MONTANA

‘Giant’ sheep bred for sales to hunting preserves

BILLINGS – A Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in central Asia and the U.S. to breed “giant” hybrid sheep for sale to private hunting preserves in Texas, according to court documents and federal prosecutors.

Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana pleaded guilty to felony charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife during an appearance March 12 before a federal judge in Great Falls. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Court documents describe a yearslong conspiracy, beginning in 2013, in which Schubarth and at least five other people sought to create “giant sheep hybrids” by cross-breeding different species. Their goal was to garner high prices from hunting preserves where people can shoot captive trophy game animals for a fee.

Using biological tissue obtained from a hunter who killed a wild sheep in Kyrgyzstan belonging to the world’s largest species of the animals – Marco Polo argali sheep – Schubarth procured cloned embryos of the animal from a lab, according to court documents.

The embryos were later implanted in a ewe, resulting in a pure Marco Polo argali sheep that Schubert named “Montana Mountain King,” the documents show. Semen from Montana Mountain King was used to artificially impregnate other ewes to create a larger and more valuable species of sheep, including one offspring that he reached an agreement to sell to two people in Texas for $10,000, according to the documents.

Male argali sheep can top 300 pounds with horns up to 5 feet long, according to officials, making them prized among some hunters. They are protected under international convention as a threatened species and outlawed for import into Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization.

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Todd Kim described Schubarth’s actions as “an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species to be sold and hunted as trophies.” Kim said the defendant violated the Lacey Act that restricts wildlife trafficking and prohibits the sale of falsely labeled wildlife.

NEW MEXICO

Bill bans some guns at polls, extends waiting period

ALBUQUERQUE – Some guns will be banned at voting locations and the waiting period for purchasing firearms is being extended to seven days under measures signed into law March 4 by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The second-term Democrat was surrounded by city leaders and others inside a high school auditorium in Albuquerque when she signed four public safety measures that were passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature during the recent 30-day session.

Lujan Grisham had declared a public health emergency over gun violence last year, suspending the right to carry guns in some parks and playgrounds in the greater Albuquerque area, in response to a spate of shootings there that killed children. The New Mexico Supreme Court is considering a petition that the governor overstepped her authority.

Republican lawmakers have argued that the governor wasn’t addressing the true causes of violence, but rather seeking to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens.

Now, New Mexico’s waiting period for firearm purchases will be seven days – more than double the current three-day period required by the federal government for a background check. The law includes exemptions for concealed carry permit holders, federal firearms licensees, transactions between law enforcement officers, law enforcement agencies and immediate family members.

The other measure prohibits carrying firearms within 100 feet of polling places and ballot drop boxes. Exemptions are granted to law enforcement personnel and concealed carry permit holders.

Oil-field lease sales halted in royalty rate standoff

SANTA FE – New Mexico’s State Land Office will withhold lease sales indefinitely on its most promising tracts for oil and natural gas development in the Permian Basin as it seeks approval by the state legislature to increase top-tier royalty rates, Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard said March 7.

Bills have repeatedly stalled in the Democratic-led legislature, including this year, that would raise New Mexico’s top royalty rate for oil and gas development from 20% to 25%. Proponents of the change say neighboring Texas already charges up to 25% on state trust land amid intense competition to drill in the Permian Basin that overlaps southeastern New Mexico and parts of western Texas.

In New Mexico, royalty payments from oil and gas development are deposited in a multibillion-dollar investment trust that benefits public schools, universities and hospitals.

New Mexico Oil and Gas Association CEO Missi Currier said the disagreement between the legislature and the State Land Office threatens to penalize petroleum producers and public beneficiaries as new leases are sidelined.

Garcia Richard estimates the state would miss out on billions of dollars in income and investment returns over the lifetime of future leases if royalties stay capped at 20%.

The Democrat, elected to a second term in 2022, acknowledged that the state will miss out on smaller, one-time bonus payments while some lease sales are suspended.

She compared the decision to delay some lease sales to a homeowner delaying sale during a downturn in the market for real estate.

ARIZONA

First statewide officer named to address extreme heat

PHOENIX – Arizona’s health department has named a physician to address ways to lessen the effects of extreme heat in the arid Southwestern state as the first statewide heat officer in the nation.

Dr. Eugene Livar was appointed to the role under Gov. Katie Hobbs’ extreme heat preparedness plan, the Arizona Department of Health Services said March 6.

Livar has been with the state health department since 2012, most recently working as assistant director for public health preparedness. In that role, he contributed to the state’s heat plan.

Underscoring the dangers of increasingly hot weather, the toll of heat-associated deaths in Arizona’s most populous county has soared well over 400 after the area’s hottest summer ever recorded. Maricopa County is the hottest metropolitan area in the U.S. and home to Phoenix.

The cities of Phoenix and Miami have their own heat officers to oversee ways to protect people and the overall community from extreme heat as climate change leads to more frequent and enduring heat waves.

Phoenix, the hottest big city in the United States, also has an office of heat response and resiliency that aims to protect people and help them cope with the hot weather through programs like cooling stations and increased tree planting.

NEBRASKA

Rewards glitch led to free gas – and felony charges

LINCOLN – A Nebraska woman allegedly found a lucrative quirk at a gas station pump – double-swipe the rewards card and get free gas!

Unfortunately for her, you can’t do that, prosecutors said. The 45-year-old woman was arrested March 6 and faces felony theft charges accusing her of a crime that cost the gas station nearly $28,000.

Prosecutors say the woman exploited the system over a period of several months. Police learned of the problem in October when the loss-prevention manager at Bosselman Enterprises reported that the company’s Pump & Pantry in Lincoln had been scammed.

Fuel pumps at the station received a software update in November 2022 that managed, among other things, rewards cards. But the company was unaware of a glitch that allowed anyone swiping a rewards card twice to put a gas pump into demonstration mode. In demo mode, the user could pump gas at no cost.

A probable cause statement from prosecutors said the loss-prevention manager determined that one particular card had been used repeatedly to obtain free gas. Police were able to trace the card to the suspect, and video surveillance showed the woman pumping gas on multiple occasions from November 2022 until June 1, when the glitch was fixed, the statement said.

Authorities believe the woman not only used the scam to get free gas, but that she allowed another woman to use her card – for a fee.

All told, the card was used 510 times, and more than 7,400 gallons of gas were pumped for free, the probable cause statement said.