The Greater Yellowstone Coalition Press Room Archives: Op-Eds/Letters to the Editor

Aug 13, 2008 - Don't change the ESA through the back door (Casper Star Tribune) - The Endangered Species Act is far from perfect. After 35 years, it should be reviewed to see if it's accomplishing federal lawmakers' original goals to protect vulnerable fish, wildlife and plants. Th ...

Aug 10, 2008 - Time to bear down on Elk Refuge feeding phase out (Casper Star Tribune) - In the 1970s, calls to end dumpster and roadside feeding of bears elicited howls of dissent from those who argued it would be a disaster for grizzlies. Today, nobody would argue for the for a return to feeding -- a lesson we should carry over to the National Elk Refuge.

Aug 04, 2008 - A new path for wolf management (Montana Standard) - Judge Donald Molloy's injunction putting the gray wolf back under the umbrella of Endangered Species Act protection underscores the need for the states and their citizens to fix the flaws in management plans. Having wolf issues tied up in court for years isn't in anybody's best interests -- including the wolf.

Jul 29, 2008 - Effective brucellosis vaccine a worthy goal (Helena Independent-Record) - With talks between Montana, Wyoming and Idaho and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on how to deal with the spread of brucellosis apparently stalled and news that it almost certainly was elk, not bis ...

Jul 21, 2008 - CST Editorial: Wyo. plan, genetics cause wolf relisting (Casper Star Tribune) - After waiting for years to gain control over wolf management in the state, Wyoming finally got that authority when wolves were removed from the federal endangered species list in late March. Now th ...

Jul 16, 2008 - States must preserve critical habitat for wildlife (Billings Gazette) - Before the U.S. Cattlemen's Association from California announced that it knows how to manage Western wildlife better than those of us who live, work and play here, perhaps the group should've checked ...

Jun 21, 2008 - Yellowstone area has history of caring partners (Headwaters News) - Earlier this month, one of the keystone conservation organizations in the Rocky Mountains celebrated its 25th anniversary. In 1983, at the little town of Mammoth, The Greater Yellowstone Coalition he ...

Jun 04, 2008 - Stockgrowers picked the wrong fight (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - The Montana Stockgrowers Association may have picked the wrong hill to die on in its quest to force the stateís hand on the Yellowstone National Park bison issue. The association and two ranchers fi ...

May 28, 2008 - Too many elk and not enough tough love (High Country News) - I took my first sleigh ride around the National Elk Refuge recently, and after observing the artificial-feed buffet for elk, the calf hoof-rot and all the willows nibbled to the nubs, all I could thin ...

May 28, 2008 - Threats to elk (Jackson Hole News & Guide) - I've hunted elk in Wyoming for a long time and have some great memories of wonderful hunts on Pacific Creek, Togwotee Pass area, in the Ferris Mountains, Jim Creek, Lander Foothills, etc. But I hav ...

May 24, 2008 - Wyoming plans for wolf hunt (Casper Star Tribune) - GREEN RIVER -- Hunters would be able to kill up to 25 wolves in northwest Wyoming under the first-ever regulated wolf hunting season proposed in Wyoming history. The planned Wyoming wolf hunt -- wh ...

May 18, 2008 - Bison hazing is not the answer (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - Some environmentalists are in predictably high dudgeon as state and federal officials began the practice of driving Yellowstone bison back into the park from the Horse Butte area on Hebgen Lake last w ...

May 16, 2008 - Snake River bill fully protects water rights (Casper Star Tribune) - An Idaho group says its opposition to designating the Snake River headwaters as "wild and scenic" is because such action may affect water rights in the eastern part of that state. Apparently, no on ...

May 14, 2008 - Barrasso fought well for Snake (Jackson Hole News & Guide) - U.S. Sen. John Barrasso stood up to one of the Senate's most forceful voices this week and successfully fought for the Craig Thomas Snake Headwaters Legacy Act. The bill would protect 388 miles of the ...

May 09, 2008 - Wyoming conservation bills are off to a good start (Casper Star Tribune) - Wednesday was a good day for Wyoming in the U.S. Senate. Two conservation bills sponsored by freshman Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming were approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committe ...

Apr 29, 2008 - Idaho should fairly and consistently apply the rule of law to wolf killings (Idaho Statesman) - Greater Yellowstone's three states stand on the cusp of a historic opportunity. With the gray wolf's removal from the Endangered Species list last month, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service basically sai ...

