Politics
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Recently we were informed of a new effort by two conservation groups, a Native American tribe and livestock interests “to secure $25 million from the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill to help livestock producers reduce the risk of livestock losses to grizzly bears, wolves, black bears and mountain lions.” This taxpayer money is meant to “reduce…
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Typical recent rancher activities underscores their extremism- Recently we reported on Arizona/Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy who thinks he doesn’t have to pay grazing fees because he thinks the federal government does not own the U.S. public lands where his grazing allotment (now rescinded) lies. He threatens force to prevent his illegal cattle from being impounded.…
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The headline story of the Idaho Statesman investigates the whining of Idaho’s elite about how they can’t get migrant workers through the H2A migrant visa program fast enough. There is a serious problem with the article, which features a woolgrower who complains that the process is too onerous. It doesn’t even mention the wages offered…
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Movement of bears into this good habitat was inevitable. Meanwhile Gallatin County Commissions say wolves, bears cougars are a big detriment to Bozeman, West Yellowstone areas- In Yellowstone Park where the Gallatin Range rises there is some of the very best grizzly habitat. For a long time grizzlies have also ranged about 10 miles north…
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George Ochenski tells how ranchers move the goal posts on Yellowstone bison issue- Perhaps a hundred stories since we first wrote about the issues of the Yellowstone’s bison’s genetic purity, the seemingly pointless slaughter of Park bison that leave the Park, and many other issues, very slow progress has been made. Bison perhaps can now…
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Oh, the many effects of extracting the world’s dirtiest oil! Despite the huge PR offensive by big oil, Alberta, and Canada’s right wing government, it is hard to overwhelm the public into thinking digging big holes to get out the bitumen is a great idea. Scientists, bloggers, conservation groups, and even segments of the Democratic…
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Withdrawal of a cattle association from a wolf restoration program hardly a sign of failure- If we look at the history of land use in the Western United States, we find many different political interests. Some are ideological, some economic, some are both. Historically the various statewide cattle associations and stockgrower associations have been the…
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Grazing Improvement [Entrenchment] Act Gains Legs, Threatens Hundreds of Millions of Acres of YOUR Public Land The public land ranching industry is up to it again. They’re looking to further obstruct the proper administration of grazing on federal public lands by eroding public participation and further tying down the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service’s…