Magazine
In search of the Glory Days

December 23, 2002

Twenty years after its longtime mainstay, the Climax Molybdenum Mine, closed, Leadville, Colo., is still groping for a secure economy and a new identity. Also in this issue: The Forest Service has announced a major overhaul of the forest planning process that some fear may cut out both environmental oversight and public involvement, and lead to even more legal gridlock.

Feature

In search of the Glory Days
Twenty years after its longtime mainstay, the Climax Molybdenum Mine, closed, Leadville, Colo., is still groping for a secure economy and a new identity.
Steve Voynick, with Ray Ring and Hal Clifford Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition

Sidebar

“They want the workers to be invisible”
Former Leadville miner Bob Elder decries the exploitation of service workers who have to commute from Leadville to jobs in the resort counties. Jim Zoller, a former miner who now works as Leadville’s police chief, thinks that a lot of his town’s problems
Hal Clifford Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Open space initiative offers hope
The Lake County Open Space Initiative has preserved land around Leadville and created trails for cross-country skiing and other recreation, but some local politicians say it’s snatching up too much private land and water.
Ray Ring and J. T. Thomas Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition

Essays

Catch 22
A plan to restore native pikeminnow and sucker to the San Juan River in New Mexico may end up destroying a world-class trout fishery.
Joshua Zaffos Essay Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
The canyon between us
A visit to the strange landscape of Utah’s Goosenecks of the San Juan reveals the chasm growing between two people.
Diane Sylvain Essay Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition

Book Reviews

A gilded wrinkle in time
In Cities of Gold, his first historical novel, William K. Hartmann interweaves the conquistadors of the 16th with a contemporary murder mystery in Tucson.
Craig Childs Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Building off the grid
Rex and LaVonne Ewing wrote Logs, Wind and Sun to share what they learned in the process of building their dream house, creating a book that is both informative and enjoyable.
Linda Masterson Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition

Writers on the Range

Holding open the door to the good life up north
A day spent helping Mexican immigrants apply for matricula personal identification cards leads the writer to believe that the influx of workers from the south is not a threat to the West’s environment.
Michelle Nijhuis Essay Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition

Heard Around the West

Heard Around the West
Bush vs. enviros; logging sequoias; election by the cards; duct tape for wart removal & wallets; 130-year-old hot sauce in Virginia City, Nev.; Japanese outdoor gear hits Boulder; wounded grizzly continues to care for her cubs; and Bigfoot fraud revealed.
Betsy Marston Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition

Dear Friends

Dear Friends
A town reborn; the HCN torch is passed; whoops! And see you next year.
Greg Hanscom Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition

News

Forest planning gets a facelift
The Forest Service has announced a major overhaul of the forest planning process that some fear may cut out both environmental oversight and public involvement, and lead to even more legal gridlock.
Matt Jenkins Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
The Latest Bounce
New Mexico and the Navajo Nation tackle cattle rustling; details of Vice President Dick Cheney’s Energy Plan won’t be released; "anaerobic digester" in the works to clean up hog-farm waste; Imperial Valley farmers refuse to sell water to San Diego, Calif.
Laura Paskus and Matt Jenkins Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Northwest braces itself for wolves
Unconfirmed wolf sightings in Oregon are on the rise, and wolf advocates are arguing with ranchers over how to handle the return of the predator packs.
Rachel Odell Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Wayward wolf nabbed in Utah
"Wolf No. 253," from the Druid Peak Pack in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley, is caught far from home when he steps into a leghold coyote trap, 30 miles northeast of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Brent Israelsen Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Budget cuts bury paleontologists
The new superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen, Utah, plans to cut nine positions in the paleontology department and hand over future scientific work to private contractors, much to the outrage of the scientific community.
Tom Rea Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Logging for water creates a buzz
In Colorado, a long-dead notion to clear-cut forests to increase water runoff is resurrected in a time of drought.
Robyn Morrison Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Wild tiles
To celebrate its purchase and renovation of the historic Roxy Theater in Missoula, Mont., the International Wildlife Film Festival is displaying 300 hand-painted ceramic tiles by artist Melanie Jeffs, each representing a donation.
Lolly Merrell Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Ranching conference secrets revealed!
The landmark conference "Ranching West of the 100th Meridian" is now available on four videotapes.
Ed Marston Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
How to go with the flow
Montana Audubon has written an eight-page guide to flood preparation, called Go With the Flow: Streams and Bank Stabilization.
Joshua Zaffos Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition

Letters

Oregon has been mis-zoned
Oregon has been mis-zoned
Bill Moshofsky Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Oregon: Love it or leave it
Oregon: Love it or leave it
Jeff Hull Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Cheap shots at Cheney
Cheap shots at Cheney
Dave Delling Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
An ode to the Marstons
An ode to the Marstons
Randy Udall Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Seattle Times is not independent
Seattle Times is not independent
Frtiz Wollett Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Mormons don't recognize history
Mormons don't recognize history
H. Virginia Thompson Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
Ego-pumping capitalism at its best
Ego-pumping capitalism at its best
Mike Huffman Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
HCN's agenda – envy and socialism
HCN's agenda – envy and socialism
Larry Crowder Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
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