HCN takes a state-by-state look at the most important
elections coming up in the West.
Magazine
October 14, 2002
After a decade and a half without reasonable or effective leadership,Arizona has become the West's most incompetently run state, its politics propelled almost entirely by growth. This year's gubernatorial election offers a chance for change. Also in this issue: The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan was seen as a watershed move to balance logging with environmental protection. But logging companies say the plan's controversial species-management provision has put too much land off-limits, and now the Bush administration is moving to relax the rules.
Feature
In Montana, Initiative 145 would undo the deregulation of
power in the state, allowing citizens to take back control of
hydroelectric dams.
The recent decline in support for the New Mexico Green
Party seems to have no effect on the hopes of its candidates or the
anxiety of the state's Democratic party, which sees the Greens as
spoilers.
In Utah, an initiative that would triple the cost of
disposal at Envirocare's radioactive waste dump in Tooele County
and it from taking hotter wastes is being fiercely fought by the
company.
Almost every major election in Arizona is up for grabs
this year, along with a rash of ballot initiatives, and some
observers hope the state can pull out of its headlong rush into
uncontrolled growth and development.
Sidebar
A federal judge has struck down a series of Utah laws
meant to block a planned high-level nuclear waste storage facility
on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation.
Editor's Note
An introduction to the special election issue says that
voting should be less predictable in the West this year.
Essays
How did the Republican Party cease being the party of
conservation, and why do Westerners continue to give it their
support?
Book Reviews
The Web site of PEER - Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility - features a report on increasing violence against
National Park Service employees, along with other topics.
The Rocky Mountain Mineral Foundation is holding a two-day
conference on "Regulation and Development of Coalbed
Methane."
A floating laboratory called Forever Earth prowls Nevada's
Lake Mead, doing scientific research and working with academic and
environmental groups.
In Native Waters: Contemporary Indian Water Settlements
and the Second Treaty Era, scholar Daniel McCool explores the
current struggle by tribes to finally get the water they have long
been promised by treaty.
In New Mexico, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
celebrates its annual Festival of the Cranes in November.
Writers on the Range
An encounter in a bar with a guy named Dwayne causes a
writer named Mary Lou to ponder the hidden meanings lurking behind
first names in the West.
Heard Around the West
Utah leads in bankruptcy and stupid chili-roasting laws;
Jackson Hole Guide fact-checks New York Times; new mascot - Reddy
the Squirrel - wants to replace Smokey Bear; Boulder vs. starling
control; and Forest Service workers vs. fee demo program.
Dear Friends
Tim Egan speaks at HCN Seattle board meeting; Ed Marston
steps aside; correction; Betsy Offermann obituary
Interim HCN publisher Paul Larmer remembers his first
encounter with retiring publisher Ed Marston, and considers what he
- and the paper - have gained under Marston's aegis.
News
The Bush administration bows to pressure from the logging
industry to revise the Clinton-era Northwest Forest Plan.
Under pressure from the home-building industry, the Fish
and Wildlife Service drastically trims critical habitat for the
threatened California red-legged frog.
San Gabriel Watersheds Study Act passes House; Sisters'
cattle removed from BLM land; Gold mine resurrected for land sacred
to Indians; Utah Rep. Jim Hansen makes deal to sell site to Mormon
Church; and Mont. Gov. says miners are "true
environmentalists."
The city of Albuquerque, N.M., is fighting a judge's order
that says city water must be released from reservoirs into the Rio
Grande to save the endangered silvery minnow.
Thousands of steelhead and chinook and coho salmon have
died in Northern California's Klamath River, and conservationists
blame the Bush administration's decision to lower river
flows.
Cowboy poet, rancher and environmentalist Wally McRae
talks about the romance of the range and the hard reality of things
like coal development in Montana.
Letters
Featured stories
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DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Greater Yellowstone Coalition seeks a development professional to coordinate the organization's individual giving program. The position description is available at http://greateryellowstone.org/careers Please email a letter...
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IDAHO STATE DIRECTOR The Wilderness Society is seeking a full time Idaho State Director who will preferably be based in Boise, Idaho. At least 8-10 years of experience...
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COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AND BEARS EARS EDUCATION CENTER MANAGER Conservation nonprofit Friends of Cedar Mesa in Bluff, Utah is hiring for two positions. We seek a Communications Manager to execute inspiring and impactful communications...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Wilderness Volunteers Wilderness Volunteers (WV), a 24-year leader in preserving our nation's wildlands, is seeking a motivated person with deep outdoor interests to guide our...
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HECHO POLICY AND ADVOCACY MANAGER Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO) was created in 2013 to help fulfill our duty to conserve and protect our public lands for...
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FISHERIES BIOLOGIST Under the direct supervision of the Director of Shoshone-Paiute Tribe's Fish, Wildlife & Parks, in coordination with the Tribal Programs Administrator and the Tribal Chairman,...
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REGIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NORTHERN ROCKIES, PRAIRIES & PACIFIC REGION Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation has grown into America's largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 53 state/territorial affiliates and more than...
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STEWARDSHIP MANAGER STEWARDSHIP MANAGER Job Vacancy and Description Posted June 2, 2021: Open until filled The New Mexico Land Conservancy (NMLC) is a non-profit, regional land trust...
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KSJD - MORNING EDITION HOST/REPORTER KSJD is seeking a host/reporter. Please see for www.ksjd.org for more information. EEO compliant.
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ON THE EDGE OF CEDAR MESA/BEARS EARS Quiet, comfy house for rent in Bluff, Utah. Walk to San Juan River. Bike or hike to many nearby ruins and rock art sites. Beautiful...
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CARPENTER AND LABORER WANTED. Come to Ketchikan and check out the Rain forest on the coast, Hike the shorelines, hug the big trees, watch deer in the muskeg meadows,...
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PROJECT MANAGER Title: Project Manager Reports To: Program Director Salary Range: Negotiable; starting at $60,000 Location: Bend, OR The Deschutes River Conservancy seeks a Project Manager to...
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PROGRAM DIRECTOR The Deschutes River Conservancy seeks a Program Director to join our dynamic team in restoring streamflow and improving water quality in the Deschutes Basin. WHO...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - TWISPWORKS Established healthy nonprofit in the Methow Valley of Washington state, TwispWorks is hiring the next Executive Director. Terrific opportunity to strive for our mission to...
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BOARD DIRECTOR Help us achieve our mission of promoting excellence in the professional practice of wilderness stewardship, science and education to ensure the life-sustaining benefits of wilderness....
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TEMPORARY FULL-TIME RANCH OPERATIONS ASSISTANT Twin Willows Ranch in Ocate, NM is seeking to immediately fill a Temporary Full-Time employment position as Ranch Operations Assistant for Facilities, Equipment, Land, and...
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RANCH OPERATIONS ASSISTANT Twin Willows Ranch in Ocate, NM is seeking an individual to fill the Regular Full-Time position of Resident Operations Assistant for Technology, Hospitality, Gardening, and...
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CONSERVATION PROJECT MANAGER Conservation Project Manager Position Description Join Skagit Land Trust (the Trust), a not-for-profit conservation organization based in Mount Vernon, Washington, and help protect land for...
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NOVA SCOTIA OCEAN FRONT Camp or Build on 2+ acres in Guysborough. FSBO. $36,000 US firm. Laurie's phone: 585-226-2993 EST.
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TECHNICAL ADVISOR TO THE GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT Northern Plains Resource Council seeks an independent contractor to implement the Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) between local communities and the Sibanye-Stillwater Mining Company in Montana....
