Massey Energy boss mixes it up with national and local reporters for two and a half hours

Don Blankenship, whose tenure as CEO of Massey Energy has been marked by contentious relations with the news media, spent two and a half hours with an invited group of national and local journalists yesterday in an effort to make the case that the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration could share responsibility for the April explosion that killed 29 miners at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia.

"Despite dozens of wide-ranging questions, Blankenship kept returning to several central themes: news stories about the coal mining giant unfairly suggest blame; reporters should focus more attention on the failures of federal regulators; and those regulators are keeping Massey from operating safely and determining the true cause of the massive explosion," which Massey argues was caused by an inpredictable infusion of natural gas through the mine floor, Howard Berkes reports for National Public Radio. (Berkes photo)

Blankenship said at the outset that he might turn the tables and ask questions of reporters, and "During persistent and probing questioning from Ken Ward of the Charleston Gazette [left, 2005 photo], Blankenship fired back," Berkes reports:

"What do you think happened, Ken?" Blankenship asked.
Ward considered an answer for a moment, and then responded, "I might be able to answer if you would provide the documents I've been seeking [from Massey]."
Blankenship said he wasn't sure he could turn over the documents, which further describe the discussions between MSHA and Massey over natural gas infusions.

For Ward's reports on the encounter, click here.

Feds warn 13 underground coal mines they are facing shutdown if they don't become safer

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has notified 13 underground coal mines that they have a pattern of safety violations that could lead to them beign closed if they don't shape up. "No mine has ever been placed on pattern of violation status, but MSHA has moved to beef up that process in the wake of an April explosion that killed 29 miners at a West Virginia mine," Bill Estep reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

"That mine, the Upper Big Branch operation owned by Massey Energy, met the criteria to be the 14th on the list of potential pattern violators, but MSHA postponed action on that because it is still investigating the deadly explosion, according to a news release," Estep writes. A list of the 13 mines, in PDF form, is here. One of them, a Massey mine in Pike County, Kentucky, recently became the target of asn MSHA lawsuit seeking a shutdown for repeated violations. The list has three others in Kentucky and West Virginia, two in Tennessee and one each in Alabama, Illinois, Montana and Nevada. For MSHA's Excel spreadsheet with details on each mine, click here.

In their release, MSHA and Department of Labor officials sounded a tough tone. Joe Main, a former United Mine Workers official who runs MSHA as assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, said of special "impact" imnspections of repeat violators, "This screening represents a positive step forward, but it won't be the only step. . . . Once MSHA completes a thorough auditing, there may be more mines put on notice for a potential POV."

The special inspection process has used tougher tactics, such as taking control of mine phones so workers at the office can't warn foremen that inspectors are on the way down, Estep reports, noting that was done in the case of a Kentucky mine that is under a federal court order not to warn about inspections. (Read more)

We're in Farm-City Week, folks!

Nov. 19-25 is Farm-City Week. President Obama, issuing a proclamation yesterday, sounded an optimistic tone:

The connection between rural industries and urban markets is stronger than ever, and Americans across the country are finding ways to participate in and celebrate the importance of agriculture and related industries.  Rising interest in local and regional food highlights farmers' contributions in connecting urban, suburban, and rural areas.  American children are learning about the origins of our food and healthy food options by visiting farms, learning from hard-working farmers and ranchers, and trying their hand at agriculture through networks of school gardens and farm to school programs.  Thanks to their constant enterprise and innovation, rural communities are building new domestic and international markets for their high quality food, fuel, and fiber products.  As our agricultural industries continue to feed individuals at home and around the globe, we must help ensure robust and vibrant rural communities to support them.

The annual observation, which begins the Friday before Thanksgiving and ends on the holiday, is a project of the National Farm-City Council, which has a list of state farm-city organizations here.

Senate sends House bill to give black farmers $1.15 billion, Native Americans $3.4 billion

"The U.S. Senate gave its approval today to major settlements involving American Indians and black farmers," David Ingram reports for the National Law Journal. "Senators approved the legislation without a formal vote, sending it to the House of Representatives for a potentially final vote." UPDATE, Nov. 30: The House sent the bill to President Obama on a 256-152 vote. "Sixteen Republicans joined 240 Democrats in support of the measure, while three Democrats and 149 Republicans voted against it," reports Patrick Reis of Environment and Energy News (subscription required).

