Category Archives: National Government

Williams looses Williams

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300-m-williamsWILLIAMS — Kaibab National Forest Supervisor Mike Williams has accepted a position in the Pacific Northwest Region of the USDA Forest Service after serving in his current role since 2001. Williams was recently announced as the Forest Supervisor for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, headquartered in Wenatchee, Wash.

“I am thrilled to announce the selection of Mike Williams as the new Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest Supervisor,” said Jim Peña, Pacific Northwest Regional Forester. “Mike is a proven leader and he brings an extensive set of skills and experience to the Northwest spanning fire ecology, restoration and natural resource management. His experience in community relations and collaboration will be a great asset to the forest and region.”

Williams became Forest Supervisor of the Kaibab National Forest in 2001 and has since worked diligently on improving forest health and restoring fire-adapted ecosystems through efforts such as the Four Forest Restoration Initiative and reintroducing fire on a landscape scale. Williams has worked for the Forest Service for more than 30 years and has served in many leadership roles throughout the agency. During that time, he has maintained a commitment to community relations and collaboration as key elements in achieving results on the ground.

“I started my permanent Forest Service career in the Pacific Northwest and am really excited to return,” Williams said. “At the same time, it is with great sadness that I leave the Kaibab National Forest and its employees and partners. We have set the stage for an unprecedented scope and scale of forest management work in northern Arizona in the coming years, and I expect that important work to continue. I am proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish through a commitment to shared stewardship of our public lands.”

Williams is a native of southern Minnesota and grew up in a small agricultural town north of the Iowa border. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in forest resource management from the University of Minnesota College of Forestry. His first permanent job with the Forest Service was on the Siuslaw National Forest on the Oregon coast in 1977. Subsequent jobs took him to northern California and assignments on the Klamath, Plumas and Lassen national forests. He was a district ranger on two forests in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains for more than a dozen years and also served on the forest management staff at Forest Service national headquarters.

Williams will report to his new assignment next month.

Red Flag Warning in effect today for North Kaibab and Tusayan Districts

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TUSAYAN — The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for today from noon to 8 p.m. that covers the North Kaibab and Tusayan ranger districts of the Kaibab National Forest, as well as other areas of northern Arizona, due to strong winds and low relative humidity.

Visitors to the North Kaibab and Tusayan districts of the Kaibab National Forest are advised to refrain from having a campfire when Red Flag Warning conditions exist. This advisory covers all campfires across the districts, including in developed campgrounds.

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are expected and that a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures will create an increased potential for large fire growth. The campfire advisory remains in effect until the Red Flag Warning ends.

The Kaibab National Forest is committed to educating visitors about their role in helping prevent unwanted, human-caused fires. Avoiding having campfires on windy days is one way they can do that.

Tusayan Ranger District fuelwood permits available in Cameron

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TUSAYAN — The Kaibab National Forest will issue free-use, paid personal-use and ceremonial fuelwood permits for the Tusayan Ranger District out of the Forest Service office in Cameron, which is located just south of the Cameron Chapter House, beginning this month. The fuelwood permits will be available out of the Cameron office from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. Daylight Savings Time on the following dates:

  • April 23
  • May 15
  • June 11
  • July 16
  • Aug. 13
  • Sept. 10
  • Oct. 8
  • Oct. 29
  • Nov. 12
  • Nov. 19
  • Dec. 10
  • Dec. 17

Permits are also available at the Tusayan Ranger District office, 176 Lincoln Log Loop in Tusayan, (928) 638-2443, during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Permits will be issued for dead and down (dead standing and downed trees) and green fuelwood cutting. Dead and down permits are sold for $5 per cord. Green permits are $10 per cord. There is a minimum purchase of $20 per permit. Cords will be sold in increments to meet the $20 minimum. Free-use permits will also be issued for the removal of downed wood within designated areas. A maximum of six cords (combined) of paid fuelwood may be purchased per household. An additional four cords of free-use fuelwood may also be issued.

The Kaibab National Forest has a policy for providing free forest products to Native Americans for traditional and cultural uses. A permit is required for the collection of fuelwood for ceremonial purposes. Detailed information about the policy is available on the Kaibab National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/kaibab/fuelwood or by contacting Mae Franklin at (928) 679-2037 or mfranklin@fs.fed.us. Ceremonial use permits are only available on the Kaibab National Forest during fuelwood season, so interested individuals should ensure they get them prior to the close of the season.

