Judge Halts Settlement Over Hundreds of Endangered Species, Orders Parties Back to Negotiations

Turf War or Legitimate Concern ?

Earlier, we took a look at a recent settlement struck between the Interior Department and WildEarth Guardians that seeks to clear the logjam with species listings under the Endangered Species Act.

The settlement would ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make up or down determinations on a host of species, either granting actual protections for warranted species and affording critical habitat to those that warrant protections or determining that they do not warrant protection.

At first glance, the settlement seems to have the potential to do a lot of good – assuming (big) that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does the right thing.  However, groups like the Center for Biological Diversity objected, arguing that the agreement was too weak, too vague and ultimately unenforceable.  The group also objected to the fact that the would-be settling parties went behind CBD’s back, despite its previous involvement in negotiations, pushing the group out of involvement and making unwise concessions despite CBD’s effort and strong legal interest on a vast majority of the species involved.

Today, the Court agreed with CBD’s challenge of the settlement arguing that the way that WildEarth Guardians and the Interior Department went about its settlement was inappropriate, and ordered all parties back into negotiations:

Judge Halts Settlement Over Hundreds of Endangered Species, Orders Parties Back to Negotiations – Center for Biological Diversity Press Release 5/17/2011

Win-Win for Wind and Wildlife ?

Study: There exists enough already-disturbed land in the U.S. suitable for wind to produce 3,500 gigawatts of power – more power than is consumed by the entire U.S.

A new study is confirming what many have been suggesting all along; We don’t need to sacrifice wild-lands and pristine wildlife habitat to facilitate renewable energy, it’s all about proper siting.

Win-Win for Wind and Wildlife: A Vision to Facilitate Sustainable Development – Kiesecker JM, Evans JS, Fargione J, Doherty K, Foresman KR, et al. 2011 – PLoS ONE

[From Abstract]

We estimate there are ~7,700 GW of potential wind energy available across the U.S., with ~3,500 GW on disturbed lands. In addition, a disturbance-focused development strategy would avert the development of ~2.3 million hectares of undisturbed lands while generating the same amount of energy as development based solely on maximizing wind potential.

Hundreds of Scientists Denounce Congress’ Attempt to Undermine Endangered Species Act

Union of Concerned Scientists Weighs In

Attempted political assaults on the Endangered Species Act in Congress, as exist in recent budget bills, are being denounced by scientists all over the country.

Hundreds of Scientists Denounce Congress’ Attempt to Undermine Endangered Species Act – UCSW Press Release 3/30/11

WASHINGTON (March 30, 2011) – Nearly 1,300 scientists today urged senators to oppose efforts to undermine the scientific authority of the Endangered Species Act, which they fear would threaten the long-term survival of all species protected by the law.

Read the letter to Congress signed by 1293 scientists

Court Victory Stops Corporate Ranching on 450,000 Acres of Public Land in Southern Idaho

Click to view in Google Maps

On February 28, 2011 Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the United States District Court for Idaho agreed with Western Watersheds Project and reimposed an injunction stopping livestock grazing on 17 grazing allotments covering over 450,000 acres of public land in the Jarbidge Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management in southern Idaho.

The allotments closed under this injunction contain some of the most important remaining habitat for sage grouse, California bighorn sheep, the threatened plant species slickspot peppergrass as well as native redband trout, pygmy rabbits and pronghorn antelope.

March 4 news story added. Federal judge shuts down some Jarbidge grazing allotments. By Laura Lundquist. Magic Valley Times News

Here is Western Watersheds Project’s News Release on this important victory:

Western Watersheds Project Wins A Federal Court Injunction Stopping Livestock Grazing on over 450,000 Acres of Public Land in Southern Idaho

Greater sage grouse, pygmy rabbit and Slickspot peppergrass have won a reprieve from livestock grazing which has decimated their populations and destroyed their habitat. Late yesterday, Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the federal District for Idaho held BLM, various Simplot corporate entities, and other corporate ranching operations to the terms of an earlier agreement, and again enjoined livestock grazing on 17 livestock grazing allotments in southern Idaho.

China Mountain/Browns Bench Wind controversy escalates

“I can assure you there will be a protracted legal fight using all legal means available to stop the project”

Brown's Bench, RES America proposes to put hundreds of giant wind turbines on this southern Idaho landscape © Brian Ertz 2010

Some of the really great things I enjoy about living in the west are the obscure landscapes/mountain ranges.  Unlike national parks, ‘W‘ilderness areas, National Monuments and other landscapes prominently highlighted on any western map, there are many public landscapes less conspicuous, maybe not even labeled on a common roadmap, belonging to all of us that are best known by the locals ~ sportsmen, anglers, ranchers, really hardcore conservationists and recreationists.  Landscapes that harbor habitat and wildlife that exemplify its original nature.

West of 93 on the ID/NV line

These less conspicuous areas are where I learned to hunt and fish with my brothers, places I continue to frequent to hike, botanize and view wildlife with my kids.  Public lands that have served countless generations in such an economically intangible way, uplifting our spirit and serving our truly unique and blessed standard of living.  If you’re reading this, it’s likely you know what I mean.

Increasingly, these places find themselves under threat by new energy technologies which extend the reach of our human ability to extract resources into places otherwise overlooked by industry yesteryear.

In southern Idaho, just west of Highway 93 on the Idaho/Nevada line, Brown’s Bench is just such a place.

Concerned about grouse, groups ask China Mountain developer to reconsider – Opposition Rises as Wind Farm Study Nears – Times-News

One by one, organizations weighing the land against the wind are concluding that more green energy doesn’t outweigh the risk to sage grouse.

Has the Japanese Whaling Fleet Surrendered?

Activism at work.

Humpback Whale © Ken Cole

I’ve never written about this here but I have been following this campaign for many years and I have been acquainted with a number of people who have volunteered for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society over those years. Of all of the anti-whaling groups out there they are the most effective but also the most controversial. They operate in international waters against a fleet of Japanese whalers who are illegally hunting in a whale sanctuary near Antarctica. Their actions have been chronicled in the popular Whale Wars series on Animal Planet.

I recently met several dedicated employees and Captain Chuck Swift of the Bob Barker, a ship named after the game show host who donated the funds to buy it, while traveling with my friend Mike Mease of the Buffalo Field Campaign and his stories were amazing. These people really put their lives at risk to save wildlife from unsustainable harvest. Chuck gave me a hoody sweatshirt that I wear with pride.

While this may be a short lived victory it is sweet nonetheless. I commend them for their dedication.

Ken Cole.

Has the Japanese Whaling Fleet Surrendered?.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Update December 2, 2010: Japanese whaling ship heads to sea

Big Polluters Freed from Environmental Oversight by Stimulus

Big Energy companies with criminal records given billions in stimulus funds to wreak havoc on our public lands and wildlife.

The Center for Public Integrity has issued a stinging report on how the Obama Administration has bypassed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when issuing permits for energy and other projects which involve federal lands or funds. Over and over we have seen that projects are rushed through without any public oversight and in areas where they have severe environmental impacts. Wind farms on public lands without analysis of their impacts on bats, sage grouse, pygmy rabbits, and other wildlife; solar plants on public lands without sufficient analysis on endangered desert tortoise and other imperiled wildlife; power lines and other utilities permitted outside of established corridors without analysis of impacts on wildlife; offshore oil rigs in deep water without proper understanding of how to deal with catastrophic failures. All of these uses are being given a pass under NEPA.

Salazar = Extractive Industries' 'BFF'

What is the problem with this you might ask. Well, I’m sure you remember what happened in the Gulf of Mexico this summer. The Deepwater Horizon was permitted under a categorical exclusion.

In contrast livestock grazing permits are not even renewed under categorical exclusions, they require at least an Environmental Assessment that must undergo public review and can be appealed, in fact I do it all of the time.

These projects also only benefit those with existing power and money while projects, such as rooftop solar and energy efficiency improvements on existing structures which would benefit real people and not come at the expense of irreplaceable wildlife and land resources, are being forgone. It’s all about keeping the wealthy in control of our resources at the public expense.

What is next? Well in Nevada, the scourge of ranchers and water mining entities like the Southern Nevada Water Authority, ancient forests made up of old growth pinyon pine and junipers are being eyed by the energy companies as a source of biomass to fuel turbines. More on that later.

