Collateral damage: Experts wonder what Tester’s bill may kill

More fallout on the costs to conservation Montana Senator Jon Tester’s new Logging Bill (couched in “W”ilderness designation) may have to Montana’s wildlife.

Collateral damage: Experts wonder what Tester’s bill may kill Missoula Independent

While much of the critique coming from conservationists focuses on the negative impact of the logging on other-than-wilderness public lands of which existing protections are traded away in the bill, Ralph Maughan previously leveraged a convincing repudiation of Tester’s logging bill pointing out that much of the Wilderness will be Cow-trashed Wilderness, “Wilderness” designated landscapes allowed to be grazed to the dirt as before.  How’s that for “untrammeled” ?

Review: Carving Up the Commons

Ralph previously noted how the Western Lands Project monitors public land privatization, which let people know about a great book, Carving Up the Commons (pdf), freely available for download.  The book gives great history and analysis of.  Here’s a recent book review :

Required reading: How Congress crafts public land bills – Missoula Independent

Perhaps the most succinct summary is provided by former congressional public lands committees staffer Erica Rosenberg in the introduction.

“Armed with insider know-how, Janine distills an astoundingly complex political process into an accessible manual. Although the process remains unwieldy, Janine’s illumination of the legal framework and political context makes it far less so. In Carving Up the Commons, Janine has provided a much needed window into a shady world of back-room deals, special interests and cronyism, while offering pragmatic information and a tactful approach to citizen involvement.”

Heading out for West Nile Virus country?

Is cattle trough country West Nile virus country?

Well I’m going to spend the rest of the day over in the Sublette Range where there are a lot of cattle troughs. Nowadays you have to worry about West Nile virus.  Seems like these might harbor the dangerous mosquitoes that pass it. As August approaches the percentage of mosquitoes infected climbs.

The Idaho Statesman has a video about controlling mosquito larva in Ada County (Boise). Near the end of the video they show livestock water troughs as one thing they treat (to kill the larva).

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Report 8/1/2009

I took these in South Heglar Canyon 7-31-09 on the Sawtooth National Forest (Sublette Division).

The troughs look like ideal mosquito breeding vessels. The water in the photo is completely stagnant and sits for weeks. They should produce many waves of hatches. Photos by Ralph Maughan. Feel free to use them.

Senators Grill Obama’s Nominee for National Park Service Director

Jarvis generally gives answers anti-conservation senators didn’t want to hear-

I think we will probably have a good Park Service Director. I suspect there may be Republican blocking tactics in the Senate like holds, but he will eventually become Park Service Director.

Senators Grill Obama’s Nominee for National Park Service Director. By Noell Straub of Greenwire in the New York Times.
A champion for national parks. The Boston Globe.
Nominee vows to protect ‘Crater Lake experience’. By John Sowell. The News-Review

More on the problems with the recovery of the Mexican wolf

Benjamin Tuggle, the Southwest regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gets a letter from Jon Marvel-

An article and a link to Marvel’s full letter is in a post on Demarcated Landscapes. This is a good illustration why cowpersons and cow politicians don’t like Marvel . . . . he tells Tuggle legal truths like . . .

“Ranchers have no legal right to keep cattle or sheep on public lands, they have a license or permit to graze livestock under very specific conditions through their ten year term grazing permit from the Forest Service or the BLM. Those permits are revocable at any time for cause, and can have their terms and conditions changed annually should the federal agencies involved choose to do so.”

. . . . . .

“Some conditions that would be very helpful include:

1. Requiring ranchers to remove all dead or injured cattle or sheep from public lands within three days of receiving knowledge of their presence to prevent wolves becoming accustomed to eating livestock.

2. Disallowing grazing of domestic livestock within five miles of a wolf pack den or rendezvous site.

3. Requiring a rider or herder to be present 7 days a week 24 hours a day with all livestock (human presence is a major deterrent to wolf predation on livestock).

4. Requiring calves turned out on public land to weigh at least 250 pounds.

5. Requiring that all calving or lambing of domestic livestock be carried out on private lands.

6. Requiring protective guard animals like dogs, lamas and burros to be present with all livestock.

7. Requiring all livestock losses to be documented accurately to prevent mendacious claims that wolves are predating.

8. Requiring electric fencing of all domestic sheep bands every night.”

Scenic BLM roadless area next to Mt. Borah draws Western Watersheds lawsuit

Western Watersheds Project sues BLM to protect the Burnt Creek roadless area from livestock abuse-

Ever since I returned to Idaho in 1971, one place I wanted to see was Burnt Creek in the high colorful foothills on the east side of the Lost River Range. It has been selected as a wilderness study area by the BLM long ago, and assumed must be at least somewhat protected.

The truth was revealed in 2007 when I went with “kt” to see if the BLM was complying with removal of an illegal turnout of cattle in the area.

The steep, low mountains composed of Challis volcanics were very pretty, but the stinking mess made by the cattle was not. Thanks to indefatigable “kt” who seems to know all the hidden pockets where livestock operators try to stash their cattle, they were removed. However, the BLM just seems determined to screw up, ignore the law, and cater to the cowpersons on the grazing allotment. So, the Western Watersheds Project has gone to court.

Story: WWP files suit to protect sage grouse, bull trout, and wilderness values on the Burnt Creek Allotment, Central Idaho. Overview of the Burnt Creek Allotment

Dem Senators Take On Palin, Offer Bill To Ban Aerial Wolf Hunting

Dem Senators Take On Palin, Offer Bill To Ban Aerial Wolf Hunting
Sam Stein. Huffington Post.
stein@huffingtonpost.com

On Wednesday, Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Ben Cardin of Maryland introduced legislation that would explicitly prohibit hunters from shooting and killing wildlife from aircraft. To ensure that anyone following the issue didn’t miss the political element, the senators noted in the press release announcing the legislation’s introduction that it would specifically end the targeting of “wolves.”

The bill, which is endorsed by, among other groups, the Defenders of Wildlife, closes a loophole in the Aerial Hunting Act of 1971. And in an accompanying statement, Feinstein didn’t hide her disdain for the practice that Palin now uses to illustrate the contrast between herself and the Hollywood crowd.

July 30, 2009 related. Palin’s Last Shot On Wolves & Ashley Judd; Congress Shoots Back. By Shannyn Moore . . . “Just a girl from Homer [AK]. Huffington Post.

Utah, Nevada nearing deal on Snake Valley aquifer

So are Utah and Nevada going to team up to dewater Nevada’s Snake Valley, or is there just a bit less environmental destruction now planned?

Utah, Nevada nearing deal on Snake Valley aquifer. Groundwater » Greens fret Vegas project may dry up valley around Great Basin National Park. By Brandon Loomis. The Salt Lake Tribune.

Love that SLT subheadline. I guess I’m “fretful” today. 😦

Here is an alert from the Great Basin Water Network. They are not happy about the Utah-Nevada deal.
As a note, Snake Valley runs for many miles along the Utah-Nevada border.

Jul. 27, 2009

Help stop Utah from signing away Snake Valley’s water to Las Vegas sprawl! Act today.

We understand the Utah negotiating team is close to an agreement with the State of Nevada which would allow the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) to pump thousands of acre feet of water annually from underneath Utah’s Snake Valley to Las Vegas.

