December 2011
-
Massive success brings Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin wolf population far above Idaho, Montana and Wyoming- It certainly is time to delist the wolves of the Great Lakes. Their populations are secure. They have a huge prey base, and as we have seen from the Idaho and Montana hunting seasons, even abusive hunts do not wipe out…
-
Some hope he meets a female or goes to California. For now his travels have ended, and he is little seen- Over the last last 3-4 months wolf OR7, a young adult disperser from NE Oregon’s Imnaha Pack, has captured the imagination of the many as he has wandered diagonally with many loops and turns…
-
Not just these animals and birds are being hurt, but we are too- For those who pay attention, there are many stories about increasing blockage of long seasonal migrations by wildlife. These changes are accompanied by the spread of disease, and the growth of “pest” species which are normally eaten or disrupted by these vast…
-
Oregon governor is told county failed to include at least two pro-wolf voices as required by state law- This year the Oregon legislature passed a law authorizing each county to set up a committee to handle livestock interest claims for wolf damage. The claims will be paid by Oregon taxpayers. The idea behind the law…
-
We hear this from wolf supporters all the time. The Oregonian checks to see if it is true- We also hear from many of those who didn’t want wolves reintroduced that an attack and human death, probably of a child, is imminent. There are also sometimes hints in stories and rhetoric that sound as though…
-
After 22 years as the chief biologist at the National Elk Refuge, Bruce Smith pens an easy-to-read, but stark warning about continuing elk feeding- Prions are bit like tiny pieces of radioactive material in that they are very dangerous promoters of illness and for practical purposes never really go away, resting in the dust and…
-
Wolf delisting rider and most of the highly unpopular giveaways to polluters and abusers of our public lands are defeated- The conference report on the 2012 appropriations bill for most non-defense expenditures has been finalized. Instead of merely appropriating more or less money for agencies many ideologically loaded amendments or riders were added, mostly by…
-
League of Conservation Voters lists the top ten- The League of Conservation Voters has been ranking members of Congress on their conservation records for many years now. They have just released their ten worst — ” powerful and outspoken opponents of clean air, clean water, conservation and climate action.” Mike Simpson of Eastern Idaho (who…