Judge says Interior Department is to blame for last-minute reinstatement of snowmobile ban
Departments
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Lost in the wilderness of power politics
It’s easy enough to get lost in one of the West’s wilderness areas. Just hike off the trail for a half hour, close your eyes and spin around a few times, and you may have no idea where you parked your car. A similar disorientation afflicts anyone trying to navigate the complex thicket of wilderness […]
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Wilderness activists look on as the Bush administration gives oil and gas drillers first crack at the West’s last wild lands
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
A moment of truth for user fees
Critics say fees take the ‘public’ out of the public lands
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Energy bill would pry open public lands
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “Two decades of hard work, plowed under.” The energy bill, which is currently stalled in Congress but likely to be resurrected early this year, would put major emphasis on public-lands energy development: It creates the Office of Federal Energy Project Coordination within the White […]
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Can skiers and snowmobilers coexist?
With conflict on the rise, “quiet” recreationists want segregation in the backcountry
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
In New Mexico, a homegrown wilderness bill makes headway
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “Two decades of hard work, plowed under.” In the face of the Interior Department’s top-down decision to stop looking for new wilderness areas on federal land, some communities are working to protect wilderness from the bottom up. Sidestepping White House-appointed bureaucrats, wilderness advocates are […]
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Proposed wilderness on the auction block
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “Two decades of hard work, plowed under.” The following areas, which are proposed by citizens for wilderness protection, will be up for grabs during the BLM’s January/February 2004 lease sale. WIA = wilderness inventory area CWP = citizens’ wilderness proposal New Mexico (Jan. 21) […]
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Dear Friends
MANY THANKS Happy New Year from snowy Paonia, and a huge thanks to all of you who sent cards and treats to the office over the holidays. They certainly lifted our spirits, and, in at least one case, reminded us what this enterprise is all about. Tracy, who gave no last name and identified herself […]
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Getting under the desert’s skin: Biologist Jayne Belnap
The scenery of southeastern Utah is hard to miss. Steep redrock canyons plunge into long and lazy riverbends; wind-sculpted stone arches glow pinkly at sunset. But when biologist Jayne Belnap hikes through this famous landscape, it’s not the show-stopping rocks that draw her attention. It’s the algae. “This is not a rocky landscape, this is […]
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Have another pig-brain/beef-blood/chicken-spine hamburger
I ate my final diner burger the other day. It’s not that I don’t like burgers (my last one was juicy pure delight) or that I want to become a vegetarian (the tofu diet isn’t for me), but thanks to some recent discoveries, I no longer believe that my last burger, was, in fact, a […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Wildlife win one in Yellowstone
As part of a program to reduce conflicts between cattle and wildlife, the National Wildlife Federation has negotiated two important land deals with ranchers in the Yellowstone National Park region. In Wyoming in August, the federation raised $250,000 from other conservation groups, foundations and donors to buy out 77,000 acres of the Blackrock-Spread Creek grazing […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Cattalo could get the boot
The verdict is in — genetically speaking — on a troublesome bison herd in the Grand Canyon. The state-owned bison herd has been straying from its range north of the canyon and venturing into Grand Canyon National Park (HCN, 4/28/03: Bison arrive in Grand Canyon uninvited). The state wants to leave the herd on the […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Whose thousand words?
Print the Legend: Photography and the American West, is not another coffee-table gallery of black-and-white mountain vistas or solemn American Indian portraits. Rather, Martha Sandweiss’ book looks at how the new art of photography shaped the nation’s view of the West in the 19th century. Photos are not the accurate historical records they appear to […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Calendar
The annual Colorado Agricultural Forum for 2004, “Profits Outside the Box: Agri-Energy and Beyond,” will be held in Denver on Feb. 19. Speakers and breakout groups will discuss how Colorado agriculture can harness renewable energy and other innovations to stay profitable. www.coloradoagforum.com 303-477-0076 ext. 210 Where will you be when the sun rises? If it’s […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
More than just a city on a river
In New Mexico, history is never an abstraction. Whether you are seeking shelter in a thick-walled adobe home, listening to the lilt of a native New Mexican’s words, tracing the path of acequias or tasting posole, you can sense history there. And there are few writers better able to tell that history than Marc Simmons. […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Follow-up
During his introductory address, the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Mike Leavitt, told of a visit to President Bush’s Crawford ranch: “I’m from the West, and I know love of the land when I see it,” he said. Leavitt then announced plans to implement Bush’s Clear Skies Initiative, which, among other things, allows coal-fired power […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Log onto Democracy!
Want to keep a closer eye on your state and federal lawmakers? Looking to find out more information about a bill before Congress? Eager to browse the hot topics debated in your state legislature? Look no further than www.statedemocracy.com. Run by the nonprofit State Democracy Foundation, the Web site allows users to compare how different […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Story gave San Diego plan short shrift
The article on the San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) paints an overly negative picture of the effort (HCN, 11/10/03: San Diego’s Habitat Triage). The MSCP took a fragmented ecosystem within a major metropolitan area — otherwise on the road to oblivion — and created an interconnected reserve system. Indeed, the most developable large […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Story was biased against Los Alamos
Laura Paskus’ one-sided article, “New Mexico goes head-to-head with a nuclear juggernaut,” has largely parroted the viewpoint of the local anti-LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory) organizations (HCN, 11/24/03: New Mexico goes head-to-head with a nuclear juggernaut). I am a LANL employee, although the opinions expressed here are my own. The problems with this article begin […]