As governor, Gary Herbert will have the authority to approve or block any agreement. We are urging Utahns to call and/or email Herbert’s new transition Chief of Staff Jason Perry and tell him that NO Agreement should be signed at this time.

There is no urgency for any agreement. The Nevada State Engineer will not rule on the Snake Valley water applications for more than two years. If Utah were to sign an agreement now, it would undermine the integrity of the engineer’s decision-making and hearing process.

A premature agreement would undermine the positions of Millard County and the Utah Association of Counties, and place at risk people’s lives and prosperity in Snake Valley as well as create impacts to many other Utahns. It would also jeopardize the ongoing government (BLM) environmental study process before the people even have an opportunity to voice their concerns about the Las Vegas Water Grab.

———————————————–
Please call and/or email today!

The new Herbert Chief of Staff and Transition Team director is Jason Perry.

Email: jpperry@utah.gov
phone: 801-538-8700

The new Herbert Rural Affairs Adviser is Beverly Evans.

Email: bevans@utah.gov
phone: 801-538-8638

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Protect Snake Valley

Saving Energy by Managing Irrigation

In much of the West, pumping water to keep alfalfa growing in the desert through the hot season is an extremely wasteful endeavor.  Kate Galbraith writes about an energy conservation initiative in Idaho that pays irrigators to turn off the pumps during peak demand.

Saving Energy by Managing Irrigation New York Times blog

Doing more with less ~ conservation, efficiency ~ is almost always a cheaper proposition than the alternative, and there’s so much potential to reduce energy consumption.

F&G expects to finish bighorn plans on time

Bighorn Sheep © Ken Cole

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game was directed to work with domestic sheep producers to develop “best management practices” to keep bighorn and domestic sheep apart. The problem lies in the fact that history shows that it takes only one interaction between the two to transmit disease to bighorn sheep and that interaction can go undetected.

There is no meaningful public participation in these negotiations which is just the way the woolgrowers want it. Nobody knows what these “bmp’s” will be or how they will affect other wildlife or habitat. It appears that hazing will be involved but there has been no mention as to what means will be used.

F&G expects to finish bighorn plans on time
By Nate Poppino
Times-News writer

On collecting wolf scat in Yellowstone

Wolf poop is gold for a variety of studies of wolves-

Yellowstone study collects, examines wolf scat for clues. By Brett French. Billings Gazette.

This time tested activity was partly replaced by radio collar-based research, but with the development of sophisticated DNA and hormone analysis, it now has new importance.

The very real threat posed by the Mexican wolf recovery program. . . .

This article appeared in Demarcated Landscapes.

Former US Sen. Larry Craig opens consulting firm for energy issues

Disgraced Idaho senator to try to cash in as lobbyist like many other ex members of congress-

Former US Sen. Larry Craig opens consulting firm. The Associated Press in the Idaho Statesman.

No doubt 3 years ago he thought his retirement, if it ever came, would be a lot more lucrative. Perhaps it will still be. He learned many ways to serve the energy industry.

Arizona Republican senators fight Arizona’s Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva on closing the Arizona Strip to uranium mining

Followup to Obama’s move to temporarily delay mining claims on a million scenic acres is shaping up into a major battle-

Mine ban at Canyon may fuel new fight By Shaun McKinnon and Erin Kelly. Azcentral.com

Polls show the state’s residents support the general position of Grijalva.

The Arizona Strip is a vast area of mostly BLM lands north of the Grand Canyon and south of the Utah border. Although there are backroads and grazing, it has almost no full time residents.

Feds: Eliminate or re-route Logan Utah’s killer canal

Canal that caused landslide and death can be re-routed only at a high cost-

That this canal failed should hardly have been a surprise. My grandfather, H.C. Hansen was a geologist. He lived underneath the canal on Canyon Road for many years. He died at age 97 back in 1969. One of the things all of us who knew him remember are his many predictions that the canal would eventually cause a big landslide during a wet season and or when a minor earthquake struck. He couldn’t have been the only one who knew even long before local residents of  “the Island” area of Logan began to report cracks.

Feds: Eliminate or re-route Logan’s killer canal. Saying the current location isn’t viable, federal engineers propose two alternatives. By Nate Carlisle. The Salt Lake Tribune.

Perhaps the irrigation water should be abandoned given all the earth movement that will be needed to make it feed into the existing Logan Hyde Park Smithfield canal. There will be a lot of environmental damage near the mouth of Logan Canyon if the “extreme engineering” talked about is carried out.

ID Fish and Game/outfitter ad campaign to drive hunters from Idaho yields success

Survey of non-resident hunters shows perception of wolf impact biggest factor in not buying elk tags-

As early as nine years ago, Idaho elk outfitters begin to tell the world that wolves had killed almost all the elk in the state. For the last two years Idaho Fish and Game Department honchos have joined in.

Today in an article* in Pocatello’s Idaho State Journal by Cody Bloomsburg, discovered an ID F & G survey of 2600 non-residents told that of those who did not return this year for an Idaho elk tag, 28 % blamed wolves, 13% blamed the recent non-resident fee increase, and just over 11% the bad economy.

This is the second year in a row that non-resident elk tag sales have declined (25% in 2008). A likely hypothesis is that the negative advertising barrage by the outfitters was not as effective as the ID Fish and Game officials following orders to poor mouth the state’s elk and deer prospects. ID Fish & Game did not begin to bemoan the supposed effect of wolves until two years ago.

The actual effect of wolves on Idaho elk populations is hard to measure. It is suspected that wolves are depressing or suppressing elk numbers in just two of Idaho’s 29 hunt areas. Most recently the Idaho elk population was estimated by Idaho Fish & Game elk surveys at 103,160 animals, at or slightly above the statewide objective.

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*The article by Bloomsburg is not on-line.

A new twist in dam removal on the Snake River

My biggest Chinook. © Ken Cole

Recently Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced that in talks about salmon recovery that dam breaching should be on the table. It’s not an endorsement of dam breaching but it is a departure from former Senator Craig’s stance.

On top of this development comes a letter to politicians signed by several business owners in Lewiston and Clarkston who will be affected whatever happens to the dams.

If the dams are breached then river transportation will go away. If they stay then the cities will require significant infrastructure to keep the rising waters from flooding them due to the fact that the dams are filling with sediment.

One interesting thing mentioned in the letter is that the promised economic boom from dam construction never came.

I argue that the dams should be removed for various reasons, not least of which being the ecological benefits of recovered salmon.

A new twist in dam removal on the Snake River
By Lance Dickie
Seattle Times editorial columnist

Crapo takes a politically risky stand for salmon
Commentary: Kevin Richert – Idaho Statesman

Wyoming whitebark pine cone crop looking good

Vigorous production of cones spells very good news for grizzly bears-

Although the majority of whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone has died off or burned in recent years, there are still enough for the grizzlies in those years when conditions are optimal for cone production.

There is a long and strong data set showing fewer grizzlies die in conflicts with humans during years of good whitebark seed production because the bears are at high altitude during the critical months when they are trying to put on winter fat and hunting season is taking place outside Grand Teton and Yellowstone Parks.

Whitebark pine cone crop looking good. “High-protein food could help reduce conflicts between grizzlies, hunters this fall”. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Latest federal wolf update, July 20-24, 2009

Officials news for Wyoming and other areas, excluding Idaho and Montana-

The USFWS in Helena continues to put out the wolf news for all of Wyoming and other Western States, except Idaho and Montana where wolves are delisted, and the Mexican wolf recovery area. This means wolf news in Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Utah, etc. is covered.

