Powering the Permian – how national policies could affect local industries in upcoming presidential election 8 Aug 2024 12:07 PM (last year)

The race to the White House has under 3 months left to go.

How could who’s elected president, and their beliefs affect the local economy in the Permian Basin? Specifically, oil and gas jobs.

ABC Big 2’s Chris Talley spoke with the owner of a local petroleum company about how he and many others might be affected by the upcoming presidential election.

“This affects everybody in our population here, especially in Southeastern New Mexico and West Texas,” said Kirk Edwards, President and CEO of Latigo Petroleum in Odessa.

Since the 1980s, Edwards has operated the company and says he’s no stranger to how politics nationally have affected how he conducts business.

“Somehow in the past few decades it became a ‘political football’ and we’ve seen it go both ways – there’s no doubt about it,” Edwards said.

In recent years, the Biden Administration has pushed the transition to green energy across the country and imposed regulations on oil and gas like higher costs to drill on public land.

The Trump Administration before reduced regulatory burdens as it tried to push more U.S. energy production and exports.

Looking to this election as Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris tries to sway voters in Pennsylvania, the second largest producer of nature gas production behind Texas, she recently has changed her stance on oil fracking. This goes against her beliefs four years ago to have it banned as she campaigned for president in 2020...more

The popular Mexican convenience store brand OXXO is set to take over DK locations across Texas and New Mexico. 8 Aug 2024 11:31 AM (last year)

...FEMSA, the company behind OXXO, has signed a massive $385 million deal with Delek U.S. Holdings to acquire 249 convenience stores in Texas and New Mexico.

OXXO, known for its convenient locations and wide variety of products, is a household name in Mexico and other countries like Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil.

The deal awaits regulatory approval expected in the second half of 2024 so soon enough we will begin to see local DK stores changing their colors for a bright red and yellow!...more

EPA issues emergency order to halt use of dangerous pesticide 6 Aug 2024 8:23 PM (last year)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an emergency order Tuesday to remove from the market a pesticide linked to fetal damage, its first such action in nearly four decades.

In a statement, the EPA said exposure to the pesticide, dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, also known DCPA or dacthal, can affect fetal thyroid hormone levels. These changes are in turn associated with lower birth weights and impairments to brain development and motor skills.

The EPA’s risk assessment, which the agency released in May 2023, estimates that handling DCPA products while pregnant could expose fetuses to between four and 20 times the chemical level considered safe. Environments where the pesticide has already been applied may be similarly risky, particularly for agricultural workers doing work such as weeding or harvesting in areas where it has been applied.

DCPA is primarily used for weed control for crops, including cabbage, onions and broccoli. The EPA made the decision at a time when DCPA is up for its registration review, a process all pesticides must undergo every 15 years under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act...more

The Government Is Choking Off Wineries 2 Aug 2024 12:22 PM (last year)

The drinks world has been rocked by dramatic media stories about barren patches of California countryside, abandoned vineyards, and scores of wineries closing their doors. Photos show tens of thousands of vineyard acres being bulldozed and then pulverized into wood chips by large industrialized grinders across the Golden State.

This "Grape Apocalypse" (Grape-pocalypse?) is being framed as the sad but inevitable result of declining consumer interest in wine. That's true, but it's not the full picture.

Unsurprisingly, the wine industry has been hit by inflation. However, the market has also been flooded by spikes in imported wines and grocery store chains preferring their own private-label wine brands (such as Costco's Kirkland Signature wines or Whole Foods' Wine Farmer).

