July 16, 2007

  • Why cheatgrass wins

    Ralph Maughan

    The major culprit in almost all of the big lower elevation fires in the interior West is cheatgrass, which has a nicer name of downy brome (Bromus tectorum), probably given for the way it is during the brief period is it growing, green, and not ripening. Cheatgrass has taken over the West, greatly increasing fire…

  • The Hayden pups, their first big (5) litter

    Ralph Maughan

    Post 1326 Photographer Dan Stebbins was gracious and emailed me photos of this year’s Hayden Pack pups. In the past, the pack has only had one or two pups a year. This year there were 6 (now 5).

  • Polar bears now avoiding sea ice for their den sites

    Ralph Maughan

    This is from the blog Carnivore Conservation. Polar bears in Alaska are increasingly denning on land because the sea ice is thinning, becoming too unstable for safe denning. This is according to a new study by U.S. Geological Survey’s researchers and published in Polar Biology . . . Read the rest

  • BLM is not responsible for the Milford Flat Fire

    Ralph Maughan

    Some Utah officials blamed the BLM for the huge Milford Flat Fire in central Utah for not allowing enough grazing, but the Grand Junction Sentinel has it right — if anything, the blame is in the other direction. Overgrazing led to the huge infestation of cheat grass (which can only be grazed a few weeks…

  • Fire season gets started in Montana

    Ralph Maughan

    Montana has been slower than Utah, Nevada, and Idaho for wildfires, but they are underway now. Story in New West. Web page for the new Patengail Creek Fire, NW of Dillon, Mt. Photo of Patengail Creek fire. Web page for the Ahorn fire. Web page for the Fool Creek fire. This fire is not being…

Subscribe to get new posts right in your Inbox

‎”At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour.”

Edward Abbey

“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.”

Jim Fowler

“Our forests offer much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell.”

Raveena Tandon

Latest Posts

×