Department of Interior
-
It certainly sounds good. Especially noted was the lack of effort by the BLM to do anything to protect wildlife habitat. So the states will have to take the initiative. Also attending the Western Governors Conference was Dirk Kempthorne who agreed with the creation of habitat council. Doesn’t Kempthorne have something to do with the…
-
The International Herald Tribune features and article about oil exploration, environmentalism, and the politics of both in the West: Backlash against energy exploration could hurt Republicans out West David Sirota suggests that environmentalism is an asset to Western Democrats that may make the difference in upcoming elections. Update 5-19 – NYT: Enviro Populism Threatens the…
-
In a county that as gone from just a few gas well to one with more wells than residents, there is a protest demonstration scheduled today, Sunday. The Casper Star Tribune reports that a “retired high school science teacher Elaine Crumpley has helped organize what she’s calling a ‘peaceful protest.’ ” It will be from…
-
Diary of a Mad Voter. Happy Earth Day, How About An Oil Lease? By Joan McCarter. New West. The vast “resources” of oil shale in Utah and Colorado have been hyped for perhaps a hundred years, but no one has figured out how to get this “oil*” our of the rocks in an economic manner…
-
Owyhee Canyonlands protections back before Congress. By Rocky Barker. Idaho Statesman
-
Forest Service May Move to Interior. Some See Agency As Out of Place Under the USDA. By Christopher Lee. Washington Post Staff Writer. While this may seem new, this is one of the oldest controversies in the history of American conservation. The Forest Service began at the end of the 19th century as the Division…
-
Last summer, the Murphy fire burned a huge swatch of the Owyhee country in SW Idaho (and northern Nevada). Ever since the BLM has been under intense pressure to do the wrong things such as graze lands that burned rather than let them recover. Some of the ranchers here have very high political connections. The…
-
“Wild Bill” has a good opinion piece on this. As I said earlier, this was an issue created for the election. It is not from the grassroots . . . . “This amendment and, it seems, most other gun legislation, isn’t about guns or the Second Amendment. It’s all about politics, and the gun lobby…