The wolf and the polar bear

Next week brings two milestones in wildlife protection that serve as a lesson in contrasts—examples of what the environmental movement has been and what it’s becoming. On Monday, gray wolves in Montana, Idaho, and parts of other northern states leave the endangered species list, designated as an officially “recovered” species. Once driven nearly to extinction, the wolves will fall under the watch of state management—which includes hunting—following the Obama Interior Department’s decision in March to sign off on a delisting process put in motion on George W. Bush’s watch. Later in the week, the legal status of polar bears will become clearer when the Obama administration must decide whether to overturn a last-minute Bush move that denied the arctic mammals key protections under the Endangered Species Act. Acknowledging that the polar bear is threatened by a melting habitat, Bush officials still ruled that endangered species protections cannot apply to causes originating outside of their habitat (in other words, the greenhouse gas emissions heating up the polar regions). Obama has until May 9 to overturn the decision; otherwise, it stands...Grist

ESA List Limbo

Being in the top 40 isn't always a good thing. Just outside the list of endangered and threatened species is a roster of potential candidates just shy of making the endangered and threatened lists, which grant federal protection. This week, the conservation group WildEarth Guardians will issue a critical report on the top 40 candidates, arguing that the government must act quickly if these puttering life forms are to have any chance of survival. Environmental activists believe the Obama administration will be more receptive to their requests than the Bush White House, which moved in its waning days to allow Interior Department employees to ignore the evaluations of field scientists when deciding whether to add a species to the list. The previous administration said the rule was a way to cut through bureaucracy, but critics said it cut science out of the picture. Obama's interior secretary, Ken Salazar, killed the change on Tuesday. There are currently 1,009 endangered plants and animals in the United States, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which maintains the lists. There are another 308 species on the threatened list, which means they are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. And on the less lucky list are 252 candidates for protective classification. Most of the mammals, birds, insects and plants on the current candidate list have sat there for years, without protection, as their numbers dwindle toward extinction...Newsweek

The report is here.

Feds review Wyo. sage grouse plan

The overall sage grouse population is actually on the rise here in Wyoming as part of the bird's cyclical trends, according to local wildlife officials. And the state's "core areas" conservation plan for the bird is hailed by many as a more practical, effective alternative to a listing under the Endangered Species Act. Yet the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees a bulk of sage grouse habitat in the state, has not come forward with its own comprehensive sage grouse conservation plan -- nor is it strictly adhering to the state's conservation plan for the bird. Despite the bird's stronghold here, hot spots of oil and gas development have proven detrimental to some local sage grouse populations. All of these factors fall on the "list" side of the ESA calculation, according to Brian Rutledge, executive director and vice president of Audubon Wyoming...Casper Star-Tribune

Gov. Palin on Energy Money: No, Thanks

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has decided to accept all federal stimulus money her state is eligible for, with one exception: the nearly $29 million for the state energy office. Ms. Palin has rejected the state energy office funds out of concern that it would obligate Alaska to enact more stringent building codes. “Alaska’s vast expanse and differing conditions are not conducive to a federally mandated, universal energy code,” she said in a statement. “Mandating universal energy building codes throughout our state is not in Alaskans’ common or individual interests,” she added. The stimulus funds for states’ energy offices come with other efficiency-oriented stipulations. To be eligible for the money, governors must offer assurances that their state will not only strengthen its building code, but also that they will make energy efficiency and renewable energy a priority when spending the funds...NYTimes

New Ariz. parks chief once vandalized park property

The woman chosen to be the next director of Arizona's state parks once carved her name into a historic park property in southeastern Arizona. She also helped recover thousands of acres of burned parkland in San Diego County and launched an innovative system for making campground reservations online. The Arizona State Parks Board's unanimous selection of Renée Bahl to take over the parks system next month has polarized state leaders. Bahl, a former assistant state parks director, oversaw historic preservation at the San Rafael Ranch. San Rafael, which is not open to the public, is a 3,500-acre preserve purchased by the parks board in 1999. It sits at the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River and is home to a variety of wildlife and endangered plants. In 2001, another employee caught her etching her first name and the year into the wall of a historic adobe barn. Bahl was disciplined but remained in her job until 2002, when she left to become director of parks and recreation for San Diego County, Calif. State Rep. Daniel Patterson, D-Tucson, criticized the selection. "She was in a position overseeing the state's historic preservation office," said Patterson, the southwest director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, who wrote about the issue on his blog. "It's hard for me to understand that someone in that position could be so clueless that they would think it would be OK to vandalize a state historic property."...AZCENTRAL

