My May 10 issue arrived with two references to the recent Arizona bill signed into law regarding enforcement of federal immigration laws. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon’s quote about the authors of the bill not representing Arizona is simply not true. Fact: Over 70 percent of Arizonans supported the bill. Apparently both Phil Gordon and the […]
It’s a thin line between law and hate
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
HCN’s key numbers: 3, 170, 20
To save some money during these tight times, the High Country News Board of Directors held its late spring meeting over the phone and Internet on May 20. Thanks to the marvels of technology, including the tiny cameras in most of our computers, the experience wasn’t half bad. Board president Florence Williams of Boulder, Colo., […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Everyone benefits from Indian education
When Lenna Little Plume started second grade at Lewis and Clark Elementary in Missoula, Mont., in 2006, statistics suggested that she might have a bleak future. Montana’s American Indian families earn 25 percent less than the average family — an economic reality that can put Indian children at a disadvantage from their very first day […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Dust in the wind and the water
One morning last week, I woke up and couldn’t see the mountains. Was it snowing? No, it was dusting … again. The wind, which had howled all day and night, had finally died down, but the dry and loose soils it had borrowed from Arizona and Utah were still precipitating all over our Colorado cars, […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Did you get your cow?
Your article on wolf hunting in Montana was certainly written from a hunter’s perspective (given that the writer is a Field & Stream contributing editor), and I respected his take on the issue, complete with those hunter magazine close-ups of people “bagging” a wolf (HCN, 5/10/10). I did find the article wanting from two other […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
A boring diagram
Lake Mead — Las Vegas’ primary water supply — has been drawing down like a leaky tub over the past decade, thanks to prolonged drought in the Colorado River Basin. The reservoir’s now at 43 percent of capacity and about 100 feet below full — just 45 feet above one of two main water intakes. […]
Posted inGoat
Big Plan on Campus
Not every school has endangered species in attendance. But when you’re the size of Stanford University, you’ve got more than a few enrolled. The university owns over 8,000 continuous acres in two counties, and several cities, much of which is undeveloped oak-studded savanna or forest. Five narrow creeks flow through to the San Francisco Bay, […]
Posted inRange
Colin Peterson, the 2012 Farm Bill and the environment
Lead by Chairman Colin Peterson of Minnesota, the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee held hearings and took testimony in April and May in preparation for a new Farm Bill. Peterson would like to pass a new version of the bill in 2012. The process began with a hearing in DC on April 21st which I […]
Posted inBlog
Gulf tragedy highlights need for Native renewables
Six weeks after the blowout, the calamity in the Gulf of Mexico shows no signs of abating – in fact, information emerging from the region continues to reveal new dimensions of the disaster. Media reports suggest that this is the worst environmental catastrophe in history; that long-term damage to the Gulf’s ecosystem will cripple not […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Limbo land: Brownfields for green energy
Renewable energy projects planned for contaminated lands
Posted inWotr
Dress code for the Western guy
Wranglers, snap shirts, and cowboy hats — horse optional.
Posted inRange
The 2012 Farm Bill dance has a sad history
Last week the Agricultural Committee of the US House of Representatives began work on the 2012 Farm Bill with a kick-off hearing. I happened to be in DC at the time and I stood in line with lobbyists for farm groups waiting to get a good seat in the wood paneled hearing room. I was […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Bracing for white nose syndrome
Western scientists take precautions against a deadly bat disorder
Posted inGoat
Regional variations in the GOP
Just as Coastal Democrats differ from Interior Democrats, Republicans come in regional varieties. Or so argues Jacob Weisberg in Slate, an online magazine owned by the Washington Post. He sees three GOP regions: Northeastern, Southern and Western. The Northeastern — the moderate variety — is nearly extinct, though showed signs of life with Scott Brown’s […]
Posted inWotr
First clean up, then talk more mining
Trust us, the industry giants keep saying as they try to assure us they can mine the earth without harming it. Trust us, for we have the best technology now and have learned from our mistakes. Trust us, for we have every possible safeguard in place for every event that could go terribly wrong. Trust […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Gettin’ skunked
IDAHOIn April, staffers at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game decided to correct what they perceived as nature gone awry by sprinkling a handful of hungry predators around an island swarming with birds. The agency introduced three badgers and two skunks to 6-acre Gull Island in the Blackfoot Reservoir in hopes the animals would […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Yellowstone bison: Hazed and confused
Park’s buffalo herd caught in gridlock