Here is the latest, and there is good news from Oregon, Washington and Yellowstone Park. Ralph Maughan

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WYOMING WOLF PROGRAM

WEEKLY REPORT

To:                   Regional Director, Region 6, Denver, Colorado

From:               USFWS Wyoming Wolf Recovery Project Leader, Jackson, WY

Subject:           Status of Gray Wolf Management in Wyoming and the NRM

Date:                July 20 through July 24, 2009

Web Address – USFWS reports (past weekly and annual reports) can be viewed at http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov . Weekly reports for Montana and Idaho are produced by those States and can be viewed on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Idaho Department of Fish and Game websites. All weekly and annual reports are government property and can be used for any purpose.  Please distribute as you see fit.

Annual Reports

The Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery 2008 Annual Report is available at: http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov .

Delisting Litigation Status

On June 2, a lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court in Missoula (9th Circuit) by a coalition of 13 environmental and animals rights groups. Another separate lawsuit challenging the USFWS delisting criteria was filed shortly after in the 9th Circuit by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.  While the two groups have their own attorneys, both those cases have now been consolidated in the Missoula District Court under Judge Molloy.  Their complaint alleges the NRM wolf population is not recovered and that the delisting violates the federal Endangered Species Act for many legal reasons, including delisting can not occur without an adequate Wyoming regulatory framework in place, which is not currently the case.  A request for a preliminary injunction has not been filed at this time.  In addition, the State of Wyoming, Park County, and the Wyoming Wolf Coalition filed lawsuits in the 10th Circuit District Court (Cheyenne, Wyoming) challenging USFWS’s rejection of Wyoming’s regulatory framework and the Wyoming state wolf management plan.  Those three cases have been consolidated in the Wyoming court.

Monitoring

USFWS trapping efforts ended east of Dubois, WY due to potential conflicts with summer recreation activities on back-country roads where trapping was attempted. Two bobcats were trapped and released onsite. One large male wolf pup was caught and fitted with a padded radio collar. Trapping efforts may resume later this summer, before big game hunting season.

W.S. and USFWS crew trapped 2 wolves in the Sweetwater Pack, south of Lander, WY. One male wolf was fitted with a VHF collar. A female wolf, that had previously been radio collared in YNP, was released on site.

Summer monitoring of Yellowstone wolves is focusing on reproduction and summer predation at this time. Pup production appears typical of non-disease years, with no evidence of significant pup or adult mortality patterns as in previous disease years. Wolves are beginning to move to higher elevations typical of summer patterns that mirror ungulate movements to higher elevations presumably following greenwave patterns. Spring and summer precipitation and temperature patterns are producing some of the greenist landscapes this far into the Yellowstone’s summer as has been seen in well over a decade. Bull and cow/calf elk groups are appear abundant at higher elevations in many wolf pack territories, and field observations indicate robust calf production and survival so far.

Idaho’s calls of the wild help improve ‘howlbox’

Research into wolf howl boxes advancing but I doubt it will reduce collaring of wolves for the benefit of livestock interests.
Idaho’s calls of the wild help improve ‘howlbox’
BY JOE JASZEWSKI – Idaho Statesman

Idaho Fish and Game Postpones Public Hearings on Wolf Hunting Quotas

The Idaho Fish and Game held it’s recent Commission meeting in McCall over the last two days but failed to take up one item on its agenda. The Commission did not discuss wolf hunting even though they are likely to start hunting wolves starting September 1st. They plan to take up the subject at their August 17th meeting which is just days before wolf hunting would start. This gives very little time to contemplate any proposed rules and is widely viewed as a way to avoid an injunction on the pending court case against delisting.

Horse Debate Misses the Point.

Wild Horses in Nevada © Ken Cole

Ted Williams, a writer for Fly Rod and Reel Magazine and Audubon has written a piece attacking wild horse advocates and politicians who supported H.R. 1018, the Restore Our American Mustangs Act.

I think it misses the point. I think that an opportunity to do something about livestock damage was missed and the bill will ultimately result in great ecological damage. For whatever reason language to proportionately reduce livestock grazing in horse areas was not included in the bill that passed the House but has no counterpart in the Senate.

I think that everyone knows that high use by non-native horses, invasive livestock, and even native ungulates such as elk is damaging ecologically. That is not my debate with the author. I think that the debate rests in proportionality. Livestock damage is several orders of magnitude higher than horse damage even though there needs to be serious reductions in both populations.

Water trough and spring heavily used by horses. There are far more springs abused like this not used by horses. © Ken Cole

In an exchange between Williams and myself he states this: “Unlike horses, cows can be managed, moved, brought in in the winter, and they’re a business”. In essence he seems to justifying the damage they cause for these reasons but I don’t see that they are being managed in such a way to benefit anything other than the pocket book of the rancher.

I go on to respond “we need to be talking about proportion since cattle cause 1000 more times damage to the lands, water, wildlife, vegetation and fisheries. By all rights you should be writing about 1000 times more articles about that damage. I don’t think this issue should be ignored but it certainly needs to be put into proportion.”

One of 239 Ecological Illiterates in the U.S. House
Ted Williams for Fly Rod and Reel.

Interior proposes Yellowstone snowmobile cap

Obama’s Interior is looking to cut by half the number of snowmachines in Yellowstone National Park :

Interior proposes Yellowstone snowmobile cap – The Salt Lake Tribune

(thanks for the heads up jdubya)

Bill Schneider: What Tester’s Forest Bill Really Does

Bill Schneider gives it a detailed analysis-

I won’t go over the details because Schneider seems to do a good job, but my general impression is that there is no reason for Montana conservationists to support this, even though it is not immediately clear whether the “stewardship” elements are good, bad or neutral.

What Tester’s Forest Bill Really Does. “Montana Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act attempts to cover a lot of ground and address a lot of issues, but will it be enough to win passage?” New West.

I don’t see any Wilderness designation in this bill that is a wow! This is great . . . something that would offset the other provisions.

I haven’t been to some of these areas, but I have to the southwest Montana ones. These have one thing in common and wrong — they are all abused by livestock.

The provision grandfathering livestock grazing in designated Wilderness area was absolutely necessarily in 1964 to get the Wilderness Act passed, and in many of the early Wilderness areas, livestock grazing was not a big issue because it was a minor use generally affecting just a small part of the total area.

In recent years, however, areas have  been proposed for Wilderness designation where livestock effects are seen and felt on almost every acre. Yes, these areas are roadless, with little previous logging activity, and no permanent structures,  but to call them places where the effects of humans are not lasting or very evident is a bad joke.

This  bill continues in this bad tradition and grandfathers this use.

I’ve always been a strong supporter of Wilderness areas, but I refuse to support any more cow or sheep wilderness areas. It’s a joke, and just like depredation payments to livestock operators for losses to predators, this doesn’t win their support. They always opposed Wilderness and they always will no matter who low you bow before their majesty.

I’d rather have a clear trout stream with a road along side it, than some cowshit filled mud wallow you reach after a steep hike of 5 miles.

Why give up anything to win a pile of dust? Let’s kill this sucker!