The long-term future of the wine sector is bleak given that Millenials and Gen-Zers are not only drinking less alcohol in general than previous generations but are also increasingly opting for microbrews and craft cocktails over vino. Global wine consumption has hit a 27-year low and American wine sales fell by 8.7 percent in 2023...more

Gov't sets out to prevent something in the market place, and instead creates something worse

Due to the three-tier system that nearly every state subjects alcohol to, wholesalers or distributors act as government-mandated middlemen connecting alcohol producers to retail stores. The purported rationale for the three-tier system is to prevent Big Alcohol monopolies from forming at the producer level of the supply chain.
And yet, it has essentially done the opposite. For decades there were multiple distributors available for almost every winery. Today, there are fewer than 1,000 distributors for over 8,000 American wineries—and out of those distributors, it's actually just three goliath distributors that control up to 67 percent of all the U.S. wine sales (in some states this climbs to over 90 percent).
This begets a form of government-sponsored collusion, in which the largest distributors disproportionately focus most of their energy on servicing the accounts from the largest wineries. Many smaller and medium-sized wineries are often unable to find distributors who will carry their products. In turn, their wines never even make it to store shelves, severing them from their main market-access channel entirely. When less wine is being produced or sold, fewer grapes are needed—hence the growing epidemic of vineyard desecrations.
It's a lesson the government never learns, especially when it comes to booze: If you create a government-mandated middleman in the name of stopping private alcohol monopolies at one level of the supply chain (the producer level), you inevitably end up creating a government-sanctioned monopoly in another level. Eventually, as Wine-Searcher put it, the "arteries" of America's wine market—the world's largest—become "clogged," with the repercussions flowing all the way back up the supply chain to the grapes themselves.
The way to help independent wineries is to reform the laws to allow more wineries to self-distribute their products directly to retailers, including across state lines. Better yet, scrap the three-tier system entirely and allow alcohol to operate like basically every other industry in America.

US border migrant crossings fall for fifth month in a row 2 Aug 2024 12:08 PM (last year)

The number of unlawful crossings by migrants at the US southern border has dropped for the fifth consecutive month, according to official data.

US Border Patrol agents apprehended around 57,000 migrants along the border in July - the lowest recorded since September 2020.

The numbers are down significantly from December, when around 250,000 migrants were caught crossing the border

Border Patrol recorded 141,000 apprehensions in February, 137,000 in March, 129,000 in April, 118,000 in May and 84,000 in June.

The figures do not include official border crossings, where the Biden administration has been processing around 1,500 migrants each day through a smartphone app that schedules appointments between migrants and US border agents...more

And they will continue to drop until election day, and then...it depends on who wins the election, don't it.

Scientists want to put endangered animals in a Noah's Ark on the Moon 31 Jul 2024 5:36 PM (last year)

Scientists have revealed an ambitious plan to put endangered animals on the Moon.

The storage facility would allow us to keep samples of the most at-risk animals species on Earth.

That would allow them to be kept without the risks posed on our own planet, the scientists claim.

That could be a way of keeping a long-lasting record of the animals that we might lose on Earth, the scientists suggest. They will be “cryopreserved” to keep them in a useful state.

In a new article, written by a team led by Mary Hagedorn of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, researchers envision a storage facility built on the lunar surface...more

OK, go ahead and send those animals to Noah's Ark

And send those "scientists" to the belly of the whale, with no three-day limit on their stay.

Washington Indian tribe pulls out of agreement to provide wolves to Colorado 31 Jul 2024 7:11 AM (last year)

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington said they are rescinding an earlier agreement to send 15 wolves to Colorado Parks and Wildlife later this year and in early 2025.

Cody Desautel, executive director of the Tribe, on July 30 told the Coloradoan it sent a letter to Colorado Parks and Wildlife informing the agency of its decision. That letter, sent to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Jeff Davis was dated June 6.

"After hearing from Colorado tribes concerned about the (wolf) reintroduction, we halted the project out of respect for the sovereignty, culture, and impacts to membership of the Indian Tribes in Colorado," Desautel told the Coloradoan.

Desautel said the Colville Tribe received a letter from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado asking it not to provide wolves to Colorado. Colorado's Southern Ute Indian Tribe land is located in southwestern Colorado along the New Mexico border.

