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Due to gross similarities in size, food preference, and appearance, it is often asserted that bison and domestic cattle are ecological analogs. However, a review of their evolutionary history demonstrates that they have significant differences in evolutionary pressures that manifest themselves in strikingly different modes of resource exploitation. Compared to domestic cattle, bison wander…
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William Perry Pendley’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management has been withdrawn and while President Trump offered no explanation for withdrawing Pendley’s nomination, it seems he didn’t have the votes necessary for Senate confirmation. The Senate Democrats were united against him and a few GOP Senators found themselves in an election year hot…
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The rugged peaks of the Badger-Two Medicine area on the Helena and Clark National Forest, Montana. Photo by George Wuerthner The recent article in High Country News on legislation to protect the Badger-Two Medicine area on the Helena Lewis and Clark National Forest with co-management by the Blackfeet tribe has significant factual errors and implications…
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Anyone who has been following this blog lately knows that I’ve been writing a bit and a bit more about Wildlife Services’ depredation reports that indict Mexican wolves for livestock deaths under suspicious circumstances, often with very scant or inconsistent evidence. It’s been a long, strange trip that started with our questions about potential causes…
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Mexican gray wolves are blamed for all kinds of livestock deaths in Catron County, and so we wanted to see for ourselves, by reviewing depredation reports, how USDA Wildlife Services is investigating dead livestock and arriving at determinations that Mexican wolves are to blame. Spoiler alert: It’s not particularly convincing. (I’ve written about this before,…
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Paradise Valley, Montana. Photo by George Wuerthner Paradise Valley, Montana, is aptly named. The Yellowstone River flows north to Livingston, Montana, framed by the Absaroka Mountains on the east and the Gallatin Range on the West. It’s one of the most stunning landscapes in the entire West. Due to its location immediately adjacent to…
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The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is America’s environmental charter. Signed into law by Richard Nixon, it has three central tenets. First, federal agencies must look before they leap and examine the full environmental impacts of most major actions that receive federal funding, including the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects those actions will have. Second,…
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The Ecological Citizen Vol 4 No 1 2020: epub-033 [online first] First published: 23 July 2020 Like many people throughout the world, I am deeply saddened by the murder of George Floyd and by the ignorance and callousness that led to his death. One upshot, however, is that Mr Floyd’s death has resulted in a…
Author
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.