Tag: wilderness
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How to wilder in a virtual, financialized world
The abstract idea of wilderness began long before the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. As far back as the Babylonian Empire and Chinese Empire laws were written to protect sacred, unrestricted places in nature not yet deprived of freedom of action or natural expression. First recorded around 1200 AD, the word wilderness suggested wild…
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Roadless Rule and Wildfires
Brooke Rollins, US Secretary of Agriculture with the Trump administration, rescinded the Roadless Rule. The Roadless Rule was established during the Clinton Administration to protect nearly 59 million acres of undeveloped land from resource extraction. In general, these roadless lands were deemed uneconomical to develop or had other values. They are prone to erosion or…
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Gallatin Range Deserves Wilderness
The Gallatin Range, which runs south from Bozeman into Yellowstone National Park, is the largest unprotected roadless area in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The range contains some of the best wildlife habitat in Montana. In particular, the Buffalo Horn and Porcupine drainages are critical lands for elk migration, grizzly bears, and numerous other…
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Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act Reintroduced
The Beartooth Mountains contain some of the most extensive alpine terrain in the Rockies. Photo by George Wuerthner The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) is the most comprehensive and ecologically defensible legislation currently before Congress. The Act was first introduced in 1993. NREPA was reintroduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Madeleine Dean, who…
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Trump Oil Directive Will Lead to Greater Climate Crisis And Wildlands Losses
I published Energy: Overdevelopment and The Delusion of Endless Growth a few years ago. In my research for that book, I gained a couple of insights about energy and its ultimate costs. First, oil and gas are sold on the global market, ultimately setting the price of oil and gas at the pump. Second, energy companies…
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Trump’s Assault On Alaskan Wildlands
One of the first Executive Orders from the Trump Whitehouse is to reverse environmental protections for federal lands in Alaska and hasten, expand, and encourage resource development. Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to: (a) fully avail itself of Alaska’s vast lands and resources for the benefit of the Nation…
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Interview About Public Lands And Indian Land Back Efforts
In this episode, George Wuerthner discusses issues arising about tribal efforts to garner more authority and control of public lands, and the efforts to transfer public lands to tribal entities. Click on the link above to listen in your browser or the PLAY button in the upper left corner below.
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Gallatin Range Wilderness-The Time For Wilderness Preservation Is Now
The Gallatin Range south of Bozeman is the last major unprotected landscape in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. A minimum of 250,000 acres of the Gallatin Range as advocated by the Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance should be designated wilderness under the 1964 Wilderness Act. The Gallatin Range is a key area for wildlife, and home…