Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt have agreed to settle a squabble over state-owned school trust lands isolated by the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; now it awaits approval in Washington, D.C. (HCN, 5/25/98). The deal means Utah will trade 377,000 acres of state lands for $50 million and 139,000 acres of federal […]
The Wayward West
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Critics slam bison plan
-I’ve got two words for this plan: it stinks,” said Page McNeill, chair of the Wyoming chapter of the Sierra Club, at a recent public meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Criticism of the draft management plan for the Yellowstone National Park bison herd (HCN, 7/6/98) came fast and furious at the Aug. 10 meeting, where […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Is park station a boondoggle?
When user fees went into effect two years ago in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming’s Teton County residents thought the money would go toward improving existing facilities. Then the Park Service proposed to spend that money to build a $1.4 million welcome center along a remote dirt road in the park’s southwest corner. Local opposition, […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
God to Helen: ‘Do I know you?’
The fall of 1998 will undoubtedly go down in history as a record year for confessions of infidelity – followed by professions of contrition – from politicians. The latest comes from Idaho Rep. Helen Chenoweth, the ultra-conservative Republican, who recently admitted to a six-year affair with a married, former business partner. The Idaho Statesman decided […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Heard around the West
Maybe the issue isn’t who first threw the shoes. A huge old tree close to U.S. 50 in Nevada – dubbed “the loneliest road in America” – has become festooned with shoes and even pairs of skis and rollerblades. Stories vary as to how the shoes first went airborne, but one oft-told tale goes like […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Cell phones: Sometimes you need a crutch
Dear HCN, Because I am currently involved in a heated wilderness debate myself, Christina Nealson’s essay about cellular phones in wilderness areas caught my eye (HCN, 8/17/98). In the Grand Canyon where I work, as elsewhere, the debate over what constitutes a wilderness experience and the appropriate role of the federal government in prescribing exacting […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Congress avoids buying public land
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thirty-five years ago, in that golden age when a president could engage in White House trysts without worrying about it, one of those presidents endorsed the idea of a self-financing fund to raise money so the government could buy land. It was a popular idea, so popular that it soon became law, […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
In place of a bigger park, Tucson gets houses
TUCSON, Ariz. – Five years ago, federal officials saw a perfect spot in the Tucson Mountains foothills for a park expansion. Covered by lush stands of palo verdes, saguaros and ocotillos, the site included several washes that provided shelter for wildlife. It also contained one of the few perennial water sources in the mountains, attracting […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Voters to decide mining’s future
MISSOULA, Mont. – Two years ago, a broad coalition of environmentalists, ranchers and politicians put an initiative on Montana’s ballot to force mining companies to clean up their wastewater before dumping it into rivers. The initiative failed after the mining industry spent $2 million convincing voters that tighter water standards would affect anyone who washed […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Dear friends
Here comes camouflage Some of the men you see walking down the streets of this town of 1,400 look a mite peculiar these days. Their faces are deliberately dirty and they’re wearing camouflage. It’s the first clue that summer is close to over and fall is moving in fast. The earliest hunters to appear are […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Nevada on the move
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. Rank in growth among states since 1960: First Number of new residents per month: 4,000-6,000 Percentage of state-owned land by the federal government: 87 Percentage of U.S. gold mined there: 60 Percentage of Nevada workers employed in the service industry: 44 Percentage of Nevada […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Beyond sagebrush politics: A prospering megalopolis steers Nevada
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. Nevada doesn’t get a lot of respect. It has been called “The tag-end of Creation,” “America’s Great Mistake” and “the Rotten Borough.” John Muir said it was “irredeemable now and forever.” The Almanac of American Politics, considered by many to be the bible of […]
Posted inSeptember 28, 1998: A senator for the New West in the race of his life
A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Note: two sidebar articles, one with Nevada statistics and one titled “Beyond sagebrush politics: A prospering megalopolis steers Nevada,” accompany this feature story. RENO, Nev. – In the halls of Congress, Sen. Harry Reid is proud to be known as a “Senator for the New West.” For more than a decade, the two-term, senior Democratic […]
Posted inSeptember 14, 1998: We are shaped by the sound of wind, the slant of sunlight
Leave wilderness out of your climbing plans
Leave wilderness out of your climbing plans Dear HCN, I, for one, and I suspect there are others, applaud the Forest Service’s ban on fixed anchors. Wilderness areas are not to be permanently marred by man – regardless of how insignificant the marring is (HCN, 8/17/98). We don’t allow motorized vehicles, bicycles or hang-gliders in […]
Posted inSeptember 14, 1998: We are shaped by the sound of wind, the slant of sunlight
Rock climbers = litter
Rock climbers = litter Dear HCN, Armando Menocal needs to open his eyes (HCN, 8/17/98). Rock climbing in wilderness causes impacts which are inappropriate to areas where the signs of man are to remain unseen. Bolts, nylon straps, chalk marks and bare patches left when lichen is removed by climbing shoes are unsightly. The trails […]
Posted inSeptember 14, 1998: We are shaped by the sound of wind, the slant of sunlight
Climbing: Is it right?
Dear HCN, Regarding Armando Menocal’s question about whether or not a bolt or rappel sling should be considered an “installation” under the 1964 Wilderness Act – these words being the key phrase for the Forest Service ban on bolts – my answer is clearly yes (HCN, 8/17/98). You are drilling a hole, inserting a piece […]
Posted inSeptember 14, 1998: We are shaped by the sound of wind, the slant of sunlight
Love it by not leaving bolts behind
Dear HCN, I used to assume that those who played in the backcountry were sympathetic to those who fought to protect it. But a new mind set, a category, perhaps even a generation of people seems to be taking form. Spawned by the glossy images of outside-oriented magazines, there are now hordes of “been there, […]
Posted inSeptember 14, 1998: We are shaped by the sound of wind, the slant of sunlight
Learning from Innovations in Environmental Protection: A Call for Ideas and Potential Researchers
How can the Environmental Protection Agency be more effective? Congress wants to know, so it commissioned an investigation: Learning from Innovations in Environmental Protection: A Call for Ideas and Potential Researchers. This two-year, $2 million project is asking individuals, businesses, nonprofits and government agencies for their most innovative environmental management techniques. Researchers are also needed […]
Posted inSeptember 14, 1998: We are shaped by the sound of wind, the slant of sunlight
The Sonoran Institute
Community stewardship – the idea that inclusive, local processes can protect ecological integrity while improving economic conditions – has a new home on the Web: www.sonoran.org. The Sonoran Institute has launched this Web site to allow diverse communities from across the United States, including Red Lodge, Mont., and the border region of the Sonoran desert, […]
Posted inSeptember 14, 1998: We are shaped by the sound of wind, the slant of sunlight
Community Efforts on the World Wide Web
Isolated small towns can’t always be quiet about preserving their peace and quiet. In rural Boulder County, Colo., a group called PUMA, which stands for the Preserve Unique Magnolia Association, protects the rural qualities of the Magnolia area by publicizing its community efforts on the World Wide Web. From potlucks to concerns about forest management, […]