
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service is asking a federal judge to withdraw papers that were submitted to add the sage grouse to the endangered species list. Adding sage grouse to the endangered species list could mean tighter restrictions on oil, housing, and agricultural development across the Rocky Mountain West.
The battle between the USFWS and the Western Watersheds Project on the protection of sage grouse has been going on since 2005, when the Western Watersheds Project sued the USFWS when the grouse did not make the endangered species list.
This past Sunday, Field & Stream and Toyota hosted a roundtable discussion at the SHOT Show. Moderated by F&S Conservation Editor, Bob Marshall, the panel was made up of Jeff Crane, president of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation; George Cooper, president and C.E.O. of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership; Howard Vincent, president and C.E.O. of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever; and Lyle Laverty, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
The idea of fish hatcheries is nothing new to trout anglers, but Florida wildlife officials are hoping that it can help their redfish, snook, and tarpon populations. Four independent aquaculture labs helped develop the plan with state officials last week.
Florida wildlife officials have embarked on an ambitious plan that would create a statewide network of about 12 new and existing fish hatcheries focused on raising popular sport species such as redfish, snook and tarpon, then releasing them into the wild.
Brian and Michelle Nelson
East Grand Forks, Minn.
As soon as gray wolves were delisted about a year ago, the debate about whether or not states should start hunting them started. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Fish & Wildlife decided to give states and tribes more flexibility in managing the wolf herds. Including hunting them.
The Safari Club has come out strongly against the hunting of wolves, saying that if we start hunting them now, they will just become endangered again.
If the phrase, "leave only footprints" was popularized today, it would be "leave only carbon-neutral footprints." And while the green groups have been pushing people to neutralize their carbon emissions by buying carbon offsets to help battle global warming, the movement hasn't really taken hold in the outdoor conservation community. Until now.
Last weekend, the Florida Wildlife Federation hosted the world's first carbon-neutral fishing tournament in Miami.
It seems impossible to escape the Global Warming debate no matter who you are and where you live. And now, Canadian Inuits are getting in the fight. The past few weeks, the United States government and environmental groups have been debating over the issue of protecting polar bears because of their dwindling habitat. Worried that they would lose the money of American hunters coming to Canada to pursue polar bears, the Inuits denounced the environmentalists for pushing hard to get the polar bear protected.
Rick Meyer
New Liberty, Iowa
As a full-time farmer, Rick Meyer has grown up with an appreciation for nature and wildlife and an even greater appreciation for conservation. Since most of Iowa is fence-to-fence farmland, Meyer dedicated 120 acres in rural Scott County to providing wildlife with a place to call its own.