America’s war on wildlife is finally getting some media attention. At the behest , mainly, of farmers and ranchers the now ironically named agency Wildlife Services has been trapping, poisoning, shooting and otherwise destroying the public’s wildlife since 1885. Until recently this practice has had very little public scrutiny and even less oversight. In 2010 Among the most highly targeted species are predators, ranging from weasels to bears and wolves. Wolves and coyotes are often blamed for astronomical numbers of livestock deaths, but the facts suggest otherwise. USDA statistics (below) tell the story.

Cattle and calf losses from animal predators totaled nearly 220 thousand head during 2010. This represented 5.5 percent of the total deaths from all causes and resulted in a loss of $98.5 million to farmers and ranchers. Coyotes and dogs caused the majority of cattle and calf predator losses accounting for 53.1 percent and 9.9 percent respectively.

Cattle and calf losses from non-predator causes totaled 3.77 million head or 94.5 percent of the total losses during 2010. Respiratory problems represented the leading cause of non-predator deaths, accounting for 28.0 percent, followed by digestive problems at 13.4 percent.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/06/4467305/wildlife-services-needs-a-tight.html#storylink=cpy

The importance of predators, especially large apex predators, has been repeatedly confirmed in scientific studies for the last 3 decades, yet the livestock industry, and to a lesser extent a certain segment of the hunting public, loathes the idea of competing with them for natural resources, be they livestock forage or big game.  Given the minimal impact of predators on either livestock or big game populations, it seems they protest too much, and at the public’s expense to boot!

If Wildlife Services must continue its deadly mission, perhaps it should concentrate on some truly destructive critters.  I’m thinking of feral hogs in the Southeast and escaped pythons in the Everglades in particular.  If ever there were critters needing removal from our landscapes, these 2 species surely rise to the top of the list!

I live in a beautiful spot, at 7300 ft., between the Pinon-Juniper zone and the Ponderosa zone just north of Mancos CO. When I moved here almost 10 years ago the area was in the throes of a pine-bark beetle infestation and the Pinones were dying by the hundreds around me. For the first several years my neighbor Bob and I pretty much kept pace with our chainsaws, removing a dozen or so dead and dying trees a year from both of our properties. Because the trees had grown so thick in the past hundred years of fire supression this was OK with me, and it’s provided me with a seemingly inexhaustible heat source for my home. I have no shortage of trees on my 17 acres.

Tonight is kind of creepy, though. We’ve had the driest, warmest March on record, the snow is long gone, and the wind started to blow in the early afternoon. As of 5 pm I couldn’t see any of the 4 mountain ranges normally visible from my porches. Once again the desert sands of eastern Utah and Arid-zona are moving east in great clouds, settling on my windows and on what’s left of the meager snowpack of the La Plata and San Juan Mountains to the east. It wasn’t this way when I  moved here, but these “dust events” have become a regular feature of the springtime here on the Dry Side.
So, I went walking in the wind an hour before dusk on my neighbor’s land to the south. He lives on Guam or someplace equally remote and I’ve never met him because he hasn’t been here since I moved in. I don’t cross his property often, and what I found there was positively frightening. There are dozens of dead Pinon pines in various stages of decomposition. Some are easily pushed over with one hand, but most simply give up their brittle limbs to the most lady-like tug. I could spend a couple of weeks over there just felling them and piling them for burning next winter. That is, if I had a couple of weeks, which I don’t. Besides, I need to spend what time I have thinning my own woods.

As I thrashed through the deadfall in the blasting wind I ripped limbs off the big trees and just pushed the little ones over. It was very satisfying, requiring very little intellectual activity. But as I worked my way through the skeletal trees I couldn’t help reflecting on the sequence of events that have contributed  to this tree graveyard. It began with the clearcutting of the grass, in the latter half of the 19th century by the teeming hordes of sheep and cattle brought north from Texas to take advantage of the “free forage.” That rapacious activity was thwarted at least in part by the Taylor Grazing Act in 1934, but it was already too late for the landscape to recover so the trees took over the grasslands. When the land I live on was finally subdivided for housing nearly 30 years ago grazing ceased, but then, of course, a regime of fire suppression began that allowed the dense but unhealthy woods to further thicken. Then the weather began to get warmer, the beetles over-wintered, proliferated and feasted on the weakened trees. And now, with the scalping of the deserts to the west that leaves the fine sandy soil at the mercy of the wind, the snowpack of our mountains to the east bleeds off up to 6 weeks earlier than it has in the past, leaving the creeks, reservoirs and even the mighty Colorado River short of moisture earlier in the summer season.

