Wildlife
A lens on the seasons on Lonetree Ranch
Hello from Southwest Wyoming! I would say it is my favorite time of year, but I think I say that at the change of each season. This past year we…
Read More...Working Wild Challenge connects ranchers remotely
Human society may be slowing down at the moment, but in the working wild where people, wildlife and livestock share a common landscape, life is in full swing. The Working Wild Challenge kicked off its practitioners call this week, bringing ranchers together from communities across the West. The call, which will continue on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 7am MT, is a place where ranchers can share their experiences trying to ranch alongside grizzly bears, wolves and elk.
Read More...My role on Montana’s Grizzly Bear Advisory Council
The 18-member Grizzly Bear Conservation and Management Advisory Council of Montana citizens has a big job between now and its August 2020 deadline. With four the eight scheduled council meetings have now taken place, this a good time to share my impressions of the work so far, and the important tasks that lie before us.
Read More...Birds Got no Beef with Burger
Opening the pickup door and stepping out onto native grass, the sun begins to rise amidst the sound of the dawn chorus. I listen to the melodic tinkling of a Baird’s sparrow (my favorite song, and also set as my morning phone alarm); the downward whirl of the Sprague’s pipit (my ring tone); the buzz of the Brewer’s sparrows, the joyful couplets of the McCown’s longspur. The chestnut-collared longspurs are chasing each other in play, or fight.
Read More...Waterton Biosphere Reserve’s Carnivores and Communities Program
The Waterton Biosphere Reserve’s (WBR’s) Carnivores and Communities program operates in four municipalities, two of which are within the boundaries of the Waterton Biosphere Reserve in Canada. The program focuses on proactive management to decrease conflict between people and carnivores, especially bears and wolves, within the agricultural community of Southwestern Alberta. It is well funded and effective, and it is a major WBR program.
Read More...An Old Tool Protecting New Calves
A tool originally developed for hunting wolves is a non-lethal option for protecting livestock from them, through a public-private partnership in big sky country.
Read More...Seeking Solutions for Grizzlies in the Gravelly Mountains
Livestock producers in the Northern Rockies face the growing challenge of increasing numbers of grizzly bears. That challenge has come to a critical point in the Gravelly Mountains in southwest Montana, where the population of grizzlies has expanded in recent years onto public lands grazing allotments on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The number of livestock lost to grizzly predation on these rangelands consequently increased dramatically over the last several years.
Read More...Western Digest – November 2019
Monthly digest of news and opportunities on working lands, water and wildlife.
Read More...Western Digest – October 2019
News and opportunities on working lands, water and wildlife Working Lands Economics Ecosystem Market Credits: Potential purchases of U.S. ecosystem credits from agriculture could be as high as $13.9 billion…
Read More...Western Digest – September 2019
News and opportunities on working lands, water and wildlife Working Lands Economics Succession Planning: With farms and ranches being swallowed by cities, succession plans are key. This article features WLA’s…
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