As I mentioned on Dec. 12, because of the Bush administration’s stubbornness and unwillingness to work with Congress on a responsible Fiscal Year 2008 budget, Congress has had to go back to the bargaining table and rework their budget. At risk is the proposed budget increase for the National Wildlife Refuge System that both the [...]

According to an article in the Seattle Times, the Bush administration is proposing a new fee and permit system that will apply to all commercial photographers and videographers trying to film on federal land — including national parks, national forests, and national wildlife refuges. The only exception will be the coverage of “breaking news.”
Rep. Nick [...]

As I’ve mentioned in this blog, the Bush administration is attempting to cut staff in the Refuge System by 20% and cripple the ability of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to run the Refuge System in a responsible way. Congress has attempted to pass a budget increase for the Refuge System for Fiscal Year [...]

In this post, I have more news about Friends groups making a difference in the National Wildlife Refuge System. On December 7, Plenty Magazine published a story about how the Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico have completed the purchase of 6,272-foot Chupadera Peak and 140 acres of surrounding [...]

The Tigard Times in Oregon recently ran a story about the upcoming opening of the new visitor center at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, which is located on the outskirts of Portland and is one of only a handful of urban national wildlife refuges in the country.
The article does a good job of highlighting [...]

The endangered Delmarva fox squirrel is bigger and often more silvery than the common gray squirrel and is only found on the Delmarva (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) Peninsula.
Delmarva fox squirrels live in mature pine and hardwood forests, especially near farmland areas. The squirrels spend a good deal of time on the ground, so they prefer an open [...]

In today’s Sioux City Journal is an editorial about a 78-year-old wildlife artist — John Wilson of Watertown, South Dakota — whose life was changed when he won the Federal Duck Stamp contest back in 1980. John explains how the contest launched his career:

“If I hadn’t won that contest, I’d still be painting signs today, [...]

On Sunday, the Toledo Blade featured a wonderful editorial highlighting the upcoming Annual Christmas Bird Count.
As Blade columnist Steve Pollick explains:
What is billed as the longest running wildlife census in the world, the annual Christmas Bird Count of the National Audubon Society, is to be conducted across much of the Western Hemisphere between Dec. [...]

Back on November 9, I highlighted a newspaper article that discussed the San Francisco oil spill and its impact on birds near the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge, which is a group of islands located 28 miles west of San Francisco.
On Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that state and federal wildlife officials have decided not [...]