Bison Attacks California Tourist at Yellowstone National Park

I think the headline should read “Bison Defends Itself from California Tourist at Yellowstone National Park” as the tourist approached within 10-feet of the bull.  I’m glad the man was not severely injured but every visitor is handed a little flyer with a drawing of a person being thrown through the air by a bison.

Bison Attacks California Tourist at Yellowstone National Park
Local 8 News, Eastern Idaho

Bull bison weigh up to 2000 pounds and they have big pointy things on their head. I’ve seen them walk slowly up to a 5-foot fence and jump over it like a deer.

Don’t walk up to them unless you want a big hole in your leg or groin area which is where most people are gored.  Most people injured by bison approach them too closely.  I’ve never heard of a bison that went out of its way to attack someone.

As my friend Mike Mease always says, “if a buffalo lifts its tail then it is either going to charge or discharge”.

Here are videos of what can happen very quickly to people who approach bison too closely.

Sage Grouse & Wind Farms Collide

Energy development on public lands impact wildlife habitat.  Wind developers are finding that the potential ESA listing of sage grouse is likely to significantly impact attempts to develop wind farms on public lands, especially in Wyoming :

Gov’s office disputes grouse impact – Casper Star-Tribune

A decision to block wind energy development from key sage grouse habitats in Wyoming could effectively nullify a significant portion of the state’s wind energy resource. But exactly how much is unclear.

More corporate welfare for public land livestock production

Obama’s Department of Agriculture has published a rule to extend more subsidies to public land ranchers.

EQIP Extended to Public Lands – National Cattleman’s Beef Association

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a final rule authorizing the use of Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds for conservation efforts on public lands. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the Public Lands Council (PLC), and other conservation and ranching groups had requested this language in comments submitted to USDA in March. 

Fencing is harmful to wildlife © Brian Ertz 2009

EQIP is a federal agricultural subsidy :

EQIP provides payments up to 75 percent of the incurred costs and income foregone of certain conservation (sic) practices and activities.

“Conservation practices” is a tricky term.  In practice, these federal dollars are often spent subsidizing the construction of agricultural developments like the materials and labor to build fences and to dig wells to pump water on private land.  The new rule expands the subsidy to provide federal cost-sharing for practices which include fences and water developments for livestock production on federal public lands.

Limit per individual or entity is not to exceed $300,000 in 6 year timeframes.

According to the USDA, from 1997 to 2008, over $100 million in EQIP dollars were distributed to subsidize livestock grazing in the country.

Wolf reintroduction proposed in Scottish Highland test case

Wolves have been absent from Scotland for more than 250 years

In an effort to change the behavior of red deer in Scotland so that the ecosystem can recover from their overgrazing, researchers are recommending wolf reintroduction to an island or major fenced area to see how the land, vegetation and other inhabitants respond.

Wolf reintroduction proposed in Scottish Highland test case
Science Codex

Logging Bill or Wilderness Bill ?

More controversy has been in the news concerning what has been framed the Beaverhead-Deerlodge “W“ilderness bill in Montana.

Paul Richards has taken a candid approach to the spread of this nominal Wilderness in Montana – he’s calling it what it just as fairly might be called, a logging bill : 

Why Does Jon Tester Want to Log Wild Montana? : Counterpunch

In the Tester Logging Bill, we are witnessing the worst of hardball politics. The Tester Logging Bill ignores economic, scientific, and environmental reality. It circumvents the public and environmental laws designed to serve the public good, such as the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Forest Management Act, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

Paul points out many of the problems with the bill, including one of the quid pro quo’s being the loss of already protected Wilderness Study Areas :

The Tester Logging Bill “undesignates” the Axolotl Lakes Wilderness Study Area, Bell/Limekiln Canyons Wilderness Study Area, East Fork Blacktail Wilderness Study Area, Henneberry Ridge Wilderness Study Area, and Hidden Pasture Wilderness Study Area. All of these roadless wildlands would be subjected to “logging without laws,” as the Tester Logging Bill specifically excludes them from the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

Rocky Barker looks at the same bill and sees what some might suggest as more important than the pesky details concerning wildlands lost.  He sees sweet, sweet *compromise* :

Montana wilderness (sic) bill similar to Idaho approach – Letters from the West

Obama and Environmentalists

Bill Moyers considers whether Obama has sold out environmentalists.

Obama and Environmentalists ~ Bill Moyers Journal – July 17, 2009

Bill Moyers’ blog goes on to ask : How Should America Respond to Global Warming?

Roadless Area in Tongass National Forest Opened to Logging by the Obama Administration

8.8 miles of new road are involved in what was once a roadless area.

“Just building the road will cost four times as much revenue as the Forest Service is going to get from the timber sale,” said Waldo of Earthjustice.

Ketchikan mill is awarded Orion North timber
Deal marks first timber sale in roadless area under Obama

Grizzly settlement talks break down

The delisting of the Grizzly Bear is being challenged in two district courts.  Bear advocates point to the tenuous food supply given global warming and the high mortality rate of bears shot by hunters.  Settlement talks were pursued to see if the all the parties could work out the differences.  That didn’t happen so it’s likely that a race between the two judges in court will decide.

Courts to decide grizzly’s status after talks flop – AP

Range War in the West

Patrick Dorinson has taken aim at one group of rabble-rousers you may be familiar with :

Range War In the West – FOXNews.com

But some environmentalist outlaws like the Western Watersheds Project had no interest in compromise and since have used and abused the legal system of this country to deny the ranchers their rights and seeks to have the U.S. Government abrogate the legal contracts that allows them to use public lands for grazing.

It’s a funny diatribe, Patrick goes to great lengths to fit in every last possible piece of mud drawing upon over a decade of uninformed cliché, contrived stereotype and baseless accusation.

Every once in awhile these guys need a really good rage in print – good on ’em.  At first I wasn’t going to post it, but it spread to NewWest so I figured we should share it as well.

Room to roam: House votes to rescue wild horses

Wild Horses in Nevada © Ken Cole

Rep. Nick Rahall, Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, has a soft spot for wild horses.  That’s good, it’s a national disgrace the way these animals are treated.  His bill just passed the house:

Room to roam: House votes to rescue wild horses – AP

WASHINGTON — Galloping to the aid of the nation’s wild horses and burros, the House voted Friday to rescue them from the possibility of a government-sponsored slaughter and give them millions more acres to roam.

A great point by Rep. Rahall:

“How in the world can a federal agency be considering the massive slaughter of animals the law says they are supposed to be protecting?”

Welcome to the West Rep. Rahall, our good ol’ boys back here got a whole portfolio of lots of different animals that fit that description.

Obama Admin Scraps Logging Plan in Ore. Carbon Sinks

Salazar cites failure to provide adequate Endangered Species Act consultations as on the forefront of his decision to scrap attempts to log BLM land in Oregon.

Obama Admin Scraps Logging Plan in Ore. Carbon Sinks – New York Times

The move scraps a Bush-era decision to rezone 2.6 million acres of Bureau of Land Management forests, which would have tripled current logging production and opened old-growth forests to clear-cutting.

Study of falling elk population looks at food

Study of falling elk population looks at food

Wolf predation may not be as much a factor as was once believed

BRETT FRENCH Of The Gazette Staff

Too many missed meals may be the larger cause of the decline of elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – not wolf predation or the elk’s fear of being eaten by wolves, according to a newly published study.

