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With the ravages created by the climate emergency including flooding in the Midwest, wildfires in the West, cities going underwater on the coast of Florida, and extreme heat, we might begin to look at our public lands as carbon storage sites. One of the misconceptions guiding public forest policy is the assumption that logging/thinning can…
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Mountain Biking is a significant threat to our wildlands—both in designated preserves like national parks, wilderness areas, and the like, but also Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) and roadless lands that may potentially be given Congressional protection under the 1964 Wilderness Act. Wilderness designation is one of the best ways to protect biodiversity, watersheds, wildlife habitat,…
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Juniper are more common on slopes and rocky terrain. Photo George Wuerthner The recent article on juniper mortality in central Oregon demonstrates how most forestry professors have little ecological understanding of ecosystem processes nor even the latest ecological science. In the RG article, an Oregon State University forestry professor suggests a lack of low severity…
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THE RESCUE OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL LAND MAMMAL IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE GREATEST CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORIES EVER AND YET IT’S HARD TO FIND MANY WILD HERDS ON THE MAP by Jim Bailey During the 20th century, Montana took pride in bringing several species of large mammals, especially big game, back from the brink of extinction. But…
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Western Watersheds Project (the organization that I am the Executive Director of), WildEarth Guardians and the Center for Biological Diversity are fighting the reinstatement of grazing on four allotments in eastern Oregon that are permitted to Hammond Ranches. In part, we argue that the Hammonds don’t have a great track record and are thus undeserving…
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As we ponder the future of public lands in Montana, including what areas deserve protection as Wilderness, it is worthwhile to look back in history to see how past protective measures were viewed. In 1872 with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park many Montana citizens were outraged. For example, the Helena Gazette opined: “We regard…
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WHEN IT COMES TO SAFEGUARDING BEARS, SCIENTISTS SAY WILDERNESS-CALIBER LANDS, FREE OF RIDERS, ARE IMPORTANT TO BRUIN PERSISTENCE Reposted from Mountain Journal with permission of the author, Todd Wilkinson (click at original link for photos) — Does mountain biking impact wildlife, any more than hikers and horseback riders do? More specifically: could rapidly-growing numbers of…
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I wrote this review of the potential for wolf restoration in Oregon back in 1998. It is interesting to see that many of the predictions I made have materialized. Author: George Wuerthner ABSTRACT: Wolves (Canis lupus) were native to Oregon, and reported from throughout the state. Like much of the West, wolves were persecuted and…
