The Etiquette of Gravel Roads

The Etiquette of Gravel Roads. By Bryce Andrews. New West.

One thing very important that Andrews doesn’t mention is raising your right hand’s index finger if someone pulls over a bit or slows down as you pass.

This is more for dirt roads than gravel roads, but it tells me “jerk” if they don’t acknowledge with this little gesture if I pull off or over a bit.

Bush to relax protected species rules

Another huge attempt by Bush’s Interior to make an end-run around using the best science in its Endangered Species Act determinations – this time the move just cuts third party independent scientific review out of the ESA process !  The administration believes it can do so without congressional approval.

Bush to relax protected species rules – MSNBC
Plan takes scientists out of decision making on species status

Ranching & Forestry industries send 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue Interior to prevent Polar Bear listing

The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) sent a 60-day Notice of Intent to sue the Department of Interior over its decision to list Polar Bears under the Endangered Species Act.  From PLF’s News Release:

The PLF letter is filed on behalf of ranching and forestry interests that, along with employers nationwide and the economy in general, would be harmed by heavy-handed regulations that could proceed from the listing of the polar bear.

Hunting Season is Open on Polar Bears’ ESA Listing – Mother Jones

New Paths Toward the Loss of Our Public Lands

Bill Willers describes the looting of your public domain :

Subsidies, Volunteerism and Outsourcing
New Paths Toward the Loss of Our Public Lands – by William Willers counterpunch

Gunbarrel fire clears out massive area of beetle-killed timber

Gunbarrel still on fire. Long-term plan uses fire to clear forest of beetle-killed trees. By Ruffin Prevost. Billings Gazette Wyoming Bureau.

The fire is now 50 square miles and serving to clear out a part of the North Absaroka Wilderness that was a deadfall jungle (not that access was ever easy, given the rugged terrain and lack of trails.).

The North Absaroka Wilderness forms a long boundary with Yellowstone National Park.

Study: Midwest Wolves Avoid Humans

A Wisconsin study demonstrates a model showing that wolves are least abundant where there are roads or agriculture.  Road density and ag land good predictor of wolf presence (or absence, as is the case).

[Wisconsin] Wolves are lying low – JSOnline