Western Watersheds Project

It may be hard to stop Trump from privatizing our public lands Americans came together to do it this summer. But greed only has to win once.

Americans came together to do it this summer. But greed only has to win once.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

What good is a “research exclosure” if the cows are let inside? When the “control” is compromised, the science collapses — and the public is left funding a grazing experiment built on broken promises.

If livestock are inside, it is not by plan but by neglect, or worse, by willful disregard. And if the controls are compromised, the entire Three Creeks experiment loses its credibility, no matter how many millions are spent to prop it up.

Idahoans come to Carbondale with stories of successful wolf coexistence Three Idahoans with deep histories in ranching, wolf restoration, and predator control came to Carbondale last week to discuss the ways that coexisting with wolves could be possible in the Roaring For...

Gee, managing your cattle instead of leaving them unattended yields better result for wildlife and bigger profits. Who knew?

www.aspentimes.com/news/idahoan...

Wyoming tries again to delist remote Wind River Range stream for fecal contamination - WyoFile An E. coli bacterial impairment in Lander Creek, which passes through livestock lobbyist Jim Magagna’s grazing allotment and ranch, would swing back toward compliance with the Clean Water Act under a ...

“They will do anything to avoid admitting that there is tons of cow s***t in our water,” Ratner said. “I’ve collected E. coli data across multiple states over multiple decades, and basically there is no place where cows have access to a waterbody and it does not violate Clean Water Act standards.”

Trump is handing out public land and millions of dollars to revive big coal, sending advocates reeling | CNN While the Trump administration wages war against clean energy, it is now vowing to lease millions of acres of public lands at a discount and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to prop up the most p...

The new policies announced Monday include giving $625 million to utilities to extend the life of aging, coal-fired power plants. Such facilities would likely otherwise close because of the availability of cheaper energy sources.

www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/c...

Government shuts down Many energy and environmental programs will come to a halt. Flood insurance will lapse. Parks will remain open.

Government funding lapsed early this morning after the Senate rejected Democratic and Republican stopgap bills, casting agency programs, government workers and Congress itself into an uncertain future.

www.eenews.net/articles/gov...

Yellowstone ecosystem grizzlies dying at record pace in 2025 - WyoFile Biologists list 63 bears confirmed dead in 2025, up from 56 at this time in 2024, which was a record year.

Federal wildlife biologists list 63 Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly bear deaths this year, a count that’s ahead of last year’s pace, when the highest number of mortalities on record was documented.

wyofile.com/yellowstone-...

Feds set auction date for first major Wyoming coal lease in a decade - WyoFile The 441-million-ton coal lease that lingered for years for lack of industry interest is now on the selling block.

The 441-million-ton coal lease that lingered for years for lack of industry interest is now on the selling block.

wyofile.com/feds-set-auc...

Senate panel sets hearing on wildfire, public land bills Proposals from both parties are among the dozens of bills up for consideration.

This week: The hearing of the Public Lands, Forests and Mining Subcommittee will consider more than two dozen public lands, wildfire and mining proposals.

www.eenews.net/articles/sen...

Enviros: Most public comments oppose Trump rollback of 'Roadless Rule' in wilderness Public comments on the Trump administration's drive to repeal a Clinton-era rule which protects more than 58 million acres of federal forest and wildlands from road construction and timber harvesting ...

On Tuesday, Earthjustice and the Center for Western Priorities said nearly all the 625,737 public comments submitted from Aug. 29 through Sept. 19 were against the Trump administration's plan — including nearly 500,000 signing petitions driven by environmental organizations.

Using Wolves as Scapegoats Fails Again in Colorado Anti-wolf organizers couldn’t muster the signatures to overturn voter-approved wolf reintroduction, for good reason.

Anti-wolf organizers couldn’t muster the signatures to overturn voter-approved wolf reintroduction, for good reason.

What Will Happen to the Glen Canyon Dam? The Glen Canyon Dam needs a massive overhaul if it’s going to keep delivering hydroelectric power—or, for that matter, water to the lower Colorado River.

There's not enough water for both Mead and Powell. It's time to remove the Glen Canyon Dam.

saltlakemagazine.com/glen-canyon-...

Should federal officials be allowing ranchers permits to kill ESA-listed wolves? Federal wildlife officials are giving ranchers licenses to kill one of the most endangered mammals in North America.

Even though Sanders’ Harriet Ranch has apparently not allowed the government to help with conflict avoidance since January, FWS gave them a permit to go ahead and kill any wolf anyway. Not necessarily the accused wolf. Not even necessarily from the same pack of wolves. Just any wolf who happened by.

Prairie Dog Massacres on Colorado’s Public Lands Exposed in New Report A new report reveals how commercialized prairie dog shooters on Colorado’s public lands are driving keystone species toward collapse, poisoning ecosystems, and exposing a failure of state oversight.

A new case study released this month by Grasslands Colorado exposes a crisis hiding in plain sight: the mass recreational killing of prairie dogs on federally managed lands like the Comanche National Grassland.

westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/prairie-do...

Members of Congress are trying to bypass science and silence the courts with legislation that would force grizzly delisting—even after courts struck it down—and block any future judicial review. Tell your lawmakers: Vote NO on any delisting effort!l. www.bearsbelong.com/send-a-message

Feds provide peek at National Elk Refuge plan: Keep feeding bison, cut off elk at 7% CWD - WyoFile New analysis reflects discussions with pro-feeding Wyoming, and the particulars will likely resemble the proposal expected soon from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

The National Elk Refuge’s proposal to keep feeding elk until chronic wasting disease hits 7% is a recipe for disaster — it’s time to end feedgrounds for good.

