Items by Ray Ring

He stuffs what they kill
Taxidermist John Stevenson discovers the art and craft of taxidermy.
Unarmed but dangerous critics close in on hunting
Hunting in the West faces public relations problems as well as questions about ethical and biological issues.
In the heart of the New West, the sheep win one
The Hispanic livestock cooperative, Ganados del Valle, wins a lawsuit against the Sierra Club Foundation in New Mexico's Chama Valley.
The West's fisheries spin out of control
The story of whirling disease in Western trout is a story of human "improvement on nature" gone wrong.
Where the saguaros stop
"Biotic Communities, Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico" is reviewed.
Denver vs. the West
Rising fares at Denver International Airport are changing the patterns of air travel around the West, as some airlines pull out and passengers seek other airports.
Heard around the West
Rodeo safety vests, buffalo in bar, intergalactic tourism, ladies' left-arm wrestling, Helen Chenoweth's staff problems, computer organizing for wilderness, killer bees.
Utah wilderness goes coast-to-coast
Utah's environmental groups sound a nationwide alarm to stop a Utah wilderness bill they describe as "disastrous."
Heard around the West
National Park Service's "Park "N' Drive Competition," RVs outnumber tents 3 to 1, Yellowstone's roadkill, drug-users in the park.
Heard Around the West
Want ads for sheepherders, straw bale houses on the Navajo Reservation, women in the Forest Service, betting on the planet's future, New Era philanthropy, seminars on "how to stay calm."
Heard Around the West
Utah exempts peace pipes; Arizona tribe wants to protect air; new Navajo Pres. Hale asks for pardon for Peter MacDonald; eating buffalo in Ronan, Mont.; wise-use newsletter, "The Courier'; Democrats in Oregon's Wallowa County.
Seeking power, a few ski workers go union
In a few resorts, beleagured ski workers are turning to unions for help.
He came to ski and stayed to help
J. Francis Stafford, the Archbishop of Denver, makes socioeconomic justice and worker's problems in ski country a priority.
It always comes down to finding a place to live
Creating low-cost housing in ski country involves overcoming a variety of hurdles.
Pedro Lopez, entrepreneur
Pedro Lopez and other workers who live in trailers near the Beaver Creek resort will have to move because the industry is buying the trailer park's land.
Ski bums wrapped in concrete
Ski workers Jeremy Bernier and Jim Noland sleep in a van in the maintenance room of a parking garage because they can't afford housing in Vail.
The Leadville-Indy 500
Single mother Alma Perez has to start her day at 5:30 am to commute from Leadville to her ski industry job in Vail.
Working 24 hours straight
Former ski bum Greg Smith now juggles three jobs to make ends meet.
The New West's servant economy
Ski resorts begin to resemble the Third World as Africans and others come to take low-paying service jobs, but have trouble finding housing.
Race alarms public; methane project doesn't
Public ignores proposed coal-bed methane project while commenting loudly on cross-country race in Utah.
Plucky 'Batman and Robin' make an airport their case
Retired engineers Paul Earle and Jim Buck are two of DIA's most persistent critics.
Ambition becomes a megamess
The history of Denver International Airport, like that of other Western megaprojects, is the history of a megamess.
The West sings the Denver airport blues
Denver International Airport may become a giant boondoggle.
Can planning rein in a stampede?
The uncontrolled growth of Western states makes planning essential.
Mothering a good forest fire isn't easy
Deciding how to handle a forest fire is difficult.
Whose fault? A Utah canyon turns deadly
The deaths of two hikers in Utah raise legal and ethical questions about risk and responsibility.
Utah kids benefit from state land reform
State land management reforms in Utah raise money for schools.
'Unranchers' reach for West's state lands
Conservationists discover state lands and bid against ranchers to lease them.
Death and anarchy above Tucson
A head-on. From the skid marks it looked like the Camaro had been cutting the inside of the curve, way over the double-yellow centerline ...
Tumbleweeds triumphant
When it comes to weirdness in the natural world, the tumbleweed has to be right up there. This bit of freaky biology run amok has inspired everything from sport to mythology to gourmet cooking. So maybe it's fitting that the tumbleweed has come to symbolize the American West.
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