Big Polluters Freed from Environmental Oversight by Stimulus
The Center for Public Integrity

Clearing tropical forests is a lose-lose

It releases a great deal of carbon and produces much less new food than more intensive use of existing croplands-

Lose-lose . . . sounds like a Western land use issue.

Clearing tropical forests is a lose-lose. Michael Marshall. New Scientist.

The Guy Idaho Ranchers Love to Hate

“If we weren’t getting to them, they’d brush us off like a fly. After all, we’re just a little organization with 14 or 15 people, but they act like what we do is the end of the world.”

Jon Marvel sees two ways to get cows and sheep to stop grazing on public lands: Politics and litigation. He chooses the latter.

Dennis Higman does a profile on Jon for NewWest.

Fortunate for all of us who care about western public lands and wildlife, the degree to which ranchers and their politician lap-dogs whine about WWP is in direct proportion to the degree at which the organization is bringing much needed change and restoration to the western public landscape.

The Guy Idaho Ranchers Love to Hate – NewWest.net

There are two topics you don’t want to bring up with most Idaho ranchers: wolves and Jon Marvel, the white-haired, 63-year-old founder and executive director of the Western Watersheds Project.

Obama: Pygmy Rabbit “not warranted” for ESA protections

Salazar Strikes Again, Denying Meaningful Protection for Imperiled Tiny Bunny of the Sagebrush Sea

Pygmy rabbit

The declining condition of the Sagebrush Sea has been highlighted on a couple of occasions over the past couple of weeks.  In recent Washington state news we learned that jackrabbits in sagebrush habitats are diminishing.  Pygmy rabbits were rejected ESA protections by the Obama administration last week, and earlier last year Dr. Steven Herman remorsefully described his account of the extinction of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit:

Science is seldom followed in these endangered species “interventions”.  Politics trumps science -and conservation.

We need to remember the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit as an example of a form lost in part to the the insanity of Public Grazing.

The Sagebrush Sea is Dying

Significant threats to sagebrush habitat across the western landscape continue to threaten and diminish a variety of sagebrush obligate species.

Sagebrush habitat is among the most imperiled ecosystems in North America and the rate at which our unique western wildlife and fish communities are declining is truly alarming.

Attempting to bring the most relief in the least amount of time, environmentalists continue to push for Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for a number of umbrella species endemic to sagebrush habitats, including the grand-master of the Sagebrush Sea: the Greater Sage grouse.

Prioritizing these “umbrella” species is important, because when successfully listed, the protections secured these species will blanket entire ecosystems positively affecting the diversity of fish, wildlife, and environmental values which share the explicitly protected individuals’ habitat.  It’s like hitting a plethora of birds with one stone (bad analogy).

Ken Cole (age 11) holds pygmy rabbit

Pygmy Rabbits’ Race to Recovery

So it is with the charismatic, imperiled pygmy rabbit, North America’s tinniest bunny, and the only arboreal rabbit (climbs sagebrush) on Earth !

In 2003, a coalition of conservation groups petitioned the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to list pygmy rabbits under the ESA.

In early 2008, the USFWS, responding to legal pressure from conservation groups, finally issued a positive 90-day finding for pygmy rabbits, initiating a more thorough assessment of whether to protect the bunny under the ESA.

The agency dragged its feet again, prompting Western Watersheds Project et al to provide a legal reminder, again, of its court ordered obligation to the bunny …

Unfortunately, just earlier this week Pygmy rabbits were denied Endangered Species Act protections by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Laura Zuckerman, Reuters

“We find there has been some loss and degradation of pygmy rabbit habitat range-wide, but not to the magnitude that constitutes a significant threat to the species,” Bob Williams, supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Nevada, said in a statement.

Wilderness Values Protected on the Pashimeroi River Watershed

Western Watersheds Project wins a great legal victory for wilderness and endangered fish. ~ Jon Marvel Friends, On July 30th, 2010 Idaho Chief District Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued an Order in Western Watersheds Project‘s favor overturning a Bureau of Land Management decision to build fencing within the Burnt Creek Wilderness Study Area (WSA) on the Burnt Creek Allotment in central Idaho’s Pahsimeroi River Watershed.

Grousing at windmills

Vodpod videos no longer available.
Grousing at windmills | Need to Know | PBS

Perils of Collaboration/Collaboration in Peril ?

Two Contrasting Perspectives on the Collaborative Conservation Model

George Wuerthner continues his thoughtful critique of the collaborative process by illustrating a stark distinction between the act of “collaboration” and the art of “negotiation”:

Perils of Collaboration – George Wuerthner, Counterpunch

Rocky Barker gives voice to the pro-collaborative perspective, suggesting if collaboratives aren’t nourished with passage – their failure may end up fanning the flames of more principled/anti-establishment voices:

Other collaborative processes threatened if Simpson’s bill goes down – Rocky Barker, Letters from the West – Idaho Statesman

Further evidence of Sixth Great Extinction

Species are vanishing quicker than at any point in the last 65 million years

We often speak of endangered/imperiled species in a relatively local context, in terms of wildlife that we might take for granted or might find nearby,  here that often means the western U.S. of A.  But every once in awhile it helps to learn more about our local situation by considering it within the context of a broader, more generalized perspective.

Globally, species are going extinct at such a rapid pace that many are suggesting that humanity is prompting the Sixth Great Extinction on Earth.

It says a lot about our time and our collective impact/influence.  To me, it also suggests a fundamental urgency with which each of us has a moral obligation to become more aware of and act to preserve the plantlife and wildlife, our local communities of life, that contribute to our unique standard of living in so many ways.

End of Alaotra grebe is further evidence of Sixth Great Extinction – Michael MCcarthy – The Independent

Earth’s Five Great Extinctions

65 million years ago (mya) Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T extinction). Did for the dinosaurs. May have been caused by a meteorite hitting what is now Yucatan, Mexico; 75 per cent of species disappeared.

205 mya Triassic-Jurassic extinction. Did away with competition for the dinosaurs.

251 mya Permian-Triassic (the worst of all). Known as “The Great Dying.” About 96 per cent of marine species and 70 per cent of land species disappeared.

360-375 mya Late Devonian. A prolonged series of extinctions which may have lasted 20 million years.

440-450 mya Ordovidician-Silurian. Two linked events which are considered together to have been the second worst extinction in the list.

Why Yellowstone Bison do not belong on Ted Turners Ranch

Privatization of Public Bison

On 2/2/10 Montana’s wildlife agency, Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) announced their decision to send all 88 quarantined Yellowstone bison to the private lands of billionaire Ted Turner. The Yellowstone bison were part of a state-federal Quarantine Feasibility Study, which had the stated goal of placing brucellosis-free bison on public or tribal lands.

More Groups Join & Motions Filed in Frank Church Wilderness/Helicopter Landing Litigation

“Wilderness Wolf Watchers” Act to Protect Wolves & Wilderness

On Patrol Ridge. Frank Church Wilderness. Salmon River Mtns © Ralph Maughan

The Wolf Recovery Foundation and Western Watersheds Project recently filed suit to end the Idaho Department of Fish & Game’s (IDF&G) attempt to use helicopters to chase, capture, and collar wolves in the Frank Church-River-Of-No-Return Wilderness.  The suit also seeks to shut down Wildlife Service’s wolf killing operations in the state of Idaho, and halt grazing in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area as it conflicts with wildlife, particularly predators including wolves.

More groups sue over wilderness helicopter use – AP

Now, a number of additional conservation groups are jumping on to challenge the Frank Church/wolf/helicopter-landing part of the lawsuit including:

Great Old Broads for Wilderness
Winter Wildlands Alliance
Wilderness Watch
Idaho Conservation League
The Wilderness Society

I hope you’ll take a look at the motion and brief filed yesterday :

Read the Opening Injuction Brief
Read the Injunction Motion

Should the IDF&G be allowed to harass, land, and collar wolves with helicopters, many prominent conservationists’ wilderness/wildlife-watching experiences will be harmed as they plan to recreate and take solitude within the lower 48-state’s largest Wilderness area this coming season.

I hope you’ll take the time to read the declarations of former wolf & Wilderness managers, Wolf Recovery Foundation & WWP board, staff, and members whose powerful experiences with wolves and the Frank Church wilderness is an inspiration:

The explorers’ club

Meet the scientists risking their lives to find Earth’s rarest species

This is an interesting article about cryptozoology, the “study of hidden animals”. One of the scientists mentioned is Dr. Jeff Meldrum, associate professor of anatomy and anthropology and my old college advisor at Idaho State University in Pocatello, who spends part of his time searching for sasquatch. I remain skeptical about their existence but I don’t dismiss it entirely. I had many long conversations with him about his hypothesis and also encountered a few pranksters who visited his office or sent him information. He’s a very intelligent scientist who knows his stuff.

