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Show TIt Page A8 Itmfs-3nhrpfn?r- Thursday, May 16, 2002 nt OUR TOWN Community Comments by Sam Taylor ttie pattern The same holds true for the State of Utah, Government at atl levels in Utah will have to become slimmer and trimmer We all may suffer when pet programs sutler bodget cuts, both locally and statewide I don't see any other way out, though. Blammg ttie current state liscal situation on what is like blaming every ache and happened on Sept bomb on the atomic testing in Nevada years ago. pain Ofticials can t view this year's financial pain through Utah lawmakers have ttieu work cut out tof them Having jubt ended a regular session wtieie ttiey cut state agencies set mots and colleges to the bone to make up tor a budget deficit ot $256 million now ttiey hnd that ttieir revenue projec lions for (tie corning fist at year were terribly low Ttiey were told a montfi ago ttiat ttie budget deticit might be as mocb as $60 million ttiey now tmd that income taxes came in muiti lower ttian protected I am sure ttiat sales tax numtiers lor the first quarter will also be down Ttiey will be called into spec tal session tn ttie next month to deal with trimming a total ot $165 million trom ttie budget - the biggest shortfall since World War II. mayte in history ttie paring f ew options are available exi ept lo knite out arid Start cutting again Ttiere is. of course $75 million left in ttie state's "rainy day fund" established over ttie past tew years common Ttie dire conwhere tmdgot suipluse. will probotily tiave to drain ditions announced this wi ttiat tui id Hut that still teas s an $H0 million horffallto our-ow- 1 rose colored glasses Personally, I believe that years after years ot a budget surplus was not a healthy situation A lot of money was spent on a lot of tilings. Maybe some were needed and maybe they were not. Ttie besl kind ot burl ling takes place when you have to seari h for every is.iiar, and hopefully that does not include massive in teases in taxes much on his own, My t ithei wtio grew up pre1 often S u l ttiat fie was so hungry as a teenager that ne viewed r at h meal like it might be his last one for a long time He loved to cook and he loved to eat. His girtti prove' it But tie new ''"ptttiosr teenage years, nor ttie ye us trying to ru ,e ind educate a family of five children during ttie grea lepression. -- St Everyone is talking about ttie drought Its a tough one Ttie nice ram we got here Saturday night was welcome, but it wasn't nearly i nough The La Sal Mountains looked great wtien the clouds i ieared Sunday, but by now ttiat snow is nearly gone, and I bet most of it went right into the mountain ground and did not result iri much stream runoff And that is line Nothing is more discouraging ttian a trip to the La Sals with no green grass or shrubs Down here in ttie desert, we ought to be used to it Ttiere is one plus, though. My yard has almost no weeds Goattieads, ironweed and pigweed aren't coming like ttiey usually do There isnt any cheatgrass to speak of Evert ttie bindweed is having a tough time. Ttie only place where ttie weeds are thriving down on ttie (arm is right along the rows in my garden. Our lawn looks great, thanks to our high water table and a good well But I'm not going to get out ot the job of tilling and hand weodmg ttie garden gt deal i witti Ttiere is some speculation ttiat some large spend Kg items in ttie txidrjet. primarily ttie state building fund and major hnjhway projects rmgfit tie paid for by issu my t tot ids That would deter spending and spread it over a hxiger jkokkI ot time There is a good probahil ity ttiat will hapfxin Utati, under caietul scrutiny by State Treasurer Fd Alter, lias an excellent credit rat ing Bonds r ould tie easily sold liar ked by the stale's snow-cov-eie- d grind repulalion We must remember, though, that bonding is like borrowing money from the hank You've got to make ttmse payments To do that, you tiave to know where ttie money will bo there I predict that revenue shortfalls that the state has experienced the past two years may not tio over also predict ttiat it will bo some time before die state begins posting budget surpluses Somewhere along ttie line, something will tiave to go A lew weeks ago in commenting on ttie short revenue situation in Grand County (and probably ttie City of Moab). t said that ttie cloth will have to tie cut to fit I Heard Around the West Ernie Franke ol Krazy Ernie Emporium in Thompson Falls, Mont blasted his computer monitor with a shotgun recently, explaining "Fish and Game has taken all (tie tun out ol this ob The ob was issuing hunting licenses, but the state's automated system was so screwed up, lie told the Livingston Enterprise. It wouldn't print a license At ttie same time it would debit his account to ttie tune ol tiundieds ol dollars Franke said he plans to