The Southern Ute Tribe has publicly expressed concerns with the state's wolf reintroduction plan for the same reasons ranchers and hunters have: wolves killing the tribe's livestock and deer and elk. The tribe also requested Colorado Parks and Wildlife to limit wolf releases to the northern zone, along the Interstate 70 corridor, of its two preferred release areas...more

Border Patrol finds three bodies in New Mexico desert 29 Jul 2024 8:16 PM (last year)

People on the move continue to die in a deadly Southern New Mexico desert corridor.

The U.S. Border Patrol confirmed its agents located three deceased individuals last Monday near its Santa Teresa, New Mexico, station.

The area, extending several miles west from NM Highway 9 near the Santa Teresa border crossing to Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico, is one of the most active migrant-smuggling corridors in the Southwest border, federal officials say.

The Border Patrol said Monday’s grim find raises to 138 the number of people who’ve perished in the desert, in the Rio Grande and parallel irrigation canals, on Mount Cristo Rey and along the border wall in a sector that runs from Hudspeth County, Texas, to El Paso, to the New Mexico-Arizona state line.

The total is just 11 shy of last year’s record 149 migrant deaths in the sector. The Border Patrol continues to push English- and Spanish-language public safety announcements online for migrants to abstain from crossing the border illegally between ports of entry...more

Anglers chide Democrats who want to sink Supreme Court rulings on agency deference, Trump immunity 29 Jul 2024 8:06 PM (last year)

Fishers, who brought down four decades of Supreme Court precedent where judges were deferring to agency heads when laws were ambiguous, chided Democratic senators on Tuesday for trying to undermine the recent high court victory.

Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, which filed a brief supporting other anglers in this term’s landmark Supreme Court battle, criticized the latest attempt by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, to codify Chevron deference into law.

Ms. Warren’s move comes after the GOP majority on the high court overturned a 40-year-old precedent in a pair of disputes known as the Chevron case. The justices ruled that courts should no longer defer to agencies’ interpretations of federal law where Congress is ambiguous, a principle known as Chevron deference. The challenge was brought by fishers contesting a federal rule making them pay for a monitor to accompany their boats.

“So-called expert bureaucrats approved the Vineyard Wind turbines that are falling apart in Senator Warren’s home state, spreading debris from Nantucket to Cape Cod. Fishermen have always known that offshore wind will be a disaster for our oceans. But alphabet soup agencies used Chevron deference to silence us,” said Mr. Leeman. “Without Chevron, fishermen finally have a chance to protect their jobs, heritage, communities and the marine environment from regulators and developers who are industrializing the ocean.”...more

Ranch Radio Song of the Day 29 Jul 2024 12:02 PM (last year)

Our tune today is She's a Shady Lady by Jimmie widener (1947)

https://youtu.be/DRfRhGCwxj8?si=lWOU5Z4K83gKEw0r

Hundreds of migrants leave southern Mexico on foot in a new caravan headed for the US border 22 Jul 2024 2:12 PM (last year)

Hundreds of migrants from around a dozen countries left from Mexico’s southern border on foot Sunday, as they attempt to make it to the U.S. border.

Some of the members of the group said they hoped to make it to the U.S. border before elections are held in November, because they fear that if Donald Trump wins, he will follow through on a promise to close the border to asylum-seekers.

“We are running the risk that permits (to cross the border) might be blocked,” said Miguel Salazar, a migrant from El Salvador. He feared that a new Trump administration might stop granting appointments to migrants through CBP One, an app used by asylum-seekers to enter the U.S. legally — by getting appointments at U.S. border posts, where they make their cases to officials.

...Migrants trying to pass through Mexico in recent years have organized large groups to try to reduce the risk of being attacked by gangs or stopped by Mexican immigration officials as they travel. But the caravans tend to break up in southern Mexico, as people get tired of walking for hundreds of miles (kilometers).

