From Jewel to Eyesore - Another Ugly Tale of Government Takeover
U.S. inclined to keep Nevada lake dry over debts
By Jeff DeLong, USA TODAY, June 23, 2010 [here]
For a second straight summer, a once-scenic mountain lake in Nevada — acquired by the federal government for $46 million in 2008 for public recreation — will remain drained and its future in limbo until a complex case over the final price tag is resolved in federal court.
Incline Lake, on a ridge above Lake Tahoe near the California state line, was drained by its owners, the Incline Lake Corp., last year after a seismic safety study suggested its dam might fail during an earthquake, said Cheva Heck, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.
A one-time gathering spot for Nevada’s rich and famous, the 720-acre parcel was transferred to the Forest Service with a $46 million payment to the Incline Lake Corp. Cabins around the lake were torn down and a private observatory relocated to Reno in 2008.
A private parcel surrounded by the national forest, Incline Lake was inaccessible to the public for more than 70 years. Its public acquisition was long a government goal, and in 2004, its purchase was first proposed with proceeds raised through the sale of federal land near Las Vegas, Heck said. …
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., secured more than $5 million in federal funds to rebuild the dam, which would allow the lake to be refilled. But the Forest Service will not do so until the legal case is resolved, Heck said. …
Scott Beenk, who regularly hikes and bikes in the area, described the drained lake as an eyesore. … [more]
Note: the “federal land near Las Vegas” was a wilderness area de-designated sold to developers in a deal worked out by Dirty Harry Reid. Truckloads of money disappeared into thin air.
Severity Of Pollution In U.S. National Parks Confirmed In New Studies
By Peter Fowler, Newsroom America, 24 Jun 2010 [here]
Two studies conducted over several years show toxic contamination from pesticides, the burning of fossil fuels, agriculture, industrial operations and other sources are a continuing concern in national parks of the West.
In research performed by an international group of scientists over several years, pollution was found in all eight of the national parks and preserves that were studied, in terrain ranging from the Arctic to southern California.
Most of it was caused by regional agriculture or industry, but some had traveled thousands of miles from distant sources in Asia and elsewhere.
The two recent reports, both published in Environmental Science and Technology, reinforce previous research that has identified such problems, scientists say, and better quantify the extent of the concerns.
“As scientists we’re getting more used to these pollution problems,” said Staci Simonich, an associate professor of environmental and molecular toxicology at Oregon State University, and lead investigator on both studies. “Pesticide pollution is now so routine that we’ve had to look at museum specimens to find baseline data that existed prior to pesticide use.
“But it still seems surprising that such remote and supposedly pristine areas are not all that pristine,” she said. “You never really get used to that.” … [more]
Note: Not to mention the catastrophic fires that release megatons of particulate smoke, foul streams with ash and erosion, kill wildlife and destroy their habitats, jump off park properties and burn out the neighbors, etc. You never really get used to that, either. Although, I suspect the researchers failed to notice. They were shocked to discover that “pristine” is a myth, so we can’t expect a whole lot of observational acuity from them.
Group: Feds fail to protect Mexican spotted owl
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN (AP) – June 24, 2010 [here]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An environmental group is suing the U.S. Forest Service, claiming the agency has violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to uphold protections won more than a decade ago for the Mexican spotted owl in the Southwest.
WildEarth Guardian’s lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz., asks the court to keep the Forest Service from approving or implementing any permits or projects on national forests in Arizona and New Mexico that would negatively impact the owl until the agency prepares a biological assessment and consults with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The group claims the federal government has ignored its responsibility to track the owl’s numbers throughout the two states and that the Forest Service continues to approve logging, grazing and other activities on the region’s 11 forests that could potentially harm the bird.
“They aren’t managing the way they said they would, and we need to know that the owl is doing OK,” said Bryan Bird, the director of WildEarth Guardians’ wild places program. … [more]
Note: Bryan Bird? That’s pretty funny. Less amusing is the WEG’s strong support for Let It Burn right through Mexican Spotted Owl nesting stands. You see, “protecting” the birds includes burning them out, according to the wags at WEG.
