Magazine
The death of the Super Hopper

February 3, 2003

The disappearance of the Rocky Mountain locust -- which once swarmed the Plains like a biblical plague, only to die out entirely within decades --- holds serious lessons for humanity. Also in this issue: The Bush administration rolls back a Clinton-era moratorium on RS 2477, a controversial old statute that some Western counties have used to claim designated roads in wilderness areas, parks and monuments.

Feature

The death of the Super Hopper
The death of the Super Hopper
The disappearance of the Rocky Mountain locust -- which once swarmed the Plains like a biblical plague, only to die out entirely within decades -- holds serious lessons for humanity
Jeffrey Lockwood Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition

Essays

Living on the sharp edge of diversity
In a small Western Colorado town, dark-skinned people stand out with the clarity of bull’s-eyes.
Paolo Bacigalupi Essay Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition

Conversation

"But you don’t sound like a republican..."
Martha Marks of Republicans for Environmental Protection says conservatives have a duty to support conservation
Krissy Clark Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition

Writers on the Range

The son of immigrants has a change of heart
A talk with the patriarch of a large Mexican family leads the writer to reconsider his former pro-immigration stance
Ed Marston Essay Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition

Book Reviews

Nevada’s desert beauty
In The Black Rock Desert, writer William L. Fox and photographer Mark Klett visit a remarkable corner of northeastern Nevada
Michelle Nijhuis Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Removing Dams – Rebuilding Rivers
The history and impacts of dam removal are considered in Watershed: The Undamming of America by Elizabeth Grossman and Dam Removal: Science and Decision Making by the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
Pete Lavigne Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Light and love in Wyoming
Mark Spragg's first novel, The Fruit of Stone, is the story of a Western road trip that “runs like a hard back road, gorgeous and tricky.”
Mary Sojourner Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Dummy up and deal
In "Dummy Up and Deal," H. Lee Barnes gives readers a chance to peek behind the scenes in Las Vegas’ casinos.
Michelle Nijhuis Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition

Heard Around the West

Heard Around the West
Future mayor caught in vandalism; discrimination against rich private jets in Idaho; Denver’s National Western Stock Show is bittersweet; 80-year-old great-grandmother runs marathons; don’t kiss rattlesnakes; “ecoroofs” in Portland, Ore.; “toys” from Cabe
Betsy Marston Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition

Dear Friends

Dear Friends
Survey results are in; HCN gets a makeover; new interns Sierra Standish and Jess Toubman
Greg Hanscom, Sierra Standish and Jess Toubman Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition

News

Road warriors back on the offensive
The Bush administration rolls back a Clinton-era moratorium on RS 2477, a controversial old statute that some Western counties have used to claim designated roads in wilderness areas, parks and monuments
Michelle Nijhuis Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
The Latest Bounce
BLM releases draft EIS on drilling in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve; Pentagon plans more exemptions to environmental laws; Terry Lynn Barton pleads guilty to Hayman Fire arson; Interior gives green light to coal-fired plant near Yellowstone; and st
Laura Paskus Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Hispanic community takes on polluters
The working-class community of Barrio Logan, on the edge of downtown San Diego, successfully tackles a chrome-plating business that produces dangerous chemicals
Enrique Gili Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
A green light for methane development
In the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana, ranchers and environmentalists are fighting plans to drill up to 65,000 new coalbed methane wells
Mark Matthews Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Project mixes suburbs with nature preserve
Albuquerque’s proposed community, Mesa del Sol, will be the Southwest’s largest “green development” – if it actually gets built
Scott Norris Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
New lands boss takes the reins
Rancher Pat Lyons, a Republican, is the new head of the New Mexico State Land Office, and some environmentalists are worried about his plans
Andy Lenderman Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition

Letters

Land-use story gave Oregon a bad rap
Land-use story gave Oregon a bad rap
Evan Manvel Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Oregon should put more land-use decisions in local hands
Oregon should put more land-use decisions in local hands
Marvin E. Gloege Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Tourism is a vast improvement over mining
Tourism is a vast improvement over mining
Felice Pace Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Mining, skiing leave labor in the dust
Mining, skiing leave labor in the dust
Cordley Coit Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Amnesty for illegal immigrants
Amnesty for illegal immigrants
Jeffrey Jacobs Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Republicans should take an honest look at Bush
Republicans should take an honest look at Bush
Richard Lisle Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
Real environmentalists don't support immigration
Real environmentalists don't support immigration
Philip Cafaro Feb. 3, 2003 From the print edition
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