Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Grizzlies and us
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Monday, January 10, 2022
A grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park | NPS, Jim Peaco ([link removed])

One of the things that makes life in the West special is our (at times uneasy) coexistence with the wildlife that makes their home here. That relationship has constantly evolved as human populations in the West grow, wildlife are pushed into smaller and smaller habitat areas, and we search for new solutions that allow both humans and wildlife to thrive. This is especially true in an age of climate crisis and shifting habitat ranges, a time when research is also rapidly improving our ability to better manage wildlife and revealing the importance of ecological connectivity.

For a case study in the complexity of human-wildlife interactions, we need look no further than that of the grizzly bear. Over recent centuries humans have relegated the bear to a fraction of its former range. However, decades of recovery efforts and legal protections have begun to do their job, and grizzly populations have expanded—driving an increase in bear-human conflicts in the West, especially in Montana and Wyoming.

A newly published collaborative news series titled Grizzlies And Us ([link removed]) brings our relationship with grizzlies into the spotlight. The 10-part series ([link removed]) , including 22 individual stories from local journalists, examines bear conflicts ([link removed]) with recreationalists ([link removed]) and ranchers
([link removed]) , how we can continue to live with an apex predator ([link removed]) , the scientists that work on grizzlies ([link removed]) , how to become more bear aware as a community ([link removed]) , the hunting of grizzlies
([link removed]) , their landscape-spanning wanderings ([link removed]) , Indigenous relationships to grizzlies ([link removed]) , and much, much more ([link removed]) .

At the end of the day, it's up to us to determine what our relationship with wildlife looks like, grizzly bears included. Wildlife will continue to do what it has always done—try to survive—but evolving science and a changing world provide us with an opportunity to reevaluate how we interact with animals and take them into account (or not) in the way we behave, manage land, and build our society.
Quick hits


** U.S. emissions surged in 2021, putting the nation further off track from its climate targets
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Will Biden’s oil plans unleash an Arctic ‘carbon bomb’?
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E&E News ([link removed])


** The Western megadrought is revealing America's 'lost national park'
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National Public Radio ([link removed])


** New sage grouse data ‘alarming,’ Wyoming biologist says
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WyoFile ([link removed])


** Prehistoric rock art in national park irreparably damaged by vandals, part of years-long pattern on public lands
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Across the West, wildfires are reversing pollution improvements from Clean Air Act, study finds
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Deseret News ([link removed])


** Indigenous feminism flows through the fight for water rights on the Rio Grande
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Opinion: Nevadans deserve a fair return on public land leases
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Las Vegas Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” When we look at conservation, we’re always trying to save one thing. We’re trying to save a tree, and then we’re missing the whole forest.

In reality, conservation should be more holistic. Often the reason why we have endangered species, and continue to see ecosystem loss, is that there’s so many driving factors that are destroying those landscapes. Conservation should start focusing on seeing the bigger picture, which is healing."

—Jessica Hernandez, a Maya Ch’orti and Binnizá-Zapotec Indigenous environmental scientist and author of a new book, Vox ([link removed])
Picture this


** @nationalparkservice ([link removed])
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“Tomorrow I’ll get up and workout at 6:00 am!”

Me at 9:00 am.

There's always tomorrow.

Image: Snoozing fox at Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Alaska. NPS/J. Mills

#thatsme ([link removed]) #feelseen ([link removed]) #fox ([link removed]) #alaska ([link removed]) #lakeclarknationalpark ([link removed])

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