Logging in National Parks Has Arrived: We Didn’t Get Here Overnight Logging is now happening in our national parks. You heard that right! Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Bryce, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, just to name a few. From the folks at Our Public Lands Podcast with Jennifer Mamola and John Muir Project Jul 29, 2025 Captured in Yosemite National Park on May 13, 2022. © Jennifer Mamola Our land management agencies are now being caught in the act, greenlighting logging projects in our national parks, national monuments, and wilderness areas.

Logging in National Parks Has Arrived: We Didn’t Get Here Overnight

Logging is now happening in our national parks. You heard that right! Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Bryce, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, just to name a few. From the folks at Our Public Lands Podcast with Jennifer Mamola and John Muir Project…

Trump’s Tax Cuts for Billionaires and Medicaid Cuts are only a Part of the Damage the New Law Will Inflict National outlets focused on tax cuts for the super rich funded by taking from assistance programs for the poor. In terms of public lands, the only thing that got any coverage was cutting the budget of the National Park Service. Will Pattiz & Jim Pattiz at More Than Just Parks did a deep review of the new law. While they say it is a comprehensive review of anything that impacts our public lands, I think livestock related issues were not caught.

Trump’s Tax Cuts for Billionaires and Medicaid Cuts are only a Part of the Damage the New Law Will Inflict

National outlets focused on tax cuts for the super rich funded by taking from assistance programs for the poor. In terms of public lands, the only thing that got any coverage was cutting the…

Collaboration A Conversation with George Wuerthner George Wuerthner talks with Derrick Jensen about the use of "collaboration" in the management of our public lands. You can listen to the conversation here. Or on Youtube here. Or read the transcript here.

Collaboration

A Conversation with George Wuerthner George Wuerthner talks with Derrick Jensen about the use of "collaboration" in the management of our public lands. You can listen to the conversation here. Or on Youtube here. Or read the transcript here.

Wasting Away Wyoming’s famous elk herd and the attempt to catch death before it strikes. KHOL, in Jackson, Wyoming, did a good long piece examining the issue of how our treating our wildlife like livestock has led to the inflection point of a crisis. The crisis is the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) caused by the concentration of elk on massive feedlots every winter.

Wasting Away

Wyoming’s famous elk herd and the attempt to catch death before it strikes. KHOL, in Jackson, Wyoming, did a good long piece examining the issue of how our treating our wildlife like livestock has led to the inflection point of a crisis. The crisis is the spread of Chronic Wasting…

Inside Utah’s PR Campaign to Seize Public Lands Utah used actors, AI, stagecraft and NDAs as it sought to sway public opinion and take control of 18.5 million acres of federal public land In light of the immediate and severe threats to our public lands from the current bill in congress to sell off some 3.2 million acres of our shared heritage, this article below, published today by…

Inside Utah’s PR Campaign to Seize Public Lands

Utah used actors, AI, stagecraft and NDAs as it sought to sway public opinion and take control of 18.5 million acres of federal public land In light of the immediate and severe threats to our public lands from the current bill in congress to sell off…

Ecosystem Recovery, if we just let it happen Continuing the theme George started yesterday, lets take a look at a few other examples. In case you didn't watch the excellent film documenting the recovery of Hart Mountain, click here or below. For those interested in more information on the recovery of Hart Mountain, we have some further resources on the Sage Steppe Wild site. Another stunning example of the natural recovery that takes place when you take the hooved maggots off of our public lands, is Elk Meadow in the Sawtooth Valley of central Idaho.

Ecosystem Recovery, if we just let it happen

Continuing the theme George started yesterday, lets take a look at a few other examples. In case you didn't watch the excellent film documenting the recovery of Hart Mountain, click here or below. For those interested in more information on the recovery…

Turmoil, resignations and ‘psychological warfare’: how Trump is crippling US national parks From The Guardian, a view into what is going on in one of the land management agencies and we are only 4 months in. Access the full article here.

