Barrasso bill targets beetle kill. By Brodie Farquhar. Casper Star-Tribune correspondent.
Whatever his motives, logging has never stopped any of the current beetle kill which is taking place all over the Rocky Mountains. That’s because beetles are not the ultimate cause; it’s the warming climate. The winters are no longer cold enough to kill beetle infestations.
People don’t realize it, but most of the coninferous forests are going to die and then burn to be replaced by something else — what is not clear.
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
This is a sham.
The only way to stop the pine bark beetle is for consistent -30 F temperatures for a couple of weeks or a forest fire. Maybe the Wyoming senator should try studying the cause of the problem first.
I was curious about the genesis of this bill – who’s idea was it – so I called Senator Barrasso at 1-202-224-6441; Maggie Beal is who I needed to speak with; she wasn’t in (I’ll continue to try to reach her after the holidays) but I did have an “enlightening” conversation with Brian Clifford, who specializes in the Endangered Species Act. Brian is from Long Island and has never been to Wyoming. That should give you a hint as to his level of on-the-ground experience. I gave him a free, yet brief education about delisting wolves, etc.
Folks, we’ve been in trouble, we’re still in trouble and unless we get some representation at local, state and federal levels, we’ll continue to be in trouble.
As always, in my opinion, our issues will be resolved only at the voting booth and the courthouse.
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Mack P. Bray
My opinions are my own
wildlifewatchers@bresnan.net
http://wildlifewatchers.jottit.com/