Kim Trotter: Arguments for rebuilding Teton Dam don’t hold water

Some bad ideas just won’t die-

My first involvement in a conservation battle was trying to stop the building of the Teton Dam. We lost. It failed in June 1976 as it was filling for the first time. It killed eleven and cost a billion dollars in damage payouts. It would have been a money loser even if it had functioned. We had even told the judge the dam wouldn’t hold water. He laughed and said, “well it won’t drown out those elk then.” Eleven people died because of this fool and others.

Now rebuilding the dam at this porous site in the mouth of the trout filled and wildlife rich canyon has surfaced again. When it doesn’t work this time, it will be Idaho taxpayers picking up tab, not just Uncle Stupid.

Kim Trotter: Arguments for rebuilding Teton Dam don’t hold water. Opinion in the Idaho Statesman.

Some company wants to put hydropower on Quake Lake!

Looks like the agency and groups are jumping off the wall. Good!

Story about this idiot proposal. By Jessica Mayrer. Bozeman Chronicle staff writer

Who’s Afraid of…

On the Mexican wolf recovery program-

“The [Mexican] wolves will go extinct,” Michael Robinson, conservation advocate with the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, says. “If the program is continued exactly the way it is now, these wolves will go extinct.”

– – – – –

In my view the federal government’s Mexican Wolf Recovery program is one of the most screwed up, politicized, and incompetent recovery programs the federal government has ever done. Wolves reproduce rapidly, and while we should not expect the rapid population growth here like the wolves in the northern Rockies because the Mexican wolf is extinct in the wild, there is plenty of prey and the Mexican wolves usually adapt  quickly to the wild, have pups, and their pups have pups if the federal government doesn’t shot them first.

Recovery was on track until 2003 when the Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement establishing the Adaptive Management Oversight Committee (“A MOC”). The local livestock operators are required to do even less than their counterparts in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. It’s like leaving their truck full of fuel, with keys in the ignition, and their credit card on the seat.

As a result, now the population is stagnant, having declined to 50 animals. It is like a minor “put and take” fishery. Note that this analogy is not original with me. Ralph Maughan

Who’s Afraid of… The big bad wolf? When it comes to New Mexico’s recovery program, the real fear is the wolves won’t be saved. By Laura Paskus. Sante Fe Reporter.

Footloose Montana Proposes “Montana Trap-Free Public Lands Initiative”

The ban on traps would apply to public lands only-

Story in the Great Falls Tribune. Group aims to put a stop to trapping on public lands. By Michael Babcock.  Great Falls Tribune Outdoor Editor.

– – – – –

News Release from Footloose, Montana-

Footloose Montana Proposes
“Montana Trap-Free Public Lands Initiative”

Helena, Mont. – Public lands in Montana will become trap-free, if an initiative filed today with the Secretary of State qualifies for the November 2010 general election and is approved by a majority of voters. Download Initiative

The “Montana Trap-Free Public Lands Initiative” would prohibit trapping on public lands in Montana, except for scientific, public health and safety activities.  Under the initiative, proposed by the Florence-based group, Footloose Montana, trapping on private lands, which comprise 65 percent of the state, will not be affected.

Palin’s departure not likely to change Alaska’s anti-wolf programs

Unrepresentative Board of Game and science-free biologists said to be the problem-

Alaska biologists may be to blame for bad predator control policies. By Cathy Taibbi.  National Examiner.

I missed this earlier. This lengthy article is actually part 2 of Exploring Alaska’s wolf-control controversy. Government favors trophy hunting dollars over ecology.

Open Letter to Gov. Brian Schweitzer:

Take Back Our Public Lands

Bison on Horse Butte © Ken Cole

By Tom Woodbury, Western Watersheds Project,

Addition by Ralph Maughan. This is also in New West. You can comment there as well as on this blog.

2008 should be remembered as the year of the buffalo. Over 1600 bison were slaughtered in Montana that year, about half of the last wild bison left in the world. This liquidation of wild bison is totally at odds with Montana’s strong conservation ethic, and is against our economic interest as well. In spite of this massive slaughter, Montana lost its “brucellosis-free” status due to repeated transmissions from wild elk to cattle. Also in 2008, the Government Accountability Office released a blistering report on bison management, finding no increased tolerance for bison, as intended by the management plan, and no accountability to those with a stake in how bison are managed, including Montana citizens and the many tribes that hold bison sacred.

The Bison Management Plan was adopted in 2000 “to ensure domestic cattle in portions of Montana adjacent to Yellowstone National Park are protected from brucellosis… and to ensure the wild and free-ranging nature of the bison herd.” It has failed on both counts.

Moscow, Idaho man reports fighting with mountain lion near Elk River, Idaho

Firewood gatherer said to be attacked. Stabbed cougar ran off-

Idaho Mountain Lion attack. AP

Idaho Sockeye Returning at Record Numbers

As of 7/13/09 914 sockeye salmon have crossed Lower Granite Dam.

Sockeye Salmon in Sawtooth Hatchery Trap 2008 © Ken Cole

Last year was a record for modern times when 909 Sockeye Salmon passed over Lower Granite Dam and 450 plus 650 returned to the Sawtooth Valley. This year there have been 914 so far and the run is not over. There was a year when only one male made the 900-mile journey. He was dubbed Lonesome Larry.  In 1990 there were none.

To put this year’s and last year’s returns into perspective I grabbed this from the IDFG Fact Sheet on Sockeye:

“Between 1991 and 1998, only 16 wild sockeye salmon returned to Idaho. All of these adults were incorporated into the captive breeding program and spawned at the Eagle Fish Hatchery.

The program releases eggs and fish back to the habitat in a variety of ways. Eyed-eggs are planted in egg boxes and placed in lakes in the fall, presmolts are released directly to lakes in the fall, smolts are released to outlet streams in the spring, and prespawn adults are released to lakes in the fall. A monitoring and evaluation effort is in place to document the success of the different reintroduction strategies.

Over the eight years between 1999 and 2007, 355 hatchery-produced adult, sockeye salmon returned to the Sawtooth Valley. For comparison, in the 14 years from 1985 through 1998, 77 natural-origin sockeye salmon returned to Idaho.”

Idaho Sockeye Numbers Beating Last Year’s Record
NW Fishletter

Jon Jarvis: A new voice for the national parks

New York Times very positive on the new Director of the National Park Service-

When President Obama nominated Jon Jarvis to head the Park Service, I was not familiar with him.

However, the New York Times thinks Jarvis is the “best news [they] have heard in the past nine years about the national parks”

New York Times editorial. A New Voice for the National Parks.

More! 7/15/09. Parks nominee called “tops.” Jarvis, who worked through ranks, is said to value resources, understand visitor needs. Jackson Hole News and Guide. By Cory Hatch.

Hungry elk have landowners critical of N.M. management

People love to argue about “depredations” by predators. What what “depredations” by plant eaters?

Hungry elk have landowners critical of N.M. management. New Mexico weighs how to limit damage or offer compensation. By Susan Montoya Bryan. The Associated Press in the Denver Post

Obama Administration might restrict use of antibiotics in healthy livestock

Finally, let’s hope-

“The Union of Concerned Scientists has estimated that as much as 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States is given to healthy chickens, pigs and cattle to encourage their growth or to prevent illnesses.”

The medical community has been urging this for decades. Administration Seeks to Restrict Antibiotics in Livestock. By Gardiner Harris. New York Times.