Sawmill layoffs topple a way of life

...That simple workplace pleasure has come to an abrupt end for Tidwell and 149 other men and women, who lost their jobs at the Sierra Pacific Industries sawmill in Quincy. Monday's official closure of the small-log mill in Quincy, 146 miles northeast of Sacramento, is part of a wave of mill closures, layoffs and shift reductions in California announced by the timber giant since Jan. 1. While the Anderson-based company will completely shutter its mills in Camino and Sonora this summer – costing another 310 jobs – the sawmill in the remote mountain town of Quincy will only partially close. Effective Monday, the section of the mill that cuts small-diameter logs will cease operations. Who and what is to blame for the cascading job losses is a contentious debate involving the timber industry, environmentalists, the federal government and the people of Plumas County. This much is undisputed: The loss of 150 jobs from the county's largest private employer is hitting an isolated mountain region that already has one of the state's highest unemployment rates, at 20.1 percent. Suddenly, the work force of about 320 – now cut nearly in half – must face the harsh realities of an economic downturn and a seniority system that decides who will stay, and who will go. "If you wanted a good job, you worked in the mill. Everybody who was anybody worked there," said Tidwell, who grew up in Loyalton, 59 miles from Quincy in Sierra County...Sacramento Bee

Study: Grazing threatens wildlife habitat in West

Conservationists say livestock grazing poses a threat to a wide variety of fish and other wildlife across more than three-fourths of their dwindling habitats on federal land in the West. Using satellite mapping and federal records, WildEarth Guardians began a study last year matching wildlife habitat and U.S. grazing allotments across more than 260 million acres of federal land in the West. It includes practically all of the remaining habitat of the Greater sage grouse, a hen-sized game bird the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding to the list of threatened or endangered species in 11 Western states from California to Wyoming. The environmental group wants the bird protected. "The results confirm - in graphic form - previous research finding that incessant, ubiquitous public lands grazing has contributed to the decline of native wildlife," concludes the report entitled "Western Wildlife Under Hoof." The report is scheduled to be released Friday...AP

Santa Fe conservationists bid for right to graze on Valles Caldera

An environmental group has placed a $50,000 bid for the right to graze three to five cows on the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve this summer. But WildEarth Guardians is not getting into the ranching business. The group is trying to preserve the area's ecosystem. The amount of the bid is thousands of dollars more per cow than the normal fees ranchers pay to graze on public lands. Bryan Bird, who manages conservation programs for WildEarth Guardians, says running only three to five cows on the preserve would guarantee little damage to its ecosystem. Bird declined to say where the money came from for the bid. WildEarth Guardians receives private grants and donations and government grants for specific projects. AP

State: Cougar killings come down to liability

The debate over what should happen when cougars encounter humans is heating up again. After a New Mexico Department of Game and Fish warden darted a female cougar in the backyard of an Eldorado home April 20 and later euthanized it, angry callers and letter writers lambasted the agency for "trigger happy" tactics. Albuquerque resident Charlotte Salazar thinks just the opposite. Her 5-year-old son was attacked by a cougar last May during a family hike on a popular Sandia Mountain trail. Salazar believes wildlife officers aren't doing enough to control the cougar population. The debate over what should happen when cougars encounter humans has changed little in 30 years, said Marty Frentzel, public information officer with the state Department of Game and Fish. For the state, the decision over euthanizing a captured cougar comes down to one word: liability. Game and Fish Department officials worry about getting sued if someone is attacked by a cougar that was captured and released elsewhere. That fear isn't unwarranted. In a 1996 incident in Arizona, a black bear that had been captured, tagged and released into a mountain range near Tucson badly mauled a teenage girl in her tent. The girl's family sued the Arizona Game and Fish Department, claiming the agency shouldn't have released a bear when it knew the animal had previously shown no fear of humans. The state settled the case out of court for $2.5 million...Santa Fe New Mexican

