SARL Members and Alumni

The state of Washington could spend nearly $1 million over the next two years on nonlethal ways to prevent wolves from killing livestock in the northeastern corner of the state. The bill has already passed the state House, and received approval from a key Senate committee Tuesday. It would direct the Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop different management plans for wolves in different regions of the state, with more support in areas where they are rapidly multiplying. [node:read-more:link]

Rural Alabama will soon have a new dedicated specialist to lead the charge on economic development. The Alabama Department of Commerce is gearing up to name a rural development manager in its Business Development Division to help rural communities and counties better prepare for projects.The division includes 10 other staff members, two of whom focus on attracting investments from Europe and Asia.   [node:read-more:link]

The federal government sued California on over a water policy it said violates the state's environmental protection law. The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit in Sacramento federal court to block a contentious plan approved in December to increase river flows in the San Joaquin River and three tributaries to help revive dwindling salmon populations. It was part of a larger effort to protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which state officials called an "ecosystem in crisis." The delta supplies water for the majority of California's people and farms. [node:read-more:link]

Wisconsin groups and individuals have launched a grassroots push to urge Gov. Tony Evers and the Legislature to combat chronic wasting disease.Called the CWD Action Initiative, the effort is focused on protecting the health of Wisconsin’s wild deer and elk populations.  The drive was publicly unveiled in recent days. [node:read-more:link]

The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging a new law signed by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem aimed at potential protests against the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline. The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of groups and individuals planning to protest the pipeline or encourage others to do so.Noem signed the act on Wednesday that allows officials to pursue money from demonstrators who encourage violence. [node:read-more:link]

According to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, stored grain damaged by floodwaters cannot be sold or fed, meaning a direct loss for most farmers. Some individual insurance policies may cover part of the loss. Good grain sitting more than 1 foot above the flood line can be fed and sold with specific case-by-case FDA approval. Farmers are to contact their local Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the best way to dispose of damaged grain in their area.Flood damage across the Midwest is expected to top $3 billion, with ag losses in Iowa alone estimated at $214 million. [node:read-more:link]

The Ohio Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday that would allow people to grow industrial hemp and have cannabidiol, or CBD, products. Technically, Senate Bill 57 would decriminalize hemp and hemp products by excluding them from the definition of marijuana that is used to enforce drug laws. Practically, the bill would allow for the growth, processing, sale and research of the plant. [node:read-more:link]

Confined animal feeding operations and other farming operations in the Raccoon River watershed in west-central Iowa would be required to implement numerical nutrient runoff standards, the state would have to implement a plan to restore the watershed, and CAFO construction or expansion would be halted if a lawsuit filed in a district court in Polk County this week is successful. The lawsuit was filed by environmental groups Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Food and Water Watch. Nutrients runoff in Iowa has been the center of heated debate and legal action for the past decade. [node:read-more:link]

In a special election Tuesday, voters in Toledo said yes to a ballot measure that amends the city charter to include a Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR). With about 8.9 percent turnout of eligible voters, the ordinance was approved by just over 61 percent. According to the unofficial vote count from the Lucas County Board of Elections, over 16,200 ballots were cast. The vote is a victory for Toledoans for Safe Water, a grassroots organization that, for months, collected signatures, campaigned, and fought in the Ohio Supreme Court to get the issue on Tuesday’s special election ballot. [node:read-more:link]

Josh Link, a Pennsylvania native, found his home in Alaska's veterinary community. Link will be one of the first to graduate from a 2+2 program that connects the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in May. He plans to return to Fairbanks as a general practitioner. "I joke that one of my professors gave me a sled dog and that was the bait, and I took it," Link said. [node:read-more:link]