Visitors to the Kaibab National Forest are reminded to always be extremely careful with fire. Fuelwood cutters should be aware that chainsaws can throw sparks and ignite grasses and brush. Always carry a shovel and a fire extinguisher or water in case of a fire start. Additionally, all chainsaws must be equipped with a stainless steel spark arrestor screen. Cutters should check with forest offices periodically for information about the implementation of fire restrictions. For additional information on permits available out of the Forest Service office in Cameron, please contact Mae Franklin at (928) 679-2037 or mfranklin@fs.fed.us.

Need a part-time surveillance job?

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Love your country, but never trust its government.—Robert A. Heinlein; Author, WWII US Navy Veteran

Metro Phoenix? No. This is an operation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Metro Phoenix? No. This is an operation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Sierra Vista, AZ — Though you may be tired of the NSA snooping through your emails and checking out your nude photos on the cloud, you now have the opportunity to get paid for surveillance.

EKS Group, LLC out of Brandon, Florida—with an office in Sierra Vista, Airzona—is looking for part-time Surveillance Role Players for some operation in Phoenix?

EKS Group is owned by a disabled American veteran that was established in Sierra Vista in December 2006 and is a member in the Chamber of Commerce. They provide both counter intelligence and human intelligence services to the DoD.

The applicant must be 21-years of age, a U.S. Citizen and be able to maintain a secret DoD clearance. The applicant must complete a 40-hour Surveillance Operations Course.

The job is physically demanding and applicants must have the ability to walk up to 18-miles per day up to twelve consecutive days. The applicant must be able to drive or ride in a vehicle for up to twelve hours per day.

The work environment includes exposure to temperatures over 100-degrees to cold conditions below 32-degrees. The applicants are required to perform in both rural and urban environments. There are no rural or urban environments in Phoenix that reaches a low of 32-degrees in the summer.

Jade Helm, although publicly announced, is unusual in its scope. Recently discharged veterans have said they participated in operations of this sort, but not on this scale and usually on Federal facilities. National Guard units conduct operations off of bases. This raises little concern since they do conduct rescue and humanitarian operations during disasters.

Most main-stream media in Texas are running stories that this is perfectly all right and everyone should remain calm. The operation is centered around a fictional invasion of Texas. The Washington Post agrees.

A Texas sheriff deputy pointed out that the military are, “…going to set up cells of people and test how well they’re able to move around without getting too noticed in the community. They’re testing their abilities to basically blend in with the local environment and not stand out and blow their cover.”

The title of this job sounds like the “cells of people” they are going to move and they may act in that capacity. The text of the job, however, appears as though they are setting up informers and drivers to move the “cells” in the region of the operations.

The Army still seeks Internment/Resettlement specialists. A move which seems inconsistent with the closing of Gitmo by this administration.

In February of last year, Justice Antonin Scalia spoke at the University of Hawaii lamenting the decision of the Supreme Court in the 1944 case of Korematsu v. United States (323 U.S. 214). He is quoted as saying:

“Well of course Korematsu was wrong. And I think we have repudiated in a later case. But you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again.”

These factors have caused liberty advocates to vocally question the so-called National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. The NDAA is revised to authorize an Army which must be authorized every two-years. The Navy, and by extension the Marines, are the only authorized military forces in the Constitution unless the Congress declares every two-years that an Army is necessary.

The NDAA of 2012, signed by President Obama on December 31 of 2011, contained so-called “indefinite detention” clauses allowing the military to detain anyone at anytime for any reason without trial according to some claims.

According to Russia Today, the Congress re-affirmed indefinite detention this year. According to reports, Justice Scalia seems to have been correct.

In signing the 2012 NDAA, President Obama wrote:

“I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation.”

There is no such assurance when he signed the recent NDAA with indefinite detention authority.

Meanwhile, more videos of concern are surfacing on the Internet. A YouTube video from DAHBOO777 showed a marshal-law type exercise in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He apparently received another video, recently, purported to be from Canada showing trains moving military equipment toward the west coast. Canada and the United States signed an agreement to assist one another in times of civil disobedience. According to the video, Facebook has been taking it down from Canadian sites.

So if a clean-shaven soldier in a well-pressed uniform approaches you and politely asks you to step into the back of a van with no threat of force, he is not mental. He’s Canadian.

Kaibab National Forest seeks comments on adding camping corridors

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WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is seeking public comments on an Environmental Assessment released today that analyzes the potential effects of adding camping corridors and making other changes to the transportation system of the Williams and Tusayan ranger districts.

