Threats

  • Nuance In Fire Issues Needed

    George Wuerthner

      The aftermath of the Las Conchas  Blaze in 2011 in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. Photo George Wuerthner    An excellent overview of wildfire issues was published in the Revelator. https://therevelator.org/wildfire-archive/ I encourage folks to review it. I especially appreciate the linkage of recent large fires to drought and warming temperatures. That is…

  • Daines and Feinstein Fire Legislation Misdirected

    George Wuerthner

    Thinned lodgepole pine forest on Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest. As often is the case, thinning puts more “fine” fuels on the ground which can promote fire spread. Photo George Wuerthner  Montana Senator Daines announced that he intends to reintroduce wildfire legislation co-sponsored by California Senator Diane Feinstein that, among other things, would speed up and…

  • Success For Oregon Spotted Frog On Antelope Grazing Allotment Oregon

    George Wuerthner

      Deep pools in Jack Creek on the Antelope Grazing Allotment is prime Oregon spotted frog habitat. Photo George Wuerthner  It is not every day that one can claim success in fighting public land degradation from domestic livestock. But the Fremont Winema National Forest in Oregon finally responded to conservationists’ concerns (and lawsuits) about the…

  • Bridger Teton National Forest Proposal Threatens Allotment Retirements

    George Wuerthner

    Hoback Peak in the Wyoming Range, Bridger Teton NF, Wyoming. Photo George Wuerthner A recent proposal by the Bridger Teton National Forest threatens the ability to retire grazing allotments on public lands through permit buyout. Grazing on public lands is a privilege, not a right. Nevertheless, the political power of the livestock industry makes it…

  • Redefining the Anthropocene

    Ralph Maughan

    For the past decade, there has been a raging debate among conservationists over how best for humanity to interact with nature to create a better future. Here, I will argue that defining our current era as the Anthropocene epoch, in which the mark of human impact has reached every corner of the globe, has led…

  • The Cash Cows of Catron County

    When a rancher claims to have lost livestock due to Mexican wolf predation, there are several ways that they can seek compensation. One of those ways is a program run by the U.S.D.A Farm Services Agency (FSA) known as the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), which provides compensation for livestock lost due to attack by animals…

  • Wildfire May Benefit Spotted Owls

    George Wuerthner

    Northern Spotted Owl Photo US FWS A couple of years ago, I attended a meeting of the Deschutes Collaborative. Spotted Owls and wildfire was the topic that day. The meeting was a classic example of how collaboratives selectively use science to justify more logging of our forests. The two-hour meeting featured a biologist with the…

  • California Coastal Commission On Point Reyes Ranching

    George Wuerthner

    Dairy and beef cattle are grazed at Point Reyes National Seashore sixty years after the properties were purchased by American citizens. Photo George Wuerthner  Fences. Everywhere I went during a recent trip to Point Reyes, I encountered fences. Why are there fences in a national park unit? They exist to facilitate the private use of…

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‎”At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour.”

Edward Abbey

“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.”

Jim Fowler

“Our forests offer much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell.”

Raveena Tandon

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