Appeals court halts logging project in SW Montana
KULR-8 Television, June 26, 2010 [here]
Helena, Montana - A federal appeals court has issued an order blocking logging on about 1,600 acres of burned forest in southwestern Montana. U.S. Forest Service officials say most of the work has already been done.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ordered a preliminary injunction against the Rat Creek Salvage Project in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
The project calls for harvesting trees that have died — or are likely to die — as a result of a 2007 fire, or due to insect attack.
In a lawsuit filed last July, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council said forest managers underestimated potential environmental damage.
Forest service spokeswoman Leona Rodreik says her agency is disappointed in the decision, but that 85 percent of the 1,652 acres have been logged already.
Note: Thanks for the news tip to JKS, Property Rights Research [here, here]
Manitoba Fire Update Report
Operations Division - Fire Program - Manitoba Conservation, June 26, 2010 [here]
Dry conditions and high fire dangers persist in northern Manitoba. Three new fires have occurred in the northeast region, all are under control. One large fire between Sherridon and Cranberry Portage is threatening roads and forestry values in the area. This fire has reached the Grass River Provincial Park and has grown in size to approximately 52,000 hectares. Provincial Highway #10 and #39 remain open, but smoke continues to be a concern. The Sherridon Road remains closed. A large suppression effort including fire crews, water bombers, bulldozers, skidders and helicopters are being used to battle this fire. Out of province water bombers, and firefighters are assisting from Ontario, British Columbia and Minnesota. An additional 52 firefighters from British Columbia and Minnesota are expected today to help in the suppression efforts. …
A total of 244 fires have occurred so far this season burning a total of 81,715 hectares. This is in comparison to the twenty year average of 253 fires and 207,253 hectares as of this date. Of the 244 fires, 186 were human caused and 58 were started by lightning.
Feds won’t discuss fatal bear mauling near Yellowstone
by Dave Smith, Examiner.com, June 23, 2010 [here]
In response to a June 23 email request for information about the fatal bear mauling of Erwin Evert near Yellowstone Park on June 17, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team leader Chuck Schwartz said, “it is inappropriate for me to discuss the details of this incident until the investigation is complete.”
Evert was killed by a 400 pound male grizzly that had just been trapped, drugged, and released on U.S. Forest Service land about 10 miles from the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The incident occurred in the Kitty Creek drainage of the Shoshone National Forest. Erwin Evert and other people had cabins in the area. There were lodges and a Boy Scout camp nearby. Mainstream articles about the incident didn’t make it clear whether or not people had been given sufficient warning the bear study team was working in the area.
The Billings Gazette reported that “Some cabin owners have said they were unaware of research work being done in the area.”
But Chris Servheen, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator, told the Billings Gazette “it would be impossible” to enter the area where the bears were captured and tranquilized without noticing warning signs.
Servheen and Schwartz were asked:
“1. Was the area closed, or were people simply warned to be cautious due to the study team working in the area? What, exactly, did the signs say?
2.Did cabin owners along Kitty Creek receive written notification that bears were being trapped in the area?
2a. If cabin owners received written notification about the trapping, what, exactly, were they told?
3. Were lodges and other commercial ventures in the area notified about the bear trapping in advance, and exactly what were they told?.
4. Was the boy scout camp notified in advance?
5. How many days did the study team spend in the Kitty Creek area?
6.Were (Aldrich-type) foot snares used?
7.How often are the snares checked, and do you have any sort of electronic device that alerts the study team when a bear is captured?
8. How long are bears observed as they recover from being tranquilized?
9. Do people working in the field for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team get written guidelines with protocol for warning the public about grizzly research activities?”
Shoshone National Forest officials said Dave Ozman with the USGS was handling the Kitty Creek fatality. Mr. Ozman has not returned calls.
Note: Negligence and liability are complicated matters. The people involved better lawyer-up if they haven’t already. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team investigating themselves is not going to be the last word in this case, no matter what their “findings” turn out to be.
See also: Grizzly shot from helicopter [here]
Deadly Government Bears [here]
Fuels Reduction Project Held Up 17 Years - Still Waiting for OK
Public input sought on logging project
By Alex K.W. Shultz, The Porterville Recorder, June 2, 2010 [here]
An effort to move forward with a fuels reduction project which the Forest Service initiated about 17 years ago is underway.