Alliance for Wild Rockies Court Victory Protects Grizzly Bears From Expanded Cattle Grazing in the Paradise Valley Sitting between two towering mountain ranges, Montana's Paradise Valley is aptly named. Cradling the mighty Yellowstone River that flows from Yellowstone

This win is a long time coming!

The Roading of the Last Wild Places - Truthdig Trump’s latest upending of conservation policy will be a disaster for wild landscapes and the creatures who live in them.

"The Trump administration is plotting to undo a quarter-century of policy for the protection of national forests against new road building. This is a terrible turn for our public lands and needs to be stopped."

www.truthdig.com/articles/the...

Supreme Court shouldn’t take up Wyoming corner-crossing appeal, hunters say - WyoFile Elk Mountain Ranch owner’s petition for review of his failed trespassing suit is “procedurally deficient and doctrinally unfounded,” attorneys in public-access case contend.

Elk Mountain Ranch owner’s petition for review of his failed trespassing suit is ‘procedurally deficient and doctrinally unfounded,’ attorneys in public-access case contend.

THIS JUST IN! A federal judge struck down the Forest Service’s plan to expand cattle grazing in Yellowstone grizzly habitat, ruling it violated the law. Livestock conflict remains a leading cause of death for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

westernwatersheds.org/2025/09/cour...

Federal Judge Rebukes Trump Administration for Firing Essential Federal Employees - Western Watersheds Project Press Release | September 15, 2025 In a sharply worded decision issued late Friday, a federal district judge ruled that the Trump administration broke the law by firing federal workers employed in vit...

BREAKING: a federal district judge ruled that the Trump administration broke the law by firing federal workers employed in vital roles protecting public safety and supporting the U.S. economy.

State grant launches Point Reyes restoration design, free-range future for native tule elk - Local News Matters WITH A NEW $2.7 MILLION STATE GRANT, environmental groups will soon begin charting the course for the ecological restoration of Point Reyes National

A new grant will begin charting the course for the ecological restoration of Point Reyes National Seashore and the eventual free range of native tule elk.

Feds fast-track coal mining expansion in southwest Wyoming - WyoFile The Black Butte mine now has access to an additional 9.2 million tons of federal coal — enough to keep the mine in production through 2039.

“The government is not doing their due diligence to actually examine the impact this might have on public lands. They don’t know what the impact is, really. If this way of doing things becomes normalized, then you can basically justify doing anything on public lands.”

wyofile.com/feds-fast-tr...

Game and Fish Commission reverses plan to trim Wyoming’s first pronghorn migration corridor - WyoFile After wildlife advocates and retired biologists came out in force, the commission unanimously rejected an agency recommendation to remove Red Desert and Farson region from protected corridor.

Despite industry and ranching opposition, the commission sided with science and public sentiment.
wyofile.com/game-and-fis...

Why Wolves Sometimes Play Around Like Giant Puppies Wolves in the wild can’t afford to waste time and energy. Even when they seem to romp and play — almost like giant puppies — there’s serious purpose…

Wolves in the wild can’t afford to waste time and energy. Even when they seem to romp and play — almost like giant puppies — there’s serious purpose behind it, wildlife biologists say.

cowboystatedaily.com/2025/09/06/w...

Mule deer could lose half their northeast Wyoming habitat to cheatgrass without help - WyoFile New study shows deer avoid cheatgrass-covered areas, but authors also provide hope.

The new study rightly warns that cheatgrass could wipe out half of northeast Wyoming’s mule deer habitat, but it leaves out the biggest driver of this invasion: livestock grazing.

wyofile.com/mule-deer-co...

Compassion, coexistence with wolves stressed in animal-rights talk hosted by Colorado's first gentleman Marlon Reis said he created the event out of frustration over stories in the media that "perpetuate negative stereotypes that are dangerous and destructive”

Ranchers getting some long-overdue accountability in Colorado.

Congress Just Voted To Break Public Lands Republicans flirt with chaos as they move forward with plan to destroy non-partisan, multi-decade plans for land management

Having failed to sell off public lands outright, Republican lawmakers may use this chaos to push privatization instead.

wessiler.substack.com/p/congress-j...

Wyoming appeases stockgrowers, trims Red Desert and southwestern Winds from ‘Path of the Pronghorn’ - WyoFile Wyoming Game and Fish retirees and conservation groups say the state agency's planned shrinkage of a protected corridor runs counter to science-based wildlife management.

Wyoming is selling out pronghorn to the livestock industry. By stripping 270,000 acres from the Path of the Pronghorn, the state is tossing science aside to appease ranching lobbyists. Wildlife corridors aren’t bargaining chips — they’re lifelines.

wyofile.com/wyoming-appe...

Montana Sentenced Half Its Wolves to Die Montana has turned back the clock to the era of extermination, approving the slaughter of half its wolves despite negligible livestock losses, taxpayer-funded reimbursements, and mounting evidence tha

They approved a quota of 458 wolves to be killed via trophy hunting and trapping during the 2025–2026 season — plus an additional 100 wolves authorized for “controlled removals” by govt agencies. That’s 558 wolves in total, nearly half the state’s entire population of about 1,100 animals.