The truly unsettling thing about all of this is that our political “leaders” from the County to the Federal level seem bent upon increasing all of the activities that lead to this sad state of affairs. With no forseeable decrease in demand for petroleum, beef or recreation it is hard to imagine that this scenario will improve anytime soon. The main beneficiaries will no doubt be the local “fire-safe” companies that will divest one’s property of tinder and fuel for a handsome sum, fire departments, and  lawyers. Oh, and the manufacturers of hot dogs and marshmallows.

Broadband/Membership Coordinator

Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a national non-profit membership organization headquartered in Durango, Colorado, that uses the voices and activism of elders to preserve and protect wilderness and wild lands.

Position Description

The Broadband/Membership Coordinator is Broads point person for all things Broadband (our name for our chapters, currently about 36 in 15 states) and is responsible for the success of the Broadband Program through increasing membership, number of Broadbands and their effectiveness. This position is also responsible for Broads Membership Program oversight and effectiveness. This is a permanent, full-time position.

Key Areas of Responsibility

Broadband Coordination

• Serve as the liaison to volunteer Broadband Leaders including training and logistical support
• Establish relationships with existing Broadbands to sustain leadership, effectiveness and member engagement
• Ensure Broadbands are aware that their actions reflect the integrity and reputation of Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Their actions must conform to our stated mission and vision and program position statements
• Manage Broadband information and ensure accuracy for staff and public access
• Maintain current resource libraries and share with Bb Leaders
• Manage Broadband Listserves. Train Bb Leaders to effectively use them. Monitor messaging
• Develop and implement an integrated, comprehensive and uniform training curriculum for Broadband volunteer leaders and ensure that all training programs are adequately prepared and professionally executed (Boot Camp, Leader Rendezvous, etc.)
• Evaluate trainings and programs for successes and areas for improvement
• Communicate regularly via listserve, email, phone, and in person with Broadband Leaders to provide information, tools and resources, inspiration and encourage collaboration.
• Ensure adequate protocols addressing banking, liability, communications, partnerships
• Manage Broadband Circuit Rider Contract, coordinating site visits and support as needed within budget
• Track and compile organization volunteer hours (Broadbands, Board, general)
• Identify areas of weakness in Broadband program and Broads Membership program and develop strategies to address weaknesses
• Work with other staff to identify potential funding sources for the Broadband Program or specific Broadband activities and to develop proposals for funding. Provide information about Broadband activities and needs to other staff. Share information about potential grants and funding opportunities with Broadbands.
• Assist with grant-writing and fundraising efforts for Broadband and Membership
• Coordinate with Communications Coordinator to compile and maintain Broadband PR resources, news, quotes, and photographs
• Cultivate and manage relationships with strategic partners, consultants, and advisors

Membership Coordination

The Coordinator oversees the membership staff and is responsible for all membership functions including recruitment and retention, customer service, program development, and research and evaluation.

• Provide strategic direction and financial management of the Membership Department as it relates to the organization’s strategic goals
• Set and achieve measurable membership marketing and recruitment targets, manage teams and coordinate between multiple departments
• Work with other staff to develop and implement short and long term strategies for recruitment of new members and retention of current members
• Attend community events, host events, represent and promote organization highlighting benefits of membership to the public
• Inspire and motivate prospective members and volunteers
• Manage individual donor campaigns, including membership renewals and special appeals in conjunction with Communications Coordinator and Membership Assistant
• Collaborate with all staff to ensure that membership messaging is current and consistent in all communications
• Ensure membership development is integrated into organizing strategies implemented by Broadbands
• Analyze current member benefit offerings and develop new offerings based on member needs
• Work with Executive team to develop strategic organizational partnerships to encourage membership growth
• Manage and oversee member database and ensure data integrity
• Identify communications opportunities that can be used to enhance development
• Assist with developing fundraising messages with other staff
• Oversee membership development information/messaging for website

Qualifications/Requirements

The ideal candidate for this position will possess many, if not all, of the following professional qualifications, competencies and personal qualities:

• Bachelor’s Degree and minimum of three years organizing experience, preferably in a non-profit organization with volunteer constituencies
• Strong commitment to Great Old Broads for Wilderness mission and programs
  • Understanding of land use and/or environmental issues preferred
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – via social media, in person and telephone

• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Excellent organizational skills
• Attention to detail and ability to consistently follow through with commitments
• Ability to handle multiple priority projects and meet established timelines and reporting requirements.
• Experience using social media to connect with different audiences; familiarity with HTML and website maintenance a plus
• Computer literate – proficiency with word processing, database software, spreadsheets, listserves, social media in a PC environment
• Excellent analytical, presentation and leadership skills
• Ability to work independently and set priorities with minimal supervision as well as be an effective team player
• The ideal candidate is self-directed, self-motivated, efficient, and energetic with a sense of humor
• Broadness is a plus

 Special job requirements

None.  May at times require flexible work hours, including some weekend and evening hours.

