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, […]
Forest plan powers through Congress
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 […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Critics say ‘no surprises’ means no protection
Note: This article accompanies another one of this issue’s feature stories. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Before Mike O’Connell said a single word, you could tell he was going to be the first troublemaker. It wasn’t just that he wore a tie. O’Connell’s panel was the only one at the Habitat Conservation Plans conference held in Washington, […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Habitat Conservation Plans
Who wins and who loses whenUncle Sam cuts deals with landowners to protect endangered species?
Posted inJuly 7, 1997: While the New West booms, Wyoming mines, drills ... and languishes
The Wayward West
Two years ago, Earl Shumway became notorious by bragging about looting archaeological artifacts and then receiving the most severe prison term yet for this crime – 78 months. Now, a U.S. appeals court has decided that the sentencing was too severe for Shumway’s crime of pillaging an Anasazi infant’s burial blanket, among other grave goods. […]
Posted inJuly 7, 1997: While the New West booms, Wyoming mines, drills ... and languishes
Riches and Regrets
In 1990, Colorado voters approved limited-stakes casino gambling in the three old mining towns of Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek. Riches and Regrets: Betting On Gambling in Two Colorado Mountain Towns explains why. Gambling was promoted as a way to save towns, but it became a way to shred communities. After gambling arrived, […]
Posted inJuly 7, 1997: While the New West booms, Wyoming mines, drills ... and languishes
No parking in the parks
The public has spoken: America’s national parks are crowded. Consumer Reports asked 40,000 of its subscribers to rate their experiences in America’s national parks. The survey found that along with spectacular scenery, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon offered headaches over parking, bad roads and too many people. Yellowstone, the nation’s first national park, ranked 27th […]
Posted inJuly 7, 1997: While the New West booms, Wyoming mines, drills ... and languishes
Not for aggies only
Those who think the phrase “agricultural press’ is an oxymoron should take a look at Oregon’s Capital Press, which covers ag issues in the Northwest with intelligence, perspective and a minimum of hysteria. While the weekly is definitely not an environmental publication, it covers much the same ground in a calm and informative way. Its […]
Posted inJuly 7, 1997: While the New West booms, Wyoming mines, drills ... and languishes
Bolting blues
The Access Fund, an advocacy group of over 7,000 rock climbers, says a proposed federal rule could kill climbing in BLM wilderness areas. The proposal prohibits “physical alteration or defacement of a natural rock surface in wilderness.” Sally Moser, executive director of the Access Fund in Boulder, Colo., says without bolts or nylon webbing and […]
Posted inJuly 7, 1997: While the New West booms, Wyoming mines, drills ... and languishes
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
The government’s planning team for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is seeking ideas. The team, which includes the BLM and Utah’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology, wants proposals for papers on the geology, paleontology, biology and archaeology of the new monument. Scientists and planners at a symposium in November will assess the papers and […]