Legislators, others oppose NM cap and trade petition

Legislators representing Eddy County, local government officials and industry and business leaders have come out in opposition to a cap and trade petition proposed by the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board. The Eddy County Commission in recent months passed two resolutions opposing the petition and, along with a letter, submitted them to the NMED Board. In addition, a representative for the county testified at a recent hearing on the impact it would have in Eddy County if the petition were to be implemented. On Tuesday, the Carlsbad City Council also came out in opposition, voting to submit a letter to the NMED. Russell Hardy, representing the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, in his letter to the editor published Friday in the Current-Argus, explained the petition. "The petition, as currently written, would apply only to rural businesses and industries that produce more than 250,000 tons of CO2 annually and would exempt businesses operating in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and on sovereign Indian Nations," he explained. "Businesses and industries in our area that would be impacted would include potash mines, Navajo refineries in Artesia and Lovington, Excel Energy generating stations in Lea County, not to mention large-scale manufacturing, mining and utility businesses throughout the rural regions of the state." Eddy County Commissioner Lewis Derrick, a rancher in north Eddy County, said the Environment Department's petition will hurt the local economy and will have a far-reaching effect if it passes. "I'm looking at this from the possibility of this petition wrecking our tax base and running off businesses," Derrick said. "It's going to impact not only the oil and gas industry. It will impact farmers, ranchers and the trucking industry. The state should stay out of our business. They need to back off this. It's mind boggling that they would do this to the people of New Mexico."...more

Cap and trade hearing set for Clovis

Clovis is one of five stops on the state Environmental Improvement Board’s schedule to discuss a greenhouse gas emissions program. The hearing is 2 p.m. Thursday at the Clovis Civic Center, and is scheduled to last six hours. “This is a formal public hearing on two proposals to address climate change in New Mexico,” said Jim Norton, a spokesman for the New Mexico Environment Department. “The first proposal is by the New Energy Economy. The second is by the state environment department.” Both proposals are cap and trade programs. Such a program imposes a cap on emissions, and each company is given a number of tons of emissions allowed. A company that releases less than its emission allowance is permitted to sell the allowance on the open market. Curry County rancher Hoyt Pattison attended an Aug. 26 open house the agency held in Clovis and thought it was a propaganda session paid for with money the state doesn’t have. Pattison doesn’t think cap and trade will work in execution, reasoning that power companies will choose to buy up allowances, and simply pass the cost on to consumers. “The danger of it,” Pattison said, “is it’s going to end up costing everybody in higher electricity prices.”...more

Ranchers differ on proposed meat industry regulations

Meat industry professionals clashed Friday about a federal plan designed to preserve competition in an industry increasingly dominated by a few large corporations. The meeting, which drew about 2,000 people to Colorado State University's Lory Student Center ballroom and overflow rooms, is one of five the Obama administration has scheduled for this year to hear about competition in the agriculture industry. Cattlemen, though, heatedly disagree about whether the rule would help or hurt them. Mike Harper of Harper Livestock of Eaton, which markets more than 200,000 head of lambs a year, said government regulation is the cause of the problems he faces, not the solution to it. He said his operation, which he runs with his father, Harold, is fortunate because there are two packers, JBS and Superior in Denver, to sell lambs. Harper told officials the biggest problem he faces is finding lambs to put in the feedlot as there are fewer and fewer producers running flocks. At least part of that is because of government regulations, he said, noting a longtime supplier of lambs in Montana is being forced out of business because the government claims their sheep are spreading disease to Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep. Dr. Taylor Haynes is a rancher and urologist from Cheyenne who specializes in grass-fed beef. He said he has seen a “tremendous loss in buyers” because all the small family feeding operations have gone by the wayside, because of consolidation and a takeover of the majority of beef slaughter by three companies, JBS, Tyson Foods and Cargill. “Bring the small and mid-size packers back and you will bring back the small family feeders,” Haynes said. Robbie LeValley, a cow-calf producer from Hotchkiss, said the proposed rules would hurt her. She and her family, along with five other ranching families, own Homestead Meats, which sells meat directly to consumers, retailers, and restaurants. She said under the proposal, she wouldn't be allowed to own the cattle she processes. Those rules, she said, need to take those kind of situations into consideration before they are implemented. “We don't need more government regulation,” she said. “We don't need external people who tell us we are bad.” Bill Bullard, CEO of Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, called for the immediate implementation of the new rules and got a round of applause from several supporters in the crowd, most from his home state of Montana, the Dakotas and Nebraska...more

