John Peavy, a former state senator who now runs a 250,000 acre sheep and cattle operation in southern Idaho, is now running for that office on an environmental platform. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.14/download-entire-issue
John Peavey: a maverick changes stripes
Ownership switch untracked, but historic train runs on
A citrus millionaire from Florida wants to revive the century-old narrow gauge railroad route between Durango and Silverton, Colorado. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.13/download-entire-issue
North Dakota solons open Garrison tap
A dispute over funding of the Garrison Diversion Project has prompted unprecedented lobbying in the U.S. Senate by Canadian government officials, plus opposition efforts by environmentalists. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.13/download-entire-issue
Mining mishap could spell future trouble
Public officials’ response to a spill of toxic water at the Alumet phosphate mine is stoking criticism of the expanding phosphate industry in southeastern Idaho. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.13/download-entire-issue
Western Peregrine revival ahead?
If all goes well, peregrine falcons raised near Salt Lake City will reach breeding age and return to historic nest sites on the Wasatch Range to the east. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.12/download-entire-issue
In situ uranium project springs leak, but pumps again
The fate of Wyoming’s first commercial-size in situ uranium mine remains uncertain following a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision giving the operation 90 days to prove it can operate without polluting ground water near Buffalo, Wyo. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.12/download-entire-issue
Digging up the West for shipment to Japan
Western states band together to open the door to mammoth coal exports to Pacific Basin countries, a trend driven by federal trade policies. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.12/download-entire-issue
Pressure builds on farmers to sell out
As profits from farming plummet and urban areas encroach on rural surroundings, farmers are increasingly selling their land to subdivision developers. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.11/download-entire-issue
Lobbyists spend $100,000 a month to cut severance taxes
The National Coal Consumers Alliance pushes hard for legislation that would limit coal severance taxes imposed by states like Montana and Wyoming. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.11/download-entire-issue
Indians in the melting pot: ‘old ways’ don’t melt
For more than 25 Western tribes that hold vast quantities of coal and uranium, the energy crisis is another source of pressure to abandon their cultural identity. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.11/download-entire-issue
Solitude seekers disagree about open spaces
More than 174 million obscure acres in the West have been spotlighted by the Bureau of Land Management’s wilderness inventory, which is now the subject of public scrutiny. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.10/download-entire-issue
Fair breeze for wind energy; projects whirl
With the implementation of PURPA, a 1979 federal law that requires utilities to buy back electricity from private alternative-energy sources, along with tax breaks, many are optimistic about the future of wind energy. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.10/download-entire-issue
Colorado town waits, wonders what to do with uranium tailings
Despite agitation from residents of Durango, Colo., officials still have no plan for dealing with the million ton mountain of radioactive uranium tailings outside town. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.10/download-entire-issue
Workers, plants, confusion come to ‘sweeten’ Evanston gas
Two large “sweetening” plants — which remove toxic hydrogen sulfide from natural gas — are slated for construction near Evanston, Wyoming. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.9/download-entire-issue
Park Service director ousted in continuing policy strife
In a move enveloped by political controversy, Secretary of Interior Cecil Andrus has fired the director of the National Park Service, William Whalen. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.9/download-entire-issue
Cache la Poudre River: last Front Range chance to flow
Farmers and advocates of Front Range growth winced last month when the U.S. Forest Service and State of Colorado recommended that most of the Cache la Poudre River be protected from major development. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.9/download-entire-issue
While Northeast frets, acid rain wets the West
Acid rain, previously thought to be isolated in North America to the Midwestern and Northeastern regions, is spreading its environmental ills to the West. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.8/download-entire-issue
Trumpeter’s woes may be linked to radioactivity
High mortality of young trumpeter swans in and around Yellowstone National Park has puzzled researchers, but a new study suggests that radioactive substances may be the cause. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.8/download-entire-issue
Solitude, prejudice, and wool all around
That’s what a sheepherder lives with, 365 days a year. The life requires a special kind of person, and there are fewer of them around. The sheep industry, too, is best by special problems. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.8/download-entire-issue
Fraud freezes oil leases; reform bill falters
The future of federal gas and oil leasing has been thrown into turmoil by evidence of extensive fraud, an Interior Department shutdown of the present program, and a report critical of legislation intended to overhaul the system. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/12.7/download-entire-issue
