Idaho
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Black Forest Colorado fire destroys almost 400 homes- – – – – – – Update: On June 20 the Black Forest fire was contained after 500 houses had burned. RM – – – – – – The first day of summer is just about here, and wildfires are breaking out across much of the Western…
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USFWS called “wrong” to say no grizzlies had been killed on Sheep Experiment Station on Idaho/Montana border, Continental Divide Area Boise, ID. On May 17, 2013 the Western Watersheds Project, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, Native Ecosystems Council and Yellowstone Buffalo Foundation filed a suit in federal district court to challenge domestic sheep grazing that has been…
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Fatal ungulate disease advances as Wyoming game managers continue on in denial- Our recent story on chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Wisconsin now has a followup in the treasured Greater Yellowstone country. In both places, wildlife managers and politicians continue to take a heedless attitude toward the always fatal elk, deer and moose disease, and…
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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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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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In yesterday’s post about the Owyhee “Group 1” grazing decision we discussed the NRCS Ecological Site Descriptions for Juniper Mountain that inaccurately describe the vegetation and magically discount the native juniper forests that exist there. In the Environmental Assessment the BLM states: “Ecological site descriptions for Castlehead-Lambert allotment do not identify the presence of juniper…
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The average sheep herder who comes to work in the US under the H2A immigrant worker program gets paid only $650-$750 per month. Many of the workers come from South American countries like Peru or Chile and spend months in remote areas of Idaho with little communication and poor access to medical facilities. Contrast this…
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Rare Fishers Heavily Impacted A response to a state public records request, submitted by Western Watersheds Project to the Idaho Fish and Game Department, shows widespread capture and mortality of non-target species related to wolf trapping and snaring in Idaho during the 2011/2012 trapping and snaring season. For the last two years, since wolves in the Northern…