The number and variety of outdoor education programs has
increased dramatically in the last 25 years.
Magazine
June 10, 1996
A special issue celebrates the thousands of educators who are working to teach people about the West. But it also raises some questions: Who are they reaching and where should the lessons be learned?
Feature
A state-by-state directory describes some of the many
outdoor education programs in the West.
Controversial "wilderness therapy programs" such as Utah's
North Star, intended for troubled kids, come under critical
scrutiny - and lawsuits - after several teenagers die while in
their care.
Sidebar
A program called Volunteer-led Investigations of
Neighborhood Ecology (VINE) introduces urban children to nature, as
demonstrated by Denver's Garden Place Academy.
River guide, author and activist Roderick Nash describes a
method of outdoor education he calls "unguiding" - letting the
river teach its own lessons.
The Student Conservation Association has been sending
thousands of young volunteers to help maintain national parks since
1957.
A Northwest conservation and outdoor recreation group, The
Mountaineers, educates children by sending actors such as Loren
Foss into schools, who teach by assuming character roles such as
"Old John."
The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and Outward
Bound are the biggest outdoor education schools in the
West.
Utah native Steve Cartisano, the controversial "godfather"
of wilderness therapy, has left a trail of lawsuits behind him,
including one for negligent homicide in the death of a Florida
teenage girl.
Essays
The writer describes a tough and educational time spent
working in the inner city with the San Francisco League of Urban
Gardeners.
A former professional outdoor educator traces his slow
disillusionment with wilderness programs that live off the urban
high-tech society and teach nothing about truly living simply on
the land.
Writer and Wyoming native C.L. Rawlins considers the good
and bad inherent in trying to provide an outdoor
education.
Writer and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams lauds the
lessons she learned from the Teton Science School.
Heard Around the West
Strange bedfellows in the West: Wal-Mart and Main Street,
sheep and range restoration, javelinas in Washington state,
cartoonist John Callahan runs for Oregon state Legislature, Cheetos
in space, cowboys and California.
Dear Friends
Special issue, board meeting in Grand Junction, drop-ins,
odds and ends.
News
The Colorado Air National Guard's plan to increase
fighter-jet training over southeastern Colorado raises opposition
from environmentalists, ranchers and residents - and from Colorado
Springs' booming airport.
The Colorado Air National Guard's plan to increase
training flights over the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains and
the San Luis Valley upsets locals, including contemplative monks in
Crestone.
A GOP memo to this year's Republican candidates urges them
to start looking green.
Two Chelan County commissioners defy Washington state's
Growth Management Act, claiming freedom from state and federal
controls.
Former U.S. Senator Dan Evans, who once supported
Washington state's Growth Management Act, now seeks to change the
law after finding it will prevent him from building a house where
he wants.
An irrigation district's water diversion from the Rio
Grande in New Mexico wipes out an estimated 70 percent of the
endangered silvery minnow population.
The Colorado Legislature passes a bill allowing the state
Corrections Department to ignore local zoning when it wants to
build or expand prisons.
Under the salvage logging rider, thousands of acres of
habitat of the endangered marbled murrelet may be cut in coastal
Washington and Oregon.
To improve trampled vegetation and watershed in
California's Ishi Wilderness, Forest Service officials remove 13
tranquilized bulls by helicopter.
Republican Gov. Tony Knowles of Alaska joins an
environmental lawsuit fighting Columbia and Snake River dams in the
Northwest to save endangered salmon.
Letters
Featured stories
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DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Greater Yellowstone Coalition seeks a development professional to coordinate the organization's individual giving program. The position description is available at http://greateryellowstone.org/careers Please email a letter...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Wilderness Volunteers Wilderness Volunteers (WV), a 24-year leader in preserving our nation's wildlands, is seeking a motivated person with deep outdoor interests to guide our...
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FISHERIES BIOLOGIST Under the direct supervision of the Director of Shoshone-Paiute Tribe's Fish, Wildlife & Parks, in coordination with the Tribal Programs Administrator and the Tribal Chairman,...
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REGIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NORTHERN ROCKIES, PRAIRIES & PACIFIC REGION 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...
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STEWARDSHIP MANAGER STEWARDSHIP MANAGER Job Vacancy and Description Posted June 2, 2021: Open until filled The New Mexico Land Conservancy (NMLC) is a non-profit, regional land trust...
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KSJD - MORNING EDITION HOST/REPORTER KSJD is seeking a host/reporter. Please see for www.ksjd.org for more information. EEO compliant.
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ON THE EDGE OF CEDAR MESA/BEARS EARS Quiet, comfy house for rent in Bluff, Utah. Walk to San Juan River. Bike or hike to many nearby ruins and rock art sites. Beautiful...
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CARPENTER AND LABORER WANTED. Come to Ketchikan and check out the Rain forest on the coast, Hike the shorelines, hug the big trees, watch deer in the muskeg meadows,...
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PROJECT MANAGER Title: Project Manager Reports To: Program Director Salary Range: Negotiable; starting at $60,000 Location: Bend, OR The Deschutes River Conservancy seeks a Project Manager to...
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PROGRAM DIRECTOR The Deschutes River Conservancy seeks a Program Director to join our dynamic team in restoring streamflow and improving water quality in the Deschutes Basin. WHO...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - TWISPWORKS Established healthy nonprofit in the Methow Valley of Washington state, TwispWorks is hiring the next Executive Director. Terrific opportunity to strive for our mission to...
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BOARD DIRECTOR Help us achieve our mission of promoting excellence in the professional practice of wilderness stewardship, science and education to ensure the life-sustaining benefits of wilderness....
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TEMPORARY FULL-TIME RANCH OPERATIONS ASSISTANT Twin Willows Ranch in Ocate, NM is seeking to immediately fill a Temporary Full-Time employment position as Ranch Operations Assistant for Facilities, Equipment, Land, and...
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RANCH OPERATIONS ASSISTANT Twin Willows Ranch in Ocate, NM is seeking an individual to fill the Regular Full-Time position of Resident Operations Assistant for Technology, Hospitality, Gardening, and...