Proposed GIPSA Changes Force The Cattle Industry To Go To War With Itself. Again

Two truths: (1) The cattle industry operates on razor thin margins. (2) It ain’t over until the fat lady sings. One conclusion - If the cattle industry continues to go to war with itself, every penny of those razor thin margins are going to fall into the pockets of the fat lady, the one who earns her living as a lawyer, not an opera singer. Only then will it be over. For every cattleman. Most of the participants in July’s Battle of Denver, which was fought over the possible misuse of millions of checkoff dollars, moved up the road to Friday's USDA-DOJ listening session in Fort Collins and they’re fighting anew over some serious money this time. Both battles pit rancher against rancher in a state of mind where laws prohibiting concealed carry and automated weaponry don’t exist, so hidden agendas and heavy artillery are the rule of the day. We’re not content to let anti-ag groups kill us off one-by-one when we can do it much more efficiently ourselves. Sounding a sensible and widely ‘Twittered’ warning about the impending assisted suicide mission in Ft. Collins, Colorado Cattle Association President Robbie LeValley said, “We are all cattle producers and we should not be circling the wagons and shooting inward!" The cattle industry is looking at a future filled with legal briefs, not better marketing efforts. With an in depth audit of checkoff dollar expenditures looming, there is a real chance NCBA and CBB will meet in court over their existing relationship and family squabbles over money always get nasty. GIPSA’s bright new idea, the subject of the Ft. Collins clash, could turn out to be an absolute boondoggle for the industry and cash cow for the legal profession. If it’s enacted, the NCBA and NPPC will probably be joined by several other large special interest groups and their legal advisors in the nearest federal court to demand it be rescinded. If it’s not enacted, R-CALF and friends will head into that same court room to demand it be revived...more

Advocates Demand Federal Action to Restore Fair Markets

Last night on the eve of this workshop, more than 500 independent ranchers and farmers, meatpacking workers, consumers, urban farmers, and food justice activists gathered for a public forum. Organization leaders and the public spoke about the need for government action to curb unchecked mergers and other anti-competitive activities that have allowed meatpackers to drive down cattle prices while keeping consumer beef prices high. “We’ve reached a tipping point where everyone along the value chain, from ranchers who can no longer make a living to consumers who worry that their meat may make them sick, have had enough,” said Patty Lovera, Assistant Director of consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch. “We need fair, functioning markets for livestock so that independent producers can stay in the game and consumers can have a real choice of where they buy their meat, not just from one massive company with many brands.” “I’m tired of waiting for the government to do something,” says Gilles Stockton, a rancher from Montana and a member of Western Organization of Resource Councils. “It’s stupid to keep arguing whether there is a problem – it’s obvious there is a problem. We need action from the USDA and DOJ to restore competition in the cattle industry.” Earlier this month, 21 senators led by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) sent Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack a letter in support of the new regulations to clarify and strengthen the protections afforded by the Packers and Stockyard Act for livestock producers, swine production contract growers and poultry growers...more

Unschooling

A homeschooling mom made this t-shirt for her kids.

Song Of The Day #393

Ranch Radio takes a look at the classic sound of traditional bluegrass this week.

We'll start with Bill Monroe and The Blue Grass Boys performing Toy Heart and Will You Be Lovin' Another Man.

The tunes are from 1949 and 1946, and I picked them because Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were in the band. The sound of Flatt singing lead and Monroe singing harmony was never equaled in traditional bluegrass. If only they could have stayed together, but it was not to be.

Shame on the Sun-News & the Hispano Chamber

In the article Report: Wilderness areas good for economy Sun-News reporter Amanda L. Bradford writes:

A report on the economic benefit of wilderness conservation is being touted by one local business group as proof of their claim that federal wilderness areas help bring in revenue, but the leader of another business organization called that claim "overreaching."...

The 290-member Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, which supports the federal Desert Peaks-Organ Mountains Wilderness Act and has launched a local TV advertising campaign to promote it, said the report shows that investing in wilderness conservation and restoration in southern New Mexico provides increased employment and revenue related to tourism...

Emphasis mine.

I'm curious as to where Bradford got the term "wilderness conservation", as that term never appears in the referenced report. The second quote above attributes the term to the Hispano Chamber. If the term is from the Hispano Chamber, then they are once again distorting the facts.

