August 2012

  • Yellowstone closes some trails and adds other restrictions due to fire danger

    Ralph Maughan

    Earlier restrictions had been lifted, but renewed hot, dry weather raises probability of fires- Due to renewed hot, dry weather after a brief rainy and cooler respite, Yellowstone Park has done the following. Closures:  Astringent Creek Trail at the junction of the Lower Pelican Creek Trail. – Upper Pelican Creek Trail at the junction of the…

  • Pathetic fear of grizzlies threatens justice in Erwin Evert mauling case

    Ralph Maughan

    Has there ever been such a craven case? There are grizzly ears in Kitty Creek, six miles east of Yellowstone Park, and one killed Erwin Evert in 2010.  Evert was an expert on the plants of Yellowstone and familiar with the area, but that summer he came upon a grizzly bear that was just coming…

  • Idaho gets its first big high mountain forest fire of the year

    Ralph Maughan

    Halstead Fire continues 25 year pattern of burning in or near the southern boundary of the Frank- Although Idaho had some large range fires in June, they did not get much attention because they mostly burned rangeland  that was already severely degraded with cheatgrass, BLM-planted crested wheatgrass and related cultivars, and overgrazed.  This is, of…

  • Already most West Nile Cases since 2004

    Ralph Maughan

    Drought, heat, and West Nile outbreaks seem to go together- You would think mosquito borne West Nile virus and floods from wet, wet summers go together.  This is not so.  Early on it was recognized that West Nile peaks in the dryest, hottest time of the year — August. Not only that, it is worse…

  • Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks maintains wolverine trapping

    George Wuerthner

    Montana Dept of Fish, Wildlife and Parks maintains wolverine trapping. At their August 2, 2012 Commission meeting, the Montana Dept of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP) commissioners voted to continue trapping wolverine, despite a petition from eight environmental groups and one individual George Wuerthner (me) to halt trapping. The groups– which included Friends of the…

  • Recent study moves split between brown bears and polar bears much further back in time

    Ralph Maughan

    5-milion years ago instead of 600,000 or 130,000 years ago- Recent interest in the relationship between polar bears and brown (grizzly) bears from which they emerged has been fueled by the observation of increasing numbers of polar bear – brown bear hybrids. Our recent article on this produced a number of comments, many of them…

  • Have you come across any interesting wildlife news? August 1, 2012

    Ralph Maughan

    Here is our new open thread (begun on August 1) on wildlife news topics. You can access the previous “Interesting Wildlife News” here. Please post new stories and make comments about wildlife you find interesting.

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‎”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

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