Yellowstone National Park

  • Expansion and Restoration of Bison to Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

    George Wuerthner

      Yellowstone bison are a globally unique animal. Harsh winters can drive bison out of the park where they are often killed. Photo George Wuerthner  Yellowstone’s bison are unique, essentially influenced by natural evolutionary processes since the Park’s early days. Today the herd has grown to approximately 6,000 animals. Still, the ability of these bison…

  • Travesty of Tribal Slaughter of Yellowstone Bison

    George Wuerthner

    UPDATE: Since I wrote this piece, the number of bison killed near Gardiner and elsewhere from all sources has exceeded 1150 animals. You can read the report here.   Yellowstone bison are used to being photographed not shot.   Photo Bonnie Lynn As I write this essay, sources I trust estimate that at least 700 of…

  • Yellowstone and the Land of Hope

    George Wuerthner

    The Gallatin Range south of Bozeman deserves to be preserved as wilderness. Photo George Wuerthner Recently I skied into a Forest Service cabin in the Gallatin Range. Looking out on a meadow with glaciated peaks beyond gave me a chance to reflect on how lucky I was to have public lands available to enjoy. I’ve…

  • Wyoming Extension Service Grazing Report: Economic Exaggerations

    George Wuerthner

      Cattle grazing in riparian zone on the Bridger Teton National Forest. Photo George Wuerthner When I was in graduate school, required reading was a slim book titled “How to Lie with Statistics.” It opened my eyes to the multiple ways you can misuse statistics to “prove” a point. A new report published by Wyoming…

  • South Plateau Timber Sale-Another Hack Job By Chainsaw Medicine

    George Wuerthner

    Typical pole size of trees in the South Plateau “treatment” area. Photo George Wuerthner  The Custer Gallatin National Forest (CGNF) proposal to log the South Plateau area bordering Yellowstone National Park near West Yellowstone is another example of the Forest Service’s quack chainsaw medicine policies. The CGNF says the goal of the logging is to…

  • People Hate National Parks and Monuments–Until they Don’t

    George Wuerthner

    Last week, the state of Utah filed a court challenge to the Biden Administration’s expansion of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments in southern Utah. The state is claiming the designations were unlawful and besides the state could do a better job of managing this land (which incidentally is federally owned by…

  • Montana Fish and Game Commission Supports Wolf Slaughter

    George Wuerthner

      Wolf. Photo George Wuerthner  This past week, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP) Commission held a public hearing in Helena on Thursday, August 25th, to determine wolf hunting and trapping regulations. Unfortunately, they voted to permit 456 wolves to be slaughtered in the coming year. I use the word “slaughter” on purpose. Montana,…

  • Conservation Groups Threaten To Sue On East Paradise Grazing Decision

    George Wuerthner

      Emigrant Peak and Yellowstone River Valley. Several of the East Paradise Allotments include the Six Mile drainage which lies to the right of the peak in this photo. Photo Georger Wuerthner  The Custer Gallatin National Forest (CGNF) in Montana recently completed an evaluation of six grazing allotments known as the East Paradise allotments. The…

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‎”At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour.”

Edward Abbey

“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.”

Jim Fowler

“Our forests offer much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell.”

Raveena Tandon

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