In the produce section of the grocery store the other day, I saw apricots on sale for 99 cents a pound. They sat in a bin between grapes from Chile and cherries from the Flathead Valley of Montana. I don’t know where the apricots came from. I selected six and put them in the shopping […]
Righteous gluttony
Posted inAugust 20, 2010: A Hell of an Anniversary
Kind words for a much-maligned mammal
The Wolverine WayDouglas Chadwick278 pages, hardcover: $25.95.Patagonia Books, 2010. Wolverines do not have a romantic history. Early trappers and pioneers loathed these carnivores for their elusive, gnarly behavior. Tall tales were told about vicious, crotchety beasts hunting humans in the woods, and by the early part of the 20th century, traps and poisons had ravaged […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2010: A Hell of an Anniversary
Breath by breath
Drowning TucsonAaron Michael Morales330 pages, softcover: $15.95.Coffee House Press, 2010. “He’d felt safer in the desert than he ever had in his life, as if some outside force were protecting him. But now, in the bowels of the city, he was a stationary target.” That’s Tucson in the 1980s, a city of snowbirds, developers and […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2010: A Hell of an Anniversary
A brush with cowboy culture
On a gray, blustery, spring evening, my family and I drive into the Sky Ute Fairgrounds in Ignacio, Colo., eager to get to the rodeo. My 2-year-old son can’t wait to make his debut in “mutton busting,” an event in which young children cling to the backs of sheep loosed from bucking chutes. As we […]
Posted inRange
The Goliath of beets
By Michelle Venetucci Harvey As of a recent court hearing, a multinational biotech company feels threatened, thousands of farmers in the Pacific Northwest see impeding doom, and half of the US sugar industry is potentially depleted. What could be causing all this ruckus? The sugar beet. This month’s ruling by US District Judge Jeffrey White […]
Posted inBlog
A renter’s market?
For the first time in decades it’s cool to be a renter. So why is it so hard to rent a home and still be “green”? This week, as news outlets across the board reported a steep decline in home sales and prices in July, especially in the West, some reported increased preferences for renting, […]
Posted inRange
The Amargosa
The chef at Las Vegas’ Luxor hotel has a special recipe for dates: pit them, stuff the sweet, succulent fruit with cheese, and wrap them in bacon. It’s a recipe that takes skill, planning, and a certain panache. But what’s unique about this hors d’oeuvre isn’t just its sweet and savory flavor, but the fact […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2010: A Hell of an Anniversary
Parting the Redwood Curtain
A one-mile highway project could change an entire region
Posted inRay
Idaho’s Republican dairy farmers embrace socialism
This is a good counterpoint to the rightwing Tea Party accusations that Obama and Congressional Democrats are “socialists” because they increase the government’s role in health care and economic stimulus and so on. Dairy farmers in Idaho — and around the country — want new federal subsidies that would guarantee they make a certain profit […]
Posted inRange
Educational benefits
Some people love to travel, but I am not among them. I have the good fortune to live in a town that’s just the right size. Salida, Colo., is small enough that I can walk to conduct most of my routine errands, and big enough for a supermarket, library, bookstore, pharmacy and the like. America’s […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Murmuration intimidation
WASHINGTON A bank officer who has earned the title “Duck Man” did it again for the third year in a row in Spokane: He saved the day by helping ducks fly away. Joel Armstrong watched a nest outside his office window until he realized that the ducklings were itching to take off. But the little […]
Posted inGoat
One step forward, one step back
“We suck at managing exempt wells,” Michael ‘Aquadoc’ Campana bluntly declared on his blog late last year. Water experts across the West likely nodded in agreement. And last week, even Montana regulators owned up to this shortcoming. The state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation acknowledged that subdivision developers were exploiting a loophole in state […]
Posted inBlog
The U.N. comes West
In April, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations announced that the U.S. will conduct a formal review of its position on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), an historic document over two decades in the making. UNDRIP was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in September 2007, with 143 […]
Posted inRange
Spread of Bighorn Sheep Pneumonia Continues
By Jule Banville, NewWest.net guest blogger 8-23-10 The deadly spread of pneumonia in Montana’s bighorn sheep population picked up momentum west of Anaconda, where a hunter alerted Fish, Wildlife & Parks of possible disease in the Lost Creek population. Biologists killed four sheep and confirmed through lab work they were infected. FWP announced the latest […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2010: A Hell of an Anniversary
How green is Judge Molloy?
Latest wolf ruling triggers more complaints of judicial activism
Posted inRange
A fast year
Lessons from the Indian Health System A year goes by fast. Way too fast. Thirteen months ago I plunged into my “year-long” exploration of the Indian health system. It’s been fascinating because there has so much activity: Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and included with that bill the permanent authorization of […]
Posted inRange
From payment to prevention
Restoring wolves to their native habitat in the West hasn’t been easy. Some were opposed to the idea from the start, including ranchers who already viewed wild predators as a threat to their livelihoods. That’s why compensating ranchers for losses to wolves was an integral part of promoting tolerance, even before wolves were reintroduced. Wolves […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2010: A Hell of an Anniversary
Coming soon: HCN on glossy toilet paper
As I read Ray Ring’s words on what is the right format for HCN, I began to ponder that the correct mix is the mix that keeps you and your staff energized (HCN, 7/19/10). Without an engaged editor and staff, the publication will wilt. The rest is just packaging that can be adjusted. Sources of […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2010: A Hell of an Anniversary
Mute on Utes
Like writer Jonathan Thompson, I have deep roots on and near Ute lands in southwestern Colorado. While I realize he faced a daunting task — even without Ute secrecy — “The Ute Paradox” seemed way too couched in political correctness and an unwillingness to hold minority leaders to the same standards we demand of others […]
Posted inAugust 20, 2010: A Hell of an Anniversary
Wildfires and who’s to blame
I read John Maclean’s excellent article “The Fiery Touch” with mounting concern, for two reasons (HCN, 8/02/10). The first is the charge of murder. Several of my friends and colleagues are or have been wildland firefighters. My heart goes out to the families of all those killed in wildfires. Raymond Oyler is clearly a very […]