People envy John McComb, Southwest Representative of the Sierra Club, because they think he gets paid to hike through the deserts and mountains surrounding Tuscon, Arizona. But he works 70-80 hours per week, believing that dedication and patience are two essential qualities for his profession. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.3/download-entire-issue
John McComb: a natural for the job
Posted inJanuary 30, 1976: Donkey dilemma damages public land
Donkey dilemma damages public land
Damage to sensitive desert ecosystems is causing some to take a hard look at the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971, which was the first time Congress gave full protection to a non-native species animal. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.3/download-entire-issue
Posted inJanuary 30, 1976: Donkey dilemma damages public land
Coal moves east because of automatic fuel clause
Although coal strip-mined from the Northern Plains is more expensive for Eastern utilities to use, there are several reasons — including recent changes in utility regulations — why these utilities don’t buy local. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.3/download-entire-issue
Posted inJanuary 16, 1976: Court lifts Powder River injunction
Planning progresses unevenly in West
A summary of trends in the Western states’ land-use regulations, including court actions, energy citing rules, and tax incentives. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.2/download-entire-issue
Posted inJanuary 16, 1976: Court lifts Powder River injunction
Mineral withdrawals: death of 1,000 cuts?
A wave of controversial mining proposals has led to a call for putting certain public lands off-limits to mining, but the mining industry is concerned that too much land is being considered for these restrictions. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.2/download-entire-issue
Posted inJanuary 16, 1976: Court lifts Powder River injunction
Court lifts Powder River injunction
The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted an injunction barring four coal companies and a railroad from proceeding with coal development in Wyoming’s eastern Powder River Basin, opening the way to full-scale development of the region’s coal. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.2/download-entire-issue
Posted inJanuary 2, 1976: Toilets: a revolution from the bottom up
Toilets: a revolution from the bottom up
A look at alternative toilets — such as composting toilets that eliminate water consumption — and a brief explanation of how they work and their chief advantages and disadvantages. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.1/download-entire-issue
Posted inJanuary 2, 1976: Toilets: a revolution from the bottom up
Dialog opens for protecting common ‘water hole’
Indians, environmentalists, and agriculturalists sat down together at a meeting called by the Northern Rockies Action Group in Billings, Montana to discuss their concerns about energy development in the Northern Plains region. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/8.1/download-entire-issue
Posted inDecember 19, 1975: NEPA at stake?
NEPA at stake?
After losing a lawsuit involving grazing allotments, the Bureau of Land Management has expressed concern that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) — considered to be the country’s most important environmental law — is making the agency vulnerable to lawsuits that drain time and resources, raising questions about that law’s future. Download entire issue to […]
Posted inDecember 5, 1975: People want power over transmission
People want power over transmission
More and more rural residents are starting to resent transmission lines as the lines proliferate across the open spaces of the West, marring the scenery, hindering farm operations, and producing ozone, which may be harmful to crops. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.24/download-entire-issue
Posted inDecember 5, 1975: People want power over transmission
Grand Canyon hike changed his life
Ten years after Juel Rodack and his wife took an awe-inspiring hike into the Grand Canyon, only to emerge and learn of plans for the Marble and Bridge Canyon Dams, the group they formed in response, Arizonans for Water Without Waste, is one of the most influential environmental groups in the Southwest. Download entire issue […]
Posted inDecember 5, 1975: People want power over transmission
Citizens help write Idaho energy policy
Through a series of “energy workshops” hosted by the Idaho Conservation League, the citizens of Idaho are helping to write an energy policy for their state. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.24/download-entire-issue
Posted inNovember 21, 1975: Phosphate-hungry world after Idaho
Vehicle rules anger riders, walkers
On public land such as Utah’s Wasatch National Forest, the need to comply with a 1972 executive order — which requires that all federal agencies must develop specific regulations for off-road vehicle (ORV) use — is sparking conflict between motorized and non-motorized public lands users. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.23/download-entire-issue
Posted inNovember 21, 1975: Phosphate-hungry world after Idaho
Powder River council rides herd on coal
The Powder River Basin Resource Council, which began in 1973 when 50 ranchers and farmers convened to talk about defending agriculture against coal development, now claims to be the largest and most active conservation group in Wyoming. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.23/download-entire-issue
Posted inNovember 21, 1975: Phosphate-hungry world after Idaho
Phosphate-hungry world after Idaho
A rush for phosphate in Idaho could mean 22,000 new residents, a substantial loss of wildlife habitat, increased air pollution, and an uncertain future for two resident endangered species. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.23/download-entire-issue
Posted inNovember 7, 1975: BN proposes fertilizer from coal
New group to fight for roadless areas
While most conservation groups are focused on possible wilderness areas now under formal study, the Wilderness Resources Institute has formed to watchdog over the two-thirds of the nation’s wild roadless areas that are not included in those wilderness studies. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.22/download-entire-issue
Posted inNovember 7, 1975: BN proposes fertilizer from coal
Court says EPA can ban coyote poison
The interstate shipment of predator poisons may again be halted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after a federal court ruled that the EPA acted lawfully when it banned the shipment of sodium cyanide, strychnine, and 1080 in 1972. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.22/download-entire-issue
Posted inNovember 7, 1975: BN proposes fertilizer from coal
BN proposes fertilizer from coal
Near the remote ranching community of Circle, Montana, the Burlington Northern railroad company plans to construct a coal gasification plant that would produce not only natural gas but also fertilizer. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.22/download-entire-issue
Posted inOctober 24, 1975: Battle over Teton jetport still rages
Save-the-range lawsuit riles ranchers, BLM
An environmental lawsuit aimed at stopping abuses on public lands is causing management problems, according to the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming, although in both Nevada and Oregon, BLM officials are in the process of implementing range improvements. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.21/download-entire-issue
Posted inOctober 24, 1975: Battle over Teton jetport still rages
Battle over Teton jetport still rages
Two years after public hearings, the National Park Service is still embroiled in a national controversy over whether or not to allow the establishment of a commercial jetport in Grant Teton National Park in Wyoming. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/7.21/download-entire-issue