Tall order is putting it mildly. In a recent article in the Elko Daily Free Press the issues surrounding the management of wild horses and burros on western lands is succinctly addressed. The topic is “brimming with emotion on all sides” write the editors. I even fielded a call from my own mother (residing in…
Tag: wildland management
Hostile to Large Carnivores
I won’t go into a long (boring) post about my lack of blogging. A move, new job, new home, kids in a new school are the reasons. I thought I’d jump back into blogging with something controversial. There’s always plenty of fodder when it comes to wildlife management in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE). The…
Wyoming Sage Grouse Conservation and Land Use
In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife decided the greater sage grouse would be kept in consideration for placing on the endangered species list. They say the listing is “warranted,” but there are too many other endangered species needing attention at this time. “Based on a 12-month status review pursuant to the Endangered Species Act,…
Revegetation Efforts Should Focus on Native Plant Species
Propagating native plants in volumes large enough to produce commercial quantities of native seed is not always an easy, or inexpensive task, but using native plant species in revegetation efforts on federal and state lands should be the norm, not the exception. This National Forest in Michigan is taking the needed long range approach to…
Join Governor Mead to Discuss Wyoming Energy Policy
Wyoming Governor Matt Mead’s website states, “Wyoming needs an energy plan that balances development with the environment—that incorporates open space and clear skies with jobs and economic progress.” Governor Mead has drafted over 70 energy strategy initiatives covering four main themes: Economic Competitiveness, Expansion and Diversification; Efficient, Effective Regulation; Natural Resource Conservation, Reclamation, and Mitigation;…
The Dust Bowl PBS Series to Air Tonight
The PBS Dust Bowl series will air again tonight in two consecutive shows from 8 to midnight. Before the days of no-till, cover crops, and contour plowing, agriculturalists coming from the humid eastern states simply did not understand the volatility of weather patterns in the arid west, and so they plowed up millions of acres…
Headway Against Cheatgrass in Our Future?
I sure hope so. I’ve always wondered about that fungus I’ve seen on cheatgrass. Wonder if it’s the Black Finger of Death? Great Basin scientists unleash new weapons to fight invasive cheatgrass I would like to comment, however on an enlightening chat I had with my great uncle. He lived through the severe drought years…
Sheepherder Fire Grows Twenty-Fold in Ten Hours
Update on the Sheepherder Hill Fire on Casper Mountain, Wyoming. (Click on a photo to view slide show) Extreme. Erratic. Unpredictable. That’s what they call the kind of fire behavior seen in these photos. Definitely life threatening. Firefighters can’t be sent into this kind of scenario. The fire is literally making its own weather. Just…
New Forest Fire on Casper Mountain
We were so close to getting through this fire season without a wildfire on Casper Mountain. This afternoon a large plume of smoke rose steadily from the mountain. It seems to have erupted very quickly, probably the result of steady winds. Right now, as the sun sets, the wind is dying down and we are…
Wyoming Wolf Plan Approved by USFWS
“Under Wyoming’s management plan, the state is required to keep a minimum of 10 breeding pairs and 100 wolves outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Reservation. A minimum of five breeding pairs and 50 wolves are required inside Yellowstone.” Read the rest of this article from the Casper Star Tribune And the…
Colorado Wildfire Smoke Finds Us
Today was the first day of breathing smoke from the Colorado fires. My guess -the source is the High Park fire about 220 miles from here (Casper, Wyoming), now estimated at over 87,000 acres. The smoke gives the sky an eerie yellow cast. I remember 1988, my first year in Wyoming, standing on a high-ish…
Wyoming Life 