THE UNIVERSITY OF JARY KANSAN
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009
NEWS
3A
ACTIVISM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A helicopter pilot rounds up wild horses from the For & Lake Herd Management Area in Washoe County, Nev. Dozens of wild horse advocates plan to go before a federal advisory panel Monday to try to persuade public land managers to change their plan to relocate thousands of free-roaming mustangs from the West to preserve elsewhere.
Mustang advocates voice concern over government roundup plan
BY MARTIN GRIFFITH
Associated Press
SPARKS, Nev. — One of most stirring symbols of the American West — mustangs thundering freely across the range — could be heading east.
The government wants to carry out what is believed to be the biggest-ever roundup of wild horses on federal land, moving as many as 25,000 mustangs and burros to pastures in the Midwest and East out of fear their fast-multiplying numbers will lead to mass starvation.
The plan is facing heated opposition from advocates, including celebrities Sheryl Crow, Bill Maher and Ed Harris, who contend the proposal is itself inhumane and unnecessary. They say the situation is not as dire as the government has painted it.
"The Obama administration must craft a new policy that protects these animals and upholds the will of Congress and the public's desire to preserve this important part of our national heritage." said William Spriggs, lawyer for the group In Defense of Animals.
He and other advocates spoke out Monday at a hearing on the proposal, held by a federal advisory panel at a hotel-casino near Reno. The panel took no immediate action.
The government argues that the mustang population in 10 Western states is growing so rapidly that the horses are quickly running out of food, in part because of drought ravaging the region.
The federal Bureau of Land Management says the number of wild horses and burros on public
lands in the West stands at nearly 37,000, about half of them in Nevada. An additional 32,000 wild horses already live away from the range in federal run corrals and pastures, and those are nearly full.
"We are concerned about the numbers" Robin Lohse, chairwoman of the National Wild Horse and
Burro Advisory Board, said during the hearing. "Time is not on ourside"
The BLM said last year it would have to consider destroying wild horses because of their escalating numbers and the costs of caring for them. But ear-
"One of the first things he said was something must be done because the horses are starving. We don't believe it."
her this year, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the BLM, a part of the Interior Department, would instead ship 11,500 to 25,000 horses from the range to pastures and corrals in the Midwest and East.
The exact destinations have not been decided, but Salazar believes Plains states would make the most sense in terms of water and forage, said Don Glenn, chief of the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program. He said Salazar also wants at least one site in the East.
The relocation plan is part of a long-running feud over wild horses in the West, where mustangs have roamed ever since they arrived with Spanish settlers centuries ago.
SHERYL CROW Musician
Ranchers view wild horses as a menace to their grazing land and were allowed to kill them until 1971, when the practice was banned. The government has made numerous efforts of its own over the years to
control the population, including using a contraceptive vaccine. But capturing and injecting mares with the vaccine one at a time has proved costly and time-consuming.
In recent years, the government has rounded up and relocated wild horses to other lands in the West. Helicopters are used to drive the
mustangs toward cowboys with lassos. The cowboys then put the horses onto trucks.
The latest proposed roundup, however, would take the horses outside the West altogether.
The California-based Defense of Animals strongly opposes roundups.
arguing that the horses are an integral part of the ecosystem and that using helicopters can traumatize, injure or kill the animals.
The BLM spent about $50 million this year to feed, corral and otherwise manage the nation's wild horses, up from $36 million last year. Without contraception or other such measures, mustang herds can double in size about every four years, authorities say.
One of the most vocal wild-horse advocates is Grammy-winning singer Sheryl Crow, who has adopted a mustang herself and took her concerns directly to Salazar in a recent telephone call.
"One of the first things he said was something must be done because the horses are starving. We don't believe it," Crow said in an interview with The Associated Press.
WEATHER
Snowstorm hits Western states
BY FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press
The National Weather Service said the upper elevations of the Sierra mountains could get up to 3 feet of snow, with up to 4 feet forecast for the mountains of southern Utah. Even the hills east of San Francisco Bay received a rare dust overnight, and snow was predicted for Fresno and other communities in California's Central Valley.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A large and powerful storm howled across the West with snow and strong winds Monday, snarling traffic, closing schools and threatening to spawn mudslides in wildfire-devastated Southern California.
Virtually the entire region was suffering — from subzero wind chills in Washington state to heavy snow that closed schools and government offices in Reno, Nev., and left big rigs jackknifed across highways in several states. Blizzard warnings were in effect for northern
Reno schools closed, and many state government workers were told to stay home. Chains or snow tires were required across the region. Several flights into and out of Reno-Tahoe International Airport were delayed or canceled.
Arizona and parts of Colorado, with forecaster's predicting up to 2 feet of snow around Flagstaff.