Farm groups seek stake in House climate bill

As House Democrats work behind closed doors to shore up support on a major energy and climate bill, agriculture groups are pleading for major changes to make it more palatable in farm states. Representatives from two major farm groups told the House Small Business Committee yesterday that the bill should include a bigger role for the Agriculture Department and more offsets for farmers. A system to cap carbon emissions presents both an opportunity and potential pitfall for farmers. Fred Yoder of the National Corn Growers Association said carbon caps would likely cause increased input costs for farmers. Fertilizer prices -- which track the cost of oil and natural gas and have seen major increases over the past year -- could go up even more under a climate bill, he said. "Our costs are going to go up even if agriculture remains an uncapped entity -- we will be profoundly impacted by everyone else's carbon," Yoder said. "Really what we are looking for is an offset to bring back some of those extra costs." The potential boon for farmers in climate legislation would be if they could get payments for their conservation efforts to trap greenhouse gas emissions. Farm groups are calling on Congress to give agriculture a significant portion of offsets in the bill...NYTimes

Montana Bill to Encourage Investment in Horse Processing Becomes Law

Legislation to allow investor-owned horse slaughterhouses in Montana and limit opportunities for legal action against them became law on Friday, after Gov. Brian Schweitzer neither signed nor vetoed the measure.Friday was the deadline for Schweitzer to act and, with no action by him, House Bill 418 automatically became law. The bill includes some protection against court injunctions that would stop or delay slaughterhouse construction. The measure sponsored by Rep. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred, aims to limit the kind of legal challenges that forced the last U.S. slaughterhouses, which were in Illinois and Texas, to close in 2007. During the 2009 legislative session, which ended Tuesday, Schweitzer rejected the limit on legal action. He said it would strip people of appeal rights important in environmental protection. The Legislature then rejected the changes Schweitzer wanted. Butcher said during the session that the governor's amendments would make the bill "an empty shell because nobody's going to invest five to six million in a business in Montana if they're going to be harassed."...AP

Thoroughbreds May Be as Fast as They'll Ever Be

Given the large sums of money spent on breeding champion racehorses and the potential health side effects, is it worth it? Are the race times getting faster thanks to these selective genetic performance filters? The answer is no, according to Mark Denny, professor of biology at Stanford University. In a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, Denny analyzed the race time records for the three U.S. Triple Crown races; the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. The plateau for similar times for the Kentucky Derby began in 1949, while the Preakness and the Belmont set their plateaus in 1971 and 1973, respectively, Denny found. "Evidence from the Triple Crown races suggests that the process of selective breeding of thoroughbreds (as practiced in the U.S.) is incapable of producing a substantially faster horse," Denny writes. "Despite the efforts of the breeders, speeds are not increasing, and current attempts to breed faster horses may instead be producing horses that are more fragile."...Fox News

Song Of The Day #033

Marvin Karlton Percy was born in 1925 in Wichita, Kansas. He was 25% Cherokee and took Rainwater as his stage name - it was his mother's maiden name. His big break came with an appearance on The Arthur Godfrey Show, which led to regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee and a recording contract with MGM. His 1957 recording of Gonna Find Me A Bluebird , which he co-wrote, was his first gold record. He added three more gold records in 1959. The best collection of his music is The Bear Family 4 CD Marvin Rainwater - Classic Recordings. There are other, more economical but less complete albums available.

Today's selection is his 1955 recording of I Gotta Go Get My Baby.

BLM Website Statement regarding Grazing Regulations

Following an adverse decision in Western Watersheds Project v. Kraayenbrink, the Bureau of Land Management is presently applying its livestock grazing regulations that were in effect immediately prior to July 12, 2006, with certain exceptions noted below. The grazing regulations in effect immediately prior to July 12, 2006, are found at 43 CFR Part 4100 (2005). Applying these regulations will not have any practical effect on the Bureau’s current management of livestock grazing on BLM-managed public lands.

