In this episode, I speak with Katie Fite, Director of Public Lands with WildLands Defense. We talk about the disastrous new Malheur/Owyhee Wilderness Bill proposed in Oregon and its failings (releases over one million acres of wilderness-suitable lands to multiple use!), the original Owyhee Bill in Idaho and eerie parallels, the livestock industry and their grip on public lands management decisions, the destructive nature of cows and livestock on fragile high desert and canyon ecosystems, the abysmal state of the Wilderness movement and the shortcomings of the organizations at the helm, the Federal Lands Management Policy Act, The Wilderness Idea and inspiring a wilderness ethic in land management across the board.
"The new Malheur Bill in Oregon, really elevates the power of ranchers in public lands management decisions and that’s a significant problem. What the land needs is fewer cows or no cows altogether. Everything gets overrun with cheatgrass and is degraded. It just becomes a very, very bleak landscape." - Katie Fite.