The failed experiment in privatized land management has come to an end.
Hunting
Posted inArticles
A Western lesson from Cecil the lion: trophy seekers aren’t hunters
Various news reports described Walter Palmer, the dentist who killed the legendary Zimbabwean lion called “Cecil,” as a “hunter.” But this man, who was only interested in capturing Cecil’s giant head for a wall mount, was no hunter, and it insults real hunters to call him one. Calling him a “sportsman” is more accurate. Edward […]
Posted inMay 11, 2015: The Wetland Wars
Wasting disease in wildlife inches toward Yellowstone
The illness affects moose, elk and deer and may be carried by long-distance migrations.
Posted inArticles
Who should manage Grand Teton’s private inholdings?
A dead wolf and jurisdictional confusion in an iconic national park.
Posted inArticles
Hunters and anglers organize against land transfers
Sixty-nine percent of hunters in the 11 Western states rely on public lands for the sport.
Posted inArticles
Bison, cows and rabbits square off on Utah range
Study says jackrabbits, not bison, are cattle’s main competitors in the Henry Mountains.
Posted inArticles
Death of Utah wolf is collateral damage
Shooting was side-effect of state’s aggressive push to control coyotes
Posted inArticles
Wyoming grapples with how to fund wildlife conservation
Hunters may lose influence as other groups are asked to increase their contributions.
Posted inSeptember 15, 2014: Books & Essays
A new century with carnivores
Learning to see predators as companions, not competition.
Posted inArticles
Sweeping new rule for Alaska’s predator control
Federal versus state wildlife politics get even hotter.
Posted inArticles
Want a trophy buck? Ditch the camo and get a guide
Study looks at successful types of big game hunters
Posted inMay 12, 2014: Parks for All?
Hunting for conservation dollars
State wildlife agencies struggle to broaden funding as their duties expand.
Posted inNovember 11, 2013: Cosmic Prospecting
The Latest: California is first state to ban lead ammunition to protect condors
BackstoryCalifornia condors were nearly extinct by the 1980s. Thanks to habitat loss, wanton shooting, egg collecting, and the scavenger’s propensity for eating animal carcasses tainted by lead bullet fragments, fewer than 30 remained. After decades of captive breeding, about 200 condors now fly free in central California, Utah, Arizona and Mexico. But death by lead […]
Posted inWotr
It’s time to kill my own food
I’m taking a hunter education class in Lander, Wyo., and at the first get-together, I share a table with Ridge, 9, and Dante, 10, cousins who’ve already hunted lots of deer and antelope with their dads and grandpa. They can’t get hunting licenses of their own until they turn 12, but they’re eager to learn […]
Posted inWotr
Let them eat copper
I am sitting on the sun-blasted South Rim of the Grand Canyon, tracking condors through binoculars and trying to read the numbers on their wing tags as they dip and wobble above and below me. Next to me is Elaine Leslie, the heroic National Park Service biologist who never gave up on condors, even when […]
Posted inWotr
Hunting is the ultimate do-it-yourself experience
Garden-raised vegetables are probably the tastiest, and eating food raised from seeds you planted yourself always gives a deep sense of satisfaction. But nothing beats hunting for connecting you to the land. I came to this conclusion recently. Over most of my life, I equated hunting with killing, even though I was raised in Montana, […]
Posted inWotr
The NRA needs someone like me
Like every hunter worthy of the name, I want to protect our hunting heritage so men and women many years from now can experience the same love, awe and respect for wild animals that I’ve been privileged to know. But the two bedrock requirements for that to happen are the health of animal populations and […]
Posted inArticles
Don’t call plugging wolves hunting
It’s been about three months since wolves in the Northern Rockies were removed from the protection of the Endangered Species Act. To date, at least 20 wolves have been reported killed in Wyoming, where they may legally be shot on sight. That’s an average of one wolf killed every four and half days. Five of […]