Bad news for Arizona’s San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area Announced
The Proposed Plan of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area is Announced The Bureau of Land Management intends to reopen much of the protected area to cattle grazing TUCSON, Arizona— This...
View ArticleTrump pardons the Hammonds– extremist ranchers
President Trump pardoned Oregon ranchers Dwight Hammond and his son Steve. The pair were jailed for arson and were the inspiration for the take-over of Malheur NWR by the Bundy mob. Trump’s pardon was...
View ArticleSave the San Pedro River
The 55,990 acre San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA) south of Tucson, Arizona has one of the most intact riparian cottonwood gallery and mesquite bosque forests left in the Southwest....
View ArticleMontana Wilderness Threatened by Daines and Gianforte
Wilderness and wildlife define the character of Montana. If you were to ask people what comes to mind when you mention Montana, they are likely to say Glacier, Yellowstone, Bob Marshall Wilderness,...
View ArticleMontana Wildlands needs protection
Wilderness and wildlife define the character of Montana. If you were to ask people what comes to mind when you mention Montana, they are likely to say Glacier, Yellowstone, Bob Marshall Wilderness,...
View ArticleLivestock’s impact on wilderness
“The grazing of livestock, where established prior to the effective date of this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary by the Secretary of...
View ArticlePryor Bighorn National Monument?
Billings, Montana has seen a steady increase in population and economic diversity. In all likelihood, Billings will continue to grow. At a modest average growth of 1.5 percent a year, Billing’s...
View ArticleBLM to destroy sagegrouse habitat in the name of cows
The Challis and Salmon BLM of central Idaho appear to be ready to destroy much of the sage grouse habitat in the Lemhi, Pahsimeroi, and Lost River valleys, ironically in the name of protecting sage...
View ArticleThe BLM is Still Accepting New Oil and Gas Drilling Applications during the...
NEWPORT, OR — Despite the government shutdown, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has continued to accept new drilling permit applications and requests for site inspection at proposed oil and gas...
View ArticleBLM to rip, tear, and burn huge area of public lands in southwest Idaho
Newly approved vegetation “treatment” project is questionable, expensive News release. Western Watersheds Project BOISE, Idaho — Today, the Bureau of Land Management approved a plan to log off or tear...
View ArticleOregon Needs More Wilderness
In the recent Public Lands legislation that was passed by Congress, Oregon got some new protected landscapes including the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness, 250 miles of new Wild and Scenic River segments...
View ArticleGrazing Permit Retirement Needed
Across the West, livestock grazing is one of the most destructive land uses. Some 250 million acres of public lands are grazed by domestic livestock including those administered by the Forest Service...
View ArticleBLM Grazing Decision Will Harm Owyhee Canyonlands Wilderness
This past December 2018 the Bureau Field office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a final Environmental Assessment for the Battle Creek, East Castle Creek, and Owens Allotments Grazing...
View ArticleWesterman Resilient Federal Forest Act is Trojan Horse
We live in an age of Orwellian Doublespeak. Such doublespeak is exemplified by the euphemistically named “Resilient Federal Forests Act” (RFFA) sponsored by Rep. Westerman. Like previous versions,...
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Lessons From Yellowstone
As we ponder the future of public lands in Montana, including what areas deserve protection as Wilderness, it is worthwhile to look back in history to see how past protective measures were viewed. In...
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Juniper, Wildfire and Climate Change
The recent article on juniper mortality in central Oregon demonstrates how most forestry professors have little ecological understanding of ecosystem processes nor even the latest ecological science....
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Proposal for Massive And Ineffective Fuel Breaks System
In June the BLM released a draft EIS Programmatic EIS for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin. The proposal would authorize the creation of 11,000 miles of fuel breaks primarily in sagebrush ecosystems...
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Forests for Carbon Storage
Currently, there is a bill in the Massachusetts legislature that would ban logging on all of the state lands. The premise of the legislation is that logging contributes significantly to CO2 emissions....
View ArticleThe Emperor Has No Clothes when it comes to cows and cheatgrass
Recently Nevada Bureau of Land Management (BLM) State Director Jon Raby suggested that the agency will try “targeted grazing” among other methods to reduce wildfires in the sagebrush ecosystem. Raby...
View ArticleNew Forest Service Rules to Reduce Environmental Review
When I was a kid, one of the favorite games we played in elementary school was “dodge ball.” In the game, a circle is made around a person who attempts to “dodge” a ball thrown by the other kids. You...
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