Turmoil, resignations and ‘psychological warfare’: how Trump is crippling US national parks

From The Guardian, a view into what is going on in one of the land management agencies and we are only 4 months in. Access the full article here.

Golden era of northwest Wyoming elk hunting slides toward expected but undesirable end Cow hunting could soon cease in six Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem herds, experts predict. Meanwhile, nearly half of hunter-killed bulls could be headed for the dumpster if disease rates reach projected levels. From the good folks at WyoFile, we bring you their latest article on the wildlife disaster being caused by the State of Wyoming's absolutely idiotic and immoral artificial feeding of tens of thousands of elk in western Wyoming.

Golden era of northwest Wyoming elk hunting slides toward expected but undesirable end

Cow hunting could soon cease in six Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem herds, experts predict. Meanwhile, nearly half of hunter-killed bulls could be headed for the dumpster if disease rates reach projected levels.…

Cow Pie Pal: Put Bad Grazing on the Map From Western Watersheds Project A new app to document the destruction—and fight back. Out West, it’s easy to miss the most destructive industry on public lands. Across vast tracts of public land, there are no drilling rigs, no clearcuts, no mines gouging the earth. Just cows. Quietly grazing—or more accurately, degrading—millions of acres of land that belong to all of us.

Cow Pie Pal: Put Bad Grazing on the Map

From Western Watersheds Project A new app to document the destruction—and fight back. Out West, it’s easy to miss the most destructive industry on public lands. Across vast tracts of public land, there are no drilling rigs, no clearcuts, no mines gouging the…

Join the Healthy Public Lands Conference: May 28-30th Public lands belong to all of us, and protecting them requires collaboration, strategy, and action. That’s why we want to share an important event happening May 28-30, 2025 The Healthy Public Lands Conference is a gathering of advocates, experts, and community members working to address the challenges facing our public lands. From overgrazing and habitat destruction to water scarcity and policy reform, this event brings people together to find solutions.

Join the Healthy Public Lands Conference: May 28-30th

Public lands belong to all of us, and protecting them requires collaboration, strategy, and action. That’s why we want to share an important event happening May 28-30, 2025 The Healthy Public Lands Conference is a gathering of advocates,…

Leaked federal roadmap for public land called ‘industry wish list’ From the good folks at WyoFile by Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Karen Budd-Falen. (Tennessee Watson/DOI/Budd-Falen Law Offices) As the Department of the Interior develops a plan to “restore American prosperity” by exploiting Western natural resources, a Wyoming attorney who has steeled rural communities against federal policies is atop the hierarchy that will marshal the effort.

Leaked federal roadmap for public land called ‘industry wish list’

From the good folks at WyoFile by Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Karen Budd-Falen. (Tennessee Watson/DOI/Budd-Falen Law Offices) As the Department of the Interior develops a plan to “restore…

Nature Conservancy Models Used to Maul Public Lands, Wildlife and Watersheds In a recent article on the plight of the Pinyon Jay, I mentioned a major new 550,000 acre Cedar City BLM Pinyon-Juniper deforestation proposal, the Indian Peak Watershed Restoration Plan, on the Utah-Nevada border. BLM’s scoping letter described: "To better understand current ecological conditions, forecast future trends, and develop conservation strategies, BLM partnered with the Nature Conservancy to conduct a landscape-scale ecological assessment in the Hamlin, Indian Peak, and Mountain Home areas.