The article also talks about the many unusual discoveries in recent years.

The explorers’ club
By Helena de Bertodano – Telegraph UK

2010. Year of the grouse?

Yes, the sage grouse is likely to get protection under the Endangered Species Act-

Wyoming waits anxiously for federal decision on bird. Year of the grouse? By Dustin Bleizeffer. Casper Star-Tribune energy reporter.

. . .  an amazing quote!

“Industry and conservation leaders alike seem to agree that the restrictions of such a listing would have a chilling effect on the agriculture and minerals industries, which are the foundation of Wyoming’s economy . . . .” ‘I would love to believe we will not see a listing. But I am not as optimistic as I’d like to be,’ said Walt Gasson, executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation.” [emphasis added]

The conservation groups haven’t been co-opted or anything. Yeh, give them a contribution.  😦

– – – – – –
More on sage grouse today. Wyoming BLM issues sage grouse guidelines. By Mead Gruver. Associated Press Writer.

American Prairie Foundation is building a wildlife reserve larger than Yellowstone Park

“Prairie Project” is buying up ranches in NE Montana-

We have been posting about the natural restoration of wildlife to the high plains as its human population reaches a critical point after generations of population decline. I was not aware of the Prairie Project. Of course, the down-in-heels land barons don’t like it, but they sell their holdings because they are not economically viable in this part of the country.

Ranchers wary of group’s effort to create wildlife reserve bigger than Yellowstone. By Tom Lutey. Billings Gazette.

American Prairie Foundation

On the progress of the Prairie Project

Lessons from Aldo Leopold’s historic wolf hunt

The nation’s legendary conservationist saw the value of preserving wildness. Perhaps someday politicians will too-

Opinion in the LA Times. By James William Gibson

Greedy ranchers; livestock pushing out fish and wildlife. How about a year end donation?

Do you want to really put your $20 to $2-million to work?

At this time of year every charity and conservation organization sends out pleas for a year end donation. Given the condition of the economy, most of them really need it. On the other hand, you want to make a cost/effective donation.

Only a few conservation groups expend much going after public land grazing. Maybe it doesn’t sound sexy. Foundations are risk-aversive to giving in a way that would offend our precious landed nobility in the West. Many conservation groups rely very heavily on the good will of these foundations. They are encouraged one way or another to play smileyface with these posers of the “Tradition of the West.”

A few groups do not. As a result they need more income from private donations to make up for the relative lack of foundation giving. If you are irritated enough to give some money, I’d suggest the Western Watersheds Project, Advocates for the West and the Buffalo Field Campaign.

This doesn’t mean there are not other groups, especially smaller ones, that merit a donation. I like the low overhead, high output, uncompromised efforts by these groups.

Sour economy may be a boon to Boise Foothills preservation

With many landowners eager to sell, much of the $5 million left in a fund to buy property could go to land deals-

Link is now fixed. Sour economy may be a boon to Boise Foothills preservation. Bethann Stewart. Idaho Statesman.

Idaho to pay to settle lawsuit on who can bid for grazing leases

Lawsuit’s aftermath forces Idaho’s Land Board set rules allowing conservationists to lease state grazing lands-

The Western Watersheds Project was born when Jon Marvel outbid a rancher at a state grazing lease auction, and the Land Board gave the lease to the rancher anyway*. Finally, Idaho’s Land Board is apparently going to let other interests compete for grazing leases on the state’s school endowment lands. This is a victory for Idaho’s school children, wildlife. It is also a victory for the Idaho and U. S Constitution, that we are equal under the law . . .  a well deserved slap at Idaho’s livestock nobility.

Idaho to pay $50K to settle grazing lease lawsuit. By John Miller. Associated Press Writer.

I met the winner of lawsuit, Gordon Younger, one time. He is a self-made millionaire, orginally from Washington State. He speaks very directly and is not impressed by Idaho’s livestock nobility. Younger’s attorney was Laird Lucas, executive director of Advocates for the West.

This is great! 🙂

Update. Here are the opinions. The first was March 2007.It was a decision by US Magistrate Judge Mikal Williams, which upheld the validity of the equal protection claims under federal civil rights law.
The second is by US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which affirmed Judge Williams and held further that the individual state officials could be personally liable because their discrimination against conservationists violated clearly established law. The Ninth Circuit decision is reported as Lazy Y Ranch v. Behrens, 546 F.3d 580 (9th Cir. 2008). I couldn’t get an electronic copy of the published version, but have the slip opinion.
Lazy Y March 07 dismiss order
Lazy Y Ninth Circuit opinion

– – – –

*Actually Marvel didn’t strictly outbid the rancher. The rancher refused to bid at all. Nevertheless, he was given the grazing lease. Reading about this blatant unfairness, my spouse and I immediately joined Marvel’s  nascent Idaho Watersheds Project.

Obama avoids a ‘war on the West’

Rocky Baker points out that the Idaho Cattle Association is pleasantly surprised-

A lot of people I know worked hard to get Barack Obama elected President;  not just conservationists, but independents and Democrats who had sat on their hands for years.

As Barker points out, after the election the traditional Western resource users (who are often irritatingly called “The West”) expected the worst and were ready to fight against another “war on the West.” This is something they claim — a “war on the West” —  whenever some President doesn’t give them the deference and subsidies they think they are entitled to.

Now they are grinning. He has done nothing to disturb them. “Democrat” Walt Minnick, Idaho’s soon-to-be-defeated congressman in the state’s first district reportedly said “The Obama people have learned from Clinton’s first 90 days.”

I think they’ve learned the wrong lesson.

Andrea Peacock: Bearly Making It

How Many Biologists Does It Take to Count a Dead Grizzly?

Grizzly cub near Pelican Valley © Ken Cole

Adrea Peacock adapts an essay from In the Presence of Grizzlies: The Ancient Bond Between Men and Bears by Doug and Andrea Peacock, The Lyons Press 2009 :

Bearly Making It – via CounterPunch

On December 17, 2004, Louisa Willcox of the Natural Resources Defense Council convened a collection of U.S. grizzly bear advocates in Bozeman, Montana, with a call to arms. Under threat of lawsuit from the governor of Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service planned a fast-track removal of Yellowstone’s grizzly bears from the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Convinced that such a move—under the sorts of conditions proposed by the agency—could send the park’s grizzlies on a downward spiral toward extinction, Willcox figured the activists and lawyers gathered had about a year to either derail the process, or get ready to sue.

There is litigation contesting the US Fish & Wildlife’s delisting of grizzlies currently underway.

Feds To Consider Tortoise for Endangered Species Act Listing

Groups Applaud Finding for Rapidly Declining Desert Icon

Desert Tortoise - photo: USFWS

Desert tortoise advocates have been waiting for this good news for a very long time.  Should a listing take place, many human intrusions into the desert tortoise’s southwest desert habitat, including livestock grazing and excessive development, will be largely halted.  The benefit of such will be enjoyed by a great number of desert wildlife species.

Feds to consider protections for desert tortoise – AP

Wildlife officials said the environmentalists’ petition presented substantial information that might warrant listing the species as threatened or endangered. Threats include urban sprawl, off-road vehicle use and livestock grazing. The tortoises’ range includes 8.4 million acres of federal public land in Arizona. Livestock grazing is permitted on more than half that land.

The News Release :

Arizona—Aug 28. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) gave the green light today on a petition submitted by WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project requesting protection (listing) for the Sonoran desert tortoise under the Endangered Species Act. The finding means that the Service will now conduct a full review to determine if the tortoise warrants being placed on the list of threatened and endangered species.

Alaska’s Rat Island apparently rid of its namesake pest

Unfortunate side effect to poisoning effort was the loss of 43 bald eagles and many other birds.

Alaska’s Rat Island apparently rid of its namesake pest
By Erika Bolstad | McClatchy Newspapers

Conservation could provide 85 percent of power

We’ve frequently discussed the environmental costs of new power generation, including wind and solar on public lands and centralized versus distributed generation.  All energy production has environmental consequences. But while everyone’s talking about the pros and cons of the next generation technology, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council has found that although it may not be as sexy, the real ‘bang for the buck’ is in conservation.