On February 28, 2008, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho issued a Judgment in the Kraayenbrink decision, enjoining in all respects the BLM grazing regulations published at 71 FR 39402 (July 12, 2006). On June 15, 2007, the BLM issued an instruction memorandum (IM 2007-137) to its field offices advising them to not implement any changes of the grazing regulations promulgated on July 12, 2006. A revised instruction memorandum was published on April 20, 2009 (IM 2009-109).

The BLM has elected to apply the grazing regulations found in the 2005 edition of the Code of Federal Regulations at 43 CFR part 4100 (2005 grazing regulations) to grazing matters administered by the BLM on lands outside of Alaska, with the exception of regulations addressing conservation use, which have not been in use since they were held to be invalid in Public Lands Council v. Babbitt. Any future changes to the 2005 grazing regulations will be pursued in a new rulemaking proceeding. A copy of the regulations at 43 CFR part 4100 (2005) may be viewed on the Internet at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/43cfr4100_05.html.
For further information, contact Robert Bolton, (202) 452-7792.

National Animal Identification System; Public Meetings

May 1, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 83)]
[Notices]
[Page 20277-20278]


National Animal Identification System; Public Meetings

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: This is a notice to inform the public of seven upcoming meetings to discuss stakeholder concerns related to the implementation of the National Animal Identification System. The meetings are being organized by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

DATES: The meetings will be held on May 14, 18, 20, 21, 22, and 27, and June 1, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

ADDRESSES: The public meetings will be held in
Harrisburg, PA (May 14),
Pasco, WA (May 18),
Austin, TX (May 20),
Birmingham, AL (May 21),
Louisville, KY (May 22),
Storrs, CT (May 27),
and Greeley, CO (June 1).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Adam Grow, Director, Surveillance and Identification Programs, National Center for Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737; 301-734-3752.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

As part of its ongoing efforts to safeguard animal health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated implementation of a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in 2004. The NAIS is a cooperative State-Federal-industry program administered by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The purpose of the NAIS is to provide a streamlined information system that will help producers and animal health officials respond quickly and effectively to animal disease events in the United States.
The ultimate long-term goal of the NAIS is to provide State and Federal officials with the capability to identify all animals and premises that have had direct contact with a disease of concern within 48 hours after discovery. Meeting that goal requires a comprehensive animal-disease traceability infrastructure. An NAIS User Guide and a Business Plan, both available on our Web site at http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/animal_id/index.shtml, provide detailed information about our plans for implementing the system.
Despite concerted efforts, APHIS has not been able to fully implement the NAIS. Many of the same issues that producers originally had with the system, such as the cost and impact on small farmers, privacy and confidentiality, and liability, continue to cause concern. In order to provide individuals and organizations an opportunity to discuss their concerns regarding the NAIS and offer potential solutions, we plan to hold several public meetings and to solicit comments via our Web site. Our goal is to gather feedback and input from a wide range of stakeholders to assist us in making an informed decision regarding both the future of the NAIS and the objectives and direction for animal identification and traceability. We would particularly welcome feedback on the following topics:
Cost. What are your concerns about the cost of the NAIS? What steps would you suggest APHIS use to address cost?
Impact on small farmers. What are your concerns about the effect of the NAIS on small farmers? What approaches would you suggest APHIS take to address the potential impact on small farmers? Privacy and confidentiality. What are your concerns
regarding how the NAIS will affect your operation's privacy and/or the confidentiality of your operation? What steps or tactics would you suggest APHIS use to address privacy and confidentiality issues?
Liability. What are your concerns about your operation's liability under the NAIS? What would you suggest APHIS consider to address liability concerns?
Premises registration. Do you have any suggestions on how to make premises registration, or the identification of farm or ranch locations, easier for stakeholders? How should we address your concerns regarding premises registration?
Animal identification. Do you have any suggestions on how to make animal identification practical and useful to stakeholders while simultaneously meeting the needs of animal health officials who must conduct disease tracebacks?
Animal tracing. Do you have any suggestions on how to make the animal tracing component practical, in particular the reporting of animal movements to other premises, while meeting the needs of animal health officials who must conduct disease tracebacks?
The meeting schedule is tentative as of the date of this publication. Please check our Web site at http://www.usda.gov/nais/feedback for the most up-to-date meeting information. The list of discussion topics is also available on the Web site. On-site registration will begin at 8 a.m. on the day of each meeting. All persons attending must register prior to the meetings. Although preregistration is not required, participants are asked to preregister by sending APHIS an e-mail at NAISSessions@aphis.usda.gov or calling 301-734-0799.
In the subject line of the e-mail, indicate your name (or organization name) and the location of the meeting you plan to attend. If you wish to present public comments during one of the meetings, please include your name (or organization name) and address in the body of the message. Members of the public who are not able to attend may also submit and view comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0027. Additional information regarding the meetings may be obtained from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of April 2009. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. E9-10037 Filed 4-30-09; 8:45 am]

