Emigrant Peak and Yellowstone River Valley. Several of the East Paradise Allotments include the Six Mile drainage which lies to the right of the peak in this photo. Photo Georger Wuerthner The Custer Gallatin National Forest (CGNF) in Montana recently completed an evaluation of six grazing allotments known as the East Paradise allotments. The…
Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is a 315,000 acre protected landscape located on the Alaskan Peninsula, a chain of volcanos that eventually leds to the Aleutian Islands. Former President Jimmy Carter has filed an AMICUS CURIAE supporting a rehearing of a District Court decision to allow a road to be constructed across the Izembek National…
The Hoover Wilderness lies on the Bridgeport Ranger District. Photo George Wuerthner Photo George Wuerthner There is not often good news to report when it comes to livestock grazing on public lands; but I finally have something positive to convey: four vacant grazing allotments will remain closed by a draft decision of the Bridgeport…
Escudilla Mountain rises above the landscape and dominates the views in northern Arizona. Photo George Wuerthner “Life in Arizona was bounded underfoot by grama grass, overhead by the sky, and on the horizon by Escudilla.” So begins Aldo Leopold’s memorable essay Escudilla in Sand County Almanac, where he describes the killing of Bigfoot, one of…
March 1 was the 150th anniversary of the congressional establishment of Yellowstone National Park . . . Revised April 9, 2022. After that, the national park system slowly gathered. Yellowstone Park was a de novo act, but the idea of national parks had been created and it took root both here and abroad. Many more…
Snow bound peaks of Yellowstone National Park. Photo George Wuerthner One of the big lies perpetuated by new revisionists in the WOKE movement (AKA David Treuer’s piece in Atlantic as an example), which continues to be repeated over and over without any effort by any “so-called” conservation groups to correct is the notion that Indians were…
Livestock grazing in the arid West has a disproportionate impact on ecosystems. but especially on public lands which are to be managed for other values. Photo George Wuerthner Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) introduced the Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act of 2022. The Act would give federal grazing permit holders the chance…
George Wuerthner is an ecologist and writer who has published 38 books on various topics related to environmental and natural history. He has visited over 400 designated wilderness areas and over 200 national park units.