The bill "appropriates $1.15 billion for a settlement with black farmers, including named plaintiff Timothy Pigford, who were denied the full benefits" of federal farm programs, Ingram writes. The money would come from "a surplus in a fund for nutrition programs and by extending customs user fees." UPDATE, Nov. 25: Some House Republicans, alleging fraud, vow to fight the payments.

The Native Americans' suit faulted accounting of royalties for mining and drilling on tribal lands. "Debate over the settlements had drawn out for months over how to pay for them and over how much of the $3.4 billion settlements should go to the plaintiffs’ lawyers," Ingram reports. The legislation would leave the fees up to the judge in the case. (Read more)

EPA says its decision on 15 percent ethanol for 2001-06 models won't come until next year

The Environmental Protection Agency announced this afternoon that it would delay until next year a decision on whether to allow 15 percent ethanol fuel in cars made in model years 2001 through 2006. EPA said the Energy Department would not complete testing on vehicles until the end of the year.

Last month, EPA allowed a blemd of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent unleaded gasoline in cars and light trucks made in model year 2007 or later. The move, "which has already sparked challenges from the petroleum, farm and food industry groups, marked the first change in the fuel standard since EPA approved 10 percent ethanol in the 1970s," notes Alison Winter of Environment & Energy News. "The change in the fuel-blend standard was spurred by an industry group, Growth Energy, which petitioned for the waiver last year in a bid to expand the ethanol market. Without E15, the group said, the ethanol industry would hit a wall as companies produced more of the corn-based fuel than the market could use." (Read more, subscription required)

Genealogy teaches rural towns as well as families

Julie Ardery of the Daily Yonder studies a special kind of rural resident who studies the past. Genealogists are committed to not only saving family histories, but also to detailing the history of their communities. (Bill Bishop photo: Family scrapbook of Lucille Skarpa Rohan)

In Fayette County, Texas, a cluster of families share a Czechoslovakian heritage that is being slowly uncovered by T.J. Slansky. In Middlesboro, Ky., Marsha Bratton is piecing together the history of the Cumberland Gap, "where many pioneers (including Daniel Boone) ventured through the Appalachian Mountains." Tina Martinson Ordone, now living in Rayne, Louisiana, has created a world-class genealogical website for Stephentown, New York, where five generations of her mother’s family lived, writes Ardery.

Ordone said, "Genealogical research tends to bring small communities together, in that the discovery of mutual ties will bond people." She said that the Stephentown Historical Society has saved an abandoned Methodist Episcopal church (c. 1870), which now holds its library, and has restored several old cemeteries in the region. Marsha Bratton, of Middlesboro, believes genealogy brings history to life for children. She advises parents, "If you know that your great-great-great grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, tell your children that." As Ardery adds, "Without rural genealogy expertise and local centers for its dissemination,  those 'family connections' will likely become more and more tenuous as time passes." (Read more)

Iowa now fourth state with pseudoephedrine tracking system to fight meth labs

On Sept. 1, Iowa joined a growing group of states using computer databases to track pseudoephedrine purchases. State officials say Iowa pharmacies have blocked thousands of purchases of the drug, which is the key ingredient in methamphetamine production, since the system went into effect, Tony Lews of the Des Moines Register reports. Kentucky, Louisiana and Illinois also track pseudoephedrine purchases, with Missouri, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Kansas and Washington working on development of similar systems.

The Iowa system "alerts pharmacists whenever someone tries to purchase the cold medicine after buying his or her daily or monthly limit elsewhere," Lews writes. "It also gives police a way to check whether suspected meth-makers have been buying large amounts of the ingredient." Gary Kendell, Iowa's director of drug-control policy, told Lews the system sent about 3,000 alerts for improper purchases to pharmacists in the past month while about 70,000 purchases were approved during the same period. Pharmacists aren't required to deny purchases based on a system alert, but they usually do, Kendell said.

