Public Lands

  • Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Proposes to Sell Out Wildlife During Drought

    George Wuerthner

    Fleecer Mountain Wildlife Management Area is one of the places MDFWP proposes “emergency livestock grazing.”  The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP) announced that due to the extreme drought conditions across Montana, it would open up some wildlife management areas (WMA) to livestock grazing and haying. And it will keep any WMA currently…

  • Wild Bison Restoration

    George Wuerthner

    Restoration of wild bison will require large landscapes. Photo George Wuerthner Bison were critical ecosystem influences on grasslands of North America, particularly in the Great Plains “bison belt.” They provided prey or carrion for wolves, grizzlies, other smaller predators and scavengers, and food for humans. In addition, bison grazing patterns influenced vegetation growth and distribution…

  • BTNF Plans To Expand Livestock Grazing In Upper Green River Vacant Allotments.

    George Wuerthner

    The Upper Green River Valley and Wind River Range from the Elk Ridge grazing complex in the Gros Ventre Range. Photo George Wuerthner.  In a breach of trust and faith, the Bridger Teton National Forest (BTNF) proposes to stock 30,577 acres with cattle in the Elk Ridge area of the Gros Ventre Range, including the…

  • Open Letter: Cliven Bundy’s chronic trespass grazing must end and how to do it

    A letter from Richard Spotts, retired Bureau of Land Management employee RE:  Cliven Bundy’s chronic trespass grazing must end and how to do it   Dear Secretary Haaland and other DOI officials:   Cliven Bundy’s more than a quarter century of blatant and destructive trespass livestock grazing on federal lands must come to an end.  Enough…

  • Thinning Nuance

    George Wuerthner

      Thinning is often justified on the assumption that reducing “fuels” will slow or stop large blazes, but there is more nuance to the issue than just fuels. Photo George Wuerthner One frequently hears from proponents of thinning that active forest management can reduce fire intensity and thus is a beneficial policy to reduce large…

  • SONORAN DESERT NATIONAL MONUMENT LIVESTOCK ABUSE

    George Wuerthner

    The Sonoran Desert National Monument was designated in 2001, but livestock grazing persisted until 2015. Now the BLM wants to restock a portion of this national monument. Photo George Wuerthner  The Sonoran Desert National Monument is a spectacular representation of the Sonoran Desert landscape managed by the Arizona office of the Bureau of Land Management…

  • Cowpies and potshards and an abdication of responsibility in Arizona

    The Sonoran Desert National Monument was established in 2001 with very specific terms about how grazing should be managed on these lands. The Proclamation basically said that grazing should be permanently banned from parts of the monument and could only continue on portions of the monument where it was found to be compatible with resource…

  • Thinning or Clearcut?

    George Wuerthner

    One hears continuously that the Forest Service doesn’t clearcut anymore. Of course, what constitutes a clearcut is subject to interpretation. The following photos are all taken on the Deschutes NF in Oregon. These are “forest thinning” projects designed to reduce wildfires and “improve” forest health. How many trees do you need to leave behind so…

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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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