SARL Members and Alumni

The Montana Senate on Wednesday advanced a bill to limit where drones can fly, after a lengthy debate on whether the legislation would actually protect property rights.Senate Bill 170, carried by Sen. Steve Hinebauch, R-Wibaux, would establish a civil penalty if a person flies a drone over private property below 500 feet. It also would change the minimum fine from $500 to $2,500 if a drone flew over a critical infrastructure facility.The bill would require drones to follow public roads and land, unless the user had permission to fly over private property.  [node:read-more:link]

A state House committee has unanimously endorsed an idea to take a close look into how Georgia lawmakers could help struggling rural communities. “I want this council to look at the big picture and recommend legislative actions that can empower our rural areas,” said House Speaker David Ralston, explaining House Resolution 389 to a House committee on Tuesday. The legislation would create the House Rural Development Council, a group of 15 lawmakers to be appointed by Ralston.

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With more and more farmers interested in protecting and improving local water quality, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today reminded producers of a tax credit program that can help them develop plans and install measures that reduce nutrient and sediment runoff. Farmers can use Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program tax credits to help offset the cost of writing conservation plans and nutrient management plans, purchasing conservation equipment, and implementing best management practices (BMPs) for their operations. [node:read-more:link]

Oregon’s anticipated budget shortfall has prompted lawmakers to consider limiting tax credits for processing livestock manure into energy in biodigesters. Biodigesters break down manure, releasing methane gas which is used to generate electricity. The remaining solids have many uses. They are expensive, and farmers have used the tax credits to offset the costs. Under House Bill 2853, tax credits would only be available for manure processed in biodigesters that were operational before the end of 2016. [node:read-more:link]

Wildfires across the country had consumed more than 1 million acres, taking at least 7 lives. The Oklahoma Forestry Service told CNN the fires burned 400,000 acres, and prompted Gov. Mary Fallin to declare a state of emergency for 22 counties.Officials in four other states said that 400,000 acres were destroyed in Kansas, 325,000 in the Texas Panhandle and 30,000 in Colorado -- not to mention the 6,000 acres burning in the Florida swamps near Naples that resulted in mandatory evacuations. [node:read-more:link]

Destructive wildfires broke out in the Plains on Monday and grew quickly in size, forcing thousands to evacuate and contributing to the deaths of six people.  The fires were fanned by strong winds on the western side of the same storm system that spawned an outbreak of severe storms in the Midwest. [node:read-more:link]

Jesse Bounds thought the worst was over after a fire destroyed two barns, his machinery and $500,000 worth of straw last summer. In all, it was a loss of about $1 million. Then he tried to rebuild, and found his troubles had only begun. He dealt with the insurance company and got the necessary county building permits. But then a neighbor complained, and Bounds was told by the Oregon Department of State Lands that the 12 acres that had been farmed for years was actually a wetlands — a wetlands that didn’t appear on the State Wetland Inventory and had gone unnoticed. [node:read-more:link]

Legislation to shield Washington wildlife managers and ranchers from death threats also could bar the public from learning where wolves are attacking livestock and what steps are being taken to prevent depredations. The House State Government Committee has unanimously endorsed withholding public records that name ranchers who report and state employees who respond to depredations. House Bill 1465 also would bar releasing “any information regarding the location of the depredation” that “reasonably could be used” to identify any person. [node:read-more:link]

The S.C. House voted 97-18 Wednesday to increase the state’s gas tax and other driving fees to raise about $600 million a year to repair the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.  Under the plan, the state’s gas tax would increase by 2 cents a gallon each year for the next five years. When fully phased in, the 10-cent-a-gallon increase would cost the average S.C. driver $60 a year.  The state Department of Transportation estimates it needs an added $1 billion a year to repair and maintain S.C. [node:read-more:link]

Hawaii locavores are pushing for more options, including the sale of raw milk.  Currently, raw milk is legal in 42 states in some form or another.  Hawaii law prohibits the sale of it, but advocates like Monique Vanderstroom, owner of Naked Cow Dairy Farm in Waianae, say it's long over due. "There's enough people here that want it," she said. "Anytime we can produce our own food here, I think it adds to the sustainability of the islands  as a whole." Vanderstroom said when she first opened her farm in 2008, she wanted to sell milk. [node:read-more:link]