Hiking adjacent to Pocatello today

One of the great things about living in a public state, especially a serious public land state like Idaho, is the backcountry quickly available. This is uplands today at 4:30 PM above Lead Draw, a 5-minute drive from my house and a one hour hike.

Since the Sierra Club, the Pocatello Trail Machine Assn., the Forest Service, and Bannock County worked to block Lead Draw off to full-sized vehicles and ATVs, the mule deer herd has come back to the drainage. I counted 48 deer today in a 2-hour hike. Five years ago I hardly ever saw any in Lead Draw. Photo Ralph Maughan 4:13PM on 3-31-07

Former wolf biologist gets elected to Montana House and learns about real ferocity

I changed the headline.

Here is Todd Wilkinson’s excellent “Freshman Montana Legislator Learns Ignorance Not Blissful.” New West. It’s about Mike Phillips’ first year in the Montana House of Representatives where the Republicans rule, but only with a one vote majority (based on a third party extremist).

Jones Has Two Weeks to Get Wildlife Off Blackfoot Ranch

The photo in this New West article is worth a thousand words about the problems posed by elk farming and elk shooting enclosures.

This is the n-teenth article about Jones’ shooter bull operation controversy.  Jones Has Two Weeks to Get Wildlife Off Blackfoot [elk] Ranch. By Nathaniel Hoffman. New West.

Environmental review may halt giant coal pit mine near Glacier NP for 3 years

There is good news on the front to prevent the Cline Mine from being developed.

There will be a lengthy environmental review of the proposed British Columbia mine done by Canada’s federal government rather than the Province.

Story in the Billings Gazette. AP

Because the mine’s polluted waters will drain into the North Fork of the Flathead River, Montana is fearful of the impacts on fish and wildlife in one of the richest such places in the state.

Judge halts Alaska’s wolf bounty

A bounty was against Alaska’s state law, and despite calling it an “incentive,” it was still a bounty.

Lack of snow made it hard for the wizards at the Board of Game to see as many wolves killed as it wanted, so the Board of Game and the governor came up with the “incentive” scheme for gunner pilots. They would get $150 for each shotgunned left leg of a wolf.

I wonder if lack of snow in Alaska’s winter made them at all thoughtful about nature?

Story Judge halts “bounty” on wolves. By Rachelk D’oro. The Associated Press

Editorial in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner. A mutiny on the bounty. By John Toppenberg. Even you like the idea of a bounty, bounties rarely work as intended. That’s one reason why most states stopped them long ago.

It looks like the governor is under the thrall of small group of trophy hunters rather than the average Alaskan hunter.

Montana Wildfire arsonist receives 10 years

This 19-year-old set the Gash Creek Fire that smoked up Bitterroot Valley, Montana air for about 2 months last summer, and 18! other fires (most of which were quickly put out).

Story in the Missoulian. By Tristan Scott.

Federal judge tosses out new [Bush] rules governing national forests

The Bush Administration rewrote the rules and regulations that implement the laws that tell how national forest plans are to be done. The new regulations exempted the formation of new forest plans from NEPA (the most important forest decisions were regarded as not important enough to merit an environmental impact statement). The new rules reduced public participation and they also downgraded the standards for protecting wildlife.

AP story on the decision.

Most folks I knew thought the new regs were clearly in conflict with the law, and a judge has set them aside. However, this leaves forest planning in kind of a limbo — another Bush Administration mess-up (can I say sort of like the Iraq failure, but applied to the national forests?).

Nez Perce Tribe very concerned about Hells Canyon bighorn/domestic sheep mixing in upcoming grazing season

The Nez Perce Tribe issued a news release today expressing concern that in the upcoming grazing season there was a high probably of domestic sheep mixing with bighorn in Hells Canyon where restoration of bighorn herds has gone slowly. The Payette National Forest has promised to solve the problem (because the FS Chief upheld an appeal of their Forest Plan back in 2004), but with the near onset of grazing, it looks to be like they are doing nothing.

When domestic sheep mix with bighorn, the bighorn die of domestic sheep diseases very quickly. It cannot be tolerated.

The Tribe’s news release follows. It is very low key and respectfully written. I’m used to seeing “get your rear in gear, slackers, or we’ll see you court right away.” I hope the tone of the Tribe doesn’t lead the Forest Service and the livestock politicians not to take this seriously.

She blinded me with “science” . . . more on Julie MacDonald’s misdeeds at Interior

Read She blinded me with “science” Filed under: Politics, Corruption — Jodi Peterson at 6:26 pm on Thursday, March 29, 2007. In Goat, High Country News blog.

Update. March 31, 2007. The Sagebrush Sea Campaign reports on MacDonald’s manipulations of endangered species. DOI Inspector General Confirms Political Interference in Greater Sage-grouse, Other ESA Listing Decisions

An American icon in the crosshairs? Bush’s delisting plans harmful to wolf recovery in Oregon

Few animals stir up as much emotion and heated debate as gray wolves. In many ways these majestic predators are the symbol of American wilderness, of wild places that have not yet been clear-cut or paved over. They were once common throughout Western America, including Oregon, but a misguided policy of using tax dollars to fund extermination programs drove them to the brink of extinction.Today gray wolves represent the beginning of a great American conservation success story. Because of the safety net provided by the Endangered Species Act, and the hard work of countless biologists, landowners and concerned citizens, wolves are making a strong comeback.But in February, the Bush administration announced plans to remove western gray wolves from the endangered species list and hand over management to state governments. The proposal comes as a mixed blessing. On one hand, it means wolf populations are rebounding, at least in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming — there are still no confirmed wolf packs here in Oregon. But it also means the feds will hand the keys over to states like Idaho, which could spell disaster for Idaho’s wolves and wolf recovery in Oregon.This is from a guest opinion in the Salem (OR) Statesman Journal. Read the full story. (Link has been moved or deleted by Statesman Journal)