How salmon has become a battleground over sovereignty for Alaska tribes. Plus, dampening Glen Canyon Dam’s effects, the dangers of drones and the Northwest’s new battle over logging.
BLM moves away from landmark Northwest Forest Plan
Court showdown may force the agency to reconsider its Pacific Northwest logging goals.
The Chickadee Symphony
A composer reflects on three decades of birdsong.
Confronting the terrorists
In the June 27, 2016, edition, Paul Larmer wrote about the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation: “Where were all the folks on the other side — the public-lands patriots — the people who say they cherish our country’s rare birthright of a vast landscape, accessible to all Americans, no matter where they live? So I emailed…
Valuing water
Thanks to Hillary Rosner and HCN for the June 13 article on the plight of south-central Oregon’s dying lakes and its adverse effects on migratory birds. Oregonians value water for food production, environmental services and the recreational opportunities it provides. However, existing water law, developed when horses were the main form of transport, has lagged…
Cross-border cooperation, not walls
The recent jaguar article (“Cats along the border,” HCN, 5/30/16) highlights the importance of cross-border migration and habitat required by jaguars, ocelots, coati, javelina, opossum, skunk, deer and Mexican wolves in order to sustain viable populations. Donald Trump’s 20-foot wall all along the border would preclude that possibility and cause enduring harm to that ecosystem…
Drones: the good, the bad and the ugly
As the aerial technology increases in popularity, so do its impacts.
FBI nabs BLM bombing suspect; Wyoming wind resistance; unofficial border patrol
HCN.org news in brief.
Meet our new intern and fellows
During our publication break, which just ended, we bid a fond farewell to former intern Bryce Gray, who wrapped up his session at the end of June. He’s now the full-time energy and environment reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Congrats to Bryce, and even more to the Post-Dispatch: Y’all have landed yourself a fine…
New measures could reduce Glen Canyon Dam’s impact on the Grand Canyon — a bit
As long as the dam remains in place, impacts are inevitable.
On sovereignty and subjugation
In the 1970s, the Pacific Northwest was at war over fishing. Tribal fishermen insisted on their right to catch more salmon, inspiring a lawsuit against the state of Washington that 14 tribes eventually joined. In 1974, a white U.S. district court judge decided in their favor, granting them rights to half the salmon catch. George…
An equitable solution for Navajo voting
The article “Disenfranchised in Utah” in the June 13th issue was quite interesting. Finding an equitable way to partition regions into voting districts has been an interest of mine for many years. Gerrymandering is a serious problem and has been used to entrench the existing power structure, as it has been in this case. However, when you…
On those who live and die along the border
Two new books look at the ever-changing face of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Badger bandits, rodeo justice and the end of a beloved sidewalk
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Salmon power
A historic legal victory could give Alaska tribes more control over their fish, wildlife and homelands.
See new pictures of the desert’s natural art
In ‘Death Valley: Painted Light,’ the landscape takes on abstract forms.
How Leonard Peltier has unjustly spent forty years in prison — and why it’s time to change that
So much time has passed that many Americans have forgotten, if they ever knew, what happened to an American Indian named Leonard Peltier, who has spent more than 40 years confined in various federal penitentiaries. This summer, a group of his family members and friends are traveling the country in an attempt to salvage what…
‘Keep It in the Ground’ prompts online oil and gas leasing auctions
Protests against drilling on public lands continue.
Latest: EPA won’t regulate logging road runoff
EPA says the Clean Water Act is enough to ensure stream health.
Latest: The BLM to study surgical sterilization of wild horses
As ever, changes to the agency’s wild horse policy have sparked controversy.
Land transfer battles rage on, county by county
The American Lands Council supports local control but keeps its list of member counties secret.
In this season of potential megaburns, nix the campfire
In 1972, Grand Canyon National Park outlawed campfires in the backcountry. Backpackers like me considered this an outrage. After all, the only people who carried those fancy little stoves back then were people incapable of building a fire. I bring this up because we are living through another explosive fire season in the West. Of…