Rescinding the Roadless Area Conservation Rule

Rescinding the Roadless Area Conservation Rule

During a meeting of the Western Governors’ Association in New Mexico, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the Department of Agriculture is rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule. “This outdated administrative rule contradicts the will of Congress and...
Cheatgrass and Cattle

Cheatgrass and Cattle

Regarded as “one of the most significant ecological crises facing land managers in the arid West,” invasive cheatgrass has increased fire frequency in the Great Basin from once every 30-70 years to every 3-10 years. As Aldo Leopold observes in A Sand County Almanac,...
Revenue-Driven Wildlife Management

Revenue-Driven Wildlife Management

As reported by The Colorado Sun, wild turkeys are thriving in the eastern half of Colorado to the point of becoming a nuisance in towns and cities. Merriam’s turkeys are native to the foothills and mountains of Colorado, but the population explosion is occurring among...
Vegetation Near Homes — Not Always a Fire Risk

Vegetation Near Homes — Not Always a Fire Risk

Researchers Max Moritz and Luca Carmignani have penned an article raising concerns about a California plan to ban plants within 5 feet of homes for wildfire safety. “As scientists who study how vegetation ignites and burns, we recognize that well-maintained plants and...
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest

At 3.36 million acres, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge is Montana’s largest national forest. The Forest provides habitat for 355 species of birds, including bald eagles, sandhill cranes, golden eagles, and trumpeter swans, the largest waterfowl in North America. President...
Trump Orders Consolidation of Fire Agencies

Trump Orders Consolidation of Fire Agencies

Citing “the devastation of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires,” President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14308 on June 12, 2025, mandating the consolidation of federal firefighting under a single agency. Trump’s EO echoes his “Big, Beautiful...
Tell Your Senators to Oppose S.B.1672

Tell Your Senators to Oppose S.B.1672

Senate Bill 1672 targets our hard-won legal victories. If signed into law, the bill would exempt aerial fire retardant from the Clean Water Act. Just last year, USC scientists proved that retardant is toxic waste containing cadmium, vanadium, chromium, and other heavy...
Tree Diversity Reduces Impacts of Temperature Extremes

Tree Diversity Reduces Impacts of Temperature Extremes

Various studies have shown that forests act as a buffer to climate extremes, creating micro-climates that support forest resilience and biodiversity. The authors of a new study, “Tree Diversity Increases Forest Temperature Buffering via Enhancing Canopy Density and...