"The Epic of the Naked Jaybirds"
as told to me by John Chatham, our chief curator of the Vermilion Ranch yard...

"We have been waiting for the water to come down the main ditch  from the river so we could get the sprinklers running. It has been one of the driest winters on record, the grass was dry and needed a drink, and everyone from start to finish was waiting for the water.
"Around the first day of May, they started getting the water going, but quite a few days passed before they were able to get enough in the ditches to irrigate with and enough to get the pumps going for my job, watering the lawns on the ranch. Finally, the other day when enough water came down the ditch, I went over to get the pump going.

COOL ruling expected end of June...
Authorities say the World Trade Organization Appellate Body should issue a final ruling in the country of origin labeling (COOL) appeal this summer, most likely by the end of June. The appeals hearing has been completed in Geneva where the appellate panel heard arguments from Canada, which initiated the WTO challenge of the U.S. law, and from the United States. The Appellate Panel will now consider all of the evidence presented as well as the arguments presented during the appeal hearing. 

BLM director to retire...
Robert Abbey, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director, has announced that he will retire from his 34-year career of state and federal service at the end of May. Abbey was nominated as BLM Director by President Obama in 2009 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August of that year. During his tenure as head of the BLM, Abbey oversaw approval of 29 large-scale energy projects on public lands and expansion of domestic oil and gas production, including major new projects. 
BLM Deputy Director Mike Pool will serve as Acting Director of the agency following Abbey's retirement on May 31. 

Winning letter
Is it ethical to eat meat?

By Jay Bost

As a vegetarian who returned to meat-eating, I find the question, "Is meat-eating ethical?" one that is in my head and heart constantly. The reasons I became a vegetarian, then a vegan, and then again a conscientious meat-eater were all ethical.
The ethical reasons of why NOT to eat meat are obvious: animals are raised and killed in cruel conditions; grain that could feed hungry people is fed to animals; the need for pasture fuels deforestation; and by eating meat, one is implicated in the killing of a sentient being. Except for the last reason, however, none of these aspects of eating meat are implicit in eating meat; yet they are exactly what make eating some meat unethical, which leads to my main argument: eating meat raised in specific circumstances is ethical; eating meat raised in other circumstances is unethical... just as eating vegetables, tofu, or grain raised in certain circumstances is ethical and those produced in other ways is unethical.
What are these "right" and "wrong" ways of producing both meat and plant foods? For me, they are most succinctly summed up in Aldo Leopold's land ethic: "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

The need for proactive grizzly management: Part 3

By Pat Hansen

Grizzly bear researcher Allen Schallenberger of Sheridan, Montana, details the stresses and costs of living with grizzly bears and lists ways to proactively manage them in this final summary of his comprehensive report. Schallenberger, a native Montanan and retired fish and wildlife management biologist, conducted intensive research on Montana grizzly bears outside of Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks and continues to follow management and research on them. 

Stresses & Costs...
"I know the stresses and costs of living with grizzly bears," Schallenberger says. "One has to be extremely alert at all times when in grizzly country, and sometimes even that does not work. Having a large and angry grizzly bear charge you is a scary experience."
Attacks and other conflicts are occurring more often as the grizzly population expands greatly into populated areas. People who once enjoyed trout fishing in mountain streams are now afraid do so. Ranchers and ranch hands, outfitters and guides, and others in areas of Montana and Wyoming where there are grizzly bears carry guns at all times. A rancher in the Mission Valley reported he carries a rifle when he goes outdoors at night, Schallenberger said. The man had nine different grizzly bears in his ranch yard during 2011, and he was charged by a large male and by a group of four bears.

What is more important to the nation?
Veterans and Seniors?
Or bugs?

It is impossible to compare the contributions to America between our military veterans, our senior citizens, and bugs. Our veterans fought for our freedom. Our seniors worked long and hard to make America economically independent; they were to be rewarded by the Social Security system that was designed to provide economic security to protect these hard-working Americans from disasters they had endured such as the stock market crash and the Great Depression. Then there are bugs, worms, mold, beetles, and plants.
A better comparison can be made between those engaged in the legal profession. The vast majority of attorneys have earned an undergraduate degree and an additional three-year law degree, which makes them able to take the bar examination. Passage of a bar examination allows the attorney the ability to practice law before various state and federal courts. It matters not what area of the law a person practices; the requirements are the same.
So rather than comparing the contributions to America by veterans, seniors, and bugs, compare what the federal government pays the attorneys representing veterans, seniors, and bugs to protect them.

Thanks to Emmy Hill of Ranchester, Wyoming, for sharing this nice photo of John Wilkerson branding at the Padlock's Gross Redman Division, Wyola, Montana.