by Gabe Scott, Cascadia Wildlands House Counsel Ready for some good news? Last week our partners at Eyak Preservation Council announced that the major part of Alaska’s Bering River Coalfield, and the old-growth forest on top of it, has been permanently protected! Several things about this historic victory make it especially sweet. Ecologically it protects … Continue reading Reflections on the Enormous Victory in Northern Cascadia and Coming Full Circle
Who Pays for Wildlife Conservation and Why We Shouldn’t Care
By Bob Ferris I have been watching this whole debate about who actually “pays” for wildlife for most of my three-decade career. In point of fact it is a tough equation to resolve satisfactorily because a lot of it depends on what you include and how you count. Certainly hunters pay much … Continue reading Who Pays for Wildlife Conservation and Why We Shouldn’t Care
Of Farmers, Hunters, Oil Money and the Double Secret Déjà Vu Shuffle
"The trophy-recreationist has peculiarities which contribute in subtle ways to his own undoing. To enjoy he must possess, invade, appropriate. Hence the wilderness which he cannot personally see has no value to him. Hence the universal assumption that an unused hinterland is rendering no service to society. To those devoid of imagination, a blank place … Continue reading Of Farmers, Hunters, Oil Money and the Double Secret Déjà Vu Shuffle
Feeling Nostalgic For a Better Future
By Bob Ferris OK, I am feeling nostalgic today. In part it is because of the treasures (or detritus) I find on my desk. To wit: 1—An old Herder’s folding knife I bought more than 50 years ago from the Eddie Bauer catalog when they were actually outfitters. 2—A copy of Animal Heroes … Continue reading Feeling Nostalgic For a Better Future
Updating Roosevelt: Teddy and the Wolves
By Bob Ferris I have frequently observed that some of the folks who wrap themselves most tightly in the American flag are those who take some of the most un-American actions. I think the same is true about those who worship Teddy Roosevelt without really understanding historical context, what he actually stood for, and … Continue reading Updating Roosevelt: Teddy and the Wolves
Teddy and the Big Assed Wolves
By Bob Ferris "The wolf is the arch type of ravin, the beast of waste and desolation. It is still found scattered thinly throughout all the wilder portions of the United States, but has everywhere retreated from the advance of civilization." from Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches by Theodore Roosevelt originally published in this … Continue reading Teddy and the Big Assed Wolves
Tag the Tongass
By Bob Ferris Roughly 1.2 million people visit the 17 million-acre Tongass National Forest each year, but few of them seem to know it. In their minds they are making stops at places like Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan on Alaska’s picturesque Marine Highway. They see bears, wolves, salmon, deer and eagles in what they … Continue reading Tag the Tongass
The O&C Lands: Holding out for a Hero
By Bob Ferris The general public tends not to gravitate to the complicated. That is one of the reasons that relatively few get engaged in the federal farm bills or in energy policy in spite of the critical importance of both those entities to our health, wealth and happiness. The end result is that the … Continue reading The O&C Lands: Holding out for a Hero
The Wedge Group Recipe
By Bob Ferris "The trophy-hunter is the caveman reborn. Trophy-hunting is the prerogative of youth, racial or individual, and nothing to apologize for. The disquieting thing in the modern picture is the trophy-hunter who never grows up, in whom the capacity for isolation, perception, and husbandry is undeveloped, or perhaps lost. He is the … Continue reading The Wedge Group Recipe
Don Peay: the Man Who Would Be King… Baron
by Bob Ferris Rudyard Kipling wrote a tale once about two pals in the British army serving in India who figured they could travel north to Kafiristan in present-day Afghanistan and essentially create their own mini-kingdom. The tale was fanciful and was eventually turned into a popular 1975 movie starring Sean Connery and Michael … Continue reading Don Peay: the Man Who Would Be King… Baron