Nature Conservancy Models Used to Maul Public Lands, Wildlife and Watersheds

In a recent article on the plight of the Pinyon Jay, I mentioned a major new 550,000 acre Cedar City BLM Pinyon-Juniper deforestation proposal, the Indian Peak Watershed Restoration Plan, on the Utah-Nevada border. BLM’s…

A Newly Surfaced Document Reveals the Beef Industry’s Secret Climate Plan What the beef industry knew about its environmental impact — and how it spent decades blocking climate action. Immediately following yesterday's article on the BS Myth that 'grass-fed' beef is better, Vox published an article about the livestock industry's four-decade-long effort to hide the massive impacts of livestock production. You can read the entire article here. The industry's "strategic plan" can be downloaded…

A Newly Surfaced Document Reveals the Beef Industry’s Secret Climate Plan

What the beef industry knew about its environmental impact — and how it spent decades blocking climate action. Immediately following yesterday's article on the BS Myth that 'grass-fed' beef is better, Vox published an…

The “Energy Transition” Delusion From our friends at Population Balance, comes their latest podcast with historian and author Jean-Baptiste Fressor. To get all the ways to listen, click here. There is no energy transition - only ongoing and symbiotic energy addition. Historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, author of More and More and More: An All-Consuming History of Energy, joins us. Highlights include: How the symbiotic relationships between wood, coal, and oil have led to increased use of all of them;

The “Energy Transition” Delusion

From our friends at Population Balance, comes their latest podcast with historian and author Jean-Baptiste Fressor. To get all the ways to listen, click here. There is no energy transition - only ongoing and symbiotic energy addition. Historian Jean-Baptiste…

The F*ck Our Forests Act Here is a podcast by Adam Bronstein interviewing Jennifer Mamola with the John Muir Project. Jenn discusses insights and frustrations with current wildfire policy in Washington, D.C. She stresses the importance of shifting focus from backcountry forest management to home hardening and defensible spaces around communities. Criticizing ineffective policies like the Fix Our Forests Act, she highlights the ecological necessity of allowing fire-adapted ecosystems to regenerate naturally.

The F*ck Our Forests Act

Here is a podcast by Adam Bronstein interviewing Jennifer Mamola with the John Muir Project. Jenn discusses insights and frustrations with current wildfire policy in Washington, D.C. She stresses the importance of shifting focus from backcountry forest management to home…

Great News from the Dear Leader! On Sunday afternoon, the Dear Leader issued a wonderful Executive Order titled Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production. The EO : Bemoans that “onerous Federal policies have forced our Nation to rely upon imported lumber.” Within 30 days requires BLM and the USFS to “issue new or updated guidance regarding tools to facilitate increased timber production and sound forest management, reduce time to deliver timber, and decrease timber supply uncertainty,” and to “any legislative proposals that would expand authorities to improve timber production and sound forest management.”

Great News from the Dear Leader!

On Sunday afternoon, the Dear Leader issued a wonderful Executive Order titled Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production. The EO : Bemoans that “onerous Federal policies have forced our Nation to rely upon imported lumber.” Within 30 days requires BLM and…

Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Film Now Available If you missed yesterday's showing of Desert Trout about Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, it's now available to watch at any time on the Desert Trout page. You can view the film directly on YouTube here. Be sure to take it full screen.

Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Film Now Available

If you missed yesterday's showing of Desert Trout about Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, it's now available to watch at any time on the Desert Trout page. You can view the film directly on YouTube here. Be sure to take it full screen.

Alliance for the Wild Rockies Sues the Forest Service Over ~1 Million Acres of ‘Treatments’ Editor's Note: As I have said before, it's the small to tiny organizations who do most of the work. Here, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, working on a shoestring budget with basically a single full-time person, is taking on the Goliath of the Forest Service. Again, my suggestion from having worked in the trenches of conservation for the last quarter of a century, if you help fund conservation organizations in the US, examine them for a few basic criteria:

Alliance for the Wild Rockies Sues the Forest Service Over ~1 Million Acres of ‘Treatments’

Editor's Note: As I have said before, it's the small to tiny organizations who do most of the work. Here, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, working on a shoestring budget with basically a single full-time…

Cash Cows – Now Available Again Thanks to the work of Karen Klitz, we have been able to obtain a reprint of Cash Cows - Taxes Support a Wild West holdover that enriches ranchers and degrades the land. This expose was one of the only deep dives into the corruption surrounding public lands livestock grazing and the degradation it creates, and unfortunately, is as relevant today as it was when it was published more than a quarter of a century ago.

