Dear friends
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In western Colorado, spring means fruit trees begin to bloom
John McEvoy
Good news
Congratulations to former HCN intern Zaz Hollander, who was hired recently by the Daily Astorian. Zaz will cover environmental issues on the Oregon coast.
Congratulations as well to HCN's Great Basin editor, Jon Christensen. His lead story in the Aug. 9, 1993, issue of HCN on the Diamond Springs Ranch in Nevada headlined, "Now his crop is dust," won third place and $250 in a journalism competition sponsored by California's Brock Center for Agricultural Communication.
We hear from HCN poetry editor Chip Rawlins that his book, Sky's Witness, is available in paperback from publisher Henry Holt and Company, 115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011.
Fan mail for Gretchen
When Becky Simons of Palo Alto, Calif., mistakenly paid twice for her subscription, circulation manager Gretchen Nicholoff sent the second check back to her. In return, Gretchen got the following note:
"I have sent out checks (duplicates) for periodicals a number of times. You and the News are the first to ever return one. I have mentioned this to several friends, and they all agree they never heard of such a thing." Other publications use duplicate checks to extend a person's subscription.
To be tree-free, or not?
Staff has been talking about a trial print run using tree-free kenaf for HCN letterhead stationery. Like many in the West, we're intrigued by the notion that there is an alternative to conventional paper that is 100 percent tree-free, acid-free and chlorine-free. The plant, a relative of cotton, is an annual crop.
But drawbacks exist. Rick Meis, who runs Treecycle Recycled Paper in Montana, says the buyers of kenaf are the same people who now buy post-consumer recycled paper. "If we want the recycling center to take our waste paper, there must be a demand for the products that will be made from it," he says.
We continue to explore the issue but find Rick Meis' argument convincing. He can be reached at Box 5086, Bozeman, MT 59717.
End the flights
According to the National Park Service, most visitors to the Grand Canyon hear the drone and clatter of airplanes and helicopters 45 minutes out of every daylight hour. Noise pollution and the invasion of privacy from overflights at scores of national parks have become such a nuisance that Interior and Transportation secretaries Bruce Babbitt and Federico Peûa have requested the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration to control the problem. As a result, the two agencies have announced their joint intention to regulate the air-tour industry and are accepting public comments until June 15. The National Park and Conservation Association is urging the FAA to impose strict overflight limitations, if not to ban all operations. Comments may be sent to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of the General Counsel, Attention: Rules Docket (AGC-200), Docket No. 27643, 800 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20591.
March for trees
A group in Idaho called the Cove Mallard Coalition has borrowed some tactics from the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. To protect what had been the largest unroaded area in the lower 48 states until some recent clearcuts, the group plans an eight-day, 75-mile peaceful walk, beginning June 4 at a Forest Service office in Grangeville, Idaho. Organizer Ramon, who took part in the recent 10th annual Wild Idaho get-together at Redfish Lake, hopes people from all over the country will join the march. The coalition can be reached at Box 8968, Moscow, Idaho 83843 (208/882-9755, fax: 208/883-0727).
Visitors
Stopping in on his way to cover the annual meeting of Western Colorado Congress was Bob Reha, associate producer of radio's High Plains News Service. Bob lives in Billings, Mont. Tom Moran from Grand Junction, Colo., visited our production room to scout the possibility of putting out a regional newspaper for Audubon Society members. The organization's newsletter now goes to 360 people.
Robert Weed of Escalante, Utah, passed through Paonia on his way home from Mexico. Robert, with Clive Kincaid, co-founded the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance in 1983. He and Clive also have had the honor of being hanged in effigy by their neighbors in southern Utah for opposing logging on nearby forests. Robert came by to see the operation and to set us straight on grazing.
Linda Hunn of Reno, Nev., took a day off from intense sight-seeing to say hello. Linda has done some work for Great Basin regional editor Jon Christensen.
Thanks to R.J. Sayborn of Cheyenne, Wyo., for the Cheyenne and Wheatland telephone books.