The public has about two more weeks to submit comments pertaining to the controversial project.
The commenting session on the Revised Ice Timber Sale and Fuels Reduction Project began June 3 and ends July 6.
The Forest Service’s evaluation of a fuels-reduction project in the Ice analysis area — located in the Alta Sierra tract in the Greenhorn Mountains, an area in the southern portion of Sequoia National Forest, began in 1993 as a result of concerns expressed by homeowners regarding the fire danger posed by high fuel loadings and dense forest stands.
An environmental assessment for the project was completed in April 1994, and a timber sale was offered in August 1995. However, the project as originally designed was not economically viable, and there were no bidders on the timber sale, according to Sequoia National Forest documents released for public review.
The Forest Service went back to the drawing board and drew up a revised version of the original project to make the timber sale economically feasible. The contract was awarded in November 1999 to Sierra Forest Products in Terra Bella.
Sierra Forest Products initiated contract operations in the Ice area in August 2005.
In October 2006, however, the company’s logging operations were halted by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer until “the Forest Service prepares a supplemental National Environmental Policy Act review of the significant new information related to the potential effect of the timber contracts on the habitat and environment of the Pacific fisher.” …
The Forest Supervisor will make any necessary changes to the revised project before it goes back to court. In the end, it will be up to a judge to decide whether to re-activate the suspended contract. … [more]
‘Green’ Energy Company Threatens Economics Professor with Package of Dismantled Bomb Parts
The author of a damning study about the failure of Spain’s “green jobs” program — a story broken here at PJM — received the threatening package on Tuesday from solar energy company Thermotechnic.
by Christopher Horner, Pajamas Media, June 24, 2010 [here]
Spain’s Dr. Gabriel Calzada — the author of a damning study concluding that Spain’s “green jobs” energy program has been a catastrophic economic failure — was mailed a dismantled bomb on Tuesday by solar energy company Thermotechnic [here].
Says Calzada:
Before opening it, I called [Thermotechnic] to know what was inside… they answered, it was their answer to my energy pieces.
Dr. Calzada contacted a terrorism expert to handle the package. The expert first performed a scan of the package, then opened it in front of a journalist, Dr. Calzada, and a private security expert.
The terrorism consultant said he had seen this before:
This time you receive unconnected pieces. Next time it can explode in your hands.
Dr. Calzada added:
[The terrorism expert] told me that this was a warning.
The bomb threat is just the latest intimidation Dr. Calzada has faced since releasing his report and following up with articles in Expansion (a Spanish paper similar to the Financial Times). A minister from Spain’s Socialist government called the rector of King Juan Carlos University — Dr. Calzada’s employer — seeking Calzada’s ouster. Calzada was not fired, but he was stripped of half of his classes at the university. The school then dropped its accreditation of a summer university program with which Calzada’s think tank — Instituto Juan de Mariana — was associated.
Additionally, the head of Spain’s renewable energy association and the head of its communist trade union wrote opinion pieces in top Spanish newspapers accusing Calzada of being “unpatriotic” — they did not charge him with being incorrect, but of undermining Spain by daring to write the report.
Their reasoning? If the skepticism that Calzada’s revelations prompted were to prevail in the U.S., Spanish industry would face collapse should U.S. subsidies and mandates dry up.
As I have previously reported at PJM (here and here), Spain’s “green jobs” program was repeatedly referenced by President Obama as a model for what he would like to implement in the United States. Following the release of Calzada’s report, Spain’s Socialist government has since acknowledged the debacle — both privately and publicly. This month, Spain’s government instituted massive reductions in subsidies to “renewable” energy sources. … [more]
EPA classifies milk as oil, forcing costly rules on farmers
by Monica Scott, The Grand Rapids Press, June 14, 2010 [here]
GRAND RAPIDS — Having watched the oil gushing in the Gulf of Mexico, dairy farmer Frank Konkel has a hard time seeing how spilled milk can be labeled the same kind of environmental hazard.
But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is classifying milk as oil because it contains a percentage of animal fat, which is a non-petroleum oil.
The Hesperia farmer and others would be required to develop and implement spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks. The rules are set to take effect in November, though that date might be pushed back.
“That could get expensive quickly,” Konkel said. “We have a serious problem in the Gulf. Milk is a wholesome product that does not equate to spilling oil.”
