Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Without fanfare or fuss, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), District Manager Tim Bozorth, recently took a big step to reduce the potential for bear conflicts with big game hunters. The BLM is now requiring that outfitters operating on its lands...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
No joke: today is opening day for grizzly bear hunting in British Columbia parks. The idea of hunting grizzlies in parks would be unthinkable in the lower-48 states, where parks are considered safe refuges for wildlife, providing the public with...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
As grizzly bears have finally settled into their dens for a long winter sleep, it is time to take stock of the status of the populations that make up the last strongholds for grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies. These...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Everyone who lives around grizzly bears or visits bear country winds up with a few stories to tell. And who is not fascinated by an animal that can fish with its feet and can’t get enough back scratching? Following are...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services agency is in dire need of reform-- particularly when it comes to killing predators, which play key ecological roles across the American landscape. Wildlife Services should change its outdated mode of operation to...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
In the November 23rd Salt Lake Tribune article "Yellowstone grizzly deaths down: future uncertain," statements by government officials dismissed the massive threats to whitebark pine trees, the primary engine driving the health of Yellowstone's grizzly bear population. The impacts of...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
A few weeks ago, Montana State University (MSU) Billings released the results of a telephone survey of Montanans on a series of questions, including, "Do you feel that grizzly bears found in Yellowstone Park and the surrounding areas should be...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
A recent meeting of the Montana Chapter of the Society of Conservation Biology showcased talks by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Western Gray Wolf Recovery Coordinator, Ed Bangs, and the Montana Wolf Project Manager, Carolyn Sime. What struck...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy wisely denied the Department of Justice's efforts to reverse his September 21st decision that restored endangered species protections to the Yellowstone grizzly bear population. The Yellowstone grizzly is still at risk: global warming poses...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
This article originally appeared as a guest editorial in the Jackson Hole News and Guide on Ocotober 28, 2009. It's impossible to drive over Togwotee Pass or hike in the wilds of the Gros Ventres or Absarokas these days without...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
(Left to right: Wally Macfarlane, Yours Truly, Liz Davy, and Willie Kern) They flew in from all over the world: Switzerland, Finland, Greece, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, and Canada, as well as many parts of the U.S. Like the beetles...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The victory celebration piece I started last week on the relisting of the Yellowstone grizzly bear — a centerpiece of my work over the last 20 years — looks nothing like what you read now. After 2 ½ years of...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The article below appeared originally in the Missoulian August 10th and has been slightly revised. A July 17 Missoulian article on settlement discussions about lawsuits over the government's Yellowstone grizzly bear delisting decision included a statement by Hank Fischer of...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
On Labor Day, my husband, Doug Honnold, and I drove through the northern part of Yellowstone Park on our way home from a hiking trip in the Beartooths. The hillsides had turned tan, and some willows in the bottoms were...
Posted by Louisa Willcox in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Right now, the NRDC Montana staff (Janet, Matt, and me) is driving back to Livingston from Missoula, after the federal court hearing on our wolf injunction wrapped up in front of Judge Molloy today. Matt's driving, so Janet is trying not to look out the...
