Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 7

1- Thursday, December 5, 2013 Casper Star-Tribune fa ('" JJ A A7 EAGLES 4. ENZI Engineers nlot notentUI locitfont for wind hirhin at ftu (saa Trn d.ml I VIW MillH 011 AflllVrll, lUlUIV locatkHi of tlx Chokecherry-Slerra Madre wind energy project Th Power Company of Wyoming has applied for a permit to kill a limited number of eagles at the planned development, while also proposing efforts to reduce eagle deaths at the sHe. Continued from page Al in the future" Carlson said. "This would apply to existing projects that are in operation and new projects." Fish and Wildlife will determine how many eagles can be killed under the permit after receiving an application for the project. The expected increase in eagle-take applications comes months after the service clarified the rules surrounding eagle deaths at wind facilities.

The new guidelines allow wind developers to kill a limited number of eagles each year, provided they make efforts to site turbines in locations that minimize fatalities and institute mitigation measures once their facilities become operational. It also follows on the heels of a settlement announced by the U.S. Department of Justice in November in which a North Carolina developer agreed to pay $1 million in fines and restitution for avian deaths at its wind farm near Casper. Garry Miller, Power Company of Wyoming vice president of environmental affairs, said the company's application for a take permit and the Justice Department settlement were coincidence. The firm has been in talks with Fish and Wildlife since 2010 over how to best minimize the number of eagle deaths at Chokecherry-Sierra Madre.

The proposed development would become one of the largest on-land wind facilities in the United States if built. The project has been plagued by concerns about its impact on birds. The Bureau of Land Management approved the wind farm in Continued from page Al The names raised eyebrows after the Enzi campaign announced a list of seven finance committee members on Wednesday. The two men join a prominent mix of Wyoming state lawmakers and business -men who have pledged to help the senator raise the necessary funds to defeat Liz Cheney, his opponent in the 2014 Republican primary. True's name is noteworthy because the oil baron has been in political hibernation for more than a decade.

Cheramy's name is poignant because it raises questions about why Enzi would put a felon on his finance team. Enzi asked True to join after Cheney announced in July she was running against the three -term senator. True said the two men have worked together in the past. "I have a great deal of personal respect for him," True said. Cheramy was the former president of IDB Communications Group.

He and two partners engaged in a 1994 scheme to inflate IDB's first-quarter earnings from $9 million to $15 million. Cheramy pleaded guilty to insider trading and was sentenced to pay a $250,000 fine and serve three years' probation along with 500 hours of community service. Cheramy said Enzi knew of his past before ap-pointing him to the finance committee. Enzi's campaign declined to comment on Cheramy. "I've moved on beyond all that stuff," Cheramy said.

Cheramy claimed the CEO at IDB was the mastermind behind the plan. He said he signed a document he didn't know was forged. He just couldn't prove that to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cheramy's past is well known among Jackson residents. Few seem to judge him for it.

Since his legal woes ended, he's volunteered with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation, the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole and the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust. The former Price Waterhouse partner gave Teton County 2014 budget recommendations. The Republican National Committee held a party at his house in 2011. "Everybody knew about it, and in perspective it's just not an issue," he said. The two state lawmakers on Enzi's finance committee are Sen.

Eli Bebout, R-Riverton, and Senate President Tony Ross, R-Cheyenne. Pinedale resident Dave Bell, Rock Springs resident Josh Sorensen and Teton Village resident Rob Wallace will also join Cheramy and True. Cheramy said he and Wallace give Enzi a much-needed boost in raising money in the northwest corner of the state. "There will be a lot of money raised in Teton County," he said. "I see this comment as symptomatic and more of the same from them," said Maggie Scarlett, a state campaign chairwoman for Cheney for Wyoming.

"They would like to talk about anything other than the senator having to defend his record of the last 17 years." Cheney dominated the fundraising race in the wealthy communities of Jackson and Wilson, according to Federal Election Commission third-quarter campaign finance reports. to eagles." The number of wind developers seeking take permits will likely increase in the coming years, as companies look to pursue projects in areas boasting both high winds and key bird habitat, said Darin Schroeder, vice president of the American Bird Conservancy, a national advocacy group. His organization does not oppose wind development, but believes more stringent sitting laws are needed to ensure projects are not built in environmentally crucial areas, Schroeder said. Chokecherry-Sierra Madre is especially concerning, he said, arguing that internal concerns from BLM and Fish and Wildlife staff about bird fatalities have been ignored for political reasons. The project is one of 33 renewable energy developments authorized on public land by the Obama administration, as part of its initiative to produce 10,000 megawatts of green electricity.

The project received BLM authorization despite COffTMUrED the finding it posed a threat to golden eagles, Schroeder said. "I think it's safe to say we are very troubled this project continues to go forward," he said. Fish and Wildlife will consider Power Company of Wyoming's take application as a part of the agency's current environmental evaluation of the wind farm. Two public meetings regarding the project are scheduled for next week. Fish and Wildlife is expected issue a final decision on the project in early 2015.

The take permit applies to the project's first phase, which calls for building 500 turbines in the western part of the project area. The company, a subsidiary of Anschutz will seek a second take permit if it pursues a planned second phase. In all, the project is expected to produced megawatts of electricity. Reach energy reporter Benjamin Storrow at 307-266-0535 or benjamin.storrowtrib.com. she said.

If you see a car circling your street, take notice. Don't let anyone follow you from the pet store, Kulhavy said. "Be cautious when you go to the dog park that you are not followed home," she said. Alleged dognappers have left gates open to make it look like the owners were negligent, even once tampering with a gate lock, Kulhavy said. "The main issue is to keep your dogs in because if they're inside, you can be sure they're not taken," she said.

