Here is current news and notes- On Feb 9, there was a contentious first hearing on the bills by Senator Jennifer Fielder of Thompson Falls, a leader in the effort for Montana to gain ownership of the U. S. public lands. It was on SB 215 (see next paragraph). Contentious hearing on first of several federal land transfer…
If states grab federal lands, what happens to donated private lands? What do the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, and hundreds of other organizations have in common? Their gifts of acquired private land given to the federal government would be at risk if states got hold of the national…
“The Great Republican Land Heist: Cliven Bundy and the politicians who want to plunder the West” Christopher Ketcham details the rancher/Republican grab for our outdoor heritage- Cristopher Ketcham has been writing about the Western public lands now for a couple years. He is in the mold of Bernard DeVoto who wrote the influential column, “The…
WASHINGTON — The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) soon to be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives contains several provisions that would undermine current efforts to protect greater sage grouse on nearly 60 million acres of public lands, and would lead to listing greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act. The livestock lobby…
Only Utah shows majority in favor of states getting hold of U.S. public lands- A public opinion poll of 200 people in each of the eight Intermountain western states has shown a majority (52 to 42 %) are against transferring the federal lands to the Western states. In total, 1600 were interviewed. A slight majority of Utahans…
Politicians claim states will make money managing federal lands. They conveniently avoid the “elephant in the room” The renewed effort to move the national forests, BLM lands, and maybe national parks and monuments into state management or ownership likes to talk about economics. However, these people don’t use hard economic figures in their quips to…
The dust has settled on the Cliven Bundy debacle and the media has moved onto the next spectacle. The Obama Administration should take this opportunity to do a little housekeeping on its privately-grazed public lands. The example of the Nevada scofflaw’s failure to pay his grazing fees and his refusal to adhere to environmental laws – as…
With the confusion over Bundy, a book by Dennis McLane is suddenly very relevant- Below is a history of grazing and the BLM the public needs to know. When Bundy cattle trespass situation came to a head this month, there was great media interest and a mass of confusion too. Now the situation is clearing a bit. More…
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.