Free Republic

The federal government can’t designate land as a habitat for an endangered species on the mere prospect that the species might eventually move there, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, delivering a victory to property owners. In a unanimous ruling the justices rejected the federal government’s attempt to designate roughly 1,500 acres in Louisiana as critical space for the dusky gopher frog.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1 Oregon is used to two to five hundred square mile forest fires with their blast furnace heat, but it has never had one race through a community like the Paradise CA fire. Oregon is the American Outback where there are only four million people living in over a hundred thousand square miles. Most of the state except the western one third is barely populated so forest fires only destroy forests not people and houses. When the...

When the Trump administration announced a plan last week to overhaul the Endangered Species Act, the frantic reactions were illustrated with pictures of humpback whales and baby bald eagles. But a much better way to understand what Republicans have in mind is to consider Wisconsin’s wolf problem. Paul and Judy Canik raise bighorn and hair sheep near the small town of Butternut. Their herd has grown to about 400, each sheep worth around $1,500. Guarding the prized flock are nine Spanish mastiffs, worth $2,500 apiece. While checking on their animals two years ago, the Caniks found that 17 pregnant ewes...

Recordings and summaries of emergency calls show Washington wildlife officials at first objected to an air rescue of a woman treed by wolves, or help from the Okanogan County sheriff. Washington wildlife managers initially opposed sending a helicopter or a search-and-rescue team to save a woman treed by wolves in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, according to recordings and summaries of emergency calls. ... Notes from a call between DNR dispatcher Jill Jones and a wildlife officer summarized WDFW’s position, and her position, shortly before the helicopter launched. “No helicopter. Federally listed species. 3 WDFW personnel saying so,” according to DNR’s...

The owner of a vintage clothing store in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood entered a no contest plea Monday to charges that she was offering the fur of endangered animals for sale. Cicely Hansen, owner of Decades of Fashion at 1653 Haight St., pleaded no contest in San Francisco Superior Court to two counts of illegal possession for sale of an endangered species and was sentenced to three years of probation. Hansen was initially charged in March with nine counts after state Department of Fish and Wildlife investigators seized 150 items in a raid of the store, which advertises items ranging...

One of my recent articles predicted that the Fish & Wildlife Service’s endangered species designation for the rusty patched bumblebee would lead to its being used to delay or block construction projects and pesticide use on hundreds of millions of acres of US farmland. The abuses have already begun. Projects in Minnesota and elsewhere have been delayed, while people tried to ascertain that no bees were actually nesting in the areas. Now a federal district court judge has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency failed to consult with the FWS before approving 59 products containing neonicotinoid pesticides that are used...

The biggest catch, so far, went to Patrick Campbell who caught a python measuring 15 feet, 10 inches and weighing 135 pounds, according to the South Florida Water Management District. The second largest catch was made by Nicholas Banos and trapping partner Leonardo Sanchez whose python measured 15 feet, 2 inches and weighed 144 pounds.... Twenty five people are taking part in the python hunt that began in late March and runs until June. They are paid $8.10 per hour, for up to eight hours a day, and get extra money depending on the length of the snake that’s caught.

Environmentalists facing a hostile Trump administration and a Republican-dominated Congress say the courts may offer their best chance to block changes they oppose. Advocacy groups nationwide are hiring more staff lawyers and coordinating with private attorneys and firms volunteering their services. They are seeking donations, setting priorities and reviewing laws that could be the basis of lawsuits against Trump policies concerning climate change, endangered wildlife, pollution and other issues. …

President Trump's political opponents may use existing federal laws designed to protect endangered species to stop him from building a border wall to stem the flow of illegal immigrants coming from Mexico. Environmentalists say Trump's proposed border wall would hinder the movement of endangered species migrating through their natural, cross-border habitats, and activists aren’t above filing suit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to stop the wall. [Snip] "Litigation is just one tool in our advocacy work, and we take nothing off the table," she said. [Snip] Jaguars and ocelots, for examples, are endangered species whose range extends along the...

County officials in western Colorado have regularly lambasted Planning 2.0 and this week, Garfield County joined in with five other counties in the western United States considering suing to halt the rule, which they have criticized as a central-planning measure. The BLM this month announced that the rule was final and on Monday, Garfield County agreed to spend as much as $40,000 with the Texas-based property-rights organization, the American Stewards of Liberty, to halt it. While Garfield County is taking an active role, Mesa County officials are looking to Congress and a Republican administration under President-elect Donald Trump to deal...

Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the presidential election has already created the usual swarm of “experts” who know exactly what the new president must do. The chattering class, editorialists, columnists, and bloggers everywhere are rushing to get their ideas heard. From appointment suggestions to major policy initiatives, all seem to know exactly what Mr. Trump should do. So, here is my two cents! ... Here are five specific suggestions for sound environmental policies that would help get the economy back on track.

A new report has government officials considering setting 10 million acres of across six states in the American west off limits to mining and development to protect the chicken-like Greater Sage Grouse, which is not an endangered species. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report found that much of the Sage Grouse’s habitat sits on top of extremely valuable deposits of minerals including gold, copper, lithium, silver, uranium and many others. The USGS report means that the government’s most restrictive grouse protection plan could kill even more than 31,000 jobs and lead to more than $5.6 billion in reduced annual economic...

There were two sightings of Western yellow-billed cuckoos this year, both in Delta County, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. The secretive birds are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering designating parts of western Colorado as critical habitat for the migratory bird, including lands along the Colorado River through Mesa County. Sightings — which frequently involve people hearing the cuckoo’s distinctive “klak-klak” sound — have been recorded in Mesa and Delta counties in previous years. ... “We have changed the initial map due to comments from the proposed...

A forestry company filed a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuit against Greenpeace Tuesday for misrepresenting the company’s environmental record to raise funds and promote its agenda. Greenpeace knowingly and deliberately made false claims about the company while fundraising, and fabricated evidence of Resolute’s alleged environmental malfeasance, according to the forestry and paper company Resolute Forest Products. RICO is an anti-mafia law designed to combat organized crime. Greenpeace’ is a global fraud,” states the 124-page legal complaint. “For years, this international network of environmental groups collectively calling themselves ‘Greenpeace’ has fraudulently induced people throughout the United States and...

House Democrats on Tuesday released letters from Pentagon officials that they said should put an end to “silly speculation” generated by Republicans that protecting a bird known as the greater sage-grouse could hamstring the U.S. military. They're hoping the new information persuades lawmakers to oppose a GOP provision in the annual defense policy bill that would block the Obama administration from protecting the sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act for 10 years. The measure also would prevent implementation of land-use plans by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to conserve the sage-grouse and its habitat. …

the U.S. Supreme Court .. issued an injunction blocking the EPA from implementing its Clean Power Plan, which would end America’s use of coal, its cheapest and most abundant source of electricity. ... Western Colorado’s economy is so dependent on coal. It employs more than 2,000 people and generates $58 million in federal and state royalties, $28 million in private landowner royalties, $4.5 million in reclamation funds, and pays $28 million in property, severance, and sales taxes — all of it on the Western Slope. EPA has never tried anything so unpopular in its 45-year history, and that is saying...

The North Fork Valley is now down to one operating coal mine after Friday’s announcement that the Bowie No. 2 Mine near Paonia is being idled. Kentucky-based Bowie Resource Partners said in a news release that the action is occurring “as a result of continued market deterioration.” “The mine will remain idle while the market for Bowie No. 2 coal is evaluated,” the company said. The mine employs 108 full-time employees and one contractor. Bowie said it expects that 68 positions will be eliminated ... Just a few years ago, Bowie No. 2 employed more than 300 miners ... Another...

A growing number of state organizations seek to remedy what they consider negligent policies and shoddy oversight of public land on the part of federal agencies. Under the umbrella name Transfer of Public Lands, the movement offers a solution to the problem that is simple in concept: transfer ownership and management of public lands administered by federal agencies to equivalent state agencies. These agencies, being accountable to governors, state legislators and citizens, will manage the public lands in a more conscientious, cost-effective way. ... Unlike states east of the Continental Divide, public lands in Western states such as Washington and...

Groups question keeping Four Corners Power Plant open for 25 more years. A coalition of environmental groups has filed a notice of intent to sue the Office of Surface Mining, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others over a July decision to allow the Four Corners Power Plant to operate through 2041. A coalition of environmental groups announced earlier this week its intent to take legal action against several federal agencies for extending operations at the Four Corners Power Plant and Navajo Mine just outside Farmington. On Dec. 21, San Juan Citizen Alliance, among other regional and national conservation groups,...

President Obama's weekly remarks Hi, everybody. Our country is home to some of the most beautiful God-given landscapes in the world. We’re blessed with natural treasures — from the Grand Tetons to the Grand Canyon; from lush forests and vast deserts to lakes and rivers teeming with wildlife. And it’s our responsibility to protect these treasures for future generations, just as previous generations protected them for us. Since taking office, I’ve set aside more than 260 million acres of public lands and waters — more than any President in history. Last month, we announced that 11 states had come together...