Public Lands
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I recently visited Yellowstone National Park and, while there, my father and I used a friend’s place as a base camp in Gardiner, Montana. From there we would drive about 10 miles to the Park where we watched wildlife, took photographs, and just enjoyed some of the solitude that Yellowstone provides during this part of…
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Salmon-Challis National Forest said to not enforce grazing laws- Boise. ID. When you drive or hike into this east central Idaho high country (Idaho’s highest mountains), you would expect to see pristine creeks. On the Salmon-Challis NF, however, one is usually disappointed. The creeks are sacrificed to appease local ranchers with tiny amounts of extra grass…
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Are ranchers stupid? You might think so if you watch their behavior towards predators. For decades ranchers have declared war on coyotes. Despite their best efforts, coyotes not only survive, but thrive. Even with taxpayer subsidies to America’s welfare ranchers in the form of Animal Damage Control agents, and the slaughter of tens of…
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Sally Jewell, the nominee for the Secretary of Interior, was asked several questions during her confirmation hearing but the committee members also submitted about 200 written questions to her as well. You can read her answers here.
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One of the five is a large parcel of natural land in New Mexico- Almost every President since Theodore Roosevelt has declared national monuments. The three greatest have been T.R. himself, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. George W. Bush finally declared a very large national monument in the ocean — the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument,…
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The Supreme Court recently ruled in an 7-1 vote (Justice Stephen Breyer recused himself) that the EPA regulations about water pollution as mandated by the Clean Water Act did not apply to sediment and other pollution from logging operations. The timber industry is rejoicing over the ruling. But citizens should be less sanguine than industry.…
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On the mornings of Monday and Tuesday I attended the hearing in the House State Affairs Committee on HCR 21 and HCR 22. Testimony on the resolutions was interrupted when testimony for two other bills went longer than expected and the committee members were scheduled to be in the House chambers. The two resolutions involve…
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Wyoming National Parks sequestered along with the rest in the U.S.- There are many stories and possible stories about the sequester’s across-the-board cuts. Like the rest of federal discretionary spending, the National Park System (NPS) has to deal with the cuts. NPS has to deal with $113-million in instant budget reduction. This is especially difficult…