 Work Schedule & Compensation

• This position is a full time exempt salaried position
• The Broadband/Membership Coordinator reports to the Associate Director
• Normal business hours are Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm. Flexible hours possible. Some weekend/evening hours are required
• Compensation will be approximately $31,000 to start, based on experience, benefits include paid holidays, 3 weeks paid personal time off, health stipend, opportunity to participate in a retirement plan

How To Apply

Please send cover letter and resume to Rose Chilcoat at rose@greatoldbroads.org by March 14, 2012.

Title: Protect Greater Canyonlands Broadwalk
Dates: September 27 – October 1, 2012
Location: Indian Creek near Monticello, UT
Description: Cost: members $125/non-members $150
Includes 4 nights camping, breakfast/dinner each day, hikes, speakers, service project and more!

The Greater Canyonlands area is a landscape of plateaus, stunning geologic formations, 10,000 year old archeological sites, and unmatched natural beauty — including iconic Utah landmarks such as Labyrinth Canyon, Indian Creek, White Canyon, Fiddler Butte, Robbers Roost, Lockhart Basin and the Dirty Devil River. The area encompasses 1.4 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) land surrounding Canyonlands National Park. President Obama has the power to protect the 1.4 million acres of public BLM land surrounding Canyonlands National Park with the stroke of a pen – if we can convince him to do so. But so far, the Obama administration has continued to defend President Bush’s plans that leave this area open to rampant off-road vehicle abuse, proposed uranium and tar sand mining, and oil and gas development.

Join us for a long weekend of adventure, learning and fun as we learn about the threats to this region and the strategies for gaining real protection. The Greater Canyonlands Coalition includes Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Coloradans for Utah Wilderness.

Map of Greater Canyonlands

Register by sending payment to Broads office or visiting our on-line shopping cart.

The Weitas Creek Valley photo courtesy of Friends of the Clearwater.

Join Broads and the Friends of the Clearwater over a long weekend as we learn about and work for wilderness designation of the 260,000 acre Weitas Creek Roadless Area and other areas in eastern Idaho. The Weitas Creek RA is a low-elevation, broad river valley that provides habitat for species like grey wolves, wolverines, black bear, cougar, elk, deer, and west-slope cutthroat trout along with an abundance of solitude and challenge for humans.

Dates: August 2 – 6, 2012
Location: near Lowell, ID
Cost: members* $125/non-members $150
Includes 4 nights camping, breakfast/dinner each day, hikes, speakers, service project and more! For non-campers lodging is available in Lowell at your own expense.

Our Palouse Broadband in Moscow, ID created this opportunity on the Clearwater National Forest in partnership with the Friends of the Clearwater. The Selway-Bitteroot Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Lochsa and Selway Rivers provide the backdrop for our long weekend where we’ll experience the wild beauty of the landscape and learn about the threats and challenges it faces.

Since one of our Board members informed us that Lowell, ID, does not show up on Google and Mapquest searches, here are a few more details about the location:

Syringa and Kooskia are both near Lowell,  which is east of Syringa. Lowell is a “small town” and is located where the Lochsa and Selway rivers merge to create the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. Lowell has a gas station, a general store, a hotel, and a restaurant.

Lowell is at milepost 99 of Idaho’s Highway 12. It’s 99 miles east of Lewiston, ID and 123 miles west of Missoula, MT. Our campsite is north of Lowell about 25 miles at the Wilderness Gateway Campground, which is a Forest Service campground.

To fly to the area, Missoula, MT, would probably be your best choice. Lewiston, ID, or Spokane, WA, would also be good choices. Lowell is a drive from any of these three airports. One of the things that makes the Clearwater area great, is its distance from anything else!

Register by sending payment to Broads office or visiting our on-line shopping cart.

* Member rate applies to current members of Broads or Friends of the Clearwater.

