Grazing and Livestock
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The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department just closed the Yellowstone River to all water borne recreation in response to a growing epidemic that has killed thousands of fish. The culprit is Proliferative Kidney Disease which can cause up to 100 percent mortality. The disease is exacerbated by low water flows and high temperatures. Governor…
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BOISE, Idaho— Western Watersheds Project applauds yesterday’s announcement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife that the slickspot peppergrass (Lepidium pappilliferum) will remain protected as “Threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Political meddling from the livestock industry and its friends in the state of Idaho kept this plant from being protected for over a decade. Slickspot peppergrass…
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By Jonathan Ratner, Wyoming Director, Western Watersheds Project Representative Rob Bishop’s Utah Public Lands bill isn’t just a bad deal for Utahns who want to see Bears Ears protected as a national monument, but it’s also a terrible bill for public lands in general. Included in the sweeping language is binding provisions that would require…
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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report last week detailing the extent to which the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have failed to follow agency regulations in documenting and penalizing unauthorized or trespass livestock grazing on federal public lands. The report, entitled Unauthorized Grazing: Actions Needed to Improve Tracking and…
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Last week, Western Watersheds Project and our allies scored one for bighorn sheep on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest of Montana. Bighorn herds in the Greenhorn Mountains were threatened by the agency’s failure to consider the impacts of domestic sheep grazing in the nearby Gravelly Mountains. WWP, Gallatin Wildlife Association, WildEarth Guardians, and Yellowstone Buffalo Foundation…
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July 15-17, 2016 is the date for the bash in West Yellowstone- The third annual Speak for Wolves is set to take place July 15-17, 2016 at the Historic Union Pacific Dining Lodge in West Yellowstone, Montana. This three-day family-friendly event will feature guest speakers, live music, food, poetry, film, dance and art by Virginie…
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Ongoing harm to Mojave desert tortoise is unacceptable Hailey, IDAHO –A coalition of conservation organizations today pressed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to stop Cliven Bundy’s cattle from continuing to trample Mojave desert tortoise habitat in southeastern Nevada in accordance with the agency’s commitments under the Endangered Species Act and as authorized by…
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Rarely given more than minimal herding, Bundy’s cattle seem now to be on their own- Many people argue that Nevada, the driest state, is really no place for cattle, grass-loving creatures that they are. Nonetheless, herds of widely spaced cattle have pummeled the landscape there for over a hundred years. For a generation Cliven Bundy…