Public Lands
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This morning the Idaho Statesman published the view of Margaret Soulen-Hinson, the President of the American Sheep Industry Association. The letter was a response to a letter submitted to the Idaho Statesman co-signed by John Gale, National Wildlife Federation; Rob Fraser, Idaho Wildlife Federation; Craig Gehrke, The Wilderness Society; John Robison, Idaho Conservation League; and…
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On September 14 and 15 Katie Fite and I visited the Miller Creek Allotment on the Mountain City Ranger District of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest to check out the riparian areas there. What we found was just a horrible mess that any land manager should be embarrassed about enough to actually do something about but,…
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Last week, Katie Fite and I travelled to Nevada to inspect several grazing allotments and attend a BLM meeting in Winnemucca and a BLM field trip in the Ely District. While passing through the Union Mountain Allotment in the Elko District we came across a series of water troughs which didn’t have the required wildlife…
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Idaho’s fact free governor testifies about Idaho Wilderness- Clement “Butch” Otter has always made his way catering to most backward power groups in his unequal, economically poor, but wilderness rich state. The poorly paid teachers, educationally deprived students, overflowing prisons, and dispirited population are fine by him, but he has never liked wild backcountry, and…
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Fee is only $1.35 to graze a calf cow pair for a month. Obama Administration Refuses to Reform Public-lands Grazing Fee For immediate release – January 18, 2011 Contacts: Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project, 520.623.1878 Mark Salvo, WildEarth Guardians, 503.757.4221 Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, 928.310.6713 Brent Fenty, Oregon Natural Desert Association, 541.330.2638 Ronni…
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Pinyon and juniper trees, demonized by ranchers, miners and water mining entities, are being eyed by Chinese “biomass” companies with the backing of politicians. Recently the Nevada Pinyon-Juniper Partnership, aided by USDA, set up a conference to discuss pinyon and juniper trees. At the conference were several players in government and business who have an…
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When I heard about the Interior Department’s decision to reverse the changes that the Bush Administration made to the policy on wild lands protection I was pleased. However, I remain skeptical at how the policy will be implemented by the current bunch running BLM who I don’t really trust. There is no doubt, however, how…
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An annual grass worse than cheatgrass Medusahead grass has the ability to take over a landscape like cheatgrass but nothing will eat it after it dies and dries out in the early summer months. It is becoming a huge problem in some areas and I’ve seen allotments with vast expanses where it is about the…