Omnibus Public Lands bill wins final passage in U.S. Senate

House passage is expected next week-

The bill finally passed today. The final vote for passage was 73-21.

While most of the media seem to still think this is just a bill wilderness bill, folks are slowly finding the other stuff. For example, contained in the bill is the “Wolf Livestock Loss Mitigation Act,” authored by U.S. Senators Jon Tester, D-MT and John Barrasso, R-WY.

Some of the media are concentrating on the purely politics part — how Harry Reid stuck it to Tom Coburn.

A Busy Week for Wild Buffalo & Elk

Buffalo Field Campaign update from the field-

• Gallatin National Forest Approves Horse Butte bison trap, WTF!
• Montana begins killing elk to appease livestock interests-

Although BFC is on my blogroll (down in the right column of the blog), I haven’t posted one of their “updates from the field” lately. Here is a slightly abridged version. Ralph Maughan

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Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
January 15, 2009

In this issue:
* Update from the Field
* Montana Delegation, Schweitzer, to Ride in Obmama Parade
* Order Your Buffalo Valentines Today!
* Buffalo in the News
* Last Words
* Kill Tally
——————————
* Update from the Field

Dear Buffalo Friends,

A study was released this week that determines what we’ve known all along:  the risk of brucellosis transmission from wild bison to cattle is extremely remote.  The study, “Wildlife-Livestock Conflict: the Risk of Pathogen Transmission from Bison to Cattle Outside Yellowstone National Park” was conducted by A. Marm Kilpatrick, Colin M. Gillin, and Peter Daszak, and published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.  In summary, the study states, “… We have shown that the quantitative risk of transmission of [brucellosis] …is highly variable in space, time and frequency.  We believe that this variability offers great potential for focused adaptive management efforts that will reduce the costs of brucellosis management, reduce the need for hazing of bison, and maintain very low risk for the cattle industry of Montana.”  You can learn more about the study’s findings under “Buffalo in the News” below.

Nevertheless, livestock interests are running rampant with power in Montana.  This has been an incredible week of war against wildlife, even though the field remains quiet with no wild buffalo migrating out of Yellowstone National Park.

Vilsack glides through Senate Ag Committee confirmation hearing

He said a lot of standard stuff-

Agriculture Pick’s Hearing Is Smooth. By Andrew Martin. New York Times.

Here was a hopeful story from Jan. 14. Hope and the new USDA chief. Coming together to work toward a sustainable food and farm future. David Murphy (Guest Contributor).  Grist Magazine.

Here is today’s story. “Not-so-tough row to hoe. Vilsack glides through Senate Ag Committee confirmation hearing.” Posted by Tom Philpott. Grist Magazine.

Salazar confirmation hearings today expected to yield few fireworks

This is the big office for those interested in Western wildlife and public lands. The nomination doesn’t seem controversial to his fellow senators-

Salazar confirmation hearings expected to yield few fireworks. Senator generally respected, admired by GOP and Dems. By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News

Kevin Richert: Pricey privy: What was Kempthorne thinking?

For most Americans, this is what Kempthorne might be remembered for-

Kevin Richert: Pricey privy: What was Kempthorne thinking? Idaho Statesman.

The average American, especially those not from the West, doesn’t know much about the scandal-ridden Department of Interior. This is the sort of think that sticks in peoples’ minds.

Human fishing and hunting is accelerating evolution of species

Result is mostly toward smaller and shorter-lived individuals-

Human fishing and hunting accelerating evolution of species. Fishing and hunting by humans is accelerating the speed of evolution in some species as it removes whole generations of large adults who would otherwise reproduce. By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent. UK Telegraph.

Assuming that the prey does not become extinct, this finding is just what you’d predict when faced with heavy hunting, harvest, or whatever you call it. Heavy predation speeds up evolution, and the direction of the evolution is in the direction that makes the prey less desirable (such as smaller).  Therefore, more of the prey survive by evolving into something not so sought after by humans.