Record salmon, steelhead runs buy time for endangered stocks
Nature hits a home run for salmon
Posted inSeptember 24, 2001: River of dreams
Far from out of it
The HCN offices on the morning of Sept. 11 were the same as any other place in the nation, and perhaps in the world: People quietly huddled around radios, trying to figure out what the events would mean for themselves and the future. Circulation manager Gretchen Nicholoff sweated out the hours until mid-day, when she […]
Posted inSeptember 24, 2001: River of dreams
Dear Friends
Award-winning intern Congratulations to former Daily Astorian reporters Karen Mockler and Mike Stark. The pair will share the 4th annual Dolly Connelly Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award for their three-part series on the Columbia River Estuary, titled “Life on the Brink.” The $1,000 annual award was created by Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly to honor […]
Posted inSeptember 24, 2001: River of dreams
River of dreams
The 30-year struggle to resurrect Washington’s Elwha River and one of its spectacular salmon runs
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Coverage appreciated
Dear HCN, We are so delighted when HCN arrives in our mailbox. It provides well-written and excellent information – though often disturbing – about our changing world and Western landscapes. Some of these changes are very positive, however, like the most recent article about the Salish and Kootenai tribes whose stewardship principles should be carried […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Carla and Greg Woodall not the whole story
Dear HCN, The July 30 front-page piece titled, “Not in our backyard” was well-written and informative, except for one important detail: It gave the reader the impression that Greg Woodall and his sister, Carla, invented the campaign to preserve Scottsdale’s McDowell Mountains and are practically doing it by themselves. That isn’t the case. Greg and […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
The facts about fish control
Dear HCN, In a May article titled “Debate rages over fish poisoning” (HCN, 5/7/01: Debate rates over fish poisoning), very subjective views of the impacts of fish-control chemicals antimycin and rotenone on the environment were presented. It’s ironic that despite the article’s recognition of the growing fears of the uninformed public toward fish-control chemicals, it […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Boulder utilizes burns
Last May, when a prescribed burn in New Mexico’s Bandelier National Monument blew out of control and destroyed 200 structures in nearby Los Alamos, burn programs around the nation faced intense scrutiny. But in Boulder, Colo., support for prescribed burning in local open space remains strong. The Boulder Fire Department’s prescribed fire management specialist Rod […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Voice of the Butterfly
Change can be as miraculous as a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis … or as surreal as a wild landscape sprouting highways and leapfrog subdivisions. John Nichols’ newest work of fiction, The Voice of the Butterfly, is a hyperactive meditation on transformation in our post-modern, uber-consumption world. Full of gritty slapstick zen, Nichols’ morality play […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Keeping an eye on The Planet
Last year, instead of heading home after a full day of classes, senior Tiffany Campbell went to the Bellingham offices of The Planet, Western Washington University’s nationally recognized environmental magazine. As The Planet’s editor, Campbell rounded out 15-hour days editing copy, meeting with writers and laying out nearly 40 pages of stories. For Campbell, who […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Dictionary of the American West
If you’re looking to string a greener, try offering one a glass of beef tea. Better yet, get ’em roostered on leopard sweat. Chances are, enough of either will send them running outside to air the paunch. Confused? A quick perusal of Win Blevins’ revised edition of the Dictionary of the American West will set […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Indian activist may lead cowboys
NEW MEXICO The Sagebrush Rebellion got a charismatic new general in early August: American Indian activist, actor and author Russell Means kicked off his campaign for governor of New Mexico with a visit to rural Catron County. “It’s time for the cowboys and Indians to get together,” he said. Means, the Libertarian Party candidate, was […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Texaco spill leaves residents fuming
MONTANA Despite its cheery name, metaphorical clouds hang over Sunburst, Mont., where the town’s 415 residents are grappling with a toxic disaster. About a dozen homes sit atop a gasoline pool that was formed 46 years ago when a Texaco oil refinery leaked just outside town. The underground spill contaminated groundwater and soil and released […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Organics, timber cut healthy deal
OREGON If chemicals from a private logging operation show up on Ed Smith’s organic herbal extract farm, all his worst fears will come true. Though Boise Cascade commonly sprays herbicides after it logs, Smith, cofounder of Herb Pharm in Williams, Ore., says his company would have to forfeit its organic certification and face ruin if […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Congress may agree on fees
NATION The debate over whether people should pay to play on public lands is heating up once again. The Recreation Fee Demonstration Program, created by Congress in 1996, requires people to pay a user fee to visit certain forests, parks or deserts (HCN, 2/14/00: Land of the fee). Although it is due to expire by […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
The Latest Bounce
The Bureau of Land Management may soon have a new boss. President Bush has nominated Kathleen Clarke, the director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, to oversee management of the 264 million acres of BLM land. Though Clarke has maintained a low profile in her current job, local environmentalists criticize her handling of the […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
A murder mystery on Whiskey Mountain
DUBOIS, Wyo. – John and I are hiking on Sheep Ridge on a blustery day in February, and we are busy counting sheep. These Rocky Mountain bighorns look healthy – their dusty brown coats thick, their bodies sleek – but their looks belie the numbers, and their numbers tell the story. The sheep are dying […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
Heard around the West
How do we resemble our fellow Westerners – the black bears? Let me count some of the ways. We like to share dessert. Near Ketchum, Idaho, a 225-pounder broke into a home, opened the freezer and pulled out half a gallon of rocky road ice cream, reports the Idaho Express. When the home’s residents saw […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
New forest chief becomes a lame duck
It could turn out to be the shortest tenure as Forest Service chief in history. Dale N. Bosworth was named the 15th chief of the United States Forest Service on April 12, 2001. He may have made himself a lame duck on Friday, Aug. 24, 2001, when he removed Brad Powell as regional forester for […]
Posted inSeptember 10, 2001: The rise and fall of a desert stream
New dump may trash Tacoma’s water
Locals worry they’ll drink ‘garbage juice’