Island Park Grizzly that Attacked Hound Hunter Found Alive and Well with Her 3 Cubs.

Idaho Fish and Game Press Release

Grizzly with cubs © Ken Cole

Date: July 13, 2009
Contact: Ed Mitchell
(208) 334-3700

Bear Who Bit Hunter Located

DNA is a powerful tool.

Preliminary results of saliva from one of the bite marks where a female grizzly bear bit a hunter on June 28 returned a match to a radio-collared grizzly with three cubs.

The hunter was one of three eastern Idaho black bear hunters who got an unpleasant surprise on the morning of June 28 when their hounds surrounded a female grizzly with cubs.

The bear took after the hunters, knocked down Keith Klingler, 38 of Idaho Falls, bit him on the right arm and tossed him around. His brother, Eric Klingler dug his .44-caliber Magnum handgun out of his pack and took a shot at the bear, deliberately firing high to avoid hitting his brother.

He may have missed or only inflicted a flesh wound. A scheduled Idaho Fish and Game grizzly bear monitoring flight in early July in the same area located the collared bear and her three young cubs. All four appeared fine, said Daryl Meints, regional wildlife manager for the Upper Snake Region of Idaho Fish and Game.

Keith Klingler was treated at Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg for lacerations to his right arm. He had no other apparent injuries.

The Klingler brothers and Corey Raichart, all three from the Idaho Falls area, were hunting black bears with hounds on Bishop Mountain near Harriman State Park. They released their hounds on a scent, and the dogs soon surrounded what the men thought was a black bear. When they arrived, they quickly realized they had a grizzly.

The hunters reported seeing two cubs with the female grizzly. None of them noticed whether the bear was wearing a radio-collar.

Fish and Game officials will continue weekly monitoring from the air, but they do not plan to track the bear on the ground unless they get a mortality signal. Officials also recommend that anyone heading into the backcountry carry bear spray.

Enviros back Sotomayor for Supreme Court

Likely new Justice expected to help stem anti-environmental trend by the Court’s activist conservative justices-

The last term of the Supreme Court was the most anti-environmental in memory, ruling against conservation groups in all cases. New Chief Justice Roberts joined with Justice Scalia and other conservative justices to ignore settled law, and precedent,* so to weaken laws and regulations to protect the environment (and other areas of the law).

Sotomeyer’s record, according to these groups, is neutral without a built in bias against environmental protection laws. She will replace David Souter, who generally favored the settled interpretation of environmental law. Therefore, President Obama will need to replace several more Justices before the trend can really be reversed.

Story: Enviros back Sotomayor for Supreme Court. by Lisa Hymas. Grist

– – – – –

The word “judicial activist,*” which generally has a negative connotation, refers to judges that rule broadly when there is no necessity to do so in a case, and interpose their own policy views to overturn precedent and, in effect, re-write the laws by consistently interpreting unclear portions of them in just one direction.

The word has been used for years by conservatives to attack liberal judges, but in fact, activism has become the conservative’s judicial weapon of choice in recent years.

Activism is not always a negative feature, especially when over the years a series of precedents have led to absurdities when compared to the realities of a situation.

Wild horses thought to create beautiful fields of wildflowers in Pryor Mountains

Unfortunately, the flowers may be the result of overgrazing by the horses-

Wild Horses © Ken Cole

This article and its premise may spark a lot of controversy.

Wild horse range pressured by overgrazing. By Brett French. Billings Gazette.

I should add that I have never been to the Pryor Mountains of Montana, which are east of Cody and near the Wyoming border.

Wind power industry and Western States create sage grouse research plan

Like so many other developments in what was  “sagebrush sea,” wind power impacts sage grouse-

I think that to the energy industry and many folks, including most Western politicians, the non-forested open spaces are just empty space where they could put “stuff.” The declining presence of sage grouse, and no doubt other wildlife in the face of this development is slowing down their plans.

Wind energy industry sets sage grouse research plan. By Dustin Bleizeffer. Casper Star-Tribune energy reporter
Just added ! Wildlife groups hail Canadian court ruling on sage-grouse. CBC News.

On dealing with urban coyotes

This is hardly news to us, but coyotes are common in many cities and suburbs nowadays-

As for myself, I’m happy when a coyote wanders through the neighborhood. It (or they) clean out the feral domestic cats.

Controlling wily coyotes? Still no easy answers. By Mark Stark. Associated Press.

Second wolf pack in Washington State.

Genetic tests indicate wolves are from Alberta/Montana.

Wolf: photo Washington Department of Wildlife

Yet another pack of wolves may be present in Washington State. They are protected by Washington’s endangered species laws however they are not protected by the Federal Endangered Species Act in the eastern third of Washington.

Signs of wolf pack found in Pend Oreille County
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Update 7/13/09:

King5 has a slideshow of the wolves photographed and another article about the wolves.

Possible resident gray wolves in Pend Orielle Co.
By TRAVIS PITTMAN / KING5.com

The new article indicates that WDFW is also investigating reports of wolves from the Blue Mountains in southeast portion of the state.

Update 7/14/09:

Second wolf pack confirmed in Washington
Associated Press

PacifiCorp Settles In Wyoming Raptor Electrocutions

$1.4 million dollar fine and retribution to be paid-

$9.1 million will be paid to retrofit power poles. Over 200 eagles died and many other raptors.

PacifiCorp Settles In Bird Electrocutions. By Mead Gruver. Associated Press Writer

Exxon-Mobil was involved too. Earlier story. Companies charged in bird deaths. By Tom Morton. Casper Star Tribune.

WWP Files Suit to Protect 250,000 acres of Colorado Rangelands, Canada Lynx, and Endangered Uncompahgre Butterfly

WWP expands action into Colorado

Western Watersheds Project filed suit in Federal Court in Denver, Colorado to stop a 250,000 acre grazing project located on Colorado’s Pike-San Isabel National Forest.

[…]The grazing has been so severe that the Forest Service’s wildlife specialists stated that if it didn’t change, the Forest Service was risking a widespread elk die-off.

The entire News Release …
Suit targets grazing on Pike, San Isabel forests – AP (thanks Jeff E)

Hopelessness for the Uncompahgre butterfly ?

The Uncompahgre butterfly (Boloria improba acrocnemay) has an interesting history with some arguing about whether the butterfly should be left to go (extinct) given percieved hopelessness about how to conserve it.   After all, confronting seemingly insurmountable obstacles like public land livestock grazing and climate change in Colorado for a butterfly could be an uphill battle.  All known populations are on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land.  Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly via Living on Earth :

The Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly was discovered in 1978 by biologists working in the San Juan mountains of southern Colorado. The species was probably left behind on mountain tops when glaciers retreated during the last Ice Age. Researchers say it has been threatened by livestock grazing in mountain meadows, butterfly collectors, and a warming climate. But there is no clear consensus on how to save it, and researchers say that might not even be possible. Biologists argue time and money may be better spent on preservation efforts elsewhere. The hands-off attitude has stirred debate in the conservation field. Some advocates fear letting the Uncompahgre butterfly die out may set a bad precedent for other species.

