Feature

A new breed of artists depicts Montana - cyanide leach fields and all

Contemporary Montana artists create protest art as they try to depict the real Montana.

Of muskrats and mortality

A writer watches muskrats in Utah's Logan Canyon as she tries to come to terms with her father's approaching death.

Searching for grass in a magic valley

A hot summer spent inspecting the dry range in an Idaho valley brings a close encounter with a coyote.

While the vultures circle

The writer describes a summer as a "human mule" surveying the Arizona desert, where only the vultures move in the heat.

Sowing the red suns of August

Even when the tomatoes freeze and the deer trespass, gardening serves its own high purpose.

What is a Navajo taco?

Curiosity leads a writer to research the origins of Taco Time's "Navajo Taco."

Why Juan Valdez doesn't haul coffee beans on a llama

A pack-burro outfitter humorously lambastes the trendy llama.

Wallowing the flies away

The writer and his brother try to cope with a plague of flies in the Wyoming outdoors.

Advice for visitors to Rock Springs

Junkyard Rancher: Automotive wrangler scraps for a living

At his Carbondale, Colo., "Cadillac ranch," Alan Morris recycles automotive junk.

Dear Friends

Dear Friends

Celebration of essayists; visitors; deaths of Seth Diamond and Paul Shepard; corrections.

News

Yellowstone mine a goner

The Crown Butte Mine Co. agrees to give up its mine project near Yellowstone in exchange for unspecified land elsewhere.

Marvel wins a round

The Idaho Supreme Court rules that the State Land Board erred in granting a grazing lease to a Challis rancher who had been outbid by anti-grazing activist Jon Marvel.

Crane hunt is contested

Idaho approves a sandhill crane hunt to appease farmers who are losing crops to the birds.

New rules seek to cap canyon flights

The Clinton administration's attempt to increase flight-free zones in Grand Canyon upsets air-tour operators and conservationists who say the new rules aren't tough enough.

Dead salmon do more than stink

Studies by fish biologist Bob Bilby highlight the important role that dead salmon play in Northwestern river ecosystems.

A green Republican makes a run

Environmentalist Robin Silver of Phoenix makes a bid for the Republican slot for Arizona's 4th Congressional District.

Strapped parks look for money

National parks feeling the budget squeeze look for corporate financial help.

Yellowstone cutbacks bring out the politicians

Yellowstone Park Superintendent Mike Finley's closure of campgrounds and museums because of budget problems leads to irate responses from Wyoming politicians.

Doomed park bill just a tool of politicos

The strange history of a controversial parks bill demonstrates that Washington politics often have little to do with actual legislation.

Endangered salmon leave rafters dry

Idaho rafting companies challenge a Forest Service plan to keep boats off the upper Salmon River while salmon are spawning.

A tree did it

Two summer power blackouts in the West are caused by wayward trees.

Park Service preys on lake trout

Yellowstone Park begins an open season on the proliferating lake trout, in an attempt to aid threatened cutthroat trout.

Heard Around the West

Heard around the West

Geology lessons in Grand Teton National Park, 13-year-old Buddhist lama in Wyoming, camouflage lingerie, California theme parks, Moab's sarcastic police blotter, abduction by aliens in Arizona, close encounters with bears and porcupines.

Related Stories

The artist

Montana artist Dana Boussard in her own words on the duty of artists to grapple with the changing West.

Recyclers challenge Big Steel

"Minimills" that recycle steel help the environment - and make money.