Grazing and Livestock
-
Controversial wildlife bills are only part of it- Most of the attention by those interested in wildlife in this year’s Idaho legislature have focused on Governor “Butch” Otter’s 2-million dollar wolf killing bill as it continues to advance toward law. Nonetheless, there are other wildlife bills and a host of additional scary, strange, and backwards…
-
Bozeman, Mont.—Conservation groups entered into a settlement agreement today that will require the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a new Biological Opinion before grazing domestic sheep this summer in southwest Montana. Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, Western Watersheds Project, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Native Ecosystems Council and Yellowstone Buffalo Foundation…
-
An article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle today discusses several recent incidents where small farm flocks of domestic sheep and goats have come into close contact with bighorn sheep and, in some cases, have caused large die-offs of bighorn sheep due to the pneumonia caused by pathogens transmitted from the domestic animals. In other cases…
-
The USDA Wildlife Services Wildlife Specialist “Mistook” it for a Coyote The Endangered Species Act affords protection against unauthorized take of the Mexican gray wolves, and makes it a criminal offense to kill one. 16 U.S.C. §1540(b). The Final Rule for the reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves codifies the prohibition against killing the wolves and…
-
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments on the proposed listing of the Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Following the status review, the Service will either publish a proposed rule to protect the Arctic grayling under the ESA, or a withdrawal from candidate…
-
Provisions would increase rancher base property value solely by issuing longer grazing lease and waving public participation- An article in fiscally conservative Forbes Magazine looks at the real effects of the “Grazing Improvement Act.” It is yet more money for the elite (or just plain lucky) set of ranchers who hold a public grazing lease.…
-
It may already be too late Throughout the west, bighorn sheep are seeking out mates and the rams are giving an incredible display by butting heads in competition for ewes. This is a very visible spectacle in the Gardiner Basin of Montana that lies just north of Yellowstone National Park which is filled with many…
-
Yellowstone Bison *SPECIAL ALERT! November 18, 2013 The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will be considering a bill this week that will have a devastating impact on western public lands, native wildlife and especially wild buffalo. The “Grazing Improvement Act,” S. 258, is a nightmare for wild buffalo. As many of you already know,…