Don’t know what a Broadwalk is? Go to our Broadwalk page for details.

Rafting the Rogue with ROW Adventures.

Love the idea of a river trip but aren’t sure about camping anymore? This unique trip is for you – outdoor rafting or hiking each day in remote and scenic canyons coupled with the comfort of a lodge at night. All set in a stunning wilderness background on SW Oregon’s legendary Rogue River.

Location: Merlin, OR
Dates: June 10-13, 2012
Cost: $965 pp ($200 is deductible as a charitable contribution)

The Rogue was one of the original Wild & Scenic Rivers in 1968 because of its beauty, vast repertoire of wildlife (otter, black bear, deer, osprey, eagle, steelhead and salmon) and diverse lush flora unmatched anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. From the Cascades to the ocean, you’ll travel 40 miles of river with over 80 rapids. Legislation is before Congress now to designate more wilderness along the Rogue and increase miles under Wild & Scenic status.

Participants can choose to hike along the river or be on the rafts, or a combination thereof. Lodges are basic but comfortable, set in remote wilderness along the river. Join other Broads and Broads Associate Director, Rose Chilcoat for this wild adventure.

Sign up through ROW Adventures www.rowadventures.com, 800-451-6034.

ROW Rogue River trip information- downloadable pdf

Lately it seems that those who question Big Oil (Alberta tar sands and the XL Pipeline) or Big Coal (mountaintop removal mining) are labeled environmental extremists or radical environmentalists.  The notion that “business as usual” for the fossil fuel industry, in the face of global warming and environmental damage, is acceptable is positively frightening. I consider the energy corporations and the legislators and the regulators who do their bidding to be the true extremists. How very odd that it’s the alleged “conservatives” that promote these destructive activities. What ever happened to the conservation in conservative?

The XL Pipeline is a case in point. Big Oil is pushing for this highly questionable project, to get the petroleum to the Gulf Coast for refining and shipment to…wait for it… CHINA! So much for energy independence at home! Whose interests are being protected here? Certainly not the US taxpayer’s.  Yet those of us who question the wisdom of this venture are reviled as extreme. What’s wrong with this picture? A recent Op Ed by Ken Midkiff, in the Columbia Missouri Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/feb/03/who-are-the-real-radicals-here/ captures this conundrum very succinctly.

In the case of Great Old Broads for Wilderness, I find myself explaining over and over again that the organization does not promote the removal of all livestock or ATVs from our public lands, and we never have, which we are sometimes accused of in local press. Our positions are clearly stated on our website, but those that complain about us apparently don’t bother to check it out. What we do support is that land management agencies, especially the U S Forest Service and BLM ,  actually adhere to the mandates given them by congress itself, to protect our natural resources so that future generations may have the benefit of them. Too often, powerful economic and political interests hold sway over management decisions and the land gets “managed” to suit their bottom line.  In the end the land, waters and the biological communities they support (including US!) wind up getting the shaft.

When we Broads show up at public meetings and politely point out that the agencies’ actions may not be in compliance with their own rules and regulations we’re reviled by some as radical meddlers who are funded by huge corporations, an accusation that certainly makes me chuckle. Yet the corporations that are now funding many candidates for public office, right down to the county level, are the ones who stand to profit from mining uranium on the rim of the Grand Canyon, strip mining tar sands on the Tavaputs Plateau in Utah or continuing to run cattle on marginal arid lands to get the tax write-off. None of these things is in the public interest, but it’s our public lands and wildlife that are suffering. That seems pretty extreme to me.

The Boulder Weekly interviewed ED Ronni Egan for their story on the anti-environment vote record of the Republicans in the 112th Congress.

by Elizabeth Miller

Though Congress this year may be better known as the session that failed to accomplish anything, a report commissioned by three ranking members of the House shows this year’s collection of Representatives has cast more anti-environment votes than any other in history. The total averages out to one anti-environmental vote for every day in session in 2011. The votes were split by party, with 94 percent of Republicans voting anti-environment and 86 percent of Democrats voting pro-environment.

“The House Republican assault on the environment has been reckless and relentless,” says Rep.

Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in a press release. “In bill after bill, for one industry after another, the House has been voting to roll back environmental laws and endanger public health.”

