Putting
the "Public" Back In "Public Trust"
"The apparent
goal of SLAPPs is to stop citizens
from exercising their political rights or to punish them
for having done so,"
- George Pring
Click to enlarge
NOTE:
Since the EMWH Newsletter has grown to over 700 subscribers, causing
a problem for the regular mail server, I needed to migrate the
Newsletter to their bulk mail server. Hence the problem with this
newsletter net getting through on Nov. 26th. I have spent the
time following getting the migration accomplished with the program
coding. This will ensure better delivery and increased security.
We have a lot of Public Trust issues already piling up for this
next legislature we need to be ready to network. I updated
the Bullwhacker Access Road information below that took place
while I was migrating.
Public Lands
Bullwhacker
Access Route Update
The scoping meetings in Great Falls, Chinook, and Lewistown, took
place on Dec. 2-4. There is not a BLM webpage with the scoping
information presented at the 3 meetings or for the general public
that is interested. So here
is the Bullwhacker Access Route map that was handed
out with the proposed alternatives that they are seeking public
comments on for the EA. Please take the
time to submit a comment (address below).
Of alternatives 2 & 3, the roads west and east of the Wilks
property (white section), the cost to build the access road to
restore access to the Bullwhacker would be about 2x for the west.
So the better route environmentally and economically would be
Alternative 3 - East Bullwhacker Access Road.
For more
information, contact Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument
Manager Mike Kania (406) 538-1950. If you have comments or an
option for the BLM to consider, you may send an email to blm_mt_public_access@blm.gov.
High-stakes
suit pits ranchers against water-sampling greens
" 'The apparent goal of SLAPPs is to stop citizens from exercising
their political rights or to punish them for having done so,'
wrote University of Denver Sturm College of Law professor George
Pring, who defined the term, in 1989. 'SLAPPs send a clear message:
that there is a "price" for speaking out politically. The price
is a multimillion-dollar lawsuit and expenses, lost resources,
and emotional stress such litigation brings.'
Recognizing the meritless nature of such litigation, 28 states
and the District of Columbia have passed some form of anti-SLAPP
law. They typically allow a defendant to make a motion to identify
the suit as meritless early and get it dismissed. No such law
exists in Wyoming."
Wyden, Burr,
39 Other Senators Urge Funding Solution for LWCF
"The Land and Water Conservation Fund guarantees a prosperous
and vital future for the next generation while preserving our
uniquely American way of life across this nation," the senators
wrote in the letter. "Accordingly, we urge you to enact a permanent
and comprehensive solution for this vital program before the 113th
Congress adjourns."
A no-brainer
to nowhere by Jack Jones and Jack Atcheson
Sr.
"The state of Montana, the state Land Board adopted the Land Banking
Program (77-2-361-367, M.C.A.) several years ago to sell state
trust land even today. The state school trust lands are also public
lands to be managed under the multiple-use concept, an M.C.A.
statute. Selling, ridding us of any public lands federal or state,
has serious consequences. Of utmost importance to Montana, every
acre of these lands provides habitat for some form of wildlife
as well as plant communities necessary to support these species.
This habitat must remain in tact and not subject to land use change
and sold."
Judge to
Utah public lands protest leader: pick an attorney
"A judge has given the ringleader of a public lands protest in
southern Utah a deadline for proving he needs a public defender.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Evelyn Furse ordered San Juan County Commissioner
Phil Lyman to pick either an attorney provided by federal taxpayers
or a private defense attorney by Nov. 26...The U.S. Attorney’s
Office of Utah had raised questions about Lyman’s need for
a public defender, given his $50,000 salary and benefits package
from the county and his ownership of an accounting company and
investment firm with $2.3 million in assets."
Public Wildlife
Range health,
gut pile issues targeted on bison partners tour
by Laura Lunquist
"When asked for suggestions rather than complaints, Kathryn QannaYahu
suggested installing bear-proof bins where hunters could at least
deposit birthing materials and unborn calves because they could
potentially spread brucellosis to other bison or elk."
Please see the threat these gut
piles pose, not only to other bison and elk,
but to Montana's livestock industry. Montana's
"Brucellosis Breeding" Wyoming Feedground.
At the Interagency Bison Management Plan partners at the Nov.
meeting at Chico, Montana's State Veterinarian, Dr. Marty Zalusky,
has repeatedly
advocated for hunting in Yellowstone National Park, as if
that would take care of "the bison issue". Zaluski's job description,
defined by Montana Code Annotated and the Administrative Rules
of Montana is to manage disease to protect the livestock industry
and its marketability, not advocating the overturning of the Lacey
Act so that more bison will be whacked and not enter into Montana.
Administrative Rules of Montana, under the Disease section:
32.3.125 DISPOSAL
OF CARCASSES
(1) Carcasses of animals that have died from
other causes than anthrax must be disposed
of in a satisfactory manner so as not to become a public nuisance
or a menace to livestock or poultry. Carcasses of
dead animals may not be disposed of along public highways, streams,
lakes, or rivers, or allowed to remain on the ground surface so
as to become a public nuisance or a menace to livestock or
poultry.
Conservation
groups ask Obama administration to protect Yellowstone bison
by Laura Zuckerman
"Two conservation groups asked the Obama administration on Thursday
to provide Endangered Species Act protections for about 4,900 bison
at Yellowstone National Park, where managers intend to cull the
herd by 900 this winter.
Buffalo Field Campaign and Western Watersheds Project said in a
petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that buffalo at the
park that spans parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho made up part
of the only free-roaming band in the country to retain its genetic
integrity."
Supporting
Bison Quarantine Betrays Commitment to Wildlife Defense
by Stephany Seay
"Five years into the quarantine program, Montana Fish Wildlife &
Parks had made little effort to find a place for these buffalo once
they 'graduated' (their term) the study. Slaughter was threatened,
even though there were numerous tracts of public lands in Montana
where they could have gone, and numerous tribes had expressed great
interest. MFWP rejected all of these options. Ted Turner agreed
to house 87 of them in exchange for keeping 75% of their offspring,
a hotly contested deal made by Montana which, because it violates
the public trust, was litigated by Buffalo Field Campaign, Western
Watersheds Project and a few other wild bison advocates."
[UPDATED]
Montana bighorn sheep to stay in state
"The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission Thursday authorized Montana
Fish, Wildlife and Parks to transplant bighorn sheep from the Missouri
River Breaks to the Highlands area near Butte and the Beartooth
Game Range north of Helena. The vote came despite continued assertions
from the agency that the areas would serve only as a 'dumping' ground
for excess sheep from the Breaks, and that a request to move the
sheep to establish a new population in South Dakota would be preferred."
Wildlife
wilderness migration comes alive in video mapping project
"Kauffman’s dream comes true in a video
'Wyoming’s Big Game Migrations and 50 Years of Wilderness,'
which depicts the importance of wilderness to the migrations of
bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, moose and pronghorn antelope. The
five-minute piece may not be groundbreaking science, but it could
be a breakthrough in conveying scientific information to the public."
Wyoming's
Big Game Migrations and 50 Years of Wilderness - Vimeo
Hunter generosity
overflows food bank freezers by Laura Lundquist
Thanksgiving is a time for celebrating good fortune, though not
all Montanans have much to celebrate. But thanks to a few programs,
fortunate hunters are sharing their bounty to help low-income Montanans
feel a little less hungry.
I would like
to thank the following contributors for supporting EMWH. Your gift
is very much appreciated.
Brad Croad
Thank you,
Kathryn QannaYahu
406-579-7748
www.emwh.org
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