The end of the oil and gas era may be in sight, but the
current energy boom in the West means that a rough and wild ride is
still ahead
Magazine
December 12, 2005
The end of the oil and gas era may be in sight, but the current energy boom in the West means that a rough and wild ride is still ahead. Also in this issue: After Michele DeHart of the Fish Passage Center in Portland, Ore., publicly supported a plan to protect salmon, angry lawmakers led by Sen. Larry Craig yanked the center’s funding.
Feature
Northeastern Utah, southern Wyoming and western Colorado
are humming with new talk of oil shale, but industry insiders say
that the technology has years to go before oil shale development is
financially and environmentally viable
As energy companies go after "unconventional" natural gas
– such as tight-sands gas and coalbed methane –the
environmental impacts are becoming increasingly apparent
Westerners are making a few small efforts to conserve
energy in the face of higher prices, but environmentalists wonder
what it will take to inspire a real change in behavior
With the demand for renewable energy growing and the costs
falling, solar and wind power have moved out of the realm of
idealism into that of the marketplace
Editor's Note
High Country News prides itself on
keeping close to the ground, but for this special issue, we look at
the energy boom in the West from a global perspective
Uncommon Westerners
Award-winning author Denise Chavez created the Border Book
Festival, and founded a Cultural Center in Mesilla, N.M., to help
heal the cultural wounds of the U.S.-Mexico border
Essays
Writer and historian Alvin Josephy is remembered as a good
friend to Indian people, especially the Nez Perce Tribe
Vine Deloria Jr., author of Custer Died for Your
Sins, is remembered as a witty, impassioned and
iconoclastic writer, historian, and teacher, who fought for Indian
peoples and their right to self-determination
Writers on the Range
Accessible trails for wheelchair users should be a part of
new wilderness legislation
Book Reviews
In his serious and poetic first book, Not Just Any Land,
John Price takes a literary journey into the heart of
America’s grasslands
Karen Brichoux’s pensive new novel, The Girl She
Left Behind, recounts the challenges faced by a young woman on her
return to a small Montana town
In Bear, Robert E. Bieder traces the
history of this fascinating animal across centuries of time and a
variety of different cultures
Earth Notes, edited by Peter
Friederici, is a tasty selection of tidbits about the
Southwest’s canyon country
Engineer and city councilman Kamyar Enshayan considers the
inevitable end of the fossil fuel joyride
Heard Around the West
The Lost People of Mountain Village; big-game
tax-deduction scam; pigs and developers; coping with the medfly;
grizzlies vs. highways in Canada
Dear Friends
Visitors; notes from readers; corrections
News
After Michele DeHart of the Fish Passage Center in
Portland, Ore., publicly supported a plan to protect salmon, angry
lawmakers led by Sen. Larry Craig yanked the center’s
funding
"Speed dating" brings Utah legislators and lobbyists
together; EPA cleaning up fewer sites; Fallon, Nev., residents
breathing dangerous tungsten and cobalt; poaching at Wyoming drill
rigs
Critics say that FEMA’s National Flood Insurance
Program is encouraging development in flood-prone areas alongside
Western rivers, such as the Rio Grande
Wyoming lawmakers are trying to pass a law to prevent
sheepherders from quitting their jobs without notice in search of
better-paying employment
The BLM wants to allow oil and gas companies to drill near
Pinedale, Wyo., in wintertime, and some conservationists think the
change may actually help declining mule deer populations
The Forest Service is considering "green" certification
for timber produced on the national forests, but environmentalists
fear it's a form of greenwashing that will wrongly legitimize
public-land logging
Letters
Today's Featured Stories
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WESTERN LEADERS NETWORK INDIAN COUNTRY ORGANIZER WLN is hiring a full-time organizer to lead our work in Indian Country.
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-FRIENDS OF GOLD BUTTE Reporting to the Board of Directors (Board), the Executive Director (ED) has overall operational responsibility for FoGB staff, programs, expansion, and execution of the mission....
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CALIFORNIA DESERT LANDS PROTECTION FELLOW Friends of the Inyo seeks a California Desert Lands Protection Fellow to assist with an effective campaign to defend lands in the California desert, including...
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WESTERN LEADERS NETWORK WYOMING ORGANIZER Part-time, 6-month contractor to promote the benefits of cutting methane waste and reducing ozone.
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WESTERN LEADERS NETWORK NEW MEXICO ORGANIZER Part-time, 6-month contractor to promote the benefits of cutting methane waste and reducing ozone.
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DO YOU HAVE A COMPLEX CONSERVATION CHALLENGE? Join the Center for Conservation Peacebuilding for a workshop to build your capacity to transform conflicts and create lasting solutions for people and wildlife. April...
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OWN YOUR OWN CANYON - 1400 SF STRAW-BALE ECO-HOME ON 80 ACRES - 3 HOURS FROM L.A. 1400 sf of habitable space in a custom-designed eco-home created and completed by a published L.A. architect in 1997-99. Nestled within its own 80-acre mountain...
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NEW MEXCIO PUBLIC LANDS COORDINATOR/WYSS FELLOW Trout Unlimited in New Mexico is seeking a coordinator to work on campaigns and projects that conserve quality fish and wildlife habitats. This position is...
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CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION MANAGER The American Forest Foundation (AFF) seeks a smart and highly motivated candidate to join their Western conservation team. The California Conservation Manager supports the Director,... -
UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN WATER FORUM: BRIDGING SCIENCE, POLICY & PRACTICE Nov 7-8 in Grand Junction, CO Keynote: Brad Udall on Climate Change Other Topics: Threats to Food Energy Water Security From Forecasting to Decision-Making Science...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - VISIONARY LEADER For more information on RE Sources and a full job description: visit our website:
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RIO GRANDE CAMPAIGNER The Rio Grande is one of the Wests most vital rivers and it is in dire need of a passionate, steadfast, and persistent advocate. We...
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FORGE & FAB SHOP FOR SALE - with home on one acre in Pocatello, ID. For information and photos visit www.blackrockforgeproperty.com.
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BEAUTIFUL HOME ON EAST RIVER, CRESTED BUTTE, CO Skiing, biking, hiking, fishing, 3 bd/2 bth, deck. 1.38 acres, no covenants. Call Reggie Masters, Associate Broker Coldwell Banker Bighorn Realty, 970-596-3568.
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SALMON RIVER IDAHO WILDERNESS RETREAT HOME Here is an opportunity to have a piece of self-sufficient paradise on Idaho's Main Salmon River adjacent to the largest Forest Service wilderness area in...
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DATABASE AND SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Do you love Grand Teton National Park? Grand Teton National Park Foundation is seeking a Database and Systems Administrator. Applicants must be highly organized, extremely... -
FIELD ORGANIZER Help protect Montanas water quality, family farms and ranches, & unique quality of life. Work hard, meet good people, make the world a better place!...
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HIGH COUNTRY NEWS SEEKS DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT to assist with fundraising campaigns. HCN is an award-winning, national news magazine. Strong candidates will have experience administering monthly-giving programs, communicating with donors, and working...
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SAN JUAN BASIN ENERGY CAMPAIGN ORGANIZER San Juan Citizens Alliance is seeking a full-time San Juan Energy Campaign Organizer located in Farmington, New Mexico. The San Juan Energy Campaign Organizer focuses...
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40 ACRE ORGANIC FARM potential fruit/hay with house, Hotchkiss, CO, Scott Ellis, 970-420-0472, [email protected]
