OBAMA WANTS MORE ENVIRONMENAL LITERACY

Progress Made on Nature Deficit Disorder, But Not Enough

Calling it a “historic moment” and a “terrific first step,” conservationists applauded President Obama’s budget request that included, for the first time, money for “environmental literacy” for the U.S. Department of Education.

Great news, but keep in mind that it’s only the first step.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR GEEZER POWER!

Congress, Greens: Time to Spike RAT, Out-of-Control Forest Service Fees

The bad news is we’re getting older, and the good news is we’re getting older.

Nobody likes the older-slower-fatter succession, but at least when you get to be a geezer--and yep, I’m officially a geezer, so I take it personally--you usually have more time, but less money, to enjoy the outdoors and our public lands for camping, hiking, fishing, or scenic driving.

But not if the Forest Service has its way.

CONSERVATIVES MOCKING CONSERVATIVES

The Politics of Avatar

I might as well disclose my little problem right upfront. I’m a sci-fi nut. That’s even worse than being a gun nut and fishing nut, but I’ve learned to cope with my problem. Along the way, though, I’ve had to go to almost every sci-fi flick ever made, even some really bad ones, and I think Avatar is a fascinating showpiece of ground-breaking technology and no doubt the best 3D film ever. Not the best sci-fi movie ever, though, but close. I’d rank it as the fourth best.

What makes Avatar even more fascinating is the ironic political battle raging in the background.

DROPPING THE BOMB

Outfitter Initiative Foreshadows Much Bigger Issue, Saving Hunting

While working on my recent article on a ballot initiative to eliminate Montana’s outfitter-sponsored big game licenses, I started wondering if this was really the best way to address perhaps the most serious problem facing the sport of hunting--and not just in Montana, but everywhere--rapidly declining public access to private land.

The real issue is a pay-to-play trend that’s leading us to the day when free public hunting on private land might only exist in the history books. Let’s look at the core cause of the problem and how to solve it.

GUN LOBBY ON A ROLL

The Year of the NRA

UPDATED, January 8, 10 am. See Update at end of article.

I’ve left 2009 behind, almost. Bear with me for one more look back.

Remember the insane paranoia among gun owners during the 2008 election season and throughout most of 2009?  The gun lobby whipped firearm owners into a fervor before and after the election of Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress with dire predictions about the impending demise of the Second Amendment if not all freedoms we cherish.

I wrote several commentaries saying the opposite--basically that a lot of Democrats are pro-gun, pro-2A and many others wouldn’t touch the gun issue because it’s a political poison pill.

So, what happened?

YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED

Top Five Outdoor Stories of 2009, 21st Century

It’s always difficult to rank the top outdoor stories. Should I pick the stories that grabbed the most headlines and created the most controversy? Or do I select stories that have more significance to the future of the earth and our ability to enjoy the great outdoors, even if that issue might have been lightly covered by the press and doesn’t come up often at the coffee shop or saloon.

LET'S HAVE AN APOLOGY

What Tester’s Outburst Tells Us

Fortunately, for Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), not many people watched the video feed from the Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee’s hearing on his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, S. 1470, held December 17.

All testimony was excellent and expertly presented, as were most questions from subcommittee members, but not Senator Tester’s embarrassing and misinformed personal attack on a witness who dared say something he didn’t want to hear.

More significantly, this outburst serves as a “tell” as what’s really happening behind the scenes of efforts to end Montana’s Wilderness Drought.

HERE, WE CAN REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Don’t Buy Fool’s Gold

During a bout of insomnia last night, I watched CNBC to see if any of the talking financial heads thought my retirement funds might stop disappearing, and there it was. Perhaps the biggest environmental, wildlife habitat and water quality problem we don't like to discuss. Yes, it's touchy, but that has never stopped me, so why start now.

We all need to stop buying fool's gold.

LET'S GET OUR WORDS STRAIGHT

Wilderness is Multiple Use

Have you ever heard somebody say they prefer "multiple use" over Wilderness? I have what seems like a thousand times, and every time I hear it, I say, silently, to myself, wrong!

So, it seems like a good time to say it out loud because the words, "multiple use" have been lost in the Wilderness.