Kevin Winker, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, told Lews his officers don't need subpoenas to search the system but are required to complete special training to use it. Randall Wilson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, called for a court order to authorize such searches so citizens won't have "law officers root(ing) through their medical affairs without a specific reason to suspect them of wrongdoing," Lews writes. "We don't need to be making criminals out of hypochondriacs," Wilson told Lews. (Read more)

Despite adoption of the system in Kentucky, doctors and some law-enforcement agencies in the state want a law requiring prescriptions for pseudoephedrine. The Appalachian area served by Operation UNITE was the pilot for the Kentucky program, but UNITE’s law-enforcement director says he has come to favor a prescription laws because the reporting system can be gamed by multiple purchasers paid by a meth producer, The Courier-Journal reports.

EPA releases draft guidelines for locating schools

Is your school district looking for a site for a new school? If so, new draft voluntary guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may be helpful in choosing a site with the lowest environmental threat. "EPA is offering tools to local officials and community residents looking to build schools that foster healthy, productive learning environments," EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a news release. "This guidance will help address the pressing environmental issues that parents, school boards and local residents often consider when making investments in their local schools. By offering guidance on long-term environmental and health concerns, it will also help local communities plan ahead and reduce the risk of costly changes down the road."

EPA says the draft guidelines are based on four principles:

• Safe and healthy school environments are integral components of the education process,
• School siting decisions should help increase the livability and sustainability of neighborhoods and communities,
• The process should consider the environmental health and safety of the entire community, including disadvantaged and under served populations
• The environmental review process should be rigorous, thorough, well documented and include substantive and ongoing public involvement.

The draft guidelines are available for public comment for 90 days. (Read more)

Kentucky, Maryland, Washington tell health insurers to resume selling children-only policies

Kentucky Insurance Commissioner Sharon Clark has ordered health insurers to resume sales of child-only policies effective Jan. 1, saying their refusal to offer such policies violated state law in that it unfairly discriminated against some children. Top insurance regulators in Washington state and Maryland have taken similar steps to force health insurers to offer the policies.

The nation’s health insurers stopped selling new child-only plans in advance of the federal health reform law's Sept. 23 deadline requiring them to disregard pre-existing medical conditions on policies for children under the age of 19. Previously, insurers could refuse coverage for sick children.

Insurers have argued that companies that choose to offer the policies will have to assume the cost burden of covering a disproportionate share of sick children. Also, they argue, if a child cannot be turned down for coverage, some parents will delay buying coverage. For a story from The Courier-Journal of Louisville, click here.

Robert Penn Warren, Pulitzer winner for fiction and poetry, finally gets an Interstate sign

"It was huge news in the small town of Guthrie, Kentucky, on Thursday when the governors of Tennessee and Kentucky unveiled new highway signs directing motorists to the Robert Penn Warren Birthplace and Museum," Tim Ghianni reports for Reuters, a worldwide wire service. "Many motorists traveling on Interstate Highway 24 passed within a few miles of the hardscrabble town across the state line, which was an old railroad and stagecoach stop, without being aware of its museum." (1986 photo)

Warren, America's first poet laureate and the only person to win Pulitzer prizes for fiction (All the King's Men) and poetry (twice), was born in Guthrie, "but grew up with a foot firmly in each state," going to high school in Clarksville, Tenn., and Vanderbilt University in Nashville. "Warren left a lasting impression on American culture and literature and I certainly hope more people visit the museum to learn about his life and work," said Gerald Nicely, Tennessee's appointed deputy governor and transportation commissioner. (Does any other state besides Illinois have a deputy governor?)

From left in front of one of the exit-ramp signs are Todd County (Ky.) Judge-Executive Arthur Green, Guthrie Mayor Scott Marshall, Nicely, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and Kentucky state Rep. Martha Jane King.

Ky. power co-op drops plans for coal-fired plant

East Kentucky Power Cooperative has agreed to drop its plans for a coal-fired power plant and will work with environmental groups to consider energy-efficiency programs to stem rising demand for electricity, writes Scott Sloan for the Lexington Herald-Leader. In exchange for EKPC's abandonment of the plant, the groups have agreed to drop lawsuits filed against the company in recent years.

"This settlement is a win-win" for co-op members and other Kentuckians, said Elizabeth Crowe, executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. Tony Campbell, the cooperative's CEO, said in a statement, "This is a prudent business decision based on the conditions that exist today and our projections of future conditions. ... Our analysis indicates that proceeding with construction of Smith Unit No. 1 at this time is not in the best interests of our cooperative or our members."

