When I first saw the headlines coming out of Arizona regarding a push to regulate tribal ceremonies, I couldn’t help but think tribal sovereignty might be in danger. But then I learned that the effort is coming from tribal leaders themselves in response to the three Sedona, AZ deaths and 19 illnesses that took place […]
Tribal push to regulate Native ceremonies
Posted inWotr
When some ranchers use poison — just like the old days
“Biocides” was Rachel Carson’s term for pesticides that kill indiscriminately. They haven’t been much talked about since the banning of DDT and relatives in the 1970s – until now. As Pete Gober, who heads the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s effort to save the black-footed ferret, America’s most endangered mammal, put it recently: “The incredibly […]
Posted inGoat
Frackin’ Fears
Yet another group is demanding that the federal government regulate hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”), the process used to extract oil and natural gas, because it threatens human health. In a report released yesterday, Drilling Around the Law, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) argues that fracking could contaminate drinking water supplies “from Pennsylvania to Wyoming,” but […]
Posted inGoat
Attack of the dromedaries
It’s sunrise on the Colorado River, and a dozen sand-colored lumps stir by the banks. Bodies rise on spindly legs. Mouths open with a sound like pulling dentures. In a flash of gums, twelve sets of teeth clamp down on the nearest tamarisk plants. Chomp. Chomp. Leaves, bark and thorns disappear in a rhythm of […]
Posted inWotr
Kicking and screaming, the BLM makes a deal
It’s taken much longer than it should have, but the world’s longest outdoor art gallery will finally get some protection from the gas drilling that threatens it. What’s at stake is the rich history of eastern Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon. Its red sandstone cliffs contain prehistoric cliff dwellings and are etched with thousands of Anasazi […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
Urban oilscape
One of the West’s most car-happy places sprawls across some of its oldest and most productive oilfields. About 28 million barrels are pumped annually from 5,000 wells in the Los Angeles Basin and just offshore, according to the Center for Land Use Interpretation. These photos were drawn from the organization’s recent L.A. exhibit, “Urban Crude.” […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
Wait ’til you read the one about Sean Hannity
Although Jonathan Thompson’s politics and mine are identical, I think that he does our cause a disservice by injecting ad hominem throwaway lines that detract from his excellent points. In the Dec. 7 editor’s note, he simply does not need the cracks about John McCain or Sarah Palin. For better or worse, McCain is doing […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
Thanks for the memories
As one of the original members of the Mexican Wolf Coalition, I read with amusement Kieran Suckling’s self-serving statements about the circumstances leading up to the Mexican gray wolf being released back into the wild (HCN, 12/21/09 & 1/4/10). I have a different recollection. Indeed, some members of the Mexican Wolf Coalition were more cautious […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
Solidarity, not suits
After reading the recent interview with Kieran Suckling, it occurs to me the one reason we’re having so much trouble advancing meaningful conservation opportunities is we’re spending too much time, energy and money fighting each other (HCN, 12/21/09 & 1/4/10). The litigation and lawsuits advanced by the Center for Biological Diversity are having the exact […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
Native power in Tucson
On the evening of Jan. 27, a distinguished group of journalists, environmentalists and tribal leaders will come together at the University of Arizona for an HCN-sponsored event entitled “Power Struggle: Energy, Activism and the role of the Media on the Hopi and Navajo Nations.” For more information, see our ad on page 20 and visit […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
Blinded by the wind
I find Jonathan Thompson’s love affair with wind turbines hard to comprehend (HCN, 12/21/09 & 1/4/10). Perhaps he has been mesmerized by the slowly rotating turbines. Or is his dislike of the oil and gas industry such that he is willing to see the great vistas of the West destroyed in the name of renewable […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
If only he could have …
Regarding Paul Larmer’s editor’s note about Cedar Hill and cell towers, cell coverage is forever (HCN, 12/21/09 & 1/4/10). I think it’s valid to ask why we need it everywhere, why it is inevitable, and whether in landscapes of beauty and integrity we should swallow the whole safety argument. Is the illusory cocoon of convenience […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Water-stealing trees and fitness strip tease
ARIZONA AND UTAH Elected officials say the most surprising things when it comes to environmental matters. Take Sylvia Allen, a Republican state senator from Snowflake, Ariz. She worked hard to get a Christmas tree from her district shipped to the state Capitol, where it graced the lobby of the state Senate, reports the Arizona Republic. […]
Posted inGoat
Returning soon to a bookstore near you
By now you’ve likely read about the new movie Crazy Heart, which is getting good reviews and some Oscar buzz. Not having seen the movie (in my backwater, it will likely be on DVD before it gets to a theater near me), I can’t address it. But it’s based on the book by […]
Posted inGoat
Water Bargain
It’s one more step in what’s been a long, slow trudge. But this step’s a big one. Last Thursday, negotiators released a final agreement on water rights in the Klamath River, moving closer to a settlement of the long-running water wars in the Klamath Basin. The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement sets the terms for divvying […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
The genesis of the West
Douglas Brinkley’s new biography tells the story of TR
Posted inGoat
The Bighorn-Butterfly Effect
Little wings can compel broad change, but it certainly doesn’t hurt when they are backed up by the possibility of a head-butt, litigious or otherwise. The presence of endangered Quino checkerspot butterflies and Peninsular bighorn sheep on 51,000 acres of the San Jacinto Mountains–and the appeals of several prominent conservation groups–has prompted the U.S. Forest […]