05/03/07 Officially Delisted & Hantavirus

Officially Delisted & Hantavirus plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. This past Monday marked the official de-listing of the Yellowstone grizzly bear from the endangered species list. The bears will now be managed under a "conservation strategy" which is approved by state agencies in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The de-listing does not affect other grizzly populations. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is pleased with the announcement. CRAPO: Yes I'm very pleased to see the delisting of the grizzlies become official. As you know that was an issue from the outset that I felt the states should have much more involvement and much more authority. Now we are going to see that become the case and also I think it's significant because it's a victory under the endangered species act even though it was a very hard fought victory it never the less is one in which we have been able to move through the process and get one more species to the point where it can be delisted. A man in rural Multnomah County Oregon is the states 9th reported case of hantavirus. The hantavirus is contacted through contact with the excrement of deer mice. Symptoms are very much like a case of the flu but can escalate into severe respiratory distress requiring hospitalization. Christopher Wirth, manager of Multnomah County Vector and Code Enforcement urges care when working in areas like barns and out-buildings where the deer mice make their homes. WIRTH: You always want to try to take some prevention to try and protect yourself. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. What is it about life out West that compels individuals from Teddy Roosevelt to 21'st century explorer, Josh Bernstein host of Digging for the Truth to leave the comforts of the East and test their meddle in our elements. Will this place responsible for transforming so many lives continue to physically exist or will the West become a metaphor. It might seem that the Western half of the US is but a glorified subdivision strewn with Mc Mansions from Montana to Mexico, with enough covenants, off road restrictions, fencing, grazing regulations, and river rights to make a true buck-a roo hang up his spurs. Yet there are some, like horse trainer Gwynn Turnbull Weaver that scoff at the idea the west no longer exists. In a recent article for Western Horsemen she states confidently that while many say the West is breaking up, "a few fence lines, a few laws and a few trends can't defeat the great American West. The West is a state of mind. What's big about the West is what it does to a person's heart. That's what can't be divided. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.