In fact, the word "wilderness" never appears anywhere in the report.

The Audubon Society put out an 1100 word press release about the report, and the word "wilderness" never appears in their press release.

Read the press release and you will understand the report is aimed at the New Mexico legislature to prevent any cuts in conservation funding:

“In today's economy lawmakers have tough budget decisions to make, and this report clearly demonstrates that investing in conservation and restoration projects pays large dividends now and in the future,” continued Stockdale. “Our state’s leaders have an opportunity to fund vital conservation programs that will enhance our quality of life and create jobs.”

Read the report and you will see most of the types of recreation and restoration projects given as examples would be totally prohibited in Wilderness areas.

Here's a picture from the report:









Try doing that in a Wilderness area.

So we have a news story with a misleading headline that mentions wilderness, with the body of the story using the term "wilderness conservation", all concerning a report that never uses either term and which is promoting projects that cannot occur in a Wilderness area.

The Sun-News needs to do a better job of fact-checking their reporters and the Hispano Chamber should rein in their exec and apologize to the public.

Eminent domain, by any other name . . . still stinks

Imagine you come home from work one day to a notice on your front door that you have 45 days to demolish your house, or the city will do it for you. Oh, and you’re paying for it. This is happening right now in Montgomery, Ala., and here is how it works: The city decides it doesn’t like your property for one reason or another, so it declares it a “public nuisance.” It mails you a notice that you have 45 days to demolish your property, at your expense, or the city will do it for you (and, of course, bill you). Your tab with the city will constitute a lien on your property, and if you don’t pay it within 30 days (or pay your installments on time; if you owe over $10,000, you can work out a deal to pay back the city for destroying your home over a period of time, with interest), the city can sell your now-vacant land to the highest bidder. Alabama law empowers municipalities to do just this. Officials can demolish structures that they determine, “due to poor design, obsolescence, or neglect, have become unsafe to the extent of becoming public nuisances…and [are] causing or may cause a blight or blighting influence on the city and the neighborhoods in which [they are] located.” Keep in mind, so-called standards like “obsolescence” are so vague they can mean anything, so even a well-maintained home that government officials don’t like the look of can be fed to the bulldozers...more

This happening in a predominately black community but it looks like the folks, with the help of the Institute for Justice, are fighting back.

EPA rejects effort to ban lead in bullets

The U.S. EPA on Friday rejected a petition from several environmental groups to bar use of lead in ammunition, a decision that comes amid GOP claims that a ban would be an “assault on rural America.” The American Bird Conservancy, the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups in early August sought the ban on lead shot, bullets and fishing gear under the Toxic Substances Control Act, citing harmful effects on wildlife and people. “EPA today denied a petition submitted by several outside groups for the agency to implement a ban on the production and distribution of lead hunting ammunition. EPA reached this decision because the agency does not have the legal authority to regulate this type of product under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) – nor is the agency seeking such authority,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, in a statement. “EPA is taking action on many fronts to address major sources of lead in our society, such as eliminating childhood exposures to lead; however, EPA was not and is not considering taking action on whether the lead content in hunting ammunition poses an undue threat to wildlife,” he added. But he said the agency would continue reviewing the portion of the petition seeking to ban lead fishing sinkers...more

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

Trapped in the quakies

by Julie Carter

I let my cowpony pick his own path through the deadfall as we worked our way down a steep slope toward the cattle at the bottom of the canyon.

It was late summer at the ranch, but in this high mountain pasture signs of fall were already creeping through the aspens. Their heart-shaped leaves were wearing tones of gold as they shimmered and fluttered in the afternoon breeze, true to their “quaking” name.

The incline became arduous, and if I’d been older or wiser, I might have thought I should be fearful. The loose leaves that had fallen on the ground and the slick black soil still wet from a rain the night before complicated the already precarious descent.

The downed timber lay every which way like a game of Pick-up Sticks gone bad. In my youthful oblivion, I whistled a tune while the big bay methodically navigated his way through the quakies.

When the angle of the terrain forced him to slide, he worked athletically to keep his butt up under him in an equine sort of squat. He never wavered in his determination to get where we needed to go.

He knew there were cattle at the bottom, the same as I did. Sometimes the “cow” in cowhorse is an instinct more powerful than self-preservation.

