Magazine
Calling It Quits

April 4, 2005

Tough economics, drought, and increasing clashes with other public-lands users are leading some ranchers to consider taking the "golden saddle" – a check from conservationists in exchange for their grazing permits. Also in this issue: Two researchers say that the "Sustainable Slopes" program, touted by the National Ski Areas Association as a sign of the industry’s environmental responsibility, is little more than "greenwashing."

Feature

The Big Buyout
Tough economics, drought, and increasing clashes with other public-lands users are leading some ranchers to consider taking the "golden saddle" – a check from conservationists in exchange for their grazing permits
April Reese April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Sidebar

Buyouts by the numbers
The various grazing buyout proposals offer different amounts to ranchers in exchange for retiring their grazing permits
Staff April 4, 2005 From the print edition
One BLM district grabs the bull by the horns
On the Upper Deschutes area of Oregon, the Bureau of Land Management is working to move cows off the public land
April Reese April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Public-lands ranchers: Should you trust this man?
Paul Larmer interviews longtime activist Andy Kerr, director of the National Public Lands Grazing Campaign, about grazing buyouts and the future of public-lands ranching
Paul Larmer April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Editor's Note

Grazing buyouts help land and ranchers
Some Western ranchers, fed up with economic problems and other conflicts, are handing over their grazing allotments to conservation groups in exchange for a healthy check
Paul Larmer Opinion April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Uncommon Westerners

Saving Maidu culture, one seedling at a time
Lorena Gorbet, a Mountain Maidu Indian, has dedicated her life to saving her tribal culture through forest management in the Feather River area of Northern California
Jane Braxton Little April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Essays

The Far East yearns for the wild West
The Wild West lives on in a distinctly Eastern way at Western Village in Imaichi, Japan, sister city of Rapid City, S.D.
Josh Garrett-Davis Essay April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Book Reviews

Showdown over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its people
Caribou Rising by Rick Bass is an impassioned plea on behalf of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Gwich’in people who have hunted caribou there for thousands of years
Gary Wockner April 4, 2005 From the print edition
The best thing since dams: pouring water underground
In Common Waters, Diverging Streams William Blomquist, Edella Schlager, and Tanya Heikkila argue on behalf of "conjunctive management" – coordinating the use of surface water with underground aquifers
Matt Jenkins April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Santa Fe Hispanic Culture: Preserving Identity in a Tourist Town
Santa Fe Hispanic Culture: Preserving Identity in a Tourist Town by Andrew Leo Lovato explores the way Santa Fe, N.M., both preserves and exploits its colorful past
Staff April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life
In Diminished Democracy, Harvard University professor Theda Skocpol considers the decline of volunteerism in American life, and what it means for the nation’s democracy
Staff April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Common Southwestern Native Plants: An Identification Guide
In Common Southwestern Plants, Jack L. Carter, Martha A. Carter and Donna J. Stevens have created a user-friendly botanical guide
Staff April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Writers on the Range

Do you want fries with that mustang?
A rider in the federal spending bill will end a 34-year-old ban on selling wild horses for slaughter
Shara Rutberg Essay April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Heard Around the West

Heard around the West
Only resident of Monowi, Neb., loves it, but other Great Plains towns struggle to attract people; "no intelligent life out here" is right; no plastic surgery for Hollywood pets; Glenwood Springs, Colo., cops catch Denver bad guy; "low-cow" Internet in Hot
Betsy Marston April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Dear Friends

Dear friends
Tragedy in Paonia; visitors; "Starting West" conference at Stanford discusses frustration; clarification from BLM; Happy 35th birthday, HCN
Jodi Peterson and Betsy Marston April 4, 2005 From the print edition

News

The last happy agency biologist — and other April Foolery
Biologist Mark Intyme is marking time; "Termoonator" takes on wolves; coorections; "Million Bush March" and other oddities
Staff April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Developer under fire for destroying desert
Developer George Johnson is being sued by the state of Arizona for major violations of environmental laws, committed in the early stages of his planned La Osa Ranch development
Tony Davis April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Ski areas' 'green' image not backed by action
Two researchers say that the "Sustainable Slopes" program, touted by the National Ski Areas Association as a sign of the industry’s environmental responsibility, is little more than "greenwashing"
Bob Berwyn April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Rock jocks fight a mining company
Resolution Copper Company is trying to obtain a land swap in order to mine at Arizona’s Oak Flat campground, a popular rock-climbing spot
Hilary Watts April 4, 2005 From the print edition
The public pays to keep water in a river
Three important "takings" lawsuits claim farmers should be compensated when water is withheld from irrigators in order to help endangered species during times of drought
Matt Jenkins April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Who owns Klamath water — farmers or the public?
A judge rules that Pacific Coast fishermen can intervene as a third party in a lawsuit between Klamath River Basin farmers and the federal government
J.M. McCord April 4, 2005 From the print edition

Letters

Bush, Cheney, and the Three Stooges
Scott Phillips April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Thumbs up on Yellowstone snowmobiles
Larry Kline April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Private environmentalism: alive and well
Littlefield, Julie April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Centigrade is fine, thanks
Williams, Roger April 4, 2005 From the print edition
Watson is selling lies
Doug Troutman April 4, 2005 From the print edition
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