Category: B.L.M.
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Public Lands Welfare Ranchers Again Subsidized By Taxpayers
Livestock are grazed on all federal lands, including national parks and wildlife refuges. Still, most livestock grazing occurs on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Forest Service. Even specially protected landscapes that are supposed to be managed for natural conditions, like designated Wilderness areas, are grazed by domestic animals.…
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Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act Reintroduced
The Beartooth Mountains contain some of the most extensive alpine terrain in the Rockies. Photo by George Wuerthner The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) is the most comprehensive and ecologically defensible legislation currently before Congress. The Act was first introduced in 1993. NREPA was reintroduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Madeleine Dean, who…
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Public Lands Are Part Of Our Nation’s Inheritance
America’s public lands are one of the Nation’s most outstanding achievements. Public lands are part of every citizen’s heritage and an essential part of the national inheritance. It is especially vital to the people living in the western states, where we enjoy an abundance of public land. The public domain is critical to our perception…
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Cash Cows – Now Available Again
Thanks to the work of Karen Klitz, we have been able to obtain a reprint of Cash Cows – Taxes Support a Wild West holdover that enriches ranchers and degrades the land. This expose was one of the only deep dives into the corruption surrounding public lands livestock grazing and the degradation it creates, and…
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Why Tribal Co-Management Is A Threat to Our Public Lands
Given the wrecking ball the Trump administration is taking to our public lands and public values, it might seem trivial to worry about tribal co-management. Our public lands are among the most democratic of American institutions. Every American has a right to voice their opinion about public lands management, but no group should be elevated…
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USGS Webinar Series on Sagebrush Ecosystem and Rangeland Fire Science
For sagebrush and science geeks, USGS is hosting a series of webinars on sagebrush issues starting at the end of January Dates and Topics: 1/30 – Greater sage-grouse 2/6 – Invasive species, restoration effectiveness, and monitoring 2/20 – Monitoring, pinyon-juniper, and fuels management 2/27 – Fire, fuels management, invasive species 3/6 – Climate, carbon, and more…
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Last Stand for Headwater Lahontan Cutthroat Trout – Part 2
Part 2 – Enforcement Why are Lahontan cutthroat trout populations still declining 50 years after being listed as a Threatened Species? Here are some points to consider. Agencies and Organizations Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) numbers have been diminishing since the 1800s by over-fishing and by habitat destruction, and they were listed in 1975 as Threatened…
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Does Juniper Cause Grasses To Disappear?
One of the common myths perpetuated by the livestock industry is that fire supression has allowed juniper to increase across the West, though under natural conditions juniper has long fire rotations of hundreds of years, so not significantly impacted by fire supression. Some studies suggest juniper expansion may be a natural consequence of climate change.…