Brian Ertz
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A sad fact is that public land livestock grazing is so pervasive out west (around 300 million acres of public land) that most people have become accustomed to the image of livestock degraded landscapes and have little idea what might be. Recently, WWP received a report dated July 18, 2007 from the Idaho Department of…
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Governor “Butch” Otter is upset that the Idaho legislature won’t increase revenue for state highways and has reacted by vetoing 10 bills. One of those bills on the chop block, Senate Bill No. 1177, would have slipped $200,000 into the Depredation Control Fund : In accordance with the provisions of Section 36111(c), Idaho Code, the…
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Fritillaria pudica are among the first flowers to bloom in sagebrush country following the receding snow. Indigenous peoples used to eat their starchy bulbs. They’re blooming now ~ this photo was taken yesterday north of Fish Creek Reservoir. With the moisture remaining following the fresh recession of snow – sagebrush country all over the West…
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I’ve found that it’s fashionable among environmentally sympathetic folk in private gatherings to spark up conversation about the the publicly unspeakable “greatest threat” to the natural world : Overpopulation. Inevitable, right ?.. trends suggest otherwise. More people means more consumption, right ? not necessarily. Biggest environmental threat, right ?.. turns out, no. Fred Pearce…
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Why Fish and Game Agencies Can’t Manage Predators George Wuerther writes an insightful piece about Fish & Game departments failure to manage predator species like other wildlife across the country. The War on Predators – Counterpunch
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This morning arguments were heard in federal court concerning a Justice Department’s motion to split up WWP’s giant (over 25 million acre) BLM lawsuit into several district courts rather than to have one judge hear the case. Lawyers ask judge to split sweeping grazing suit – Todd Dvorak, Associated Press Laird Lucas, WWP’s lawyer and…
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Mark Salvo and Andy Kerr write about the voluntary grazing buy-outs included in the recent Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, and how these “win/win” solutions could become a more generalized tool across western public lands to resolve often contentious resource conflicts. Ranchers now have a way out – High Country News, Writers on…
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Good gracious that’s a lot of comments ! Congrats to Idaho’s prized bighorn sheep and thanks to those that commented ! 15,000 Comments Received on Bighorn Sheep Viability DSEIS – News Release, Payette National Forest The bighorn sheep issue has been on the cutting edge of controversy in the state of Idaho. You can look…