But last week environmentalists disagreed at a Senate committee hearing on a resolution from Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, calling for the EPA to rescind its ruling.
“The federal Clean Water Act requirements were meant to protect the environment from petroleum-based oils, not milk,” he said. “I think it is an example of federal government gone amuck.”
But Gayle Miller, legislative director of Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, said agricultural pollution probably is the nation’s most severe chronic problem when it comes to water pollution. … [more]
Note: Got Eco-fascism?
IPCC Chief mellows for bail out package
Guest post by M. I. Bhat, The Air Vent, June 23, 2010 [here]
“I am not deaf to those who do not agree with the scientific consensus on man-made climate change.”
Ladies and Gentlemen: These are the words of the completely undressed IPCC Chief, Dr. R. K. Pauchauri to BBC (15 June 2010). He has been undressed for quite some time but like that proverbial king was unwilling to accept it.
Even as recently as Feb 2010, when he still thought he was fully and immaculately dressed, he had this to say: [Global warming skeptics] “are people who deny the link between smoking and cancer; they are people who say that asbestos is as good as talcum powder – I hope that they apply it to their faces every day… I’m totally in the clear. I have absolutely nothing but indifference to what these people are doing.” Notice the contempt in the language. It was this type of sneering language that prompted global warming activists to use terms like “deniers,” “flat earthers” and so on for the skeptics, and call for their “Nuremberg-type trails.”
Pachauri surely was never deaf to the skeptics but would not simply answer them; he would howl at them as he did at his compatriot, V. K. Raina, calling his report on the health of the Himalayan glaciers “voodoo science.” He didn’t stop at rubbishing Raina’s study that is based on 150 years of data but rubbished Raina as well thus: “With the greatest of respect this guy retired years ago and I find it totally baffling that he comes out and throws out everything that has been established years ago.”
In his late 60’s he forgets that, like Raina, he too would have retired long years ago had he continued in the Indian Government employment. Raina has the credit to continue after retirement with what he did for decades (glaciology) unlike Pachauri who dabbled first with railway engines and tracks, then economics and finally at the fag end of his career with climate science. When he said Raina’s work “throws out everything that has been established years ago” he should have thought of his own junk (IPCC) reports that attempt to throw out what was scientifically established and historically recorded decades and centuries back – Medieval Warming and Little Ice Age. … [more]
Eastern Oregon Ranchers Accused Of Setting Fires
by Glenn Vaagen, MyCentralOregon.com, June 22, 2010 [here]
BEND, OR — A pair of Harney County ranchers have been accused of setting fires that have caused damage to more than 45,000 acres of public rangeland since the 1980s.
Federal prosecutors said Dwight Hammond Jr., 68, and his son Steven Hammond, 41, both of Diamond, were also indicted on charges of threatening to assault firefighters by setting fires near them. The federal grand jury indictment said the Hammonds have publicly complained the U.S. Bureau of Land Management “takes too long” to complete required environmental studies before doing controlled rangeland burning. The indictment alleges the two men also set off uncontrolled fires under cover of naturally occurring dry lightning storms in the Steens Mountain area.
An arraignment has been set for June 28th in U.S. District Court in Eugene.
Border Patrol Charged Millions for Habitat Damage
Republicans Say Enough ‘Extortion’
By Judson Berger. FOXNews.com, June 21, 2010 [here]
Republican lawmakers are calling on the Interior Department to stop charging what they describe as “extortion” money from the Border Patrol — millions of under-the-radar dollars meant to cover environmental damage stemming from their everyday duties along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Department of Homeland Security, which houses the Border Patrol, last year signed a deal with Interior — the administrator of America’s parklands — to cough up $50 million for environmental “mitigation” needed in the wake of the construction of a border fence. That was after DHS had already spent or committed millions more for expected environmental damage caused by the Border Patrol over the years.
Though both the departments of Homeland Security and Interior say the money goes toward preserving and restoring sensitive habitats, Republicans say the arrangement doesn’t make sense.
The Border Patrol needs that money to address the weighty task of securing the border, they say, arguing that agents are actually helping conserve the environment by keeping out smugglers and immigration violators who have no regard for America’s natural resources.
