National Parks
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George Wuerthner and Michael Kellett The Cabinet-Yaak region of northwest Montana along the Idaho border is little known outside of the region. The area contains the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, plus numerous proposed wilderness areas like Scotchman’s Peak, Cube Iron Silcox, Roderick Mountain, and Northwest Peaks, among others. The Cabinet Mountains are quite spectacular. Elevations…
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The federal agencies including the National Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service have all been directed to find ways to engage tribal people in co-management of federal lands (or in some cases such as California in state parks and other state lands). These co-management agreements are…
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I studied geography in grad school. One of the basic premises of geography is that maps can show graphical concepts and ideas that might not be obvious with other forms of communication. The map of roads in Greater Yellowstone serves as a powerful tool, revealing a reality that many fail to grasp. Despite the protection…
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Cattle grazing, a practice that dates back to the creation of Grand Teton National Park and is also observed in a dozen other parks, is a part of the park’s historical legacy. However, that legacy is still creating conflicts between park values and livestock interests. A current controversy is over a $700,000 fence in the…
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Yellowstone National Park recently released its Final Bison Management Plan. It arbitrarily limits bison numbers through tribal hunting outside of the park and the transfer of public Yellowstone bison to Indian reservations. The NPS Preferred Alternative 2 is better than the existing bison management but will continue the degradation of wild bison. Alt. 3 is…
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An article in the Oregon Capital Chronicle focuses on cultural and prescribed burning fuel reduction and how they can preclude large wildfires, such as the 127,000 acre Cedar Creek Fire on the Willamette National Forest. The Cedar Creek fire was a wind-driven blaze that occurred during severe drought. The only thing that brought the blaze…
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The seminal work on public lands livestock grazing and its web of impacts, Welfare Ranching – The Subsidized Destruction of the American West is now available for download.
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Giant Sequoia May Require High-severity Blazes for their surival. Photo George Wuerthner During the summer of 2020 and 2021, with one of the most severe droughts in California’s recent history, wildfires charred thousands of acres in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the mountain range’s magnificent sequoia groves were among the areas burned. I recently visited…
