National Audubon Society Embrace of Ranching
The National Audubon Society has a program called “Conservation Ranching,” which promotes individual ranchers who practice what Audubon calls “bird-friendly” ranching. One must assume that Audubon is...
View ArticleComb Wash – Check It Out Before A Quarter of a Century of Recovery is Destroyed
The Comb Wash allotment and the adjacent Cottonwood allotment within what, at the time of this writing, is still within the Bear’s Ears National Monument features prominently within the annals of...
View ArticleWhy Ranching Won’t Preclude Subdivisions
I recently received a comment on my The Wildlife News article, Audubon Society Embraces Ranching. The commentator suggested if we don’t accept ranching, we will have subdivisions everywhere. I’ve...
View ArticleThe welcome demise of the ‘conservation’ collaboration fraud
Editor’s Note: For those of you not in Montana, you may not be familiar with the editorials of George Ochenski. George Ochenski was an environmental and tribal lobbyist at the Montana legislature for...
View ArticleReading Recommendation
For those of us who still read, we got a suggestion from a reader, triggered by the comments of Ken Brower regarding the paradigm shift from bio-centric to anthropocentric in US conservation over the...
View ArticleCalifornia Wolf Restoration: A Look Back, Today And The Future.
Back in 2000, I wrote a piece for California Wild about the prospects for wolf restoration in the state. At that time, there had not been any wolves reported in the Golden State in decades....
View ArticleVermont Groups Promote Degradation of Forests By Logging
A recent commentary in the Addison Independent supported logging a portion of the Worcester Range in Vermont, arguing that it would “improve” the forest“health” and “resilience.” As a former Vermont...
View ArticleNorthwest Forest Plan Revision Advocates More Logging
The Forest Service is proposing to amend the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP). The NWFP was created to protect old-growth forests and wildlife.The new plan proposals would weaken the protection of...
View ArticleDoes Juniper Cause Grasses To Disappear?
One of the common myths perpetuated by the livestock industry is that fire supression has allowed juniper to increase across the West, though under natural conditions juniper has long fire rotations of...
View ArticleForest Mastication Equals Forest Degradation
Forest degradation is one of the major factors contributing to a loss of global biodveristy and ecosystem integrity. Like many other forests in the West, the Deschutes National Forest is degrading...
View ArticleConservation Transfer Program Degrades Wild Bison
A recent article in the Bozeman Chronicle described the Yellowstone “Bison Conservation” Transfer Program. The federal government is transferring public bison that belong to all American to tribal...
View ArticleLast Stand for Headwater Lahontan Cutthroat Trout – Part 2
Part 2 – Enforcement Why are Lahontan cutthroat trout populations still declining 50 years after being listed as a Threatened Species? Here are some points to consider. Agencies and Organizations...
View ArticleInterview About Public Lands And Indian Land Back Efforts
In this episode, George Wuerthner discusses issues arising about tribal efforts to garner more authority and control of public lands, and the efforts to transfer public lands to tribal entities. Click...
View ArticleCan Prescribe Burning Reduce Smoke In Summer?
A recent Bend Bulletin Editorial repeated the numerous misconceptions about prescribed burning. The commentary suggested that more prescribed burning would reduce smoke in Bend during the summer...
View ArticleThe Failures of the Biden Administration
I won’t go into the most disastrous of Biden’s mistakes, the appointment of the jellyfish-like Merrick Garland as Attorney General, instead focusing on public lands issues. Looking at the trajectory of...
View ArticleThe Truth Behind Forest Management: Dr. Chad Hanson on The Deception of...
Chad Hanson is a research ecologist and the director of the John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, located in Big Bear City, California. Dr. Hanson has a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of...
View ArticleThe Demise of the National Old-Growth Amendment: Never Say Never
Top Line: While the election of Donald Trump is a setback for the conservation of mature and old-growth forests, such can be overcome. Figure 1. Old-growth forest in the western Cascades of Oregon on...
View ArticleGiantorte’s Lawsuit Against Yellowstone is a Crybaby Move
Let’s be clear: Gianforte’s lawsuit doesn’t represent Montanans, but rather Montana livestock interests. The vast majority of Montanans want wild, migratory buffalo restored in our state. The...
View ArticleBighorn Sheep vs. Domestic Sheep
As many of you know, domestic sheep are the primary impediment to bighorn sheep recovery because the domestic sheep transmit disease to the bighorn sheep. PBS did a decent video on the issue: What the...
View ArticleThe Fix Our Forests Act – A Trojan Horse For Logging
Congress is considering Fix Our Forests legislation. The legislation is a Trojan Horse that seeks to increase fuel reductions on public lands through logging and prescribed burns. However, large...
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