THE NORTHWEST’S NEW ECONOMY When the Pacific Northwest’s timber and aerospace industries started declining, some people predicted the region would become the next Appalachia. Instead, the region is thriving, says University of Montana economist Tom Power, whose conclusion is endorsed by 34 other Northwest economists. Growth in earnings, employment and population in Idaho, Montana, Oregon […]
The Northwest’s new economy
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
States and tribes
States and tribes Now that many tribes are aggressively asserting their sovereignty on issues ranging from water rights to Indian gambling, cooperation between tribal and state governments has become crucial. That’s the conclusion of States and Tribes: Building New Traditions, a recent publication of the National Conference of State Legislators. The report outlines some major […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
One forest, two studies
ONE FOREST, TWO STUDIES In the old West, arguments may have been settled by a gunfight on Main Street, but in the battle over Southwest forests there is a new kind of showdown – dueling studies. A recent Forest Service report claims that the number of larger trees in the region has decreased little over […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Let’s keep talking
LET’S KEEP TALKING The Navajo word for newspaper means “the paper that gossips,” according to a new booklet on the history of Native American journalism, Pictures of Our Nobler Selves. The author, Shoshone-Bannock journalist and Salt Lake Tribune editor Mark Trahant, says that to create an accurate portrait of Native communities, it’s crucial for Native […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Fish for your wall
FISH FOR YOUR WALL A new Trout Unlimited poster tells a few good fish stories. The Apache trout and greenback cutthroat trout are both on the road to recovery since being listed as endangered species in 1973. But the poster, Threatened and Endangered Trout and Salmon of North America also shares less cheery tales of […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Big shoes empty in Oregon
Big shoes empty in Oregon After 28 years, the door to both of Oregon’s senate seats has swung wide open. The race to replace Republican powerhouses Mark Hatfield, who has announced his retirement after November, and Bob Packwood, forced to resign, begins with the Jan. 30 election for Packwood’s spot. Because many see the race […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Welcome back (with a bang)
After 21 days of leave with uncertain pay due to the federal budget impasse, Forest Service workers in Espaûola, N.M., returned to work Jan. 8 to find their office had been bombed. “What a welcome back,” says Sam Mott, a spokesman for the Santa Fe National Forest. “We’d feel better if we knew why. It’s […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Can a salvage sale save the trees?
For the first time in the history of the Forest Service, the high bidder of a timber sale has no intention of felling the trees. The Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Bellingham, Wash., bid $29,000 for the Thunder Mountain salvage sale, a 275-acre roadless tract in Washington’s Okanogan National Forest. But […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Foundation’s help was invaluable
Dear HCN, Mike Medberry’s report on big foundations, national conservation coalitions and grassroots conservation was thoughtful and respectful of the subject’s complexities (HCN, 10/16/95). The Pew Charitable Trusts was featured in Mike’s piece. Many conservationists are not wild about Pew. I have experience of Pew as an employee of a grantee and as steering committee […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Not a good old boy
Dear HCN, Jon Christensen was prophetic when he wrote that the Forest Service would not replace Kevin Atchley with a “good old boy” (HCN, 10/30/95). (Christensen’s Great Basin story told of Atchley’s transfer within Nevada, following hostile incidents toward Forest Service personnel.) I’m living proof: the “new range con.” I’ve found if you deal with […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Count in the little logger
Dear HCN, Your article on massive tree thinning to make room for the return of ponderosa pine forests (Northern Arizona U. looks back, moves forward, 11/13/95) offers valuable insights to conservationists. The article’s claim that thinning is economically viable raises an interesting question, namely, viable for whom? Big mills have retooled to process the smaller […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Now for the details
Dear HCN, Your issue on forestry schools was rich in academic intrigue, the personalities involved and what they are arguing over (HCN, 11/13/95). I strongly urge you to present another special issue on what that argument is about: the ecology and economy of healthy forests. I also hope you will use the opportunity to teach […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Get real, ranchers
Dear HCN, Your “Saving the Ranch” issue Nov. 27 really stunk. I guess I shouldn’t have expected an Aspen reporter to speak truthfully about Steamboat Springs. Your reporter states that “Nine out of 10 people surveyed in 1993 said they believe that ranch meadows and grasslands with grazing cows and horses enhance their lives.” And […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Hunting is no joke
Dear HCN, I am offended at the characterization of hunting as a sport; to me, it is serious business (HCN, 12/11/95). I have taken 25 large ungulates over the past 18 years, but I do not have any of their heads displayed on my wall. I hunt for meat, not for trophies, seeking the animal […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Beyond hunting
Dear HCN, I grew up with men; somehow, much to my mother’s disappointment, I ended up walking the fields with them instead of making pies in the kitchen. I shot the pheasant instead of staying in and stuffing the turkey. I spent weeks on the banks of rivers or the shores of lakes waiting for […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Logged hillsides collapse into Idaho’s creeks
CLEARWATER NATIONAL FOREST, Idaho – Forest Service ranger Art Bourassa pulls off to the side of the road and looks up at a raw and broken hillside. Some might assume it’s the freshly scalped victim of a strip-mining operation. Not this time. Torrential November rains washed out this section of forest in northern Idaho. At […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Clogged channel sends a river over its bank in Washington
SHELTON, Wash. – When the Skokomish River floods, Mark and Laurie Sleeper can watch salmon swimming through their front yard. They move their six kids to drier ground and try to keep their possessions from floating away. In lesser floods, the Sleepers park their car on the side of the highway and wade home. Although […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Yellowstone’s closure sparks local fury
Note: this article appears in the print edition as a sidebar to another news story, “Who felt the federal furlough?“ CODY, Wyo. – After investing in a fleet of 40 new snowmobiles, Bob Coe was counting on a busy winter at Pahaska Tepee, the lodge he runs just outside Yellowstone National Park. At least 80 […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Who felt the federal furlough?
While his colleagues paced anxiously at home during the 21-day federal furlough, Forest Service timber contracting officer Lathrop Smith administered 13 green timber sales in southwestern Colorado. He was hampered – -there were no soil scientists, hydrologists or biologists’ – but stayed on the job. Smith was not alone. Although most of the West’s federal […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Dear Friends
Hunting issue reverberates From Montana writer Scott McMillion about our exploration of some issues surrounding hunting (HCN, 12/11/95): “The top of the food chain is a pretty good place to be, and don’t forget: More money is spent each year on hunting than on movie tickets.” From California reader Bryan Hill: “Anti-hunters have a moral […]