On the watch for the elusive ferret

To try and bring the elusive black-footed ferret back from the brink of extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct stealthy inventories of the the animal’s habitat. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.9/download-entire-issue

Frederick Law Olmsted offered the nation a vision of what it might be — a land of humane cities surrounded by the sweeps of national parks and forests. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.8/download-entire-issue

As nuclear waste piles up, environmentalists predict that the West will bear the main burden of a mounting federal effort to dispose of the waste. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.8/download-entire-issue

New coal slurry pipeline proposals are raising major regional questions concerning water use priorities, Indian water rights, interstate cooperation and competition, and perhaps even the scale of future Western coal development. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.7/download-entire-issue

Although the death toll is not in yet, Wyoming Game and Fish Department personnel say it was the worst winter for wildlife in memory, and wildlife in other Rocky Mountain states fared only slightly better. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.7/download-entire-issue

With varying degrees of success, mediation has been substituted for legal or political confrontation in a number of recent environmental battles. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.6/download-entire-issue

When Congress passed the Clean Air Act amendments in 1977, it didn’t approve federal funds for the studies necessary for air quality classification, meaning that most states have trouble accessing the law’s protections. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.5/download-entire-issue

Uniquely talented and well connected — and known to hike 70 miles in a day — Bob Marshall became the pivot on which the country turned toward a firm wilderness commitment. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.5/download-entire-issue

Ever since Congress designated Yellowstone National Park in 1872, the park’s guardians have faced a riddle: whether to manage Yellowstone for the benefit and enjoyment of people, or to preserve it from injury and spoilation. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.4/download-entire-issue

President Jimmy Carter has taken the first step toward establishing a national Indian water policy, which has been defined de facto by large water projects that flood Indian lands while not providing a proportional share of the water. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.4/download-entire-issue

See a list of all High Country News articles published in 1978, categorized by subject. Click link to view PDF. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline 1978 Index.

In Colorado, the public has rallied to the defense of “nongame” wildlife — animals that are deemed to have no commercial value, and have tended to be overlooked in management — but the effort may be undermined by the state legislature. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.3/download-entire-issue

A reflection on the life of Rachel Carson and the impact of her groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, on the nation’s emergent environmental consciousness. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/11.3/download-entire-issue