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"Conservation"
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments on the proposed listing of the Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Following the status review, the Service will either publish a proposed rule to protect the Arctic grayling under the ESA, or a withdrawal from candidate [...]
Continue Reading →On September 1, 2013, The Sagebrush Habitat Conservation Fund completed the permanent retirement from livestock grazing of over 130,000 acres of public land in the former 45 and Tent Creek grazing allotments in Owyhee County, Idaho.
This permanently closes over 200 square miles of public lands to livestock grazing, ensuring habitat improvements for sage-grouse, California bighorn [...]
Continue Reading →Former Yellowstone superintendent Michael Finley doubts grizzly delisting due to lack of habitat-
West Yellowstone, MT. Last weekend the Greater Yellowstone Coalition celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding back in 1983. Along with honoring the founders, especially activist Rick Reese, and former Board members, the Coalition (GYC) had a prime [...]
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I recently had encounters with three state wildlife agency biologists. All of them were quite open with their criticisms of their agencies predator policies. I can’t reveal their names and I will change a few details to hide their identities.
The first biologist told me there was no reason to kill predators. He said [...]
Continue Reading →Bozeman, Mont.—Conservationists are offering a $6,500 reward for information leading to the arrestand conviction of the person(s) responsible for killing a grizzly bear in the Centennial Mountains ofsouthwest Montana last fall.
The collar of “Grizzly #726” was recovered from a stream on USDA Sheep Experiment Stationproperty on September 12, 2012. He had been fitted with [...]
Continue Reading →I attended the Fish and Wildlife Service’s wolverine listing hearings in Helena. Opponents, including a number of Montana state legislators as well as MDFWP, argued that wolverine populations were “stable” or even “increasing” and therefore did not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act.
While the ill-informed state legislators who testified could be forgiven for [...]
Continue Reading →The Supreme Court recently ruled in an 7-1 vote (Justice Stephen Breyer recused himself) that the EPA regulations about water pollution as mandated by the Clean Water Act did not apply to sediment and other pollution from logging operations. The timber industry is rejoicing over the ruling. But citizens should be less sanguine than industry. [...]
Continue Reading →By George Wuerthner
State Fish and Game agencies are in the midst of a funding and mission crisis. They appear unable to adapt to shifting political and demographic changes much as the Republican Party is failing to adjust to new voter realities. The crisis is nowhere more evident than in their attitudes towards predators like [...]
Continue Reading →A very happy development?
Drones are in the news a lot all of a sudden. Welcome to the new world where they can help you or kill you.
Poachers of African rhinos, elephants, etc. are often organized in semi-military units and more than a match for Park rangers. Now in some places, Kenya in the [...]
Continue Reading →In their December 29th editorial in the Billings Gazette, Scott Talbott of the Wyoming Game and Fish and Harv Forsgren of the U.S. Forest Service wrote that hunting was another step towards grizzly bear recovery.
To read their editorial, go to this link: Guest opinion: Hunting another step toward grizzly bear recovery.
Specifically, the [...]
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