Yesterday it was reported by Rocky Barker that Idaho Representative Mike Simpson believes that the bighorn and grazing riders are likely to make it into law. The riders, attached to the Fiscal Year 2012 – House Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill, would essentially do two things. First, the Bighorn Rider would shut down any process that the BLM…
Denial of Livestock Industry’s Petition for Writ of Certiorari seals the fate of Bush era grazing regulations on 160,000,000 acres of public land On Monday, October 3rd the United States Supreme Court denied consideration of an appeal by the Public Lands Council of prior federal court decisions won by Western Watersheds Project that overturned the…
Western Watersheds Project wins initial court victory Western Watersheds Project (WWP) has won a federal court order overturning the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Resource Management Plans (RMPs) for the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho and the Pinedale Field Office in Wyoming. These two plans affect management on over 2.5…
Contrary to the headline of this story, the second mountain lion shot in the Treasure Valley was not shot in downtown Boise, it was shot in an area where there is significant interface with public lands and wildlife. Mores Creek flows into Lucky Peak Reservoir outside of city limits in an area where quite a…
On September 14 and 15 Katie Fite and I visited the Miller Creek Allotment on the Mountain City Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest to check out the riparian areas there. What we found was just a horrible mess that any land manager should be embarrassed about enough to actually do something about but,…
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…
GOP-backed bill tries to give Homeland Security a pass on environmental laws within 100 miles of international borders for “national security” The “National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505),” is slowly moving in the GOP-controlled House. So far hearings have been held. Supporters say it would help border patrol activities by waiving 36…
After receiving a groundswell of public comments prompted by Western Watersheds Project and local wolf advocates’ tireless effort the Blaine County Commission voted to require the Flat Top Ranch and The Nature Conservancy to provide a predator management plan emphasizing non-lethal protection of livestock prior to the Commission’s final approval of the ranch’s conservation easement…
Ken Cole is a 5th generation Idahoan, an avid fly fisherman, wildlife enthusiast, and photographer. He is the interim Idaho Director for Western Watersheds Project.
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