Public Lands
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Feeding continues even as chronic wasting disease moves closer- Jackson, WY – Yesterday afternoon, a coalition of four conservation groups filed formal objections to the Bridger-Teton National Forest’s recent decision approving an elk feeding ground in Wyoming’s Gros Ventre Valley. They are Western Watersheds Project, Wilderness Watch, Wyoming Chapter of Sierra Club, and the Gallatin Wildlife Association. The…
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The Forest Service (FS), the timber industry and some environmental groups formed a collaborative groups several years ago known as the Southwest Crown of the Continent (SWCC). The goal ostensibly is to promote healthy ecosystems, but the real goal is to increase logging in the Seeley-Swan and Lincoln areas. The SWCC “restoration” objectives appear to…
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MOSCOW, ID-Yesterday afternoon, the honorable Judge Edward Lodge ruled on the legal challenge brought forth by Friends of the Clearwater, Palouse Group-Sierra Club and Alliance for the Wild Rockies on the Clearwater National Forest Travel Plan. The plaintiffs challenged the sufficiency of the federal agencies’ analysis and the lack of compliance with executive orders on…
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Senate Tester dissembles.- Senators Tester and Daines plot suppression of challenges to timber sales- Timber sales and timber harvest declined on the national forests in the Rocky Mountains during the Clinton Administration. The reason was the withdrawal of subsidies that supported higher levels of timbering. Unlike the Southern national forests and those west of the…
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“We’re basically playing chicken with the feds. It’s basically more like extortion, . . .” Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne)- This session of the Wyoming legislature has been one to nurse grudges when it comes to livestock and efforts to curb its harmful side effects. The legislature passed a bill to criminalize the gathering of data…
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Federal Court Finds the BLM Broke the Law in Permitting Desert Grazing- News release Contacts: Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project (520)623-1878 Sandy Bahr, Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club (602)253-8633 Laurie Rule, Advocates for the West (503)914-6388 – – – Phoenix, AZ. Two conservation groups have won their legal claims against the Bureau of Land…
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Study and photos show terrific regrowth of riparian vegetation- Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in southern Oregon had been grazed by cattle for many decades when in 1991 the cattle were removed. The refuge had been created in 1936 as a “last stronghold” for remnant pronghorn antelope. Since that time wildlife conservation has grown more general.…
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Here is current news and notes- On Feb 9, there was a contentious first hearing on the bills by Senator Jennifer Fielder of Thompson Falls, a leader in the effort for Montana to gain ownership of the U. S. public lands. It was on SB 215 (see next paragraph). Contentious hearing on first of several federal land transfer…