Habitat
Conservation and Ranching
Sun Ranch Slates 11,000 Acres for Conservation Easement
Sun Ranch owner and Sun Ranch Institute Board Chairman Roger Lang is currently working with the Forest Service and the Trust for Public Land to add about 11,000 acres to an existing 6,800 acres of conservation easements on his Madison Valley property. Lang, a former Silicon Valley CEO, purchased the ranch ten years ago. Using an experimental “Sun Ranch Model,” Lang has strived to balance conservation and ranching on his wildlife-rich property, most famously amidst reintroduced gray wolves.
The publicly funded $4.5 million easement will include 10 three-acre building envelopes in the Papoose Creek area, but it will also erase over 200 platted subdivision lots from previous property owners over vast stretches of the property.
Wild bison advocates are embracing the easement cautiously; initial negotiations include talk of studying genetically pure bison on land within the easement. Bison advocates worry domestic bison would preclude chances for the traditional bison range to again carry wild bison populations, but Lang says the hope is to one day open the property to wild bison should the politically sensitive issue of brucellosis become resolved.
“If and when society says ‘let’s let bison roam again,’ then I want to be in a position to help,” Lang says. “I don’t want this easement to preclude Sun Ranch from participating in those kinds of issues.”
[more]
Old and Faithful Debate
Yellowstone Opens for Winter Season
The interior of Yellowstone National Park opens for the winter season today amid--surprise--much controversy surrounding the limits on snowmobiles allowed in the park per day. The Park Service's Final Rule implements a long-term winter use plan for Yellowstone, which will allow up to 720 commercially guided Best Available Technology (BAT) snowmobiles per day this season and 540 per day next season. The Wyoming attorney general office filed a petition for review of the winter-use plan soon after its release.
Wyoming officials say, even though the average number of snowmobiles in Yellowstone per day averaged 250 for the last three years, next season's cap of 540 is still too low. Environmentalists say the cap should be reduced even further. Yellowstone's wildlife denizens are largely silent on the issue.
In their petition, Wyoming officials decried requiring commercial guides for all snowmobile trips and also requested a "reasoned analysis" for changes made to management of avalanche-prone Sylvan Pass, which--thanks to helicopters and howitzers--will remain open to motorized oversnow travel this winter, presumably to the delight of Wyoming residents.
More on the most peaceful season to explore Yellowstone National Park after the jump.
[more]
Guest Commentary: On the Range
Idaho Wolf Plan Panders to Hunters and Ranchers
The Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) recently released its draft wolf management plan. Unfortunately, like all wolf plans so far produced in the Rockies, the proposal panders to the interests of livestock operators and hunters, ignoring the interests of the greater public as well as the long term benefits of restoring wolves throughout the state.
There are 1.4 million people who reside in the state. There are 1700 ranchers who graze on Idaho’s public lands with 10% (170) controlling 80% of public land allotments. Only 11% of Idahoans even buy a hunting license! (And I'm a non-resident who also buys one as well.) Nevertheless, why should a handful of ranchers and the minority of Idahoans who hunt, dictate whether wolves live or die? IDFG is supposed to represent all Idaho citizens and a majority support viable wolf populations in the state—not token numbers of wolves as the IDFG has put forward.
[more]
Bear Hair and Genetic Diversity
Montana State University Stores DNA for Yellowstone Grizzly Study
The Montana State University-based Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team is conducting a crucial study on the genetics and migration patterns of grizzlies in the Northern Rockies. The MSU team collected samples of grizzly hair in the Yellowstone Ecosystem and will soon send the samples to the British Colombia-based Wildlife Genetics International for evaluation.
According to Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team Director Chuck Schwartz, a major goal of the study is to "determine if bears from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem migrate to the Yellowstone."
The Department of Interior delisted grizzlies from the Endangered Species Act in March 2007. The controversial move came as Yellowstone's grizzlies face increasing pressures from dwindling habitat and critical food sources, particularly Whitebark Pine seeds, which are in decline across the Yellowstone Ecosystem. Researchers hope the new study will reveal important information about the genetic diversity and health of grizzlies across the Northern Rockies.
[more]
The Big Hole Valley Saga Continues...
Wisdom River Ranch and Grayling Habitat Under Easement
A critical 2,600-acres in the Big Hole Valley that contain two crucial tributaries for the imperiled river-dwelling Artic grayling, is now covered under a Nature Conservancy conservation easement.
The Wisdom River Ranch, a working cattle ranch, is one of 30 other ranches in the Big Hole Valley who are a part of a major effort to improve the fisheries in the remaining 4 percent of grayling habitat. But with continued water shortages, landowners, guide businesses, management, municipalities and ranchers have strained to make collective efforts to maintain the lifeblood of the valley.
In a two-part film series titled, Fish and Cow, (Part 1 and Part 2), the Wisdom River Ranch and owner Guy Peterson, as well as other valley ranchers, discuss the previously hostile debate over the valley’s decreasing water, their livelihood raising cattle and hay, and the biological efforts to restore and maintain habitat for the artic grayling and other fish species.
