The Wildlife News

Public Lands

  • Should the declining inbred wolves of Isle Royale N.P. be augmented?

    Ralph Maughan

    Should there be genetic rescue (outside wolves brought in)- For many years the wolves and moose of Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior have shown that wolves do not wipe out their prey. When wolves become abundant enough that the disappearance of prey seems probable, the wolves die back. On the other hand, when…

  • Celebration and warnings as Greater Yellowstone Coalition marks its 30th year

    Ralph Maughan

    Former Yellowstone superintendent Michael Finley doubts grizzly delisting due to lack of habitat- West Yellowstone, MT.  Last weekend the Greater Yellowstone Coalition celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding back in 1983. Along with honoring the founders, especially activist Rick Reese, and former Board members, the Coalition (GYC) had a prime time panel consisting of…

  • Forest Services shuts down U.S. 12 to megaloads for good . . . again

    Ralph Maughan

    Closure order published Sept. 18 for section through the Lochsa-Clearwater Wild and Scenic River corridor- There was a similar headline about a month ago. Then Omega-Morgan transport, aided by a permit from Idaho Department of Transportation and law enforcement, bullied their way through the corridor. The Forest Service backed down in the face of this…

  • Greater Yellowstone griz to seek food in lower elevations this autumn

    Ralph Maughan

    Poor whitebark pine crop but a good berry crop brings bears lower and closer to people- This year as the Yellowstone country grizzly bears enter their time of peak appetite to prepare for hibernation they have a good berry crop to fatten on. However, there is a poor crop of the oil and protein rich…

  • Mountain goats introduced to La Sal Mountains in Southeast Utah

    Ralph Maughan

    Trend of introducing mountain goats outside historic range continues- Utah’s Division of Wildlife has captured about 50 mountain goats from its thriving herd in the high Tushar Mountains of Southern Central Utah and released some of them into the photographically famous La Sal Mountains, east of Moab, near the Colorado border. Seeing and hunting the…

  • Open range laws, legal and illegal abuse by livestock interests

    Ralph Maughan

    They have a right to trample your property rights. Some say they take even more than that- Urban folks have rarely heard of open range laws, but people who own land outside town in “open range” areas certainly have.  It is a long time and contentious issue that is heating up as more people own…

  • Rump congressional committee hears Endangered Species Act critics in Billings, MT

    Ralph Maughan

    Some Republican members of House Natural Resources Committee gather to attack ESA and EAJA- Congressional hearings are held in theory to help gather information to write legislation. Every standing committee of Congress has members of both parties in proportion to their numbers in the full House or Senate.  Many congressional hearings are not attended by…

  • How Effective Is Fire Suppression? Lessons from Yellowstone

    George Wuerthner

    One of the often repeated remarks used to explain the large fires we are experiencing around the West is that a hundred years of fire suppression has led to unnatural accumulations of fuels. Yet such assertions assume that fire suppression was always efficient and effective—a questionable assumption especially in the early days of the Forest…

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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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