In the dark of a far-north winter night, amidst 70-mph winds, the nine-member crew of the tugboat Alert released its towline and set the Kulluk oilrig adrift on heaving seas. Loaded with about 139,000 gallons of diesel and 12,000 gallons of combined lubrication oil and hydraulic fluid, the Kulluk ran aground off uninhabited Sitkalidak Island […]
Will drilling cost the Arctic its wildness?
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
A Colorado carpenter takes a chance on hemp
Can an agrarian insurrection revitalize this High Plains town?
Posted inRange
Rants from the Hill: Speaking of Wild Horses
Why read the article when you can read the thread instead?
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
Hard lessons from the mighty salmon runs of Bristol Bay
The world’s longest ongoing salmon research reveals the astounding complexity of wild ecosystems.
Posted inGoat
Sin City’s downtown is on the brink of reinvention
“We must discard the view that environmentalism means living around trees and that urbanites should always fight to preserve a city’s physical past. We must stop idolizing home ownership, which favors suburban tract homes over high-rise apartments, and stop romanticizing rural villages. We should eschew the simplistic view that better long-distance communication will reduce our […]
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
A demographer predicts big changes for the West’s housing landscape
Are we all headed to “megapolitan” areas like the Wasatch Front and Sun Corridor?
Posted inGoat
Wilderness vandalism sparks legislation in Utah, plus a look at what makes a vandal good
Last month, two Utah Boy Scout leaders inadvertently became internet sensations after posting a video of themselves toppling one of the ancient rock formations that gives Goblin Valley State Park its name, then laughing and high-fiving each other. The men, David Hall and Glenn Taylor, said they acted out of concern for public safety, but […]
Posted inGoat
Discovery: Good ol’ tallgrass was formed by good ol’ bacteria
It’s always tempting to reflect on how wonderful the West used to be. You know what I mean: Conservationists and Natives lament that the first invasions by white settlers wrecked everything, and ranchers and loggers long for a return to the era before 750-page environmental-impact statements. Who among us hasn’t conjured up wistful images of […]
Posted inGoat
New study shows how helping desert soil could save our snow
It’s the start of snow season, which means that everyone who cares about water is keeping an eye on the mountains, anticipating how long we’ll ride the wave of snowmelt into next summer. The runoff season is never as predictable as anyone would like, but in the last decade or so there’s been a new […]
Posted inGoat
Public lands with no way in: New report details access problems
What do the Troublesome Wilderness Study Area in Colorado, the Sabinoso Wilderness and Cowboy Springs WSA in New Mexico, and the Fortification Creek WSA in Wyoming have in common? They’re all public lands – and none of them can be reached by the public. Western lands have long had a patchwork of owners: federal, state, […]
Posted inWotr
Oil shale never stays down long
The implications of Shell Oil’s abandonment of its oil shale project in western Colorado.
Posted inGoat
Accident sours the return of hardrock mining to a SW Colorado town
Like many of the historic mountain towns in Colorado, most of the mining that goes on in Ouray these days is of tourists, not ore. In between high alpine jeep tours and ice climbing, visitors can get a glimpse of Ouray’s romanticized mining heritage by dining at the Goldbelt Bar & Grill and the Silver […]
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
The national park popularity contest
An Oklahoma senator’s financial fix for our national treasures.
Posted inArticles
Montana’s Dueling Dinosaur fossils get no action at the auction
The controversial specimens still seek a scientific home.
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
Witness to the floods
As a working geologist, I am used to assessing the land, considering the flow of fluid and mass. However, it is one thing to see it after the fact in a rocky outcrop or rolling topography, and quite another to experience it firsthand (“The flood-prone Front Range,” HCN, 10/14/13). I was camping that fateful […]
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
The tyranny of standardized tests
My wife and I taught school on the Venetie Indian Reservation in Alaska for eight years (“Cutting Class,” HCN, 10/28/13). Arctic Village and Venetie are several hundred miles from the nearest road above the Arctic Circle. Our Athabaskan students were enthusiastic learners. The school provided a place to learn all the typical school subjects like […]
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
The Latest: Court strikes down BLM plan in Utah
BackstoryDuring the George W. Bush administration’s final months, the Bureau of Land Management released six massive resource management plans for 11 million acres in southern Utah. The plans, which opened large areas to energy development and designated 17,000 miles of off-road vehicle trails, were released on a short timetable that allowed little opportunity for public […]
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
The great nonflagration?
Despite a few high-profile wildfires, 2013 was a fairly quiet fire season after all.
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
Restoring the red pulse
I recently sat at a table at the Power House, the coolest brew and bike shop in Hailey, Idaho, talking with three ambitious conservationists. Over dark stouts and savory burgers and fries, Merrill Beyeler, who runs a family ranch in Leadore, Tom Page, who ranches with his brother in the Pahsimeroi Valley, and Mark Davidson […]