Update: Sage Grouse Listing in Limbo (AGAIN)

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced yesterday sage grouse, although warranted by biologists for protection under the Endangered Species Act, will instead be put on hold.

Allowing individual states to manage sage grouse effectively puts the heat on special interests--livestock, oil and gas, developers, wind farms, etc.-- to take whatever steps necessary to preserve and enhance sage grouse habitat (sagebrush) and the birds' welfare as well.

The move as expected brought howls of rage from both sides. The public lands resource users/extractors of course want it all--no holds barred. Ditto the environmentalists whose main agenda seems to be to toss private interests off public lands period.

While I can't prove it none of the above appears to care much one way or the other about the grouse itself.

My own take (and I'm sure the Pointer Sisters agree) is for at least the foreseeable futre we get to continue hunting sage hens. Even more important is we get to chase sage hens in the off season--good practice for the girls and a good workout for us--trust me, beats hell outta hanging out the YMCA.

Selfish, you bet, but around here sage hens are in pretty good shape and the few birds we kill each season has been proven (biologically speaking no politics even) to have zero impact on the big picture...So there you have it.

Feds Grant Montana $20 Million to Combat Mountain Pine Beetles

While lodgepole pines such as the dead one on the right in the above photo are bearing the brunt of the current mountain pine beetle infestation the ponderosa on the left is not out of harm's way by any stretch. Compared to much of western Montana the stately ponderosas are sort of rare around here, yet I know of several beetle killed individuals and no doubt there are many more out there. Currently about 3 million acres of pine forest across western Montana are under seige with apparently no end in sight. Who knows what $20 million will do if anything to stem the tide but it sure beats sitting back, wringing hands and doing nothing.