Old Faithful erupting, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Photo George Wuerthner
I just saw the movie Wild Life about Doug and Kris Thompkins’s efforts to protect wildlands in Patagonia.
Doug and Kris Tompkins at Renihue Chile. Photo George Wuerthner
I am very familiar with that effort as I worked […]
Continue Reading →Thinning the forest is often less effective than eliminating human sources of ignition. Photo George Wuerthner
The Deschutes National Forest wildfire policies are misdirected towards logging while ignoring the real threats that could lead to blazes on Bend’s doorstep.
Anyone driving around the national forest near Bend will note the abundance of […]
Continue Reading →Livestock grazing negatively impacts more public lands in the West than any other industry. Photo George Wuerhner
Legislation that would have given the federal government authority to close grazing privileges on public lands was recently withdrawn.
Grazing permit buyouts allow the federal government to close public lands to future livestock grazing permanently.
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Continue Reading →The burnt-out Safeway Store in Paradise, California. Even a big parking lot with no fuel could not prevent the loss of this structure due to wind-blown embers. Photo George Wuerthner
A new report from Headwaters Economics titled: “Missing the Mark: Effectiveness and Funding in Community Wildfire Risk Reduction” misses the mark […]
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Harsh winter weather forces bison to seek forage outside of Yellowstone National Park where tribal people slaughter them. Photo George Wuerthner
A press release from the Buffalo Field Campaign described a proposal for the tribes to develop a plan to assume “primary jurisdiction” over Yellowstone National Park’s bison.
The […]
Continue Reading →Livestock grazing in the Great Basin has increased cheatgrass, a highly flammable annual grass. Livestock advocates allege targeted grazing can reduce large wildfires. Photo George Wuerthner
A recent publication in the Journal of Rangeland Ecology and Management, “Evaluating the efficacy of targeted cattle grazing for fuel break creation and maintenance,” perpetuates […]
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This “thinning” is a clearcut all but in name. Wallowa Whitman National Forest, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner
I recently gave a talk on wildfire issues in Baker City, a small town in Eastern Oregon. On my way home, I drove the Elkhorn Scenic By-way, traversing the Wallowa Whitman National Forest (WWNF), […]
Continue Reading →Logging lodgepole pine on the Deschutes NF in Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner
Across the West, the Forest Service and logging proponents continue to mischaracterize forest health by the standards of the Industrial Forestry Paradigm. Under this logging juggernaut paradigm, any natural evolutionary agent that kills a tree, such as a drought, […]
Continue Reading →Bison migrating out of Yellowstone Park where they are subject to capture or slaughter. Photo George Wuerthner
Bonnie Lynn, an activist who lives on the edge of Yellowstone Park, has produced a film that provides many voices (including me) discussing the tragic slaughter of Yellowstone’s unique bison herd. One of the people […]
Continue Reading →On May 31, 2023, the West lost one of its most ardent wildlife advocates, Dr. James (Jim) Bailey of Belgrade, Montana died peacefully at home. He was 89.
I saw Jim in Bozeman in mid-April. He attended a lecture I gave for Earth Day Celebrations and then, during the same week, gave a Continue Reading →
