Politics
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Minnesota is the Great Lakes state not run by the Republicans. As a result, the state continues on in a fairly progressive way. including wildlife. Minnesota was the last holdout of wolves in the 48 states. From there they made a grand comeback in Wisconsin and Michigan. For a while it seemed the anti-wolf hysteria…
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Some of the checkerboard landscape(s) across the western US can be attributed to the Congressional land grants made to the railroad barons in the 1800’s. While some lands were eventually developed for railroads, others never were. Unfortunately, instead of these unused lands being returned to the public domain, some were sold off to timber barons,…
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Controversy over wolves and elk was predicted before wolves entered the area- Idaho Fish and Game reports it has used a helicopter to kill 23 wolves in the north central Idaho area commonly called the Lolo. This is the latest in a continuing effort (6 forays in 4 years) to reduce the number of wolves…
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Will a major Idaho brand kill the Koch Brothers’ ag-gag legislation- The sweeping bill to criminalize citizen surveillance of Idaho agriculture powered through the Idaho legislature. The common assumption is that Governor Otter will sign it despite widespread opposition from many non-ag groups and Idaho citizens. The measure has also made national news. Most of…
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All, that is except for the increasing boring deer and elk and some exotics- The Wildlife News has not paid a lot of attention lately to the state of New Mexico, but it appears the state wildlife mangers and governor have the same attitude as Idaho, but New Mexico is a more advanced case. In…
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Today the Idaho House held its final hearing on Governor Otter’s “Wolf Control Board” bill HB470 which establishes a board which would be composed solely of people appointed by the Governor that would oversee wolf control in Idaho. The board would be funded using $2 million in general funds, $110,000 from the livestock industry, and $110,000…
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S.1337 goes far beyond criminalizing videos of Idaho CAFOs- It’s a threat to outdoor travel and recreation- By now readers might have received some alerts about S. 1337 which is before the Idaho legislature. It is being portrayed as a threat to documenting what goes on in concentrated animal feeding operations in Idaho. It is…
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Controversial wildlife bills are only part of it- Most of the attention by those interested in wildlife in this year’s Idaho legislature have focused on Governor “Butch” Otter’s 2-million dollar wolf killing bill as it continues to advance toward law. Nonetheless, there are other wildlife bills and a host of additional scary, strange, and backwards…