George Wuerthner
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One continuously hears that “common sense” dictates that logging the forest to decrease “fuels” will eliminate or reduce large wildfires. Common sense also suggests the sun circles the earth, as anyone can quickly determine by watching it rise in the east and set in the west. However, as most of us know, the earth circles…
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We do not want those whose first impulse is to compromise. We want no straddlers, for, in the past, they have surrendered too much good wilderness and primeval areas which should never have been lost. – Bob Marshall on the founding of the Wilderness Society There is an unfortunate tendency on the part of conservationists…
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I just received a notice from the Custer Gallatin National Forest CGNF) that they plan to do a Fuels and Forest Health Project in Cooke City, Montana. The Forest Service says the project aims to mitigate wildland fire risks and enhance forest conditions surrounding Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana. Among the usual claims, the…
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I studied geography in grad school. One of the basic premises of geography is that maps can show graphical concepts and ideas that might not be obvious with other forms of communication. The map of roads in Greater Yellowstone serves as a powerful tool, revealing a reality that many fail to grasp. Despite the protection…
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Cattle grazing, a practice that dates back to the creation of Grand Teton National Park and is also observed in a dozen other parks, is a part of the park’s historical legacy. However, that legacy is still creating conflicts between park values and livestock interests. A current controversy is over a $700,000 fence in the…
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Yellowstone National Park recently released its Final Bison Management Plan. It arbitrarily limits bison numbers through tribal hunting outside of the park and the transfer of public Yellowstone bison to Indian reservations. The NPS Preferred Alternative 2 is better than the existing bison management but will continue the degradation of wild bison. Alt. 3 is…
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A national chainsaw epidemic exists in America’s woodlands. A recent article in the New York Times titled “Plans for an Ailing Forest Include Logging” exemplifies this trend. In the article, officials in Oregon say that we must cut down the forests—including green trees to arrest the forest health crisis. Conveniently, precisely what constitutes a forest…
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The BOSH project in southern Idaho ultimately plans to destroy tens of thousands of acres of juniper woodlands on BLM lands. BOSH stands for Bruneau-Owyhee Sagebrush Habitat Project. The advocates of the BOSH project use pejorative language to characterize the Juniper clearing from the landscape. Terms like “restoring” the “natural” condition of the land assume…
