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When Congress passed the Stock-Raising Homestead Act in 1916 to further encourage development of the west, it didn’t foresee the stress it would put on ranchers by reserving the mineral rights on that land for the federal government, creating “split-estate.” Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.9/download-entire-issue

One of the most controversial parts of the federal strip mining bill would regulate strip mining on alluvial valley floors, but it is often a subjective judgement to determine where the alluvial floors begin and end. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.6/download-entire-issue

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System is finally starting to grow, after a lull following the passage of the bill that created the system in 1968. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.5/download-entire-issue

President Jimmy Carter has asked Congress to delete funds in the next fiscal year for 19 controversial water development projects. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.4/download-entire-issue

Class I designation for air over the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana will not be enough to protect air from the largest nearby pollution source. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.3/download-entire-issue

Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Indian tribe is seeking Class I air quality designation for its reservation, saying that good air quality is necessary to protect its timber resources. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.2/download-entire-issue

By passing the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, Congress intended to free the Bureau of Land Management from a tangle of laws and give the agency more power to regulate a wide range of different uses on the 451 million acres of public land that it oversees. Download entire issue to […]

The concept of producing synthetic fuel from coal in the West isn’t dead yet, but it seems at least to be in a coma. Companies promoting the technology are increasingly pessimistic about the possibility or realizing their plans. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.1/download-entire-issue

Plans to construct a new road and railroad tracks through the Narrows of southeastern Idaho’s Blackfoot River to transport personnel, materials and ore for new phosphate mining operations could severely damage cutthroat trout habitat. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.25/download-entire-issue

In a sudden decision that shocked the community of Hazen, North Dakota, the Mercer County Commissioner granted rezoning of 1,575 acres for a giant coal gasification plant. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.25/download-entire-issue

Montana ranchers whose land is likely to be stripped mined for coal are doubtful of a study that found that stripped-mined land can be effectively reclaimed. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.25/download-entire-issue

In Colorado, the High Trails program, which brings students into direct contact with nature in small groups, is fast gaining attention as a leader in environmental education. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.24/download-entire-issue

The Denver Water Board proposes to construct the $350 million Two Forks Dam on the South Platte River to meet Denver’s growing water needs. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.20/download-entire-issue

The first revisions of the Bureau of Land Management’s grazing rules in 40 years are being applauded by some environmental groups and viewed with skepticism by some grazing groups. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.19/download-entire-issue

State agencies are considering a tax for non-game wildlife programs and other strategies to deal with the problem of lack of funding for managing non-game species of wildlife. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.18/download-entire-issue

Of the Northern Plains and Rocky Mountain states, only North Dakota received Environmental Protection Agency approval of the state’s plans for attaining and maintaining national ambient air quality standards. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.17/download-entire-issue

Some experts think Alaska’s seemingly endless hordes of caribou can survive the pipelines, roads, and spreading civilization which gas and oil development has brought to the Far North. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.16/download-entire-issue

Conflict over the Challis Planning Unit in east-central Idaho, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, is an example of the difficulties faced by that agency when it tries to balance the demands of multiple user groups. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.15/download-entire-issue

A decision by the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration to exclude WYOSNGAS — a consortium of utilities, natural gas companies, and others — from a coal-to-gas demonstration program climaxed an eventful year for Wyoming’s Powder River Basin residents. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.15/download-entire-issue