Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho. Photo George Wuerthner
Though most conservation groups focus on federal lands, a neglected area of concern are state properties. Throughout the West, most of these lands are either leased for timber cutting or livestock grazing.
Although there are limited ways that conservation groups can influence state management (or […]
Continue Reading →Mount Jefferson in Alta Toquima Wilderness, Humboldt Toiyabe NF, Nevada. Photo George Wuerthner
The Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest (HTNF), primarily in Nevada, has 40 vacant allotments. Vacant allotments mean they once were grazed, but for various reasons currently do not have any livestock grazing.
Rather than permanently closing allotments that are currently […]
Continue Reading →Dairy and beef cattle are grazed at Point Reyes National Seashore sixty years after the properties were purchased by American citizens. Photo George Wuerthner
Fences. Everywhere I went during a recent trip to Point Reyes, I encountered fences. Why are there fences in a national park unit? They exist to facilitate the […]
Continue Reading →Cattle congregating in the riparian area, Chama, New Mexico. Photo George Wuerthner
SOIL CARBON AND LIVESTOCK
Rangelands make up a large proportion of the Earth’s surface, and the soils hold a significant amount of sequestered carbon (Schuman,G.E et al. 2001). Rangelands are estimated to contain more than one-third of the world’s above […]
Continue Reading →Rural subdivision in Gallatin County, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner
Back when I was a student at the University of Montana in Missoula, I had a girlfriend who managed to rent a house adjacent to the Bitterroot Mountains near Hamilton. All of us were very jealous of her luck in obtaining a place […]
Continue Reading →The Gallatin Range south of Bozeman is one of the many wildlands that would receive wilderness designation in NREPA. Photo George Wuerthner
On March 10th, Representative Maloney of New York reintroduced the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) legislation into Congress. NREPA is visionary. The legislation is big—it would protect 23 million […]
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Cattle grazing in designated wilderness at the Mojave National Preserve, California. Photo George Wuerthner
Cows in designated wilderness areas? Does that seem like an oxymoron? Wilderness Areas are supposed to be places where natural processes and native species are given priority. With the election of the Biden administration, it may be […]
Continue Reading →If cattle graze to bare soil, it is true that fires are slowed under such conditions, but the ecological impacts are enormous. Photo George Wuerthner
When I worked for the BLM, us “ologists” (hydrologist, ecologists, biologists, archaeologists, geologists, and botanists) used to refer to Range Conservationists as Range “Cons” because they conned […]
Continue Reading →Upper Deschutes River is essentially an irrigation cancel for irrigators. Photo George Wuerthner
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will soon decide whether to approve a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Deschutes River Basin. The HCP was initiated by local irrigators and the city of Prineville who want to maintain their privilege […]
Continue Reading →Most land trusts and many conservation groups frequently ignore the impacts of Agriculture and focus on urbanization and sprawl as the main threat to biodiversity and ecosystems.
A good example is the Teton Land Trust, Idaho. A recent story about their board president, John Nedrow, a farmer, talks about how he put a conservation easement […]
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