Tue, 2012-01-10 08:18
From the American Farm Bureau Federation
• The secretary pledged to Farm Bureau members that USDA would continue to listen to their concerns and would work with other federal departments and agencies on regulatory issues with potential impacts on ruralAmerica, including dust and youth labor rules.
• To help keep agriculture robust, Vilsack outlined several essential points that he considers vital to the next farm bill. Continue reading
Posted: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 8:26 am
LINCOLN,Neb.(AP) – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says chronic wasting disease has been found in three centralNebraskacounties for the first time.
The commission says a total of 26 deer carcasses tested positive for the disease inBuffalo, Custer and Holt counties during the November firearm hunting season. Nearly 1,600 lymph node samples were taken. One mule deer carcass inGardenCountytested positive.
In 2010, 51 positives were found in the more than 3,600 test samples.
The 2011 testing was curtailed by budget issues, so it was concentrated on centralNebraska, which the commission says is the leading edge of the disease as it spreads from west to east.
The disease affects deer and elk and is always fatal. No human cases have ever been recorded.
By Lee Bergquist and Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel
Dec. 21, 2011
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a report on Wednesday that identifies potential options or technologies that could prevent the movement of Asian carp and 38 other aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin.
The report builds upon a document released by the Army Corps last summer that revealed the potential trouble lurking in the Chicago River system is bigger than just the giant Asian carp.
The agency has identified 39 “high-risk” species that could use the canal system or other smaller connections between the Mississippiand Great Lakes to invade vast swaths of the continent. Continue reading
WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that gray wolf populations in the Great Lakes region have recovered and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing a final rule in the Federal Register removing wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in portions of adjoining states, from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants.
“Once again, the Endangered Species Act has proved to be an effective tool for bringing species back from the brink of extinction,” Secretary Salazar said. “Thanks to the work of our scientists, wildlife managers, and our state, tribal, and stakeholder partners, gray wolves in the westernGreat Lakesregion are now fully recovered and healthy.”
The rule removing ESA protection for gray wolves in the western Great Lakesbecomes effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Continue reading
LINCOLN,Neb– Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Director Rex Amack today announced his intent to retire in April 2012, at the end of his current term.
Amack’s 24 years at the helm of the 475-employee agency distinguishes him as the longest-serving director in Game and Parks history. Continue reading
