States
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The fires in Los Angeles are still burning as I write this. The loss of property, the disruption and loss of lives, and the trauma these fires created are horrendous. Nevertheless, there are lessons we can learn to change fire policies to mitigate (not prevent) such tragedies in the future. Wildfires are a natural part…
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A recent Bend Bulletin Editorial repeated the numerous misconceptions about prescribed burning. The commentary suggested that more prescribed burning would reduce smoke in Bend during the summer months. While I agree that less smoke would be a great outcome, prescribed burning will not accomplish that for several reasons. First, much of the smoke we experience…
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The Forest Service is proposing to amend the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP). The NWFP was created to protect old-growth forests and wildlife.The new plan proposals would weaken the protection of public forests. The NWFP was implemented in response to excessive logging ravaging many acres of public patrimony with massive clearcuts that turned public forests…
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Back in 2000, I wrote a piece for California Wild about the prospects for wolf restoration in the state. At that time, there had not been any wolves reported in the Golden State in decades. Nevertheless, I felt the state could easily support a wolf populaiton. In my article, I pretended that it was 2020…
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I recently received a comment on my The Wildlife News article, Audubon Society Embraces Ranching. The commentator suggested if we don’t accept ranching, we will have subdivisions everywhere. I’ve written a lot about this. It is one of the oldest arguments from livestock proponents and most mainstream conservation groups like The Nature Conservancy and others…
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Chaparral is one of the least appreciated natural communities in the West. Yet this shrubland assemblage occupies 9-10% of California’s land area and is one of the most abundant vegetative communities in the state. Wildfire is a significant feature of this community. High-severity fire is the dominant fire regime. However, there are substantial myths about…
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The Comb Wash allotment and the adjacent Cottonwood allotment within what, at the time of this writing, is still within the Bear’s Ears National Monument features prominently within the annals of litigation against the abuses of livestock grazing on our public lands. For decades after the passage of The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) the…
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The Gallatin Range south of Bozeman is the last major unprotected landscape in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. A minimum of 250,000 acres of the Gallatin Range as advocated by the Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance should be designated wilderness under the 1964 Wilderness Act. The Gallatin Range is a key area for wildlife, and home…
