Parks & National Forests
Bison Update
Yellowstone Bison and the Fate of the Royal Teton Ranch Lease
As changing land use and attitudes toward bison open the possibility for reduced conflict between bison, cattle and humans on the west side of Yellowstone National Parl, a potential deal on the north side of the park could allow bison to follow a traditional migration corridor for the first time in a long time. But the deal is short some $1.5 million from the federal government, and it is also not without criticism from bison advocates. [more]
endangered species act
Gray Wolf Officially Delisted Today
Gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains will be officially removed from the endangered species list and responsibility for their management turned over to the states today.
“Overall this is a real positive step for wolf recovery and wolf management,” said Steve Nadeau, large carnivore coordinator for the Idaho department of fish and game. “The Endangered Species Act is designed to delist wolves. You don’t put them there to keep them there.”
Idaho, Montana and Wyoming will assume full management responsibility from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the wolves in their states under federally approved management plans, and all three states’ plans include wolf hunting. The first wolf hunting season could come as early as this fall.
[more]
new west news brief
Glacier Park’s New Superintendent: Chas CartwrightGlacier National Park has a new superintendent, Chas Cartwright. We just got the press release in our inbox. Here it is:
"Chas Cartwright, a 21-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS) has been named superintendent of Glacier National Park in Montana, according to Intermountain Regional Director Mike Snyder. Cartwright will assume his new position in late May. He will replace Mick Holm, who served as superintendent for six years before retiring from the NPS.
"In making the announcement, Snyder said, 'Chas brings a wealth of in-depth knowledge and broad experience to this vital position. He is a seasoned superintendent, with a firm commitment to the preservation and protection of park resources, and a keen ability to interact with partners, communities, and Congressional leaders.'"
[more]
Will Manage 2.6 million acres
New Boise National Forest Supervisor “Thrilled to be back”
Cecilia Seesholtz, currently the Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon, will be the new Supervisor of the Boise National Forest in Boise, Idaho, Forest Service officials announced today.
As Forest Supervisor of the Boise National Forest, Seesholtz, 44, will have the responsibility for managing 2.6 million acres of National Forest land in southwest Idaho. The Forest, which is comprised of five Ranger Districts and the Lucky Peak Nursery, is known for outstanding recreation opportunities and a wide variety of multiple use activities.
[more]
Bison Management
Bison Slaughter, Funding Woes and Landowner Demands at Horse Butte
Yellowstone Park and the Montana Department of Livestock sent this winter’s 991st bison to slaughter on Tuesday morning, and as the Billings Gazette reported, that number paired with the 166 killed in state and tribal hunts means nearly one quarter of the park’s 4,700 bison have been killed this winter. This year’s tally is the largest number of bison killed in a single winter, but not the highest percentage, which occurred in the 1996-97 winter when nearly one-third of the park’s 3,500 bison were killed. Park spokesman Al Nash said the park’s bison management strategies ensure genetic diversity and described the park’s bison population as “robust.”
Meanwhile, 69 landowners in the Horse Butte area filed a letter with Earthjustice addressed to four Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) signatories demanding all haze and slaughter operations in the Horse Butte area cease until an Environmental Impact Statement addresses the changing nature of the now cattle-free peninsula.
And if bison weren’t in the news enough, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle is reporting the Animal Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) doesn’t have the federal funds to complete a grazing lease on the Royal Teton Ranch, which would allow bison to access about 7,500 acres of winter habitat north of Gardiner.
[more]
wilderness issues lecture series
Climate Change: The Resiliency of Wildlands is Key, Ecologist SaysEcologist Tom DeLuca, during his lecture Tuesday night at the University of Montana, made the case for an adaptive approach to wildlands management in order to help the West’s ecosystems adjust to a changing climate.
DeLuca, a Senior Forest Ecologist with the Wilderness Society and former UM professor speaking as part of the Wilderness Issues Lecture Series, acknowledged that there may be no way to avoid climate change, but the region’s forests and wildlands have evolved under changing climates and possess a measure of resilience to variations.
“One thing that is constant in nature is change...resistance to change may prove to be a catastrophic failure,” he said.
[more]
new west news brief
The Early Stages of a New Ecosystem in YellowstoneIn Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley there's a "cascade of ecological changes under way," writes Jim Robbins of the New York Times, particularly the spread of the invasive plant Canadian thistle supported by a warming climate, and the plant in turn supports larger numbers of grizzly bears and gophers.
“It’s the early stages of a new ecosystem,” says Robert L. Crabtree, chief scientist with the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center in Bozeman, “one that hasn’t been seen here before.”
Robbins writes that areas along the Lamar River that were once marshy have dried out and increased the thistle's range. Pocket gophers love the abundant, starchy thistle roots and burrow to harvest the tubers. As they do they churn surface soil and create a perfect habitat for more thistle -- a rapid positive-feedback loop. And bears, naturally, eat both gophers and their stashes of thistle.
Click here for the full story.
guest column
The True Cost of BrucellosisDuring a recent call-in program on Montana's Yellowstone Public Radio, at time marker 22.30 minutes, I posed the following question to Senator John Tester:
"It has been shown that in Wyoming, loss of brucellosis-free status between 2004 and 2006 only cost livestock producers one percent of total production costs. Given that brucellosis clearly is not a serious economic threat to Western livestock producers, why do you continue to support the extravagantly wasteful Interagency Bison Management Plan?"
Senator Tester's answer clearly danced to a tune he didn't know well. We got the same awkward dance from retired Billings Gazette agricultural reporter Jim Gransbery, who appeared on the show with Senator Tester.
[more]
Draft EA Due in April
Fish, Wildlife & Parks Offers Scoping Period on Bison HuntIn an effort to flush out “any other broad issues” related to the experimental bison hunt in Montana, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) is offering a public scoping period on the hunt before a draft revised Environmental Assessment (EA) is released some time in April. The two-week scoping period ends on March 7, 2008.
The already complicated issue of bison hunting is set to become even more so as Idaho’s Nez Perce seek a larger harvest of bison under treaty rights allowing the Nez Perce to hunt in “open and unclaimed land” around Yellowstone National Park. The Nez Perce claim they are able to harvest 70 to 110 bison, but MFWP contends they are limited to 41.
The Nez Perce assertion comes as the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) and the Yellowstone National Park Service continue to capture and slaughter bison to prevent the spread of the disease brucellosis from bison to cattle, though there is no evidence of this ever occurring. The agencies have captured 661 bison so far this winter. The DOL contends the loss of Montana’s brucellosis-free status would cause significant economic harm to ranchers, who would then have to test cattle before sending them out of state to slaughter.
[more]
FireSafe Montana Conference
Rural Growth, Climate and the Wildland-Urban Interface
The wildfire issue is a pressing one in the New West. Fire seasons are getting longer and drier by the year, fires are more severe, and, to top it off, the modern western migration is bringing an unprecedented influx of homes into the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
As wildland fire suppression operations increasingly consume dwindling Forest Service budgets and taxpayers grow ever wearier of footing the pricey bill of defending homes in the WUI, the onus for preparation and protection is increasingly falling on homeowners and local communities.
In 2006, interested parties from the public and private sector gathered in Helena at the Montana Communities and Wildfire Conference to begin a new discussion on the WUI and the West’s changing fire seasons. According to organizers, participants expressed overwhelming support for the formation of a non-governmental non-profit to perform public education, outreach and on-the-ground assistance in wildfire mitigation in the WUI. The result is FireSafe Montana, which held its first annual conference in Bozeman this week.
[more]
