Poet Gary Snyder won’t be talking to prospective
foresters at Oregon State University’s School of Forestry. Because
his talk was scheduled to occur just before election day – when
Oregonians will vote on a clear-cutting ban – forestry dean George
Brown canceled Snyder’s visit (HCN, 9/14/98). “I did not want to
put Gary … in what might be a disruptive or circus-like
atmosphere,” he told the Oregonian. But Snyder will speak on campus
after all: The cancellation at the forestry school was followed by
an invitation from the philosophy
department.
Friends of the
Savage Rapids Dam say they can save salmon without tearing down the
dam, but they’ll need $450,000 from the state of Oregon to pay for
it (HCN, 6/22/98). Critics say the plan to add a fish screen is
simply an excuse to leave the dam on the Rogue River. “It does not
help problems that the dam creates,” says Bob Hunter of WaterWatch
of Oregon.
In New Mexico, the
Bureau of Land Management agreed to pull cattle from 40 miles of
stream banks. The September deal settles a two-year-old lawsuit
brought by Forest Guardians, which argued that the agency must kick
cattle out of riparian areas so that native species such as the
endangered willow flycatcher can recover (HCN, 5/11/98). “They will
be fencing off some of the most productive land ranchers have,” a
ranching spokesman complained to the
AP.
In Crested Butte, Colo., a
dispute over a land trade between a resort and the Forest Service
is settled (HCN, 9/14/98). Three groups dropped their appeals in
exchange for a commitment from the Crested Butte Mountain Resort to
build more affordable housing, preserve open space and draw a
growth boundary at the ski area. “We’re guardedly happy,” said
Sandy Shea of the High Country Citizens’
Alliance.
More California
condors will soar over the Arizona desert this fall. In November,
biologists will set nine of the carrion-eaters free at Hurricane
Cliffs just north of the Grand Canyon (HCN, 6/9/97). The
six-month-old birds, with a wingspan that stretches nine feet, will
join 15 endangered condors released nearby two years ago. “It’s a
major conservation event,” says Bureau of Land Management biologist
Mike Small, “like the wolves in Wyoming.”
* Dustin
Solberg
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The Wayward West.
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