Recently the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MDFWP) Commission voted to permit cattle grazing on the Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Approval of livestock grazing on the WMA is based on the theory that a quid pro quo allowing ranchers to graze their cattle on public land will reduce animosity towards wildlife […]
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Buffalo Horn drainage
The Gallatin Range that lies south of Bozeman, Montana is the largest unprotected wildlands in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The Gallatin Range is highly scenic with glaciated cirques, grassy meadows, and subalpine lakes.
Biologically it is one of the more diverse […]
Continue Reading →Elk breeders push to relax rules. Legislature close to rejecting the breeders-
White-tailed deer and the parasitic meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) coexist fairly well. They have fought each other to a near standstill in evolutionary conflict spanning perhaps a million years. The whitetails rarely get sick from these adult nematode type worms that live in […]
Continue Reading →Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been found in elk, deer, and moose in several areas of Wyoming and has been moving ever closer to the already brucellosis infected elk herds that use feeding grounds in northwest Wyoming. The feeding grounds long ago caused the elk to stop migrating to a unique area along the Continental […]
Continue Reading →The sage grouse population of Idaho has been in steep decline for years. It is now getting to the point where hunting has declined to a one-week season where hunters are limited to one bird a day. It seems a bit odd to me that there isn’t more outrage by the hunting community over this […]
Continue Reading →Another subsidy to private Ag interests at the public expense.
Other states require testing of 100% of each private elk herd but the Idaho Legislature is requiring much less from Idaho’s elk growers and slipping money away from funds intended for the enhancement of wildlife. Idaho Senate Bill 1085 would require testing of “not more than […]
Continue Reading →Helicopter netting of elk as part of a brucellosis study
Yesterday the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks was out using a helicopter to capture elk with nets so that they could test them for brucellosis, attach radio collars, and implant vaginal devices intended to drop out when the elk give birth or abort […]
Continue Reading →The wolf bills are probably dead
I’ve rewritten this post as it appears that there is still a chance for a bill to move in the Senate.
The bill that would have removed wolves from the Endangered Species Act has failed and the bill which would have removed protections for wolves in Idaho and Montana […]
Continue Reading →Cumulatively they lost $9600 and 12 years of hunting privileges.
Another form of poaching that is probably more common than this one incident might indicate. This case shows how difficult it is to convict many poachers. It took two years to catch someone using the bait station after it was first discovered.
Is poaching becoming […]
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