The document and background information are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at http://go.usa.gov/kpQV. The 30-day comment period begins today and runs through May 11.

Specifically, the Kaibab National Forest is proposing to:

  • Designate approximately 291 miles of camping corridors along all or portions of several system roads on both districts. The corridors would extend 200 feet from either side of the centerline of the road, except where limited by topographical factors, resource concerns or private land.
  • Add 15 spur roads to the open road system on the Tusayan district. These spurs total 1.3 miles and would provide access to areas historically used for motorized camping.
  • Close approximately 9 miles of currently open roads across the two districts.
  • Add approximately 16 miles of roads to the open road system across the two districts. This includes 12 miles of formerly closed roads and 4 miles of user-created routes.
  • Develop an adaptive management strategy for making future changes to the transportation system for the two districts based on changing needs and/or new information.

Besides the proposed action, the Environmental Assessment also analyzes the potential effects of other alternatives such as varying corridor widths.

The proposed action and alternatives were all developed based on several years of monitoring following implementation of the Travel Management Rule on the two districts, which included documenting public concerns about recreational access and other issues.

Additional information and methods to submit comments are available at http://go.usa.gov/kpQV

SACO Act to terminate federal employees who give false testimony

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112_rp_al_5_brooks_moWASHINGTON — It seems that Eric Holder may leave a legacy in Washington after all. In honor of his testimony and the testimony of the likes of Lois Lerner, Representative Mo Brooks [R-AL-5] has submitted H.R. 1535. It is referred to as the Safeguarding America’s Congressional Oversight Act or the SACO Act and the purpose of the act is to terminate any Federal employee who refuses to answer questions or gives false testimony in a congressional hearing.

Apparently perjury and contempt of Congress is insufficient.

The legislation, if passed, would allow Congress to terminate a federal employee if three-fourths of the congressional body receiving the testimony finds that they received false testimony from the witness.

The termination can occur if the witness refuses to answer a question at a congressional hearing after being granted immunity. The bill also allows termination if the witness does not “…answer questions specifically, directly, and narrowly relating to his or her official duties,…”

Keeping our Promises to Veterans Act of 2015 moves to Subcommittee on Health

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300tom-emmerWASHINGTON — The Keeping our Promises to Veterans Act of 2015, H.R. 1532, was introduced by Tom Emmer [R-MN-6] on March 23 and has moved through the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs to the Subcommittee on Health yesterday. The bill would expand the ability of veterans to get access under the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act passed last year.

The Veterans Access Act (38 U.S.C. 1701, PDF) allows veterans to seek outside VA assistance if they live a certain distance from a VA facility. The act did not account for those who might not have or have difficulty in transportation.

This brief bill would reduce the 40-mile radius requirement to 20-miles and require access to the closest medical facility that could treat the need of the veteran. The bill reduces the wait time goal from 30-days to 15. It also requires VA to set up prompt payment system to non-VA facilities which provide care to veterans.

H.R. 1603 submitted by Andy Barr [R-KY-6] would improve treatment for victims of military sexual assault under the Veterans Access Act.

Another bill in Congress, H.R. 1302 would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that VA Form 9 appeals are resolved within one year of submission. The bill was introduced by Ohio Representative Robert Latta [R-OH-5].

Representative Ron Kind [D-WI-3] has submitted H.R. 1628, the Veterans Pain Management Improvement Act which would require VA facilities to set up a Pain Management Board for veteran victims of chronic pain whether out- or in-patient.

The board would provide treatment recommendations for patients with complex clinical pain who are being treated at a medical facility of the Department located in the Veterans Integrated Service Network covered by the Board.

The membership in the board would require a certan number of medical pain specialists, clinical patients or the family members of clinical patients.

Fire managers issue moderate fire danger rating today

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forestWILLIAMS — Effective immediately, fire managers are raising the fire danger rating to “moderate” across the Williams Ranger District, Tusayan Ranger District and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

The fire danger rating on the North Kaibab Ranger District and the North Zone of the Grand Canyon National Park remain low, but North Zone fire managers are continuously monitoring conditions on the Kaibab Plateau and will increase fire danger levels to moderate when appropriate.

Forest visitors are reminded to use extreme caution when camping as warming temperatures, lack of precipitation, lowering humidity levels and high winds are ideal conditions for wildfires to spark up. Visitors are also reminded to check with local district ranger offices and ask if any fire restrictions are in effect, as this can quickly change.

