Threats
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A relatively new forest fire, Trapper Ridge, is pumping a lot of smoke into Stanley Basin. There will be a big controversy over grazing when the Murphy Complex and other range fires are out. Burned areas should be rested a good while and seeded with native grass, forbs, and brush to reduce the liklihood of…
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Blaze ignites criticism. Ranchers question rules of engagement in Murphy fire. Times News. By Nick Coltrain. This is very irritating. Some of the ranchers are blaming the fire on not enough grazing and BLM’s tiny attempts to rest a few areas. The years of abusive grazing are the reason for the cheatgrass spread. You don’t…
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Here is the story in the West Yellowstone News. By Carol Hoffman. When I was in YNP last week I pulled up some of this from along the Madison River (at “the Barns”) and also along the north part of the Grand Loop. I saw some on the edge of the road in Lamar Valley,…
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I thought this story interesting: The Powder River Basin has a whole lot of water pumping as a result of coalbed methane production – enough to “perennialize these (ephemeral) streams.” Panel backs limits on coalbed methane water use. AP post 1349
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It seems the cattle industry has maintained it’s scapegoat for the time being. Montana representative Rehberg killed a house amendment based on Schweitzer’s plan to buffer the rest of the state’s brucellosis free status from those that wander around Yellowstone. That would have protected the buffalo AND the livestock industry’s sacred brucellosis free status. Rehberg…
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The Watersheds Messenger for Summer 2007 is on-line. Here is the pdf version (much better quality). This is the newsmagazine of the Western Watersheds Project. It has a lot of good articles, and they are not the bland generic stuff like that produced by many organizations.
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“Just like their polar bear relatives in the Arctic, Yellowstone grizzlies are rapidly losing habitat as a result of global warming. . . .” This story is columnist Joel Connelly’s at the Seattle Post Intelligencer, but I should add that failure to discuss or plan for the effects of climate change is one of the…
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Senator Salazar is upset about the BLM’s giveaway of the huge and wildlife-rich Roan Plateau in Western Colorado to the energy companies. One the surface, at least, all the Salazar is asking is a 120-day extension to review the Roan Plateau Resource Management Plan. Story in Rocky Barker’s blog. Rocky Barker’s blog: Senator places hold…