Wildlife

Wildlife, especially game species, capture human’s imagination.

They are iconic symbols of the health of our wide open spaces. Attempts to manage them as if they are industrialized livestock is ill-conceived and ill-fated. Wildlife are part of nature’s whole. To improve their future, we have to improve their habitat from the soil up.

Latest articles

Read more about wildlife and management practices in America:

Cost-effectively Wildfire Grazing Steep Ground With Lava Flows (Talus Field) by Wild Horses

“As discussed in this video, so-called ‘invasive’ horses – actually North America’s oldest native species, can reduce wildfire and restore habitat in areas unreachable by any other large grazer. Watch this 1-minute video and judge […]

Are Prescribed Burns The Silver Bullet Suggested For Wildfires?

“Outside-the-box thinking on prescribed burns, from the founder of Wild Horse Brigade.  

Re-Establishing Beaver in an Idaho Meadow

At Pitchstone Waters Ranch on the Fall River in Idaho, we have been preparing beaver release sites for over a year. Here are our first 4-transplant beavers. The big ones weigh 80-pounds! Our profound thanks […]

Far-West Texas Ranch Near Big Bend That’s Half the Size of Rhode Island is Still for Sale

“As discussed below, “Brewster Ranch,” covering a 30-mile-by-50-mile area, comprises 22 parcels and is the largest ranch coming to market in several years.  

World’s Longest Mule Deer Migration: Red Desert to Hoback

“As discussed below, each summer Deer 255 lives in the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. But each winter, she travels far into Wyoming’s sagebrush sea and high desert ecosystem.   She crosses the Pitchstone […]

Bison Bunch Up to Protect Calves

Over millions of years, rangelands have evolved under grazing by nomadic herds that travel in mass, bunched up to protect both young and adults from predators. And, plants have evolved to need this. This observation […]

​To Prevent Huge Wildfires, Australia Leans More on Indigenous Experience

“As discussed in the article below, in Australia as in the US, the ‘natural systems’ found by Europeans were actually human artifacts, formed and shaped by thousands of years of human impact.  

Artificial Beaver Dams Are Catching on in Idaho

How and why to build artificial beaver dams. Any property with small streams should consider these.   The authors say, “We visited two very different streams in Idaho to learn how beaver dam-like structures can […]

New Mexico: US Officials Authorize Helicopter With Shooters to Kill Feral Cows in the Gila Wilderness

In New Mexico as across the US, ‘conservationists’ are leading the War on Wildlife.  

Re-introducing Beaver on the Escalante River Watershed in Utah

An excellent explanation of the importance of beaver to any watershed.     NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on July 13, 2020  

The Predator-Prey Connection

“Everyone understands that predators control animal numbers. But of equal importance is predators’ effect on animal behavior, and the consequential benefit to habitat – and wildlife – that result from how animals behave when in […]

By Learning to Hunt Otters, Wolves Decimate a Deer Population

“How wolf recovery on Pleasant Island Alaska affected deer populations  

Leave It to Beavers

“As discussed in the article below, “Beaver dams are why some ecologists insist that beavers may be able to help remedy the effects of climate change. Beavers build dams, which create ponds, which create ecosystems. […]

Using Goats to Open an Idaho Forest

At Pitchstone Waters near Yellowstone Park in Idaho, we use goats to clear brush, weeds, and stimulate grasses on forest floors. Sixth in a series.   Goats Grazing Idaho Forests from Christopher Gill on Vimeo.   […]

Soil-Carbon Cowboys

A new documentary series in 10 parts (paddocks) directed by Peter Byck …please watch soil-carbon cowboys first.      NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on June 22, 2020.

Barriers

“Filled with incredible wildlife footage, BARRIERS captures the many challenges migrating big game animals encounter on their journeys, and the collaborative solutions that can keep migrations intact long into the future.”  

Climate and Big Beef

“San Antonio entrepreneur and rancher Lew Moorman calls BS on fake beef.  

Releasing Beavers in Idaho

Fifth in a series about reintroducing beaver on the Fall River in Idaho, 5-miles Southwest of Yellowstone National Park.       NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on June 15, 2020

Scientists Have Cracked the Origins of ‘Desert Kites,’ Massive Prehistoric Patterns That Were Carved into the Middle Eastern Desert

“It is  politically-correct to say that primitive humans were conservationists and wildlife managers. This is a myth. As reported below, “Three recent peer-reviewed papers confirm popular hypotheses that the desert kites actually served as mass […]

Controlling Weeds in Idaho

A Forb is a herbaceous, flowering plant other than grass. Unwanted forbs are generally dubbed “weeds.” Herbicides used for “weed” control almost always harm habitat and wildlife. On Pitchstone Waters, we manage our weeds unconventionally—to […]

Elk Taken in Bighorns Tests Positive for Brucellosis

These infections are spread by untreated bison and winter feeding of elk.

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Follow along as we manage the resources within our fence lines, but think beyond the box.