Suit: US grouse protections driven by politics, not science

Rural Nevadans suing to block the Obama administration's sage-grouse protections say a trail of internal government documents shows politics was the driving force behind a pre-determined policy that flies in the face of its experts' own best science.
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22 Texas lawmakers submit amicus brief in Red River land dispute

Twenty-two members of Texas’ congressional delegation filed an amicus brief Wednesday afternoon supporting landowners in a lawsuit against the federal government over disputed property along the Red River.
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Life Under an Iron Fist

Activists protesting federal land mismanagement and the imprisonment of Dwight and Steven Hammond recently occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters building in Oregon. Some facts, context and perspective may help people understand what’s really going on here.
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Remember Cliven Bundy? Yep… he’s still #winning

Most of you probably remember the saga of Cliven Bundy from last year. The Nevada Rancher was in a legal battle with the federal government and the state of Nevada over grazing fees and property rights which turned into a standoff between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and a literal army of Bundy’s supporters. Cliven’s cattle had been rustled out from under him and parts of his land blocked off. After some tense moments in the confrontation the BLM blinked first, packed their things and left. They vowed at the time that Bundy hadn’t heard the last of them, but as NPR reports, Bundy is still there and nothing noticeable has changed.


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Fence fight on Steens Mountain

THE BULLETIN, Bend, OR - [Rep. Greg] Walden meeting with BLM in Burns over grazing dispute
WASHINGTON — More than a decade after Congress carved out special protections for Steens Mountain, including 100,000 acres of wilderness free of cattle, a dispute over fencing has pitted a local landowner against the Bureau of Land Management. ✧ George Stroemple wants to graze cattle on his Harney County property within the 100,000-acre “No Livestock Grazing Area” portion of 174,000 acres of wilderness created by the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000. The disagreement lies over who should build the fence needed to keep his livestock off the protected lands. ✧ Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, plans to meet with BLM officials in Burns today [4/25]. ✧ The law states: “The Secretary (of the Interior) shall be responsible for installing and maintaining any fencing required for resource protection within the designated no livestock grazing area.”

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Obama administration cuts back oil shale development

Controversy is heating up over an administration plan to drastically reduce the amount of federal lands available for oil shale development in the American West.

The Bush administration had set aside 1.3 million acres for oil shale and tar sands development  in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. The new Bureau of Land Management plan cuts that amount by two-thirds, down to 700,000 acres, a decision that has prompted industry outrage.

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