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In March, President Trump declared a national emergency by Executive Order to speed up the logging of our national forests. The order affects more than 112 million acres, larger than the entire state of California. It would remove or nullify most environmental safeguards on our national forests. Trump’s order exempts objections to timber sales by…
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In a recent article on the plight of the Pinyon Jay, I mentioned a major new 550,000 acre Cedar City BLM Pinyon-Juniper deforestation proposal, the Indian Peak Watershed Restoration Plan, on the Utah-Nevada border. BLM’s scoping letter described: “To better understand current ecological conditions, forecast future trends, and develop conservation strategies, BLM partnered with the…
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The South Cottonwood drainage in the northern Gallatin Range proposed wilderness lies immediately south of Bozeman, to the west of Hyalite Canyon. The Forest Service’s nearly 8,000-acre Hyalite Cottonwood Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project threatens some of the proposed wilderness. Keep in mind that one acre is approximately equal to a football field. So, imagine what…
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This is the second in a series of two Public Lands Blog posts on big old trees. Part 1 exploded the myth that big old trees slow in their rate of growth as they age and also introduced the concept of tree-related microhabitats. Part 2 examines a new scientific paper on the state of medium-sized and large…
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In the late 1990s, I was traveling across the Blue Mountains of Oregon with my wife, Mollie, and my children en route to Montana. Both Mollie and I had been involved in wolf restoration politics in Montana. At the time, there were no wolves in Oregon. However, as we passed mile upon mile of rolling…
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Top Line: Big old trees play out-sized roles in a forest stand in terms of biodiversity, carbon storage, and carbon sequestration. This is the first in a series of two Public Lands Blog posts on big old trees. Part 1 explodes the myth that their rate of growth slows as they age and also introduces the concept…
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The state of Washington recently reported that its endangered wolf population had declined for the first time in 16 years. The state confirmed that it has 230 wolves, compared to 254 wolves in the previous year. According to figures released by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington’s overall wolf population in 2024 decreased…
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BLM leaders never had the desire or will to do what it takes to preserve Sage grouse populations. Sage-grouse plans make major concessions to industries, and especially to the great destroyer of sagebrush habitat across the West, the public lands livestock industry. They chickened out rather than risk the buzzsaw of cattlemen resistance and western…
