From the monthly archives: August 2022

UPDATE (NOVEMBER 11

The Ninth Circuit Court has given Izembek a second chance.  The court has agreed to review an earlier decision by a three member panel that determined the land trade and decommisioning of wilderness by  Secretary of Interiors including Deb Haaland may have violated federal law by overruling Congressional intent.

The court’s decision […]

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The Sangre De Cristo Mountains of New Mexico where the Hermit Peak Fire occurred. Photo George Wuerthner

The Forest Service released a review of the Hermit Peak Fire, which began as a prescribed burn designed to reduce fuels in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Northern New Mexico. The Gallinas Watershed […]

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A number of years ago Bay Nature published a couple of pieces promoting livestock production in California. I responded with a critique of the articles. I continue to hear the same arguments today with various individuals and organizations promoting “regenerative” grazing, “grass fed beef” and livestock as a “tool” to reduce wildfires, among other alleged […]

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Wolf. Photo George Wuerthner 

This past week, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP) Commission held a public hearing in Helena on Thursday, August 25th, to determine wolf hunting and trapping regulations. Unfortunately, they voted to permit 456 wolves to be slaughtered in the coming year.

I use the word “slaughter” […]

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Western Watershed Project is the only non-profit whose primary mission is reducing livestock impacts on public lands. Photo George Wuerthner 

When fighting the abuse of livestock production on public resources, no group has done more to educate the public, hold agencies accountable, and work continuously to improve public lands’ ecological integrity than […]

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Tribal hunting is the most significant source of mortality for Washington wolves. Photo George Wuerthner 

It may surprise most conservationists and wolf advocates, but the single largest source of wolf mortality in Washington State is trapping and hunting on tribal reservations.

One wolf advocate I contacted who puts out a weekly wolf […]

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Restoration of wolves in the Western Rewilding Network would help “heal” the West. Photo George Wuerthner 

A new study published in Bioscience proposes rewilding the West with a system of wildland reserves to restore the ecological integrity of the landscape. The proposal follows President Biden’s plan to manage 30 percent of […]

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Clearcuts along the McKenzie River corridor east of Eugene, Oregon did little to slow the Holiday Farm Fire. Photo George Wuerthner

The Holiday Farm Fire began on September 7, 2020. The fire charred 173,000 acres along the McKenzie River Valley in western Oregon’s Cascade Range, possibly due to a fallen power line. […]

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Recent blazes in the Sierra Nevada have killed some giant sequoia, but is this a tragedy? Photo George Wuerthner

 

In this New York Times article, Why Does the American West Have So Many Wildfires? published on August 2, 2022, is another news article full of misinformation about fire ecology.

The […]

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The San Pedro River from the same viewpoint. What the river looked like with livestock grazing, and about a decade after the livestock were removed.

 

The San Pedro River is a restored gem in southeast Arizona. The 47-mile-long San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPNCA) is one of the most intact […]

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Quote

‎"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