Conservation could provide 85 percent of power

The new plan envisions the Northwest actually using less power in 10 years than it does now, even as the population rises, he said.

Council member Dick Wallace of Washington said conservation measures cost less than half of what new power generation costs, and they don’t add new carbon emissions.

Greater Yellowstone Grizzly Bear MOU between Montana, Idaho and Wyoming

Very important. You can comment until August 12-

Send your comments to Attn: Wildlife
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
POB 200701
Helena MT 59620-0701
fwpwld@mt.gov

This MOU paves the way for sport hunting of grizzly bears in this large delisted population. This splits the “discretionary” mortality (surplus) bears between the three states. It might be meaningless because there has been no surplus of late. Instead, the grizzly will possibly be put back on the threatened species list in the Greater Yellowstone. It depends on how many more bears are killed this year. On the other hand, if accidental and illegal deaths decline, this could be meaningful.

This has been under the radar for me. Below is the Memorandum of Understanding.

_______________

Draft

June 2009

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING REGARDING THE MANAGEMENT AND ALLOCATION OF Discretionary MORTALITY OF GRIZZLY BEARS FOR HUNTING IN THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM

Between

Wyoming Game and Fish Commission,

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and

Idaho Department of Fish and Game

This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is made and entered into by and between the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission (WGFD), Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) and Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), collectively referred to as the Parties.

I.  Purpose

The purpose of this MOU is to define the process by which the Parties will coordinate annual efforts to develop recommendations for the allocation of discretionary mortality, if any, of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for hunting consistent with the Final Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy for the Greater Yellowstone Area and state management plans.

II.  Background

The Final Conservation Strategy for Grizzly Bears in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) establishes maximum allowable mortality limits for adult male and female, as well as dependent young, grizzly bears in the ecosystem to ensure the entire population maintains an overall growth rate equal to, or greater than zero.  The Conservation Strategy incorporates state management plans that have different, but compatible, management objectives for the three state parties.  Specifically, the state of Wyoming’s objective is to limit further expansion of the population in size and distribution per “Grizzly Bear Occupancy Management Following Delisting as a Threatened Species” (2005).  The states of Idaho and Montana have an objective of allowing the population to expand into biologically suitable and socially acceptable areas.

The Parties are committed to minimizing the amount of grizzly bear mortality due to conflict with human activities and defense of life and property or other management removals, collectively referred to as “non-discretionary mortality.”  To the extent non-discretionary mortality can be held below the maximum allowable levels for the entire Yellowstone population, “discretionary mortality” outside of the National Parks could be available for allocation to other purposes, including translocation to other ecosystems, or hunter harvest as provided for in the Conservation Strategy, state plans, state laws, and regulations.

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.”

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.

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?

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.

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.

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 …

Losing Sagebrush

The Button Valley Bugle writes a nice piece about the sage-steppe ecosystem.  It also includes a remarkable photo of Prairie Wind Farm which illustrates the conundrum concerning new energy but continued habitat degradation/fragmentation.  Check it out :

Sagebrush Rebellion – The Button Valley Bugle

We have lost over half of our sagebrush ecosystems and yet, we continue to find new ways to threaten sagebrush habitats. Coal, gas and oil development across the western states threatens, fragments and endangers the “sagebrush sea” and now we plan large wind farms and solar developments that will present even more problems for these same habitats.

Environmentalists baffled by Obama’s [legal] strategy

One of the easiest ways to get rid of bad policies is ignored by the new Administration-

Passing new laws is hard, and it is controversial. Issuing executive orders is less so, but still difficult. Settling suits against laws and regulations you don’t really support anyway is below the radar screen.

It hard for conservationists to understand.

Environmentalists baffled by Obama’s strategy. By Jim Tankersley. LA Times.

Mike Hudak’s Podcast: Politics Trumps Science in Rangeland Management

How they do it.

In this 15-minute audio presentation, Mike Hudak explains how ranchers use politicians to intimidate land managers from the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management into providing rancher-friendly livestock management that is often detrimental to wildlife. Hudak cites passages from his book Western Turf Wars: The Politics of Public Lands Ranching that illuminate the topic.

Mike Hudak’s Podcast: Politics Trumps Science in Rangeland Management

Cow flop, beer cans, and cheatgrass. © Ken Cole (click for larger view)

Animal kills by Wildlife Services more than double in ’08

Animal kills by federal agency more than double

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press Writer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The number of animals poisoned, shot or snared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture more than doubled last year, and environmentalists who are critical of the killings renewed their effort Tuesday to limit the agency’s funding for such activities.

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon.

Sunflower © Ken Cole

Memorial Day Weekend Trip in Photos

My wife and I went to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Southeastern Oregon for Memorial Day weekend to do some bird watching and a little fishing.  I had intended to post this shortly afterwards but other stories and a trip to Massachusetts and Maine got in the way.

We took a day trip through the Catlow Basin and through part of the Alvord Basin to Coyote Lake Basin as well. While there I did a little fishing for the Willow/Whitehorse Creek Cutthroat which is a minor subspecies of Lahontan Cutthroat. I caught and photographed two of these fish.

Phlox © Ken Cole

Blooming Desert © Ken Cole

Deep Thoughts: The World at Gunpoint

I read this article a couple of weeks ago.  Someone had slipped it beneath the office door and upon returning from lunch, I sat down and took the time to read it.

The World at Gunpoint – Derrick Jensen, Orion Magazine

Finally we get to the point. Those who come after, who inherit whatever’s left of the world once this culture has been stopped—whether through peak oil, economic collapse, ecological collapse, or the efforts of brave women and men fighting in alliance with the natural world—are not going to care how you or I lived our lives. They’re not going to care how hard we tried. They’re not going to care whether we were nice people. They’re not going to care whether we were nonviolent or violent. They’re not going to care whether we grieved the murder of the planet. […]

They’re going to care whether they can breathe the air and drink the water. They’re going to care whether the land is healthy enough to support them.

Soil carbon sequestration study begins

Public lands as carbon sinks ?

We’ve spoken of the potential for our public lands to act as carbon sinks.

When you think about public lands and the value that these places have to serve our efforts to curb global climate change I’d like you to consider a new idea that is as old as dirt ~ passive restoration. Yes, I’m suggesting that part of the answer might be to remove our footprint on those places we can – and in doing so – let the land catch it’s breath.

Just as trees draw CO2 out of the atmosphere, so does the life of soil and other healthy plant communities.  In fact, even in places as arid as the Mojave desert, researchers have found that healthy, undisturbed living-soils may draw as much carbon out of the atmosphere as temperate forests !  Can you imagine ? Resting the land from soil disturbing activities that degrade living-soils and remove vegetation, precluding the living carbon from being recycled back into the soil, ~ preserving our natural environmental heritage ~ may actually be an important strategy in mitigating climate change – a way to actually and directly take carbon out of the atmosphere.

Perhaps these ideas will be considered in the study recently announced concerning sagebrush communities :

Soil carbon sequestration study begins – Casper Star Tribune

Scientists believe increasing the carbon in soils — a process known as soil carbon sequestration — may help reduce the rise of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere that contribute to global warming

Tortoise Goes to Court: Groups File Lawsuit Against Feds for Failing to Answer Request for Federal Protection

For immediate release – June 1, 2009

Contacts:
Nicole Rosmarino, Ph.D., WildEarth Guardians, 505-699-7404
Michael Connor, Ph.D., Western Watersheds Project, 818-345-0425

Desert Tortoise, Photo © Dr. Michael J. Connor

Arizona—June 1. Today, Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians filed suit in federal court in Arizona against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) over the agency’s failure to decide whether it will consider listing the Sonoran desert tortoise population under the Endangered Species Act. An answer to the groups’ petition requesting federal protection of the Sonoran desert tortoise was due in January.

The petition shows that Sonoran desert tortoises have declined by 51 percent since 1987, or about 3.5 percent annually, in monitored areas throughout the animal’s range in Arizona. The groups alerted the Obama administration about the urgency of the Sonoran desert tortoise’s situation in January, but the administration has failed to act on behalf of the beleaguered tortoise.

“We are very disappointed that the Obama administration has turned a blind eye to the tortoise’s unfortunate race toward extinction,” stated Dr. Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians.

Washington wolves and cows

For quite some time news of wolves moving into Washington state has excited many wolf supporters and Washington residents.  A couple photos of the Washington wolves.

