Concerns over pneumonia transmission between wild bighorn sheep and bands of domestic sheep grazing western rangelands have plagued land managers in the Northwest for the last several years. The conflict reached a fever pitch last year when Idaho’s Payette National Forest reduced domestic sheep grazing by 70

Circumstances have changed yet again for roughly 15 ranchers who graze their cattle on Oregon’s Malheur National Forest (MNF), this time for the better. In an order issued on March 16, U.S. District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty modified the injunction he imposed at the end of 2010, a change that will allow most

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) confirmation of two wolf kills near Joseph, OR, last week marked the predator’s return to calving grounds in Wallowa County. The event also has area ranchers concerned that they may be faced with heavy livestock losses similar to those felt in

Nearly 100 Nevada pronghorn found a new home last month, relocating to the Yakama reservation in central Washington. The capture and subsequent release of the animals was the last step in a five-year effort by the Yakama Nation to return the once native species to the region. The relocation project

Less than two weeks after a major court decision sharply curtailed public land grazing in central Oregon, two Oregon-based anti-grazing groups have filed a lawsuit that, if successful, will significantly reduce federal grazing permits in that state yet again. The Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), as well as

As the result of a federal judge’s order, roughly 18 ranchers in central Oregon’s Grant County may find themselves with no place to turn out this summer. In a decision issued on Dec. 30, 2010, District Judge Ancer Haggerty of Portland, OR, enjoined grazing on seven allotments in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest

Nearly a year after the first arguments were heard, a federal Judge in Wyoming has ordered the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to reexamine the validity of that state’s wolf management plan. The suit was originally brought in response to a 2008 decision by USFWS officials that called into

Brucellosis, an infectious bacterial disease which commonly leads to abortion in livestock and wildlife, may be on the rise in northwest Wyoming. Animal health officials in that state confirmed infections in two separate herds in Park County in recently, and have identified a possible third outbreak in nearby

In a cooperative effort between ranchers and packers, cattle producers in Washington state are collaborating to put beef on the plates of needy families around the region. The result of this combined effort is Beef Counts, a program designed to make it easier for ranchers to donate beef to needy families through area food banks. Originally the brainchild of Boise, ID-based Agri-Beef Co., the program also involves members of the Washington Cattlemen’s Association (WCA), Beef Commission, and Cattle Feeders, as well as Second Harvest Inland Northwest, which services more than 250 food banks in the region.

Last week, nearly 170 pregnant cows and heifers boarded a Boeing 747 in Fargo, ND, destined for the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan. They were the second of 12 such loads, scheduled between now and mid-December, designed to bolster the former Soviet nations ailing beef industry.