From The New West Blog

That federal study of grizzly bear DNA in Montana criticized by Republican presidential candidate John McCain as pork barrel spending has been released, and it concludes that there are 765 bears in northwestern Montana, the largest population of grizzly bears documented there in more than 30 years, and a sign that the species could be at long last rebounding, the AP reports. [more]

HUNTERS SHOULD DO MORE OF IT

Editor's Note: This is a rerun of a column I posted two years ago, slightly expanded with new research, and it seems, still quite timely.

Big game hunters, it's your time to rule the forests. Archery seasons are underway, and general big game seasons will be soon throughout the New West. Thousands of hunters will be crawling around grizzly country in the predawn darkness, alone, as quietly as possible, into the wind, and smelling like stale elk pee. If they have a successful hunt, they'll fill the wind with the smell of high-quality grizzly food.

Is this a problem? [more]

Even in a region as rugged as Western Montana, where towering peaks are commonplace, the summits of Glacier Park are mind boggling. I first learned of this country as an impressionable child, seated around a fireplace, while my father regaled open-eyed company with a story from his short, but powerful history with the place I now call home.

If our lives are given meaning by those we love, then they too, are our impetus for inspiration. After 18 years of childhood surrounded by a vast sea of corn, I followed my father's influence and his stories, to Montana.

Maybe our lives, aspirations and dreams are merely an extension of our parents’ journey. So, if it was the will of a wild grizzly that my father continue living, in some ways, I too owe my existence to this creature. [more]

NEW REPORT BY RIVAL PROVIDES ALARMING DETAILS

It's hardly a news flash that the National Rifle Association (NRA) supports anti-conservation, if not anti-hunting, politicians. Even though I've written about it several times, I never realized how bad it was.

A just-released report by the NRA's nemesis, the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), deals out all the dreadful details, and it should be a major eye-opener for any hunter who still supports the NRA. [more]

Environment in the West

Idaho Conservation League director Rick Johnson said the group won’t lose its vigilance over Idaho watershed quality, but that working with Formation Capital to plan a mining operation has been better than being antagonists.

Formation Capital Corp. is a Canadian mining company planning a cobalt mining operation in the Upper Salmon River region. There is abundant cobalt in the area, and Formation Capital plans to mine about 1,500 tons a year using underground mining techniques.

The company and the ICL announced an agreement and “ongoing working relationship” Monday at a press conference in Boise. The deal-broker is Cecil Andrus, four-term governor of Idaho and former Secretary of the Interior. Andrus is both a director of Formation Capital and a founding member of the ICL. He told reporters that he’d studied the Idaho Cobalt Project and endorses the company’s commitment to a protection program which includes annual meetings with the ICL. “This is a historic occasion,” said Andrus. “It’s the first time I’ve seen a real working relationship with people who have no reason to be adversaries, but traditionally have been.” [more]

From The New West Blog

The Jackson Hole News & Guide has a piece today (the first in a two-part series) by Cory Hatch about chronic wasting disease research in Wyoming, and the threats and uncertainties that surround it.

"Since the mid-90s, when researchers first diagnosed CWD as endemic to the southeast corner of Wyoming, surveillance efforts have tracked the disease as it inched its way west across the state. [Researcher Terry] Kreeger and his colleagues agree, it’s only a matter of time before CWD finds its way to 23 winter feedgrounds in northwest Wyoming, including the National Elk Refuge." [more]

Rely on State plans, not federal protection

As the dust settles on a federal court’s reinstatement of Endangered Species protections for gray wolves, one thing is clear: we need to find a new path to achieve balanced, science-based wolf management by the states. At the moment we seem mired in endless conflict that is serving no one’s interests particularly well — not wolves, conservationists, state wildlife managers, landowners or anyone else with a concern for wolves.

So, where do we, as a region, go from here? [more]

the great outdoors

Let's look at animal trends in the Great Nearby for the summer of '08, including attacks, newly observed behaviors, and the menace of new species invading our turf and surf.

To begin, I recommend reading the overview of wildlife dangers provided by the Salt Lake Tribune, a handy guide to animal attacks for anyone in the West. It covers mauling critters from bears to skunks. One valuable tip: "If a bison looks like it might attack you, try to put something between you and the animal. Try to get to a place where you can avoid the head." Gee, who would have thought of trying to hide behind something when faced with an enraged buffalo? [more]

NEED A GOOD LAUGH THAT ISN'T FUNNY?

It has been depressing lately, don't you think? At the ORG (Old Retired Guys) table at the coffee shop morning after morning, it has been nothing but despair -- the war, the economy, the cost of gas, the steadily shrinking IRAs, the smoke, the aches and pains and health care crisis that makes them worse, and our political leaders unable to do anything about these and most other issues that really matter, at least to the ORGs. Nowadays, it's so hard to lighten up and wear a smiley face.

But alas, thanks to the Montana Stockgrowers Association and Montana Farm Bureau I had a great laugh this week when I read about their proposal to capture, test, vaccinate and release all the elk from coming out of Yellowstone National Park.

Are they serious? Or just trying to brighten our day? [more]

Diary of a Mad Voter: Joan McCarter

The east entrance to Yellowstone National Park is about 53 miles west of Cody, Wyoming, on a road running through the steep-sided Sylvan Pass, an avalanche waiting to happen most winters, given that there are 20 or so avalanche chutes in the pass. The National Park service has been having an ongoing dispute for years with Cody recreational business owners over keeping that pass open during high avalanche season, December through February.

Last November, the Park Service had been set to issue a final decision, based on a variety of impact studies including environmental and occupational safety and risk management, to keep the pass closed three months out of the year. Then an all too familiar thing happened. [more]