Bad weather stretched far to the east as well. The first snow of the season for much of Indiana tangled traffic and delayed schools. Crashes left one person dead.
"Motorists are going to have to chain up." Trooper Chuck Allen with the Nevada Highway Patrol said. "Otherwise, we end up with a parking lot."
The storm was blamed for dozens of accidents and road closures in the Flagstaff area, including a small stretch of Interstate 17 near a scenic overlook where a UPS truck lost its trailer and slammed into a barrier wall.
ACADEMY
785.749.1488
"When it starts to get really cold, it makes it really hard for me to get up," Bessa said. "I don't miss any classes in the beginning of the semester, but once it gets colder I miss a lot of classes."
DISORDER (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Ihardi said the body was supposed to respond to stress within a matter of minutes or hours, but when stress lasts for weeks and months at a time, as it can toward the end of a semester, the body shuts down as if it's physically ill.
Brazilian climate.
VOTED BEST SALON TOP OF THE HILL, 2005-2008
"Anytime a student is dealing with depression, it can negatively impact their ability to study and deal with these situations," said Pam Botts, associate director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Watkins Health Center. "It can affect their ability to motivate themselves and to get things done."
ALL SERVICES PROVIDED BY STUDENTS UNDER SUPERVISION OF EXPERIENCED INSTRUCTORS
Iardi said 20 percent of all cases of clinical depression were caused by this seasonal onset pattern. He said light and a vitamin D deficiency were two of the main causes of SAD.
He said no matter how much time someone spends outside during the winter, there will not be sufficient vitamin D intake
because light on a summer day is 50 to 100 times brighter.
Ilardi also said people who had a genetic history of depression were more susceptible to SAD. The climate ones ancestors came from could also have an effect, he said.
"I don't ever feel like doing anything because it's so shitty
Despite options that could make the dreary weather more bearable, Bessa said she was just going to ignore the cold as long as possible.
"Anytime a student is dealing with depression, it can negatively impact their ability to study..."
As far as treat-
outside." Bessa said. "I'm getting a little more used to it, but I still don't like it."
Botts, however, said CAPS didn't offer light therapy because of the side effects it can have such as sleep interference and anxiousness. She said anti-depressants had close to the same success rate for treatment and suggested spending
For more information about the symptoms and treatment options for SAD, call Student Counseling and Psychological Services at Watkins Health Center at (785) 864-2277.
PAM BOTTIS
Associate director of
Counseling and
Psychological Services
ment for SAD is concerned, Ilarnt said he thought light therapy, exposure to wavelengths of light from a small "light box," was the best option.
"We need light to synthesize the vitamin D in our skin," he said. "The light sensors in the back of the eye that only respond to very bright light are stimulated by the light box and it triggers a big release of dopamine to makes us feel more perky and energetic."
time outside and taking walks, even if it's not as bright out as it is during summer.
Edited by Nick Gerik
THEATER (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
couple," he said.
Raylene Gutierrez, Topeka sophomore, saw the show on Sunday. She said she thought the show's goal was to spark discussion about the fast pace of today's society. She said that people get so wrapped up in projects that they forget about simple pleasures.
"The end lesson is 'pay attention to your kid,'" she said. "But in this day and age, everyone's too focused on getting things done and moving from one project to the next."
The final two performances of "Distracted" are tonight and Wednesday night at 7:30. Tickets are $15 for the public, $10 for
students and $14 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff. They are on sale at ticket offices in the University Theatre and the Lied Center, and online at kutheatre.com.
INTERNATIONAL
Edited by Abby Olcese
BY ALAN CLENDENNING
Associated Press
Thieves steal almost $6 million in heist
SAO PAULO — Thieves who spent months tunneling from a rented house to an armored car company's safe made off with nearly $6 million over the weekend, making their getaway as season-ending football matches virtually shut down Brazil, authorities said Monday.
The heist was discovered Sunday night — hours after the games ended. Officers followed the tunnel from the company's safe some 110 yards underground to a house, Sao Paulo police said in a statement.
Police said the home, aban
doned when they arrived, had been occupied for about four months. It$^\textcircled{1}$ former occupants were considered suspects, but there were no immediate arrests.
Officials with the armored car company — Transnacional Transporte de Valores e Seguranca Patrimonial Ltda — told officers that $5.9 million were missing, according to the statement.
Globo TV's G1 Web site reported that electricity was cut off to the company's office and some security cameras were not on when the theft happened, but authorities did not immediately confirm that.
The heist occurred on the last weekend of the football season, when the league championship and relegation matches had people nationwide glued to their televisions.
A security guard at the building heard a loud noise about 5 p.m. Sunday as the most important game was under way, but figured it was from fireworks that sports fans had been setting off throughout the afternoon, the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported.
Firefighters who inspected the tunnel Monday said it was about a yard high and a yard wide, G1 reported.