They note that the transactions are conducted with little congressional oversight, and the Border Patrol has privately described the routine negotiations as a “constant headache.”
“It was a pay-to-play type of scheme,” a Republican aide on the House Natural Resources Committee said of the millions Homeland Security has spent to date.
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said the kicker in the multimillion-dollar tradeoff is that the money doesn’t even guarantee the Border Patrol open access to the land. Agents still have to follow particular rules to drive into wilderness areas to pursue suspects or set up routine patrols.
“That conflict has got to be resolved,” he said. “If the Border Patrol was allowed to have free access to patrol the borders at will … it would have the same effect that they’re doing in other areas.”
Bishop in March called on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to stop “extorting” the money from Homeland Security. “Money appropriated for border security should only be spent on making our borders more secure, and not diverted to unrelated DOI spending projects,” he said in a statement at the time. According to Bishop’s office, Salazar has not responded. … [more]
Transportation officials cancel bridges for squirrels
KVOA.com, 6/18/2010 [here]
MT. GRAHAM - Arizona Department of Transportation is canceling plans to install 41 new bridges on Mt. Graham for squirrels.
The nylon webbing bridges were for the endangered red squirrel. The goal was that the bridges would provide easier access to food.
A squirrel count completed in September 2009 listed the number of squirrels at 250, about 15 less than the previous year.
ADOT Director John Halikowski says, “ADOT will not spend funds simply because they are available.”
ADOT says it recognizes that transportation corridors affect the environment and is a committed environmental steward, but that the Mt. Graham Red Squirrel project is better led by a wildlife management agency.
See also: $1.25 Mil To Save Rodents In Crime-Infested Border State [here]
Billionaire Fisherman Is Part Female
Stunning gender bender news from the US Fish and Wildlife Service:
New Report Issued on Trout Fishing
USFWS News Release, June 21, 2010 [here]
An old and familiar Chinese proverb states “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” According to Anna Harris, an economist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, if a man has learned to fish for trout, he fished an average of 11 days a year in 2006, had an above average education, earned an above average income, spent $4.8 billion in pursuit of his prey, which generated $13.6 billion in economic output, and 25 percent of the time — he was a she.
These are only a few brief highlights contained in a more detailed economic report compiled by Harris, “Trout Fishing in 2006: A Demographic Description and Economic Analysis,” just released by the Service. The report is an addendum to the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation published by the Service. … [more]
Note: Thanks for the news tip to Julie Kay Smithson, doyen youthful doyenne of Property Rights Research [here, here], and who claims to be a woman female 100% of the time.
Grizzly shot from helicopter
By RUFFIN PREVOST, The Billings Gazette, June 20, 2010 [here]
CODY — Wildlife officials are notifying guest lodge owners near the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park that they have killed a grizzly bear that is believed to have fatally mauled a man Thursday afternoon.
The adult male grizzly bear had been snared and tranquilized by federal researchers Thursday morning and fitted with a radio collar before being released.
Erwin Frank Evert, 70, of Park Ridge, Ill., was found dead at the capture site Thursday after the bear was released. Evert ignored warning signs posted advising hikers to avoid the area because of the likelihood of a dangerous bear encounter.
Wildlife officials used a helicopter to track and shoot the bear Saturday morning after making unsuccessful attempts Friday to catch it.
Authorities are conducting blood and DNA tests in an attempt to confirm that the bear shot Saturday is the one that killed Evert. Initial tests results are expected sometime Saturday, while more definitive tests should be completed by Monday.
As a public safety precaution, the U.S. Forest Service has closed the Kitty Creek area, about seven miles east of Yellowstone, where the attack occurred. The area will be reopened once definitive test results are received.
Authorities have said there is a very high likelihood that Evert was killed by the same bear that was trapped and released Thursday, which they also believe is the same bear that was shot Saturday. …
Chris Servheen, grizzly bear coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, initially said Friday morning that there would be no attempt made to trap the bear. He later said Friday evening that wildlife workers would trap the bear if such an opportunity arose.
Local officials were telling a different story Friday. A statement released midday by Park County Sheriff Scott Steward said that state and federal wildlife and law enforcement workers were actively tracking the bear. … [more]
See also: Deadly Government Bears [here]