Montana
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Is arrogant ranching to blame? After many articles here in TWN this year, and elsewhere, about the growing pneumonia epidemic in the bighorn sheep herd just north of Yellowstone Park continues, now 40% of the bighorn are dead. More bighorn are sick. Details in Yellowstone Gate. Now, there is little to stop the disease from…
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Wildlife management reform objective two- Recently we discussed the first objective in reforming the broken system of wildlife management we see in America today. That was to restructure the state fish and game departments. Here is the second: 2. Remove Grazing From All Federal Public Lands Grazing is the most ecologically damaging form of land…
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Montana is the exception by killing bill to create a land transfer task force- All of the Western states now entertain bills to take the public lands from the United States and give, transfer or take them for the individual states. Some Republicans in Congress are trying to get the proposed redistribution of land going by…
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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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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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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…
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If states grab federal lands, what happens to donated private lands? What do the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, and hundreds of other organizations have in common? Their gifts of acquired private land given to the federal government would be at risk if states got hold of the national…
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Wildlife management reform objective one- Speak for Wolves is an opportunity for the American people to unite and demand wildlife management reform and restore our national heritage. This year’s event is set to take place in the Union Pacific Dining Lodge on August 7-9, 2015 in West Yellowstone, Montana. Here is the first objective in reforming…