This is something that’s been hinted at for quite some time. The real problem appears to be climate change. We need to do whatever we can to limit our emissions of greenhouse gases. These beetles are here because of weaker winters.

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Historic Hearings
Senate committee hearings next week represent a significant opportunity to publicly debate the threats sulfide mining pose to Minnesota. Environmental advocates are expected to testify about the issue and all citizens are encouraged to attend!

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The shocking thing about that? No U.S. adminsitration has ever defended the Roadless Rule; it was under constant attack from government lawyers under the Bush administration. It’s nice to have the federal government fighting for the R.I.

The Roadless Rule will have its day in court March 10 via the 10th circuit court.

After a birthday weekend in where I ate way too much, I really can’t digest this piece on Tester’s bill. The main complaints seem to be:

1. Mandated logging
2. Removal of Wilderness Study Areas
3. Dangerous precedent in which local industry takes the reigns of federal land via congress
4. Bill was crafted in secrecy.

I applaud Tester for trying something. I applaud the Montana conservation groups who want to protect wilderness. But I cannot applaud this bill.

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Lots of people are jumping ship as they realize the dangerous precedent this bill sets for national forests.
You can view the story over at Ralph Maughan’s Wildlife Blog.

The plan would have allowed more logging(and this road building) in the Tongass National Forest.

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Wyoming officials at one trail head found 173 piles of dog waste. It might be a good idea to bag the feces at busy sites like they do in the cities and suburbs.

On Friday, Tester announced several changes to this bill, most of them against conservation. One of the changes was a guarantee of 10,000 acres cut per year and protection from “excessive” lawsuits. Another disturbing aspect is a “balance of harms” which forces a judge to consider short term damage and “long term damage of doing nothing”, whatever that means. Another change is moving the Highlands area near Butte from wilderness to “special management” so that the military can land helicopters there. Is all this worth 670,000 acres of new wilderness? This bill could become an example for all the national forests. We could be looking at mandated logging and a massive decrease of importance placed on science in the national forest system.

Folks, I’m going to be perfectly blunt; this is a very scary bill that sets a dangerous precedent for national forests.

Lots of talk about logging jobs and “losing forests to giant wildfires if loggers lose jobs” , etc. No talk on wilderness at all. Very, very telling. Mandated logging from congress? Frightening.

The wilderness nut in me wants to cheer for any bill that has wilderness. I am having a very hard time doing that here.

Check it out:

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