work there. He agreed, and for four years, his art was shown. During that time, he sold nearly everything he had painted to them.

In 1976, Lee's wife entered him in the Saturday Evening Post's nationwide artists competition without his knowledge.

"I told her that I thought she was wasting her time because it was a cowboy subject, and the painting was smaller than the contest rules had dictated," Lee wrote in his biography. Irene entered the painting anyway and Lee won second placewhich was announced in the June 19, 1976, issue of the magazine.

In 1978, Lee presented his painting titled "The Wild Ones" to President Ronald Reagan at the Hilton Hotel in Albuquerque. In 2005, a letter was sent to Lee's widow, Irene, complete with a picture. In the picture, taken inside the private quarters of President and Mrs. Reagan at their ranch, hung Lee's painting on the wall. Twenty-seven years had passed, but Lee's painting remained in Reagan's residence.

In 1985, Lee was personally invited by the Sidney Turf Club of Sidney Australia, to paint the winning horse of the prestigious and popular horse race, Golden Slipper. Lee titled the painting, an oil-on-masonite, "Rory's Jester."

Throughout his career, Lee's work was featured in places such as the Koshare Indian Museum in La Junta, Colo., Southland and Corp. in Dallas, Texas., The Leanin' Tree Publishing Co., in Boulder Colo., the Albuquerque Museum and the Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson, Ariz. At any given time, Lee had three years worth of customers on a waiting list for paintings.

Lee believed in working on one painting at a time. Normally, an average painting could take anywhere from two days to two months for Lee for complete. If he got an idea for another painting, he'd make a quick thumbnail sketch, which he called, "a rough sketch of what I have in mind," and then go back and complete his current work.

"He portrays an era past," Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts historian, Patty Guggino, said. "He felt that ranching as he knew it was a lost art, and he wanted to portray the beauty of it."

Guggino, who was a longtime family friend of Lee's, said it wasn't only his art but his personality that made him who he was.

"He was multi-talented. A caring person and one who excelled in a great variety of endeavors," she said.

"Through the Eyes of a Cowboy," highlighting the art of Bob Lee and ranching in Valencia County, will open Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Art. It is currently in the process of being assembled.