[more]
Interagency Bison Management Plan
State and Federal Agencies Predict Busy Winter for Bison Management
Bison are powerful American icons and stir deep emotions in many different people. The Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) meeting in Bozeman last Tuesday night was testament to this; dreadlocks and cowboy hats commingled as officials from federal and state agencies presented an update on the IBMP and answered an array of questions on what they predicted the coming winter would hold for Yellowstone’s bison.
In panel discussions and public discussion sessions with the IBMP’s five signatory agencies, officials had one overarching message: all agencies would be fully implementing the IBMP this winter, including – if necessary – the costly and controversial practices of hazing and slaughtering bison who wander out of the park.
Bison, elk and many other mammals carry the disease brucellosis, which showed up in a Montana cattle herd this summer. Though the Department of Livestock (DOL) says the transmission likely came from elk, if another cattle herd tests positive before May 2009 Montana will lose its brucellosis free status, and the DOL will not be taking any chances with bison.
[more]
habitat conservation
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Names David Allen CEODavid Allen wants to clear up a common misconception about the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
"We are not a hunting club. We don't intend to be a hunting club. We are a membership organization that has an overwhelming number of hunters…but we're not doing wildlife conservation to improve our hunting."
As the newly appointed CEO and President of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Allen (who hails from Billings) plans to return to the core mission of the Foundation -- conserving, restoring and enhancing elk and other wildlife habitats.
[more]
RUSH TO CONSERVE
Landowners Rush to Beat Tax Deadline on Conservation EasementsIf Congress does not reauthorize the Pension Protection Act of 2006, most of the tax benefits of putting conservation easements on land will disappear on Dec. 31.
The Casper Star Tribune reported this week that many of the groups that work with landowners to set up conservation easements in Wyoming said they're overwhelmed with deals pitched in an effort to beat that deadline. The Teton Regional Land Trust, which works with landowners in both Idaho and Wyoming, has more than three times the number of projects this year as it normally does, and another Wyoming land trust agent said the demand for conservation agreements has put appraiser in great demand, creating a bottleneck for those deals.
But tax benefits aren't the only reason conservation easements are sought for property.
In Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Salt Lake County used $8.7 million of its $48-million voter-approved open space funds to secure the Rose Canyon Ranch, a 1,700-acre parcel of land that lies on the valley's west side. County officials said the newly acquired lands, combined with Yellow Fork Park and land owned by the Bureau of Land Management, will provide area residents nearly 4,000 acres of land for recreation. The protected acres also provide habitat for a herd of 750 elk, wild turkeys and mountain lions.
[more]
Non-Profits of Gallatin Valley
American Wildlands: Leaving a Legacy Through Connections_thumb.jpg)
The Gallatin Valley is home to over 200 non-profits. These organizations do not hinge on metropolitan amenities, and are often created to preserve wild places and stimulate communities of the West. As part of our New West economy, NewWest.Net/Bozeman is highlighting Gallatin Valley organizations in a weekly series.
Founded upon the notion that a healthy and functioning environment requires interconnectivity between its natural landscapes, American Wildlands (AWL) has been advocating and promoting the conservation and protection of vital lands and wildlife throughout the Northern Rockies since 1977.
Placing a priority on areas outside of protected lands like National Parks and designated wilderness areas throughout Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, the organization is committed to protecting these ‘in-between’ places that are vital components to a healthy ecosystem.
The organization focuses much of its efforts on its Corridors of Life and Safe Passages Programs, with its most recent success being the initiation of a multi-year project on Bozeman Pass to decrease wildlife and vehicle collisions. The project was the response to the extremely high animal mortality rates on this stretch of highway, with nearly 1200 deaths in the past five years.
Tom Skeele, executive director, expands on AWL and their efforts.
[more]
Yellowstone Bison
Madison Valley Landowners Get Tough with Montana DOL
Rob and Janae’ Galanis recently bought 711 acres on the Horse Butte Peninsula of Hebgen Lake just west of Yellowstone National Park. The land is a historical migration corridor for bison, and the new property owners would like to keep it that way by managing the property as a wildlife preserve.
The Galanises, who own a part-time home on the opposite side of Hebgen Lake, are making a stand on Horse Butte Peninsula. They are adamantly opposed to the current bison management policy, and they openly state they will consider any incursion by state or federal agencies to manage bison on their property as trespassing.
On August 16, 2007 the Galanises sent a letter to the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) in which they stated, “The current policy of hazing is inhumane, senseless, a waste of taxpayer dollars, and an embarrassment to the state of Montana. We trust you will respect our private property rights.” The DOL recently responded with a letter maintaining their right to manage bison on private property.
Rob Galanis says he is not looking to pick a fight, but with winter on its way and neither side budging, such a confrontation could be inevitable.
[more]
