Threats
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Like so many alternative energies, the negative side effects are enormous- People are getting wise to corn ethanol for fuel. It depletes the food supply both directly by using corn for energy fuel and indirectly by raising the price of corn and so increasing the demand for corn substitutes and their price too. It increases…
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Years of legal pressure prompts favorable policy change Public land domestic sheep grazers and bighorn advocates have been clashing for decades over land-use conflicts which place bighorn sheep populations at risk of deadly disease. With the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012, favorable policy change promises new avenues of conflict resolution that may…
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Finding where the mackinaw spawn via transmitter should help zero in on them- We recently ran a story on the need for more money for Yellowstone Park to get ahead in their battle against the non-native, illegally planted lake trout that have all but wiped out cutthroat trout from Yellowstone Lake. One of the most…
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Greater Yellowstone grizzlies are inbred and Yellowstone Lake far below biological potential due to its infestation with lake trout- The Associated Press reports that in a draft progress report to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Committee, Yellowstone Park is looking for a million dollars a year to rid Yellowstone Lake of lake…
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The Associated Press is reporting that a bighorn sheep lamb in Yellowstone National Park has pneumonia. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks has been tracking sheep in the Gardiner area just north of Yellowstone National Park since reports of coughing bighorn were given to them in early December. In response FWP has killed 5 sheep but…
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Not just these animals and birds are being hurt, but we are too- For those who pay attention, there are many stories about increasing blockage of long seasonal migrations by wildlife. These changes are accompanied by the spread of disease, and the growth of “pest” species which are normally eaten or disrupted by these vast…
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Oregon governor is told county failed to include at least two pro-wolf voices as required by state law- This year the Oregon legislature passed a law authorizing each county to set up a committee to handle livestock interest claims for wolf damage. The claims will be paid by Oregon taxpayers. The idea behind the law…
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After 22 years as the chief biologist at the National Elk Refuge, Bruce Smith pens an easy-to-read, but stark warning about continuing elk feeding- Prions are bit like tiny pieces of radioactive material in that they are very dangerous promoters of illness and for practical purposes never really go away, resting in the dust and…