Bighorn Sheep
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Domestic sheep grazing in the Gravelly Range, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner A recent article on the Helle family and their domestic sheep grazing operations on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest was published In a November Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The piece was a puff piece on the sheep grazing practices of the Helle family…
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Twin Lakes on the Bridgeport Ranger District. Photo George Wuerthner A recent final decision to keep cattle grazing out of vacant allotments on the Bridgeport District Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest is good news for the public and many endangered species. The district lies on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada just east and north…
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The ecological impacts of livestock production is significant and there is seldom a full accounting of these costs. Photo George Wuerthner Livestock is responsible for more ecological damage to the western landscape than any other human activity. However, few accounting of these impacts is ever compiled. One source is my book Welfare Ranching–the Subsidized Destruction…
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Gravelly Range has extensive uplands. Photo by Ralph Maughan The Greenhorn Vegetation Managment plan calls for logging and burning thousands of acres in the spectacular Gravelly Range of Montana, primarily to benefit the local ranchers. The Gravellies occupy the western edge of what is typically recognized as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Beaverhead Deerlodge National…
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The Elk Ridge Complex grazing allotments were closed to livestock grazing in 2015. Now the BTNF wants to open them to cattle grazing. Photo George Wuerthner The Bridger Teton National Forest (BTNF) has recently issued an Environmental Assessment to restock four vacant grazing allotments in the Upper Green River drainage north of Pinedale, Wyoming.…
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Hoback Peak in the Wyoming Range, Bridger Teton NF, Wyoming. Photo George Wuerthner A recent proposal by the Bridger Teton National Forest threatens the ability to retire grazing allotments on public lands through permit buyout. Grazing on public lands is a privilege, not a right. Nevertheless, the political power of the livestock industry makes it…
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The Centennial Range straddles the Montana-Idaho border forming a natural migration corridor for wildlife. Photo George Wuerthner Due to a recent court decision, the Centennial Range, which lies along the Idaho-Montana border to the west of Yellowstone National Park, is that much closer to becoming a “safe zone” for wildlife. For decades, the U.S. Department…
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Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Ram. Photo George Wuerthner Bighorn sheep acquired their name for the large circular horns of the mature rams. They are strongly associated with mountain terrain, particularly steep hills and cliffs, which protect them against predators. They graze upon grasses and other plants. In general, bighorns are associated with drier parts of…