soli his store not a clear-cut- ? Wtien Is a clear-cu- t Perhaps when you can disguise ttie togging or even make H pretty. That's what Washington stale foresters have concluded after a study tound ttiat people don't like clear cuts Peter Goldman, with ttie Washington Forest Law Center, said that what ttie Washington Department ot Naluial Resources needs isn't aesthetic togging" but stricter regulation, Here's another nitty mnemonic tor remembering the names ot the rock layers ot Grand Canyon. This one describes what you would see when going up the river from Lees Ferry, says Bill Wolveiton ot Escalante, Utah. "Many Canyon Walls Know No Capitalist Exploitation," which stands tor Moenkopi. Clunle, Wingate, Kayenla, Navajo, Carmel and Entrada Unfortunately, you cant do that, he says, because the besl canyon walls have been the victim ot capitalist exploitation" Commleslonera In Catron County, N.M., who have always lavoied livestock over wolves or mountain lions, now have a new villain - goldfish. Commissioners recently told ttie state ttiey approved the poisoning ot Quemado Lake, whose prolific goldfish are outcompetmg trout No one knows how the goldfish got Into the lake decades ago, and theories range trom a dumped goldfish bowl to anglers using goldlish as bait Reporter Janis Marston says it is known wtiy the tiny lish are flourishing The string ol mild winters throughout the Southwest has kept goldfish trom freezing lack during the winter, she says, and star ting in ttie lam 1990s, Quemado Lakes water began " turning bright oiange New Mexico's Game and Fish Deto partment plans poison the goldlish with rotenone and ttien restock with trout The New York Times can be sooooo sarcastic. In Its new weekly section, Escapes, the daily focused on monster-log cabins and a truck so mammoth the photo is captioned Jurassic parked " Here 8 how a Tellunde, Coio., second home owner describes his 1 1 .000 toot cabin m the woods You walk In, put the fireplace on, and you're your own man " A headline on ttie story is more direct. A return to nature, mostly by cutting it down." Writer Matt Richtel lets a devekiper say it all wtien he pronounces a 1 second home built ot logs tar more enticmg than a grove of aspen tines Aspens." says ttie developer, are hke weeds around here' In his review ot ttie new Ford truck called the Super CrewZer, Jim Motovalk works hard lo like the $83,000 vehicle he tries out, but can't. It's ust too dumb. You can admire ttie Super CrewZer the way you admire an 5 lighter plane," he says, "although neither one needs to be m a sutiurban garage Betsy Marston is editor ot Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News m Paonta. Colorado Bizarre. Qunky or Qurntessentiaty Western stones can be sent to her at betsym ft hen org by Betsy Marston, regional news analyst Nevada haa found a new way to get more bang for lha truck. In just a tow months, residents can pay exlia lor a license plate Hint Inatuies a rising mushroom cloud from ttie explosion ot a nuclear bomb Ttie startling might not tiave been popular during ttie 1950s and early 1900s, wtien tests ot atomic bombs were routine in ttie an above ttie Nevada desoit But these days ttie words and collectible" somehow share ttie same sentence Ttie contest tor a nuclear themed license plate was sponsored by ttie Nevada Tost Sito Historical F oundalion, and winning suie suiprised ttie lust tune designer, Rick Bibbnro "I thought they would choose something ttiat was not so aggressive ," he told ttie Reno Gazette Journal Ttie Ik ense plate is already proving popular More ttian 260 people have signed up as buy- two-ye- n ers There yet another use for duct tape, one more innovative ttian ttie last one you might have thought ot - such as wrapping up like a bullet lor Halloween Duct t.gie came in handy at a Montana airport alter a botched lakeott knocked "stewardesses on thou butts" and busted ttie lens on a navigational light, reports the Hungry Horse News Not a problem alter the crew duct taped the damaged light and arrived at Minneapolis before dark Passenger Howaid Steel, who kept an eye on the taped light while in ttie air, said ttie duct tape field spectacularly cold and (lie 563 mph speed ot ttie despite plane "Only in Montana," Sleet mubed afterward Someone at the Grand Junction Daily Santlnal In western Colorado had tun writing a headline tor a column about wtmt some call The Peoples Republic ot Bouldor Bouldoi is (lie town where some citizens lambasted a production ot ttie play Grand Hotot, because actors playing Roaring Twenties types smoked on Stage, and ttie town bars smoking in all public places Now, ttie Boulder City Council is considering a ban on outdoor couches near ttie University ot Colorado, because sometimes students lurch ttie furniture atler football games Meanwhile, state leg'slators have gone gung ho lor guns The Colorado House approved