Western Watersheds Project

11/02/2026

>> In November 2024, the U.S. Forest Service sent a cease-and-desist letter to Galena Mines LLC after discovering an unauthorized cabin had been built that fall in a remote area of the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho.

At the time, tech megamillionaire Michael Boren was listed as the sole manager of Galena Mines LLC, a Boise-based company that was formed in 2020 and owns historic mining claims in the Sawtooths.

Now the undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Boren oversees the Forest Service and the approximately 193 million acres of public land it manages, including those in the Sawtooths.

The U.S. Forest Service, which Michael Boren now oversees, appears to have abandoned any further enforcement action.

11/02/2026

The Right to Hunt Constitutional Amendment (PROP 83) in Colorado would explicitly protect “traditional methods” of hunting, which could include:

-The use of steel-jawed leghold traps, which Colorado voters banned in 1996.
-Wildlife killing contests, which were legal in Colorado until the CPW Commission finally banned them in 2020.
-Baiting bears with jelly donuts and other treats, which was banned by Colorado voters in 1992 by an overwhelming 70% of the vote.
-Using hounds to hunt bears, a practice that was also banned by Colorado voters in 1992.
-Hunting bears in the spring, a practice that Colorado voters banned in 1992, because the spring bear hunts cause young bear cubs to become orphaned and eventually starve to death.
-Unlimited killing of beaver and other furbearers, which was finally limited by the CPW Commission in July of this year.

Coloradans should VOTE NO on 83 tomorrow.

OPINION: Colorado Hunters & Anglers Oppose ‘Right to Hunt’ Constitutional Amendment Posted on August 26, 2026August 25, 2026 by Post Contributor By Eric Washburn Last week, Colorado Hunters & Anglers for Sensible Wildlife Conservation, a hunter- and angler-led group committed to ethical harvest ...

11/02/2026

We don’t have to accept the status quo. Together, we can build a new direction for public lands and wildlife.

11/02/2026

There is only a week left before the Senate takes a cloture vote to attempt to move this disastrous bill forward. And we need your help to make sure that doesn't happen.

Send a message to your Senators using the link below, and then follow up with a call: 202-224-3121, tell them VOTE NO on S.5653, detrimental to public lands, water, and wildlife.

11/02/2026

2026 has been the deadliest year in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in modern times, surpassing records set in 2024 and 2025. 82 grizzlies have been killed.

And the leading cause? Cattle/livestock depredations.

Livestock grazing is the leading cause of species endangerment in the West. It's why we focus on it.

Grizzlies killed because they harmed livestock and bears that died from accidental causes like vehicle strikes contributed to the record. Illegal killings and natural deaths spiked, too.

10/31/2026

Cattle damaged riparian areas and public lands? That is some really scary stuff.

10/30/2026

>> A sprawling data center and energy complex proposal east of Casper is not dead, according to the property owner, despite Prometheus Hyperscale pulling out of the project earlier this week.

Falls Ranch, a limited partnership owned by Texas billionaire Russell Gordy, announced this week that “work will continue without delay.”

In the wake of Prometheus Hyperscale abandoning the proposed development, Russell Gordy's Falls Ranch says it will “continue without delay.”

10/30/2026

In the latest venture, BLM noted Oct. 21 it is considering approving a possible gold mine on 820 acres of public land in Baker County in northeast Oregon.

The Trump administration’s emphasis to increase mining is resulting in more projects to extract gold from federal lands. A new mine is being considered in Oregon.

10/30/2026

Once again we see the Trump Administration fundamentally misunderstand – or misleadingly overstate – the significance of public lands ranching, which contributes less than 2 percent of all the beef in the U.S. markets, by claiming that weakening bedrock environmental protections will somehow lower beef prices for the American consumer.

A new Interior Department order puts livestock grazing ahead of wildlife, clean water and the public’s interest in healthy public lands.