The over half-million customer-members of EKPC's distribution cooperatives may have to pay for what has already been built of the plant, completion of which the co-op estimated would cost $819 million. The cooperative had already spent $150 million on steel and other materials and will ask the Kentucky Public Service Commission for permission to raise rates to recover those costs. (Read more)

UPDATE, Nov. 26: One of EKPC's member co-ops, Shelby Energy, "continues to draw the ire of several long-time customers who primarily are concerned with the company’s board of directors and how it functions," reports Todd Martin of The Sentinel-News in Shelbyville, noting that Shelby's representative is chairman of the EKPC board. (Read more)

Livestock broker leaves cattlemen empty-handed

An Indiana livestock brokerage is under federal investigation after issuing millions of dollars in worthless checks for cattle on the market earlier this month. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Eastern Livestock Co. wrote at least $81 million in worthless checks to cattle producers around the country between Nov. 3 and Nov. 9," Harold J. Adams of the Courier-Journal reports. "The agency said it is working with the Justice Department to investigate the situation."

Last week Cincinnati-based Fifth-Third Bank froze the New Albany, Ind., company's accounts and filed a legal complaint that accused the company of stealing at least $13 million from the bank "in a sophisticated check-kiting scheme." The bank also claims Eastern defaulted on a $32.5 million loan that was due last month, Adams writes. Eastern did not respond to telephone messages left by the Courier-Journal, and Fifth-Third declined to comment, citing the pending legal action.

The situation has left some cattlemen empty-handed, Adams writes. "While unknown to most people outside of the industry, Eastern 'is one of the largest cattle brokerage companies in the United States,' according to a USDA spokesman," Adams writes. "The company buys and sells cattle in all 48 contiguous states through operations in 11 states, from the mid-South to the West." The Kentucky Cattlemen's Association reports about 200 Kentucky producers sold cattle to Eastern during the affected period. (Read more)

China's fast-developing technology and American research could pave path for coal and climate

While eliminating or reducing use of coal is often called the key in combating global warming, using the fuel in more sustainable ways may be the only option for combating climate change before it produces irreversible cataclysm. To foster development of clean-coal technology, the United States needs to turn to China for its considerable resources in the industry, James Fallows of The Atlantic writes. "For the coal industry, the term 'clean coal' is an advertising slogan; for many in the environmental movement, it is an insulting oxymoron," Fallows writes. "But two ideas that underlie the term are taken with complete seriousness by businesses, scientists, and government officials in China and America, and are the basis of the most extensive cooperation now under way between the countries on climate issues."

There is no plausible way to meet the global energy demand without using coal, Fallows argues, so countries should try to decrease its environmental impact as much as possible. Fallows provides a thorough examination of the basics of climate change science before concluding coal's role in it will need to be addressed because of dependence on the fuel. "It is very hard to go around the world and think you can make any difference in carbon-loading the atmosphere without some plan for how people can continue to use coal," Julio Friedmann of Lawrence Livermore Laboratories said. "It is by far the most prevalent and efficient way to generate electricity. People are going to use it. There is no story of climate progress without a story for coal."

Reducing coal emissions centers on two different approaches: capturing carbon dioxide before it can escape into the air and reducing the carbon dioxide that coal produces when burned. Under either approach carbon dioxide must be sequestered after it is removed from coal. "In the search for 'progress on coal,' like other forms of energy research and development, China is now the Google, the Intel, the General Motors and Ford of their heyday—the place where the doing occurs, and thus the learning by doing as well," Fallows writes.

"They [the Chinese] are doing so much so fast that their learning curve is at an inflection that simply could not be matched in the United States," David Mohler of Duke Energy told Fallows. Any challenges to the Chinese system "make the threats facing America look trivial by comparison," Fallows writes. "But its response to the energy challenge — including its commitment to dealing with the dirty, unavoidable reality of coal — reveals a seriousness about facing big problems that America now appears to lack." (Read more)

House Democrats hold one last climate hearing before Republican takeover

The U.S. House of Representatives welcomed climate scientists to Capitol Hill for one last climate change hearing before Republicans gain control of the House. "Republican Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas, in line to take the committee gavel next year, wasted no time in declaring that 'reasonable people have serious questions about our knowledge of the state of the science, the evidence and what constitutes a proportional response,'" Lauren Morello of Environment & Energy News reports. Democrats described the event as a "rational discussion."

