December 2008

  • Plan approved for drilling 18,000 gas wells in Montana

    Ralph Maughan

    Every well pad disrupts from 5 to 20 acres- Leaking gas is a potent climate changer. Disrupted soil does not sequester carbon. Native vegetation at the well site is almost impossible to restore. Coalbed methane wells produce huge amounts of saline (generally unreusuable water). Story by Matthew Brown. Plan approved for gas wells. AP

  • We need Interior decorating (Not Salazar, nor Kemmis)

    Ralph Maughan

    28-year drift toward “disastrous . . . consensus decision-making” on public lands- “We need Interior decorating.” By Brian Horejsi. Colorado Springs Independent. My view is that consensus decision-making, bargaining over what the rules and law are, destroys respect for the law and makes the country lawless, as we have seen with the Bush Administration where…

  • Off-road vehicle use fuels tension, violence across U.S.

    Ralph Maughan

    Most violence over private property and those who try to enforce the law- This is according to USA Today. By Emily Bazar.

  • PEER: Interior Department needs new brooms to sweep it clean

    Brian Ertz

    Whistleblowers and Reformers Required to Rejuvenate Ravaged Agencies In response to President-elect Obama’s decision to name rancher Ken Salazar Secretary of the Interior, a selection widely celebrated by extractive industry groups and current Bush Interior head Dirk Kempthorne, grass-roots wildlife, public land, and animal rights activists continue to scratch their heads with dismay.  It’s a…

  • Idaho is a manure gold mine. Methane can be captured from the state's pile of muck

    Ralph Maughan

    Potent greenhouse gas (methane) from mega-feedlots could become fuel rather than fueling global warming- Idaho’s energy czar wants to harness power of manure. By The Associated Press Southern Idaho is full of vast stinky livestock feedlots (dairy and beef). Here is one way to amelioate the situation

  • Yellowstone earthquake swarm . . . biggest swarm in Park for years

    Ralph Maughan

    Earthquake swarm is near the middle of the caldera. Yellowstone Earthquake Swarm Puzzles Scientists. By LiveScience Staff The earthquake swarm begin Dec. 27. The strongest quake has been a 3.9 quake. That could do some minor damage, but the big question is “does it mean anything?” Most questions are about an eruption. This isn’t likely,…

  • Good news for NW Wyoming elk? Agency finds no further chronic wasting disease in Star Valley

    Ralph Maughan

    Infected moose may have been an anomaly- Wyoming’s ungulates herds in NW Wyoming, including Yellowstone Park may have dodged the CWD bullet for now. Wyoming Game and Fish may still have a short time to do away with wintertime elk feeding. Of course, they won’t. Story: Good news for elk? Agency finds no further chronic…

  • Omnibus public lands bill carries Craig's water

    Brian Ertz

    In October, Ralph commented on Larry Craig dropping his opposition to protecting the Snake River in Wyoming.  A change of heart from an Idaho politician renowned for his anti-environmentalist zeal ?  Not quite.  The bill is lumped with a bunch of bills in the massive Omnibus public lands bill.  The motivation for Craig’s “turnabout” is…

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‎”At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour.”

Edward Abbey

“The continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans.”

Jim Fowler

“Our forests offer much more than just beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Each one has a different story to tell.”

Raveena Tandon

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