As energy companies reap billions from the region’s energy reserves, some Westerners question whether enough of the wealth is staying home
Gold from the Gas Fields
Posted inWotr
Avian flu: Don’t fear the flocks yet
It’s November, which means that the snow geese are pouring into Oregon’s Klamath Basin in the hundreds of thousands. The sight of the undulating flocks, snow white against slate blue storm clouds, is unspeakably beautiful. These are tundra geese, passing through en route to winter quarters in California’s Central Valley. They have come all the […]
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Panhandling in our national parks
The Bush administration has spawned more than its fair share of high profile conflicts in our national parks, from opening Yellowstone’s gates to fleets of snowmobiles to its approval of a creationist tract maintaining the Grand Canyon is the product of Noah’s flood. One of the more far-reaching changes in the appearance and operations of […]
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A Western railvolution begins
In 1981, when I got my first car — a used Toyota Corolla — the first thing I did was take a trip out West. For a prisoner of the sprawling suburbs of St. Louis, Mo., nothing could have been sweeter than to put that sea of homes in the rearview mirror, and to fill […]
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Lessons from a porcupine
Nights were frosting already when the porcupine came down the hill and started nosing around our yard. This year, I started explaining to the porcupine how my mood generally follows the trend of the season. I told him I’d like him to understand a little about the condition of the world and how that relates […]
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Those rugged Alaskan individualists still love the federal dole
Opponents of Alaskan statehood in the 1950s feared a state would continue to be a subsidized ward of the federal government. Supporters argued that once it was a state, Alaska would make its own decisions, attract new business and become less dependent on the federal government. Statehood may have come to Alaska in 1959, but […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
The Mountain Encyclopedia
The Mountain Encyclopedia Frederic V. Hartemann and Robert Hauptman 291 pages, softcover: $29.95 Taylor Trade Publishing, 2005. The Mountain Encyclopedia delivers just what its title promises: intriguing facts and figures about mountainous topics from calderas and Chomolongma to vicuñas and virga. Colorful maps and photos complement the entries, many of which come from the authors’ […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
Imperfect Pasture: A Century of Change at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Imperfect Pasture: A Century of Change at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming Bruce Smith, Eric Cole and David Dobkin 156 pages, softcover: $14.95 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Grand Teton Natural History Association, 2004. The National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyo., is either a conservation success, or, as the scientist-authors of […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
The native gardens of California
“I’ve always wondered why people call plants ‘wild.’ We don’t think of them that way. They just come up wherever they are, and like us, they are at home in that place.” — Clara Jones Sargosa, Chukchansi In her new book, Tending the Wild, ethnobotanist Kat Anderson examines the state of California’s “wilderness” at the […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
Crossing hearts on Colorado’s plains
Laura Pritchett’s first novel, Sky Bridge, is set in “Nowhere, Colorado,” on the ranchland east of the plains town of Lamar. In this tiny place assaulted by big forces — climate change, the global economy, federal policies — teenage narrator Libby finds the prospects slim: “… all my old schoolmates are either doing drugs or […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
In defense of biodiesel
Regarding Jeff Falen’s letter denouncing biodiesel on the basis that atmospheric carbon is atmospheric carbon regardless of its source (HCN, 10/17/05), I must disagree on three counts: While there is a mostly finite amount of carbon on the earth and in its atmosphere, sizable amounts are stored within the crust. Humans really began distorting the […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
The ‘fluffy fringe’ of archaeology
I must complain about the article “What Happened To The Anasazi?” (HCN, 10/3/05: Out of the Four Corners) on two points. The first point is that the subject matter hardly qualifies as news. No great, truly new discoveries were reported, nor was any compelling, new explanation for the “mystery” of the Anasazis’ abandonment of these […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
Dangerous distortions
The recent Editor’s Note, “Exodus,” showed me that you need to be more careful when reaching for analogies (HCN, 10/3/05: Exodus). The comparison of the Anasazi to modern-day New Orleans included the now debunked media stories about widespread “murder and rape” in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Those stories made front-page news in my Oregonian […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
A Manhattan Project for Western Water
Matt Jenkins’ story “Squeezing water from a stone” was well researched and informative, but I am afraid that the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s (SNWA) efforts to acquire water are just the tip of the iceberg (HCN, 9/19/05: Squeezing Water from a Stone). Lincoln County caved in because they did not have the money to fight […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
The West includes people, too
In response to cranky letters about HCN covering fewer environmental issues and more “sociology” ? recent stories on Cannon Air Force Base (HCN, 8/22/05: Leavin’ on a Jet Plane) and Polynesian/Mormon gangs in Utah (HCN, 8/8/05: The Gangs of Zion) ? I wanted to compliment you on expanding your editorial vision. As environmental justice activists […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
Pombo rides a pale horse
I assume Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., occasionally rides a horse, because he is a rancher (HCN, 10/17/05: Pombo takes on the Endangered Species Act). I know that many people have heard of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse — War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. I see Pombo riding the pale horse, Death, trying to bring […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
Declining seabird may drop off the endangered list
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in October that it will move forward with plans to remove the marbled murrelet, a small seabird, from under the protective wing of the Endangered Species Act. The robin-sized bird, which lays its eggs on the moss-covered branches of old-growth trees, has hampered Northwest logging for more than […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
Business booster still guides national park rules
A newly released National Park Service management policy will reduce environmental protection and boost commercial interests, according to conservation groups. Specific words, entire paragraphs and whole chapters in the new rules trace back to a controversial document written this past summer by Paul Hoffman, the Interior Department’s deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks. […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
Doubling density near Durango
After two decades of trying to hold the line against an increase in oil and gas drilling, commissioners in La Plata County recently signed deals allowing two energy companies to double the density of coalbed methane wells near Durango. Now that the companies’ infill applications have been approved by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation […]
Posted inNovember 14, 2005: Back On Track
Property-rights measure overturned
The property-rights movement’s latest star has fallen. On Oct. 14, a judge ruled that Oregon’s Measure 37, passed by voters last year, was unconstitutional. The measure allowed landowners who believed they’d lost property value due to land-use regulations to demand that state or local governments either pay compensation or waive those regulations (HCN, 6/13/05: So […]