Walsh, the police chief, encouraged owners to go to Metro and have their dogs implanted with microchips with an owner's identity and contact information. Shelters have equipment to find the microchips andread the information. Metro manager Tory Cu-trell said microchip services are offered for $20. Reach state reporter Laura Hancock at 307-266-0581 or at laura.hancocktrib.com. Dec.

7, 2013 9:00 a.m. a.m. Corner of 6th Durbin Streets nnrlinnvinn jl baked VA Goods Jri nil Other -rJH Soecialti Rolls Coffee Available IS 2012, calling its impact on migratory birds and bald eagles low. But BLM also noted that the threat it presented to golden eagles was significant, and projected the development would kill 46 to 64 eagles annually. A plan to reduce golden eagle fatalities could reduce the impact, the bureau said.

That is what the Power Company of Wyoming is trying to do, Miller said. He noted the company has proposed putting 26,000 acres along the North Platte River between Fort Steele and Sinclair in a conservation easement where wind development would be prohibited. That area is crucial golden eagle habitat and boasts considerable wind resources, Miller said. The company has also proposed a half-mile buffer around eagle nests. Still, Miller acknowledged avian fatalities are a part of wind development.

"Unfortunately it does happen," he said. "What we're doing is being proactive and trying to avoid and minimize the potential risk and find the owners. But this year "some of the people are still looking for them and it's been months," she said. Kulhavy said social media posts have described a suspicious vehicle an older, blue Toyota 4Runner and the actions of some suspicious people, including two people who eyed a yellow lab with one saying, "I found one," in reference to the dog. "We've found indications that there is a theft ring," she said, adding that on some days, no dogs go missing and on other days, eight dogs are reported missing.

Kulhavy said her group has conducted exhaustive tracking, creating pages of spreadsheets to document the missing dogs. The dognappers' ferred breeds are pugs and yellow labs, Kulhavy claims. Locations of theft have been mostly in downtown Casper, east of Beverly Street, she added. The dognappers' motive is money, according to Kulhavy. They can fetch big money by selling the dogs on Craigslist.com or to pet stores that don't suspect theft.

The dogs could be resold to someone who organizes dog fights, she said. Some doubt Preston Pilant is executive director of the Pet Ring Foundation, which raises money for veterinary care for owners who can't afford it. Pilant doesn't believe the claims of Wyoming Missing Canines. While Pilant believes dogs have been snatched since the beginnings of their domestication, he doubts there is a theft ring operating in Casper. "I truly believe nine out of 10 dogs that go missing are runaways," he said.

"I don't think it is a big ring of dognappers." Pilant helps with Metro's spay and neuter clinics and Diemer True. Casper Eli Bebout, Riverton Dave Bell, Pinedale Ed Cheramy, Jackson Tony Ross, Cheyenne Josh Sorensen, Rock Springs Rob Wallace, Teton Village For Wyoming Missing Canines' complete list of dogs by location, breed and color, go to trib.com. said he saw a pug that had previously been described as stolen on Wyoming Miss -ing Canines' Facebook page. "There were two basset hounds that the guy swore up and down that someone had cut his lock," Pilant said. "They sat at Metro for three days before the owner claimed them." Pilant advised owners of missing dogs to check Metro in person.

There's a chance that Metro staff accidentally mistyped into their computer system a chocolate lab as a female instead of male. When you call, they may say that your dog isn't at the shelter when it actually is. "After seven days, guess what? That dog goes up for adoption," he said. On the alert Casper Police Capt. Mark Trimble said owners of missing dogs can notify the Police Department by calling dispatch or report a missing pet online.

Owners need to check with Metro, the Human Society and neighbors say. Contacting Metro is more effective than merely posting a picture on Face-book, Mayor Schlager said. "We want to make sure the Police Department is not inundated with reports," 1 Needed. .5 4 DOGS Continued from page Al Police Chief Chris Walsh and others from the city attended, saying they wanted to promote responsible dog ownership. "It's never a bad thing to have responsible pet ownership," City Manager John Patterson said.

Missing dogs? Valerie Kulhavy lost her yellow lab, Daisy, in June. She was attending an out-of-state wedding and left Daisy with friends. Daisy disappeared without a trace on Cole Creek Road, Kulhavy said. Kulhavy hit social media in attempts to find Daisy and discovered there were missing dogs in Casper and Natrona County. She helped organize Wyoming Missing Canines and is convinced one sick puppy is taking dogs.

From June to Oct. 1, there were 227 dogs called in to the Casper Human Society as missing. Fifty-seven have been found, leaving open the possibility that the others were stolen, Kulhavy said. Sally Reinhart, board president of the Casper Human Society, believes the number of missing dogs is on the rise. But she didn't have comparable numbers from the same time period last year because missing reports are thrown out after six months.

"We probably can't prove anything but we've had more missing dog reports in this time period than we've ever had," she said. "We can't say they've all been stolen because we don't know what happened to them." Normally, dogs find their way back home in a few days or they get picked up by' people who read their tags Vanfcd. The Diamond Tree: si Shop The Diamond Tree The Messy Moose for just what you've always wanted! Jewelry Designs by Michael Wyoming's Premier Jewelry Designer Free Check Cleaning of Jewelry Plus In Store Sizing 6 Repairs Wyo Shirt Gift: T-Shirts Souvenirs Specialty foods Items Now delivered like never mmij before. 7il STMbune fcSCfcl Let us help you sell your stuff. Call 307-266-0555 to reach someone in our classifieds department.

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