In California, conservation easements are saving more than astonishing landscapes; they are saving livelihoods. The California Rangeland Trust is preserving working cattle ranches. The fledgling group was founded in 1998 by the California Cattlemen’s Association with the help of a $400,000 grant from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. It was prompted in large partContinue reading “Home On The Range”
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Weedbusters
A disaster for some is an opportunity for others. When noxious weeds invade Montana pastures and hillsides, two enterprising Missoula teenagers reap the benefits. Jonathan and Matthew Rich have spent the summer collecting, sorting, and selling thousands of weevils and flea beetles that feed on knapweed and leafy spurge, some of the state’s most invasiveContinue reading “Weedbusters”
Shark Haven
The world’s largest fish has found a safe haven in the waters surrounding a tiny Caribbean island. Two environmental groups have purchased the 5-acre Little Water Caye Island off the southern coast of Belize and will manage the surrounding waters as a protected area for the reclusive whale shark. Conservation International, based in Washington, DC,Continue reading “Shark Haven”
Pork Politics at its Worst
Orange County RegisterAugust 29, 2003 By J. Bishop Grewell “Whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before,” wrote Jonathan Swift in “Gulliver’s Travels,” “would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the wholeContinue reading “Pork Politics at its Worst”
The Wrong Way To Restore Salmon
The federal government pours cash into the Columbia basin, but what fish really need is water.
Maintaining Trust
Private land trusts generally are prudent stewards, but tax advantages can sway their decisions.
The Costs Of Regulatory Stringency
A study of Wyoming oil drilling reveals that regulatory costs are higher on federal land.
Back To The Future
Surrounded by the magnificent blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, Santa Cruz Island, just 25 miles west of Santa Barbara, is the scene of a life-and-death drama that pits feral pigs against the dainty island fox. The introduction of non-native species to one of California’s isolated Channel Islands has led to the near extirpation ofContinue reading “Back To The Future”
Salted Irrigation
Salt deposits can destroy farm land, but at long last, one scientist has found a crop that will tolerate irrigation by sea water.
Garbage To Oil
A great meal for many Americans is a Butterball turkey. A great deal for ConAgra, the company producing Butterballs, is to turn all its turkey waste into marketable products. Its Carthage, Missouri, turkey plant accumulates 1.3 million gallons a day of turkey grease, guts, fat, and feathers that is stored in lagoons and sent toContinue reading “Garbage To Oil”