Gathering yearlings for fall shipping was an adventure with my Dad. Especially so in this pasture, as it involved some overnight camping in an old log cabin complete with lanterns, wood-stove cooking and fresh trout from the creek.

Waking early to saddle when the dew was still heavy and the sun was just making it’s first shadows in the long canyon was the stuff of Zane Grey and old Western movies.

On this day, I was to learn a lesson that would serve me all my life. Before I realized what had happened, Bay and I were at the bottom of small crater-like hole near the base of the ridge.

We had literally traversed our way right into a trap. The sharply inclined sides of the crater were littered with fallen trees, an undergrowth of shrubbery and turf that was slick and nothing short of treacherous. Coming down that maze of obstacles was one thing, going back up looked impossible.

Immediately, I realized two things. No one knew exactly where I was, so help may not come anytime soon. And, I could walk out of there, but that meant leaving my horse, an option I wasn’t ready to consider.

For a while, I hollered for help, feeling more than just a little foolish. I sat quietly for another long while, hoping to hear any noise that would indicate that maybe Dad had found me, if he was looking. I wasn’t even sure about that.

It was several hours later before my horse’s head snapped to attention, his ears forward and he rumbled out a low nicker of a greeting.

I could hear timber cracking and brush popping as someone hollered at the cattle I could hear running through the trees. So I hollered a little myself, and in response, my brother and my dad were soon peering at me over the edge of the hole.

My Dad quickly assessed my dilemma while my brother started to offer some smart-alecky comment before my Dad could send him on after the cattle. It was obvious my Dad was trying not to laugh at me and obviously refraining, perhaps knowing I was already feeling pretty stupid.

Looking back, I know there were days we were more trouble to him than we were help, and this was quite possibly one of them.

Not one for explaining much, he told me to get off my horse and tie his reins around his neck. I did, and then he told me to climb on out of the hole. I didn’t want to, but obeyed, thinking I was leaving Bay there to die and it was my fault.

When I got to the top, my dad turned his horse and began to ride away. He told me to follow him afoot. I was mortified that he’d just ride off like that, but knew better than to argue.

My bay gelding decided there was no way he was going to get left behind. He began an Olympian effort to pull himself up the slope, over the logs, and in spite of the mud. There were dreadful noises of grunts, groans and crashes. I turned to see what was happening just as he appeared at the rim of the hole. Apparently, just like my Dad knew he would.

The lesson? What seems hopeless isn’t remedied by trying to holler up a solution. Some well-placed wisdom flavored with a touch of obedience could possibly offer a successful resolution.

Dad’s are pretty smart that way.

Julie can be reached for comment at jcarter@tularosa.net. Visit her website at www.julie-carter.com

It's The Pitts: To Those We Leave Behind

by Lee Pitts

We buried my mother last week and in pausing to reflect on her life, I was awed by the changes that have occurred in this country during her 80 plus years of living.

It’s hard to imagine but my Mom lived for one third of our country’s lifespan. She went from FDR to Obama, from Adolph Hitler to Osama bin Laden and from the Dionne quintuplets to the Octomom. She began her life just before the Depression and ended it during the worst economic times since then. She was alive when there was no Social Security to catch you when you fell, and unemployment and political corruption ran rampant in this country. Oh well, some things never change, I suppose.

My mother’s generation went from Shuffle Off to Buffalo to rap music. From Sinatra to Snoop Dogg. From Brother Can You Spare a Dime to four dollars for a cup of coffee. When Barbara Harding was born there were 123 million people living in this country of ours. Today there are more than 310 million.

When my Mom was born you could buy a double dipper ice cream cone for five cents, but you had to work two hours to make that nickel! The average yearly income was $600 and there was no such thing as overtime. I suppose my family lived below what government hacks would call the poverty level these days, but we never knew it. My Mom wanted to stay home and raise her three children but knew she had to support the family, so she created her own business, as a seamstress. She literally worked her fingers to the bone and, to the best of my knowledge, we never “went on the dole.”

At my mother’s wonderful funeral service the church was crawling with her beautiful great grandchildren and I’ve thought about those kids a lot since then. We haven’t done right by them. When my mother was born the national debt was 27 billion dollars. Today it’s 13 trillion. Each person’s share of the national debt 80 years ago was about thirty bucks. Today my mom’s great grandchildren, some who can’t even walk or talk yet, are already in hock for $42,700. Even that number will be wrong by the time you read it because our national debt is currently increasing by 4 billion a day. That’s more than the entire national debt was 80 years ago. If rents had gone up by the same percentage as our debt an apartment would cost $12,000 a month to rent and people would make $288,600 per year instead of one tenth of that. If food had risen as fast as our debt, milk would cost $192 per gallon, eggs would be $48 a dozen and lettuce would set you back $25 per head! I’d suggest either farmers and ranchers are making way too little or the bureaucrats way too much!

