Federal lands are, on average, in worse environmental condition than private lands and produce much less economic activity. That’s because management of federal lands, which comprise 27 percent of the American land mass, is largely based on the destructive notion…
The legislative package of nine bills addresses the shortcomings of the ESA by fixing the listing process, adding framework for a clear de-listing process, addressing the petition backlog issue, removing unnecessary impediments to economic development, involving state and local input,…
“Farmers and ranchers know the wildlife and the land they work better than anyone; it only makes sense that we would enlist them in conservation efforts,” said Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. Jamie Parfitt KDVR GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES NEW ‘FLEXIBLE’…
These days, Interior spends over $200 million a year buying land. That raises the perennial question: how much is enough? The government already owns 635 million acres, almost a third of the United States. That includes 250 million acres of…
Private landowners are key to sage-grouse conservation because they own almost all of the wetland habitat the species depends on, and they are by far the largest number of grouse conservationists. If the goal is sage-grouse conservation, alienating ranchers and…
Privately owned farms, ranches, and forests, collectively known as working lands, are the cornerstones on which our nation was built. These lands not only produce much-needed food and fiber while sustaining rural economies, they provide many conservation benefits as well,…
"...embracing private property rights, as free market environmentalists have long advocated, can provide real, permanent conservation. Buying sensitive habitats, procuring conservation easements and giving landowners financial incentives to be better stewards insulate conservation from shifting political winds. It also encourages…
“Through using grazing as a tool, we can improve sage grouse habitat — not just coexist, but improve it,” Prescott said. John O'Connell Capital Press Research ranch seeks balance between conservation, grazing HAILEY, Idaho — During his years as executive…
"If we slow down our progress, including the generation of new ideas, by using less energy or less of any other resources, we deserve nothing but contempt from future generations—for example, from those who die prematurely because a medical cure…
What if those incentives were reversed? What if landowners were paid to create and preserve habitat, or better yet, to raise endangered species as efficiently as they raise livestock? What if landowners knew that if a species’ population fell below…