Cowgirl Sass and Savvy

Spending the day with Murphy

Julie Carter

Sometimes the day just starts out in such a way, you know it's going to be uphill all the way.

Doesn't matter if you are a cowboy or a white collar worker in a high rise, there are days when you face a challenge at every turn of the clock.

Jess was always ready for a rodeo. However, when it was time for the fine details of leaving the ranch, he began doubling up on a few things so he could take the day off.

Up early and excited at the prospect of some fun, he was first greeted by a flat tire on the horse trailer. That fixed, he went to feed the roping horses.

The skunk that sometimes visited the barn had apparently had a run in with his cowdog and the encounter provided some exotic atmosphere in the tack room. Determined, he decided a saddle that had a little smell to it wouldn't stop him from catching his calf at the rodeo with the fastest time.

Of the "take pride in your ride" philosophy, Jess brushed his trusty rope horse Flint, braided the part of his mane that could get caught in the rope and deemed him ready for the public.

Horse loaded, Jess headed out through the pasture, down the 11 miles of dirt that would take him to the highway leading to town.

When he got to the first pasture, the cattle that seemed to live in the middle of the road full time were, as expected, in their usual places.

He looked them over as they slowly gave way to the truck and trailer and let him pass.

Then he spotted the cow with the tight bag. Her calf was standing as close as she would let him with his nose full of porcupine quills.

That was a Murphy thing, and while not life threatening yet, had to be taken care of pronto.

Flint had long since become too important for pasture work. In his mind, and usually in Jess', he was the fast-time rodeo-roping star. He was noticeably quite offended when he was unloaded and the cinches pulled up. After all, he was washed, polished, full of high-octane feed and had a rodeo to tend to.

Nevertheless, they gave chase, caught the calf, pulled the porcupine quills with the needle-nose pliers, and were rewarded with a generous dose of the calf's bodily fluids for their trouble.

Even though Jess was wearing his lucky fast-time shirt, there was always the emergency shirt. His contestant number would cover that faded spot from hanging in the truck. Changed, ready to roll again, off they went.

Once at the rodeo grounds, Jess was greeted by friends who obviously had suspicious motives.

They told stories of how he used to ride broncs instead of just roping. After a while, he was inspired and found himself on a saddle bronc.

The next thing he knew he was dusting off his britches and heard the announcer telling the crowd: "Put your hands together and give this cowboy a good round of applause. That's all he's going to take home today."

Since his original intent was to rope, in spite of his minor difficulties throughout the day, he was still determined to do so.

He and Flint backed in the box, drew the fastest-running calf in rodeo history but were able to make a credible run. Jess chalked it up to the mental stress of Murphy's presence throughout the morning.

Those same "friends" that encouraged the bronc ride were feeling slightly responsible for previous transgressions, so they invited Jess to go to the rodeo dance with them.

With thoughts of pretty girls and buckle-polishing music, Jess pondered the possibilities. Maybe even Murphy would find a pretty girl and leave him the heck alone.