Apr 29, 2008 - West shouldn’t get lost in rush for energy (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - Didn’t it seem a little out of character when Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal said last week that the Forest Service is getting too cozy with an energy company as the agency developed plans for oil and ...

Apr 28, 2008 - Let's not blow Wyoming's chance to manage wolves (Casper Star Tribune) - Thirteen years after the reintroduction of the gray wolf into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Wyoming stands on the cusp of a rare opportunity. With the wolf's removal from the Endangered Species L ...

Apr 27, 2008 - CUT land a good first step in bison management (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - It’s not the big breakthrough many had hoped for; it’s expensive — real expensive on a per-head basis, at least at the outset — and it comes years after it was supposed to happen. And yet it p ...

Apr 26, 2008 - Give bison room to roam to Cutler Meadows (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - On April 17, Gov. Schweitzer and Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis announced a historic agreement to open additional habitat for bison north of the park. This deal is the big ...

Apr 23, 2008 - Gazette Opinion: Finally, some progress on bison plan (Billings Gazette) - At summer's end, Yellowstone Park was home to an estimated 4,700 bison. The population this week was estimated to be just 2,300, including 238 being held at the Stephens Creek corrals near the park's ...

Apr 23, 2008 - Our View: Idaho counties deserve chance to do right thing (Idaho Statesman) - It took only a few weeks for Idaho to have its first wolf controversy, post-delisting. Environmentalists are fuming about an Eastern Idaho prosecuting attorney's decision not to press charges again ...

Apr 19, 2008 - Corps must deliver on promise to protect the Yellowstone (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - What is it with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Yellowstone River? You would think that a federal agency that has been around for over two centuries, has an annual budget in the billion ...

Apr 02, 2008 - Still time to comment on forest plan (Missoulian) - Yesterday we wrote about the proposed management plan for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, and mentioned that Rep. Denny Rehberg recently sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service requesting t ...

Mar 31, 2008 - Gazette Opinion: Welcome trends in Yellowstone winter visitation (Billings Gazette) - n late March and early April, Yellowstone National Park is as quiet as it gets. Most of the 2.2 million acre park is buried in snow and closed to visitors. Roads haven't yet been plowed, save for the ...

Mar 28, 2008 - Why the buffalo can't roam (Chicago Tribune) - Each year millions of visitors throng Yellowstone National Park, and no visit is complete without a glimpse of the park's bison—magnificent creatures that once were hunted nearly to extinction. Toda ...

Mar 19, 2008 - Yellowstone's winter transformation (Idaho Falls Post-Register) - While the politicians debate about whether to continue snowmobiling at Yellowstone National Park, the marketplace is choosing snow coaches, a more environmentally benign form of transportation into ...

Mar 18, 2008 - Gazette Opinion: Reduce slaughter; get bison plan moving (Billings Gazette) - It's a killing winter in Yellowstone Park. As of this week, 1,100 bison from the park had either been killed or were corralled near Gardiner pending shipment to slaughter. The previous high bison kill ...

Mar 07, 2008 - Protecting All Waters (New York Times) - Half of the waters in the United States are at risk of pollution or destructive development because of a wrongheaded Supreme Court decision in 2006. The decision narrowed the scope of the Clean Water ...

Mar 01, 2008 - Gun Regulations for National Parks are Appropriate (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - Dear Editor, Yellowstone National Park is a family destination. People come from around the world to enjoy its beauty, experience its geothermal features and see its wildlife. There is growing co ...

Mar 01, 2008 - Don’t weaken national park gun rules (Casper Star Tribune) - National parks are special places that enjoy the highest level of protection provided to public lands by Congress. Originally, the U.S. Army, and since its creation in 1916, the National Park Service ...

Feb 29, 2008 - Time to move forward, give states a chance to manage wolves (Jackson Hole News & Guide) - Greater Yellowstone Coalition surprised some people recently when we decided not to oppose removal of the Rocky Mountain gray wolf from the Endangered Species List. After careful consideration, we bel ...

Feb 29, 2008 - Gazette Opinion: No good reason for loaded guns in U.S. parks (Billings Gazette) - A barrage of election-year politics has been fired into America's 390 national parks. Last week, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that his department would draw up new rules allowing vi ...

Feb 15, 2008 - Gazette Opinion: Good season to visit Yellowstone (Billings Gazette) - Like a February blizzard, controversy swirls around Yellowstone National Park. Bison roaming beyond its borders were sent to slaughter this week. Court battles brew over the latest National Park Servi ...

