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?
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.
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.
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
Today's Featured Stories
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SOUTHWEST REGIONAL DIRECTOR The National Parks Conservation Association, the nations leading national park advocacy organization, seeks a Regional Director to lead and manage staff for the Southwest Regional...
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PROGRAM MANAGER, HABITAT RESTORATION Friends of the Verde River is looking for someone to join our team who has a keen investigative mind and is an excellent communicator and...
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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS - BEARS EARS INTER-TRIBAL COALITION The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition is seeking a technical partner to develop a land management plan for the 1.9 million-acre Bears Ears Landscape in southeastern...
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WESTERN NATIVE SEED Specializing in native seeds and seed mixes for western states.
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DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING DIRECTOR Senior position responsible for the development of all marketing and fundraising strategies to grow the base of philanthropic support and awareness of GSEP.
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DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS This newly created position with The Nature Conservancy's Colorado River Program will play a key role in the development and implementation of strategies to achieve...
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ALASKA STATE DIRECTOR 
The Wilderness Society works to protect Wildlands and inspire Americans to care for our public lands. We seek to hire a strategic, experienced leader who...
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SUNNYSIDE MARKET SEEKS NEW PROPRIETOR Organic grocery/cafe at Glacier Bay needs a vibrant leader. Love good food, community, and Alaska? Join us!
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THE BOOK OF BARLEY -
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OWN A PIECE OF THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM! near Ennis, MT. Artist designed, 1900 SF, 2BR/2BA home on 11.6 acres with creek, tree, views, privacy. 406-570-9233 or [email protected] www.arrowreal.com (Country Homes).
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Colorado Farm to Table is looking for a full-time energetic, creative Executive Director to lead our team in Salida.
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ON THE WILD ROAD WITH HIGH COUNTRY NEWS Join HCN and Black Sheep Adventures on an expedition through the national parks and monuments of Utah and Southwest Colorado, September 7 - 15, 2019....
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40 ACRE HOMESITE SPLENDID VIEW
25 acre in native grasses. Cedar draw. Year-round spring. At foot of Moscow Mnt, ID, 7 miles from town.