a bill requiring shentts to issue a concealed weajion permit to anyone wtio already owns a gun arid wtio can pass a background check The headline on the column "Wtien couches are outlawed, only outlaws will be couch potatoes ' In his spool ol Boulder debating the weighty issue ot upholstery- - related violence." columnist Gary Harmon says. Industry officials .. noted that most ot the furnituie involved in the victory conflagration was cheaply made, hard to regulate love seats We call them Saturday Night Specials Many didn't even have consumer warning tags" cEljc 1 QJtmcs-3lnfccpntfrc- F-- 1 ' ut UrSl63U9 2000) ISSN Entered as Second class Matter at the Post Office at Moab, Utah under the Ad Second class postage paid at Moab, Utah 84532. Official City and County Newspaper. Published each Thursday at: 35 East Center Street, Moab, Grand County, Utah 84532 1538-183- ail Postmaster Send changes of 8 of March 3, 1897. address: editormoabtimea.com address to. The Times-lndependen- Member PO. Box 129, Moab, UT 84532 t, or FAX 5 1 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION and PRESS ASSOCIATION Samuel J. and Adrien F. Taylor, Publishers Sens T. Flanders, Editor UTAH Tom Taylor Circulation Manager, T- Maps Zane Taylor Press, Production Manager Ron Flanders ....Systems Manager Lisa Church, Janet Lowe Staff Writer Jef Richa'ds ConHbutmg Writer Sadie Warner Office Manager, Sate&'Design Mail Room Supervisor Dorothy Anderson -l V Valene Brown, Jed Taylor Darin Hawk Ron Drake Ron George Over Harris Ryan McDowell Jose Churampi Idle Thoughts from Mt. Waas by Ollie Harris New boots went for a hike in brand new boots this morn-inf- ;. was a bit apprehensive, wondering if all my hours of studying outdoor magazines, catalogs and Unit review had steered me well. The time for giving all that attention to new boots is before you buy them. After the purchase, if you have really done your homework, they should feel so good that they never intrude into your consciousness except when you pause to admire and appreciate them. The true test of a pair of hiking boots is on a rugged descent. About all new boots can tell you while climbing is whether the heel Fits snugly enough to prevent rubbing. Scrambling downhill creates much greater impact forces. That's when you learn things about ankle support and toe room. My intention on this morning's hike was to climb up onto a steep ridge to see if I could get within camera range of a golden eagle nest. At the beginning of the hike I noticed a stick leaning against a boulder. I walked over to examine it and recognized my own woi kmanship. It was one of several walking sticks that 1 made for some of my grandkids when I took them hiking a couple of years ago. I continued up onto the first level of the ridge. As I topped out I spooked a coyote from her rest in the shade of a jeruffy cedar tree. She loped away, not particularly alarmed. Her belly seemt'd large because it is the season of the birth of coyote pups. The eagle's nest is a massive stick structure sitting under an overhang near the top of a high ledge. By working my way along a narrow shelf I got within less than fifty feet of the nest without overly stressing my low thrill threshold. I focused my 10-- binoculars down to close range and studied the nest carefully. I was surprised and disappointed that it does not apiear to lie in use. I saw two eagles standing on it just a few weeks ago. 1 I High Country News Writers on the Range It's time for a showdown on the Western Range by Dan Dagget Some fights cant be settled with words. That, I believe, is the case with the battle over whether grazing should be removed from public have been lands in the American West. cows these lands to off for more than a trying get hundred years, and for just as long ranchers and their allies have been battling them to a standstill. As taxpayers, we have poured billions of dollars into this standoff, funding legislation, regulation, lawsuit and range improvements, and all weve got for and divisiveness. our money is a century of That's why I propose that we settle this standoff in a way that's as Western as our sublime scenwith a good, ery and wide open spaces showdown, backed up, of course, with a waAnti-graze- ger. s Whats to settle? Everyone know that the of the West are overgrazed, trampled and polluted with cow splat. And everybody knows whos range-land- welfare ranchers and their ravenous cows to blame and sheep. Some critics claim that livestock have wreaked more havoc on the West than all the bulldozers and chainsaws combined. Some even say that the damage livestock have created may never heal. So, w hat's the hold up? Getimoff and lockitup! That's the way to save the range, right? If thats what you believe, Ive got a challenge for you. Im willing to bet that if we took two identical piece of Western rangeland side by side, and you used