Cash Cows – Now Available Again

Thanks to the work of Karen Klitz, we have been able to obtain a reprint of Cash Cows - Taxes Support a Wild West holdover that enriches ranchers and degrades the land. This expose was one of the only deep dives into the corruption surrounding public lands livestock…

Screening of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Film Over the last 18 months, I have started working on Lahontan Cutthroat Trout issues in Nevada. It's been an eye-opener as to the ineffectiveness of the ESA to protect listed species. The Lahontan Cutthroat was listed under the ESA more than half a century ago, yet most of its remnant habitat has been and continues to be destroyed by livestock. …

Screening of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Film

Over the last 18 months, I have started working on Lahontan Cutthroat Trout issues in Nevada. It's been an eye-opener as to the ineffectiveness of the ESA to protect listed species. The Lahontan Cutthroat was listed under the ESA more than half a century…

Join the Healthy Public Lands Conference: May 28-30th Public lands belong to all of us, and protecting them requires collaboration, strategy, and action. That’s why we want to share an important event happening May 28-30, 2025 The Healthy Public Lands Conference is a gathering of advocates, experts, and community members working to address the challenges facing our public lands. From overgrazing and habitat destruction to water scarcity and policy reform, this event brings people together to find solutions.

Join the Healthy Public Lands Conference: May 28-30th

Public lands belong to all of us, and protecting them requires collaboration, strategy, and action. That’s why we want to share an important event happening May 28-30, 2025 The Healthy Public Lands Conference is a gathering of advocates,…

The Green Roots Podcast: Is The Nature Conservancy an Environmental Group? An Interview with Jonathan Ratner, Director of Sage Steppe Wild On episode 76 of the Green Root Podcast—the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance—host Josh Schlossberg gets litigious with Jonathan Ratner, Director of Sage Steppe Wild, as they challenge The Nature Conservancy’s schemes to log and graze public lands and whether the billion-dollar entity should still be considered an environmental group.

The Green Roots Podcast: Is The Nature Conservancy an Environmental Group?

An Interview with Jonathan Ratner, Director of Sage Steppe Wild On episode 76 of the Green Root Podcast—the official podcast of Eco-Integrity Alliance—host Josh Schlossberg gets litigious with Jonathan Ratner, Director of…

TNC Exposed as Major Logging Promoter A few weeks back, I ran across a press release from The Nature Conservancy about partnering with the Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming for "forest restoration", the current euphemism for logging. I sent a FOIA to the Bridger Teton to see what was going on and got back two national-level MOU's agreeing to help each other out with logging our National Forests.

TNC Exposed as Major Logging Promoter

A few weeks back, I ran across a press release from The Nature Conservancy about partnering with the Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming for "forest restoration", the current euphemism for logging. I sent a FOIA to the Bridger Teton to see what was going…

MAGA Controlled Wyoming Legislature Proposes Open Season on Mountain Lions and Grizzly Bears The Wyoming MAGA contingent that now controls the full legislature introduced House Bill 0286, a proposed bill that would strip critical protections for cougars in Wyoming. HB 0286 proposes the following changes: ● Elimination of hunting zones and geographic boundaries for cougars.● Removal of statewide and local mortality limits, allowing unrestricted killing of cougars at any time, by any means.

MAGA Controlled Wyoming Legislature Proposes Open Season on Mountain Lions and Grizzly Bears

The Wyoming MAGA contingent that now controls the full legislature introduced House Bill 0286, a proposed bill that would strip critical protections for cougars in Wyoming. HB 0286 proposes the following…

Saving The Planet With A Fork Cow beat lands in Trout Creek Mountains, BLM, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner All indications are that Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are causing higher global temperatures and climate change. Records show that 2024 was the warmest year on record. Climate change is increasing natural hazards, from hurricanes to wildfires. The Arctic permafrost is melting, emitting methane, a Greenhouse Gas (GHG} that is even more effective at trapping heat than CO2.