Cross your fingers for the Uncompahgre fritillary butterfly …

10th Circuit Court rules in favor of WY state elk feedgrounds on U.S. public lands

More marching ahead down the road to elk disaster-

Court rules for feedlots. By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole Daily

Federal officials vow to seize California state parks if they are closed by state

Broke California’s governor wants to close the state’s parks. Feds say this breaks the rules for six of them-

6 California parks could revert to federal control. LA Times. By Julie Cart.

Closing the State Parks will probably do more economic damage than the management money saved, but then nothing about California’s self-made budget crisis is rational. The federal government will step in and take over 6 or so of the several hundred parks.

Climate Change Bill: Disillusioned Environmentalists Turn on Obama as Compromiser

Is the bill, compromised as it is, better than nothing?

The Climate Bill has passed the House. It still must clear the Senate where the coal, gas and oil lobbyists hope to make still better for them. There are those who blame Obama for not spending more of his still considerable political capital on this. This permitted enough of the House Democrats to cave to the lobbyists to make the opening for the traditional polluters possible. As usual, the Republicans were with coal, oil, gas and nuclear from the start.

Getting the bill through the Senate is very tough because 60 votes are needed to beat the inevitable filibuster. The Democrats don’t really have 60 votes although they now have 60 seats. Due to illness, Democratic Senators Edward Kennedy and Robert Byrd are almost never there to vote.

One idea is that getting a bill on the books is a start. It can be strengthened later. Perhaps. This has happened with many other bills, but often as not Congress just moves on figuring they have dealt with that issue. There are so many more on their plate.

Story in the New York Times. Disillusioned Environmentalists Turn on Obama as Compromiser. By Leslie Kaufman.
Additional. Senate Democrats Begin Drawing Road Map to 60 Votes on Climate Bill. By Darren Samuelsohn of ClimateWire in the New York Times.

Environmentalists Sue Over the Location of New Energy Corridors Across Federal Lands

Suit says the corridors, which were drawn up in Bush Administration,were designed to move fossil fuel electricity, not renewable derived electricity-

Conflict over electricity production and transmission has a number of sides, e.g., renewable versus fossil fuel, centralized versus distributed, private land versus public, and more.

This lawsuit is over the first in the list. Environmentalists Sue Over Energy Transmission Across Federal Lands. By Kate Galbraith. New York Times.

It vital to get the infrastructure in the right place as well as the right kind. Mistakes of hundreds of billions of dollars  in the public and private spheres have already dragged down both the economy and the environment. If these corridors are built, it will commit to a fossil fuel future.

The failure of the Obama Administration to drop these Bush energy corridors may show a lack of committment to renewables. It may also show that they don’t have enough of their people in place yet to change policy. Republican Senator’s holds on nominees has made it so even yet many land management personnel are not yet in place. For example, Jeff E as a comment just pointed to article where John McCain is using a “hold” in the Senate to stop the nomination of the new BLM Director (Bob Abbey) until McCain gets a land transfer facilitating an 8 square mile copper mine in Arizona.

Note: plantiffs in the lawsuit are: Center for Biological Diversity; San Miguel County, Colo.; Bark; Defenders of Wildlife; Great Old Broads for Wilderness; Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center; National Parks Conservation Association; National Trust for Historic Preservation; Natural Resources Defense Council; Oregon Natural Desert Association; Sierra Club; Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance; The Wilderness Society; Western Resource Advocates and Western Watersheds Project.

Find out if the corridors rip though country important to you.

Here are the maps.

Groups Seek Federal Probe of NM Wolf Pup Deaths

3 Mexican wolf pups were found dead after their den was abandoned.  Some speculate human activity around the den prompted the wolves to leave.

Groups Seek Federal Probe of NM Wolf Pup Deaths – AP

The agency said the mother left scratch marks from her efforts to get the pups out of a deep crevice in the den.

Why was there so much human activity around the den site ? :

Officials had been monitoring the pack’s alpha male because it was linked to four livestock killings within the past year.

Read the letter from conservation groups to Interior Secretary Salazar requesting an investigation.

US/Mexico border wall harms wildlife, but modifications could reduce its impact

I hope folks won’t get into an unpleasant argument about immigration/illegal aliens, etc.

Regardless, the wall harms many species of wildlife. However, “. . . technology and alterations to the design could dramatically improve the potential for animals to move more freely between the two countries” according to scientists.

US-Mexico Border Wall Could Threaten Wildlife Species. Science Daily

More tests, show more mercury in Utah sport fish

Idaho fish have a similar problem. The culprit is likely the same — Nevada gold mines-

Below is an editorial from the Salt Lake Tribune on the rather shocking new findings about levels of mercury in Utah fish. In some cases the fish have so much mercury it isn’t safe to eat a single fish.

There are many sources of mercury, but for these two states one source stands out — the numerous gold pit mines that have popped up  in Nevada — many of which put out far more of toxic metal (once it is converted to methymercury) than an entire handful of coal-fired power plants.

I think it is time for a lawsuit demanding damages.

Mercury testing yields advisories. Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge grazing buyout offered

World Wildlife Fund and the National Wildlife Federation offer a voluntary buyout-

Wildlife refuge grazing deal sought. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune.

Cattle and wildlife have been in conflict since this eastern Montana refuge was created in the 1930s.

Info about the Refuge.

Update 7/9/09: Livestock Groups Denounce “Cash-For-Grass” Offer – AP

New York Times editorial: Elk Hunting in the Badlands

This may or may not be precedent setting, but it would allow public hunting in a national park. This is forbidden except in Grand Teton NP.

Editorial. New York Times. Elk Hunting in the Badlands

Montana FWP to reconsider trailing domestic sheep across wildlife area

Although domestic sheep are not allowed to graze the Robb-Ledford Wildlife Management Area in SW Montana, they are permitted to spend a couple days “trailing across” it to summer pasture. This may be enough to pollute the area with sheep diseases that kill bighorn.

Thankfully, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, at the request of Western Watersheds Project and other conservation groups, is looking into whether this dangerous practice should continue.

Montana FWP to reconsider sheep’s place on wildlife management area. By Daniel Person. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

Bipartisan congressional group urges big jump in funding to buy public lands

This is the first time in quite a while to hear a serious proposal to increase funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund-

Report urges investing billions in natural treasures. Federal government » Interior secretary says in times of difficulty we look to our landscapes for greatness. By Thomas Burr. The Salt Lake Tribune.

Over the years the Land and Water Conservation Fund has been used to purchase many natural treasures of land and water, but most of the time the fund has been starved simply to make the federal deficit look better.

More details on this. Report proposes conservation overhaul. By Jerry Hagstrom. Government Executive.com. One important quote from this is “The report specifically notes the Agriculture Department spends $2 billion per year on short-term leases on land in the Conservation Reserve Program, but public access for hunting and fishing or other recreational pursuits is “not a primary objective and landowner liability is a major stumbling block in some states.” [boldface mine]

The C0nservation Reserve Program does often benefit wildlife, but at a very high monetary cost. Over the years in many cases, enough money is spent on lease of lands in the CRP that the land could have been purchased several times over.

Western Lands Project monitors public land privatization

Privatization does not always happen directly. Western Lands Project looks at the sneaky ways-

Wilderness Dedux. From the Goat Blog in High Country News.

In recent years we have seen the emergence of “quid pro quo” Wilderness, where Wilderness is designated only if some developors are authorized to do something bad in exchange. This was not the way Wilderness designation used to take place. It was done simply top protect a pristine place. Conflicts were worked out. If they could not be, the Wilderness proposal died.

