Public Lands

  • Cash Cows – Now Available Again

    Jonathan Ratner

    Thanks to the work of Karen Klitz, we have been able to obtain a reprint of Cash Cows – Taxes Support a Wild West holdover that enriches ranchers and degrades the land. This expose was one of the only deep dives into the corruption surrounding public lands livestock grazing and the degradation it creates, and…

  • Why Tribal Co-Management Is A Threat to Our Public Lands

    George Wuerthner

    Given the wrecking ball the Trump administration is taking to our public lands and public values, it might seem trivial to worry about tribal co-management. Our public lands are among the most democratic of American institutions. Every American has a right to voice their opinion about public lands management, but no group should be elevated…

  • Another Trojan Horse To Expedite Livestock Grazing Of Public Lands

    George Wuerthner

    Here we go again. Yet another article “Bill plans to use livestock grazing to lower wildfire risk” about how livestock grazing can reduce wildfires. It seems that every month or so, someone (without much knowledge of fire ecology or even grazing impacts) rediscovers the fairy tale that fuel reduction by grazing will preclude large wildfires.…

  • The Fix Our Forests Act – A Trojan Horse For Logging

    George Wuerthner

    Congress is considering Fix Our Forests legislation. The legislation is a Trojan Horse that seeks to increase fuel reductions on public lands through logging and prescribed burns. However, large wildfires are ultimately not controlled by fuels. Fires need fuel to ignite, but they only spread when the climate/weather is conducive to ignition and the spread…

  • Bighorn Sheep vs. Domestic Sheep

    Jonathan Ratner

    As many of you know, domestic sheep are the primary impediment to bighorn sheep recovery because the domestic sheep transmit disease to the bighorn sheep. PBS did a decent video on the issue: What the video fails to mention is that livestock permits on our public lands are a privilege, not a right, and can…

  • USGS Webinar Series on Sagebrush Ecosystem and Rangeland Fire Science

    Jonathan Ratner

    For sagebrush and science geeks, USGS is hosting a series of webinars on sagebrush issues starting at the end of January Dates and Topics: 1/30 – Greater sage-grouse  2/6 – Invasive species, restoration effectiveness, and monitoring 2/20 – Monitoring, pinyon-juniper, and fuels management 2/27 – Fire, fuels management, invasive species  3/6 – Climate, carbon, and more…

  • Gianforte’s Lawsuit Against Yellowstone is a Crybaby Move

    Stephany Seay

    Let’s be clear: Gianforte’s lawsuit doesn’t represent Montanans, but rather Montana livestock interests. The vast majority of Montanans want wild, migratory buffalo restored in our state. The brucellosis boogey-man argument is old and is full of holes. The disease was brought to North America through invasive cattle. Brucellosis entered the Yellowstone buffalo herds by erroneous…

  • The Truth Behind Forest Management: Dr. Chad Hanson on The Deception of Thinning and Fire Prevention

    Jonathan Ratner

    Chad Hanson is a research ecologist and the director of the John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, located in Big Bear City, California. Dr. Hanson has a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California at Davis, with a research focus on fire ecology in conifer forest ecosystems, and he is the author of…

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‎”At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour.”

Edward Abbey

“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.”

Jim Fowler

“Our forests offer much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell.”

Raveena Tandon

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