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
Today's Featured Stories
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OPERATIONS AND FINANCE MANAGER Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a national grassroots organization led by women, seeks a resourceful, self-motivated, team player to serve as Operations and Finance Manager....
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND Colorado Canyons Association (CCA) fosters community stewardship, education and awareness of our National Conservation Lands with a focus on Dominguez-Escalante, Gunnison Gorge and...
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WYOMING STATE DIRECTOR Save the World ... or at least a piece of it! Join The Nature Conservancy and make a tangible and lasting impact by creating a...
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PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY NON-PROFIT NEAR YOSEMITE Demanding, but rewarding, advocacy work on forest, water, wildland, and wildlife issues. Applicants should have experience dealing with land management planning, public speaking, grassroots organizing,...
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NEW AGRARIAN APPRENTICESHIP Quivira Coalition's 2020 New Agrarian Apprenticeships in Regenerative Ranching and Farming -Apprenticeships run 4/20 - 11/20 Applications accepted 10/15/19 - 12/1/19 NAP partners with skilled...
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PHILANTHROPY DIRECTOR AT WILDERNESS WORKSHOP Wilderness Workshop seeks a full time Philanthropy Director to raise funds for our team. Learn more: www.wildernessworkshop.org
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EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT WITH WESTERN RESOURCE ADVOCATES Western Resource Advocates (WRA) seeks an enthusiastic and organized problem solver to join our growing team as an Executive Assistant. The Executive Assistant is instrumental...
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WYOMING OUTDOOR COUNCIL Two positions: Development Director OR Development Writer, Communications Director. Full job descriptions at https://wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org/careers.
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CONSERVATION PROJECT MANAGER Great Land Trust seeks to hire a Conservation Project Manager. Position is full-time, based in Anchorage, Alaska. First review of applications will be on October...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Eagle Valley Land Trust Executive Director Position Description Summary of Position: The Executive Director, working with and reporting to the Board of Directors, has overall...
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FINANCE & LOGISTICS COORDINATOR 
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, founded in 1928 as an independent nonprofit organization, is a biological field station located near Crested Butte, Colorado. Our primary...
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DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
See Full Job Description
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DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Position: Development Coordinator Responsible to: Executive Director Time Commitment: 15-20 hours per week, or as otherwise agreed upon General Description: The Development Coordinator assists the...
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EDUCATION CENTER MANAGER Friends of Cedar Mesa seeks a full-time Education Manager for the Bears Ears Education Center to provide day to day operational and administrative oversight. See...
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TROUT UNLIMITED SCP SOUTHWEST REGIONAL DIRECTOR Seeking to hire an experienced advocate/manager to oversee the organization's sportsmen/women-driven advocacy in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Open until filled
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PROGRAM MANAGER for northern AZ collaborative conservation ranchlands group
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Partners are seeking an experienced and energetic Executive Director who is excited about the opportunity to lead our growing organization! A full description of the...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR High Country News Seeks an Executive Director to advance its mission, grow its audience and influence, and strategically and sustainably guide the organization through a...
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2 PROPERTIES ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE GILA WILDERNESS Organic farm, hot springs, San Francisco River runs through both. [email protected]
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CHUCK BURR'S CULTUREQUAKE.COM BLOG Change will happen when we see a new way of living. Thinking to save the world.