Now proposals are made with the intent of weakening the act itself in exchange or facilitating some unrelated project. Western Public Lands has a free book (as a download). This book ($10 if you want a printed version) looks at the details of five of these wilderness proposals so to “illustrate the elaborate machinations and distortions” that we find in them. A number of these involve privatization in exchange for Wilderness designation.

Bridger-Teton National Forest to map beetle-killed whitebark pine

It’s critical for grizzly bear management to see where pine bark beetles have not killed this extremely valuable, bear food source in the Greater Yellowstone-

Bridger-Teton to map beetle-killed whitebark. Forest Service partners with conservation group to quantify the damage. By Cory Hatch. Jackson Hole News and Guide.

July 4th and freedom

Lest we forget the loss of our freedom that comes with the privatization of our public lands-

Copyright © Ralph Maughan 2009

Leadbelt Creek Watershed, Central Idaho

The rain has brought a rich suite of greens to obscure western public landscapes.

Tributary to Leadbelt Creek, Central Idaho © Brian Ertz 2009 (click to enlarge)

Sarah Palin Resigns As Governor, Wolves Everywhere Celebrate

Someone must have told Palin she’s a contender for a presidential run in 2012 ? Good luck with that ex-Governor Palin …

If you think you can handle it, there’s the video of Sarah Palin’s resignation speech on the Huffington Post link :

Sarah Palin Resigning as Alaska’s Governor – Huffington Post

And a great photograph of one wolf’s response on ecorazzi :

Sarah Palin Resigns As Governor, Wolves Everywhere Celebrate – ecorazzi

Ethics concerns raised at NV wildlife commission

Killing predators to “conserve” other more “desirable” wildlife has been a consistent topic of conversation on this forum.  It’s ugly enough in it’s own right in my mind – single-species conservation runs into such ethical dilemmas, especially when most wildlife managers don’t see a problem at all.  It appears one wildlife manager in Nevada doesn’t see an ethical problem with much of anything :

Ethics concerns raised at NV wildlife commission – AP

The projects before the Nevada Wildlife Commission seemed simple enough: spending about $160,000 to kill ravens and coyotes to protect sage grouse and mule deer from the predators.

But the situation has since turned into an ugly soap opera, with ethics questions raised over ties between one commissioner’s mother and backers of the predator projects.

Yet, from my perspective, it’s frustrating that a story about “ethics concerns” of a wildlife management agency could miss the mark so fundamentally.  Here we have a wildlife agency slaughtering coyotes & ravens in such a nasty way with public dollars and the ‘ethical question’ is about whether it is wrong that one of the commissioner’s family members might be the one to get the contract for the wildlife slaughter ?

United Nations Will Study Threats to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park

Finally some international pressure on the coal pit/coalbed methane proposals just northwest of Glacier (and Waterton) National Parks-

United Nations Will Study Threats to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. By Dan Testa, Flathead Beacon (in New West)

Judge Tosses Bush-Era National Forest Management Regulations

Does this third court rejection of Bush national forest rules put a stake through its heart?

The 2005 Bush revision of the rules for national forest planning were especially aimed at ignoring wildlife even though the law — the National Forest Management Act of 1976 — required plans to provide for species viability. That meant that projects on the forest would not be allowed to harm any species of fish or wildlife so that its population would no longer be viable.

Now after years of fighting, hopefully the Service will return to the 1982 rules implementing NFMA. This decision will have far reaching effects.

Judge Tosses Bush-Era Forest Management Regulations. By Noelle Straub. Greenwire in the New York Times.

Wolf pups rescued; some found dead

Some worry that Mexican Gray wolf pups were abandoned due to human activity near densite.

Wolf pups rescued; some found dead
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN – Associated Press Writer

Secretary Salazar, Senator Reid Announce ‘Fast-Track’ Initiatives for Solar Energy Development on Western Lands

A lot of ecologically important land is going to be put under the bulldozer with this.

Secretary Salazar, Senator Reid Announce ‘Fast-Track’ Initiatives for Solar Energy Development on Western Lands – Department of Interior News Release 6/29/09

And some comment :

Interior fast-tracks Big Solar on public lands – Chris Clarke, The Clade

Note the phrasing: “rapid development of renewable energy, especially on America’s public lands.”

Interior Unveils Solar Hot Spots Across West – David Frey, NewWest

Judge Affirms Public Access to Science Advisory Committees

Woolgrowers try to spin the decision to muddy the waters on Bighorn/Domestic sheep disease

Bighorn sheep lamb © Ken Cole

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill has voided the Payette National Forest Science Advisory Committee’s contribution to management decisions when it decides whether or not to ban or reduce domestic sheep grazing on the Payette National Forest.

Federal judge voids bighorn sheep disease report – AP

The Woolgrowers successful claim means that the public should have been granted access to ‘listen in on’ the Science Advisory Committee, which was assimilating and summarizing existing information.  This decision cuts both ways, ensuring access for industry as well as conservation advocates.  The Woolgrowers were not successful in overturning previous decisions restricting domestic sheep grazing.  

The judge goes out of his way to affirm that the existing information, including the scientific data demonstrating evidence of disease transmission from domestic to wild sheep that the committee summarized, can still inform management actions.

Not included in the article is the irony that Mark Rey, former undersecretary for natural resources and agriculture for the Bush Administration, is the man responsible for establishing the science advisory committee at issue.

Montana grizzly makes it to the Missouri River

Earlier (in June) we posted an article about grizzlies that had come out of the Rocky Mountain Front mountains are were out on the plains east of Interstate 15 in Montana (that is a N-S 4-line highway).

The bear was 177 miles from Pine Butte Swamp, a nature preserve on the Front where grizzly bears are often found in the springtime.

Wayward grizzly caught. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff writer.

Extreme heat in Nebraska kills far more livestock in a couple days than western wolves in a year

In April, Ralph contrasted the disproportionate media hysteria that takes place when a wolf kills a cow or sheep versus when any number of other natural events result in vastly more significant livestock loss.  The example that he used :

SE Montana blizzard kills far more livestock in 2 days than Montana wolves in a year :

cattle losses to wolves in Montana in 2008 totaled just 77 dead with a couple dozen more “probables.”

Another more recent example of the glaring disparity of livestock loss to wolves & environment versus the weather is aptly illustrated on the other end of the weather spectrum :

Extreme heat kills hundreds of cattle in Nebraska – AP

In southeastern Nebraska’s Hamilton County, temperatures in the 90s and high humidity contributed to the deaths of roughly 600 cattle.

That’s one county.

Idaho F&G plan to kill pelicans hits obstacles

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dubs the plan an “eradication program”.

American White Pelican © Ken Cole

The plan to kill pelicans by shooting or covering their eggs with oil to protect Yellowstone cutthroat trout in Blackfoot Reservoir has been rejected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to the requirements of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Idaho F&G plan to kill pelicans hits obstacles. Associated Press. By John Miller. This is a much longer story than the one originally posted. 7/2/2009

We wrote about this story earlier here:
Rare pelicans to be “managed” (killed) in Idaho

San Juan coal plant celebrates pollution control upgrades

New controls complete after more than 60,000 air quality violations-

New controls. Farmington (NM) Daily Times.

This has long been a major polluter of the air and water of the 4-Corners country of the southwest.