A water grab 84 years ago that turned one of California’s largest lakes into a dust bowl and enabled Los Angeles to boom may not have been permanent. By a vote of 6-1 July 2, rural elected officials ordered Los Angeles to forego diverting 43 million gallons of water a day from Owens Lake. The […]
Owens Valley finally loses patience
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Volunteers test county claims in potential wilderness areas
In Utah, one way counties fight a possible designation of wilderness is by claiming a road runs through it. Some commissioners in Utah who fear that wilderness will ruin local economies cite a law dating from 1866, R.S. 2477, to claim rights-of-way through Bureau of Land Management lands that might be considered roadless. But are […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
The Wayward West
Two of the West’s greenest representatives in Congress have announced they will not run for re-election. One, nicknamed “Senator Public Lands’ for his commitment to environmental issues during his four terms in office, is Arkansas Sen. Dale Bumpers, who led the fight to reform the 1872 Mining Law and raise grazing fees. The other is […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
A-LP looms liter
In a move that’s either desperate or practical, proponents of southwestern Colorado’s Animas-La Plata water project applied “tough love” to their aging proposal and unveiled a leaner alternative in early July. The reservoir and pumping project that was supposed to provide water for irrigators and cities in Colorado and New Mexico is also key to […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Whitewater comes roaring back
GRACE, Idaho – After more than 90 dry years, a canyon near this quiet town recently filled with the roar of whitewater. Kayakers in mid-May ran the rapids through Black Canyon while a nearby power plant went two days without the river’s water. But PacifiCorp of Portland, Ore., didn’t release the Bear River back to […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘Thrillcraft’ leave a polluted, contentious wake
“What we ought to do is establish parks for motorized recreational use, and shove all the ATVs and all the jet skis in there and let ’em run over the top of each other and break each other’s eardrums,” says Ric Bailey, the outspoken director of the Hells Canyon Preservation Council, a coalition of commercial […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
A Colorado reality check: lions roam and kill
On July 17, 10-year-old Mark David Miedema was hiking minutes ahead of his parents in Rocky Mountain National Park when an 88-pound pregnant female mountain lion attacked. The lion had fled by the time the family found the unconscious boy. Miedema, who choked on his own vomit, was dead when park rangers arrived. Three hours […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Trouble for grizzly bear recovery plan
After a four-year, $250,000 effort, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released its draft plan for restoring grizzly bears in western Montana and central Idaho. Now, Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, want to cut the project off at the knees. Hailed by many as a groundbreaking compromise between the timber industry, […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Forest plan powers through Congress
Federal legislation to launch the Quincy Library Group’s forest management plan soared through the House, 429-1, a landslide victory which supporters are boasting was bigger and faster than the vote following Pearl Harbor. The lone holdout was Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Opposition to the controversial bill faded in last-minute negotiations between Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Dear friends
Out of the hot Kay Firor and Kent Osterberg, accompanied by their children, Brent and Lissa, all of Cove, Ore., came through town. Kay teaches math at Eastern Oregon University, and Kent swears that he is a metrologist – a specialist in the measuring of things. The Red Robin Bike Tour of Colorado, a benefit […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Foreman finds hope amid ecological rubble
Pat Robertson and Jesse Jackson should thank their stars that Dave Foreman chose to become a conservation preacher rather than a religious preacher. Otherwise, they would be out of jobs. Foreman, who said his family had expected him to become a Bible-thumper, traces his unique ministry back to the doomsday preaching of Cassandra, and he […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Heard around the West
Once a plump owl earnestly told boys and girls: “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!” Then the bird went mute during the controversy over northern spotted owls losing their nests to loggers. Well, the 25-year-old mascot of the Forest Service is back, reports the Jackson Hole News. While on sabbatical Woodsy may have enjoyed a stay […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Habitat plans are in full flood
Note: this article is part of a suite of feature articles in this issue about the Endangered Species Act and Habitat Protection Plans. Nowhere is enthusiasm for Habitat Conservation Plans greater than in the Pacific Northwest. For that, thank (or blame) the northern spotted owl. Since 1990, when the owl was listed as a threatened […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘HCPs need peer-reviewed science’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Volunteer Michael Schindell works for the National Endangered Species Network in Sacramento, Calif. Michael Schindell: “HCPs have weak science. A good example is a plan for Yellow County, Calif., which is a rapidly growing bedroom community west of Sacramento. That HCP uses […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Timber’s bad boy comes to the table
Note: this article is part of a suite of feature articles in this issue about the Endangered Species Act and Habitat Protection Plans. ROSLYN, Wash. – Lorin Hicks climbs the steep, muddy slope in long strides, stopping several hundred feet uphill of a goshawk nest. The agitated female screeches annoyance and lifts off the towering […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘Landowners need more incentives’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Many consider Michael Bean, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, the dean of endangered species protection in the United States. Others say he weakened the Endangered Species Act in the name of practicality when he helped craft the 1982 amendments […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
The feds won’t enforce the ESA
Note: this article is part of a suite of feature articles in this issue about the Endangered Species Act and Habitat Protection Plans. Backers of Habitat Conservation Plans have a simple answer for critics: If we don’t cut deals with private landowners, we lose the habitat. That’s tough to swallow for some conservationists, since the […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘We’ve turned down bad HCPs’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Curt Smitch is an assistant director for Region 1 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which covers Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho and Hawaii. He oversaw the region’s Habitat Conservation Plan program when it took effect in 1994. Curt Smitch: “We […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘I’ve never seen a good HCP’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Attorney Tara Mueller works with the Environmental Law Fund in Oakland, Calif., where she helps grassroots environmental groups monitor Habitat Conservation Plans. Tara Mueller: “I can’t say that I’ve ever seen an example of a good HCP. There’re so many places that […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘The real problem is lack of time’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Biologist Dennis Murphy, president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, is a science advisor for several Habitat Conservation Plans in Southern California. The plans were designed to protect the California gnatcatcher and other species while allowing development in the […]