Currently viewing the category:
"The Great Outdoors"
National Forests across the West are facing dire threats from politicians, the timber industry and the Forest Service. The public is currently being misled into thinking that our forests are “unhealthy”, and that they need to be “restored” due to “beetle infestations” and “insect and disease.” All of this is euphemism to drastically ramp up […]
Continue Reading →The national wilderness preservation system would be strengthened-
Taking a long trip into the backcountry during winter doesn’t appeal to some people. That’s understandable. But I enjoy it, and it’s something I try to do a few times a year. Winter backpacking is very different, and more challenging, compared to strapping on the pack during […]
Continue Reading →Wilderness in the Boulder and White Clouds mountains after 40 years of trying!
Yesterday the U.S. Senate, just like the U.S. House did earlier this summer, passed a 275,000 acre wilderness bill for the scenic Boulder and White Clouds mountains. They rise on the east side of the famous Sawtooth Valley in central Idaho. Of […]
Continue Reading →More danger now than getting stuck, broken leg or lack of water-
Many people in the West like to explore its vast open country by 4 x 4, SUV, ATV, motorbike, and on foot and bicycle. They stay away from the crowded national parks and famous recreation and scenic sites.
The lure of the roads […]
Continue Reading →A growing debate has serious consequences for our collective relationship to Nature. Beginning perhaps twenty years ago, a number of academics in disciplines such as history, anthropology, and geography, began to question whether there was any tangible wilderness or wild lands left on Earth. These academics, and others, have argued that humans have so completely […]
Continue Reading →Privatization or transfer to states would be a massive loss of personal freedom-
In politics, it is common to hear that adoption of this or that policy would be a great loss (or gain) for freedom or liberty.
Very often such policies do involve economic liberty for some group or business. Other times the policy […]
Continue Reading →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, […]
“We’re basically playing chicken with the feds. It’s basically more like extortion, . . .”
Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R-Cheyenne)-
This session of the Wyoming legislature has been one to nurse grudges when it comes to livestock and efforts to curb its harmful side effects.
The legislature passed a bill to criminalize the gathering of […]
Continue Reading →Politicians play to the incoherent fears of wimpy folks.
This is bad for protecting the planet and its wildlife-
Just two months ago many Americans feared they would soon be stricken by dread Ebola and those who survived would have their heads lopped off by ISIS. Fortunately a cure was deployed for both Ebola […]
Continue Reading →The merging of the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests offers opportunity to plunder-
Two very important national forests in north central Idaho were recently combined through administrative action. The Clearwater and the Nez Perce National Forests both operate under separate forest management plans, developed after years of analysis and public comment. There was even […]
Continue Reading →
