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 […]
The Bighorn-Butterfly Effect
Posted inWotr
CON: When a wilderness bill is a sham
Montana politicians are usually quick to defend our state brand — “the last best place” — although they tend to falter when it comes to defending what makes our state the best. And that is our wildlands, the real last best places in Montana. They are the substance behind the image. For the past 20 […]
Posted inWotr
PRO: Sen. Tester’s Montana bill is a true collaborative effort
When Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester introduced his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act last July, he did something that is all too uncommon in today’s political world. He kept a promise. He’d told conservationists, loggers and recreationists that if they could reach agreement on contentious issues involving public lands — including wilderness designation, deciding where […]
Posted inGoat
Unobtainium
In Avatar, there’s an economic reason, of course, that humans have traveled to Pandora. Early on in the movie, we’re shown the temptation: a sample of the element levitates in midair, silver, alluring—and apparently worth $20 million a kilogram. Considering the production expenses for Avatar were an estimated $230 million, it would take only 12 […]
Posted inGoat
Protection for jaguar spots
The mysterious jaguar, which ranges across Central and South America, has only been recorded in the southwestern U.S. a handful of times. The last known cat on this side of the border died last spring after being trapped. But jaguars once ranged from Louisiana to California, and could again, say conservationists — if only their […]
Posted inArticles
Audio: Water wonk
Matt Jenkins talks about the complex politics of the West’s most precious resource
Posted inRange
Venison a la plomb
Deer hunting season is over in the West. And if you were a good aim, your freezer is chock full of venison — looking a lot like the meat section at Costco. But be warned, new research suggests that eating game shot with lead bullets may expose you and your family to lead, a poisonous […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
The EPA rides again
Agency swings into action, to industry’s dismay
Posted inGoat
Safe(r) CX
They were, to say the least, a bit promiscuous. Between 2006 and 2008, the Bureau of Land Management — the primary agency responsible for overseeing drilling on federal lands — permitted more than 6,100 oil and gas projects without detailed environmental review using special “categorical exclusions,” according to a Government Accountability Office analysis. The waivers […]
Posted inGoat
Floral fizzle?
Climate change is sucking the color from the Sonoran Desert. The winter flowers that generally carpet the ground — white woolly daisies, Mexican golden poppies, purple Arizona lupine — are still in hiding. Their seeds lie dormant in the soil, waiting for the rains that are necessary to spark growth. It usually takes at least […]
Posted inRange
Timber Corporations, Real Estate and Community Forests
Weyerhauser – the nation’s largest timber company – has announced that it will convert itself into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). The company’s stock rose about 7% when the conversion was announced in December. The Weyerhauser announcement came as no surprise to those familiar with western forest management; it has been under discussion for […]
Posted inGoat
Avatar: an allegory of the West?
For better or worse, one of the most significant environmental events of the holiday season may have been James Cameron’s Avatar. The blockbuster, which tells the story of an alien tribe beset by big business and their mercenaries on the intergalactic frontier, has captured this planet’s imagination. Avatar has been praised by some as a […]
Posted inWotr
In considering the future, include Plan B.
Over Christmas break my family paddled the Rio Grande River along the border of Big Bend National Park in Texas. More than a week along, we stopped at a riverside hot springs to soak off a layer or two of grit. A man appeared, walking down the trail from a nearby road. He was short, […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
‘The Cadillac of California irrigation districts’
Westlands has more than a tiny fish to blame for its troubles.
Posted inGoat
The count is coming
All sorts of numbers emerge from the U.S. Census Bureau, but only one set of numbers is required by the U.S. Constitution. That’s the population of each state, which determines how many representatives the state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The total is fixed by law at 435, and each state […]
Posted inJanuary 11, 2010: Breakdown
Water war, or peace?
As 2009 came to an end, I asked readers of our HCN Commons e-mail newsletter what they thought the West’s big issues would be in 2010. The predominant response wasn’t all that surprising: Water, water and water. Several people agree that this could be the year when water agencies finally acknowledge the natural limits of […]
Posted inWotr
The Navajo Nation signals it’s ready for more reforms
When it comes to political reform on the Navajo Nation, one should never, ever, expect anything to change fast. Recently, voters agreed to reduce membership on the Navajo Nation Council from an unwieldy 88 members to 24, while also giving the president line-item veto authority. The reforms were passed overwhelmingly — once again. The same […]
Posted inGoat
The West leads the country in personal bankruptcy filings
Every state saw a rise in bankruptcy filings in 2009, but the West — hit hardest by the collapse of the real estate market — showed the most increases. The Associated Press reports nationwide figures of more than 1.4 million filings, making 2009 the 7th worst year on record. Arizona led the way, with a […]
Posted inGoat
They’re baa-aaack. . .
A sunken-eyed old man dressed in stiff, black Puritan clothes stalks a suburban neighborhood. The TV turns on by itself. A toy phone rings and rings — tinny and off-key — in the dead of night. A little blond girl crawls out of bed. Lifts the receiver to her ear, pauses, turns. Then, in a […]