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Earlier I linked to the WWP blog story “Bighorn Sheep Threaten Western Way of Life?” Now the Boise Weekly has reprinted an article from High Country News giving more background into the controversy that led to the successful lawsuit this spring that kept the Payette National Forest from ignoring its court ordered duty to keep…
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By Tom Keegan, Idaho Department of Fish and Game A one-year-old bighorn sheep ram that mingled with domestic goats was euthanized Monday, June 25, to prevent the sheep from potentially carrying disease back to the wild herd. Tom Keegan, Salmon regional wildlife manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, euthanized the year-old ram…
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This lawsuit is over sheep grazing in the Centennial Mountains to the west of Yellowstone. The range forms the Idaho/Montana border. -News Release- Conservationists File Suit Over Illegal Sheep Grazing in Yellowstone Area Groups Seek to Protect Bighorn Sheep and Other Endangered Species SILVER CITY, N.M.— Two conservation groups sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture…
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Yellowstone National Park recently released its Final Bison Management Plan. It arbitrarily limits bison numbers through tribal hunting outside of the park and the transfer of public Yellowstone bison to Indian reservations. The NPS Preferred Alternative 2 is better than the existing bison management but will continue the degradation of wild bison. Alt. 3 is…
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Biden and Haaland’s Opportunity to Further Conservation President Biden and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland could go down in history if they created additional National Monuments. Although Biden has created or enlarged seven National Monuments by executive proclamation so far in his Presidency, numerous other public lands should be given protection before the November…
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Cattle congregating in the riparian area, Chama, New Mexico. Photo George Wuerthner SOIL CARBON AND LIVESTOCK Rangelands make up a large proportion of the Earth’s surface, and the soils hold a significant amount of sequestered carbon (Schuman,G.E et al. 2001). Rangelands are estimated to contain more than one-third of the world’s above and below ground…
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Lochsa River on the Nez Perce Clearwater NF, Idaho. Photo George Wuerthner The Nez Perce Clearwater National Forests in central-northern Idaho contain more wildlands than almost any other national forest in the lower 48 states. Recently, the Forest released its forest plan on November 28, 2023, which will determine the management for the next 10-30…
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“The grazing of livestock, where established prior to the effective date of this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary by the Secretary of Agriculture.” The Wilderness Act of 1964, Section 4(d)(4)(2) Cattle grazing designaed wilderness in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, Arizona. Photo George Wuerthner No…
Author
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.