Denver, Colo., one of the West’s most sprawling,
traffic-choked cities, has become a champion of mass transit with
FasTracks, its ambitious light-rail project
Magazine
November 14, 2005
Denver, Colo., one of the West’s most sprawling, traffic-choked cities, has become a champion of mass transit with FasTracks, its ambitious light-rail project. Also in this issue: A provision in the new energy bill promises funding to speed up the oil and gas permitting process in BLM offices – without costing the industry an extra penny.
Feature
Sidebar
Longer commuter rails could connect the West’s
far-flung cities in ways they haven’t been connected since
the glory days of the railroad
Architect Kevin Koernig, who commutes from suburban
Littleton to downtown Denver, loves light rail because it saves him
money, keeps him healthy, and gives him extra time to
read
Charlie Lybrand enjoys living in his transit-oriented
complex in metro Denver, because he rarely has to drive to get to
college or go out to party
Light rail has become unexpectedly popular in deeply
conservative Salt Lake City, Utah
Editor's Note
Westerners may love their cars, but the region’s
rapid growth means that even the most ardent car-lovers have a
stake in mass transit, and in Denver’s grand experiment in
light rail
Uncommon Westerners
Janelle Holden, the daughter of two Republican
legislators, works with the Predator Conservation Alliance in
Montana to help ranchers learn how to co-exist with wolves and
other predators
Essays
As mountain towns get more accessible and lively, even in
midwinter, the author relishes the way his tiny, remote town slows
to a stop once the mountain pass highway is closed for the
season
Book Reviews
Laura Pritchett’s first novel, Sky Bridge, perfectly
captures the speech and rhythms of everyday life in the
hardscrabble ranchland of the eastern Colorado plains
Ethnobotanist Kat Anderson’s new book, Tending the
Wild, examines the way California’s native peoples used
– and shaped – the landscape’s natural resources
before Europeans invasion
In Imperfect Pasture, Bruce Smith, Eric
Cole and David Dobkin examine the conservation successes –
and failures – of the National Elk Refuge near Jackson,
Wyo.
The Mountain Encyclopedia by Frederic
V. Hartemann and Robert Hauptman delivers intriguing,
well-illustrated facts and figures about mountainous topics from
all over the world
Writers on the Range
Sen. Larry Craig’s suggestion that New
Orleans’ 9th Ward be restored as a wetland may represent a
newfound respect for the power of nature and the limits of the
human ability to control it
Heard Around the West
Old-timers can no longer ski for free at Park City;
80-year-old farmer won’t slow down; scary killer bee stories;
Alaskan pork; Bluff vs. Pokershare.com; no road to new high school
in Tombstone
Dear Friends
Thanks to readers for Research Fund gifts and the many
responses to HCN’s survey;
visitors
News
A provision in the new energy bill promises funding to
speed up the oil and gas permitting process in BLM offices –
without costing the industry an extra penny
Assistant Interior Secretary Rebecca Watson resigns; Texas
oil baron Oscar Wyatt indicted in Iraq oil-for-food scandal;
Congress won’t fund "bunker buster" nukes; Fish and Wildlife
OK with lynx mortality at proposed Wolf Creek ski village
American Indian tribes face an uphill battle in their
effort to protect sacred sites on federal land in the
West
A land-exchange plan especially designed for
California’s Eastern Sierra could help prevent development
controversies such as the current one over the proposed Whitney
Portal project near scenic Lone Pine
Oregon’s controversial Measure 37, which de-clawed
the state’s famous land-use regulations, has been ruled
unconstitutional by a Marion County judge.
The La Plata County commissioners have signed two deals
allowing energy companies to double the density of coalbed methane
wells near Durango, Colo.
Conservationists fear that the new National Park Service
management policy will reduce environmental protection at the
expense of commercial interests
The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced plans to
remove the marbled murrelet from the endangered species list,
despite the small seabird’s declining numbers
Letters
Featured stories
-
NOVA SCOTIA OCEAN FRONT Camp or Build on 2+ acres in Guysborough. FSBO. $36,000 US firm. Laurie's phone: 585-226-2993 EST.
-
TECHNICAL ADVISOR TO THE GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT Northern Plains Resource Council seeks an independent contractor to implement the Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) between local communities and the Sibanye-Stillwater Mining Company in Montana....
-
POEM+ NEWSLETTER Start each month with a poem in your inbox by signing up for Taylor S. Winchell's monthly Poem+ Newsletter. No frills. No news. No politics....
-
STAFF ATTORNEY The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), Utah's largest conservation organization, has an immediate opening in its Salt Lake City office for a staff attorney. SUWA's...
-
DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST Idaho Walk Bike Alliance seeks a lover of bicycling, walking, and all modes of active transportation who willingly puts the car in the garage and...
-
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Friends of Inyo - the Communications Director is a full-time permanent position that reports to the Executive Director and utilizes communication strategies and production skills...
-
INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS EDITOR High Country News seeks an editor to oversee the work of our award-winning Indigenous Affairs Desk. This individual will lead a team of passionate journalists...
-
HIKING TO THE EDGE: Confronting Cancer in Rocky Mountain National Park. Poetry and photos on survival thinking. E-book and paperback available at Amazon.com.
-
OPERATIONS MANAGER Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation has grown into America's largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 53 state/territorial affiliates and more than...
-
IPLC RIGHTS AND EQUITY PROGRAM ASSOCIATE 
A LITTLE ABOUT US Founded in 1951, the Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all...
-
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FUTURE WEST Future West seeks an executive director to lead this dynamic organization into the future. Based in Bozeman, MT this well-respected nonprofit provides communities in the...
-
PART-TIME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Mitchell Museum of the American Indian Location: Evanston, IL Salary Range: $45,000 @ 24 hours per week. send resume: [email protected] www.mitchellmuseum.org
-
COMMUNICATIONS LEAD Southeast Alaska Conservation Council is hiring! Who We Are: The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) is a small grassroots nonprofit based out of Juneau, Alaska,...
-
SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR Since 1989, The Nature Conservancy in Alaska has been doing work you can believe in protecting the lands and waters that all life depends on....
-
OUTDOOR PROGRAM - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR St. Lawrence University seeks to fill the position of Assistant Director in the Outdoor Program. To view the complete position description, including minimum qualifications required,...
-
PUBLIC LANDS DIRECTOR Job Announcement Conserve Southwest Utah is seeking a dedicated advocate for conservation and public lands Public Lands Director a "make a difference" position Conserve Southwest...
-
FOR SALE Yellowstone Llamas Successful Yellowstone NP concession Flexible packages
-
WE'RE LOOKING FOR LEADERS! As we celebrate 50 years of great Western journalism, High Country News is looking for a few new board members to help set a course...
-
WIND RIVER WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS RETREAT BY THE NATIONAL BIGHORN SHEEP CENTER Enhance your writing or photography skills with world-class instructors in the beautiful Wind River Mountains. All skill levels welcome. Continuing education credits available.
-
EARTH CRUISER FX FOR SALE
Overland Vehicle for travel on or off road. Fully self contained. Less than 41,000 miles. Recently fully serviced Located in Redmond, OR $215'000.