The hearing amounted to little more than "Climate Science 101" as climate skeptics invited by Republicans sparred with the climate scientists, Morello writes. "The science is very clear," Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Pennsylvania State University, told Morello. "The science says the ice is melting -- almost everywhere, and almost all of it -- consistent with warming. ... We see ice shrinking because it's getting warming, and when you estimate warming by looking at how much the ice is shrinking, it agrees with the thermometers."

South Carolina Republican Representative Bob Inglis did not mince words in his predictions of what a Republican-controlled House will mean for climate science. "I encourage the scientists that are listening out there to get ready for the hearings that are coming up in the next Congress," he said. "Those will be difficult hearings for climate scientists. But I would encourage you to welcome those as fabulous opportunities to teach. Don't come here defensively. Say, 'I'm glad to have an opportunity to explain the science.'" (Read more, subscription required)

U.S. plywood producer promises to protect forests

The nation's largest plywood producer announced it will no longer buy timber from environmentally sensitive areas. "Georgia-Pacific, which makes wood and fiber products, announced the plan with three environmental groups," Ray Henry of The Associated Press reports. "Activists said the company's new policy goes a step beyond conservation policies set by other firms by using a scoring system backed by satellite and other mapping technologies to identify protected forests." Georgia-Pacific will also discourage landowners from clearing hardwood forests under the new policy.

"The policy is a product of seven years of discussions started when the Rainforest Action Network pressured major Georgia-Pacific customers — including Home Depot and Lowe's — over their wood supply," Henry writes. The policy is nonbinding, meaning Georgia-Pacific faces only embarrassment if it fails to comply. "We continue to believe it is possible to operate in a way that is environmentally responsible and also economically sound," said Jim Hannan, Georgia-Pacific's CEO and president. "This policy also gives us the opportunity to address issues of increasing interest to our customers and to consumers."

Under the policy, "Georgia-Pacific will not buy pine fiber from lands that were formerly natural hardwood forests and were cleared after July 2008 to plant pine plantations, a process called conversion," Henry writes. The policy also labels "some areas 'endangered forests' and 'special areas' that Georgia-Pacific has agreed will be off-limits," Henry writes. Georgia-Pacific will determining what areas qualify for special designation using a scoring system that takes into account concentrations of rare and endangered species, rare forest types, roadless areas and places already afforded government protection. (Read more)

Health-insurance deductibles spike; rural workers seem less inclined to choose that course

According to a survey of employers by the Mercer consulting firm, reported in The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog, the average deductible for preferred provider organizations (PPOs), the most common health insurance plan in the United States, has increased $430 since 2005, from $770 to $1,200. The finding is based on a survey of 2,836 employers with 10 or more employees.

The largest employers in the survey, those with more than 20,000 workers, were more likely than medium or small businesses to report increased enrollment in plans with high deductibles tied to health savings accounts. On average, these plans save employers about $2,000 a year per employee, as out-of-pocket deductible and co-insurance costs are shifted to workers and their families. Based on these findings, rural workers, who are far more likely to be employed by smaller firms and earn lower wages, appear less inclined to opt for the potentially high cost of these plans.

Overall, these findings suggest a return to the pre-reform pace of cost increases for health insurance. Health benefit costs rose a reported 6.9 percent in 2010 compared to 5.5 percent in 2009. Nevertheless, an earlier Mercer survey found that employers attributed 2 percentage points of an anticipated 5.9 percent cost increase next year to the provisions of the new health reform law. Mercer is a global firm that specializes in, among other things, acquisitions and mergers, outsourcing, and the management of benefit costs.

Corps changing methods for fixing leaky dam

Methods for repairing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' most closely monitored dam have been changed, probably delaying the project and the return to normal level of Lake Cumberland, which normally has the largest volume of water impounded in the Eastern United States. Wolf Creek Dam is on the Cumberland River in Southern Kentucky.

French and Italian contractors for the Corps are installing a concrete curtain in the earthen portion of the dam to stop leaks caused by the erosion of underlying karst limestone. Work was stopped late last winter when movement was detected in the earthen portion near the concrete portion. In September, the Corps said work would resume soon, but today The Times Journal of nearby Russell Springs reports that the Corps has changed its construction techniques in the troublesome area, which will require a new contract, new equipment and probably more time and money.

