With the arrival of the first wolf in California since the 1920s, no doubt the California Department of Game and Fish is receiving many comments from the public. The quality of this support, opposition and advice probably varies all over the map (the maps in our heads). Norman Bishop, who played a key role as…
REVA (H.R. 3432) Would Provide Cash Option for Grazing Permittees Conservationists hailed the introduction of the Rural Economic Vitalization Act (H.R. 3432) in Congress, a bill that would allow federal grazing permittees to voluntarily relinquish their grazing permits back to the managing federal agency in exchange for compensation paid by a third party. The bill…
Unlike deer and pronghorn, are elk trapped forever in the high mountain valley? The big mountain valley of Jackson Hole, Wyoming is so high and cold that elk did not winter there before Euro-American settlement blocked the late fall migration routes out and settlers eventually began to feed elk at what became the National Elk…
This morning the Idaho Statesman published the view of Margaret Soulen-Hinson, the President of the American Sheep Industry Association. The letter was a response to a letter submitted to the Idaho Statesman co-signed by John Gale, National Wildlife Federation; Rob Fraser, Idaho Wildlife Federation; Craig Gehrke, The Wilderness Society; John Robison, Idaho Conservation League; and…
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been found in elk, deer, and moose in several areas of Wyoming and has been moving ever closer to the already brucellosis infected elk herds that use feeding grounds in northwest Wyoming. The feeding grounds long ago caused the elk to stop migrating to a unique area along the Continental…
Autumn 2011- Golden aspens and cottonwoods, plus a dusting of early snow, set the lovely autumn scene in Yellowstone, giving a hint of winter to come. As the grizzlies head up to the high country to fatten up on white bark pine nuts before hibernation, bugling elk stream back into the valleys, coming down from…
Changes help livestock industry overall but does it change much on the ground for wildlife? Last week it was announced that another herd of cattle had likely become infected with brucellosis. Six cattle from a herd in Park County, Montana tested positive for exposure and have been quarantined to await test results to confirm the…
Epic wildlife battle takes place under the moonlight by cabin in small town next to Yellowstone Park- Some people have great luck, I wish I could have been at this man’s cabin. In case you don’t know Silver Gate, Montana (permanent population about 20), it is a tiny and very old town right at the…
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.