Lawsuit looms over tiny rare fish in drought-stricken West

RENO, Nev. – Conservationists have notified U.S. wildlife officials that they will sue over delinquent decisions related to protections for two rare fish species that are threatened by groundwater pumping in the drought-stricken West.

The Center for Biological Diversity sent a formal notice of intent to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service over the Fish Lake Valley tui chub near the California-Nevada line and the least chub in southwest Utah.

The group seeking federal listings under the Endangered Species Act says the high-desert springs where the minnows live are threatened by water allocations for traditional agricultural use as well as urban development plans.

The Fish and Wildlife Service belatedly concluded in August there was enough evidence the tui chub in Nevada was at risk of extinction – primarily due to over-pumping of water for farms and ranches – to warrant a yearlong review to determine if it should be listed.

The only place in the world that the 5-inch-long, olive-colored tui chub still exists is in a basin in Esmeralda County between Reno and Las Vegas.

Lake Valley’s groundwater levels have declined as much as 2.5 feet per year over the past half-century, causing a cumulative drawdown of more than 75 feet since 1973, the listing petition said.

Officials from Utah’s Central Iron County Water Conservancy District want to spend roughly $260 million to lay about 70 miles of buried pipes to transport water from an aquifer below the Pine Valley, an undeveloped, rural swath north of the district’s population center in Cedar City. They say limits on their local groundwater supply and an influx of new residents require they diversify their water supply to prepare for the future.

NEBRASKA

Bird flu prompts slaughter of 1.8M chickens

OMAHA – Nebraska agriculture officials say another 1.8 million chickens must be killed after bird flu was found on a farm in the latest sign that the outbreak that has already prompted the slaughter of more than 50 million birds nationwide continues to spread.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture said on Nov. 26 that the state’s 13th case of bird flu was found on an egg-laying farm in northeast Nebraska’s Dixon County, about 120 miles north of Omaha.

Just like on other farms where bird flu has been found this year, all the chickens on the Nebraska farm will be killed to limit the spread of the disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says more than 52.3 million birds in 46 states – mostly chickens and turkeys on commercial farms – have been slaughtered as part of this year’s outbreak.

Nebraska is second only to Iowa’s 15.5 million birds killed with 6.8 million birds now affected at 13 farms.

In most past bird flu outbreaks the virus largely died off during the summer, but this year’s version found a way to linger and started to make a resurgence this fall with more than 6 million birds killed in September.

The virus is primarily spread by wild birds as they migrate across the country. Wild birds can often carry the disease without showing symptoms. The virus spreads through droppings or the nasal discharge of an infected bird, which can contaminate dust and soil.

Commercial farms have taken a number of steps to prevent the virus from infecting their flocks, including requiring workers to change clothes before entering barns and sanitizing trucks as they enter the farm, but the disease can be difficult to control. Zoos have also taken precautions and closed some exhibits to protect their birds.

NEW MEXICO

State marks progress with oil well plugging program

ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico land managers say more than 130 abandoned oil and natural gas wells have been plugged on state trust lands as part of an enforcement program that began two years ago.

Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced the progress on Oct. 27, saying the savings to taxpayers are significant. She said plugging wells can cost anywhere from $50,000 to more than double that depending on the site.

New Mexico is among the top oil producing states in the U.S., second only to Texas.

Enforcement by the State Land Office comes as New Mexico and other western states look to tap a new wave of federal funding to address the widespread problem of abandoned wells. Earlier this year, the federal government made available grants through the infrastructure spending package so states could plug and remediate orphaned wells.

New Mexico was awarded $25 million and has plans to cap 200 wells that are considered as high priorities.

Officials estimate there are about 1,700 orphaned and abandoned wells on state and private land across New Mexico.

Garcia Richard pointed to research done by a New Mexico consulting company that showed reclamation work related to abandoned wells could generate thousands of jobs and result in millions of dollars in state revenue from wages and taxes.

National UFO Historical Records Center coming to Albuquerque

ROSWELL – A group of historians and archivists have announced plans to open a new national archive in the Albuquerque area focusing on unidentified aerial phenomenon. Led by author and researcher David Marler, the National UFO Historical Records Center will establish the largest historical archive dedicated to the preservation and centralization of UFO/UAP information in the United States.

At a presentation announcing the new archive during International UFO Congress in Phoenix on Oct. 14, Marler said it “demonstrates that there’s a rich, diverse history of this UFO phenomenon wherever you look.”

The archive is set to include official and civilian case files, audio and video recordings, correspondence, photographs, books, magazines, news clippings, research notes, microfilm, along with and digital and physical artifacts. Documents from the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) and J. Allen Hynek’s personal Project Blue Book files.

In a press release, the organization stated, “Our mission is to collect, preserve, and provide historical UFO materials to the general public and interested parties. With the accumulated data, we hope to assist with serious research endeavors and aid in an accurate chronicling of UFO/UAP history for present and future generations regardless of belief or non-belief in the subject.”

Marler said the group wants to base the center in Albuquerque because of New Mexico’s affiliation with the subject.

ARIZONA

Grand Canyon park changes campground name that haunted tribe

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK – For years, the Indian Garden name assigned to a popular Grand Canyon campground has been a painful reminder for a Native American tribe that was displaced by the national park.

Now, the name will finally be changed.

The Havasupai Tribe and Grand Canyon National Park announced on Nov. 21 that Indian Garden will be renamed Havasupai Gardens.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names gave unanimous approval to the request from the National Park Service on behalf of the tribe, known internationally for the towering blue-green waterfalls on its reservation.

The area, about 4½ miles down the popular Bright Angel Trail on the South Rim, originally was called Ha’a Gyoh by the tribe. But by 1928, the park service had forcibly removed the last Havasupai resident from the inner canyon where his family had farmed for generations to make way for trails and a ranger station.

The park service later built a handful of small cabins for tribal members on the South Rim. The Havasupai reservation lies deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon and is accessible only by mule, foot or helicopter.

Grand Canyon Superintendent Ed Keable called the renaming “a measure of respect for the undue hardship imposed by the park on the Havasupai people.”