A few months ago, I found myself in a remote area of Alaska, watching pink and chum salmon splash through the shallows of an unnamed stream. The sounds of the salmon, the breeze coming off the ocean, the breakers on the beach, and the continuous calls of gulls made for an Alaskan symphony. A bush […]
Wildlife
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Don’t delist: Yellowstone grizzlies still need federal protection
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has indicated that it plans to remove the iconic Yellowstone grizzly bear from the protection of the Endangered Species Act early this year. The federal agency’s plan is irresponsible and premature because grizzlies are struggling to adjust to declining food sources, even as they face an uncertain future caused […]
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PZP: Where hope, science and mustangs meet
The longtime mustang advocate, TJ Holmes, and I head into southwestern Colorado’s Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, searching for mustangs. We do this regularly. TJ has documented these mustangs for eight years, working in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management. A big part of her work is administering PZP, the fertility-control vaccine (porcine […]
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The obscure music where wild animals sing from the heart
In a small corner of popular music, there are songs that have been written and sung in the haunting voices of animals, and the Canadian singer-songwriters Gordon Lightfoot and Ian Tyson have written what I think are the best of them. In Lightfoot’s “Whispers of the North,” a loon speaks: whispers of the northsoon I […]
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
Pet the nipping pup and hide your newcomer roots: tips from a failed campaign.
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
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Fishers recolonize Washington, part of a Northwest rewilding
The forest carnivore’s return was helped by human intervention.
Posted inDecember 7, 2015: Good Neighbors
Ending the murrelet malaise
After decades of declines, Washington state finally has a plan to preserve the bird’s habitat.
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Range riders track wolves in eastern Washington
Wolf-livestock conflicts have increased, and ranchers and environmentalists are gathering data to mitigate the clashes.
Posted inDecember 7, 2015: Good Neighbors
Latest: California’s plan for conservation-minded energy development takes its first step forward
The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan is intended to guide energy development, while protecting wildlife and recreation.
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Wyoming seeks compromise on wildlife migration corridors
Migration science has advanced, and the Game & Fish Commission is looking to reassess land use.
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Raptors are our fierce allies. Shame on those who harm them.
Note: the opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of High Country News, its board or staff. If you’d like to share an opinion piece of your own, please write Betsy Marston at betsym@hcn.org. Birds of prey soar over the human imagination like no other creatures […]
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Looking back on a century of poisoning predators
Note: the opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of High Country News, its board or staff. If you’d like to share an opinion piece of your own, please write Betsy Marston at betsym@hcn.org. We celebrate most anniversaries, but there are some we should just acknowledge by pausing […]
Posted inNovember 23, 2015: Water Hustle
Latest: Investigation proves wild horses were sent to slaughter
Management of the West’s wild horses have proved controversial for decades and spawned rumors of maltreatment.
Posted inNovember 23, 2015: Water Hustle
Latest: National Park Service intervenes in Alaska predator hunting
BACKSTORYIn Alaska, federal and state officials have long clashed over the management of wolves and bears in national parks and preserves. State law requires sustaining abundant caribou and moose populations for food security, a goal that often entails killing off predators, while the federal 1916 Organic Act mandates keeping healthy populations of all wildlife species. […]
Posted inNovember 23, 2015: Water Hustle
The view from the top of the food chain
Today I hiked along a forest trail near my home. Squirrels scolded, a raven croaked. I moved steadily on. Startled at my approach, a deer bounded away, labored up the loose soil of the steep little canyon, and disappeared. I barely paused. There was nothing there for me to fear, nothing for me to attend […]
Posted inNovember 23, 2015: Water Hustle
Why are Western attorneys general going rogue?
Attorneys general sue the federal government, despite state governors’ objections.
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Ducks Unlimited fires writer over stream access fracas
An axed journalist accuses a billionaire of playing fowl with sportsmen’s rights.
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Where’s the middle ground on wolves?
Note: the opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of High Country News, its board or staff. If you’d like to share an opinion piece of your own, please write Betsy Marston at betsym@hcn.org. Eighty-one — that’s how many gray wolves were confirmed to be living in Oregon […]
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Oregon delists wolves, but protections remain
As in Washington, reactions to the predator reflect deep east-west divides in the state.
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How do you sex a beaver? Squeeze and sniff
Unlocking the secrets of rodent scent glands could help restore Western watersheds.