PLAN TO SET ASIDE LAND IN ARIZONA FOR OWLS SLAMMED

The Washington Times ^ | Dec. 15, 2002 | Audrey Hudson

[madfly]

The federal government wants to set aside 1.2 million acres of public and private Arizona land as critical habitat for 18 endangered pygmy owls, a move critics say threatens development of the land for private business and public recreation.

Designating the Tucson land as a critical habitat for the tiny creatures, which span 6 inches and weigh 2 pounds, is necessary because they live in an area facing rapid growth and development, said Maeveen Behan, project director for Pima County.

[madfly]

The governor-elect has picked Lori Faeth as her environmental policy advisor. Faeth currently serves as the Arizona lobbyist for the Nature Conservancy — one of the top environmental and conservation advocacy groups.

Steve Owens will be the new director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Owens is an environmental lawyer who served as an aide to Al Gore when he represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate.

Democratic State Sen. Herb Guenther will lead the state Department of Water Resources. Guenther was re-elected in November, which creates a legislative vacancy that must be filled by a Democrat.

[madfly]

Owl Harassment ping!

[joesnuffy]

A Fish and Wildlife spokesman said locations of the owls are being kept secret to protect the species and private property owners. "We are concerned that it is such a rare species, birders tend to flock to the location to try and get pictures and often times there are cases of harassment of the owls," said Fish and Wildlife spokesman Scott Richardson. Federal officials are also concerned bird-watchers would trespass on private property, and owners would be less likely to cooperate with researchers.

Fish And Game Wardens (aka F.A.G. Wardens) target BIRD WATCHERS....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Its those evil binoculars that kill birds...and those cameras.....

[madfly]

fyi

[philman_36]

And the rolling stone keeps on rolling over.

[MeekOneGOP]

owl gore....

Head to Head with ALGORE

[countrydummy]

tx for the ping! Makes my butt tired indeed! Just more hogwash! Did you hear where they are going to band wood burning stoves in CA?!!!!!!!! Incredible!!!!!!!!!

[banjo joe]

You can see how blatant they are now. 1.2 M acres for 18 birds. They aren't even attempting to disguise thier agenda.

[LibertarianInExile]

1.4 Million. Million. 1,400,000 acres.

Awful lot of stuff fits on that kind of space. Lots of people are moving to Arizona. Is this a Republican land developer subsidy? I mean, I know that there are lots of restrictions on what USF&W must do thanks to micromanagement by Congressional legislators, but sheesh, doesn't being in charge of the Executive Branch mean ANYTHING? This is lunacy.

[Carry_Okie]

If this follows the pattern, what this is really about is putting the squeeze on home builders to make sure that only those who pay the political freight to the Slave Party will be allowed to stay in business.

The NAHB needs to not only fight this legally, but politically. If they are only putting up token resistance and don't fight to win, then you'll know that this is really about the big fish having sold out, using government to kill their competition while wrapping themselves in the cloak of environmental righteousness. The NAHB needs to decide whether the construction business is about free markets or musical chairs. Conservatives need to watch this one closely.

[Russ]

Anyone out there have a good recipe for Pygmy owls? I'll
bet they're tasty...

[HiJinx]

Title: Smothered Pygmy Owl
Yield: 12 Servings

12 Pygmy Owls
12 tb Buttter
3 tb Flour
2 1/2 c Chicken broth
1/2 c Sherry
Salt; to taste
Pepper; to taste
Cooked rice

Brown owls in butter; transfer to slow cooker.
Stir flour into skillet, mixing well. Add chicken
broth, sherry, salt and pepper slowly. when well
blended, pour over owls. Cover and cook on high
about 5 hours. Serve with rice.

May also be baked at 350°, covered, about an hour.

Makes 12 servings.

[Reo]

Exit 69 on I-19 south of Tucson is an extremely dangerous intersection where traffic from I-19, a busy crossroad (Duval Mine Road) and two frontage roads try to blend heavy traffic without benefit of either traffic signals or modern ramping designed to handle the growth. For several years a plan solving the problem has been on hold as enviros study whether or not new construction would affect the mating habits of these bleeping owls. Someone's going to get killed there while the delays go on. It's an accident waiting to happen.

[Reo]

Exit 69 on I-19 south of Tucson is an extremely dangerous intersection where traffic from I-19, a busy crossroad (Duval Mine Road) and two frontage roads try to blend heavy traffic without benefit of either traffic signals or modern ramping designed to handle the growth. For several years a plan solving the problem has been on hold as enviros study whether or not new construction would affect the mating habits of these bleeping owls. Someone's going to get killed there while the delays go on. It's an accident waiting to happen.

[Reo]

Sorry about the double post. I get inaccurate when I get angry.

[Don Corleone]

Pima County is 6 million acres in size. The 1.2 million acres would give each owl an average of more than 66,000 acres, according to the 2002 count.

Our problem here is not OWLS it is ILLEGALS! BTW 70 miles south of here they eat the damn things.(The owls that is)

[madfly]

I don't blame you for being angry. Sounds like "Smart Growth" at it's best. Several years wait for traffic safety. Full speed ahead for pygmy owls.

The article says it comes out to 66,000 acres per owl? Build 'em a big cage and through the junk scientists in with 'em!

[HiJinx]

IIRC, the good citizens of Tucson tried to build a high school in an area that was reputed to have pygmy owls...what district was that...Amphi? They were told they couldn't, they took it to court, and the school district won. Nobody could prove the owls were there, it was just that the habitat could support them, so they had to be there. How much you want to bet the same thing is going on now?

[madfly]

fyi

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

The folks who live in this area keep returning Ed Pastor, a virtual Communist, to the US House of Representatives, and recently elected another guy name Grijalva who is a Pastor clone. Are the illegals and the U of A professors running things down there?