Magazine
Restoring the range of light

August 27, 2001

In California, the Forest Service issues a revolutionary management plan for the Sierra Nevada's forests, putting the health of trees and wildlife before that of the timber industry.

Feature

Restoring the Range of Light
In California, the Forest Service issues a revolutionary management plan for the Sierra Nevada's forests, putting the health of trees and wildlife before that of the timber industry.
Ed Marston Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition

Essays

A former oilman says no to drilling in the Arctic
Writer and geologist Rick Bass calls on the Senate to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from drilling, keeping this extraordinary refuge a true and untouched refuge.
Rick Bass Essay Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition

Book Reviews

The wild West lives
Dave Foreman's first novel, The Lobo Outback Funeral Home, tackles issues like wolf reintroduction, old-boy politics, and New Mexico culture clashes in the guise of fiction.
Michael J. Robinson Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Dangerous parks
The U.S. Park Rangers Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police lists the 10 most dangerous national parks in the country.
Mitch Tobin Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Small steps for change
Jessica Sherwood's Feet First Program seeks to fight Colorado sprawl and traffic by introducing schoolchildren to the idea of alternative transportation.
Laurel Jones Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Arctic Refuge
The brief essays gathered in Arctic Refuge: A Circle of Testimony offer passionate arguments against drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Laurel Jones Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Harvesting ancient farming
The Colorado nonprofit Sustainable Settings wants to teach farmers about an ancient agricultural system called "alley cropping" that uses scant water wisely and protects against soil erosion.
Catherine Lutz Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition

Heard Around the West

Heard around the West
Boy Scouts vandalize dinosaur tracks; escaping Ore. bison; power plant workers camp in Las Animas, CO; James Dean loses cigarette in Utah; ORVer defends his destruction; Idaho Rep. Otter pays Clean Water fine; Wyoming has most cars per household.
Betsy Marston Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition

Dear Friends

Dear Friends
About this issue; Paonia growth battle; Peter Chilson and other visitors; tribute to Chuck Wellner; axing the fax.
Ed Marston and Paul Larmer Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition

News

Minnow melee continues
A controversial federal-state agreement seeks to share scarce Rio Grande water between the rare silvery minnow and New Mexico farmers.
William Maxwell Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Showdown on the Nevada range
The Sagebrush Rebellion smolders when the BLM impounds and tries to auction off cattle owned by ranchers Ben Colvin and Jack Vogt for refusing to pay for grazing allotments.
Jon Christensen Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
The Latest Bounce
Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA); Interior Dept. still in mess over Indian trust accounts; law firm hired by government for Yucca Mtn. also lobbies for nuclear industry; Bush may roll back Clinton-era restriction on coal-fired power plants.
Michelle Nijhuis Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Utah town goes 'U.N. free'
La Verkin, Utah, declares itself a "U.N. Free Zone" in a controversial ordinance that would have required U.N. supporters to identify themselves as "U.N. Agents," file "activity reports" and pay unspecified fees.
Lin Alder Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
A-LP gets federal A-OK
A revised and scaled-down version of Colorado's controversial Animas-La Plata water project appears poised to become reality at last.
Gail Binkly Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Who mans forest flows?
The Forest Service's right to demand "bypass flows" - leaving enough water in streams tapped for human uses to keep fish and wildlife healthy - may not survive the Bush administration.
Staff Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Four-wheelin' for fee
Four-wheel-drive recreationists protest the Forest Service's new $5 per vehicle fee to enter Canyon Creek near Ouray, Colorado.
Laurel Jones Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Neighbors get nasty in New Mexico
An armed encounter erupts between environmental activist Deirdre Wolf and local rancher Alex Thal over whether a road through her property near Silver City, N.M., is public or private.
Tony Davis Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Drawing a line in the mud
In Colorado, The Nature Conservancy begins a battle against the exotic invader tamarisk, hoping to make the San Miguel River tamarisk-free before the plant takes over entirely.
Hal Clifford Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Fire plan gets a scolding
The government's General Accounting Office criticizes the $1.6 billion National Fire Plan approved by Congress last September.
Michelle Nijhuis and Laurel Jones Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition

Related Stories

Sierra Framework treads between protection, treatment
The Sierra Nevada Framework seeks to protect old-growth trees where the California spotted owl lives, but some critics say the agency should aggressively thin and clear the region's fire-prone forests.
Lance Criley Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
The way it works
Some facts are given about the Sierra Nevada Framework and its management plans for 11 national forests in California.
Excerpted from the Record of Decision Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
A plan for the Sierra: 20 years in the making
A timeline traces the evolution of the Sierra Framework from 1981, when the Forest Service first tackled the impact of intensive logging on the California spotted owl.
Ann Brower Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Career bureaucrat blazes a new trail
California regional forester Brad Powell, a 32-year agency employee not known as a "bunny-hugger," put his career on the line to finish and approve the Sierra Nevada Framework.
Ann Brower April 27, 2001 From the print edition
Modern-day Muir copes with victory
Longtime California environmental activist Craig Thomas praises the Sierra Nevada Framework as a "landmark" document.
Sam Kennedy Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Fire managers play a subtle new game
Forest Service fire manager Brent Skaggs worries that the Framework's new burning restrictions won't allow the amount of controlled burning he believes necessary to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
Jim Downing Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Sierra loggers get the ax
Cecil Wetsel and other mill operators and loggers in towns like El Dorado Hills, California, warn that the Framework's timber cutbacks may harm the forest as well as the local economy.
Haley Nolde Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
'The fire group is in a real building process'
Forest Service fire specialist Berni Bahro talks about fuels management in the forest under the new Sierra Nevada Framework.
Jim Downing Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Timber towns search for a new economy
North Fork, Calif., and other struggling timber towns resent the fact that the Framework places survival of the owl above survival of the logging industry.
Chris Smith April 27, 2001 From the print edition
Forest Plan has plenty of appeal(s)
The Forest Service has received more than 200 appeals of the Sierra Nevada Framework, but instead of coming from environmental groups, as usual, most come from people in small towns like Tulare and Visalia, California.
Jim Downing Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Cows aren't wanted here
California ranchers, such as Dick O'Sullivan, who graze cattle on Forest Service land, are angry that the Framework plans to reduce grazing in the Sierras by 20 percent.
Heather Swartz Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition

Letters

Rainbow family vs. environment
Anson Crutcher Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
Yucca Mountain coverage biased
Orrin H. Pilkey Aug. 27, 2001 From the print edition
High Country News Classifieds