As is usually the case, news of Washington wolves has also prompted local ranchers’ to kick up controversy and concern that their livelihood won’t be able to compete with these conditions of the natural world – on our public land. Recently, a dead cow was found near Twisp, Washington – and although wolves almost certainly had nothing to do with the kill, invariably – that’s where local media put the attention first.

What are managers doing to protect the Lookout wolf pack ?

The “Lookout pack” resides on the Wenatchee-Okanogan National  Forest.  These wolves migrated from Canada, they are not dispersers from Idaho. One (or more)  Washington wolves has already been killed by a poacher, a local hobby rancher whose family was allegedly caught trying to ship the wolf hide to Canada for tanning into a rug – the mail was identified as suspicious when the wolf’s blood began leaking from the package in transit. That violation of the ESA is still “under investigation” by US Fish & Wildlife Service. Wolves in Washington are still protected under the Endangered Species Act, and are fully protected, not being subject to the 10(j) Rule that allowed for liberal killing of wolves in the Northern Rockies “Distinct Population”.  Conviction of killing a fully protected endangered species (as are the wolves in Washington state) could result in a $100,000 fine.

While individuals may be prosecuted for illegal take of a fully federally protected Washington wolf after the fact, managers whose legal obligation it is to protect wolves and manage public land-use to avoid potential conflict remain largely unwilling to make meaningful changes in lieu of the altered circumstances given the Lookout pack’s recent presence on the landscape.

Commissioners work with feds to head off grazing lawsuits

Central Idaho threatened/endangered fish habitat is threatened by public land livestock grazing.  Federal managers drag their feet.  WWP threatens to file suit.

Chinook - photo: USFWS

Many folk don’t realize the impact to native fisheries habitat that livestock grazing can and does have.  The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other land and wildlife management agencies work diligently to avoid acknowledging livestock’s impact to listed fish species such as Bull Trout, Chinook salmon, steelhead, and Sockeye salmon even when their own biologists and other scientists officially describe the deleterious effect.

It’s real – fish depend on stream-side vegetation for shade, filtering sediment, and as habitat for insects that fish eat.  Livestock grazing removes that vegetation and tramples stream-banks polluting spawning gravels and redds (fish nests) with sediment that suffocates fish eggs.  Grazing widens stream-channels increasing water temperature beyond tolerable levels and reduces the number of pool habitat fish need in streams.   A single livestock trampling event can wipe out entire redds (fish nests) killing thousands of protected fish eggs and baby fish.

Fish need water, water use to supply stock tanks on public land and diversions that irrigate  private pasture those cattle use on the off-season robs fish of the water-flow they need to survive and thrive.

I was recently interviewed by a local (Challis, Idaho) paper in response to Western Watersheds Project’s series of letters notifying government agencies of our intent to sue across central Idaho to ensure public land livestock management doesn’t unlawfully impact Bull Trout, Chinook salmon, steelhead, and Sockeye salmon.  The report was honest to the issue at hand – wildlife, a rarity for this state’s media – so I thought I’d post it :

Commissioners work with feds to head off grazing lawsuits. Todd Adams – Challis Messenger

It’s time to do something about the egregious mismanagement of these important and valued Idaho fisheries :

Obama Nominates Superfund Polluter Lawyer To Run DOJ Environment Division

“Meet the new boss..same as the old boss” ? 

Many of us hoped that with a new Department of Justice (DOJ), many of the most contentious and important environmental disputes governing environmental issues now held in the courts might be settled with a greater regard for this nation’s existing  environmental laws – that’d mean progress.  Think Progress has some unfortunate background information on Obama’s choice as top lawyer for the DOJ’s Natural Resource Division.
Obama Nominates Superfund Polluter Lawyer To Run DOJ Environment Division :

President Barack Obama has nominated a lawyer for the nation’s largest toxic polluters to run the enforcement of the nation’s environmental laws. On Tuesday, Obama “announced his intent to nominate” Ignacia S. Moreno to be Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division in the Department of Justice. 

God help us, we’ve been rolled again !  There is no blaming this one on Salazar (as tempting as that might be) – it’s Obama, this appointment is would have been key as a legal check to Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture’s anti-environmental lawlessness.

Largest herd of gazelles sighted

A mega-herd of a quarter of a million Mongolian gazelles has been seen gathering on the country’s steppes, one of the world’s last great wildernesses.

Largest herd of gazelles sighted
BBC Earth News

Judge rejects splitting up suit over Western bird

BLM Resource Management Litigation hits “World News”

Update May 13:  The Salt Lake Tribune publishes an important Editorial on the recent news: Saving sage grouse :

A funny-looking bird that fluffs its feathers to dance an elaborate mating rite just might be able to accomplish what well-funded environmental groups have been struggling to do for decades: bring about regional protection of vast swaths of Western lands.[…]

[…]In protecting the sage grouse, we protect ourselves and the scenic wonders we treasure from the headlong rush to extract more fossil fuels, to pollute our air, and to mar our most fragile landscapes with excessive ATV traffic.

The Guardian is running Todd Dvorak’s piece on WWP’s recent successful argument in federal court to keep its West-wide comprehensive litigation in one courtroom :

Judge rejects splitting up suit over Western bird – Guardian vi AP

The New York Times ran a clip of the piece as well .

This ambitious case is a big deal and promises to be a headache for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, whose promise to clean up Interior is being tested by the suit in a manner that moves beyond photo-ops and talking-points.

Will Salazar do the right thing for Western public landscapes and wildlife for real ?

Politics trumps science: Obama upholds Bush Administration’s rollback of the Endangered Species Act in polar bear decision

Decision shocks environmentalists, brings glee to the hearts of industry responsible for climate change

The Obama Administration upheld Bush’s industry-friendly, obstructionist interpretation of the Endangered Species Act when Obama’s rancher Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, issued a decision refusing to consider ESA regulation of carbon emissions, the chief threat to the listed Polar Bear.

No global warming crackdown for polar bears – Las Angeles Times

Energy industry groups celebrated Friday, as did many Republicans.

“The Endangered Species Act is not the proper mechanism for controlling our nation’s carbon emissions,” said Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute.

Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington, the top Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee, praised Salazar for “a common-sense decision that will ensure more jobs are not lost due to excessive regulations of greenhouse gases by the government.”

Department of Interior’s News Release – Anyone else notice how Obama’s Interior has a habit of issuing these things on Friday (end of the news cycle) just like Bush ?  The Obama decision to uphold Bush’s politicized wolf delisting rule was made public on a Friday too …

This is an entirely political decision made on entirely political grounds.  What happened to Obama’s promise to uphold science over politics with his Administration’s decisions ?

President Obama’s Interior : If it looks like a Bush, sounds like a Bush, and acts like a Bush … …

Rare pelicans to be “managed” (killed) in Idaho

Notice: for those who want to comment on this, the comment period has been extended until noon on May 12, 2009.  You can also provide oral testimony to the Fish and Game Commission the evening or the 13th. The Fish and Game Commission meeting begins at 7:00PM in the ISU Student Union Bldg – Big Wood River Room.

-When the state of Idaho (and other western states) express the need to “manage” a wildlife species – that usually perks the ears of wildlife advocates in the state.  That’s because “manage” is so often a word used to soften the state’s real intention – i.e. the intent to ‘kill’ wildlife.  Ralph and many others note this is particularly true with wolves and we’ve seen it with bighorns and others.

White Pelicans Fishing

So how about pelicans ?

F&G Seeks Comments On Pelican Management Plan

Pelicans are a “critically imperiled” species in Idaho occurring in two colonies located on Blackfoot Reservoir and the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge.  Unfortunately :
2009 Draft Pelican Management Plan(page 1)

In some areas, pelicans predominately forage on abundant populations of nongame fish resulting in non-consequential or acceptable impacts. However, in some areas pelican predation is measurably impacting native trout populations and recreational fisheries resulting in resource conflicts.

Changing attitudes stymie elk managers

As elk hunters in Montana let out a bellow for wolf “control” right alongside their friends in other western states – elk distribution and populations in Montana demonstrate a soaring population of elk in areas – enough so that ranchers are getting fed up with elk depredation on cattle forage.

Changing attitudes stymie elk managers – Helena Independent Record

Soaring population

Elk populations are soaring in some areas and a concern that other management techniques — changing hunting seasons, instituting more areas where only antlerless elk can be hunted or even something as drastic as using sharpshooters to cull herds, similar to what’s been done to deer in Helena, or paying people to hunt — might be necessary in the future unless something is done now.

