December 2014
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Bighorn sheep near the northern entrance of Yellowstone National Park are dying from pneumonia. Pneumonia outbreaks in bighorn sheep are often associated with contact with domestic sheep or goats which carry many pathogens that cause pneumonia in bighorn sheep but do not affect domestic sheep or goats. According to a press release by Montana FWP,…
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Send public comments now on new EA for predator damage management by Wildlife Services in Idaho- USDA’s Wildlife Services in Idaho is writing a new environmental analysis (EA) on how to manage damage by predators in Idaho. It will replace all existing EAs. According to the announcement, “Predator species involved in the majority of conflicts…
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Doom and gloom hardly justified this year- Grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone (GYE) and the Northern Continental Divide ecosystems (NCDE) had a very good year in 2014 when we consider bear mortality. In the GYE there were only 25 confirmed dead grizzlies. In 2013 there were 29 and in 2012 there were 59! In…
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TWN contributor Brian Ertz’s sister, Natalie Ertz, is featured in the latest National Geographic in a story by Christopher Ketcham. It’s about “Echo,” the lone wolf that dispersed all the way to the Grand Canyon coming from Utah or Colorado, but originally from among the wolves of the Northern Rockies. Mystery Grand Canyon Animal Is…
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Many apologies that I didn’t post this sooner. Comment deadline is tomorrow. This Bison Habitat EA Addendum aims to cap the last wild bison population in “exchange” for any tolerance in Montana. Learn more and tell them to reject Alternative G.
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WWP wants bill to fail due to a rider that would lead to lawless grazing on public lands- The National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA) set for a Senate vote this week contains language that will forever change the West. Renewal of many grazing permits would be exempted from public oversight and environmental review by being tucked in with a sprawling…
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Election results put takers of U.S. public land in a good position? The 2014 congressional elections put an increased number of supporters and sympathizers of the states taking the public lands of the United States in office. They want the states to take over the national forests, the BLM lands, maybe the national wildlife refuges, and even some…
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WASHINGTON — The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) soon to be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives contains several provisions that would undermine current efforts to protect greater sage grouse on nearly 60 million acres of public lands, and would lead to listing greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act. The livestock lobby…
