What is it like to become obsessed with a mountain? In The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier, Bruce Barcott describes how he circled the mountain on foot and interviewed mountaineers, climbing guides, priests, historians and scientists before he and his father attempted to scale the country’s highest volcano. Barcott, a […]
Sara Phillips
Posted inFebruary 16, 1998: Private rights vs. public lands
Soul in your soles
When was the last time you felt mud ooze between your toes? Richard Frazine in The Barefoot Hiker encourages readers to free their feet as well as their minds. No joke: Frazine, who lives in Connecticut, has been hiking unshod for over 20 years even through sleet and snow. He recommends a woodland trail for […]
Posted inFebruary 2, 1998: Looking at dams in a new way
Red meat can be green
The “dolphin-friendly” label gave tuna an environmental face-lift in the 1980s; now, a “Wolf Country Beef” label may do the same for hamburger. The label is the brainchild of Jim Winder and Will Holder, ranchers who have teamed up with the nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife. They’re developing the seal-of-approval so that beef coming from ranchers […]
Posted inDecember 22, 1997: Gold Rush: Mining seeks to tighten its grip on the 'last, best place'
Dicey future for Northwest casinos
When the Lummi tribe in Washington opened the Northwest’s first casino 13 years ago, gambling became a jackpot, bringing in almost $1 billion a year to the region’s tribes. Then last August the Lummi Casino closed its doors, blaming competition within the state as well as in Canada. Some say other closings will follow. Lummi […]
Posted inDecember 22, 1997: Gold Rush: Mining seeks to tighten its grip on the 'last, best place'
Idaho chokes Spokane
Eleven-year old Derek Uphus fears the start of school each year because that’s when local farmers near his Spokane, Wash., home begin burning their fields and fouling the air over the city. He suffers from cystic fibrosis and asthma and when there’s smoke in the air, Uphus coughs constantly. “It’s like someone’s hands are around […]
Posted inDecember 8, 1997: Mono Lake: Victory over Los Angeles turns into local controversy
Tribe doesn’t dig it
The remains of an ancient village on the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Reservation in Arizona are going to stay buried. After spending almost $1 million on plans and studies, the tribe’s council has decided not to build a casino on the ruins (HCN, 9/1/97). The decision came after officials from the Sells […]
Posted inDecember 8, 1997: Mono Lake: Victory over Los Angeles turns into local controversy
Ancient cedars get a life
Environmentalists have always said that old-growth trees are worth more alive than logged. Recently, the Forest Service seconded that thought. In October, after five years of negotiations, the agency allowed Idaho sawmill owner Mark Brinkmeyer to swap his 530-acre grove of 1,200-year-old trees at the headwaters of Idaho’s Upper Priest Lake for 2,200 acres of […]
Posted inNovember 24, 1997: Restoring a refuge: Cows depart, but can antelope recover?
Our national movie stars
National parks have always played starring roles in Hollywood productions. Sandstone pillars and deep gorges also appear on television and in magazines, selling cars, beer and almost everything in between. But most parks, some of which host an average of 50 productions per year, don’t see a dime from production companies. A 40-year-old rule prohibits […]
Posted inNovember 10, 1997: Drain Lake Powell? Democracy and science finally come West
Serious trouble for snow geese
The skies over Midwestern states will be dotted white this fall by snow geese moving south for the winter. But many biologists have concluded that the birds are too prolific for their own good. The goose population has skyrocketed over the past 30 years, up from 750,000 in 1969 to almost 3 million today. As […]
Posted inNovember 10, 1997: Drain Lake Powell? Democracy and science finally come West
Banning the buzz
The National Park Service is developing rules to allow local park officials to restrict, and perhaps ban, personal sit-down or stand-up watercraft. Park Service program manager Dennis Burnett says although the fast watercraft make up only 7 percent of all boaters, they cause more than half of all boating accidents. They also dump about a […]
Posted inOctober 13, 1997: The land is still public, but it's no longer free
Flattened fauna need help
For decades, Route 93 between Missoula, Mont., and Glacier National Park has earned a reputation as a dangerous stretch of highway. A bumper sticker from the 1960s reads: “Pray for me, I drive 93.” Now it seems drivers aren’t the only ones in danger. Hundreds of western painted turtles that live in pothole wetlands are […]
Posted inSeptember 29, 1997: The timber wars evolve into a divisive attempt at peace
Keeping rural American rural
City sprawl has swallowed up rural communities; a revised edition of Saving America’s Countryside: A Guide to Rural Conservation shows how local action can stave off urbanization. Written by Samuel N. Stokes, A. Elizabeth Watson, and Shelley S. Mastran, the book offers everything from well-honed ideas for organizing residents to sample drafts of easements designed […]