by Hal Herring

Over the past fifteen years, more and more of my bird and antelope hunting has been done on Bureau of Land Management public lands. Every year, I buy a pass to Glacier National Park, and our family hikes and rambles there are some of the finest experiences of my life so far. For me, and for millions of other American outdoorspeople, no public agency has as much potential or actual effect on hunting, fishing and just the plain freedom to roam and camp and shoot as does the US Department of Interior.

On February 7th at 1 pm EDT, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will be taking questions and discussing conservation and the economy in a live webchat that should be both interesting and informative. The sportsmen and women of the US need to have their voices heard on issues that range from wolves and energy development to the restoration of the Mississippi Delta- this is a chance to make that happen. Please don’t miss it. Click here to watch it on the Department of Interior site.

Here’s a quick list of agencies under the Department of the Interior, which should inspire participation--because every one of us has a stake in here somewhere:

-Bureau of Indian Affairs
-Bureau of Land Management
-Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
-Bureau of Reclamation
-Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
-National Park Service
-Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement
-U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
-U.S. Geological Survey

by Bob Marshall

Everyone knows water and oil don't mix, but post-Deepwater Horizon research is proving oil and fish is an even worse combo that is looking increasingly toxic.

The latest report comes from the University of South Florida, which revealed a federal government survey of the entire Gulf of Mexico showed "the area that has the highest frequency of fish diseases is the area where the oil spill was."

This map, that accompanied the report, is a graphic illustration of the dangers oil development poses to the valuable Gulf of Mexico fisheries resource.

by Bob Marshall

Louisiana released its long-awaited master plan to permanently address the nation’s most severe fish, wildlife and economic disaster: The destruction of the great Mississippi River estuary and the rest of the state’s coast.

This incredible resource is the winter home or stopover point for 70 percent of migratory waterfowl in North America. It is critical to 90 percent of all marine species in the Gulf such as reds, tuna, snapper, tarpon, amberjack and kings. It is also the top tonnage seafood landings in the contiguous U.S. and produces 50 percent of the nation’s wild shrimp crop, 35 percent of its blue claw crabs and 40 percent of its oysters. All 110 species of neo-tropical migrants use it with 50 species nesting there and 60 using it as a stop-over on long migrations.

by Bob Marshall

Something died a quiet death at midnight Dec. 31 that should have set off a huge celebration in the sportsmen's community--and all others who love fish, wildlife, clean water and air: the 45-cents-per gallon ethanol subsidy expired. 

We're not cheering the end of an annual $2-6 billion annual subsidy American taxpayers have been sending to refiners for the last three decades, although there's nothing wrong with having a party about that. We're lighting the fireworks for the end of a well-intentioned program that turned into an environmental disaster.

Some history:

Ethanol originally was considered good news by conservationists because it would mean reducing the amount of carbon-producing fossil fuels with a renewable plant-based product. What could be more green? But the small push for ethanol grew into a big rush in 2007 when President George W. Bush -- to the cheers of most in the green community -- announced the goal of having 15 percent of domestic gasoline consumption converted to ethanol in 10 years. Before you could say "more row crops, less prairie grass" corn prices had gone from $2 to $4 a bushel, and by the end of the following spring, the nation had planted 90 million acres in corn -- the most since World War II.