Feb 14, 2008 - Threatening eastern Idaho's forests (Idaho Falls Post-Register) - Former Gov. Jim Risch's proposed management of Idaho's roadless forests puts eastern Idaho on the chopping block to benefit the phosphate mining and timber industries, writes John Hart. Having grown ...

Jan 18, 2008 - Our View: It's high time to let states manage wolves (Idaho Statesman) - Wolves should be removed from the endangered species list - as has been the plan for more than a decade - because the federal protections have done their job. Management should be handed over to th ...

Jan 18, 2008 - Ten years later, time is up for the Corps (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - Of all the rivers in the lower 48 states, the Yellowstone from its source in the national park to where it joins the Missouri some 600 miles' later -stands out as the longest river that remains undamm ...

Nov 30, 2007 - Gambling with the Elk Refuge (Idaho Falls Post-Register) - The federal government's final decision for managing winter feeding of elk and bison at Jackson Hole's National Elk Refuge needs to be reappraised. At issue here is the artificial feeding of elk a ...

Nov 06, 2007 - Wyo: Declare victory and adopt wolf plan (Associated Press) - Wyoming has crafted a wolf-management plan that represents a substantial victory for the state's interests. The Game and Fish Commission should approve the hard-fought compromise when it meets in Ther ...

Nov 02, 2007 - Letter: Lake trout eradication should be expanded (Billings Gazette) - As one of the groups that played a key role in securing federal funding for Yellowstone National Park's lake trout control program in Yellowstone Lake, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition appreciates Th ...

Nov 01, 2007 - Yellowstone sleds: Snowmobiles should be phased out (Salt Lake Tribune) - The sounds of Yellowstone in winter should be the whoosh of a geyser or the gurgle of water running beneath a blanket of snow, not the whine of a snowmobile. Mechanized noise stresses not only human v ...

Oct 28, 2007 - Behaving ethically is key to preserving our hunting heritage (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - For those of us who spend eleven months a year anxiously awaiting the opening of big game rifle season, the long wait is finally over. Montana’s unofficial state holiday kicked off last weekend with ...

Oct 17, 2007 - Wrong place for noisy machines (Denver Post) - One of the many splendorous things about Yellowstone National Park is the abiding quiet that visitors can find among its craggy mountain peaks and array of wildlife. However, the peaceful beauty of ...

Sep 01, 2007 - Mining industry needs to clean up its mess in Idaho (Idaho Statesman) - Mining phosphate in Idaho is polluting many streams and groundwater with toxic levels of selenium. Selenium is rich in the rocks surrounding many phosphate deposits in the state. Digging up the pho ...

Aug 30, 2007 - Gas companies spin away blame for habitat damage (Cody Enterprise) - You can add my name to the roster of those who oppose drilling in the McCullough Peaks area. You can note my opposition to any of the recent BLM land sales to big oil interests in that area. I feel ...

Aug 19, 2007 - Wyo needs wild and scenic river designation (Casper Star Tribune) - Wild and Scenic designation of the Snake River is good for Wyoming – and we can give you a few million reasons why. The dollars that will benefit Wyoming sales tax revenues are significant. The wild ...

Aug 07, 2007 - Legacy Act won’t hurt Idaho farmers (Casper Star Tribune) - Senator Larry Craig, R-Idaho, should support the proposed Snake Headwaters Legacy Act for several reasons. It’s a solid bill that would honor a colleague from a neighboring state. But so far Craig ...

Jul 12, 2007 - Let's keep momentum on two Thomas projects (Casper Star Tribune) - New U.S. Sen. John Barrasso has made it clear that he won't blindly follow his predecessor in pursuing protection for the Wyoming Range and for parts of the Snake River and its tributaries. He wants t ...

Jul 07, 2007 - It’s easy to forget the connection between water, wildlife (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - ‘Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” So ends Norman Maclean’s famous ode to Montana and its rivers. As we brace for another hot, dry summer, it is worth thinking ab ...

Jun 19, 2007 - Public needs a chance to discuss elk feedgrounds (Casper Star Tribune) - When it decided not to close three elk feedgrounds in the Gros Ventre area, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department apparently had all the public comments it wanted. But not all of the comments the pu ...

