High Country News March 06, 1995
Feature
How the West's asbestos fires were turned into tinderboxes
Decades of over-logging and fire suppression set the stage for deadly, destructive forest fires throughout the West.
News
Logging protesters say they won't give up
Activists face arrest for protesting Cove-Mallard timber sale.
How Montana fouled a family's water
Cyanide from a defunct gold mill has contaminated Jan and David Zimmerman's well water.
Road plan gets rough reception
A Forest Service plan to close roads made by all-terrain vehicles provokes angry reaction from ATV users.
James Watt charged with felonies
Former Interior Secretary James Watt is indicted by a federal grand jury for lying to Congress and obstructing an investigation of fraud.
Yellowstone snowmobile crowd may hit limit
The winter influx of snowmobiles into Yellowstone creates problems.
A delicate question: When is an arch crowded?
Arches National Park uses pilot program to measure how many people are too many people at Delicate Arch.
No more free lunch
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe seeks to harvest troublesome sea lions.
Hunter-harassment law stands
The Supreme Court refuses to overturn Montana's "hunter-harassment" law.
Essays
Pride and Glory of firefighting is hard to resist
Former firefighter Louise Wagenknecht says the rush at firefighting is as powerful as any drug.
The word according to a weighty Republican
Alaska Republican Don Young, new chairman of the House Resource Committee, denounces environmentalism and offers his own conservative philosophy.
Letters
You abandoned your standards
Utah imitates Denver
A rural lifestyle is a romantic vision
Welfare kings
Why should a college rate a cabin in a national forest?
Don't forget an "old curmudegon's' opinion
Related Stories
Excerpts from Hellroaring: The Life and Times of a Fire Bum
Peter M. Leschak reminisces about firefighting in his book Hellroaring: The Life and Times of a Fire Bum.
After the fire comes the real devastation
The trauma caused by super-hot fires continues long after the flames are put out.
Excerpts from Flame and Fortune; Quote from Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
Quotes from Stephen J. Pyne and Bruce Babbitt acknowledge the need to change attitudes toward fire.
'Indifference' caused deaths
A report by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration blames Forest Service and BLM "indifference" and "willful safety violations" for deaths of 14 firefighters in Colorado.
Multiple firefighter fatalities in the United States in wildland fires, 1900-present
Excerpts from South Canyon Fire Accident Investigation Team report
Quote from smokejumper Kevin Erickson depicts dramatic scene as fire overcomes 14 firefighters in the South Canyon Fire in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Bill would fight fire with chain saws
Idaho Sen. Larry Craig proposes a bill to give fast-track approval to timber sales in forests at "high risk" for fire danger.
Motorized beasts are noisy and stinky - and fun
Seeing Yellowstone by snowmobile is understandably entertaining.
High Country News in your inbox!