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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…
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Author’s note. I wrote this piece several decades ago, but never published. Although some of the references may be outdated, the general theme of the article is still valid today. The main conclusion is that Agriculture is the biggest source of biological impoverishment and your food choices can do more for the environment than just…
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Wildness in bison is maintained by evolutionary agents like harsh weather, native predators, competition for forage and mating. Photo George Wuerthner Many bison advocates assert that bison have been “saved” from extinction because approximately half a million animals are now found in zoos, ranches, tribal reservations, state parks, national parks, and other public lands. Bison…
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Cattle grazing in the Blue Range Wilderness of New Mexico. Photo George Wuerthner Anyone who has ever worked on public lands livestock issues knows that modifying the negative impacts of ranching operations, much less eliminating them, is nearly impossible. Domestic livestock grazing even occurs in national parks, national monuments, wilderness areas, and other public lands…
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Yellowstone National Park has produced an DEIS on bison management. The Park Service is accepting comments until October 10th. You can read the DEIS and make your own comment here: Attached are the detailed comments of the Wild Bison Restoration Council, however, if you want to make your own comments here are some brief points.…
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The word Kobuk means “Big River” in the local native language. Photo George Wuerthner I just returned from floating the Kobuk River in Alaska’s Brooks Range. The Kobuk headwaters are north of the Arctic Circle in the Gates of the Arctic National Park and flow west to the Bering Sea near Kotzebue, Alaska. The…
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Old Faithful erupting, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Photo George Wuerthner I just saw the movie Wild Life about Doug and Kris Thompkins’s efforts to protect wildlands in Patagonia. Doug and Kris Tompkins at Renihue Chile. Photo George Wuerthner I am very familiar with that effort as I worked for Doug and Kris for more than…
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.