Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Not welcome

Dear HCN, Catron County Attorney James Catron may be correct when he asserts that “he and Catron County residents personify the frontier ethic portrayed by James Fenimore Cooper” (HCN, 6/24/96), but is he aware that Cooper despised frontiersmen and their “ethic’? In The Pioneers, the 18th century settlers’ only “ethic” is the myth of superabundance; […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

What drivel on llamas

Dear HCN, Those of us who regularly pack with llamas were dismayed by the condescending nature of Hal Walter’s essay (HCN, 8/19/96). This burro packer’s diatribe against llamas is fraught with misinformation. For example, Walter states that he has never seen a llama perform well when carrying over 40 pounds. I regularly put 80 pounds […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Where the wolves are

Though the media’s attention has focused on the wolf reintroduction effort in Yellowstone National Park, wolves in Idaho may reach the recovery goal of 10 breeding pairs first. Biologists received good news last spring when they confirmed that eight pairs of wolves in Idaho had denned. Three litters have been sighted so far. In 1995, […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Waste creeps toward Yucca Mountain

Nevada’s Yucca Mountain is one step closer to becoming a temporary nuclear waste dump. Republicans rushed a bill to the Senate floor before the August break that would clear the way for shipping nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain as early as 1998 (HCN, 4/1/96). It passed in late July despite an attempted filibuster by Democratic […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Devils Tower may get a second name

To Plains Indians, the name Devils Tower dishonors a sacred place. But to local Wyoming residents, the name stands for community identity and tourist dollars. When Devils Tower National Monument Superintendent Deborah Liggett revived the idea of renaming the feature, people spoke out in opposition. At an Aug. 15 meeting, says Liggett, “I was labeled […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Birds get eviction notice

When the Bureau of Reclamation floods the endangered southwestern willow flycatchers out of their nesting habitat near Phoenix, Ariz., will the birds simply move to the next best spot? The Bureau says they will. But conservationists fear the move will drive the local population of songbirds to extinction. The deluge comes next spring as a […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Babbitt takes the offensive on Utah wilderness

At a wilderness hearing last spring, Utah Rep. James Hansen challenged Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to find 5 million acres of BLM land in Utah that qualify for wilderness designation. Now that competing Utah wilderness bills are dormant in Congress, Babbitt has taken him up. The Interior boss has assembled “a small team of career […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Montana grizzlies move west

For a decade, Montanans have complained about the influx of Californians. The trend has reversed, at least for three grizzlies. A sow and her two 16-month-old cubs had run into trouble by repeatedly raiding garbage cans and cabins just outside Yellowstone National Park. Even after land managers relocated the family, the grizzlies returned to their […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Grassroots grit beat ‘the mine from Hell’

The campaign to stop the New World Gold Mine on Yellowstone National Park’s northern boundary could rank with the great environmental victories of the 20th century. It’s not so much what happened as how it happened. Mine opponents started with a textbook grassroots plan to stop the $600 million gold mine. They ended with a […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Heard around the West

In an attempt to keep a tragedy in perspective, one small-town editor is said to have written the following lead paragraph: “While 200 students studied quietly at their desks, Johnny Jones threw principal Bob Smith out of his fourth-floor office window.” A similar lead out of Steamboat Springs, Colo., in early August might have read: […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Forests worth fighting for

Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. While acts of civil disobedience have captured much of the media spotlight, environmentalists throughout the West have also waged countless smaller battles – by letter, lawsuit and protest – since the passage of the salvage rider. Here are some of the region’s most contentious sales […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Big trees in Oregon continue to topple

Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. Though forest activists have stopped controversial timber sales offered under the salvage rider in some places, they have taken a drubbing in others. Ninety minutes by car north of Warner Creek in the Detroit Ranger District, hundreds of big trees have tumbled like tenpins all […]

Posted inSeptember 2, 1996: Last line of defense: Civil disobedience and protest slow down 'lawless logging'

Earth First! The Next Generation

Note: This article is a sidebar to a feature story. NEZ PERCE NATIONAL FOREST, Idaho – Environmentalists aren’t usually judged by the cars they drive, but in the case of this summer’s Earth First! Rendezvous in Idaho, a roadside survey quickly underscores the fact that one of the nation’s most notorious environmental groups is changing. […]

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