Drawn to Utah by the Mormon Church, young Polynesians
struggle to find an identity, and to escape from a seemingly
endless cycle of gang-related violence
Magazine

August 8, 2005
In Mormon Country, young Polynesians search for identity -- and for an escape from a seemingly unstoppable cycle of violence. Also in this Issue: The BLM lets the gas industry sit behind the desk and The Great Salt Lake is loaded with mercury.
Feature
Editor's Note
The problem of gang violence in Salt Lake City offers a
disturbing glimpse into the conflicted soul of Utah and the rest of
the rapidly growing West
Uncommon Westerners
Reba Teran is painstakingly building an audio dictionary
of spoken Shoshone, hoping to save both her language and her
culture
Essays
The author’s successful search for a car that can
run on biodiesel helps her understand the lure of the open
road
Book Reviews
In The United States of Wal-Mart, John
Dicker offers a viciously funny but intelligently nuanced
understanding of the Wal-Mart phenomenon
In The Back Road to Crazy, Jennifer
Bove gathers the true-life adventure stories of 25 wildlife
biologists
In The Battle over Hetch Hetchy,
history professor Robert Righter chronicles the damming of the
Hetch Hetchy Valley in California’s Yosemite National
Park
Willard Wyman’s novel High
Country tells the story of a Depression-era boy who is
wounded in World War II but finds healing in the Sierra
Nevada
Writers on the Range
The neighborhoods of suburban L.A. can serve as a useful
model for the West’s urban planners
Heard Around the West
The Gladstone Kibosh, EnvironGentle’s ungentle
T-shirts; bicyclists meet baby horse; dog-of-honor at the wedding;
Judge Royce Lamberth vs. the Interior Department’s
incompetence; "Nothing" becomes something in Telluride
Dear Friends
High Country News is now in full-color;
Jacqui Banaszynski and Don Nelson give HCN some
editorial advice
News
Energy and mining companies are paying the salaries of
workers at Bureau of Land Management offices around the
West
Mexican wolf dies during checkup; another fish kill on the
Klamath; Bush nominates H. Dale Hall to be new head of U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service
EnCana Oil and Gas offers to pay for offsite mitigation in
Wyoming in exchange for intensive drilling rights in the Jonah
Field
Utah’s Great Salt Lake is loaded with mercury, and
scientists are trying to figure out whether Nevada’s gold
mines are part of the problem
Environmentalists and ORV groups accuse the BLM of
dragging its feet over implementing a plan to protect an endangered
flower in California’s Clear Creek Management Area

The rising popularity of Viagra has cut into the profits
of Western antler-hunters, including Wyoming Boy Scouts
New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici says he wants to give more
money to the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Act Collaborative
Program – if the program will trim its membership and put
itself under federal authority
More than half the windmills on California’s
Altamont Pass will shut down for two months this winter so
migrating birds can pass safely through the area
Letters
- Meet the gun-toting ‘Tenacious Unicorns’ in rural Colorado
- Diverted, drained and dwindling: What’s the fate of New Mexico’s Rio Grande?
- Indigenous fishers on the Columbia River confront new challenges
- The Gadsden flag is a symbol. But whose?
- The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe reintroduces bighorn sheep on tribal lands
Featured stories
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ANCESTRAL LANDS ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Starting Salary: Grade C, $19.00 to 24.00 per/hour Location: Albuquerque or Gallup, NM Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt Benefit Eligible: Full Benefits Eligible per Personnel Policies Program...
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GRAND CANYON DIRECTOR The Grand Canyon director, with the Grand Canyon manager, conservation director, and other staff, envisions, prioritizes, and implements strategies for the Grand Canyon Trust's work...
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ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Great Old Broads for Wilderness seeks a part-time Administrative Assistant to support the organization's general operations. This includes phone and email communications, office correspondence and...
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HISTORIC LODGE AND RESTAURANT - FULLY EQUIPPED Built in 1901, The Crazy Mountain Inn has 11 guest rooms in a town-center building on 7 city lots (.58 acres). The inn and restaurant...
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ONE WILL: THREE WIVES by Edith Tarbescu. "One Will: Three Wives" is packed with a large array of interesting suspects, all of whom could be a murderer ... a...
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PROGRAM DIRECTOR, SALAZAR CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN CONSERVATION The Program Director will oversee the programmatic initiatives of The Salazar Center, working closely with the Center's Director and staff to engage the world's leading...
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WILDEARTH GUARDIANS - WILD PLACES PROGRAM DIRECTOR Salary Range: $70,000-$80,000. Location: Denver, CO, Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, Missoula, MT or potentially elsewhere for the right person. Application Review: on a rolling basis....
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RIVER EDUCATOR/GUIDE + TRIP LEADER Position Description: Full-time seasonal positions (mid-March through October) Organizational Background: Colorado Canyons Association (CCA) is a 10 year old nonprofit organization fostering community stewardship of...
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BOOKKEEPER/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Position Description: Part-time, year-round bookkeeping and administration position (12 - 16 hours/week) $16 - $18/hour DOE Organizational Background: Colorado Canyons Association (CCA) is a 10...
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LAND STEWARD San Isabel Land Protection Trust seeks a full-time Land Steward to manage and oversee its conservation easement monitoring and stewardship program for 42,437 acres in...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ventana Wilderness Alliance is seeking an experienced forward-facing public land conservation leader to serve as its Executive Director. The mission of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance...
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COMMUNICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR The Quivira Coalition (www.quiviracoaltion.org) is a Santa Fe-based nonprofit that builds resilience on arid working lands. We foster ecological, economic, and social health through education,...
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GRANT WRITER "We all love this place we call Montana. We believe that land and water and air are not ours to despoil, but ours to steward...
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DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR The Development Director is responsible for organizing and launching a coherent set of development activities to build support for the Natural History Institute's programs and...
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WILDLIFE PROJECT COORDINATOR Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF or Federation) is America's largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 53 state/territorial affiliates and more...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Cinnabar Foundation helps protect and conserve water, wildlife and wild lands in Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem by supporting organizations and people who...
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TRUSTEE AND PHILANTHROPY RELATIONS MANGER, Come experience Work You Can Believe In! The Nature Conservancy in Alaska is seeking a Trustee and Philanthropy Relations Manager. This position is critical to...
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OLIVERBRANCH CONSULTING Non-Profit Management Professional specializing in Transitional Leadership, Strategic Collaborations, Communications and Grant Management/Writing.
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GREAT VIEWS, SMALL FOOTPRINT Close to town but with a secluded feel, this eco-friendly home includes solar panels, a graywater reuse system, tankless hot water, solar tubes, and rainwater...
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COMMUNITY ORGANIZER- NORTHERN PLAINS RESOURCE COUNCIL Organize with Northern Plains Resource Council to protect Montana's water quality, family farms and ranches, & unique quality of life. Starts $35.5k. Apply now- northernplains.org/careers