Magazine
July 24, 1995
The University of Arizona's determination to build a world-class observatory on Mount Graham creates a storm of controversy involving an endangered red squirrel and an Indian tribe's desire to protect the mountain as a sacred place.
Feature
The University of Arizona's determination to build a
world-class observatory on Mount Graham creates a storm of
controversy involving an endangered red squirrel and an Indian
tribe's desire to protect the mountain as a sacred place.
Uncommon Westerners
Ed Marston interviews HCN reader Daniel Beard, who resigns
as Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Sept. 1.
Dear Friends
Snowplows in June, tracking down former interns, the Eco
Challenge Utah '95, roaming readers.
News
A proposed new rural-remote zoning law in Colorado's
Pitkin County, designed to prevent the growth of "monster homes,"
faces fierce opposition from some local landowners such as Betty
LaMont.
County officials where militias are active begin to feel
the cost in law enforcement and legal fees, as well as in fewer
tourists.
A 1992 federal report reveals a "cozy relationship"
between Kaibab Forest Products Co. and Kaibab National Forest,
involving stolen trees and "gift turkeys."
Utah's environmental groups sound a nationwide alarm to
stop a Utah wilderness bill they describe as
"disastrous."
Tourists Jim and Dafang Lin witness a 44-foot slab fall
from Utah's 306-ft. Landscape Arch.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces a proposal to
bring back the endangered Mexican wolf to southern New Mexico and
southwest Arizona.
Forest Service employee Loretta McEllhiney finds creative
ways to restore heavily trampled and eroded hiking trails on
Colorado's Mt. Elbert.
Even as the Endangered Species Act is upheld in Western
courts, lawmakers in Congress work to destroy it.
Washington Republican Sen. Slade Gorton is embarrassed by
the disclosure of memos showing his close ties to industry in his
attempts to weaken environmental laws.
The third summer of the Cove/Mallard Coalition's protests
against logging in central Idaho begins with arrests and
lawsuits.
Former militia member Ken Medenbach is barred from the 10
acres of federal land he "seized" and began to log last
spring.
Ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney receive what
environmentalists call a "paper cut" order to cut cattle numbers on
the Diamond Bar Grazing Allotment, but will be allowed to up the
numbers after fences and stock tanks are built.
Veterinary technician Carolyn Kinsey, fired for protesting
the ill-fated release of black-footed ferrets in South Dakota,
wants to start a care facility at Pueblo, Colo., for geriatric and
neglected ferrets.
Book Reviews
The Logan Canyon Coalition loses an appeal to the Forest
Service to protect Logan Canyon from an enlarged highway.
The Oregon Natural Resources Council in a report blames
grazing, the suppression and poor logging practices for the
declining wealth of Western forests.
Richard Knight releases a video titled "Saving the West:
Protecting Open Space."
The Sustainable Energy Budget Coalition blasts
congressional budget cuts in renewable energy and support for
fossil fuel and nuclear programs.
Two scientific panels announce support for the Endangered
Species Act.
Short takes on conferences including "The Prehistoric
Basis for Water Use in New Mexico," "The Endangered West," the
"Waterton Writers Workshop," and an art show titled "Wild
Oregonians."
Heard Around the West
National Park Service's "Park "N' Drive Competition," RVs
outnumber tents 3 to 1, Yellowstone's roadkill, drug-users in the
park.
Letters
Opinion
The saga of Mount Graham demonstrates that the University
of Arizona's shortcuts, questionable tactics and attempts to get
around the law are ultimately responsible for creating an
impossible situation.
The authors opine that BLM grazing rules are rigged in
favor of overgrazing and work against conscientious
ranchers.
Sidebar
Astronomer Peter Strittmatter defends observatories as
"benign places."
University of Arizona vice president for research and
graduate studies Michael Cusanovich defends the university's Mount
Graham project.
San Carlos Apache activist Ola Cassadore Davis talks about
Mount Graham's sacredness and the coalition she founded to fight
for it.
University of Arizona professor of ecology and
evolutionary biology Conrad Istock believes an observatory may help
save Mount Graham.
Biologist Peter Warshall is the University of Arizona
faculty's most outspoken critic of the project.
University of Arizona Ph.D. candidate in ecology and
evolutionary biology Mark Fishbein explains his objections to the
Mount Graham project.
Former University of Arizona professor and one-time BLM
head Frank Gregg believes the Mount Graham controversy shows a flaw
at the heart of all universities when it comes to research and
money.
Mount Graham has spawned such extremism that middle ground
is almost impossible to find.
A time line illustrates the history of Mount Graham and
its squirrels, Apaches, astronomers and
environmentalists.
- Kent Schoberle on Ranch Diaries: A New Mexico cattle company is born
- Rich & Terry Fairbanks on Rural communities in the West need a fair shake
- on Jim Deacon, pioneering desert fish biologist, dies
- Larry Bullock on Ranch Diaries: A New Mexico cattle company is born
- Randy Piper on Bark beetle kill leads to more severe fires, right? Well, maybe
