Items by Ken Olsen

Ken Olsen responds
Ken Olsen May 30, 2009 From the print edition
Salmon Salvation
Salmon Salvation
Obama’s new political order, backed by the legal acumen of Judge James Redden, may help the Northwest’s salmon survive and end the era of the Lower Snake River dams.
Ken Olsen May 4, 2009 From the print edition
Nevada stakes its salmon claim
Nevada sportsmen, tribes and environmentalists ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission not to renew licenses for Hells Canyon’s dams until Idaho Power makes it possible for salmon to survive its dams.
Ken Olsen Feb. 4, 2008 From the print edition
Relicensing dams hangs on warm water, endangered fish
Idaho Power Company needs permits from Idaho, Oregon and the federal government
Ken Olsen Jan. 30, 2008
History of a decline
An illustrated timeline charts the appearance of dams on the lower Snake River and the resulting decline of salmon, along with the so-far-inadequate response of the federal government.
Ken Olsen Jan. 22, 2007 From the print edition
Salmon Justice
Judge Jim Redden has given the Bush administration an ultimatum: Submit a viable plan for salmon restoration, or face the possible removal of four dams on the lower Snake River.
Ken Olsen Jan. 22, 2007 From the print edition
Up in smoke: Hanford fire releases plutonium
A recent wildfire on Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Wash., released plutonium into the air, and watchdog groups are not satisfied by the Department of Energy's claim that there is no cause for worry.
Ken Olsen July 31, 2000 From the print edition
Hanford executive quits in protest
Mike Lawrence, manager of the cleanup effort on Hanford Nuclear Reservation, resigns, saying the project is financially out of control.
Ken Olsen June 5, 2000 From the print edition
Hanford leaves a surprising Cold War legacy
Area farmers are unhappy that the Wahluke Slope, a buffer zone for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, may now be protected as a wildlife refuge.
Ken Olsen Dec. 20, 1999 From the print edition
Beetle wars
The national forests on the Idaho Panhandle want to double the timber cut this summer to stop a bark-beetle explosion.
Ken Olsen March 1, 1999 From the print edition
Logged hillsides collapse into Idaho's creeks
Heavy rains, roads and clearcuts cause more than 100 slides and washouts in Idaho's Clearwater National Forest.
Ken Olsen Jan. 22, 1996 From the print edition
For further reading
A short list of books for further reading about Hanford's history and its toxic legacy.
Ken Olsen Jan. 22, 1996 From the print edition
Hanford's prime cuts
Four pieces of Hanford real estate are the focus of prospective landlords who want control.
Ken Olsen Jan. 22, 1996 From the print edition
Amid the lovely the lethal remains
During its 40 years of weapons-building, Hanford knowingly exposed workers and area residents to dangerous levels of radiation, and the health impacts continue to be felt today.
Ken Olsen Jan. 22, 1996 From the print edition
At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Conservationists, politicians, Indians and farmers fight over the polluted but beautiful land of Washington's Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
Ken Olsen Jan. 22, 1996 From the print edition
The public was railroaded
"Railroads and Clearcuts: Legacy of Congress's 1864 Northern Pacific Land Grant" by Derrick Johnson, George Draffan and John Osborn is reviewed.
Ken Olsen Sept. 4, 1995 From the print edition
Legislature votes to hamstring Washington state
The Washington Legislature's approval of Initiative 164 creates the most far-reaching "takings" law in the nation.
Ken Olsen May 29, 1995 From the print edition
Conspiracy of optimism
Paul Hirt's book "A Conspiracy of Optimism: Management of the National Forests Since World War II" is reviewed.
Ken Olsen May 1, 1995 From the print edition
How Methow Valley grew an economy
Residents of Methow Valley build cross-country skiing to feed the economy.
Ken Olsen Nov. 28, 1994 From the print edition
Citizens held off big money for years
For 20 years environmentalists have fought developers in the Methow Valley.
Ken Olsen Nov. 28, 1994 From the print edition
Beauty eludes the beast
An unusual consensus may stave off development in Washington's Methow Valley.
Ken Olsen Nov. 28, 1994 From the print edition
Washington county splits in half over proposed dump
Water is main issue in fight over Hooper, Washington, megadump.
Ken Olsen March 7, 1994 From the print edition
Earth First!ers experience Idaho-style justice
Environmentalists receive heavy sentences in Idaho courts.
Ken Olsen March 1, 1994 From the print edition
Newspaper series unsettles the Northwest
The Spokesman-Review publishes a series about Forest Service mismanagement in five national forests in the Northwest.
Ken Olsen Dec. 27, 1993 From the print edition
Battle for wilderness takes a break
Earth First! and other environmental groups claim victory after preventing logging and slowing Forest Service road building efforts in the Cove-Mallard timber sale area.
Ken Olsen Oct. 18, 1993 From the print edition
Author of Eco-Warriors is jailed
The incarcerated author Rik Scarce says the First Amendment protects scholarly research, including his on the radical environmental movement.
Ken Olsen June 28, 1993 From the print edition
High Country News Classifieds