Predator control may have a small place in saving
endangered species, but it makes a lot more sense to bring back an
ecosystem’s keystone species – as can be seen in
Yellowstone, since wolves have returned.
Also in this issue:Fallon, Nev., is home to the
fastest-growing cancer cluster in U.S. history, and some
researchers suspect that the seemingly harmless metal tungsten may
be to blame.
Motorheads sue over park’s seasons
Proposal would keep snowmobiles humming year-round
Wilderness Watch upholds the law
Dear HCN, I am deeply disappointed in HCN’s misrepresentation of the mission and efforts of Wilderness Watch (HCN, 3/3/03: The Wild Card). Contrary to what was reported, Wilderness Watch does not work to undo any special provisions that were “grandfathered” by Congress into wilderness legislation. The Wilderness Act itself allows a number of special exceptions…
Wilderness Watch stands firm
Dear HCN, Since when is standing firm on fundamental wilderness principles seen as counter to those very principles? “The wild card” by Matt Jenkins (HCN, 3/3/03″ The Wild Card) portrayed Wilderness Watch as an organization more concerned about “purity” than reality. The reality is: They seem to be the only organization that has the courage…
From wild to windshield wilderness
Dear HCN, The article on the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act (HCN, 3/3/03: The Wild Card) gave readers the impression that, until recently, conservationists always advocated multi-area wilderness legislative packages, that the supposed slowdown in wilderness designation is something new, and that compromises of the Wilderness Act have been routine (and desirable) since 1964.…
Wilderness in name only
Dear HCN, Thank you for the article on Nevada wilderness (HCN, 3/3/03: The Wild Card). Many of us promoting and protecting wilderness in Nevada didn’t know how much was being traded off. Thanks to your intrepid author, we do now. I’m dismayed that the bill promotes development and that more is proposed in exchange for…
Read the fine print
Dear HCN, Poor Senator Harry Reid. He says if he were king, he’d have lots of wilderness, but he had to compromise in his recently passed Nevada “wilderness” bill (HCN, 3/3/03: The Wild Card). Fortunately, there were bright spots in the legislation for some of Harry’s friends, who got free or cheap land through numerous…
On the WaterWatch
Oregon’s rivers may run dry again this summer, but you can still saturate yourself with information about your favorite Beaver State stream. That’s because WaterWatch of Oregon has restructured its Web site to serve as a clearinghouse on state rivers. WaterWatch of Oregon, a nonprofit conservation group founded in 1985, is dedicated to restoring and…
Emmet Gowin: Changing the Earth
The word “beauty” does not normally come to mind at the mention of bomb testing, open-pit mining, chemical disposal, or the marks these activities have left on the Western landscape. But Changing the Earth, a book and traveling exhibit of Emmet Gowin’s aerial photographs, lends rich texture and a mysterious vitality to the Hanford Nuclear…
The Underground Heart: Return to a Hidden Landscape
I loved the desert when I lived in El Paso, but as a native, I had no environmental concerns. There was no such thing back then. We were too busy growing up in a vast landscape that could never change. — Ray Gonzalez, The Underground Heart Ray Gonzalez grew up on the Mexican border, in…
A ‘green development’ next to a toxic dump
Dear HCN, I read with great interest the article about Mesa del Sol, “Project mixes suburbs with nature preserve” (HCN, 2/3/03: Project mixes suburbs with nature preserve). The article failed to elaborate one aspect of this “community of 100,000 people, living amid open space and restored rangeland”: It’s also located next to a Cold War…
Snowmobile ban should stand
Dear HCN, I am writing in response to an article written by Ray Ring (HCN, 11/25/02: Feds bail on snowmobile ban), regarding the National Park Service bailing out on the proposed snowmobile ban in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. I think this measure is totally wrong, considering that the Park Service has vehemently pushed…
The Latest Wrinkle
Dubois, Wyo., has announced a name change. The town council voted in February to change the name of the community to “Doo Wah Diddy.” “We thought it sounded more American — you know, patriotic,” explained Mayor Roy Bungee. “We want our men and women in uniform to know we’re not a town full of Frenchies.”…
Americans have a right to recreate
Dear HCN, From my perspective, your article “Feds bail on snowmobile ban” (HCN, 11/25/02: Feds bail on snowmobile ban), is a little one-sided. I think that the snowmobile riders are just being Americans, and enjoying themselves. Now, I myself do not ride snowmobiles, but I do still believe in why this country was formed. These…
Forest Service fights red tape
When Philip Dechain-Saw, the supervisor of Colorado’s Big Fir National Forest, tried to approve a 30,000-acre clear-cut in 1997, his efforts to “bulletproof” the final decision against environmentalists’ appeals and lawsuits took a horrific personal toll. First, he experienced dizziness and ringing in the ears; now, he’s suffering full-blown “analysis paralysis.” Unable to cook meals…
A small-town mayor challenges developers
Community discovers that once you’re on the growth train, it’s hard to get off
While the nation goes to war, the Pentagon lobs bombs at environmental laws
The first time I saw the movie Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Stanley Kubrick’s satirical depiction of Cold War America, I was too young to fully understand it. I watched it a second time while in college during the Clinton years, and found the flick brilliant, even…
Tinkering with Nature
Can we leave wildlife to its own devices, or must we continue to meddle?
Dear Friends
This isn’t the first time … Just when you think you’re doing something really revolutionary, you learn it’s all been done before. In preparation for redesigning High Country News, we dug back into the archives to see what the paper has looked like over the 33 years of its existence. It turns out this won’t…
Heard Around the West
Open a Wenatchee, Wash., phone book and you might want to take a bite out of it. A fragrance strip has been applied to the front cover, and instead of perfume, this one sends out succulent molecules of green-apple aroma. That’s fitting, says Jim Hail, co-owner of Hagedone Directries Inc., who came up with the…
The best restoration tools are fangs and claws
The first thing I did when I got to Glacier National Park was go out for a run. It seemed like the obvious thing to do. I’d just graduated from college in New England, packed my belongings and spent three hard days driving West across the Plains. I was dying to get back to the…
A citizen soldier looks beyond war
During World War II, three infantry regiments and a light artillery unit with mules came together to form a special unit trained for mountain and winter combat — the 10th Mountain Division. The training grounds, Camp Hale, took up most of an s-shaped valley at 9,200 feet in the White River National Forest in central…
The hunt is on for a mystery killer
Leukemia cluster has Nevada town thirsty for answers