"A six-month study showed the movements were not the result of deep-seated sliding of the embankment, but rather shallow movements attributed to several other causes. . . . The Corps will negotiate contract modifications over the next few months, officials said. The contractor will begin to procure the necessary equipment and casing which will be fabricated and mobilized to the site over a period of five to eight months," The Times Journal reports. For more background, go here.

Bleak predictions highlight timberland conference

The 8th IQPC Timberland Investment World Summit was marked by pessimistic forecasts for the future of forest products and timberland prices. "The most optimistic sense of the future came from Remsoft, a software-development company in New Brunswick that works with natural resource industries, particularly timber," Curtis Seltzer reports for LandThink. "Their take on the next 10 years was that things would 'revert to the trend,' which is price appreciation in products, broadly speaking."

Peter Barynin, principal timber economist at RISI, the global timber information company, was less optimistic, describing he outlook for forest-product demand as "anemic," with price gains "difficult." Barynin "believes that the U.S. is 'emerging as the timber basket to the world,'" Seltzer writes. "The very fact of unused milling capacity and excess timber supply in this country should, however, keep timber prices flat for the next couple of years." Joel Shapiro, head of Atlanta-based Timbervest, LLC, which manages about 825,000 acres in the U.S., had an even bleaker view, predicting timberland prices coming down with "some [bare] dirt values dropping in half over the last few months."

The market for U.S. forest products is high-risk because of "'unprecedented' developments in the U.S. housing cycle, questions about stability in both the U.S. and Europe, currency questions and whether Russia’s vast supply of stumpage will start filling a significant space in global demand," Barynin said. Seltzer notes, "I’m not sure timberland sellers will do better tomorrow than they can do today. And if the glut of foreclosed homes keeps growing and depressing starts, they may do even worse." (Read more)

Local food and small farm advocates stand in way of food-safety bill

The food-safety bill before Congress has come under fire from local food advocates, who say it could hurt small farms. "The opposition of these 'locavores' — advocates for buying food directly from the farm or closer to home — and owners of small farms has become a sticking point in the Senate, which was to vote Wednesday on whether to consider the bill," The Associated Press reports. "Opponents say it could bankrupt some small farms that don't have the means to comply with new standards the bill would impose."

Standards could include registering food safety plans with the FDA and documenting efforts to show food is not contaminated as it is produced. "It's going to put a nail in the coffin of our family food producers," said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who is planning an amendment to exempt some small farms who market food close to their operations. Tester told AP  that many small farms already comply with state and local regulations to keep food safe.

Food safety advocates say Tester's concerns are overblown and efforts to broadly exempt smaller farms could be misguided. "They argue that the legislation, which would give the FDA more authority to recall tainted products, increase inspections of food processors and require producers to follow stricter standards for keeping food safe, is crucial in the wake of outbreaks of contaminated peanuts, eggs and produce that have sickened hundreds," AP writes. (Read more)

Mule deer poaching a problem in Oregon

As the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife surveyed the state's population of mule deer, the researchers discovered a "shocking level of poaching" in Central Oregon. Michelle Dennehy, a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson, told Richard Cockle, of The Oregonian, "If we look at the illegal take, it's basically equal to the legal take -- it's bad." (Photo by Nick Myatt, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)

Oregon's population of mule deer has fallen to 216,000 from its highest number, 300,000. The survey also revealed that poachers tend to take female deer, which slows building the herd. The mule deer population is not only killed off by poaching, but it is also threatened by black bears, cougars and grey wolves which are predators to the mule deer. Reduced habitat also threatens mule deer in the region.

Poachers are motivated by several factors: eager to get a jump on the season, the cost of licenses, or money made off of the mounted heads of the deer which are sold for thousands of dollars. Poachers are notoriously difficult to catch, said Oregon State Police game officer Chris Hawkins. Poachers often work quickly -- within minutes after killing a deer, they move on, Hawkins said. "They take the backstrap and hindquarters and they're gone," he told Cockle, noting that scavengers strip the rest and scatter the bones within a week or two. As one poacher told Hawkins during a criminal case: "Some people do cocaine. Hunting is my drug." (Read more)