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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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MANAGER 
Western Resource Advocates (WRA) seeks a Government Affairs Manager to support our legislative and administrative advocacy efforts in Colorado. This new, mid-level position will report...
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COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER San Juan Citizens Alliance, a leading grassroots conservation advocacy organization for over 30 years, seeks a passionate, dynamic, organized, and technology-savvy communications professional to help...
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OPERATIONS AND FINANCE MANAGER Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a national grassroots organization led by women, seeks a resourceful, self-motivated, team player to serve as Operations and Finance Manager....
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND Colorado Canyons Association (CCA) fosters community stewardship, education and awareness of our National Conservation Lands with a focus on Dominguez-Escalante, Gunnison Gorge and...
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WYOMING STATE DIRECTOR Save the World ... or at least a piece of it! Join The Nature Conservancy and make a tangible and lasting impact by creating a...
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PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY NON-PROFIT NEAR YOSEMITE Demanding, but rewarding, advocacy work on forest, water, wildland, and wildlife issues. Applicants should have experience dealing with land management planning, public speaking, grassroots organizing,...
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NEW AGRARIAN APPRENTICESHIP Quivira Coalition's 2020 New Agrarian Apprenticeships in Regenerative Ranching and Farming -Apprenticeships run 4/20 - 11/20 Applications accepted 10/15/19 - 12/1/19 NAP partners with skilled...
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PHILANTHROPY DIRECTOR AT WILDERNESS WORKSHOP Wilderness Workshop seeks a full time Philanthropy Director to raise funds for our team. Learn more: www.wildernessworkshop.org
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EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT WITH WESTERN RESOURCE ADVOCATES Western Resource Advocates (WRA) seeks an enthusiastic and organized problem solver to join our growing team as an Executive Assistant. The Executive Assistant is instrumental...
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WYOMING OUTDOOR COUNCIL Two positions: Development Director OR Development Writer, Communications Director. Full job descriptions at https://wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org/careers.
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CONSERVATION PROJECT MANAGER Great Land Trust seeks to hire a Conservation Project Manager. Position is full-time, based in Anchorage, Alaska. First review of applications will be on October...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Eagle Valley Land Trust Executive Director Position Description Summary of Position: The Executive Director, working with and reporting to the Board of Directors, has overall...
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FINANCE & LOGISTICS COORDINATOR
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, founded in 1928 as an independent nonprofit organization, is a biological field station located near Crested Butte, Colorado. Our primary...
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DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
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DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Position: Development Coordinator Responsible to: Executive Director Time Commitment: 15-20 hours per week, or as otherwise agreed upon General Description: The Development Coordinator assists the...
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EDUCATION CENTER MANAGER Friends of Cedar Mesa seeks a full-time Education Manager for the Bears Ears Education Center to provide day to day operational and administrative oversight. See...
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TROUT UNLIMITED SCP SOUTHWEST REGIONAL DIRECTOR Seeking to hire an experienced advocate/manager to oversee the organization's sportsmen/women-driven advocacy in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Open until filled
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PROGRAM MANAGER for northern AZ collaborative conservation ranchlands group
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Partners are seeking an experienced and energetic Executive Director who is excited about the opportunity to lead our growing organization! A full description of the...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR High Country News Seeks an Executive Director to advance its mission, grow its audience and influence, and strategically and sustainably guide the organization through a...