May 24, 2007 - Don't let technicalities stop Wyoming wolf plan (Casper Star Tribune) - Don't believe everything you hear from authority figures. Remember Iraq's weapons of mass destruction? Remember what your mom said about the Tooth Fairy? A more recent whopper is the one about wolv ...

May 16, 2007 - Elk census speaks truth (Jackson Hole News & Guide) - After half a year of what has sounded like a concerted campaign by the state government to convince the public that wolves are decimating Wyoming's wildlife, the annual elk census and hunting seasons ...

May 07, 2007 - Gov makes good case to protect Wyoming Range (Casper Star Tribune) - Gov. Dave Freudenthal can hardly be mistaken for an enemy of energy development. His strong support for coal-bed methane production in the Powder River Basin shows the value he places on the minerals ...

Apr 09, 2007 - Dam Project (Idaho State Journal) - I was surprised to read that an irrigation company has proposed the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Bear River’s Oneida Narrows. Two years ago our family held a weekend family reunion a ...

Apr 08, 2007 - A poor choice (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) -     It was a disappointment, but hardly surprising that the state Senate recently rejected legislation requiring new homes be built a certain distance from Montana rivers.     Politicians in this st ...

Apr 07, 2007 - Poison in Our Backyard (Idaho Falls Post-Register) - Eastern Idaho's outdoor backyard is a beautiful, wild place that is cherished by those of us who live here and by many annual visitors. This recreational playground includes clear streams, backcountry ...

Apr 02, 2007 - Professor Emeritus: Have We ‘Nuked’ Pinedale’s Big Game Herds? (New West.net) - The federal Bureau of Land Management continues to take a pounding over its greenlighting of additional natural gas drilling in a corner of western Wyoming known for its wildlife, an area that has bee ...

Mar 24, 2007 - It’s time to recommit to taking care of Yellowstone Park (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - What would it be like to live in Southwest Montana if there was no Yellowstone National Park nearby? What if the 2.2 million acres of high mountains, sagebrush slopes, and unique geologic wonders s ...

Mar 22, 2007 - Gazette Opinion: Park bison dispute migrates to Congress (Associated Press) - Migration of Yellowstone bison and federal rules on bovine health were the focus of a U.S. House subcommittee hearing Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The hearing plowed the same ground the bison debate ha ...

Mar 12, 2007 - The Selenium Threat (Fly Fisherman Magazine) - For the past 30 years the clear, cold streams of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have been in my backyard and are my favorite places to unwind after a long week at work. I am fortunate that my passion for ...

Mar 11, 2007 - 3rd winter-use plan looming on Yellowstone horizon (Billings Gazette) - After 10 years of drafting environmental impact statements, hundreds of thousands of public comments on Yellowstone winter use, thousands of pages of publicly funded research and at least four lawsuit ...

Feb 22, 2007 - Unwild America: If the Roadless Rule Doesn’t Stand, We’ll Soon be out of Wilderness (Field and Stream) - You doubt, even a little, that every American wilderness is under a grave threat, you need to spend one minute with Scott Stouder. Stouder grew up in Idaho looking at forests the way farm boys view ...

Feb 16, 2007 - Sportsmen one, girlie gunners one (Idaho Mountain Express) - It's time to purloin California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pet idiom for sissies and apply it to the so-called "hunters" who prefer their kills to be easy and effortless. Call them "girl ...

Feb 12, 2007 - The tyranny of the motor minority (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) -    The Gallatin National Forest Travel Plan, issued in early December, has a few engines revving in noisy dissent. Emphasis on “few.” Despite over four years of study and comment, thousands of hours o ...

Feb 12, 2007 - Old Faithful visitors deserve their quiet (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) - It was interesting to read our colleague Dennis Anderson's report last weekend of a snowmobile trek in Yellowstone National Park: a small, responsibly guided group, traveling close together and at s ...

Feb 10, 2007 - Let's manage wolves like we do lions, elk (Casper Star Tribune) - If there's anything that can grab the attention of an elk hunter faster than the bugle of a big bull, it's the howl of a wolf. Want to stir up a roomful of elk hunters? Don't bother yelling "fire!" Ju ...

Feb 07, 2007 - A 1907 plan for elk still sounds good (Jackson Hole News & Guide) - In his 1907 Annual Report as state game warden, D.C. Nowlin wrote to then-Governor of Wyoming, Bryant Brooks: “It is imperative that we provide a permanent winter range for the elk . . . We are in ...

