Some of you probably remember the sitcom “Gomer Pyle, USMC.” It ran from 1964 to 1969 and still runs in syndication on ME TV. Anyone who has seen it will recall the Sergeant on the show asking questions of the recruits and yelling “I can't hear you” when they answer. He wanted them to yell back loudly, “Sir, yes, sir.” 

Unless revoked or substantially reduced to what they are now, 30 percent for 90 days, President Trump’s tariffs will still wipe out the investments made in our small family business and kill our manufacturing plant, here in Boise. When I talk to my friends and neighbors about the continuing uncertainty, I hear similar expressions of frustration about the impact of tariffs on American businesses. 

Montanan Tracy Stone-Manning, former director of the Bureau of Land Management and now director of The Wilderness Society, writes with passion about our heritage of public lands. Yet selling parts of that heritage is the goal of the current administration, whose budget bill will be under consideration starting this week. Stone-Manning warns that once public lands turn into private profit centers for energy extraction or housing, wildlife will suffer, and all of us who love the still-wild outdoors will begin to lose what makes America unique in the world.

I often watch the old Andy Griffith shows. They first ran on television some 65 years ago. It's an amazing thing that a show that old still has a following enough to keep being part of the programming schedule. 

A fair share of my readers out there has heard me talk about how my Great Grandfather, J.M. Kirkpatrick and his brother Edward, were early day founding fathers of the infamous Dodge City, Kansas. J.M. was County attorney, Magistrate and held a plethora of other titled jobs as well. Edward had a huge furniture store and mortuary. And don't ask me why in the old West, furniture dealers also masqueraded as the local mortician. 

Scientific criticism followed fast to the news that a company called Colossal had produced three genetically engineered dire wolves. Biologist Pepper Trail points out the habitat no longer exists for an animal that was adapted for preying on now-extinct ground sloths and giant bison. And the gene “edits” only involved 14 genes, with 20 differences between living gray wolves and extinct dire wolves. The goal of conservation is not to preserve individual animals, Trail writes, it is to help populations sustain themselves in their native habitats, and for that we have a long way to go.

Most people around today only have a faint recollection of who Gene Autry was. For those of you who do not, he was America’s Singing Cowboy, birthplace Tioga, Texas, near Miss Trixie's home turf. 

There was a movie some time back starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan called “You’ve Got Mail.” It was a story about two people who inadvertently connect via the Internet and end up falling in love. It's a cute story as stories go, I guess, and at least it has a happy ending. 

It's been a whirlwind of activity around here for Ol' Dutch and Miss Trixie of late and we are as busy as two beavers in an aspen grove. But regardless of the challenges, it appears that we have survived some 12 past years together and now are facing number 13 right in the face.

On Jan. 31, the 30th anniversary of wolves getting reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, congressional representatives Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and introduced their “Pet and Livestock Protection Act.” 

Ol’ Dutch and Miss Trixie are trying our hardest to get into the new house before leaving for our Colorado adventures in May. It's not been easy. I am not sure if it's our age or just the magnitude of the chore after 13 years together as we have accumulated quite the menagerie of stuff. 

In 1947, the Utah-born writer and historian Bernard DeVoto summed up the West's attitude toward the federal government: "Get out and send us more money." Now, says the Utah writer and photographer Stepen Trimble, federal offices are being closed and staffers fired, but no additional money is coming. The federal presence is crucial to the region, Trimble says, and the economic crisis caused by the new administration might open the region's eyes to a necessary and beneficial partnership.

The First Regular Session of Colorado’s 75th General Assembly has officially passed the halfway point and I am happy to share some updates on my time under the gold dome this year.

Grifters, you know those people who engage in small scale swindling of others, have always been with us, I guess. 

I had the honor and pleasure of teaming up, once again, with Dr. Martin Jones to judge projects in the Junior Environmental Division at the 76th annual San Luis Valley Regional Science Fair on Feb. 27 and 28.

I think when most people hear that title they probably think of the movie of the same name starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. For those of you who have never seen it, the story is about a man played by Hoffman who is a Savant with extraordinary powers of computation.

Riva Duncan retired five years ago after working for the Forest Service for 32 years in wildland wildfire. She's now an advocate for firefighters and knows many workers— all outraged—who were recently fired without cause by the Trump administration. She tells about two public land workers who worked their way up to needed jobs in the Forest Service, loving the work and not minding that the pay featured sunsets more than money. The wholesale cuts to stop purported waste or fraud reveal one startling fact, Duncan writes: The cost-cutters have no idea how the government works or who does what in the federal workforce.

Donald Trump’s platform when he ran for president was clear. He would make bold improvements quickly—raising revenue by imposing tariffs on foreign goods, slashing grocery store prices, and ending wasteful government spending by imposing greater efficiency. None of this is happening, writes Marston, as growing inflation and costly tariffs now threaten the economy with "stagflation."

CSU Extension believes every person from every walk of life can experience their healthiest, happiest, most productive life if they continually engage in lifelong learning. At SLV Area Extension, everything we do is designed to foster healthy youth and families; prosperous farms, ranches, and businesses; and strong, resilient, proud communities. We offer a myriad of educational opportunities to SLV citizens, where they live, work, and socialize. 

Considering the poor snowfall this year I thought it would be appropriate to revisit a question I’ve answered hundreds of times throughout my career. Each Spring people ask me “what do you think fire season will be like this year?” I always answer with the same reply: “You can never tell until the year is over.” In my mind however, this really begs the next two questions, what are my local firefighting agencies doing to prepare for the coming wildfires and what should I do to prepare?