The Ricks family in Rexburg, Idaho experiments with new technology and makes much of it themselves, including an all-electric car.
Items by Joan Nice
Muriel "Tommie" Bell, wife and partner of HCN founder Tom
Bell, is fondly remembered as a strong, loving, sustaining
woman.
Yellowstone National Park's image is being been tarnished by disturbing facts emerging about one of the western wilderness' most critical ingredients: the grizzly bear.
One can be a technotwit, a businessman, a flower child or even a woman and win elections in the Rockies, but it helps if one also knows how to swing a rope, or at least a fly rod.
After weeks of secrecy, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management revealed a list of more than 4.3 million acres of public land that may be sold to reduce the national debt.
Outside Meeteetse, Wyo., the debate has shifted from whether black-footed ferrets exist to how to ensure their survival.
With the rise of innovative heating systems and home designs, often owner-built, building codes are becoming more controversial.
Now that the Sagebrush Rebels have a president and half a dozen conservative senators sympathetic to their cause, their goal of turning over federally managed lands to the states looks more tangible than ever.
Today solar electricity is running, among other things, a remote refrigerator, a radio repeater, a national park building and a backwoods out-house in the Rocky Mountain states. Six years from now, the U.S. Department of Energy predicts that solar cells will be cheap enough even for the average biscuit baker.
More than 174 million obscure acres in the West have been spotlighted by the Bureau of Land Management's wilderness inventory, which is now the subject of public scrutiny.
Ambiguities in the Wilderness Act leave open the possibility of oil and gas development in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness and other wilderness areas.
A recent policy shift made by the Interior Department in its Animal Damage Control program has generally pleased environmentalists and raised hackles among sheepmen, who see the action as a betrayal.
A group of Crested Butte, Colo., citizens are confronting the 1872 Mining Law as a way to stop AMAX, Inc. from extracting molybdenum from nearby Mt. Emmons.
In the second article of a two-part series on wind energy, a giant wind-water generating system is proposed near Medicine Bow in southeastern Wyoming.
Despite a resurgence of enthusiasm for wind power, expensive new wind turbines -- many of which are proving unreliable -- are undermining widespread adoption of the technology.
With varying degrees of success, mediation has been substituted for legal or political confrontation in a number of recent environmental battles.
A plan to divert the South Platte River in order to recharge groundwater and ease an agricultural water shortage on Colorado's northeastern plains might also create wetlands that would provide needed wildlife habitat.
Although the Department of Energy has focused its attention on encouraging "active" solar technology -- which uses separate collectors, pumps and fans -- recent research indicates that "passive" systems are cheaper and more effective.
When the Forest Service began its second Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) a year ago, industry representative feared it. But now, as environmentalists and even agency officials themselves criticize the plan, timber and mining interests are the only ones who seem pleased.
The National Center for Appropriate Technology in Butte, Mont., is pushing projects that don't seem controversial -- solar heaters, wood stoves, windmills, greenhouses, and compost heaps. But after only a year in operation, NCAT is being criticized by other public interest groups, utilities, and the federal government.
Utah environmentalists consider themselves practically without representation in Congress, as Senators Jake Garn and Orrin Hatch and congressmen Gunn McKay and Dan Marriott consistently thwart their efforts.
Jay McGrew, an independent energy conservation consultant, says "the insulation business is a little bit like the insurance business. The salesmen always want to sell you more than you need."
Colorado's congressional delegation has the best environmental voting record of any state in the Northern Rockies. Only on the issue of water has Colorado recently voted as a typical inland Western delegation.
Enthusiasm for solar electric technology is being dampened by the reality that most consumers cannot afford it.
The stories of solar homeowners indicate that harnessing the sun for heat by putting collectors on a roof may not be as simple as it appears.
The Bureau of Reclamation may begin a reservation system for the Desolation Canyon section of Utah's Green River amid concerns about the growing number of river visitors.
A Colorado company called Bio-Gas claims it can provide rural electricity by harvesting and digesting cow manure to produce burnable methane gas.
Roderick Nash, whose passion is exploring and preserving wilderness, sees wilderness not as an amenity, but as a powerful aid for overcoming a frontier mentality.
Although Utah is one of the first Western states to require all new buildings to meet energy conservation standards, it has also been instrumental in pushing the controversial Intermountain Power Project coal-fired power plant.
