Conservation

Oregon lawmakers are considering a proposal to increase to 2.5% a state tax on hotel, camping and Airbnb stays that would raise up to $30 million a year for state wildlife conservation.

After losing a recent lawsuit, a federal agency that moves or kills predators, mostly at the request of livestock producers, is initiating an in-depth environmental study of how its actions affect grizzly bears.

In a long-running fight over public lands, a conservation group accuses the Bureau of Land Management of deprioritizing the research on the imperiled sage grouse.

Andrew Posewitz writes, "Within the last 20 years, a fringe of extremists began advancing an agenda to erode the North American Model and found a small foothold in Montana."

The judge found that the Bureau of Land Management's environmental analysis was based partly on "guesswork" which "distorted the data," rendering it "irrational and inadequate."

Anne Hedges writes, "once again, the legislature, terrified that industry and the state might have to consider the little guy, is trying to put holes in the law so they can have their way – locals and landscapes be damned."

All four members of the state’s congressional delegation have taken a stance against federal transfer of lands in recent weeks.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will keep funds frozen in Citibank accounts while a federal suit over the program is ongoing.

Sally Schrank writes, "The governor has the power of the veto pen to protect the Montana way of life and ensure the wisdom enshrined in our constitution lasts for future generations."

If approved, the proposal by the Trump administration would rescind the regulatory definition of "harm" under the Endangered Species Act and clear the way for habitat destruction.