Saving The Planet With A Fork

Cow beat lands in Trout Creek Mountains, BLM, Oregon. Photo George Wuerthner All indications are that Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are causing higher global temperatures and climate change. Records show that 2024 was the warmest year on record. Climate change is…

Sage Steppe Wild Stops the Nature Conservancy from Bulldozing the Bear’s Ears National Monument One of the reservoir sites proposed for bulldozing At the behest of the oddly named Nature Conservancy, the BLM approved a massive construction project to create more than 7 miles of new roads and 13 new reservoirs within the Indian Creek allotment on the Bear's Ears National Monument. The BLM claimed that bulldozing the Monument protected the Monument, including all the objects, including the landscape itself, that they are mandated to protect and restore under the Presidential Proclamation.

Sage Steppe Wild Stops the Nature Conservancy from Bulldozing the Bear’s Ears National Monument

One of the reservoir sites proposed for bulldozing At the behest of the oddly named Nature Conservancy, the BLM approved a massive construction project to create more than 7 miles of new roads and 13…

Why the Alliance for the Wild Rockies Is Taking Yellowstone National Park to Court over Its Scientifically-Deficient Bison Management Plan NPS Tens of millions of wild bison once roamed across western North America. Today, wild bison occupy less than one percent of their former range. Yet in spite of this, the National Park Service's new bison management plan does nothing to expand the range of the 5,000 wild bison that live almost exclusively in Yellowstone National Park. Instead, the Park's…

Why the Alliance for the Wild Rockies Is Taking Yellowstone National Park to Court over Its Scientifically-Deficient Bison Management Plan

NPS Tens of millions of wild bison once roamed across western North America. Today, wild bison occupy less than one percent of their former range. Yet in spite…

The Fix Our Forests Act – A Trojan Horse For Logging Congress is considering Fix Our Forests legislation. The legislation is a Trojan Horse that seeks to increase fuel reductions on public lands through logging and prescribed burns. However, large wildfires are ultimately not controlled by fuels. A Forest Service "fuel reduction" logging project outside of Helena, Montana. Photo by George Wuerthner Fires need fuel to ignite, but they only spread when the climate/weather is conducive to ignition and the spread of flames.

The Fix Our Forests Act – A Trojan Horse For Logging

Congress is considering Fix Our Forests legislation. The legislation is a Trojan Horse that seeks to increase fuel reductions on public lands through logging and prescribed burns. However, large wildfires are ultimately not controlled by fuels.…

The Livestock Industry Fights to Keep Killing Wildlife by Running Them Over Legal! You probably remember this photo from last year when Cody Roberts brought a wolf he had run over with his snowmobile into the bar in Daniel, WY. Wyoming Game and Fish released this video evidence collected during the investigation into Cody Roberts, a Wyoming man who was fined $250 for possessing a live wolf. Game and Fish released this image as part of a public records request made by WyoFile.

The Livestock Industry Fights to Keep Killing Wildlife by Running Them Over Legal!

You probably remember this photo from last year when Cody Roberts brought a wolf he had run over with his snowmobile into the bar in Daniel, WY. Wyoming Game and Fish released this video evidence collected during…

Bighorn Sheep vs. Domestic Sheep As many of you know, domestic sheep are the primary impediment to bighorn sheep recovery because the domestic sheep transmit disease to the bighorn sheep. PBS did a decent video on the issue: What the video fails to mention is that livestock permits on our public lands are a privilege, not a right, and can be canceled at any time.

Bighorn Sheep vs. Domestic Sheep

As many of you know, domestic sheep are the primary impediment to bighorn sheep recovery because the domestic sheep transmit disease to the bighorn sheep. PBS did a decent video on the issue: What the video fails to mention is that livestock permits on our public…