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The Hardest Climb
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July 23, 2012

Black Diamond CEO Peter Metcalf built a climbing-gear business when nobody thought it could be done. But his dream of turning the outdoor industry into a conservation champion remains tantalizingly elusive. Also, exporting coal to Asia incites a motley opposition, saving chimneys and swifts, Utah tar sands, Oregon logging pollution, and more.

Feature

Can the outdoor gear industry wield its power for conservation?
Can the outdoor gear industry wield its power for conservation?
Pioneering mountaineer Peter Metcalf built Black Diamond into a successful climbing-gear business when nobody thought it could be done. But his dream of turning the outdoor industry into a force for nature remains tantalizingly elusive.
Greg Hanscom July 30, 2012 From the print edition

Current

Coal-export schemes ignite unusual opposition, from Wyoming to India
Coal-export schemes ignite unusual opposition, from Wyoming to India
Ambitious schemes to build railroads and ports to ship Powder River Basin coal abroad will bring pollution and traffic to communities along the transport path, who are rising up in protest.
Ray Ring July 25, 2012 From the print edition
Congress thwarts effort to reduce Grand Canyon noise pollution
Congress thwarts effort to reduce Grand Canyon noise pollution
A last-minute provision in July’s transportation bill overrules Park Service recommendations for quieting the cacophony of sightseeing air traffic over the Grand Canyon.
Emily Guerin July 23, 2012 From the print edition
Smokey Bear: From cute to buff, and in between
Smokey Bear: From cute to buff, and in between
Smokey Bear’s many image changes over the years reflect the Forest Service’s changing attitudes toward wildfire.
Jodi Peterson July 23, 2012 From the print edition
Oregon ignores logging road runoff, to the peril of native fish
Oregon ignores logging road runoff, to the peril of native fish
Oregon has long refused to regulate sediment runoff from logging roads as pollution under the Clean Water Act. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide what the state should do.
Joshua Zaffos July 27, 2012 From the print edition
Will Utah's tar sands make it the Alberta of the high desert?
Will Utah's tar sands make it the Alberta of the high desert?
Calgary-based U.S. Oil Sands says it's ready to take its exploratory effort in eastern Utah’s Tavaputs Plateau commercial.
Jeremy Miller Aug. 1, 2012 From the print edition

Editor's Note

Can capitalism boost conservation?
Can capitalism boost conservation?
The outdoor-gear industry makes its living off a landscape it claims to love. But when it comes to spending cash for conservation, it hasn’t done much.
Paul Larmer Opinion July 23, 2012 From the print edition

Uncommon Westerners

Save a chimney, save a swift
Save a chimney, save a swift
As their natural roosts disappeared, Vaux's swifts turned to old, brick chimneys for refuge during long migrations. Those safe havens are disappearing, too. Luckily, the swifts -- and the chimneys -- have found a champion in Larry Schwitters
Eric Wagner July 23, 2012 From the print edition

Essays

In praise of ancient tree stumps
In praise of ancient tree stumps
Snoqualmie, Wash., is scattered with giant stumps that tell the area's history -- except in a brand-new development, where such signs of "real" Western life have been removed.
Becca Hall Essay July 23, 2012 From the print edition

Book Reviews

Bob Kuhn: Drawing on Instinct
Bob Kuhn: Drawing on Instinct
In this art book, Adam Duncan Harris assembles the work of one of the West’s premier wildlife artists, pairing his finished acrylic paintings with the conté crayon sketches that inspired them
Jodi Peterson July 23, 2012 From the print edition
Hero worship: A review of Let the Birds Drink in Peace
Hero worship: A review of Let the Birds Drink in Peace
In Robert Garner McBrearty’s fresh and funny new story collection, ordinary guys occasionally experience an instant of greatness – and have to deal with the unexpected consequences.
Jenny Shank July 23, 2012 From the print edition
Once upon a time in a small town: A review of The Other Shoe
Once upon a time in a small town: A review of The Other Shoe
Matt Pavelich takes what appears to be an ordinary tale about traveling the rural West and turns into something much darker and stranger in his new novel.
Chérie Newman July 23, 2012 From the print edition

Dear Friends

HCN: Preferred reading of cab drivers and geologists
HCN: Preferred reading of cab drivers and geologists
HCN's visitors brave the early summer heat; former intern Lisa Song and reporter Elizabeth McGowan write an e-book called The Dilbit Disaster: Inside the Biggest Oil Spill You've Never Heard Of.
Jodi Peterson Opinion July 23, 2012 From the print edition

Letters

Legalize polygamy
Jim McMahon July 23, 2012 From the print edition
Rambling horror stories
Scott Berry July 23, 2012 From the print edition
Spiritual Superfund sites
Greg Kern July 23, 2012 From the print edition
Neutrality not needed
Christine Vigil July 23, 2012 From the print edition
A deep rot
Teri Patrick July 23, 2012 From the print edition
More diversity than meets the eye
Mike Hamilton July 23, 2012 From the print edition
High Country News Classifieds