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
-
ATTORNEY AD Criminal Defense, Code Enforcement, Water Rights, Mental Health Defense, Resentencing.
-
LUNATEC HYDRATION SPRAY BOTTLE A must for campers and outdoor enthusiasts. Cools, cleans and hydrates with mist, stream and shower patterns. Hundreds of uses.
-
LUNATEC ODOR-FREE DISHCLOTHS are a must try. They stay odor-free, dry fast, are durable and don't require machine washing. Try today.
-
PROFESSIONAL GIS SERVICES Custom Geospatial Solutions is available for all of your GIS needs. Affordable, flexible and accurate data visualization and analysis for any sized project.
-
FREE RANGE BISON AVAILABLE Hard grass raised bison available in east Montana. You harvest or possible deliver quartered carcass to your butcher or cut/wrapped pickup. Contact Crazy Woman Bison...
-
CONSERVATION ASSOCIATE - OKANOGAN LAND TRUST (NORTH CENTRAL WA) Do you enjoy rural living, wild places, and the chance to work with many different kinds of people and accomplish big conservation outcomes? Do you...
-
CARDIGAN WELSH CORGIS 10 adorable, healthy puppies for sale. 4 males and 6 females. DM and PRA clear. Excellent pedigree from champion lineage. One Red Brindle male. The...
-
A CHILDREN'S BOOK FOR THE CLIMATE CRISIS!! "Goodnight Fossil Fuels!" is a an engaging, beautiful, factual and somewhat silly picture book by a climate scientist and a climate artist, both based in...
-
DIGITAL ADVOCACY & MEMBERSHIP MANAGER 
The Digital Advocacy & Membership Manager will be responsible for creating and delivering compelling, engaging digital content to Guardians members, email activists, and social media...
-
DIGITAL OUTREACH COORDINATOR, ARIZONA Job Title: Digital Outreach Coordinator, Arizona Position Location: Phoenix or Tucson, AZ Status: Salaried Job ID Number: 52198 We are looking for you! We are...
-
DESCHUTES LAND TRUST VOLUNTEER PROGRAM MANAGER The Deschutes Land Trust is seeking an experienced Volunteer Program Manager to join its dedicated team! Deschutes Land Trust conserves and cares for the lands...
-
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming seeks an experienced fundraiser to join our team. We're looking for a great communicator who is passionate about conservation and...
-
INDIAN COUNTRY FELLOWSHIP Western Leaders Network is accepting applications for its paid, part-time, 6-month fellowship. Mentorship, training, and engaging tribal leaders in advancing conservation initiatives and climate policy....
-
MULESHOE RANCH PRESERVE MANAGER The Muleshoe Ranch Preserve Manager develops, manages, and advances conservation programs, plans and methods for large-scale geographic areas. The Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative Management Area (MRCMA)...
-
ARTEMIS PROGRAM MANAGER Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF or Federation) is America's largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 52 state/territorial affiliates and more...
-
ASSISTANT OR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES Assistant or Associate Professor of Environmental Humanities Whitman College The Environmental Humanities Program at Whitman College seeks candidates for a tenure-track position beginning August 2023...
-
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) in Crested Butte, CO is seeking an enthusiastic Executive Director who is passionate about the public lands, natural waters and...
-
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Are you passionate about connecting people to the outdoors? The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) is looking for someone with volunteer management experience to join...
-
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The conservation non-profit Invasive Species Action Network seeks an executive director. We are focused on preventing the human-caused spread of invasive species by promoting voluntary...
-
HIGH COUNTRY NEWS EDITORIAL INTERNS High Country News, an award-winning magazine covering the communities and environment of the Western United States, is looking for its next cohort of editorial interns....
