Liberty
Matters News Service
June 24, 2004
Missouri River Keeps Rolling Along
U.
S. District Judge Paul Magnuson came down solidly on the side of the Army Corps
of Engineers regarding management of the Missouri River. Judge Magnuson's
decision angered environmental groups that had sued to force the Corps to
manage the river for the benefit of so-called endangered birds and fish.
"Americans deserve more than ecological decline, economic stagnation, and
political stalemate along the Missouri River," said Rebecca Wodder, president
of American Rivers. "We will not give up the fight to save this river for
future generations." Environmentalists and upstream recreationists have, for 14
years, demanded a more seasonal ebb-and-flow to benefit their narrow interests,
while farming and shipping entities downstream argue that approach would halt
barge traffic and cause flooding. Blain Rethmeier, spokesman for the Justice
Department, praised the ruling. "The court overwhelmingly recognized the
difficult decision that federal agencies have to ensure navigation, protect
recreation and safeguard wildlife." South Dakota Senators, Tom Daschle and Tim
Johnson complained about the decision in a joint statement: "The Army Corps of
Engineers consistently sides with downstream navigation interests at the
expense of fish, wildlife and recreation in upstream states," wrote Daschle.
Johnson said, [the decision] "affirmed the controversial and unwarranted set of
actions by the Corps of Engineers and U. S. Fish and Wildlife political
appointees."
Environmentalists Lose Missouri River Case
Florida's Problems with Cats and Birds
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
has written U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials criticizing their lack of effort
to restore the Florida panther. Lieberman complained there are only 30 to 70
panthers while wildlife personnel, who track the animals regularly, say the
figures are closer to 80. The Service imported Texas mountain lions in 1995 to
expand the gene pool of the Florida cats. The experiment has apparently been so
successful that the big cats are becoming a problem to Floridians who have
reported seeing them in residential areas. The lions have also been responsible
for killing domestic pets and livestock. That apparently is of no concern to
Sen. Lieberman, though, who scolded the Service for allowing development to
intrude on panther habitat. Development is causing problems for the
red-cockaded woodpecker too. Florida Fish and Wildlife officials blame
landowners for not managing their property for the birds. Some people have even
placed fake owls in trees attempting to scare them away while others have
knocked down cavity trees the woodpeckers are said to prefer. Developers and
home owners have long been required to provide funds to buy alternative habitat
for the birds, a requirement that has driven the cost of building into the
stratosphere.
Analysis: Panther Program Criticized
New Efforts Aim to Protect Red
cockaded Woodpeckers
Repeal the
Endangered Species Act
Don't Touch That Prairie Dog
A 73 year-old Wyoming
rancher, who pleaded guilty to illegally poisoning thousands of prairie dogs,
has been sentenced to a year of supervised probation, fined $1,500, and must
pay $3,500 for restitution. Stanford M. Clinton told U. S. Magistrate Judge
Richard Anderson that poisoning the prairie dogs on BLM land was a mistake;
"This was not a malicious act," Clinton said. Assistant U. S. Attorney Leif
Johnson didn't buy his story, however. "This was a willful poisoning of prairie
dogs on federal land," he said. Clinton was denied permission to spray the
prairie dog towns that straddled his property and BLM ground. But in the summer
of 2000 he hired a spray service and told then to eliminate all the burrows.
BLM personnel said thousands of the varmints were killed. They have since
repopulated the area, though, said Johnson. A prairie dog working group in
Texas hopes to implement a management plan that will keep the pests off the ESA
threatened list. There are currently between 150,000 to 170,000 acres of
occupied prairie dog habitat in Texas and the group hopes to expand that to
293,000 acres by 2013. Derrick Holdstock, prairie dog program coordinator for
Texas Parks and Wildlife, said the prairie dog towns could benefit ranchers by
attracting tourists and hunters and could even benefit cattle operations. New
Mexico rancher Danny Davis said, "I hate 'em. They ruin the grass [and] cattle
can break legs in those holes."
Wyoming
Rancher Sentenced in Prairie Dog Killings
Groups Protects Prairie Dogs, Called
Nuisance by Others
Nature Conservancy in Senate Hot Seat
The Senate Finance Committee is meeting this
week to discuss changes in the laws governing non-profit organizations in the
wake of widespread abuse of their tax-free privileges. After a series of
articles by the Washington Post last year that exposed the shady dealings of
The Nature Conservancy, Senate Finance Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), called
for hearings to examine whether TNC and other non-profits were playing by the
rules. Possible revisions to the laws include increasing disclosure
requirements, requiring outside audits and requiring non-profits to refile with
the Internal Revenue Service every five years to justify their continued
non-profit status. "It's obvious from the abuses we see that there's been no
check on charities. Big money, tax free and no oversight have created a
cesspool in too many cases," said Sen. Grassley. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT),
ranking minority member of the committee said, "The examples of abuse
surrounding charitable organizations are growing at an alarming rate. These
actions are immoral and inexcusable - and threaten to taint the reputation of
all charitable organizations."
Charity Frauds Prompt Crackdown
Charities Face Increased Review
by IRS