Jan 16, 2007 - Our View: Balance is the key to managing wolves (Idaho Statesman) - Managing wolves — and incorporating hunters into the equation — is a delicate science. By playing to the crowds, and playing on their fears and suspicions, Gov. Butch Otter undermines the overdue p ...

Dec 23, 2006 - Year’s end time to celebrate what we’ve accomplished (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) - As December draws to a close and I reflect back on the people and events of the past year, I’m struck by the wonderful things that can happen when Montanans put aside their ideological differences and ...

Dec 15, 2006 - Professional mediation would help trail talks (Bozeman Daily Chronicle) -    Whether one agrees with every conclusion in the Gallatin National Forest’s new travel plan, it is obvious that the process is working. Every person and group who travels in the forest — hikers, hor ...

Dec 12, 2006 - Gazette Opinion: A plan to share, preserve Gallatin forest (Billings Gazette) - Motorcycle trails or foot paths. Horseback riding or ATV riding. Snowmobiles or cross-country skiing. Use it, preserve it, lose it, save it. So much of the debate over America's cherished federal l ...

Dec 08, 2006 - Wolf management takes addition and subtraction (Missoulian) - A new report out this week shows the number of wolves in the northern Rockies continues to grow, bolstering success for one of the standout success stories to play out under the Endangered Species Act ...

Dec 06, 2006 - Ban game farms (Idaho Falls Post-Register) - I would like to respond to Allen Kelso's letter, "Who's making sense?" Most, if not all, of the articles opposing "canned hunting" were written by sportsmen who are extremely offended by game farming ...

Dec 05, 2006 - Roadless wrangling is endless (Denver Post) - It's a quiet season in the more remote stretches of the West's national forests, as winter cold and snows turn aside all but the hardiest visitors. But the future of those roadless areas is a hot t ...

Dec 01, 2006 - Another Plan for Snowmobiles (New York Times) - Yet another winter and here we are, still wrangling over snowmobiles in Yellowstone. Last week the National Park Service released a draft environmental impact statement that would allow 720 snowmobile ...

Nov 29, 2006 - Creatively fund, don't cull facilities (Missoulian) - As Montanans hunker from a blast of arctic cold sufficient to purge thoughts of picnicking and camping from any sane person's head, the U.S. Forest Service has launched a review of potential campgroun ...

Nov 20, 2006 - Elk test-and-slaughter program needs review (Casper Star Tribune) - Maybe you think last winter's test-and-slaughter program at Wyoming elk feeding grounds was a smart idea. Maybe you think it was a travesty. Either way, hardly anyone would describe the operati ...

Nov 19, 2006 - When it comes to managing bison, Montana needs help from hunters (Billings Gazette) - What's the difference between an elk and a bison? Any Montana school kid can tell you: The bison's got a wide humped shoulder, shaggy head and mammoth size. The elk doesn't. But here's another d ...

Nov 02, 2006 - Gazette Opinion: High court upholds initiative process integrity (Billings Gazette) - When most ballots were printed for Montana's Nov. 7 elections, there were six statewide issues listed. Three have been invalidated. Last week, after months of controversy and litigation, the Montan ...

Oct 29, 2006 - Montana Outdoors: Glad I-154's gone (Billings Gazette) - Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners were among those who applauded the Supreme Court decision to invalidate the results of Initiative-154 on the upcoming election ballot. Touted as an in ...

Oct 29, 2006 - Letter: Big corporations want to strangle government (Billings Gazette) - Ever wonder why all the out-of-state money is coming here to support CI-97, CI-98 and I-154? If you haven't figured it out yet, please let me explain it to you. Big corporations just hate it when g ...

Oct 24, 2006 - Drilling the heart out of the West (Idaho Falls Post-Register) - In the past five years, the Bush administration has leased 35 million acres of federal land for oil and gas drilling — the equivalent of 15 Yellowstone National Parks. It’s wrecking the West. It ...

Oct 24, 2006 - Vote as if initiative votes count (Great Falls Tribune) - Three issues will be on the ballot in two weeks despite a court ruling invalidating them. We plan to vote against them anyway, on the chance they get reinstated on appeal. A little over a month ...

Oct 15, 2006 - Letter: I-154 will make homes vulnerable, not help them (Billings Gazette) - I just received literature promoting Initiative 154 as "protecting our homes." That's very ironic, as I-154 is a grave threat to our homes. I-154 would effectively strip out all of Montana's land-u ...