...Recently, Mexico has also made it more difficult for migrants to reach the U.S. border on buses and trains...MORE

A post-fire ‘nightmare’ in New Mexico: Eight floods in four weeks 21 Jul 2024 10:13 AM (last year)

...Ruidoso, a scenic town of nearly 8,000 in southern New Mexico, is now at the mercy of an enduring, double-barreled disaster. Two massive fires broke out last month along the mountains encircling the town, torching more than 25,000 acres, burning nearly a thousand homes and killing two people. Then, eight times and counting since June 21, including Saturday, floodwaters have cascaded down those same mountainsides into the village.

...It’s a worst-case scenario that may become more frequent as weather extremes intensify in the American West. Studies suggest climate change is increasing the risk that severe rainfall comes in the wake of wildfires. Increasingly hot and dry conditions breed fiercer blazes. Warming air can also hold more moisture, leading to more intense storms. The burn scars from fires can elevate the flooding risk for more than five years, as vegetation regrows.

The fires in June sheared hillsides of their evergreen trees and shrubs and even altered the composition of the soil, dramatically reducing its ability to absorb rainfall. Andrew Mangham, a National Weather Service hydrologist, said it was as if giant plastic sheets had been draped on the mountains, then covered with ash and tree trunks that would tumble down at the slightest invitation. The blazes came just in time for the state’s monsoon season — and suddenly even normal rainstorms could produce supercharged flash floods...more

Paralyzed mountain lion found in Colorado is first case of “staggering disease” in North America 18 Jul 2024 7:03 PM (last year)

In May 2023, a homeowner in Douglas County was astonished to find a partially paralyzed mountain lion taking cover between her basement window well and a spruce tree, dragging itself forward with its front paws. The year-old female couldn’t stand up, a phenomenon clear in the video the owner took while safely inside the house.

Wildlife officers tranquilized the debilitated lion, then euthanized her with a gunshot to the chest to protect brain cells for a necropsy.

After a year of studying the animal, researchers are declaring her the first North American case of “staggering disease” in a mountain lion, according to Colorado State University veterinarian and former Colorado Parks and Wildlife pathologist Karen Fox.

The disease, caused by variants of the rustrela virus, makes a virulent attack on muscles and the nervous system and is more frequent in Europe. It was known best in European cats, especially in Sweden, but has now been found to attack mammals including cats, horses and possums...more

US businesses may soon find that deregulation comes with risks 17 Jul 2024 9:29 AM (last year)

Chief executives love to blame their struggles on bureaucratic red tape. If only time-consuming and pointless regulations could be removed, they say, their companies would be much more efficient and profitable.

In the US, that wish is on the brink of coming true. Late last month, six conservatives on the Supreme Court handed corporate America a scythe. The high court majority shredded a 40-year-old precedent known as the “Chevron deference” that required judges to defer to government experts when laws were ambiguous. They also ruled in a separate case that even long-settled rules can be challenged by new industry players. But CEOs should be careful what they wish for...more

Gotta love that headline. Risks are present in an unregulated or less regulated market? The main risk is someone will produce a better product. That of course creates competition, which benefits the consumer.

Compare that with the risks of ever-changing, more burdensome set of government regulations that change with the political winds.

See how the author either scolds the court or scares industry. We have been handed a "scythe" that "shreds" the current regulatory regime. All because the court now says judges should do their job and not automatically defer to government agencies.

Federal regulations impose a cost of just over $3 billion on our economy, with the cost higher for small firms than for the larger ones:

Considering all federal regulations, all sectors of the U.S. economy and all firm sizes, federal regulations cost an estimated $12,800 per employee per year in 2022 (in 2023 dollars). Small firms with fewer than 50 employees incur regulatory costs of $14,700 per employee per year – 20% greater than the cost per employee in large firms ($12,200).

It is time to swing those scythes and begin shredding those regulations.