At a time when energy prices are making it increasingly difficult for people to make ends meet, Malcolm Lillywhite shows people simple technology that they can use to produce quality food and shelter at low cost.
Today's Featured Stories
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OWN YOUR OWN CANYON - 1400 SF STRAW-BALE ECO-HOME ON 80 ACRES - 3 HOURS FROM L.A. 1400 sf of habitable space in a custom-designed eco-home created and completed by a published L.A. architect in 1997-99. Nestled within its own 80-acre mountain...
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WYOMING CONSERVATION ASSOCIATE We are hiring a Wyoming Conservation Associate Full time, competitive pay and benefits. Location: Cody, WY (preferred), Jackson, WY, or Lander, WY Visit www.greateryellowstone.org/careers for...
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SOUTHWEST REGIONAL DIRECTOR The National Parks Conservation Association, the nations leading national park advocacy organization, seeks a Regional Director to lead and manage staff for the Southwest Regional...
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DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS This newly created position with The Nature Conservancy's Colorado River Program will play a key role in the development and implementation of strategies to achieve...
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PROGRAM OFFICER, INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, NOVO FOUNDATION 
The Foundation NoVo Foundation acts from the original meaning of philanthropy: the love of humanity. The Foundation is dedicated to catalyzing a global social transformation...
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ARMY OF THE DOG A new generation of monkey wrenchers hits the Front Range?
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ANNIE CLARK TANNER FELLOWSHIP IN ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES The Tanner Humanities Center and the Environmental Humanities Program of the University of Utah seek an environmental writer to offer classes in Utahs Environmental Humanities...
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ALASKA STATE DIRECTOR
The Wilderness Society works to protect Wildlands and inspire Americans to care for our public lands. We seek to hire a strategic, experienced leader who...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Idaho Conservation League (ICL) seeks an individual to lead this 45-year-old organization as executive director, to carry on ICLs work as Idahos leading voice...
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IDAHO RIVERFRONT: 2+ acres, 400+ feet on Snake River, 2800 sf residence, NWF-certified wildlife habitat, excellent hunting, fishing, birdwatching, stargazing, sunsets & panoramic views. In the heart...
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WILDEARTH GUARDIANS IS EXPANDING - THREE JOB OPENINGS Guardians is expanding and looking for a few great people to join us in protecting and restoring the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health...
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SUNNYSIDE MARKET SEEKS NEW PROPRIETOR Organic grocery/cafe at Glacier Bay needs a vibrant leader. Love good food, community, and Alaska? Join us!
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NO INDIVIDUAL HEROES: OURAY MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM Ouray County, Colorado, a popular tourist destination, has dramatic mountains and amazing winter ice climbing. Challenging terrain and high altitude can push visitors to their...
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CALIFORNIA PROGRAM ASSOCIATE - TAHOE AREA National conservation organization seeks a regular, full-time California Program Associate-Tahoe Area. Position works closely with California-based program staff and National Forest Foundation staff to provide...
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CALIFORNIA PROGRAM COORDINATOR - TAHOE AREA National conservation organization seeks a regular, full-time California Program Coordinator-Tahoe Area. Position works closely with California-based program staff and National Forest Foundation staff to provide...
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CALIFORNIA PROGRAM MANAGER - TAHOE AREA National conservation organization seeks a regular, full-time California Program Manager-Tahoe Area. Position works closely with California-based program staff and National Forest Foundation staff to provide...
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CALIFORNIA PROGRAM ASSOCIATE, SOUTHERN CA National conservation organization seeks a regular, full-time California Program Associate-Southern CA. Position works closely with California-based program staff and National Forest Foundation staff to provide...
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THE BOOK OF BARLEY -
Collector's Item! The story of barley, the field crop. 50 years of non-fiction research. www.barleybook.com
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TEMPORARY ASSISTANT EDITOR Are you a climber and a writer who is passionate about mountain literature? Do you love searching through old alpine journals for stories of esoteric...
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RIVER TRIP LEADER & EDUCATOR Colorado Canyons Association (CCA) is a growing nonprofit organization fostering community stewardship of our National Conservation Lands with a focus on Dominguez-Escalante, Gunnison Gorge and...
