Congress’s Week-Long War on Wildlife
The House of Representatives may only be a month in to the new Congressional session, but they’ve wasted no time in mounting a week-long attack on wildlife and wild lands. This week’s triple threat includes bills that attack our great landscapes, outdoor recreation opportunities, and protections for wildlife. Un-Sportsmanlike Conduct The House’s attack will start […]
The Need to Get It Right on Climate Change
Call me an optimist. Despite dire warnings about the future of our winters (or lack thereof), I have spent the last couple years teaching my young children to ski—a joy that has made winters a time to relish, not dread. So I was listening to President Obama’s speech last night hoping I’d hear reason to […]
A New Year’s Resolution for Congress: Keep Public Lands in Public Hands
With all the end-of-year news stories, one of the most consistent headlines goes something like this: “113th Congress on pace to be least productive ever.” However, the New Year is a time for hope, including the hope that Congress will listen to the American people when it comes to the stewardship and conservation of their public […]
National Public Lands Day Is a Chance to Honor a Great American Legacy
National Public Lands Day, Saturday, Sept. 28, is a great opportunity for those of us who enjoy the ability to hike, fish, hunt, and explore America’s great treasure of public lands to give back. In fact, more than 175,000 Americans are expected to do just that by building trails, cleaning campgrounds, restoring riparian areas and […]
What Will Happen to the Bears?
Any time I’m able to get out of DC and spend some time in the woods, I jump at the chance. I especially like visiting national forests–they are found all over the country, have a huge variety of recreation options, a wide range of wildlife species, and best of all, they’re free to visit. So […]
Why Can’t Bison Roam on Public Lands?
Bison are public wildlife, but it’s confusing because some are also owned as private domestic animals. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, the model practiced to manage our nation’s wildlife, failed this animal. Wildlife need areas to roam and bison have been denied that. We really don’t have a model for free ranging bison, […]
Weekly News Roundup – August 2, 2013
Want to know what National Wildlife Federation was up to this week? Here is a recap of the week’s NWF news: Sportsmen Back Stronger Federal Fracking Rules August 1-A national sportsmen’s coalition that supports updating federal rules for hydraulic fracturing is calling on Congress to reject a bill that would prohibit the Interior Department from […]
Our Public Lands — The Gift that Keeps on Giving and Giving and…
Yet one more report underscores how important conserving our nation’s public lands is to the country’s economy. The newest report is from our country’s largest landlord, the Interior Department. It outlines Interior’s economic contributions for fiscal 2012 — $371 billion to the U.S. economy and 2.3 million jobs. Those jobs ran the gamut from outdoor recreation […]
I Get UP! – In the Wilds of Michigan
Many people know all about the mitt…and I’m not referring to the former governor turned Presidential candidate (though he was born here). The “mitt” that is Michigan is one of the most enduring monikers we have for an American state’s shape. In fact, astronauts say it’s one of the most recognizable and easily identified land […]
Don’t Fence Us Out of Our Public Lands
I didn’t grow up with fences. In the small Midwestern town where I grew up, everyone’s backyard was still “open range.” I joined the rest of the kids in my neighborhood to roam that open range, playing Hide & Seek and tag, tracking garter snakes and keeping a watchful eye on this spring’s litter of […]