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Former chair of the U of Montana Economics Department, Tom Power, often noted that most rural communities in the West see their economies in a rear view mirror. They have no idea of what is driving their current economy, and often continue to support economic activities that may be detrimental to the new unfolding economic…
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The Republican-led, House Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee has proposed eliminating funding for a variety of important fish and wildlife conservation programs. Specifically, the subcommittee proposed zeroing-out funding for the State & Tribal Wildlife Grants Program, North American Wetland Conservation Fund, Neotropical Migratory Bird Fund, Forest Legacy Program and Water Conservation Fund. These…
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When cougar incidents spike, a general hunt is not the answer, but what is? In the past in Washington State and other states too, the common solution to an increasing number of complaints about cougars around livestock or houses has been a hunt. This is a political response based on simple thinking that more incidents…
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This is a guest editorial by Wendy Keefover, Director of the Carnivore Protection Program at WildEarth Guardians- The New York Times editors largely got it right when they recently editorialized critically about the cruel work of a little known program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that annually spends over $100 million to kill some…
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Forest Service failed to enforce their regulations on megaloads- News release- BOISE — Idaho Rivers United and the Nez Perce Tribe filed a joint lawsuit in federal court in Boise late this afternoon in order to stop the movement of megaloads along U.S. Highway 12 through tribal lands and the Clearwater-Lochsa Wild and Scenic River…
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Idaho State Police hold up traffic to get megaload ahead of protesters- U.S. Highway 12, Idaho. “Fighing Goliath” is an organization of local Highway 12 citizens trying to protect their property, lives, and beautiful outdoors from “Corporate Canada” and its enablers in Idaho government. They have a blog detailing what is going on. We took…
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Washington D.C. At the federal level, there appears to be more crude, heavy-handed politics in the delisting of the gray wolf. Three prominent scientists, experts on wolves, were just cut from the committee at the insistence of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because they signed a letter with 13 other wolf scientists expressing concern…
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What do you do when transport company is breaking federal law with state protection to haul giant machinery through Idaho to tar sands hell? It seems as though the Idaho and Montana state governments are working for Canada and the oil companies. Idaho citizens and the Nez Perce Tribe protests but they get arrested, rather…