WILL IT END OR EXTEND THE WILDERNESS DROUGHT?

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership: Right Idea, Wrong Bill

For four years, I've been writing about what I've coined the "Wilderness Drought," 25 years of frustration and infighting since we've seen a single acre of Wilderness designated in Montana. Now, several mainstream groups have joined forces with representative of the wood products industry in a grand attempt to end it.

The political reality of today requires this collaborative, "bottom-up" approach because politicians are so gun-shy about Wilderness legislation. They only want lay-ups with all stakeholders already on board, which is the motivation behind this upcoming legislation. After decades of nothing, Montana wilderness advocates have decided to play the new, quid pro quo game to have some chance of success.

Regrettably, this flawed bill looks more like a half-court shot for our congressional delegation and could extend instead of end the Wilderness Drought.

GUEST COMMENTARY

A Hunter’s Thanks

Crossing icy streams before dawn, I took my pack and rifle and headed up the mountain. By first light, it was snowing heavily. It was very quiet, for the elk we sought were deep in Montana’s untrammeled backcountry—beyond the reach of roads and traffic.

Senses tuned, scanning, I moved slowly. Out of the swirling white, a great animal suddenly appeared, dark mane crowned by sweeping tines…

NEWWEST.NET Exclusive

Canadian Farmers’ Cooperative Buys Sportsman’s Warehouse

UPDATE: At the end of the article, I've posted a release I received on 11-26-08 from UFA.--Bill Schneider

Rumors of financial troubles at large outdoor retailers, including Sportsman's Warehouse, have been swirling around for months. Now, it looks like "America's Premier Outfitter" has become "North America's Premier Outfitter." The largest outdoor retailer in the New West is being purchased by Calgary-based UFA Co-operative Lld.

And it looks like UFA has the cash to do it. On its website, UFA describes itself as "a progressive, multi-billion dollar organization committed to serving rural communities."

WE NEED THIS GUST OF FRESH AIR

Please, Let it be Grijalva for Interior Secretary

Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post and several bloggers are naming Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as a "leading contender" for Obama's pick for Secretary of the Interior. This cabinet position usually goes to a westerner, and Grijalva would be an excellent choice.

He current chairs the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and has been an outspoken advocate for protecting national parks, wilderness and wildlife habitat in the West, recently opposing the Bush Administration's plans for oil and gas leasing and coal mining in critical areas and resisting deep cuts in national park budgets.

Idaho Fishing

Steelhead Stocked in the Boise River

Anglers lined the Boise River near the Parkcenter Boulevard bridge, shoulder to shoulder, in anticipation as Idaho Fish and Game released another 300 steelhead into the Boise River Thursday afternoon, November 13.

Fish and Game managers plan to release another 300 in the river Thursday, November 20, from the Glenwood Bridge to Barber Park.

Steelhead are returning to the Oxbow Hatchery as forecast, and Idaho Fish and Game managers released the first 300 into the river on Thursday, November 6. Trapping at Oxbow began Monday, October 27.

Besides a 2008 fishing license, anglers hoping to tangle with one of the 4- to 10-pound hatchery steelhead need a $12.75 steelhead permit. Barbless hooks are not required for Boise River steelhead angling.

Missoula Notebook

A Walk in the Woods With Guns

Considering that hunters are supposed to be a dying breed, there sure were a lot of pickup trucks jammed into the pullouts along route 200 east of Missoula last Tuesday, and a lot of men in camouflage-patterned orange vests standing around next to them.

It was Veteran’s Day, and my neighbor Vin and I were headed out to some Forest Service land near Nine Mile Prairie Road to hunt for deer.

from the new west blog: zoo emergencies

Giraffe Urgently Needed in Idaho

Zoo Boise’s young giraffe, Shingo, has passed away suddenly. We only had him for seven weeks when he got sick, and then he up and died. A giraffe specialist was even brought in, but sadly, Shingo had an incurable giraffe syndrome.

It’s especially sad because the kids at Boise’s Adams Elementary School helped raise money to bring Shingo to Zoo Boise, and they got to pick his name. Now, Shingo's companion Joseph is all by himself, which is apparently not the done thing. Giraffes need company, and the kids need a new giraffe. We can’t allow Joseph and an entire school of children to grieve for long; it’s too heartbreaking.

I’m sure ordinary citizens can do something to help locate a new giraffe for Zoo Boise. Okay, I'm pretty sure.

I just Googled HOW TO FIND A GIRAFFE and found that...

PERFECT PLACE FOR BLUE TIDE TO QUICKLY MAKE ITS MARK

Time to Codify the Roadless Rule

On January 5, 2001, with George W. Bush's moving van parked at the back door of the White House, President Bill Clinton signed his now-infamous Roadless Rule. With a stroke of his pen and without the approval of Congress, Clinton protected almost one-third of our national forests, 58.5 million acres, from road building.

The incoming Bush administration immediately reversed the rule, but a judge rapidly reversed the reversal. Ever since, the Roadless Rule has been a tennis ball, back and forth, on and off, mired in a ridiculous succession of administrative rules and court cases, making it hard to decide who's ahead in the game. As I write this, to emphasize the folly, two judges have made opposing rulings, one spiking the Roadless Rule, one re-affirming its validity.

So I say, let's end the tennis match and make the Roadless Rule the law of the land.

Revisiting The Cabela’s Controversy

Last year I wrote a series of articles about concerns voiced by Montana hunters about Cabela's Trophy Properties, the real estate marketing division of the world's largest retailer of hunting, fishing and camping gear, Cabela's.

Facing a rapid decline in access to both private and public land, the last thing Montana hunters needed was "one of their own," Cabela's, to launch headlong into the amenity real estate business and further speed up the loss of huntable land.

Fueled by the state's largest sporting group, the 7,000-member-strong Montana Wildlife Federation, the issue became white-hot controversial. The MWF even asked its members to return their catalogs to Cabela's with letters protesting the new venture. Hundreds of them did exactly that and, suddenly, hunters had the company's big-time attention and promises to do what it could to smooth out the ruffled feathers.

But did the firestorm really change anything? Or a year later, is Cabela's Trophy Properties (CTP) doing business as usual?