Kidnapping, rape, murder, sex trafficking, child labor: How cartels treat the youngest migrants 17 Jul 2024 6:29 AM (last year)

Children are stolen from families south of the border and become unaccompanied alien children in the U.S. The government sends them to communities across the country, where a grim fate often awaits: occasionally sex trafficking, but usually forced labor. He said cartels place operatives inside migrant groups or at shelters along the way. Those operatives look for migrants who can be robbed or kidnapped...

“The cartels are exploiting this by having children placed with sponsors who exploit the children for profit,” Mr. Sadulski said.

He is scheduled to appear before a Republican Senate roundtable on Tuesday to talk about his findings.

Mr. Sadulski recently completed a border trip, including a shelter visit in McAllen, Texas. The facility’s staff told him one woman refused to let go of her child. When pressed, she told the staffers the child was all she had left.

“She explained that en route to the southwest border, just south of Reynosa, Mexico, she was robbed by the Sinaloa cartel. Not only were all of her belongings taken from her, but so were her other two children because she had no money for bribes,” Mr. Sadulski said.

...Mr. Sadulski underscored the centrality of the cartels to the smuggling economy and their ruthless approach to those they bring north.

He said cartels place operatives inside migrant groups or at shelters along the way. Those operatives look for migrants who can be robbed or kidnapped...more

Lawmakers seek high-tech countermeasures to curb drones smuggling cartel drugs, weapons 16 Jul 2024 5:31 PM (last year)

Thwarting the Mexican cartels’ fleet of drones bringing drugs and weapons over the U.S. southern border was of chief concern Tuesday to a bipartisan group of Capitol Hill lawmakers.

Republicans and Democrats sought to understand the scope of Mexican gangs’ remote-controlled armada and what technology could be used to prevent those devices from entering American territory during a House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing.

Law enforcement officials and drone technology executives testified on the vulnerability of U.S. airspace to foreign incursions, telling lawmakers that wealthy Mexican cartels have more aircraft than the Border Patrol has detection equipment.

“It is my understanding, for every drone flown by border security, the Mexican cartel is flying 17 drones,” Rep. Dale Strong, Alabama Republican, said during the hearing. “Data shows the Mexican cartel are flying drones greater than 30 miles into U.S. airspace, landing and offloading drugs on U.S. soil — fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, marijuana and the list continues.”...more

LOCAL NEWS Rattlesnake "mega-den" in Northern Colorado is now featured on a live stream 16 Jul 2024 1:54 PM (last year)

People who are interested in watching rattlesnake activity in Colorado can now view a YouTube livestream that was set up by Cal Poly.

The California college says the wild snakes are located in a den on private property in Northern Colorado, and they aren't revealing the exact location. Researchers say it has attracted hundreds of rattlesnakes because its geologic features have hiding places and shelter. They are calling it a "mega-den," and viewing of the cam on Monday showed numerous rattlers moving around and sometimes on top of one another.

The live stream is part of RattleCam.org, a community science project to see how pregnant rattlesnakes interact and how they care for baby snakes when they arrive later this summer...more

April 16, 2024, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced a massive federal land expansion into Texas and New Mexico. 16 Jul 2024 1:43 PM (last year)

Dear Neighbors,

April 16, 2024, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced a massive federal land expansion into Texas and New Mexico. They plan to acquire 700,000 private acres to enlarge the 6,440-acre Muleshoe Federal Wildlife Refuge.

We are hosting a landowner’s educational meeting in Littlefield, Texas July 25th at 7 pm to help unwrap how this plan will impact the local economy and sovereignty of Texas and New Mexico.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, County Commissioners and local leaders will be joining us to help answer key questions, such as:

Is the Muleshoe Expansion part of the 30x30 land grab?
How do Conservation Easements implement the 30x30 agenda?
Will landowners who sign up be subject to Federal controls
How will this impact the local economy?
Will Federal funds be used to acquire the land?

When this plan was announced, the Service stated it was a part of the Biden Administration’s 30x30 initiative to permanently protect 30 percent of America’s land and waters, renamed “America the Beautiful.”

