skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, April 21, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump stands behind Hegseth after attack plans shared in second Signal chat; Pollution exemptions granted to AR coal plants; Coping with OR's climate change-fueled pollen season; Federal funding cuts could hit MT harder than other states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Defense Secretary Hegseth faces calls to resign for discussing battle plans in a second Signal chat. Indiana denies students the use of college IDs to register to vote, and the White House signals the U.S. might stop trying to end the Russia-Ukraine War.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Money meant for schools in timber country is uncertain as Congress fails to reauthorize a rural program, farmers and others will see federal dollars for energy projects unlocked, and DOGE cuts threaten plant species needed for U.S. food security.

Report: U.S. Forest Service Serving Grizzly Habitat to Livestock Industry

play audio
Play

Wednesday, May 24, 2023   

Critical Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear habitat has been degraded by a 2019 U.S. Forest Service decision to allow more than 17,000 livestock to graze in Wyoming's Upper Green River Basin, according to a new report.

John Carter, ecologist for the Yellowstone to Uintas Connection and the report's co-author, said 84% of the area is designated as having a wildlife emphasis in the Forest Plan.

"The area that this decision covers places a priority on wildlife," Carter explained. "But what we have in reality is a livestock emphasis, with wildlife way down in the order of priorities, as far as any evidence we've seen."

The Forest Service decided to put cattle in the project area even though it is where more than half of all grizzly deaths in western Wyoming happened between 2010 and 2014. All were due to conflicts with cattle. Grizzlies are classified as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The agency has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The Forest Service is not following the best scientific practices for managing livestock grazing, according to the report, which found a significant decline in the forage plants that should be present. A single adult cow and calf can weigh up to 1,600 pounds, due to added hormones and antibiotics, but Carter pointed out the agency's stocking rate assumes the total weight is just 1,000 pounds.

"When in reality, they weigh double that, and they're consuming double the rate that the Forest Service is claiming when they are calculating a stocking rate," Carter contended. "You've got some very basic fundamentals that are being glossed over in order to perpetuate the status quo."

The Forest Service is supposed to manage publicly-owned resources for long-term sustainability, but Carter argued there has been a gradual decline over time. He added laws passed in the 1960s and 70s to protect watersheds from overgrazing and logging have been weakened by industry lobbyists.

"Basically, you've got a system set up where the industry is essentially in control of the agency," Carter stressed. "It's called 'regulatory capture,' and so the public really is out of the loop here."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The National Library of Medicine reports that many schools are incorporating mental health awareness into their curricula to reduce stigma and help students recognize and manage emotions. (Rido/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A national report card finds that even with a $150 million budget threat last year, Michigan still made solid progress in staffing up its school …


Social Issues

play sound

Mississippi's decade-long focus on early literacy has transformed the state. According to the Mississippi Department of Education, the state's …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Law enforcement officers and drug prevention advocates in Missouri are joining forces to tackle prescription drug misuse. As part of the Drug …


California is considering a bill to study the cost to taxpayers of climate-related disasters. Similar measures have already passed in New York and Vermont. (Strikernia/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

The "Make Polluters Pay Superfund" bill goes before the California Assembly Natural Resources Committee Monday. The bill would direct the California …

Social Issues

play sound

President Donald Trump continues his pressure campaign on immigrants -- both documented and undocumented -- disrupting the lives of many in Virginia…

The city of Baltimore and Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission serve a combined 3.5 million Marylanders. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A new report found 122 million Americans drink water with high levels of cancer-causing chemicals, frequently from runoff at livestock factory farms…

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Kate Ruder for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service…

Social Issues

play sound

Parents of students killed or injured in school-zone crosswalks are backing a measure in the Ohio General Assembly to increase the penalty from a misd…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021