March 2015
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Bill on interstate compact on federal lands transfer dies in committee in Senate. Spokesman-Review. By Betsy Z. Russell. Earlier . . . Critical vote in state senate committee probably on April Fool’s- It has already passed the Idaho House with plenty of room to spare. April Fool’s Day is the likely day the Idaho State…
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Is arrogant ranching to blame? After many articles here in TWN this year, and elsewhere, about the growing pneumonia epidemic in the bighorn sheep herd just north of Yellowstone Park continues, now 40% of the bighorn are dead. More bighorn are sick. Details in Yellowstone Gate. Now, there is little to stop the disease from…
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This is a very good overview by Vickery Eckhoff on how wealthy Americans enjoy the largess of the American taxpayer by grazing at subsidized rates on public lands. The welfare does not just include low grazing fees, but many other services provided by the government like predator control, weed control (created by livestock grazing in…
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It is time to create a new page of “Interesting Wildlife News.” Please put your wildlife news in the comments below. Do not post copyrighted material, and here is the link to the “old” news of March 13, 2015.
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Wildlife management reform objective two- Recently we discussed the first objective in reforming the broken system of wildlife management we see in America today. That was to restructure the state fish and game departments. Here is the second: 2. Remove Grazing From All Federal Public Lands Grazing is the most ecologically damaging form of land…
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This is a provocative essay by Michael Vandeman written almost two decades ago, but given the increasing demand that various recreationalists as well as industry is demanding of our wildlands, it is worth considering some of the ideas that he articulates. Wildlife Need Habitat Off-Limits to Humans! Michael J. Vandeman, Ph.D. October 12, 1997“Of what…
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A new publication titled Post Fire logging reduces surface woody fuels up to four decades following wildfire was published in Forest Ecology and Management this week. You can find the article here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112714006823 The research will undoubtedly be used by pro logging advocates to justify more post fire logging under the guise that it will…
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Montana is the exception by killing bill to create a land transfer task force- All of the Western states now entertain bills to take the public lands from the United States and give, transfer or take them for the individual states. Some Republicans in Congress are trying to get the proposed redistribution of land going by…