This is the first major push the Federal government is making to implement the 30x30 agenda in Texas and expand its reach in New Mexico.

We must stop this Federal expansion. But first we must get educated on who and what is behind the agenda. American Stewards of Liberty does not buy, sell or hold conservation easements, which is why our perspective may be different from other organizations.

Please help us by alerting your friends and neighbors (you can learn more about the plan here) and make plans to join us in Littlefield.

Warm regards,

Margaret Byfield

Executive Director

P.S. We are a national non-profit property rights organization based in Texas spearheading the national campaign to stop 30x30. You can help till the soil and plant the seeds of Liberty by making a donation today.

Ranch Radio Song of the Day 13 Jul 2024 12:41 PM (last year)

Eddy Arnold - A Full Time Job (1952) is our tune today

https://youtu.be/knTfHuKCMWA?si=FwYQTokSY-x5gIog

Wyoming Ranch Where an Equestrian Can Ride Right Into the Rocky Mountains to List for $14 Million 13 Jul 2024 8:17 AM (last year)

The property outside Dubois sits at the foot of the Absaroka Range and has an

easement allowing the owner to take their horse directly the nearby national forest

A private equestrian ranch outside Dubois, Wyoming, is up for sale for the first time, asking $13.95 million.

The ranch, at the foot of the Absaroka Range of the Rocky Mountains, includes several parcels with an 11,500-square-foot main home, two additional rental homes, a barn with an attached apartment, and everything needed to keep and raise horses, along with an easement that allows the owner to ride directly into the nearby national forest.

“You can saddle up and ride right here on all this property we have, or you can just take off on a horse and go clear off into the mountains, without even having to trailer out,” said Faye Yonkers, who built the place with her husband, Jerry, about 27 years ago.

The property, called Windbreak Ranch, includes horse stables, an indoor sand arena, a dedicated hay shed that can store enough hay to last half a year, along with corrals and round pens to train and work horses.

“It’s set up to be a very horse-friendly...more

Post-Loper, Congress must rein in the bureaucracy 8 Jul 2024 11:27 AM (last year)

The Supreme Court has spoken, but Congress must act.

This is the most important takeaway from the court’s ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The justices ended the foolish practice of judicial deference to a federal agency’s “reasonable” interpretation of ambiguous laws known as “Chevron deference.”

The ruling will help block the vast federal bureaucracy from abusing its power, but agencies will continue to threaten Americans’ freedom and prosperity by violating a bigger constitutional principle. Agencies can still issue sweeping and costly regulations without congressional signoff. Congress must reclaim its legislative power and restore America’s system of checks and balances.

The first words of the Constitution’s first article are clear: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States.” The founders wanted neither the executive nor judicial branches to do the work of writing laws, focusing instead on their respective (and equally nontransferable) duties of enforcing and interpreting the law. Yet the founders didn’t foresee the rise of the federal bureaucracy to which Congress has granted vast legislative powers over the past 140 years — the Constitution notwithstanding.

...The Supreme Court’s ruling against Chevron deference, while important, doesn’t restore Congress’ rightful role as the author of America’s laws, including the regulations that have the force of law. Fortunately, Congress can effectively restore constitutional government — simultaneously protecting freedom and fiscal sanity — by passing a law that requires congressional approval of costly regulations before they go into effect.

Congress took a baby step in that direction by passing the Congressional Review Act in 1996. That law allows the House and the Senate to pass a joint resolution that repeals a regulation within 60 days of its realization. But the resolution must then be signed by the president, and if the president vetoes it, the original regulation remains in effect. That’s constitutionally backward. If a regulation can’t pass Congress, then it should never have the force of law, regardless of what the president thinks.

...But ultimately, the REINS Act is about restoring the checks and balances that are an essential bulwark of Americans’ freedom. The Supreme Court just began reining in the federal bureaucracy. Now Congress needs to restore true constitutional government...

