Ask folks what is the most pressing environmental issue facing America and they’re most likely to say: Water. Protect the water. So shame on Beltway lobbyists taking apart the legal framework we’ve built to protect our water and the species that depend on it. After all, those species include human beings. See the photo here? […]
Ben Long
Posted inRange
Rinella aims for the impossible, scores a hit
Book Review:Meat Eater, Adventures from the life of an American HunterBy Steven Rinella231 pages; Spiegel & Grau. 2012 Periodically, an outdoor writer aims for the impossible: to explain the why of modern hunting, as opposed to producing just another “how to” book. The task is impossible because the motivations behind hunting are as individual as […]
Posted inRange
Will Utah clean up its sale of public wildlife?
For years now, well-connected hunting groups in Utah have figured out a way to make big bucks off big game. Now news reports indicate sportsmen in Utah are getting fed up. Will Utah’s lawmakers put a spotlight on these transactions? Here’s the deal: Every year, two sportsmen’s groups, Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife and the […]
Posted inRange
Digital detox in the high Cascades
Turns out, I’m so far behind the curve in the electronic media I’m cutting edge. Years ago, I realized my basic neo-Luddite constitution did not square with making a living in the modern communication industry. So I learned to download and up-link. I “blog” and “friend” as verbs. I’ve got desktops, laptops, tablets and a […]
Posted inRange
Disney’s Unlikely Heroine: The Huntress
For decades, Disney cartoons have reliably produced two stereotypes: brutish, cruel hunters and dizzy, passive princesses. But, holy daughters of Diana, times have changed. Maybe Disney’s anti-hunter bias is just the natural result of having a cast full of talking animals. But think about it: there’s Clayton, the evil hunter who nets Tarzan’s family of […]
Posted inRange
Aging mining law handcuffs the American West
Two of my favorite western cities, Tucson, Ariz., and Boise, Idaho, share some common blessings and one common curse. The blessings include lovely mountain backdrops, vibrant universities and increasingly diverse economies. The shared curse: badly misguided mining claims upstream. I was a newspaper reporter in Boise for a short spell and when I return, I […]
Posted inWotr
Anglers can be advocates for endangered fish
The prism of clear river water can distort and magnify the size of a fish, an effect amplified by adrenaline and nostalgia. Still, I remember one fish big enough to shake my whole view of the world. I was of that tender age when one believes one’s father to be capable of anything — except […]
Posted inRange
Make anglers allies for endangered species
The prism of clear river water can distort and magnify the size of a fish, an effect amplified by adrenaline and nostalgia. Still, I remember one fish big enough to shake my whole view of the world. I was of that tender age when one believes one’s father to be capable of anything except failure. […]
Posted inRange
Earth Day — Gone Fishin’
Earth Day was once again full of stark warnings about global doom and scolds over my level of recycling and my carbon footprint. So I went fishing. In particular, I took my 8-year-old to an old gravel pit that has been landscaped into a pond and stocked with rainbow trout straight from the hatchery. One […]
Posted inRange
Let’s Put a Bounty on Stupid
What is more stupid than bailing the ocean? Paying someone to bail the ocean. Yet it seems the Utah Legislature thinks that’s a good idea. Worse yet, Utah lawmakers are co-opting the state’s sportsmen to pay for this folly. If you are a sportsman anywhere between Alaska and Arizona, watch your wallet. This trend ain’t […]
Posted inRange
Climate debate hearkens back to days of the bison
An old bison bone on my desk has me thinking about air pollution, climate change and the American mind. You remember the basics from history class: Tens of millions of bison roamed the Great Plains. Along came Manifest Destiny and market hunters shot them for hides, tongues and just to get the great beasts out […]
Posted inRange
Boy Scout habitat takes a hit in Idaho
The US Forest Service maintains habitat for endangered owls and salmon — so why is the agency retreating when it comes to habitat for Boy Scouts? Today, the Idaho Panhandle National Forest is reviewing its forest plan, including its plan for one of the most special places it manages — the Mallard-Larkin Area. Mallard-Larkin is […]
Posted inRange
Alaska wildlife woes raise red flags “outside”
Anyone who cares about wildlife should pay attention to a scandal unfolding in Alaska. Earlier this month, Alaska Fish & Game Division of Wildlife Conservation director Corey Rossi resigned under allegations that he systematically falsified bear hunting records and violated guiding regulations shortly before being appointed to the agency in 2008. If convicted, Rossi is […]
Posted inRange
Montana is full.
I saw the bumper sticker and the headline on the same day. The newspaper read: Montana’s population estimated to pass 1 million. The bumper sticker read: Montana is full. Go home. The Census Bureau says Montana has grown 10 percent over the past decade, and would soon break 1 million people. Barely. How can a […]
Posted inRange
The Water Buffalo Postulate
I first heard of the Water Buffalo Postulate in a snowbound cabin near the Canadian line. Several friends were sitting around a wood stove after a vigorous day, sharing tales of danger and derring-do. One friend, I’ll call him Joe, rolled up a pant-leg, revealing a badly scarred calf muscle. “Water buffalo,” he said. As […]
Posted inRange
Two Ronalds: Ron Paul and Ronald McDonald
In 1988, in the waning days of the Reagan Administration, I was a cub reporter in Boise, Idaho. I covered what the photo editor called in jest the “Ronald McDonald beat.” If Ronald McDonald made a public appearance, the editor slapped my skinny shoulders and said, “Go get ‘em, Scoop.” He rattled off the talking […]
Posted inRange
Dead wolf sprouts wings
Wolves do get around – but none more so than one that was already dead. Wolves are well known in the animal world for roaming long distances. Radio collars equipped with GPS have put new details in this marvel. One Oregon wolf covered nearly 300 miles this fall, simply looking around. Even so, the peregrinations […]
Posted inRange
At Drake’s Bay, real heroes have long term vision
Politicians rarely think beyond the next election and corporate leaders beyond the quarterly report – but National Park rangers make America stronger when they think about generations to come. A case in point is playing out today on the coast of California at Pt. Reyes National Seashore, a modern twist on an old story. That […]
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Rhetoric around wolves clouds reality
If you only believed what you read in the papers, blogs or bumper stickers, you might think that hunters in the northern Rockies are revving up for a war on wolves. But when you look at hard numbers, the picture is quite different. Biologists have taught us that looks can be deceiving and unquestioned prejudices […]
Posted inRange
A tale of two maulings
Two headlines recently caught my eye: in eastern Idaho, a hunter after elk with archery gear was mauled by a grizzly bear. His partner turned the attack around with pepper spray, although the bear still inflicted serious injuries. Details here. Earlier in September, another hunter was mauled in northwestern Montana, by a grizzly he and […]