Bio-Diversity Goats Clearing Meadows and Forest at Pitchstone Waters #2 On the Fall River in Idaho, 5-miles from the southwest corner of Yellowstone Park, we use goats instead of herbicides to control weeds and stimulate grasses in sagebrush meadows. Goats Clearing Meadows and Forest at Pitchstone Waters #2 from Christopher Gill on Vimeo.
"Invasion Biology" Scorched Portugal Turns to the Goat as a Low-Cost Firefighter In nature, different animals eat different kinds of plants and there are specific species for every such “ecological niche”. Where native animals have gone missing, domestic goats can be used to replace animals that once ate brush and weeds, just as cattle replace herds of nomadic grazers like bison. Goats
eating Secret of a New York Farm Stand’s Success: An Eye for the Next Big Thing “Growing better food with technology and farmers from one of the world’s oldest, most advanced agricultural nations: Egypt. NOTE: this article was originally published to NYTimes.com on July 30, 2019. It was written by Priya Krishna. Photographs were taken by Shane Lavalette. The Greenmarket go-to for high-end chefs
Artificial Beaver Dam Videos Pitchstone Waters Artificial Beaver Dams #2 Restoring an abandoned beaver meadow in an Idaho forest near Yellowstone Park. Second of a series. Pitchstone Waters Artificial Beaver Dams #2 from Christopher Gill on Vimeo.
Climate Head of Key Meteorological Organization Slams Climate Extremists, in Unprecedented Move The head of the world’s foremost weather science organization issued a surprise rebuke to climate alarmists in remarks published on Sept. 6, marking what may be, according to some experts, one of the most significant developments in the climate debate in decades
Canada As Wolverines Battle to Survive, Warming Poses a New Threat “Wolverines are threatened by climate change according to the authors of the article below. What they miss however, is that as warming climate moves weather-zones north and south, habitat loss in one any range of latitude will be offset by habitat gain in other latitudes. A short time ago, the
Bayer Bayer’s Roundup Woes Deepen as Germany Bans Key Chemical “Considering that the Europeans are far ahead of the US in their efforts to address the health and environmental hazards of agricultural chemicals, including glyphosate (Roundup), it is incredible that Bayer management – a European group – approved the Monsanto acquisition, thereby trapping Bayer in this company-killing tarbaby. NOTE: this article initially
Africa Wild Pups Romp Again in an African Paradise This is part of a remarkable success story from Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. The success there shows how fast systems can recover when keystone grazers, numerous prey species and the full compliment of predators are restored. For more on this topic watch this lecture of Dr. Sean B. Carroll,
Bear Colorado Black Bear Drags Dumpster Down Street Trying to Get Food If you can’t crack the safe, steal it instead… NOTE this video was originally published to NBCNews.com on July 26, 2019.
Bears Bears at Pitchstone Waters “We see black bears every day or two, and grizzly bears at least weekly.
Baby Boomers Baby Boomers Are Leaving Behind a Trail of Luxury Ranches It is true that Western legend no longer captures American imagination as it once did. But the main reason many Colorado – and Western – ranch sellers can’t sell their big ranches is that so many are overpriced. Many sellers have over-improved their ranches with enormous homes—and bigger, often unsightly
Animal Growth Photographer And His Wife Plant 2 Million Trees In 20 Years To Restore A Destroyed Forest And Even The Animals Have Returned Quoting the author of the article below, ” The project has inspired millions by giving a concrete example of positive ecological action and showing how quickly the environment can recover with the right attitudes.” NOTE: this article was originally published to BoredPanda.com in May, 2019. It was written by Ilona
Allam Cycle Net Zero Natural Gas Plant -- The Game Changer Instead of subsidizing the feel-good mirages of solar and wind, those who want clean, cheap energy should devote these funds to making fossil fuels cleaner. The method described below would transform carbon emissions. Similar methods could work with coal. NOTE: this article was originally published to Forbes on July 31,
"Wolves" Understanding the Ecological Role of Wolves in Yellowstone National Park Loathed as a threat and nuisance, the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park was essentially wiped out by the mid 1920’s. That changed in 1995, when the National Park Service reintroduced them there, with the goal of restoring a natural predator/prey dynamic to the landscape. NOTE: you can
climate change ‘Natural Rivals’ Review: To Protect and Conserve Book Review: What we owe to Gifford Pinchot and John Muir. NOTE: this article was originally published to WSJ.com on August 2, 2019. It was written by Gerard Helferich. Gifford Pinchot and John Muir understood man’s relation to nature in different ways—one practical, one spiritual—but left
Western Art Briscoe Western Art Museum Aims to Expand Perspectives with Into a New West “Great art at San Antonio’s Briscoe Museum. NOTE: this article was originally published to The Rivard Report on June 21, 2019. It was written by James Courtney. Into a New West Into a New West opened at the Briscoe Western Art Museum at the end of May and will
Bear Grizzly Bears: The Fierce Predator of the North Grizzly bears are at the top of the food chain, but much of their diet consists of fruit, roots, and grasses.
Conservation Let’s Fix Our National Parks... Common sense about how to fund our national park system. Quoting the authors, “True conservation is taking care of the land and water you already have, not insatiably acquiring more and hoping it manages itself.” NOTE: this article was originally published to PERC.org on June 30, 2015. It was
Bio-Diversity The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: an Analysis by PERC (Property and Environment Research Center) The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is the basis on which public wildlife and habitat is supposed to be managed in the United States. Central ideas are that science will govern decisions, and human use of our resources is a primary objective. Since the early 1970’s a body
Grizzly Grizzly Bear Recovery and Management Summary * The Greater Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly’s recovery is due to the collaboration of federal biologists, states, tribes, conservation groups, and landowners. * Congress should encourage these efforts to continue while preserving the flexibility states and tribes need to manage growing grizzly populations. * Unfortunately, H.R. 2532 could discourage further recovery
food safety Largest Animal Epidemic in History Is Due to Factory Meat Production The African Swine Fever outbreak, which has now spread to China, could result in the slaughter of 200 million hogs this year, in an effort to get the disease under control. Rob Wallace of the Agroecology and Rural Economics Research Corps outlines the causes and possible solutions. NOTE: this video
Brush Solving the Wildfire Crisis Requires Free-Market Solutions Common sense ways to reduce wildfires. NOTE: this article was originally published to PERC.org on November 26, 2018. It was written by Jonathan Wood Harnessing market powers to improve wildfire management The devastating fires burning in California are a vivid reminder of the urgent need to reduce the risk
Bio-Diversity Restoring Elk Country-Little Snowy Mountains Montana Due to fire suppression and a lack of active management, forests can become unnaturally dense and overgrown…and that’s bad news for elk and other wildlife in need of quality forage and habitat. With that in mind, the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest implemented a multi-year, landscape-scale project in
Animal Growth Elk and Calves A mother elk, her yearling calf and this year’s twins, captured in one of our newly-opened ATV trails at Pitchstone Waters.
