Advocacy
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Top Line: Big old trees play out-sized roles in a forest stand in terms of biodiversity, carbon storage, and carbon sequestration. This is the first in a series of two Public Lands Blog posts on big old trees. Part 1 explodes the myth that their rate of growth slows as they age and also introduces the concept…
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The state of Washington recently reported that its endangered wolf population had declined for the first time in 16 years. The state confirmed that it has 230 wolves, compared to 254 wolves in the previous year. According to figures released by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington’s overall wolf population in 2024 decreased…
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The Beartooth Mountains contain some of the most extensive alpine terrain in the Rockies. Photo by George Wuerthner The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) is the most comprehensive and ecologically defensible legislation currently before Congress. The Act was first introduced in 1993. NREPA was reintroduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Madeleine Dean, who…
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The Upper Green River headwaters are in the Wind River Range. Photo by George Wuerthner The 170,000-acre Upper Green River Allotment, located on the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, is the largest grazing allotment under Forest Service administration. It is also one of the best wildlife habitats in the West, and it is easily comparable…
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The January 2025 Point Reyes National Seashore settlement agreement ended decades of conflict over management of cattle ranching and wildlife on public lands. The departure of most of the commercial ranches from our National Park along with the Revised Record of Decision and new management approach by the National Park Service will provide significant public…
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What the beef industry knew about its environmental impact — and how it spent decades blocking climate action. Immediately following yesterday’s article on the BS Myth that ‘grass-fed’ beef is better, Vox published an article about the livestock industry’s four-decade-long effort to hide the massive impacts of livestock production. You can read the entire article…
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From our friends at Population Balance, comes their latest podcast with historian and author Jean-Baptiste Fressor. To get all the ways to listen, click here. There is no energy transition – only ongoing and symbiotic energy addition. Historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, author of More and More and More: An All-Consuming History of Energy, joins us. Highlights…
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Top Line: Like bankruptcy, the death of the Northwest Forest Plan has proceeded slowly and might end quickly. Figure 1. An old-growth forest of Douglas-fir and western redcedar. Source: Sandy Lonsdale (first appeared in Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness). Note: I wrote the following without considering President Trump’s recent executive order pertaining to federal forestlands. I didn’t want the…
