Wildlife News
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A few weeks ago, I watched a pack of wolves in Yellowstone National Park with perhaps several dozen other visitors. Everyone was excited to glimpse one of the Park’s packs. People with scopes and telephoto lenses shared the view. “Here, take a look through my scope,” was a familiar invitation. The group’s camaraderie reminded me…
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The recent blaze that destroyed much of Altadena, California was an urban fire ignited by wind-driven embers. Photo by George Wuerthner A new report from Headwaters Economics concludes that 1,100 communities scattered across the country are vulnerable to urban wildfires, such as the recent Altadena and Pacific Palisades blazes in California. While the origins of…
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Top Line: Like bankruptcy, the death of the Northwest Forest Plan has proceeded slowly and might end quickly. Figure 1. An old-growth forest of Douglas-fir and western redcedar. Source: Sandy Lonsdale (first appeared in Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness). Note: I wrote the following without considering President Trump’s recent executive order pertaining to federal forestlands. I didn’t want the…
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Ghost Bull, named for his ability to avoid tribal hunters outside of Yellowstone National Park. Photo by George Wuerthner I watched Ghost Bull grazing just outside of Yellowstone National Park’s northern border. Ghost Bull is a name given to the bison by wildlife advocates because he seems to come and go, eluding tribal shooters who…
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The Trump administration believes that unless it can be sold or collateralized, it has no value.
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America’s public lands are one of the Nation’s most outstanding achievements. Public lands are part of every citizen’s heritage and an essential part of the national inheritance. It is especially vital to the people living in the western states, where we enjoy an abundance of public land. The public domain is critical to our perception…
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I have written numerous critiques of the current fire policies that primarily focus on hinterland fuel reduction by logging and prescribed burning. While some limited use of these strategies has a place in reducing fire risk to homes, the main emphasis should be on the house and surroundings. The most significant home losses are not…
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Here we go again. Yet another article “Bill plans to use livestock grazing to lower wildfire risk” about how livestock grazing can reduce wildfires. It seems that every month or so, someone (without much knowledge of fire ecology or even grazing impacts) rediscovers the fairy tale that fuel reduction by grazing will preclude large wildfires.…
