In Montana, the nonprofit Friends of the Wild Swan is ringing in the new year with a calendar of favorite cartoons from Elmer Sprunger (see page 6), the man who can make bears talk. It’s $10 from Friends of the Wild Swan, P.O. Box 5103, Swan Lake, MT 59911. This article appeared in the print […]
Cartoons from Elmer Sprunger
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Great Salt Lake Issues Forum
The third Great Salt Lake Issues Forum will spotlight selected watershed programs within the state and around the country, including Idaho’s Salmon/Lemhi Resource Area. The goal is to use these examples to devise a collaborative restoration and protection program for Great Salt Lake. The Feb. 25-26 forum is presented by Friends of Great Salt Lake. […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Tailings and mine waste
Colorado State University is hosting a conference on tailings and mine waste Jan. 23-26, 2000, for members of the mining community and other interest groups concerned with mine waste management. Mining, tailings management, geohydrology, geochemistry and other related topics will be covered in focused sessions. For information, contact Linda Hinshaw, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Kartchner Caverns State Park
There’s a new world underground: Nov. 12 marked the grand opening of Kartchner Caverns State Park, 50 miles southeast of Tucson, and so far 30,000 people have reserved tours of the cave. Reservations are strongly recommended from 520/586-CAVE. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Kartchner Caverns State Park.
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
BIA told to get organized
Allocate $10 million to $15 million for new bosses at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the beleaguered agency might get itself back on track, says a new report from the National Academy of Public Administration. The BIA, which represents 1.2 million Indians from 558 tribes, has long been plagued by mismanagement (HCN 4/15/99). BIA […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Nevada names
JARBIDGE (Elko). A Nevada post office, established March 5, 1910, and town (the most isolated mining camp in the state) … According to Jarbidge legend, the name … comes from a Shoshone Indian word Jahabich, meaning “devil,” or from Tswhawbitts, the name of a mythical crater-dwelling giant who roamed the Jarbidge Canyon for many years. […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Risks multiply for land managers
Beatings, bombings, death threats and other acts of violence against Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees are on the rise. According to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), agency workers or buildings were attacked or threatened nearly 100 times in 1998 alone. One Forest […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Grant program gives greens GIS
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology can turn hard data into colorful maps and geographic databases, but few nonprofit groups can afford the expensive computer tool. The Conservation Technology Support Program wants to solve this problem by offering GIS grants to environmental groups. In the year 2000, the program will give away more than $1 million […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Dirty air in the deep of winter
Snowmobiles produce nearly all the air pollution in Yellowstone National Park, even though other vehicles outnumber them 16 to 1, says a new report by the National Park Service’s Air Resources Division. Air Quality Concerns Related to Snowmobile Usage found that one winter’s worth of emissions by snowmobiles amounts to 78 percent of all carbon […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Nobody’s perfect
Dear HCN, After reading Craig Childs’ article, I no longer feel guilty concerning my choice of employment for the past 12 years. I’m currently employed by the world’s largest printer (lots of dead wood there), and before that, I was a boiler operator at a sawmill. I have always cared about my impact on our […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
All of us come from primitive cultures
Dear HCN, I read with interest James Bishop’s “Bones of Contention.” I was struck by the comment of Kurt Dongoske: “What he has demonstrated is that people were hacked apart, their bones dismembered. He presents no evidence of ingestion.” Mr. Dongoske is angered by Mr. Turner’s assertion that the Anasazi, particularly at Chaco Canyon, practiced […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Race card trumped
Dear HCN, In a recent essay (-All our backs are a bit wet,” HCN, 10/11/99), Jack McGarvey suggests that U.S. immigration and border enforcement policies are racially motivated and that U.S. immigration policies give preferential treatment to Canadians over Mexicans. When examined in the light of U.S. Census data, however, this race card is soundly […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Another view of La Migra
Dear HCN, Having lived and worked with illegal Mexican laborers for over 20 years from the Mexican border to South Dakota, I disagree with Jack McGarvey’s essay and description of the U.S. Border Patrol as irritating and oppressive (HCN, 10/11/99). From this same perspective I laugh at his reference to the “affectionate” employers who employ […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
What about dogs?
There you go again, raising the non-issue of cell phones in the backcountry (-Heard around the West,” 10/25/99). As a frequent backcountry traveler, I simply haven’t encountered the problem. In any event, it seems the phones could easily be avoided by those who are offended. Perhaps you should report instead on the increasingly unavoidable backcountry […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Park Service is working to protect Petroglyph
Dear HCN, Your recent article on Petroglyph National Monument left out a great deal of information about actions the park is taking to deal with some of the issues raised by your coverage (HCN, 10/25/99). Cultural and natural resource protection in the park has greatly increased since it became a unit of the National Park […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Developers don’t have to rule
Dear HCN, Many thanks to Cathy Robbins for writing about the abuse of the Petroglyph National Monument just outside of Albuquerque, N.M. (HCN, 10/25/99). I am not ashamed to admit the article brought tears to my eyes. While the plight of the petroglyphs is of grave concern, the article brought out the larger issue of […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
A public apology and the publisher replies
Dear HCN, On behalf of the National Parks and Conservation Association, I want to publicly apologize both to Petroglyph Superintendent Judith Cordova and to your readers for the personal remarks made by NPCA Southwest Regional Director Dave Simon that appeared in a sidebar to your Oct. 25 “Monumental chaos’ feature. His comments were inappropriate and […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Petroglyph: Why one staffer quit
Dear HCN, Cathy Robbins’ article on the hideous situation at Petroglyph is right on target (HCN, 10/25/99). As a former NPS staffer there (I was chief of Interpretation and Cultural Resources from 1994-1998) who fled in terror under Judith Cordova’s reign, I can elaborate on several points in the article. Ms. Cordova did indeed make […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Nonstop service to the Mojave Desert?
A 6,500-acre swath of federally owned desert, 10 miles from California’s Mojave National Preserve, could become the site of a new Las Vegas airport. But environmentalists and the National Park Service say airport overflights will ruin the preserve visitor’s experience. “One of the really special things about Mojave is the opportunity for solace and quiet,” […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
The Wayward West
The first reported case of chronic wasting disease has hit Montana. The fatal disorder has been slowly spreading throughout the West’s elk and deer populations for the past 30 years (HCN, 9/27/99). Early this month, an autopsy report proved it killed a game farm elk on the Kesler ranch in Philipsburg. Josh Turner of the […]