With buddies like Steve Williams, endangered species don’t need predators, pesticides or encroaching pavement. In early March, Williams — head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — told Congress that money slated for designating critical habitat for endangered species could be better spent elsewhere within the agency (HCN, 6/23/03: Who needs critical habitat?). Nuclear […]
Departments
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Land exchange is a boondoggle
Thanks for printing a small article about the scandalous Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange (HCN, 3/1/04: Arizona land swap dogged by questions). You’ve written previous articles about owners of inholdings in federal lands leveraging excessive profits. Mr. Ruskin similarly wants to play profiteer against the wishes of several Arizona communities. And he wants to prevent an […]
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Race track
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo may have blown big bucks for nothing. The incumbent senator, who has already spent $1.5 million on his re-election campaign, will not be facing a Democratic challenger in November. According to the Idaho Statesman, would-be Democratic candidate Michael Kennedy’s campaign organizer missed the filing deadline by seconds, after the first challenger […]
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Are mountain lions in danger of disappearing?
The West’s mountain lions are being hunted right out of their habitat
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Dear friends
Heat wave It’s hard to believe that just over three weeks ago we got a call from nearby Telluride, Colo., saying an avalanche had wiped out the town’s power supply. Kelly Hearn, managing editor of The Telluride Watch, told us that the area’s main power line was buried under 20 feet of ice and snow, […]
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Hands-on science education takes a hit
The Bush administration, accused of manipulating science, also has a hand in what’s being taught in school
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Colorado Senate race steps into national spotlight
Democrats look to regain seat and hold the line in the U.S. Senate
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Republicans need to claim the environmental middle ground
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “The One-Party West.” At a time when the United States is deeply — and evenly — divided politically, the Rocky Mountain West is firmly in the grasp of the Republican Party. Thank goodness. I believe Republican leaders are better equipped to meet the challenges […]
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Wrecking homes for open space: Philanthropist Jennifer Speers
MOAB, UTAH — Call her a home-wrecker, and Jennifer Speers just laughs. But the title fits. In February 2003, Speers purchased the “Rio Colorado at Dewey,” a 115-acre commercial development near Moab, that included a new adobe home with spectacular views of the Colorado River. Just a few months later, she leveled the $600,000 house. […]
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Die, baby harp seal!
It’s time for environmentalism to get ugly
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Heard around the West
IDAHO Are cows getting smarter? Every year, several cows make a break for freedom from barns in Bonneville County to go a-wandering. Resistance is futile. What was different this spring was the feistiness of a 1,000-pound black Angus. “We’ve been raising cows for 20 years,” said the owner, “and never had anything like this happen […]
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
Why Greens need blue blazers
One of my childhood friends, Karl Warkomski, is the first and only elected Green Party member in ultra-right-wing Orange County, Calif. Orange County — home to the mega-hawk and former congressman “B2 Bob” Dornan — is a place where people get misty eyed remembering the Reagan presidency. So how in the world did Karl get […]
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
In search of political dialogue
About a decade ago, I was one of several observers of the Western political scene who latched on to a rather simple theory: With the demise of traditional industries, such as mining and logging, the West — the fastest growing and most beautiful region in the country — would soon attract scads of environmentally and […]
Posted inApril 12, 2004: The One-Party West
The One-Party West
With one foot in the cities and one foot in the country, Western Democrats can put hope back into political life
Posted inMarch 29, 2004: Who Will Take Over the Ranch?
Pesticides are killing frogs
Last July, Dr. Donald F. Anthrop wrote a letter, “Pesticides killing Frogs? Poppycock” (HCN, 7/7/03: Pesticides killing Frogs? Poppycock), criticizing an earlier report by Cosmo Garvin (HCN, 5/26/03) about possible effects of pesticides on frog populations. At the end of Dr. Anthrop’s letter, he stated: “This is a sorry excuse for scientific research.” I think […]
Posted inMarch 29, 2004: Who Will Take Over the Ranch?
Follow-up
Republican hounds are already after the Democratic fox. When presidential hopeful John Kerry told an online environmental news service, “That black stuff is hurting us,” he went on to say that America’s dependence on oil is “hurting our health … cost(ing) us unbelievable security disadvantages … and contributing to global warming.” Within hours, Reps. Richard […]
Posted inMarch 29, 2004: Who Will Take Over the Ranch?
Asbestos beyond Libby city limits
Since Andrew Schneider and David McCumber broke the story of Libby, Mont., in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, what began as local news about miners and their families dying of asbestosis has mushroomed into a national health disaster. Now, in their new book, An Air That Kills, they expose the asbestos industry’s deadly impact on the lives […]
Posted inMarch 29, 2004: Who Will Take Over the Ranch?
Overpopulation affects everything
I have just rejoined the Sierra Club so that I might support Richard D. Lamm’s bid for a seat on its board of directors. His position on the immigration/population issues is unassailable (HCN, 2/16/04: Why I’m running: Immigration is the environmental issue). The fact that overpopulation’s looming threat to environmental health is worldwide should not […]
Posted inMarch 29, 2004: Who Will Take Over the Ranch?
Calendar
Want to get to know the Grand Canyon a little better? Then take a class with the Grand Canyon Field Institute, the nonprofit partner of the Grand Canyon National Park. Throughout the year, the Institute offers classes such as “Women’s Rim-to-Rim Backpack,” “Wilderness First Responder Training” and photography and archaeology trips. For more information or […]
Posted inMarch 29, 2004: Who Will Take Over the Ranch?
Don’t blame the immigrants
In response to Mr. Lamm: Immigration is NOT the environmental issue (HCN, 2/16/04: Why I’m running: Immigration is the environmental issue). To blame the trashing of our environment on immigrants is not unlike the attempt to link Iraq to 9/11; it rides popular sentiment to further a dark agenda. The real environmental issue is consumption, […]