the getimoff approach on your side, and I put lota of them cow on my aide and left them there until they had eaten just about everything which might happen very quickly - and then I took them off until the plants grew back and kept repeating that, my side would be healthier than yours. It would be greener, with more wildlife, and less bare dirt. Back shop Saie&Production Castle VaBey columnist Cotummst Columnist Sports Distribution The whole area surrounding this mornings hike It is not as spectacular as much of southeastern Utah, but it appeals to me. There is plenty of Anasazi sign, petrified dinosaur bone, petrified wood, prairie dogs, coyotes, ravens, interesting geology, a host of reptiles and other critters, and best of all, solitude. I can never seem to walk directly from one point to another. I wander from right to left. I double back on myself. I go check this and look at that. It was such wandering that brought me to an old, rusted, gallon can lying below me. I climbed down to examine the can. I emptied the dirt out of it, dropped a note with my name and the date into it and wedged it out of the weather beneath a ledge. I marked the coordinates of the site in my GPS. Again, I wandered slowly to and fro, absorbed in all that is interesting. I came across other old tin cans and the remains of brush fences. My best guess is that they are the last tattered signs of sheep camps. I found a couple of black, oxidized, .06 brass. I came upon the front half of a broken Anasazi axe head. I led it lying on a large flat rock. Placing a rok out of place upon another is an unobtrusive way of marking one' passing. It takes aa experienced eye to notice when something isnt quite right about a rock being where it is. It may he years before anyone notices it, but if they see the broken Anasazi axe lying there they will know that someone else once passed that way. When I come upon such out-o- f place rocks, I push them to the ground. It is all part of an infinitely slow game, a game where decades may pass between moves. On the way back down to the truck I discovered the bleached lower jaws of a large predator. My best guess is lion. And the boots? They performed flawlessly. My goal now is to completely destroy them by scrambling in and out of canyons and up and down mountains. 1 look forward to every step. is one of my favorites. Would you jump to eeal the deal with a handI changed my mind? Wait: There' a couple of things you ought to know. I first made this challenge four years ago in a magazine that w as distributed nationally, and no one took me up on it. Because that magazine was read mostly by ranchers. I made the offer again, in the newsletter of the Arizona chapter of the Sierra Club, shake before Again, no takers. In December 2000, 1 made the challenge again at the First National Conference on Grazing Lands, and I even offered to let the geti muffs set the criteria by which we would judge the winner Still no takers. Theres a reason for that. Here in the West there's been a change in the way some ranchers manage their animals. Some have begun concentrating their animals by means of temporary fences, herders or tasty enticements and moving them around the land in the manner of a herd of bison pursued by wolves or Native American hunters. Grazing in this way, livestock dont overgraze, but and fertilize as natuthey do mow, ral grazers do. In other words they perform the same functions you and I perform to keep our own grasslands our yards green and healthy. These methods have been used to restore health to lands damaged by mining, vehicles, roadbuilding, catastrophic wildfire and even overgrazing. It has even been used to combat global warming by removing carbon from the air and sequestering it in the roots of plants of restored grasslands. Surprisingly, this technique works best where the land haa been damaged the most. What that means is the showdown has already happened, and the getimoffs lost. You dont know that because no one told you, or at least no one told you in a way that got your attention. If any of these victories were covered in your local media, they were buried on the last page of section Z as a (yawn) successful range restoration. That's why Ive made this challenge and will keep making it. So that, if the getimoffs ever do accept, their loss will be reported somewhere in section A as a defeat for the reigning environmental bully in the continuing War for the West. Then you 11 finally gpt it, read about it, and the debate over how to manage public lands will at last be taken out of the realm of outdated assumptions and based on who gets the best results. When that happens, all of us even the getimoffs will be winners. Dan. Dagget is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News in Paonia. Colorado Chcn.org). He is an environmentalist who writes in Flagstaff, Arizona. h, re-se- off-roa- d |