Two environmental groups have sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying rules the agency adopted to protect grizzly bears in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk recovery areas are too weak. Federal agents will probably kill on wolf from a pack that killed a calf on a Clayton, Idaho-area ranch, then returned a second night to chase horses. Illegal poison used to kill Idaho wolves. Wolf advocates are blaming anti-wolf groups for encouraging the killings. Ranching, forestry, and recreation on public lands are frequently in the news.
Groups sue to keep grazing permits in ranchers' hands.
They argue that when groups such as the Nature Conservancy buy ranches to preserve wildlife habitat, they shouldn't be allowed to acquire accompanying permits. A family-owned lumber mill in northwest Montana is closing after 72 years, idling 245 workers in the plant and in the woods. The mill's manager says his business could no longer get enough federal timber to operate. Jan. 12 Snowmobilers, enviros fight over use of Utah forest. Colorado's White River National Forest is suffering from overuse, and before the forest's management plan becomes a national model for limiting the effects of too much recreation, officials have to deal with the impressive number and variety of groups they've alienated.