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.
1
2
Featured stories
-
ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSTRUCTION GEOPHYSICS - We find groundwater, buried debris and assist with new construction projects for a fraction of drilling costs.
-
SPRING MOUNTAINS SOLAR OFF GRID MOUNTAIN HOME Located 50 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada in the pine forest of Lee Canyon at 8000 feet elevation. One of a kind property surrounded...
-
WATER PROGRAM DIRECTOR Based in home office within Arizona, with travel to Phoenix 2-3 times/month (TNC office space may be available if located in Phoenix or Tucson area)....
-
FOREST PROGRAM DIRECTOR, 51721 The Forest Program Director oversees aspects of protection, science, stewardship and community relations for the Arizona business unit. Provides scientific leadership and support for TNC's...
-
SOUTHWEST CONSERVATION ADVOCATE WildEarth Guardians is seeking a full-time advocate in our Wild Places Program to advance a new paradigm of forest management and protection based on the...
-
REGIONAL CONSERVATION DIRECTOR FOR THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION (RCTC) The Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) is conducting a national search, seeking a dynamic leader and effective manager to be the next Regional Conservation Director....
-
WYOMING CONSERVATION COORDINATOR The Wyoming Conservation Coordinator (WCC) is a senior-level position that provides strategic leadership for GYC's efforts to protect lands, waters, and wildlife within the Wyoming...
-
NEW AGRARIAN PROGRAM SOUTHWEST COORDINATOR The New Agrarian Program Southwest Coordinator is responsible, in partnership with the NAP Director and Colorado Manager, for implementation of Quivira's apprenticeship program in New...
-
NEW AGRARIAN PROGRAM ALUMNI AND OUTREACH MANAGER The New Agrarian Alumni & Outreach Manager is a passionate community builder who enjoys identifying opportunities to develop new programming, supporting beginning agrarians and land...
-
ANIMAS RIVERKEEPER San Juan Citizens Alliance seeks a passionate, experienced, and motivated Animas Riverkeeper to lead campaigns to protect water quality and flows in the Animas River...
-
CO & NM COALITION TO ENHANCE WORKING LANDS MANAGER Land stewards are more effective when they work as a team and have strong relationships. Our goals are to acknowledge and support the good work...
-
PATAGONIA SONOITA-CREEK PRESERVE MANAGER The Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve Manager performs and participates in preserve operations including the maintenance, management, development and coordination of conservation programs. On-site housing provided...
-
VERDE RIVER PROJECTS TECHNICIAN The Verde River Projects Technician (VRPT) provides technical assistance to Verde River Program staff in implementation of the Verde River Streamflow Monitoring Protocol. This consists...
-
HEALTHY CITIES PROGRAM MANAGER The Healthy Cities Program Manager works directly with the business unit's Healthy Cities Program Director to advance the Healthy Cities Program's long-term vision and innovative,...
-
MAJOR GIFTS MANAGER - MOUNTAIN WEST, THE CONSERVATION FUND Cultivate, solicit and steward a portfolio of 75-125 donors.
-
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER WITH RURAL COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE CORPORATION RCAC in West Sacramento, CA seeks a strategic CFO to oversee and safeguard RCAC's finances.
-
PRECIOUS WATER IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK Hardcover and eBook available now. Contact your local bookstore or the author at 970.371.7339 [email protected]
-
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote stewardship of our public lands by engaging our community in education,...
-
NATURE'S BEST IN ARAVAIPA CANYON 10 acre private oasis in one of Arizona's beautiful canyons. Fully furnished, 2123 sq ft architectural custom-built contemporary home with spectacular views and many extras....
-
HEALTH FOOD STORE IN NW MONTANA Turn-key business includes 2500 sq ft commercial building in main business district of Libby, Montana. 406.293.6771 /or [email protected]