In my mom’s youth cars had names that sounded like members of a basketball team: Jewetts, Nashes, Whippets, Willy Knights and Rickenbackers. There were no Hondas or Toyotas. In 1934 you could buy a fully loaded Ford V8 for $615. If that car had risen in price as fast as our nation’s budget it would cost $727,000 today. Eighty years ago the yearly federal budget was three billion dollars. Today it is 3.55 trillion. That’s more than a thousand times as much! If houses had gone up by the same percentage the average house would cost nearly $4 million. Bread would cost $118 per loaf, butter would be $348 per pound and a pound of sirloin steak would be $212!

My mom was really good at cleaning up messes; mostly mine, I admit. I know what she’d have done with the mess we face today. Metaphorically and literally she would have rolled up her sleeves and got to work. If no one was hiring she’d have created her own business. She’d have grown her own food and her own kids. She’d have paid her debts and created something of worth out of her own hard work and talents. She’d have turned off the TV, cooked her meals from scratch and spent more time with her grandkids and great grandkids. And she’d have done anything she could to make life better for them. Look at your own progeny and tell me that’s not work worth doing.

After reading the two articles by Carter and Pitts, I hope everyone will reflect on their heritage...and our future.

Song Of The Day #392

Ranch Radio has been remiss in not offering very much in the traditional bluegrass sound, and we are going to right that wrong this week.

We'll start with our Gospel song this week by Carter & Ralph Stanley - the Stanley Brothers - and their rendition of Four Books In The Bible.

Most of their library is available here, although this particular song is not all that easy to find.

Missing Salem horse trainer found safe

A missing horse trainer from Salem, N.M., has reported himself alive and well to local authorities after being missing since August 11. John Barnett, 65, met with Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office investigators at the Caballo RV Park and General Store shortly before noon Friday. He told investigators he read about himself being missing and said he had been "under a lot of stress and only wanted time to be alone," according to a DASO news release. Barnett is reported to be in good condition and is back with his familiy. He was reported missing earlier this week after his family grew concerned by his lengthy absence. LC Sun-News

Richardson awards stimulus funds to crack down on cockfighting, manage wild horses

Governor Bill Richardson today announced two federal stimulus awards totaling $250,000 that will go to protect animals in New Mexico.

The first award of $150,000 will go to the state Department of Public Safety to help law enforcement officers stop and prosecute illegal cockfighting, dog fighting and respond to animal hoarding cases. The award will support an investigator, training, and a field manual for officers across the state.

The second award of $100,000 will help humanely manage an overpopulated wild horse herd on the Jicarilla Apache Nation. The Jicarilla Nation reports a long-standing problem with wild horses on tribal lands, which damage natural resources and compete with wildlife and cattle for food. The New Mexico Livestock Board will oversee a contractor for the project, which aims to assess the population, develop humane solutions such as relocation and adoption, and other humane options.

"These Recovery Act awards will support our efforts to improve animal health and welfare across New Mexico," Governor Richardson said.

The Jicarilla Apache Nation estimates that as many as 600 wild horses are roaming on tribal lands -- and that the ideal number is about 5 percent of the current wild horse population. The wild horses also disrupt migration routes for native deer and elk populations in addition to competing with wildlife and cattle for feed.

Both awards are from the discretionary Government Services Fund.

