Items by Erika Trautman

Growth boundary grows
The growth boundary to limit sprawl on Colorado's Front Range, originated five years ago by concerned business leaders, developers and government officials, has been revised periodically to accommodate more growth, which critics say defeats the purpose.
New hope for abandoned mines
U.S. Reps. Mark Udall (D) and Bob Schaffer (R) of Colorado propose an amendment to the Clean Water Act to offer good Samaritans protection from liability in cleaning up abandoned hardrock mines and their polluted streams.
For the love of spoons
Navajo silversmithing is the subject of a book, "Navajo Spoons," by Cindra Kline, exploring Indian artistry and the souvenir trade.
How to handle the big cats
A new report by Idaho Fish and Game, "Encounters of the Feline Kind: Mountain Lions and You," offers advice for humans who find themselves in mountain lion territory.
Gaining ground for the buffalo
The Great Plains Restoration Council seeks to restore ecosystems and re-establish buffalo herds in the Northern Plains.
Boy Scouts want new digs
Local residents and environmentalists object to a planned Boy Scout camp on the Fryingpan River in the White River National Forest near Aspen, Colorado.
Will listing hurt the Colorado lynx?
The Canada lynx is listed as threatened, but some fear the decision not to list the Southern Rockies lynx as a "distinct population segment" will hamper its recovery chances in Colorado.
The Buffalo War: a maelstrom of Western issues
Matthew Testa's new documentary, "The Buffalo War," looks from all different sides at the controversial killing of Yellowstone National Park's straying buffalo.
Audible biodiversity
The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has released a CD called "The Diversity of Animal Sounds," which features the sounds of a variety of creatures from all over the world.
A price tag for protest
The Oregon Department of Forestry wants to charge protesters for timber that can't be cut in forests such as the Tillamook, where tree-sitting activists have held longtime protests.
Cooperating on the Valles Caldera
The Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico will not be managed by any government agency, but by a president-appointed board of nine trustees, who are still trying to figure out their new job.
Savage controversy peacefully resolved
An Oregon irrigation district has agreed to breach the Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River.
Curriculum for a desert classroom
"Red Rock Adventures" is a new, free teacher's guide designed to educate students grades 1-5 about the ecosystems of Utah's canyon country.
Navajo-Hopi dispute persists
Hopi officials angered Navajos when they destroyed a Navajo Sun Dance site on Big Mountain, a part of the Hopi Reservation some Navajos lay claim to.
Remembering internment in Idaho
Idaho's Sun valley Center for the arts hosts "Whispered Silences," a multidisciplinary exhibition exploring Japanese-American internment camps across the West.
Grassfires burn bigger
A new study says that less than 15 percent of fires target national forests; most hit grassland and shrubland in state, tribal, private or BLM ownership.
ESA didn't kill firefighters
An investigative report says that a delay in taking water from the Chewuch River because of the Endangered Species Act did not cause the deaths of four firefighters on the Okanogan forest last July.
Power plant creates noisy dispute
A power plant proposed for rural Canyon County, Idaho, is facing a battle from local critics, who object to the plant's potential noise, among other things.
Monument of tall trees will stand
A federal judge rejects a challenge to the existence of California's Giant Sequoia National Monument, designated by President Clinton toward the end of his presidency.
The smog is lifting
After decades of cleanup efforts, Denver, Colo., is about to receive clean-air status from the Environmental Protection Agency.
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