Blog

By Arie Weidemaier May 9, 2017 The phrase “Predator management” seems uncontroversial. In Idaho, this phrase often refers to “management” of wild wolf populations by a secretive federal agency known as Wildlife Services. One of the biggest problems with how this agency operates is the lack of public participation – the public is mostly unaware of…

Excerpt from an essay by David James Duncan May 4, 2017  Feeling inspired to protect Idaho’s salmon spawning habitat? Make a gift to Advocates for the West for IDAHO GIVES. We’ll put your gift right to work protecting the very best of Idaho! On the eastern edge of Idaho last fall, seven hundred miles from the sea, I watched…

By Rachel Teannalach April 26, 2017 My most memorable Idaho days have stretched from the last star to the first star, without walking more than ten feet in any direction. These days in which I created “time-lapse” paintings were filled with inner peace and gratitude for natural places. I will tell you about one. The…

By Nancy Burgon & Todd Wells  A canoe, a bluebird sky and miles of pristine stream to explore! As volunteer retirees, Advocates for the West’s Oregon Office asked us to assess the impacts of cattle grazing on the endangered Oregon spotted frogs along Fourmile Creek in the Klamath Basin. Why Are Oregon Spotted Frogs Endangered? As…

By Amy Haak April 12, 2017 I discovered Geography my freshman year in college and have been immersed in the discipline for 40 years. As a lifelong conservationist, the sub-discipline of Island Biogeography and what it can tell us about the preservation of biodiversity is of particular interest. The theory of Island Biogeography was developed…

By John McCarthy April 4th, 2017 Spring brings back the flamboyant courtship dance of the greater sage-grouse in scattered spots known as “leks”from Montana to California.  Spring 2017 also brings uncertainty on how politics and industrialization may affect efforts to coordinate conservation for the vulnerable and venerable bird. Legislation introduced in February by Sen. Jim…

How a federal program uses our tax dollars to kill pets and wildlife. “Why can you plant a bomb near a house?” Fourteen year-old Canyon Mansfield asked after he endured watching his young yellow lab Casey die after triggering an M-44 cyanide ejector capsule planted on the hill behind his Pocatello, Idaho home. The bomb…

By Tim Palmer March 16, 2017 (originally published in The Register-Guard on April 17, 2016) Public land is the best thing we have going in the West. For many of us, public open spaces are within view as we look to the mountains, within our river basin as we turn the tap and drink clean…

By Mike Medberry March 9, 2017 Featured image of petroglyphs at Bears Ears courtesy of Patagonia. Watch their stunning footage of Bears Ears National Monument and learn how you can help protect this special place today!  A flash flood from a distant storm in Slickhorn Canyon on Cedar Mesa almost washed my girlfriend and me down…

By John McCarthy March 1, 2017 Everyone who hikes, boats, or drives the open spaces of the West sees wildlife on the move. Pronghorn antelope, mule deer, red tail hawks – all the creatures of fur and feather move across the landscape regardless of any artificial, human boundaries. Apparently Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who says…