According to the report, which was commissioned by Representatives Waxman, Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), “the House has voted 191 times to undermine protection of the environment.” Those votes have included blocking actions to prevent air pollution, disarming the Environmental Protection Agency when it comes to enforcing water pollution standards and Clean Air Act protections, addressing climate change, designating wilderness lands, allowing oil and gas development off the coasts of states opposed to offshore drilling and slashing funding — by 80 percent — for the Department of Energy to support renewable energy and energy efficiency.

“These votes are just a preview of coming attractions if the fossil fuel industries get their way and place more Republicans in Congress and the White House,” Markey says in a press release. “With that kind of cast, anti-environmental blockbusters will be the norm, sending more mercury into our kids, more air pollution into our lungs, and more carbon pollution into our atmosphere.”

“We have so many natural resource-type situations here, so we find ourselves in Colorado getting hit by these votes all kinds of different ways,” says Veronica Egan, executive director of Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a Durango-based environmental advocacy group founded in 1989 to make the case that seniors still enjoy wilderness areas. “I think probably the primary way is that there have been votes … to reject scientific findings, in other words to compromise the role of science in decision-making. And right up there with that is votes to block action on carbon pollution on climate change and planning for adaptation to climate change.”

Many of these measures were tacked onto other bills, and in a Congress that’s spent more time spinning its wheels than moving forward on anything, a lot of them didn’t pass.

“One of the things that we’ve been so painfully aware of in the environmental business is that we thought, of course, in 2008, ‘Oh boy, the Bush administration is gone and we’re going to see some progress,’ and we’ve been sorely disappointed along those lines,” Egan says.

The lack of strong environmental leadership has led to constant attacks on environmental legislation, even bills with decades of evidence to show they work, like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act. Clean Air Act protections were hardest hit with 77 votes that undermined health-based standards and blocked EPA regulation of mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants, incinerators, industrial boilers, cement plants and mining operations.

Since it was signed into law in 1970, the Clean Air Act has reduced air pollution by more than 70 percent, according to the recently commissioned report. The EPA estimated in another report titled “Empirical Evidence Regarding the Effects of the Clean Air Act on Jobs and Economic Growth” that the law has saved more than 160,000 jobs in just the last year, and prevented another 13 million lost workdays and 3.2 million lost school days due to illness or disease caused or exacerbated by air pollution. The act has been heralded as an investment with better returns than Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway over the past 40 years by the National Resources Defense Council.

“Americans rely on our government to protect their families from the dangerous effects of pollution that can poison our air, water and environment,” says Berman in his press release. “This report puts Americans on notice: We must continue to fight efforts to erode the laws that protect our health and wellbeing.”

The Durango Magazine chose Ronni as its La Plata Local for its 2011/2012 edition. We’re very pleased.

Durango Magazine Winter/Spring 2011/2012.

Title: Broadband Leader Boot Camp 2012
Location: Kelly Place Bed and Breakfast, Cortez, Colorado near the Four Corners (AZ/CO/NM/UT)
Description: We’re seeking leader-types who are interested in leading a Broadband to attend our fourth annual Broadband Leader Boot Camp – March 22-26, 2012, near Cortez, Colorado. Interested members may nominate themselves for Boot Camp 2012 by submitting an application at http://greatoldbroads.org//get-involved/broadbands/boot-camp-ap.

Leaders will be trained in grassroots organization, communication, lobbying skills, wilderness history, documentation of on-the-ground abuses, and Broads positions on issues such as grazing, off-road vehicles, and oil, gas, and mineral development. The training will run for three full days and four evenings over a working weekend.

We will train up to 15 new leaders from across the country to organize local Broads.  This training, including meals and lodging, is offered to those committed to leading a Broadband at no charge.  Participants will be responsible for travel to Cortez, attending the full Boot Camp training, and developing a one-year plan for their Broadband.

In the heart of the archeologically-rich Four Corners area, Kelly Place is adjacent to the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and near Mesa Verde National Park, Hovenweep National Monument, and the Yucca House National Monument.

Contact our Broadband Coordinator, Elsa Jagniecki if you have any questions.

Broadband Leader Boot Camp Application

From our 2011 Boot Camp:

“Thank you for the intellectually stimulating and labor intensive Boot Camp program you put together. We all came away buzzing.” – Valoree Dowell, Salt Lake City/Wasatch Front Broadband

 ”Hey, thanks for the great time at Pack Creek Ranch. My head is swimming! But my heart is full, knowing that many wonderful women will be busting some moves to save wild places!” – Holly Rankin, Four Corners Broadband

Start Date: 2012-03-22 – 4 pm
End Date: 2012-03-26 – 2 pm