Fire managers use the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) to assist in determining Preparedness Levels and when Campfire and Smoking restrictions may be implemented. Using this tool helps Fire Managers to identify critical times when fires can become difficult to control.

For more information on fire activity updates, please call or visit: Fire Information Line: 928-635-8311

Gosar submits bill for cull hunt of bison at Grand Canyon

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(Because of the deadline for this article, the office of Representative Gosar could not be reached for comment)

White Bison at Bearizona Wildlife Park.

White Bison at Bearizona Wildlife Park.

WASHINGTON — In 1906, Charles “Buffalo” Jones brought bison to northern Arizona in an unsuccessful attempt to breed them with cattle. The descendants of these bison have been managed since 1950 by the state of Arizona in the House Rock Wildlife Area (HRWA) on the Kaibab National Forest, through an inter-agency agreement with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In 1990 the 1990 the bison started moving to the top of the Kaibab Plateau and into the Grand Canyon National Park.

The Grand Canyon National Park began a request for input on a Bison Management Plan that ended in June of 2014. The effort was an attempt to balance their mission to secure natural vegetation, archeological sites and water resources while maintaining the bison as wildlife.

On March 18, Paul Gosar [R-AZ-4] submitted H.R. 1443 (S. 782 in the Senate by McCain) to permit a cull hunt for Bison at the Grand Canyon National Park.

The bill calls for the Secretary of the Interior to publish a management plan for Bison no later than 180 days after H.R. 1443 is enacted. The plan would be to reduce, through humane lethal culling by skilled public volunteers and other non-lethal means the population of Bison in the park.

Skilled public volunteers are defines as those with a valid hunting license issued by the State of Arizona and other qualifications the Secretary may require after consulting with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Kirby Shedlowski, Acting Public Affairs Officer at Grand Canyon National Park, said, “In order have allowed cull, there’s usually a very large management planning process.”

She said, “There has never been a cull hunt for bison at the Grand Canyon. There has been a cull on the forest. On the Kaibab Forest on the north side.”

Kirby said she was not sure of cull hunts for Bison in other parks, such as Yellowstone. “There are different culling hunts in different parks for different animals. Rocky Mountain did it for elk. Rock Creek Park has done it for white-tail deer. Getteysburg has done it for white-tail deer. But, as far as Bison go—I’m not sure. But Grand Canyon National Park has never had a cull for Bison.”

House Democrats revive armor piercing bullet ban

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m855ammoAR15WASHINGTON — The Bloomers are at it again. After the failed attempt by the BATFE to unconstitutionally outlaw ammunition, the Representative of New York have taken up the gauntlet. Representative Eliot L. Engel (D-NY-16) submitted H.R.1358—the Armor-Piercing Bullets Act of 2015.

This bill would actually increase the types of ammunition considered “armor-piercing” and include shotgun “slugs.” The kicker in the bill is that it would change 921(a)(17) of title 18 to allow:

“…the Attorney General may treat a projectile as not primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes if substantial evidence exists that the projectile is not primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes”

Who determines what is intended for “sporting purposes” is the Attorney General.

H.R. 1358 was submitted on March 13, but the Republicans have not remained silent. On March 16, Representative Patrick McHenry [R-NC-10] has submitted the Ammunition and Firearms Protection Act, H.R.1365. The Republican bill would change Section 921(a)(17) of title 18, to read:

“(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), the term ‘armor piercing ammunition’ does not include—
“(i) any M855 (5.56 mm x 45 mm) or SS109 type ammunition; or
“(ii) any ammunition designed, intended, and marketed for use in a rifle.”.

H.R. 1358 is currently in the House Committee on the Judiciary while the Republican bill has moved to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. If co-sponsors are any indication, the ammo ban bill has nine while the Republican bill sports 41.

Representative Michael Honda [D-CA-17] submitted H.R.378 – Responsible Body Armor Possession Act in January. This bill with five co-sponsors has been in the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations since February. This euphemistically titled bill actually states that private citizens are not responsible enough to possess body armor.

The problem is that the Second Amendment does not protect hunters and sport shooting. The amendment does not read “A well-regulated hunters, being necessary to the security of a free State…” Hunting and hunters are protected by the Ninth Amendment.

The Second Amendment does not protect “firearms” and ammunition specifically. The Second Amendment provides that,

…the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

The ban on any arms is technically unconstitutional. According to Federalist Paper No. 29. This was so that local militias could protect the rights of themselves and their communities.