The article also hits on a key demographic change in the West ~ people are valuing wildlife more and more, and the old-line adversarial relationship to the natural world (what some folk call the “Livestock Culture of Death”) is waning.

Another article via the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) looks at populations throughout the West :

Elk Populations Soaring – New West, Guest Column

Population highlights among top elk states: California, Nevada and New Mexico experienced the greatest increases with growth exceeding 100 percent. Colorado, Montana and Utah herds are 50-70 percent larger. Oregon and Wyoming are up 20-40 percent.

The article demonstrates that it’s chiefly habitat conservation initiatives and management regimes with regard to take of elk that RMEF attributes to having had such an impact on elk numbers.

Clearly hostility toward wolves, and other predators, is being fomented by something other than sound reasoning and data which would suggest wolves will wipe out all of the elk herds.

Idaho Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Advisory Group Waiting for Governor Otter

If SB1175 is signed into law collaborative group may collapse

Bighorn sheep lamb © Ken Cole

Today there was meeting of the Idaho Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Advisory Group which ended early due to concerns of various groups about how Senate Bill 1175 will affect what the group does.

At the present time SB1175 is awaiting Governor Otter’s signature or veto and no-one is sure where he stands. The Idaho Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Advisory Group was formed at the behest of the Governor to address how to protect both bighorn sheep and domestic sheep but many in the group fear that SB1175 subverts this process and defines the policy of the State of Idaho without the input of all parties.

At the beginning of the meeting Senator Jeff Siddoway, a Republican sheep rancher from Terreton, Idaho and sponsor of SB 1175, was in attendance and was asked to describe what the bill does and to answer other questions. He seemed, to my eyes, uncertain about many of the aspects of the bill and could not answer some pointed questions about it such as what is meant by “appropriate separation” between bighorn sheep and domestic sheep and what exactly is meant by this passage:

It is the policy of the state of Idaho that existing sheep or livestock operations in the area of any bighorn sheep transplant or relocation are recognized and that the potential risk, if any, of disease transmission and loss of bighorn sheep when the same invade domestic livestock or sheep operations is accepted

Specifically, what is meant by transplanted or relocated sheep? Does this refer to sheep that will be transplanted or relocated or does it refer to sheep that have been transplanted or relocated.  Also, what does recognizing existing sheep or livestock operations in affected areas mean?

Idaho Environmental Council prints final newsletter

The IEC was pretty much Idaho’s original environmental group-

Rocky Barker wrote today about the IEC putting out their last newsletter.

Jerry Jayne, who was the primary person keeping the IEC going  in recent years, was probably the first Idaho environmentalist I met. His dogged and unheralded work over many years should be recognized.

He certainly taught me a lot, and especially not to stop fighting the bastards!  Thanks so much Jerry!

Idaho Environmental Council prints final newsletter. By Rocky Barker. Idaho Statesman

Lake Creek – Then and Now

A sad fact is that public land livestock grazing is so pervasive out west (around 300 million acres of public land) that most people have become accustomed to the image of livestock degraded landscapes and have little idea what might be.

Lake Creek was the straw the broke the bovine's back - it prompted the organization of Idaho Watersheds Project (now Western Watersheds Project). Left: Condition of state land on Lake Creek, July 24, 1994 © Lynne Stone; Right: Condition of state land on Lake Creek July 18, 2007

Recently, WWP received a report dated July 18, 2007 from the Idaho Department of Lands which included the photographs below in the right column and the two final pictures documenting the restoration taking place on the 1.2 mile state land along Lake Creek.

Consumption Dwarfs Population as Main Environmental Threat

I’ve found that it’s fashionable among environmentally sympathetic folk in private gatherings to spark up conversation about the the publicly unspeakable “greatest threat” to the natural world : Overpopulation.  

Inevitable, right ?.. trends suggest otherwise.
More people means more consumption, right ? not necessarily.
Biggest environmental threat, right ?.. turns out, no. 

Fred Pearce suggests (and wields sound reasoning) that the environmental “threat” of Overpopulation is probably more of an argument that folk in affluent countries use to displace our culpability – over-consumption – onto the less privileged: 

Consumption dwarfs population as main environmental threat – Guardian

What’s one easy thing that you can do to help :

Lawyers ask judge to split sweeping grazing suit

Scope of litigation - map © Advocates for the West & Conservation Geography

This morning arguments were heard in federal court concerning a Justice Department’s motion to split up WWP’s giant (over 25 million acre) BLM lawsuit into several district courts rather than to have one judge hear the case.

Lawyers ask judge to split sweeping grazing suit – Todd Dvorak, Associated Press

Laird Lucas, WWP’s lawyer and Executive Director of Advocates for the West, refuted the government’s motion to split the case :

Laird argued :

Ranchers now have a way out

Mark Salvo and Andy Kerr write about the voluntary grazing buy-outs included in the recent Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, and how these “win/win” solutions could become a more generalized tool across western public lands to resolve often contentious resource conflicts.

Ranchers now have a way out – High Country News, Writers on the Range

Grazing-permit retirement is a voluntary, non-regulatory, market-based solution to grazing problems. Congress last legislated this approach in 1998, when it provided for permit retirement in Arches National Park in Utah. With the omnibus bill, Congress has now authorized ranchers to retire many more grazing allotments on much larger expanses of public land.

Megaconservation: Saving wildernesses on a giant scale

We need wildlife megacorridors-

Megaconservation: Saving wildernesses on a giant scale. By Jim Giles. New Scientist.

Advisory Against Visiting Caves

People might be spreading White-nose syndrome-

Federal officials are asking people to stay out of caves in states from West Virginia to New England, where as many as 500,000 bats have died from a disease called white-nose syndrome.

The Fish and Wildlife Service made the request to guard against the possibility that people are unwittingly spreading the mysterious affliction when they explore multiple caves. There is no evidence that the disease is a threat to people.

Advisory Against Visiting Caves.  Associated Press.

Salazar is drilling home renewables’ new power

The great misfortune of “renewables” seems to be that wildlife habitat is expendable…

Salazar is drilling home renewables’ new power.By Michael Riley. The Denver Post

Summer at the ski resorts: Congress must proceed very carefully with Udall’s bill

It appears that there is not really specific details as to what kind of development these resorts can proceed with and seems to allow for water parks and numerous other “suburban” style theme park facilities which conservationists object to on public lands, they have a valid point.

Summer at the ski resorts: Congress must proceed very carefully with Udall’s bill. By Erika Stutzman. The Daily Camera.

Bill proposes stiff fines for off-roading on closed lands

This is a turn of events regarding OHV’s and the minimal fines that have been applicable in Montana. Currently fines are roughly $50 per offense, this Bill proposes $500 and jail time.

Bill proposes stiff fines for off-roading on closed lands. By Kahrin Deines. Montana Standard.

Stalk-leaved Monkeyflower (Mimulus patulus)

"Stalk-leaved Monkeyflower"
Mimulus patulus
Asotin Wildlife Area
© Dr. Don Johnson (Click to enlarge)

Mimulus patulus Occurence & Habitat

Springs and seeps are unique habitats that occur where subterranean water emerges from an aquifer. In the semi-arid and arid west, these unique sources of water are particularly important ‘oasis’ habitats for wildlife, especially during drought and heat.  Their relatively consistent temperatures and chemistry provides for  “hotspots” of biological diversity – many of the more fragile plants and wildlife found in these habitats require very specific conditions and will not persist with the greater water temperature, chemistry, and flow fluctuations that occur downstream.  Generally in the west, from a distance you may identify springs and seeps by the presence of an aspen clone or other green, lush vegetative expressions on the slopes of an otherwise tan, dry hillside.  Up close you’ll find a microclimate of mosses and unique plant-life.  If you’re lucky, you may happen-upon a wet-spot blanketed by butterflies attracted to its mineral-waters and gathering energy in the sun.

Salazar’s Wolf Decision Upsets Administration Allies

Salazar’s failure to consult POTUS gives new Administration a headache (as it should)-

Salazar’s Wolf Decision Upsets Administration Allies
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post

It appears that Salazar wasn’t interested in consulting anyone but the Bush Administration personnel and some other agency folks for the “good science” they have already “produced”.
He only consulted governors with less than favorable attitudes on predators, wolves in particular. He had no intention of hearing anything other than what he wanted to hear to make this decision.

