Recent elections in the West show support for land-use
planning and “convergence politics”; hunting declines
in the West, but Satan keeps busy in Idaho, causing
divorces.
Items by Ray Ring
High Country News talks to Dennis McDonald, the Montana rancher who also leads the state’s Democratic Party.
Writers John N. Maclean and Mark Matthews look closely at
two famous – and deadly – Western wildfires in their
new books, The Thirtymile Fire and A Great Day to Fight
Fire.
How do we Westerners love our drugs? Let Ray Ring count
the ways.
Westerners have always been deeply in love with their
firearms, and gun-shop owners like Ryan Horsley are determined to
make sure that nothing comes between them
Ryan Horsley talks about Red's Trading Post: its history,
his troubles with the ATF, and why he doesn't sell machine
guns
The West’s gun laws are an unbelievable hodgepodge, but in general the region is very friendly toward firearms
At least 89 people died in the energy fields of Colorado,
Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming during the last
six years
Without a college degree, work on the oil and gas fields
is the best job you can get in the rural West – unless, of
course, it kills you
Ray Ring offers a state-by-state summary of some of the
more intriguing election results across the West
The West gains traction as a center of power in 2006, and
nine more indicators from the midterm elections.
In Smoke Jumping on the Western Fire
Line, Mark Matthews tells the story of the conscientious
objectors who pioneered smokejumping to fight Western forest fires
during World War II
Roughneck is a two-year-old monthly
devoted to covering the oil and gas industry in Sublette County,
Wyoming
Even Montanans critical of Sen. Conrad Burns admit
he’s a genius at bringing home the pork – a fact that
may make it harder for his Democratic challenger, Jon Tester, in
the November election.
National pundits say the nation’s political parties
are moving toward the extremes, but in the West, Republicans
– unhappy with some far-right politicians – seem to be
heading back to the middle.
Dorothy English weighs in on the pros – and cons
– of Oregon’s Measure 37
The Western states are home to a stealth campaign by
libertarians who – under the guise of reforming eminent
domain – are out to destroy all land-use planning through
"takings" ballot initiatives
The writer says stealth libertarian campaigns seek to
hamstring government
Renee Ross weighs in on the pros – and cons –
of Oregon’s Measure 37
Jim Miller weighs in on the pros – and cons –
of Oregon’s Measure 37
A detailed graph sums up the status of the current
"takings’ initiative campaigns in six Western
states
Ted Schroeder weighs in on the pros – and cons
– of Oregon’s Measure 37
Bill Roses weigh in on the pros – and cons –
of Oregon’s Measure 37
An unusual grassroots coalition of citizen activists stops
a coal-fired merchant power plant from being built in Idaho’s
Magic Valley
Led by California, Western states are encouraging the
energy industry to move toward cleaner coal technology
In their own words, some of the Magic Valley citizens who
fought the Sempra coal plant describe the uprising and how they got
involved in it
Astronomer Perry Walker uses his stargazing tools and
skills to work with the oil and gas industry to prevent air
pollution in Wyoming
The writer figures that the oil and gas industry wants
marijuana to be legal
Wilderness advocates and snowmobile enthusiasts are
working together in Montana to find enough room in the landscape to
accommodate both their passions
The writer decries the state-sponsored slaughter of
Yellowstone’s bison and calls on hunters to get
political
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