CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Conservationists are warning that riders attached to the Farm Bill making its way through Congress could damage the nation's public lands and wildlife.

After a House version of the Farm Bill stalled last month, the Senate has proposed a bill that would exempt the livestock industry from a series of environmental reviews and public input. Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, said giving the green light to just any targeted grazing project, for example, could put rangelands at risk for wildfire.

"You could end up with some very harmful targeted grazing projects that could actually increase the amount of cheatgrass infestation,” Molvar said; “without even consulting the public about what's going on, on the lands that the public essentially owns."

Molvar noted that federal law requires agencies thoroughly research land-management issues and involve the public in decisions that affect public lands. But some members of Congress and the White House argue that cutting regulations that burden industry will lead to economic growth and job creation.

Molvar said if passed, the bill would sweep aside what he believes are common sense habitat protections. He added while the livestock industry might see increased profit margins if environmental rules are thrown out, exempting new infrastructure projects could end up blocking migration corridors for elk, mule deer and pronghorn.

Molvar said fencing in particular can be lethal to sage grouse, whose populations have declined by as much as 95 percent from historic levels.

"Barbed wire fences are guillotines for sage grouse, which are low-flying birds,” he explained. “And there's one study in western Wyoming that found that a single five-mile stretch of fence killed more than 100 sage grouse in the space of a year."

The House is expected to hold a re-vote on its version of the Farm Bill before June 22. This version includes a rider by Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney that would reopen vacant grazing lands to cattle, even in endangered species habitat.

The Senate's version could reach the full floor as early as next week.


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As World Sea Turtle Day approaches on Monday, an expert explains threats to sea turtles and their ecological importance along the coasts of the Commonwealth.

As waters begin to warm in late spring, between 5,000 and 10,000 sea turtles enter Chesapeake Bay. Most sea turtles in Virginia are classified as juvenile loggerheads or Kemp's ridleys, and both mainly use the bay for feeding, according to the Virginia Institute for Marine Science. Green and leatherback sea turtles are found less frequently, with the hawksbill being the rarest.

David Godfrey, executive director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, said sea turtle populations are often markers of habitat health, and their diets promote biodiversity in the ocean.

"So areas where turtles are eating, the grass is shorter," he said. "They eat a little bit; it's sort of medium length. Some areas they don't touch at all, and others they eat it all the way down to the sand and it creates all kinds of different microhabitats that are utilized by all kinds of different species. And in areas where there are no turtles, you get kind of a monoculture of tall sea grass."

Green sea turtles create diversity in sea grasses, while hawksbill sea turtles fill a similar role on coral reefs. Godfrey added that jellyfish populations are kept in check by leatherback sea turtles, who rely on them for food.

Godfrey said human activity and development can often disturb sea turtles who are nesting or breaking out of their eggs for the first time. Young turtles use the light of the moon to guide them into the ocean after hatching. However, they're often drawn to lights from homes and businesses on beaches instead, taking them away from their natural habitat.

"The construction of sea walls to protect property or roads, or when people litter on the beach or in rivers that flow into the ocean, lots of negative things happen for sea turtles, their habitat and their ability to nest," he said. "What we do on the coasts is one of the big sources of threat."

The Commonwealth is home to five of seven turtle species in the world - all of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act.


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As the cleanup effort continues at Hobbs State Park Conservation Area in Rogers, officials with Arkansas State Parks have authorized a temporary firewood permit to help remove some of the fallen trees. The park was damaged by tornadoes in May of last year.

Mark Clippinger, superintendent at Hobbs State Park Conservation Area in Rogers, said the east side of the park received the most damage.

"One set of trees got knocked down and pushed some other trees down," he explained. "We also noticed that along the roadways and the hollows the air got pulled up into the inflow from the tornado where it was compressed before the tornado released it and sucked that timber up along those hollows and valleys, up onto the roadway."

The firewood permits are available at the Hobbs State Park Visitor Center and will be good for up to two months. Permit holders will be allowed to take unlimited quantities of downed timber within designated areas.

Park officials said removing the dead limbs will help reduce insect infestations, mitigate wildfire risk and support ecological recovery. Clippinger added that debris left around the park will be beneficial to wildlife, and said they are also conducting prescribed burns to open up more space for animals and nature.

"Having some of this material on the ground will provide shelter for turkeys and other ground-nesting birds as well. And there's plenty of debris down out here and in the surrounding community for that now that which will help those species. And some of the logs and material will help the reptiles and amphibians find shelter and a home," he continued.

The permitting program will run through December 31st. Hobbs State Park Conservation Area is the largest of Arkansas' 52 state parks.


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New Mexico residents have until the end of today to comment on a draft of the new State Wildlife Action Plan.

It identifies more than 500 species that require a need for conservation - more than double the number listed in the previous plan from 2017.

Ray Trejo's job as outreach coordinator for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation requires him to spend a lot of time outdoors in the southern half of the state.

He said he's seeing significant changes in the landscape due to ongoing drought and unprecedented dust storms.

Trejo pointed to mesquite shrubs - which both foxes and rabbits use for cover and shelter - not blooming on their previous schedule due to a changing climate.

"Things work in this ecosystem because of the diversity of the specifies that we have," said Trejo. "From our pollinators, vertebrates, habitat, it's one big family."

Last month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency due to persistent drought and escalating fire risk.

The state's game department updates the wildlife plan every ten years. The draft goes to the Department of Game and Fish on Friday for review and eventual approval.

The release of the plan follows passage by the New Mexico Legislature of a bill expanding the mission of the game department beyond its traditional role of managing game and fish for recreation and food supply.

Senate Bill 5 changes the name of the Department of Game and Fish starting next year to the New Mexico Department of Wildlife. Trejo said the change is overdue.

"The agency will be poised to lead the conservation movement," said Trejo, "in recognizing other species of greatest conservation need."

Trejo added that the plan is intended to avert the need for action by the federal government to list species under the Endangered Species Act - which can have dramatic impacts on other land uses.

Comments on the 2025 draft State Wildlife Action Plan can be submitted by email at wildlife.dgf.nm.gov.