Fortunately, not everyone in our halls of governing agree with him. Perhaps due to the fact that they are not ranchers.  He didn’t seem to think that his boss needed to be consulted either, even directly following commitments by Obama himself to uphold the ESA and scientific integrity in speeches within 48 hours of announcing this “Friday night” ruling.

Perhaps the same comments on commitment to scientific integrity made by Obama on stem cell research should be applied to the ESA and wolves.

Group sees ‘violation of trust’

WILDLANDS CONSERVANCY: It brokered a BLM deal to protect the desert acres that are now being opened to development.

Group sees ‘violation of trust’ By JANET ZIMMERMAN The Press-Enterprise

Resistance to the War on the Wild

Several friends and associates found themselves in Eugene last weekend attending the University of Oregon Law School’s annual Public Interest Environmental Law Clinic (PIELC), I didn’t make it this year but I thought I’d share Michael Donnelly’s irreverent account of this year’s gathering for those interested :

Resistance to the War on the Wild – via Counterpunch

Congressmen to hear resident’s testimony

Congressmen to hear resident’s testimony
By Thomas Dewell, Jackson Hole, Wyo

McCarthy’s testimony will focus on the Outdoor Alliance’s perspective that public lands are vital in combating climate change because of their role in ecosystem adaptation, their natural ability to sequester carbon, their potential for renewable energy projects such as wind farms and solar arrays, and that they provide the opportunity for Americans to stay connected to the natural world.

Environmental rules at risk in downturn

States are discussing the concept of trimming due process and the rights of those contesting development activities by writing new legislation to cut out possible lawsuits for mining and other industries and claiming that it’s jobs vs the environmentalists.

Environmental rules at risk in downturn
By The Associated Press

Bill aims at curbing green group lawsuits
By Judy Fahys
The Salt Lake Tribune

Endangered Species Act change under review

Endangered Species Act change under review
Obama may reverse a Bush-era revision that loosened environmental rules for federal projects.
By Jim Tankersley

Update; March 4, 2009:

This seems like deja vu all over again.  Maybe good sense will prevail this time and for a long time coming.

Bid to Undo Bush Memo on Threats to Species
By CORNELIA DEAN

Alaska’s senators seek to change polar bear language in omnibus
By ALEX KAPLUN

“Grazing-as-usual” ends on 600,000 acres of public land in southwest Idaho

 This is important news for management of public lands in sage-steppe country.

Sage grouse in flight, Bruneau uplands © Ken Cole 2008

Judge rules in southwest Idaho grazing case – AP

A federal judge has directed the Bureau of Land Management to rethink the way it manages grazing across thousands of acres of southern Idaho, especially the impact livestock have on sage grouse and other threatened species.

Following the intense Murphy Complex Fire that swept through southern Idaho a couple summers back, wiping out 76 sage grouse leks, intense political pressure to turn the cows back out quick largely eclipsed consideration for sage grouse, pygmy rabbits, and other wildlife displaced onto the remaining habitat spared the blaze.  To give an idea of the regard for habitat in this part of the country, Ralph Maughan took photos of cattle grazing  post-burn – Bad practice when one hopes to restore the landscape.  

Given the critical importance of the remaining habitat in Jarbidge country, conservationists quickly filed suit to ensure wildlife wouldn’t take the short-end of the stick given BLM’s plan to fold and continue “grazing-as-usual” on over 625,000 acres following the fire.    

The question:

When fire (or any catastrophic event) wipes out huge swaths of wildlife habitat, how should that affect management of wildlife values versus livestock on those remaining landscapes so important to remaining wildlife ? 

Former Interior Department official urges change to centuries-old mining law

The current law is the General Mining Act of 1872

Former Interior Department official urges change to centuries-old mining law
By Hope Yen

Mining law reform considered in House
By Lisa Mascaro

Polluted mines as economic engines? Obama admin says ‘yes’
By Scott Streater

Spending bill nixes Bush endangered species rules

Spending bill nixes Bush endangered species rules. By Dina Cappiello. AP in the Washington Post.

The Bush weakened Endangered Species Act regulations would  be out and more polar  bear protection in with the budget  bill the House Democrats are considering for the rest of the year right now in the House.

In Loneliness, Immigrants Tend the Flock

Sheep Ranchers Claim Paying Minimum Wage to Workers Would Put them Out of Business.

Domestic sheep carry disease dangerous to bighorns and humans

This is an important article :

In Loneliness, Immigrants Tend the Flock – The New York Times

* Also, check out Captive Labor.

Environmental Costs

Domestic sheep ranching on public land is subsidized in many ways – environmental costs associated with the activity are largely covered by you and I – our tax dollars to slaughter predators that feed on untended sheep, blade otherwise unnecessary roads, build fences, abate weeds etc;  Our public lands leased at remarkably below market value, our bighorn sheep herds decimated by disease spread from domestic to wild sheep, our stream-waters rendered undrinkable, our public landscapes denuded precluding/depreciating habitat that might otherwise support untold numbers of wildlife – including big-game.

There are also the direct subsidies collected by sheepman – millions of tax-dollars for wool and other Ag subsidies.  But despite all of the ways that you and I prop up this destructive use of public land, their industry groups continue to maintain that if held to the same environmental and fair-market standard as nearly any other industry – even minimum wage for workers – they’ll go under.

Costs to Human Health, Safety, and Dignity

Captured jaguar 1st in US to get collar for tracking

GPS collar to provide location points every three hours.

Captured jaguar 1st in US to get collar for tracking
By Tony Davis and Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star

It’s the Wilderness, Stupid

Why can’t we understand that wilderness should be a big part of our economic future?

It’s the Wilderness, Stupid
By Bill Schneider

Can America’s West stay wild?

Bunnies, cowboys, culture, economics, demographics, the West

Can America’s West stay wild? Christian Science Monitor

Between 1970 and 2000, nonlabor jobs fueled 86 percent of this growth. Mining, timber, and agriculture (including ranching) contributed only 1 percent. Now, 93 percent of jobs in the West have no direct link to public lands, says Rasker. But wilderness areas, in conjunction with infrastructure like airports, correlated closely with areas that saw the greatest growth.

related: The Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit Is Now Genetically Extinct

Discovery of 408 New Mammal Species Gives Insight Into Our Dependency on the “Economy of Nature”

408 newly discovered species amount to approximately 10 percent of the known species of mammals

No Joy In Discoveries Of New Mammal Species, Only A Warning For Humanity, Paul Ehrlich Says – ScienceDaily

“I think what most people miss is that the human economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the economy of nature, which supplies us from our natural capital a steady flow of income that we can’t do without,” Ehrlich said.

Bill would block killing of wild horses, burros

Bill would block killing of wild horses, burros

“It is unacceptable for wild horses to be slaughtered without any regard for the general health, well-being, and conservation of these iconic animals that embody the spirit of our American West,” Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V., said in a statement.
By SANDRA CHEREB – Associated Press Writer

Meanwhile, back in Utah…

Resolution supporting horse slaughter passes
The Salt Lake Tribune

And in Wyoming…

Lawmakers decry interference in horse slaughter
By MARJORIE KORN – Associated Press writer

And in Montana…

House takes up bill to approve slaughterhouse
By JOHN S. ADAMS – Tribune Capitol Bureau

Hamburgers are the Hummers of Food in Global Warming: Scientists

Elimination/Reduction of Beef in your diet remains among the most potent personal choices you can make to help preserve our natural world

Hamburgers are the Hummers of Food in Global Warming: Scientists – CommonDreams.org

Buying local meat and produce will not have nearly the same effect, he cautioned.

That’s because only five percent of the emissions related to food come from transporting food to market.

“You can have a much bigger impact by shifting just one day a week from meat and dairy to anything else than going local every day of the year,” Weber said.

The facts : Livestock production …

• is the largest land use in the western United States
• Ranching in the West is the principle source of conflict resulting in tax-payer dollars spent to kill wolves, buffalo, coyotes, prairie dogs, and other wildlife [1]
• is the most significant cause of non-point source water pollution [2]
• is the most prominent factor resulting in wildlife imperilment/loss of biodiversity/listed species in the West [3]
• is the most robust contributor to desertification of landscapes in North America [4]

Conservationists: USDA should stop killing wildlife

Report: Wildlife Service’s “War on Wildlife” needlessly slaughters America’s valued wildlife costing taxpayers $100 million per year

Wendy Keefover-Ring, director of carnivore protection for WildEarth Guardians, and others have been compiling the facts, gathering the support of 115 conservation groups, and building a solid case to end the wasteful War on Wildlife currently being waged by the out-of-control ‘Wildlife Services’.

