National Parks
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Approximately 5700 cows graze national park lands at Point Reyes National Seashore. Photo George Wuerthner A federal lawsuit against the National Park Service (NPS) at Point Reyes National Seashore was filed on January 10th by four environmental organizations. The lawsuit contends the National Park Service in a new management plan for the Park is putting…
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Emigrant Peak and Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley. The East Paradise Grazing Decision will increase grazing by livestock on Emigrant Peak and adjacent areas of the Six Mile Creek drainage, an important area for wildlife. Photo George Wuerthner The Custer Gallatin National Forest (CGNF) recently released its decision on the future of six East…
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Yellowstone bison have been subject to evolutionary influences like harsh winters, predators, and other natural agents. Photo George Wuerthner The state, federal and tribal groups involved in the Interagency Bison Management recently announced they would slaughter up to 900 Yellowstone bison this winter. Yellowstone’s wild bison were declared our national mammal in 2016 and are…
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Old Faithful is emblematic of Yellowstone National Park. Photo George Wuerthner A recent article Return the National Parks to the Tribes in Atlantic Magazine by David Treuer is worth a detailed review because it represents a common set of inaccurate assumptions and historical imprecision about the relationship of conservation, national parks and Native Americans. Rather…
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Thirteen ranchers won a sweeping victory this week, defeating the interests of three million annual visitors to Point Reyes National Seashore, by securing a plan amendment that extends their commercial livestock operations on Park lands for at least 20 years. The plan amendment – the first epic public lands fail by the nascent Biden administration…
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Is this kind of damage from private livestock the kind of impact the National Park Service should permit? Photo George Wuerthner The final Record of Decision (ROD) on livestock operations management at Point Reyes National Seashore was released this week. Unfortunately, and as feared, it not only maintains the ongoing degradation of this national park…
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Chapter 3: Rewilding on a Global Scale: a Crucial Element in Addressing the Biodiversity Crisis George Wuerthner 30 Rewilding on a Global Scale According to the report, the average abundance of native species has declined by 20% since 1900. Other groups have suffered significant declines, including more than 40% of amphibian species. At least 680…
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Bison herd. Photo George Wuerthner Many authors today suggest that Indigenous people somehow behaved differently from other humans, particularly western culture that now dominates the globe in their relationship and exploitation of natural lands. The general theme is that while the human influence pre-European contact was significant, human exploitation was tempered by cultural values…
