High Country News February 02, 1998
Feature
Looking at dams in a new way
An unusual new book put out by the U.S. Geological Survey, "Dams and Rivers: A Primer on the Downstream Effects of Dams," is reviewed by Tom Knudson.
Dear Friends
Dear friends
Kevin Markey visits; more visitors; congratulations, Skip Edwards and Margaret Murie; winter intern J.T. Thomas.
News
Zoologist says listing process is endangered
Zoologist Ronald Nowak resigns from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in protest over the agency's failure to do its job listing and protecting threatened species such as the Canada lynx.
A tiny tribe wins big on clean water
The Supreme Court rules that the Isleta Pueblo tribe in New Mexico has the right to order the city of Albuquerque to end its dumping in the Rio Grande River.
The Wayward West
Parks may restrict jet skis; Yellowstone will keep Hayden Valley trail open to snowmobiles; Delyla Wilson sentenced for bison-guts protest; USFS to do land swap with Weyerhaeuser in Wash.'s Cascades; John Mumma to retire from Colo. Division of Wildlife.
Red meat can be green
Southwestern ranchers Jim Winder and Will Holder team up with Defenders of Wildlife to create a seal-of-approval for beef sold by ranchers who avoid killing predators.
Some cattle ranchers sell out to hunting
Cattle ranchers in Montana and other Western states are earning extra money by charging hunters to hunt on private property to which they once allowed free access.
Ski resort plans ruffle feathers
Conservationists are unhappy about development company Jeld Wen Inc.'s proposal to build an "ecologically sensitive" ski resort at Pelican Butte in Oregon's Cascade Mountains.
The scandal culture reaches Bruce Babbitt
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt's tangle with Republicans in Congress who want to have him investigated by a special prosecutor for denying an Indian casino in Wis., is simply another example of the new "culture of scandal" in action.
Road ban proposal eroded by exceptions
The Clinton administration's proposed moratorium on road building in roadless areas is meeting criticism from the timber industry, as well as from environmentalists who say the proposal excludes too much land.
Book Reviews
Use this book to get under the West's skin
"Atlas of the New West" explores a rapidly changing place with maps and thoughtful essays, and it can also direct you to a rodeo, or to the nearest copy of The New York Times.
Heart of Home: People, Wildlife, Place
"Heart of Home: People, Wildlife, Place" by Ted Kerasote is reviewed by Stephen Lyons.
Storm Over Mono: The Mono Lake Battle and the California Water Future
"Storm Over Mono: The Mono Lake Battle and the California Water Future" by John Hart is reviewed by Jane Braxton Little.
Confessions of an Eco-Redneck
Steve Chapple's "Confessions of an Eco-Redneck" is reviewed by David Helvarg.
River rats get ready
Friends of the River's 18th Annual Rivers Festival, Feb. 20-22, at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, Calif., will focus on "Protecting Rivers for the Next Generation."
Rabies, Lyme Disease, Hanta Virus, oh my!
"Rabies, Lyme Disease, Hanta Virus and Other Animal-Borne Human Diseases in the United States and Canada" by E. Lendell Cockrum is reviewed.
Wanted: More Colorado Natives
Trout Unlimited is trying to restore native wild trout to Colorado's rivers and lakes.
A Better West?
"The Next West: Public Lands, Community and Economy in the American West," edited by John Baden and Donald Snow, is reviewed.
Oil leasing sparks debate
Environmentalists are fighting the Forest Service's proposal to open 370,000 acres south of Yellowstone to oil and gas leasing.
Cars to get the boot
The Park Service plans to restrict cars in Grand Canyon, Zion and Yosemite national parks, replacing them with light rail and buses.
1998 Arkansas River Basin Water Forum
The 1998 Arkansas River Basin Water Forum meets in La Junta, Colo., Feb. 4-5.
North American Interdisciplinary Conference on Environment and Community
The North American Interdisciplinary Conference on Environment and Community is set for Feb. 19-21 at the University of Nevada in Reno.
The International Association of Wildland Fire
The International Association of Wildland Fire holds its second conference March 29-April 1 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Restoring the Wolf
A Defenders of Wildlife conference, Restoring the Wolf, is set for Nov. 12-14 in Seattle, Washington.
Essays
We have no elders, we have no leaders
A wildlands- and buffalo-loving activist writes passionately about restoring the Great Plains in a Buffalo Commons.
Iconoclast to the end: A New West son regards his father
A conservationist muses on how his father, an Iranian-born obstetrician in the Appalachian Mountains, gave him the gift of the Clearwater River in the wilderness of Idaho.
A river comes apart
Clearcut hillsides, floods and mudslides on Idaho's Clearwater River raise a warning that the land is dying.
The bison are coming
Ten years later, Frank and Deborah Popper review their controversial proposal for a Buffalo Commons, and find that many of their predictions are coming true.
Heard Around the West
Heard around the West
Spam and other worst recipes; bears raiding Denver fridges; South Dakota's religious tolerance; deer jumps into Montana van; what helicopters spy in the Central Arizona Project's canals; cow pie lagoons; Hong Kong film subtitles.
High Country News in your inbox!