
The fight to protect native forests in the Northern Rockies region continues. After more than three decades of challenging US Forest Service-USDA timber sales, mining proposals, oil and gas leases and livestock grazing on federal public forests, we have still got a lot fight left in us. It’s nice to win a lawsuit in federal court. It keeps morale high and blues at a safe distance.
Two recent back-to-back court victories really fires up the troops. The “Gold Butterfly” project (the governments sick imitation of “Iron Butterfly”?) was withdrawn last week: https://bitterrootstar.com/2020/09/forest-withdraws-approval-of-massive-gold-butterfly-project/
The other project was a Bureau of Land Management project aimed at killing ancient juniper and limber pine for the livestock industry. They want more grass, less trees. https://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/blm-withdraws-court-halted-conifer-removal-in-elkhorns/article_2d31c696-9e8b-59a8-9559-e9456f120f81.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1
One reason and one reason only underlies all such nonsense. Love of mammon. Mammon is not just money, but is a trust and valuation problem. Placing trust in the unreal, the legal fiction which opposes nature is the core belief in commodity production and ecological destruction. More specifically, mammon screws up one’s individual appreciation for reality, for all of (morally priceless) nature, replacing both with monetary valuation — and certain spiritual death. What wouldn’t these sociopaths not sell for a few shekels?
Still kicking. Growing old, but not sick of the fight to save a few patches of God’s country. If you can’t beat ’em, join with us. Never a dull moment.

Photo: Chessman Reservior; Helena, Montana’s water source.

Many years ago when I lived in Montana some friends and I were driving the countryside around Billings looking for birds. It’s still a hobby of mine, and I’ve never gotten very good at it, which keeps it interesting. My friend Jim was a self-trained expert, and a good guy to have along anyway. He was full of surprises. We crossed a small bridge, and down beneath were pigeons (since renamed “rock doves” and then again “rock pigeons” by experts who must earn royalties on new bird books). They were hunkered down, and Jim said it could only be for one reason. Look up, he said. Sure enough, soaring overhead was a red tail hawk.

