• The fires in Los Angeles are still burning as I write this. The loss of property, the disruption and loss of lives, and the trauma these fires created are horrendous. Nevertheless, there are lessons we can learn to change fire policies to mitigate (not prevent) such tragedies in the future. Wildfires are a natural part…

  • Here is an interesting opportunity for folks. WWP is putting on a seminar about new research regarding how livestock disrupt the normal nitrogen flows. We’re excited to invite you to the first installment of our 2025 Webinar Series! Join us for a compelling presentation that uncovers how human activities are reshaping the sagebrush steppe ecosystem—and…

  • 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 California at Davis, with a research focus on fire ecology in conifer forest ecosystems, and he is the author of…

  • 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 public lands and wildlife issues over the last half century, what I have found consistently is that when there is a Republican administration, strong…

  • 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 months. While I agree that less smoke would be a great outcome, prescribed burning will not accomplish that for several reasons. First, much of the smoke we experience…

  • 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 on the link above to listen in your browser or the PLAY button in the upper left corner below.

  • Thirty years ago, this month, wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park. The writers at WyoFile and Montana Free Press teamed up on an excellent review of the history of the event up through the present. The article has interviews with many of the people involved. Check it out at The Year of the Wolves.…

  • Big W, or designated wilderness as prescribed under the 1964 Wilderness Act, is one of the most biocentric pieces of legislation ever passed by Congress. Under the Act’s mandate, federal lands that meet the essential criteria of roadless character and “untrammeled” by human influence will be protected from resource exploitation so that natural evolutionary and…

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