Changes in the riparian vegetation along the San Pedro River before and after livestock removal from the main river corridor.
The Bureau of Land Management released its Environmental Assessment for livestock grazing in the San Pedro National Conservation Area (SPNCA) in Arizona.
The BLM has decided that the […]
Continue Reading →Domestic sheep grazing in the Gravelly Range, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner
A recent article on the Helle family and their domestic sheep grazing operations on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest was published In a November Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
The piece was a puff piece on the sheep grazing practices […]
Continue Reading →Mount Boarh, Idaho’s highest peak rises above the riparian exclosure that is supposed to be ungrazed. Freighter Spring, Challis National Forest, Idaho. Photo George Wuerthner
I recently spent some time hiking in Central Idaho. At the base of Mount Borah just off the Doublesprings Road, I decided to check out a large […]
Continue Reading →Restoration of wolves in the Western Rewilding Network would help “heal” the West. Photo George Wuerthner
A new study published in Bioscience proposes rewilding the West with a system of wildland reserves to restore the ecological integrity of the landscape. The proposal follows President Biden’s plan to manage 30 percent of […]
Continue Reading →Biocrusts are important in arid ecosystems. Photo George Wuerthner
Biological soil crusts, known as biocrusts, are lichens, algae, mosses, fungi, and cyanobacteria common on the soil surface.[i]They are critical to arid ecosystems, where they help to reduce soil erosion and maintain stability. They assist in water retention and act like […]
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The Richfield Ranger District of the Fish Lake National Forest in Utah released its draft reauthorization for grazing the Southern Monroe Mountain allotments in Sevier and Piute Counties.
The economic analysis of its reauthorization document is typical of many Forest Service and BLM grazing decisions, whereby the agency emphasizes livestock grazing as an […]
Continue Reading →The cost of a hamburger does not reflect the cost of this cowbombed land in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Photo George Wuerthner
Do you know what a Big Mac costs? If you say $4.50 or whatever the current price posted at the McDonald’s restaurant may be, you are vastly under-estimating the […]
Continue Reading →Cattle tend to congregate in riparian zones because they provide food, water, and shade. Photo George Wuerthner
One of the biggest problems in conservation is that people do not miss what they don’t know. How many people really miss the Ivory-Billed woodpecker or Stellar’s sea lion? And I’ve found that people living […]
Continue Reading →Cattle grazing Grand Staircase Escalante NM, Utah. Photo by George Wuerthner
Livestock production is one of the most ubiquitous human activities around the globe. It is particularly detrimental to arid lands, and much of the western public lands are arid. Typically most livestock advocates, which also includes far too many conservation organizations, […]
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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has launched a massive juniper removal project in Idaho and plans to expand it throughout the Great Basin.
For instance, the BLM is also planning to destroy juniper woodlands in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
Juniper is a common native species that grows in […]
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