Magazine
The Many Faces of Richard Pombo

July 25, 2005

California Republican Rep. Richard Pombo made his mark blasting the Endangered Species Act, but now, he says, he’s learning to compromise on environmental issues. Also in this issue: The Bureau of Land Management rewrote a scientific report critical of its new grazing rules, and two veteran scientists have quit the agency in protest.

Feature

Will the real Mr. Pombo please stand up?
California Republican Rep. Richard Pombo made his mark blasting the Endangered Species Act, but now, he says, he’s learning to compromise on environmental issues
Matt Weiser July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Sidebar

From the chairman
House Resource Committee press release headlines
Staff July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Pombo's power grows — and so do the scandals
Since Richard Pombo took over the House Resources Committee in 2003, the number of scandals around him has steadily grown
Matt Weiser July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Editor's Note

D.C. and the West: Worlds apart
Washington, D.C., seems like another planet when seen from the West, as the political stories in this issue of the paper suggest
Greg Hanscom Opinion July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Uncommon Westerners

Wolf man John
John Morgart works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, overseeing the recovery of Mexican wolves in the Blue Range of New Mexico and Arizona
April Reese July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Essays

Life rises from the ashes, in the form of a humble toad
Ecologist Charlie Crisafulli has spent twenty-five years studying life on Mount St. Helens, especially the boreal toad, which is in decline almost everywhere else, but thriving at the volcano
David B. Williams Essay July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Book Reviews

Tales of Colorado's high-elevation tailings
In Leadville: The Struggle to Revive an American Town, Gillian Klucas describes the history and the current environmental and economic struggles of the old mining town of Leadville, Colo.
Jessica Clement July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Head games in the hot, hot desert
In The Way Out, Craig Childs tells the true story of how he and a friend explored a Utah desert and, at the same time, journeyed through their own memories
Lee Ross July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Outgrowing the Earth: The Food Security Challenge in an Age of Falling Water Tables and Rising Temperatures
In Outgrowing the Earth, environmental prophet Lester Brown writes a frightening nonfiction disaster thriller about the problems facing the planet
Staff July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Pueblo Indian Agriculture
In Pueblo Indian Agriculture, James A. Vlasich explores the American Indian farms along New Mexico’s Rio Grande, delving into their difficult history and their current modest revival
Staff July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Complete History of New Mexico
A collection of short stories by Las Cruces writer Kevin McIlvoy, Complete History of New Mexico brings the reader a variety of tales written from a great variety of perspectives
Staff July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Writers on the Range

A most unusual sanctuary, where the Yeti roams free
The kingdom of Bhutan has created a wildlife sanctuary for its possibly mythological "strong men" – the migoi, or yeti
Nicole Gordon Essay July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Heard Around the West

Heard around the West
Bison-poop paper; dumb and dumber bank robbers; what’s in Lake Powell; thank you, Las Cruces; eagle "grenades" into window in Alaska
Betsy Marston July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Dear Friends

Dear friends
Lots of summer visitors; our readers’ two cents’ worth; read about Reid Rosenthal
Jodi Peterson July 25, 2005 From the print edition

News

New grazing rules ride on doctored science
The Bureau of Land Management rewrote a scientific report critical of its new grazing rules, and two veteran scientists have quit the agency in protest
Tony Davis July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Follow-up
Arizona’s San Pedro River dries up; Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility is having trouble disposing of rockets; Bush nominates industry lawyer Granta Nakayama to head EPA’s enforcement division
Laura Paskus July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Western governors wary of roadless forest mess
The Bush administration says its revision of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule rule will increase local control over national forests, but as Western governors read the fine print, they begin to have doubts
April Reese July 25, 2005 From the print edition
As Washington waffles, Western states go green
Western state legislatures boost wildlife and green energy, even as Washington, D.C., remains hooked on fossil fuels
Ray Ring July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Mining waste dumped in streams — and now lakes
The Bush administration has reclassified mining waste as "fill," and now a gold mine plans to dump its waste directly into an Alaskan lake
Tony Barboza July 25, 2005 From the print edition

Letters

Let them eat comment letters
Mike Zempter July 25, 2005 From the print edition
HCN real estate ads smack of hypocrisy
J. Smith July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Living lightly in exurbia
Caroly Jones and George Steigerwald July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Visiting a desert cathedral
Crista Worthy July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Warming climate shrinks conifer habitat
Geoffrey L. Rogers July 25, 2005 From the print edition
Time for new thinking on the Snake River
Amy Souers Kober July 25, 2005 From the print edition
High Country News Classifieds