June 2011
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No quotas (limits) are expected for hunt except along part of the Idaho/Montana border- Idaho to offer looser wolf hunt rules. By John Miller and Matthew Brown. Associated Press Ever since Butch Otter became Idaho’s governor, it was clear to me and the conservation groups that understand Idaho politics that at some point this would…
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Here is an editorial from the Idaho Statesman on the failure of license fees and game tags to generate enough revenue to manage fish and wildlife in Idaho, especially with the coming cuts in federal aid. Brian Ertz earlier posted a related article and there has already been quite a bit of discussion in this…
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Happy photographers, traffic jams, a bit of danger, and an opportunity for a screw-up- Mead Gruver of the Associated Press has a new story on these famous roadside bears. – – – – Previously, Friends of bears smile as 399′s daughter shows up with two cubs
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As I’ve argued for a long time, this is probably because there are few wolves to kill- It is a political article of faith in much of Idaho that wolves are the reason for the relatively low elk numbers in the area called “the Lolo.” The belief also blames wolves for the failure of elk…
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Jackson Hole Weekly has feature article on the annual ritual of stupidity, malice, and waste of money- Every May the Montana’s Department of Livestock, and employees from various other Montana and federal agencies haze bison deep into Yellowstone Park. During the winter, the bison migrate westward out of the Park to graze and give birth…
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Human evolutionary pressure has favored species that have short lifespans, begin to reproduce early, and are small- The findings detailed in the article below are entirely predictable. By selectively killing (overfishing) the largest fish (and biggest animals) humans unintentionally guide the course of evolution to favor the small, quick reproducers. While human caused, this result…
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Effects of winter linger into late June- Roads, campgrounds closed this weekend. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole Daily. An interesting sidelight of this story is that peregrine falcons have been “dive bombing” (stooping) climbers of Baxter’s Pinnacle near the mouth of Cascade Canyon in the Tetons (Grand Teton National Park). The area is now closed…
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Why does this economically modest and destructive economic activity get so much priority? A recent report published by the Department of Interior demonstrates what conservation advocates have been arguing for years: Recreational use of public lands creates many more jobs and much more economic value than public lands ranching. Department of the Interior’s Economic Contributions…