Montana
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George Ochenski tells how ranchers move the goal posts on Yellowstone bison issue- Perhaps a hundred stories since we first wrote about the issues of the Yellowstone’s bison’s genetic purity, the seemingly pointless slaughter of Park bison that leave the Park, and many other issues, very slow progress has been made. Bison perhaps can now…
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Effort underway in Congress to repeal the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977- Back in 1977 when Montana had a much greener congressional delegation, Montana senator Lee Metcalf got a bill passed and signed into law giving semi-Wilderness protection to about 700-thousand acres of scenic and wildlife rich Montana mountains. The roadless areas protected until Congress…
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Findings contradict local views on the dire effect of wolves on elk calves- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and University of Montana have a 3-year study going to find out about elk and predator relations in the southern part (the “upper part”) of the Bitterroot Valley, Montana. By the time of the recently ended wolf…
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Collaboration is all the rage. How it has worked in Montana- Past stories here at The Wildlife News have not been very friendly to the process called “collaboration” although we have not written about it for a while. That does not mean it has disappeared nor become friendly to conservation of our forests, grasslands, sage…
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The Montana FWP Commission has decided not to extend the wolf hunt in the Bitterroot area. While many claim that the elk declines seen there have been due to wolves but a recent study implicates cougars and a quick look at the historic numbers shows that poor hunting management has also contributed to the declines…
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Unconfirmed sightings are increasing, but does this mean real bears or more Ravalli County hysteria? Officially there are no grizzly bears in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho-Montana or in the ranges to the east until you get about the Snowcrest Range. On the other hand, grizzlies are spreading out as their traditional food sources in…
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Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, Wyoming , Colorado poll. Arizonans stand out- Generally speaking Arizona is not thought of as a state especially friendly to environmental policies. Of course a state’s reputation on such things is the result of the real attitudes of the people as channeled by politicians and interpreted by the media. In early January…
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The effort to list the Greater Sage-grouse via the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been an uphill battle. However, even as the end-game has yet to be realized, the effort itself has been remarkably successful at prompting bureaucratic backflips and a whole lot of paper-shuffling to accommodate consideration of the species. Unfortunately, many of the existing and developing…