Conservation
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If the public really understood the illogic behind Forest Service management, including those endorsed by forest collaboratives, I am certain there would be more opposition to current Forest Service policies. First, most FS timber sales lose money. They are a net loss to taxpayers. After the costs of road construction, sale layout and environmental analyses,…
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In an ongoing effort to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, Friends of the Clearwater released a report today that critically examines the Clearwater Basin Collaborative (CBC) Agreement and Work Plan. If enacted by Congress, the agreement would put into place provisions that are incompatible with the Wilderness Act, potentially causing a ripple…
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This August the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) reversed an earlier 2010 ruling that Arctic Grayling in the Upper Missouri River system of Montana were endangered (but precluded from listing under the Endangered Species Act due to higher priority species). Instead the Service decided that as a result of cooperative efforts by ranchers in…
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Federal Agency Ignores Best Available Science In Decision Not To List Wolverine- Conservationists Promise Legal Action to Protect Rare Species BOZEMAN, Mont. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision today to abandon proposed protections for the wolverine ignores the best available science, including advice from the Service’s own wildlife experts, conservation groups stated. In response…
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Collaboratives have been initiated on many national forests across the West. The stated goal is to resolve controversial resource issues through cooperative discussions between various interests, Thus collaboratives typically include representatives of industry such as timber companies, ranchers, local tourist promotion, county commissioners, Forest Service, BLM, FWS, state and county government, and state wildlife agency…
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: George Nickas, Wilderness Watch, (406) 542-2048 Gary Macfarlane, Friends of the Clearwater (208) 882-9755 Lawsuit Threatened to Protect Imperiled Bull Trout from Airstrip Expansion in Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Moscow- Wilderness Watch and Friends of the Clearwater have filed a 60-day Notice of Intent (NOI) to sue the US Forest Service…
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COWSPIRACY: THE SUSTAINABILITY SECRET VIDEO HITS A HOME RUN I recently had the pleasure of viewing new video of Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret. The basic question these two film makers ask is why the contribution of livestock to ecosystem degradation is missing from the world’s environmental agenda. To find the answer…
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This is a short email that Brian Horejsi sent me on mountain biking and bears. It is a thoughtful review of how mountain biking can have substantial impacts on wildlife. The basic science solidly supports the general claim that bikers and bikes are displacing bears, can contribute to their habituation and are consequently adding negative…