Especially noted was the lack of effort by the BLM to do anything to protect wildlife habitat. So the states will have to take the initiative.
Also attending the Western Governors Conference was Dirk Kempthorne who agreed with the creation of habitat council. Doesn’t Kempthorne have something to do with the BLM 😉
Print Friendly
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
If Dick Kempthorne is involved there’s a dead fish on the bank some where. I can smell it.
Neither Freudenthal, Schweitzer, nor Otto have expended any political capital to protect wildlife in their respective states. So far, it’s been all talk and no action. I don’t expect much out of this.
“This is a process by which we are also able to . . . say, ‘What are those lands that really are important longer term to our state?’ instead of just letting the federal government forget about action because it gets lost in the shuffle,” said Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., the incoming chairman of the Western Governors Association…”It’s just not happening at the federal level. We’re just not getting any resonance with the BLM in terms of the lands that are getting increasingly fragile and vulnerable, that we as a state need to step up,” and take the lead, he said.”
Is there an emoticon for utter disbelief? We’d love to save your wildlife habitat…if it weren’t for those darned Feds. Give me a break!
I disagree. The Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust is Freudenthal’s baby and it slowly is beginning to show some real promise to improve and protect wildlife habitat around the state.
This is a little off topic but I had to report: I just saw a herd of about 14 – 16 cow elk and it looked like every one of them had calves. The winter was hard here in Colorado but it looks like they are doing fine now.