Press Release

Public's help sought in search for missing Salem horse trainer

The public is being asked to help find a Salem, N.M., horse trainer last seen two weeks ago. John Barnett, 65, drove away from his rural Salem home, 11 miles outside of Hatch, the afternoon of Aug. 11, according to Do-a Ana sheriff's investigator Ricky Madrid. A neighbor spotted him last, doing yard work at his girlfriend's residence on Spring Canyon Road in Hatch. Recently, Barnett had reportedly been depressed due to a bank repossession of some of his equipment, according to family and law enforcement. A native of Duncan, Ariz., Barnett was busy building and equipping a horse-training arena, and preparing for work running cattle, when his girlfriend, Sun-News columnist Claudette Ortiz, profiled him in April. Barnett "feels blessed," she wrote. "Like all blessings, his multiplied on a steady diet of midnight oil and elbow grease. In Hagerman, he learned to rope calves with two wraps and a hooey (a half-hitch knot) from his uncle at age 11. While attending college in Las Cruces, he worked and lived at the Cox Ranch 10 miles east of the NMSU campus, studying Range Science by gas light. As a calf roper on the rodeo circuit, then rancher and horse trainer, he is used to starting his day in the middle of the night." Since going missing, his family has tried repeatedly to reach him on his cell phone, but he has not answered and the phone might have run out of minutes, Madrid said. He was last seen driving a white 2003 Ford two-door pickup truck displaying New Mexico registration and plate FXY-660. Anyone with any information on his whereabouts is asked to contact central dispatch at (575) 526-0795. You may remain anonymous...more

This didn't catch my attention on the TV news tonight, but then I read this story in the Sun-News and the words Hagerman and calf roper jumped out at me. I went to school with Barnett at NMSU, only I knew him as Johnny.

Sure hope they find him alive and well.

Aw, Wilderness!

ONE day in early 1970, a cross-country skier got lost along the 46-mile Kekekabic Trail, which winds through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota. Unable to make his way out, he died of exposure. In response, the Forest Service installed markers along the trail. But when, years later, it became time to replace them, the agency refused, claiming that the 1964 Wilderness Act banned signage in the nation’s wilderness areas. Despite the millions of people who have visited the country’s national parks, forests and wildernesses this summer, the Forest Service has become increasingly strict in its enforcement of the Wilderness Act. The result may be more pristine lands, but the agency’s zealous enforcement has also heightened safety risks and limited access to America’s wilderness areas. Over the last 45 years Congress has designated as wilderness 40 percent of the land in our national parks and one-third of the land in our national forests — more than 170,000 square miles, an area nearly as large as California, Massachusetts and New Jersey combined — as wilderness. In March 2009, President Obama signed a law protecting 3,125 more square miles, the largest expansion in more than a generation. Over the decades an obvious contradiction has emerged between preservation and access. As the Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management — each of which claims jurisdiction over different wilderness areas — adopted stricter interpretations of the act, they forbade signs, baby strollers, certain climbing tools and carts that hunters use to carry game. As a result, the agencies have made these supposedly open recreational areas inaccessible and even dangerous, putting themselves in opposition to healthy and environmentally sound human-powered activities...more

Finally someone in the MSM is writing factually about the restrictions in Wilderness Areas. I never dreamed it would be the New York Times.

Obama’s Drilling Ban No Longer Needed, Report Finds

President Barack Obama’s moratorium on deep-water drilling is no longer needed because new rules reduce the risk of an uncontrolled spill, according to a report for a panel investigating BP Plc’s blowout. Rules issued in June by the Interior Department “provide an adequate margin of safety to responsibly allow the resumption of deep-water drilling,” according to the report today from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington-based research group. The rules, if followed by BP, Apache Corp. and other drillers, and enforced by regulators, “will achieve a significant and beneficial reduction of risk.” The report was prepared for the presidential commission investigating the BP spill. Its leaders, former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Reilly and former Democratic Senator Bob Graham of Florida, have questioned the need for the moratorium, which is scheduled to expire Nov. 30...more

Crapo announces first Owyhee land acquisitions

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, the Republican who spearheaded creation of 517,000 acres of federal wilderness in the Owyhee canyons last year, announced on Thursday the purchase of 971 acres of private inholdings from ranchers. No price was disclosed. The deal includes more than a mile of the North Fork Owyhee River, located just east of the Oregon-Idaho border, that will be available for fishing, hiking and habitat protection. That 611-acre property has belonged to Owyhee County rancher Mike Hanley. Environmental groups said the acquisition helps ensure the integrity of the wilderness and removes roadblocks for public access into some of the nation's most remote country. "This is an important first step in achieving the greater goal for the completion of the wilderness in the Owyhees," said David Kirk, of The Wilderness Land Trust, a group that acquires unprotected private land within wilderness and returns it to public ownership. Kirk's Colorado-based group, with The Nature Conservancy, are assisting with the transfers and plan to shift ownership to the Bureau of Land Management. Earlier this month, Crapo announced the Bureau of Land Management had set aside $2 million for land purchases included in his Owyhee Initiative...more