Environment
Southern Idaho agreement reflects decades of water rights work, dawn of an orderly era
We’ve seen short water times before in Idaho, but this year’s extended drought has put into sharp relief the decades-long Idaho water adjudication process playing out in the Bellevue Triangle just South of Ketchum/Sun Valley/Hailey/Bellevue. Mostly, it’s been an orderly and legally-reliant curtailment, driven by clear prior court rulings and sound legislation which has established […]
Risch, Senate Republicans urge Biden to withdraw nominee for public lands post
Tracy Stone-Manning and a former federal investigator during the past few days shared widely varying accounts of her involvement in a 1989 tree-spiking in an Idaho national forest, as the fight over the Montanan’s nomination to lead the U.S. Bureau of Land Management escalated. Stone-Manning’s confirmation remains stuck in a divided U.S. Senate Energy & […]
All Idahoans can play a part in conserving water this drastic drought year. Here’s how.
As a lifelong farmer and the chairman of the Idaho Water Resource Board, it’s been amazing to watch our state’s potential 2021 water supplies diminish from what was shaping up to be a comparatively decent winter with near-average snowpack in most areas of the state to a bone-dry spring. Although major drought conditions have been […]
U.S. House to vote on next week on expanding PFAS regulation, backers say
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress and Biden administration officials at a conference on Wednesday outlined how they’re attempting to regulate toxic chemicals found in drinking water — including an upcoming vote in the U.S. House. EPA Administrator Michael Regan, a former top environmental official in North Carolina, said the agency is in the process of […]
McConnell blasts nomination of Stone-Manning as public lands chief
U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday joined the ranks of GOP senators opposing the confirmation of Tracy Stone-Manning, the president’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, possibly signaling the confirmation could soon move beyond the Energy Committee. The strongly critical statement from McConnell, of Kentucky, was not a surprise, but the […]
As unprecedented fire risk looms, Gov. Little calls on Idahoans to use extreme caution
Gov. Brad Little issued a dire warning about the nearly unprecedented fire risk in Idaho as he toured the Great Basin Smokejumpers base Tuesday at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. Tuesday’s visit to the fire center and the public warnings followed the emergency declaration Little issued Friday. That order authorizes Idaho National Guard […]
Bipartisan team leads push to expand veterans’ free access to national parks
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa testified Tuesday before the House Natural Resources Committee hearing in support of bipartisan legislation that would give veterans and Gold Star families free lifetime access to national parks and public federal lands. “No one is more worthy of experiencing open access to the incredible places that these […]
Livestock guardian dogs have a job to do — please leave them in the field
Everyone loves dogs. But some dogs aren’t pets. Idaho sheep ranchers use special dog breeds to protect their flocks from predators. These are livestock guardian dogs that have been bred to fend off coyotes, wolves, bears and mountain lions from killing sheep. The dogs are a non-lethal method of protecting sheep — it’s a long-standing […]
Idaho governor issues emergency declaration for wildfire season
Originally published on the Idaho Reports blog on Friday, July 9. As temperatures soar this week and the drought continues, Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued an emergency declaration related to wildfire Friday. Little also mobilized Idaho National Guard firefighters and aircraft to assist in the effort. Northern areas of the state have reported fires starting […]
Biden’s public lands pick nears crucial vote in growing Senate confirmation fight
Republican senators during the past few weeks led sustained, vocal resistance to President Joe Biden’s choice to head up the Bureau of Land Management, zeroing in on the Montanan’s Twitter feed, her graduate thesis that included a mock-up for an advertisement for population control and her ties to a 1989 tree-spiking incident. But Tracy Stone-Manning’s […]
Great American Outdoors Act funds repairs to Pocatello’s Scout Mountain
A popular recreation spot near Pocatello will receive upgrades to make it more accessible, according to a press release from the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. In the release, officials from the Westside Ranger District said the work, including 5.3 miles of chip sealing for Road 001 up to the Scout Mountain Campground, will begin the week […]
As climate change disasters strike, couldn’t we at least try to leave our descendants a livable world?
Every Scouting family knows that Lord Robert Baden-Powell was the founder of the world Scouting program. Included in his last message to the Scouts was this piece of wisdom: “Try and leave this world a little better than you found it, and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that […]