Conservationists: USDA should stop killing wildlife – AP :

Authors of the 108-page report being presented to USDA, members of Congress and the White House on Tuesday described it as the first comprehensive, national, independent assessment of the agency in 40 years.

View the ‘War on Wildlife’ Report (108 page pdf)

The View from the Divide

Wyoming wilderness outfitters Tory and Meredith Taylor share a rare treat ~

The View from the Divide: Four Decades in Wyoming Wilderness – Tory & Meredith Taylor Wyofile.com

Nevada plans to remove “animals with big teeth in order to promote the animals hunters like to shoot”

State solicits Wildlife Service to do what it does best – slaughter wildlife

Cougar - photo: USDA National Wildlife Research Center

When wildlife like elk or deer numbers decline, that is usually indicative of something.  Often it can be a temporary decline – a response to a natural event such as a fire, drought, or really cold winter – the natural ebb and flow of things.  Sometimes it’s symptomatic of something else, like diminishing habitat or a game department that issued too many tags in a region.  Mostly, it’s likely a combination of many variables.

Whatever the reasons, one gets the lion’s share of the blame – and the retribution.  Predators are the proverbial ‘whipping-boy’ of wildlife managers (and livestock producers).  Much like the irrational management that is promised for wolves in Idaho, cougars are subjected to political decisions  made by state wildlife managers.  And when state managers decide to abate hunter’s competition, they call Wildlife Services.

Unfortunately, it is often more politically expedient to call for ‘control’ of wildlife that competes with hunters than to restrict the number of tags issued to hunters – by far the largest variable reducing elk and deer numbers – or to call for the patience it takes to put a decent amount of resource into habitat restoration – whether active or passive (passive restoration involves removing human causes of habitat degradation – such as livestock grazing, ORV access, fencing, etc.).

Nev. plans more lion hunts in effort to save deer – AP

The Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners told agency staff last week to employ the help of sport hunters and contract employees from the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Wildlife Services for the state wildlife department’s new “program of intensive, sustained predator reduction.”

Tiny ‘Backpacks’ Yield New Data on Birds

Mysteries of Song Bird Migration Revealed

Tiny ‘Backpacks’ Yield New Data on Birds
Washington Post

One especially energetic purple martin, a member of the swallow family, flew 4,650 miles from its wintering grounds in Brazil to its breeding site in Pennsylvania in just 13 days.

Tracking Device Reveals Songbirds’ Travels
NPR

Parks and Wildlife Get Stimulus

Outdoor Recreation, Jobs and Economics Go Together

Parks and Wildlife Get Stimulus
Obama’s massive spending bill funds national park infrastructure and finds innovative ways to improve fish and wildlife habitat.

By Bill Schneider, 2-14-09

Schweitzer appoints 2 to FWP Commission

Terms are up for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commissioners Workman and Doherty, Colton reappointed.

Schweitzer appoints 2 to FWP Commission

By Gazette News Services

 

A Line in the Green Sand

Although this essay is international in scope, it being written about a river in Britain, it gets at the heart of a tension among environmental issues coming to a head in so many localities all over the West – all over the world.  Paul Kingsnorth hits the point in a way that many activists have been hoping to hit it for some time :

A Line in the Green Sand – The Guardian

When I climb a mountain, then, and find that the detritus of civilisation has followed me, in the form of giant wind turbines, my reaction is not to jump for joy because it is zero-carbon detritus. My reaction is to wonder how anyone could miss the point so spectacularly. And when I hear other environmentalists responding to my concerns with aggressive dismissal – particularly if they have never visited the mountain in question – I get really quite depressed

Fifteen or so years ago, as an excitable young road protester, I tried to prevent the destruction of beautiful places. To me, building a motorway through ancient downland, or a bypass through a watermeadow, was a desecration. To me today, a windfarm on a mountain is a similar desecration. A tidal barrage that turns a great river into a glorified mill stream is a desecration. Carpeting the Sahara with giant solar panels would be a desecration. The motivation may be different, but the destruction of the wild and the wonderful is the same.

Grizzly advocates see policy shifting

Policy review touches on Grizzly Bear management.

Grizzly advocates see policy shifting

By BRETT FRENCH –  The Gazette Staff

Columbia salmon plan goes before judge for third try

Is the Third Time a Charm?

Perhaps no person has more control over the fate of Columbia River salmon and dams today than a 79-year-old Red Sox fan who doesn’t fish or much care for the taste of salmon. U.S. District Judge James Redden is expected to rule as early as next month in the long-running case over whether dams on the Columbia River system are doing enough to protect endangered fish.

Columbia salmon plan goes before judge for third try

By Warren Cornwall – Seattle Times environment reporter

The Judge has threatened to take over management himself if he is not satisfied with the latest recovery plan.

Update:

NW council approves Columbia River management plan

Feds pare Colo. gas-lease sale – 67,000 acres nixed

By Mark Jaffe – The Denver Post

Feds pare Colo. gas-lease sale
67,000 acres nixed

Chasing the condor’s shadow

Could California Condors Soar the Skies of Oregon Again?

David B. Moen is searching for evidence that might indicate that condors once inhabited Hells Canyon.  There is already evidence that they once bred in the Columbia Gorge and even farther north into British Columbia.  Is Oregon and Hells Canyon still suitable habitat for recovery?

Chasing the condor’s shadow – OregonLive.com.

Note: I was lucky enough to see a pair of California Condors on the Coast of California at Big Sur in 2003.  As we were driving away one flew 50 feet above us.  That is when you realize how immense they are with their 9 1/2 foot wingspan.

KC

Agency denies request to protect 165 species

Agency denies request to protect 165 species
The Associated Press

WildEarth Guardians petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list 165 species under the Endangered Species Act.  They denied the request but said that some may warrant protection.

Here’s the link to WildEarth Guardians’ web site.  Currently there is no press release in response to this decision.

Legislator takes aim at feds and ‘eco-terrorists’

Yet another example of legislators vs. the public they claim to represent-

Legislator takes aim at feds and ‘eco-terrorists’
By Bob Bernick Jr.
Deseret News

Wyoming House committee recommends a new state wolf bill

Little change from the past-

By Matt Joyce. Associated Press writer

House Bill 32 would emphasize protecting livestock and wild ungulates from wolves and would continue to classify wolves as predators in most of the state. The bill also authorizes the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to work in cooperation with Idaho and Montana to move wolves as necessary to assure genetic interchange among the states’ wolf populations.

Wyoming House committee had five Bills offered this week and only one, with little change and a seemingly obstinate set of intentions to derail any progress or offer any acceptance of the federal role in this ongoing saga was agreed upon.  Read More…

Salazar Pledges ‘Balance’ to Scandal-Plagued Interior

Salazar promises reform, but is it enough?

Since Ken Salazar took over as Interior secretary, his first order of business has been undoing the last business done by the outgoing Bush administration.   Read More…

By David Frey, 2-04-09

Transmission lies

Against the so-called ‘need’ for new long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines

Transmission lies Grist Environmental News and Commentary

Carol A. Overland posits the idea that a new electrical grid is “an enabler of dysfunctional energy planning and profit-driven projects that are against the public interest.”

Don Simon Art: Unnaturalism

Don Simon Art: Unnaturalism. “Images of an evolving world” by artist Don Simon

This is an interesting perspective on the human affect on wildlife and wilderness. (Audio/Visual).

Vet urges ranchers to adopt brucellosis plan

Producers in 7 Montana border counties would need to test, vaccinate. By Tom Lutey. Billings Gazette.

Researchers are watching Minnesota wolves to help Mexican wolves.

Researchers are watching Minnesota wolves as they seek ways to rebuild packs of endangered Mexican wolves in the Southwestern United States.

By Tom Meersman. Star Tribune

after all the human disruption in nature, it has finally come to this…

You can read the article here.

Online Poll in the Bozeman Chronicle

This is a non-scientific Poll concerning the management of wild bison in Montana…

To vote in this online poll in the Bozeman Chronicle:

Scroll to the bottom of this link to find the question:

Do you think the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks should take over sole responsibility for managing wild bison in Montana?
Then vote.

Update: Poll results.