The Great Outdoors
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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…
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Drones for hunting and for harassment- Drones to stop and catch poachers- Drones for wildlife research- More and more stories appear featuring drones and wildlife. Recently it was revealed that private drones were in use in Zion National Park so that photographers could avoid scaling cliffs and get closeups of the wild sheep on top…
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Land transfer to states would mean less land access for typical American- The idea that the states are really the constitutional, legal, rightful owner of the U.S. public lands is without merit. Origin of U.S. public lands The United States owns 650-million acres of land. That is about 30 per cent of the land area of…
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One of the most beautiful pollinators bites the dust- One of the fun things I remember from childhood is capturing the black, yellow and white monarch butterfly caterpillars. They were not hard to find. I would put them in a Mason jar and feed them milkweed which was commonplace. It was where I got the…
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The solidity of nature, even of creatures competing to eat the raw meat of the dead bison, is edifying. It brings a feeling of hopefulness at a time when humans claw at each other over political abstractions in a confused, but hostile, unnatural way, to detriment of all of us. There is currently a debate…
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Utah to pay operating expenses, and might be reimbursed after gov’t shutdown- Utah, a state famous for its many scenic national parks has might a deal with Secretary of Interior, Sally Jewell, To be opened and run with state funds are Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion national parks. Also; Natural Bridges and Cedar…
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Big pile of dead sheep in remote Idaho mountains- While uncommon, this sort of thing has happened before in Eastern Idaho/Western Wyoming. It’s not a pretty picture. One hundred seventy-six sheep lie dead below a rocky slope near Fogg Hill, deep in what is called the Palisades Backcountry in Idaho near the Wyoming border. This is…
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Early wildfire starts in central Idaho bode for fire until October- Stanley, ID. Forest fire season in Idaho used to be August and September with many years with no forest fires of note. Now the fires begin in mid-July and burn until mid-October. Like last year, fires have already broken out, such as the Road…