READ ENTIRE WASHINGTON TIMES POST

An Uphill Battle Against Wildlife Trafficking Continues 6 Jul 2024 5:47 PM (last year)

Wildlife trafficking, defined as the illegal trapping and/or poaching of wildlife for consumer trade, is second only to habitat loss as one of the largest modern threats to wildlife. The criminal practice overwhelmingly targets elephants, large reptiles and coral, and has resulted in the extinction of rare species of plants, reptiles and fish. High extinction risk is common among species targeted by wildlife crime; of the 4,000 species worldwide that are currently poached for trafficking, 40 percent are already listed as threatened or near-threatened.

The trade also harms people, as many foreign animals can spread dangerous diseases to previously unexposed people and livestock. Impoverished peoples in the poached animals’ countries of origin are especially harmed by the industry, as the profiting criminal organizations often blackmail people with limited financial options into doing dangerous work for them.

Despite the harm wildlife trafficking has caused to wildlife and people, the industry has continued to expand over the last century, and now has an estimated annual value of roughly $23 billion. Thanks to practices such as trophy hunting, hoarding and exotic tourism gaining momentum over the years, the demand for poached wildlife goods has only increased...more

Jackal vs Coyote: Key Differences & Who Would Win in a Fight? 6 Jul 2024 11:23 AM (last year)

Although they may look similar jackals and coyotes are actually two different animals, and they come from different parts of the world. Jackals primarily live in Africa and Asia. Coyotes live in parts of North America and Central America. What would happen if these two canine animals met and fought? We’re going to take a look at a hypothetical jackal vs coyote fight. Discover which of these diminutive dogs has what it takes to win this battle!..more

Shooting at Yellowstone National Park hotel leaves ranger injured, shooter dead 5 Jul 2024 1:05 PM (last year)

A shooting in Yellowstone National Park left one park ranger injured and the shooter dead, according to the National Park Service.

“There are no active threats to the public,” a park service spokesperson said in a statement to CNN following “a significant law enforcement incident.”

“Rangers responded to a report of an individual with a firearm who was making threats,” the statement said. “When rangers contacted the individual there was an exchange of gunfire between the subject and law enforcement rangers.”

The shooter died and their identity is not being released at this time, park service officials said. The ranger was reported to be in stable condition after being flown to a nearby regional hospital...more

From ranches to rodeos: Aspen’s deep-rooted cowboy tradition 5 Jul 2024 12:13 AM (last year)

Ever since a little show called “Yellowstone” premiered in 2018, a pop-culture obsession with all things Western has been growing. From television and film to music and fashion, the American Cowboy aesthetic and lifestyle has captured our collective imagination once again.

While sights of cowboy hats, boots, big belt buckles, and other Western wear have become de rigueur in Aspen, ranching and cowboy culture are much more than a fashion statement; they are an integral part of the community, with a deep history running through the Roaring Fork Valley.

...Before Aspen garnered its reputation for designer stores and its great arts scene — and, yes, even before skiing attracted visitors worldwide — families lived in harmony with the land. They supported their community through ranching, a lifestyle passed down through generations.

While most of Aspen’s economy revolved around mining when early white settlers arrived in the valley, ranching began to take hold in the 1880s due to the Homestead Act, which allowed hard workers to move west and pick out 160 acres of land to work for five years, after which time they could claim ownership.

...As families named Vanguer, Gerbaz, Stapleton, Christiansen, and others settled in the valley, the bust of the silver mining economy after the repeal of the Sherman Silver Act of 1893 put the onus of keeping Aspen afloat on farmers and ranchers. These families sustained life here during what became known as the Quiet Years, from 1900 to the 1940s, between the silver mining boom and the arrival of the founders of modern-day Aspen and the ski industry.

Before skiing became synonymous with Aspen, another local pastime captivated people in the Roaring Fork Valley: rodeos...more

...

THE WESTERNER View RSS