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On a recent trip to Yellowstone, I came across this giant bull elk. He was quite a sight to see.
Later that evening, I was camped at Norris Junction in the park. The campground is on a hill surrounded by a sea of meadows. It makes for excellent elk habitat. At around 1 AM, I picked up the sounds of numerous bull elk bugling in the chilly night. Click the media player arrow to hear these sounds for yourself. Images and sounds copyright@2006 wilderness-sportsman.com
The race is pulling closer. Visit McNerney’s site and help him get past Pombo the Clown.
“It’s become clear that this race is close (and) that it’s about more than just the district. It has become nationalized,” said Robert Benedetti, a political science professor at University of the Pacific in Stockton.
The Scotchman Peaks are a steep, rugged, 88,000-acre area located 60 miles south of the Canadian border.
For years, they’ve been recommended for wilderness by the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the territory.
Recently, the portion of the mountain range in Montana lost its recommended wilderness status by the Kootenai National Forest. The change is not yet permanent, and local groups including the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness have been working in recent months to build local support for action by Congress.
Through the joint efforts of several agencies and organizations, the defunct Horse Creek dam in the San Rafael Wilderness within Santa Barbara County, was demolished Wednesday by a blasting crew. A Coastal Conservancy funded survey by Stoecker Ecological identified the small non-functioning dam as a barrier to steelhead trout and other aquatic species moving upstream on Horse Creek, a tributary of the Sisquoc River. The tributary and river are designated critical habitat for the Federally Endangered Southern Steelhead.
The U.S. Forest Service is being criticized by public lands users locally and nationwide for the lack of public process involved in its Recreational Site Facilities Master Planning (RSFMP) initiative. The Forest Services’ secretive approach to the program has left the public confused and suspicious.
Among the streams nominated for protection are the Pecos and Gallinas rivers and numerous of their tributaries, which provide abundant habitat for fish and wildlife and a variety of recreational opportunities. The Pecos Wilderness Area alone receives 48,000 site visits annually for a contribution of $2.6 million to the State. The rivers not only provide municipal drinking water but also vital water for traditional agriculture downstream. In total, the nomination calls for the protection of more than 100 miles of waterway.
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