Public Lands

  • Bison allowed to wander Jackson Hole, WY at will- We have written about bison in Wyoming versus inside Montana a number of times, but not for a couple years. Because of the constant public hostility of Montana’s Department of Livestock (the DOL) and the less-than-in-depth reporting by Montana traditional media, folks probably forget that Montana’s…

  • Action taken to nip the drone problem in the bud- Yesterday the National Park Service banned the use of private drones in all the parks. The ban is temporary while a permanent policy is set in place, but there is little reason to think the ban will be reversed. Earlier we did a story on…

  • Recently I received an alert from the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC) asking me to send a letter to the Montana Dept of Fish, Wildlife and Parks  (MDFWP) requesting a slight reduction in their wolf killing/trapping quota outside of Yellowstone Park. The main rationale of the alert was that wolves were important to the local economy…

  • President Obama could do a lot here- Here are my suggestions for new national monuments which Obama could designate. I have visited every site I recommend here, so I’m personally familiar with the areas. I have tried to put together a list that I think deserve protection, but also have some substantial political momentum in…

  • Web site is called “Bundy’s Buddies” The name of scofflaw rancher “Cliven Bundy” continues to inspire not only certain Republican politicians who are planning more sagebrush rebellion, but now their opponents, who we might call “sagebrush patriots.” A new web site, Bundy’s Buddies, has been put up showing the name and photos of the most…

  • SL Tribune raises a question about his motives- Whenever public officials in the West gather to talk about “taking back” (transferring) the U.S. public lands to state ownership, the name Ken Ivory is likely to show up. We first first heard of this Utah state legislator about two years ago. He has been traveling to…

  • Rangeland steward of the year takes out Barrett in Republican primary- Political analysis and opinion. By Ralph Maughan Any Idahoan concerned about wildlife, grazing, mining, or just a state representative who listens, will bolt upright when they learn the Idaho State Representative Lenore Barrett of Challis has, after years, bitten the political dust. Although she…

  • There are widely held assumptions that logging will reduce or preclude large wildfires and beetle outbreaks. The recent adoption of the Farm Bill categorical exclusion that will permit logging up to 45 million acres of national forests is based on flawed assumptions about forest health and wildfire. LARGE WILDFIRE CLIMATE DRIVEN Large fires are driven…

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