Politics
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Continuing enlightenment from state in this long controversy- Final outcome will depend on 2012 election- The state of Montana continues to lessen restrictions on the movements of Yellowstone Park bison that try to live outside the Park. Now they will be allowed to live there year-round in two areas, the Gardiner Basin just north of…
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Mike Noel, federal government hater and anti-environmentalist, uses his political position to bring federal water project money to moisten a dry subdivision above Zion National Park- Utah state legislator, Mike Noel (R) is notable for his hatred of federal spending and environmental protection efforts, but he has used his clout to to bring about $10 million…
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Agreement ending 100 years of fighting over the uses of the Klamath River’s waters falls to a group of local malcontents- After many years of fighting over salmon, dams, irrigation water, tribal treaty rights and ocean fishing matters came to an unpleasant head in 2001-2 when VP Dick Cheney sided with irrigators and let 70,000…
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Debate over immigration and enforcement attracts major effort to savage environmental laws within 100 miles of the borders- OPINION Americans are having a heated debate over illegal immigration, cross border drug smuggling and what to do about it. This has attracted some very contentious legislation at the state and federal levels. The President, various state…
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Understanding Montana’s Wolf Policy Decision George Wuerthner On July 12, 2012, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP) Commissioners voted 4-0 to increase wolf hunting in the state, expanding the hunting season and permitting the trapping of wolves for the first time as well. The goal is to reduce wolf numbers across the…
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Will wolves thrive in Blue states and disappear in the Red? Wolves have migrated to Washington State from Idaho and directly from British Columbia. This is perhaps in part due to the pogrom against them in the adjacent deep red state of Idaho where once there were more than 800 wolves. Now these new Washington…
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State to always have at least one area open to wolf hunting- New rules! Idaho has decided in effect to always have at least one place in the state open to wolf hunting on a rotating basis. This is in addition to the general wolf hunt that goes for about half a year. Wolf hunting…
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Federal animal control agency meets with American Society of Mammalogists after 93 years of criticism- The American Society of Mammalogists has been criticizing the agency in the federal government that kills “problem” predators for 93 years now. That agency has gone by many names over that long period. Wildlife Services is the most recent, and…