Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): sally jewell

$2 million available for Nevada landowners to earn revenue through sage-grouse pilots

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 11, 2015

Last week, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Department of the Interior Secretary Sally announced their support for sage-grouse pilot projects on private and public lands through the Nevada Conservation Credit System. With that announcement came an impressive commitment of $2 million to fund the pilots.

The Nevada Conservation Credit System is now seeking to enroll land managers, namely ranchers, in projects that can earn them new revenue for a variety of conservation activities that improve sage-grouse habitat.

A catalyst for Nevada’s conservation market Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged conservation credits, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, eric holst, governor sandoval, habitat exchange, Nevada, nevada conservation credit system, pilot projects, sage grouse | Comments are closed

The devastation of the Soda Fire, and the seeds of hope for the future

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: August 18, 2015

Wildlife warning sign on Highway 95.

My family and I returned home to California a few days ago following an idyllic week camping on Payette Lake near McCall, Idaho. Our route home took us down Highway 95 in southwestern Idaho, a road typically bordered by the beautiful farmlands of the Snake River Basin. But our views weren’t so picturesque.

Just south of Nampa, Idaho we began to notice the charred landscape left behind by the Soda Fire, the largest of recent fires burning across the United States. The Soda Fire has burned more than 280,000 acres of prime sagebrush steppe, which provides key grazing lands for cattle ranchers and important habitat for threatened wildlife like the greater sage-grouse.

As I gazed upon the aftermath of the fire, all I could think about was the devastating effects it has had on local ranching families and wildlife. Fortunately, there are steps we can take to restore these scorched landscapes and prevent damaging wildfires in the future, but we have to act fast. Read More »

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged ecosystems, great river basin, habitat exchange, Highway 95, idaho, Interior department, mule deer, national seed strategy, ranchers, restoration, sage grouse, sagebrush, soda fire, wildfire, wildfire restoration, wildlife | Comments are closed

No time to wait: sage grouse delay gives urgency to conservation

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 5, 2015

The greater sage-grouse

You may have seen a strange looking bird causing quite a stir in the news recently. That’s because there’s a lot at stake with the greater sage-grouse, especially now that a rider in the federal spending bill prevents the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the species under the Endangered Species Act in 2015 (a decision was originally expected in September). But this delay isn’t stopping ranchers, conservationists and other key stakeholder from moving full speed ahead to find a solution.

You might not get this sense from the political dialog and the media, but out on the ground, there is a real spirit of cooperation when it comes to the greater sage-grouse. That’s because everyone realizes that – rider or no rider, listing or no listing – this bird needs help.

Posted in Habitat Exchange, Wildlife Protection / Also tagged conservation, ecosystems, environmental defense fund, eric holst, greater sage-grouse, habitat exchange, sage grouse, Terry Fankhauser | Comments are closed