Julie can be reached for comment at www.julie-carter.com

When each cowboy had seven horses in his string

In 1933, at the age of 19, Eddie Dvarishkis started cowboying for the Antlers Ranch, headquartered on the Wood River southwest of Meeteetse, Wyoming, earning $35 a month plus room and board. In 1937, he was promoted to the position of Cow Foreman. The Antlers Ranch encompassed 40,000 acres - 27,000 deeded acres in addition to state, Forest Service, and BLM leases. As a cowboy on the early-day Antlers Ranch, Eddie's duties included moving cattle, building and repairing fences, and "riding line" on the yearlings on Cottonwood Creek to keep them within a designated area. "In those days, you could ride from Cottonwood to Thermopolis without running into a fence," Eddie says. Each cowboy was issued 7 head of horses in his string. With 1,200 cows and calves, plus yearlings and bulls to tend, and 40,000 acres to cover, a cowboy could easily wear out a horse in a day or less. The men worked 7 days a week, only getting time off on the Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas...Marketing cattle in the 1930s and '40s meant a roundup that could take several days, before trailing the cattle three or four days from Wood River to the railroad at Cody. After rounding up cattle on one ranch, the cowboys moved on to the next ranch, until all the ranches had finished their roundups. Ranchers trailed their herds over the designated stock trail on government land, allowing the cattle to graze on the three- or four-day drive to Cody...Echo Renner in Western Ag Reporter

Is EPA's "Cow Tax" Real Or Just A Good Rumor?

We’ve all heard the coffee shop rumors that EPA will impose a cow gas tax on every livestock producer to reverse global warming. That is great fodder to chew, but what are the real proposals, what would they do, and who would be affected? Once those issues are clear, agriculture can make an appropriate response. The issue involves greenhouse gases, abbreviated as GHG, and there are many, but for the purposes of livestock producers, the major ones are carbon dioxide and methane. Agricultural and Biological Engineers Ted Funk and Randy Fonner at the University of Illinois offer their analysis, saying the US EPA proposes a reporting requirement of facilities with manure management systems that have annual emissions exceeding 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Funk and Fonner say, “No other GHG emission source associated with agriculture is proposed to be covered.” Frankly, few farmers have the knowledge and equipment to have calculated GHG emissions at their facility. Funk and Fonner say EPA’s method of calculations indicates, “that 40 to 50 of the largest livestock facilities would be required to report at the 25,000 mtCO2e per year threshold level.” If you are not managing one of the 40 to 50 largest livestock facilities, you probably are going to quit reading and think it does not concern you. However, this issue is like any dairy herd, and once the gate is open, the other cows will follow the leader through the open gate...cattlenetwork

Wiretaps go mobile to catch cell conversations

Law enforcement has gone mobile in its pursuit of wiretaps, as more Americans rely on their cell phones to communicate even in possible criminal cases. A report issued Monday shows that 94 percent of all wiretap applications in 2008 were for a portable device carried by an individual, such as a pager or cell phone. It's the first time the annual Wiretap Report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has included the "portable device" category in its accounting for wiretap locations. But traditional fixed locations like homes, businesses and pay phones now account for just a small fraction of the wiretaps requested. There were a total of 1,891 applications made to federal and state judges to authorize the interception of wire, oral or electronic communications in 2008. That's a drop of 14 percent over the previous year, the first decline in five years. The wiretaps are most commonly used in drug cases -- 84 percent of the applications said a drug offense was the most serious offense being investigated. Other causes included homicide or assault, racketeering or gambling. Wiretaps that ended in 2008 resulted in 4,133 arrests and 810 convictions so far. The report doesn't include terrorism wiretaps or those that involve a consenting party involved in the conversation. AP

UK: Plan to monitor all internet use

Communications firms are being asked to record all internet contacts between people as part of a modernisation in UK police surveillance tactics. The home secretary scrapped plans for a database but wants details to be held and organised for security services. The new system would track all e-mails, phone calls and internet use, including visits to social network sites. The Tories said the Home Office had "buckled under Conservative pressure" in deciding against a giant database. Announcing a consultation on a new strategy for communications data and its use in law enforcement, Jacqui Smith said there would be no single government-run database. The Home Office will instead ask communications companies - from internet service providers to mobile phone networks - to extend the range of information they currently hold on their subscribers and organise it so that it can be better used by the police, MI5 and other public bodies investigating crime and terrorism...BBC