Dear HCN, The story about the remarkable concentrations of migrating hummingbirds at Jesse Hendrix’s home outside Nogales, Ariz., has piqued a great deal of interest in attracting and feeding these living jewels (Heard around the West, HCN, 9/13/99). The Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory offers the following recommendations for making hummingbirds feel at home in your […]
How to keep hummers happy
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
The Right rules the rural West
Dear HCN, The recent debate between Ed Marston and Thomas Power (HCN, 8/2/99) over low wages and living standards touches on one of the biggest issues facing the West today: i.e., Why has the rural West become so reactionary, and what can be done about it? My wife and I recently cancelled our plans to […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Three cheers for cities
Dear HCN, While Thomas Powers’ analysis of the economic value of the Western environment is powerful and persuasive, I wish he could make his point without denigrating other places (HCN, 8/2/99). Those of us who live in large urban areas – New York City, for example – are well aware of the negatives Power lists: […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
River Network
Merged: River Network from Portland, Ore., and River Watch Network of Montpelier, Vt., on Oct. 1. The new group will keep the name River Network and headquarters in Portland, with field offices in Montpelier, Vt., Helena, Mont., and Washington, D.C. Over 800 local partner groups participate in the network. Contact the group at 800/423-6747 or […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Volunteer work in the nation’s parks
Student Conservation Association interns will soon have more than pretty pictures and increased conservation acumen to show for their volunteer work in the nation’s parks, refuges and forests. Starting in 2000, the group’s resource assistants will also receive educational awards, ranging from $1,200 to $4,000, depending on program length. The money is allocated through the […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Conference for the Animals
Animal Protection of New Mexico Inc. will host its 1999 Conference for the Animals Nov. 5-7 in Albuquerque. The gathering’s aim is to strengthen animal-activist networks and educate the public about domestic and wild animals. Speakers include Alan Green, author of Animal Underworld, and Steven M. Wise, animal rights attorney. Contact APNM at 505/265-2322 or […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
What should every Westerner know
The Center of the American West wants to know. What should every Westerner know, and, how does someone become a Westerner? If you have strong opinions and hanker for a good discussion or debate, log on to the Center’s Web site at http://www.centerwest.org/westerner, or send a postcard to the University of Colorado-based Center of the […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Water aficionados
The Idaho Water Resources Research Institute holds monthly video-link seminars with water aficionados in Boise, Moscow, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene. To find out more about topics for the fall series, call Christian Petrich at 208/327-5409, or e-mail kathyo@uidaho.edu. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Water aficionados.
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Rivers, Dams and the Future of the West
-Rivers and dams are the lifeblood of the West,” says the University of Utah’s Wetlands and Riparian Center, which holds its second annual conference, Rivers, Dams and the Future of the West, Nov. 18 in Salt Lake City. The gathering will bring together riparian experts and those concerned with dams and river exploitation. Contact Jack […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Environmental Restoration Conference
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will talk at an Environmental Restoration Conference: Challenges for the New Millennium, Nov. 11-13, at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Speakers also include writer Terry Tempest Williams, David Wegner of the Glen Canyon Institute, and Dan Luecke of the Environmental Defense Fund. Call 520/621-8430, or write to Environmental Restoration Conference, […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Living in the outdoors
Wilderness Guide, by Mark Harvey, Simon and Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020; paper, illustrated, $15. This starting-from-scratch revision of The National Outdoor Leadership School’s Wilderness Guide will tell you what to wear, how to navigate, and how to get across streams and scree fields in the backcountry. It will give […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Home Free
With the number of new land trusts topping 1,200 in this country, it’s not surprising that even the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States has come on board. Its Wildlife Land Trust has protected 46,391 acres in 18 states, including recent additions of 500 acres in northern California and 1,280 acres in southwest […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Powerful Images at the Heard Museum
The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Ariz., known for its extensive collection of Native American art, opens its 70th season in an expanded facility, an $18.1 million, 50,000 square-foot addition that doubles its size. Three major exhibits are slated for the new space this year: Powerful Images: Portrayals of Native America, opening Nov. 13, explores the […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
See the secret desert
X-Files fans and conspiracy theorists dream of visiting Area 51, the test site for America’s advanced aircraft and weapons systems – and, some say, the place where UFOs are hidden. Now the curious can visit, sort of. In Los Angeles, an exhibit by the Center for Land Use Interpretation offers an inside look at the […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
CAP could feed a new Arizona lake
Sonoran Desert dwellers between Tucson and Phoenix might one day be able to boat the Colorado River without leaving their backyards. Rural Pinal County says it wants to take a billion gallons of Colorado River water and pump it into a manmade lake. Thanks to the Central Arizona Project, the three-quarter mile, $7 million reservoir […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
The least of these
A tiny, colorful fish that lives in the desert springs and marshes of western Utah is on the rebound – without ever having been listed as threatened or endangered. The algae-feeding least chub once lived throughout Utah’s West Desert, but by the early 1990s, the fish were found only in four ponds along the Utah-Nevada […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Mohave agrees to clean up its act
Mohave agrees to clean up its act The view from the rim of the Grand Canyon will be clearer, thanks to a major cleanup at one of the Southwest’s largest coal-burning power plants. Owners of the Mohave Generating Station in southern Nevada and environmental groups announced the news Oct. 3, following a court settlement. “This […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Clinton proclaims a far-reaching forest plan
President Clinton made headlines Oct. 13, when he announced a sweeping initiative to protect 40-60 million acres of unroaded national forests. At a ceremony in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, Clinton put his full support behind permanent protection for land currently covered by an 18-month road-building moratorium, in addition to roadless […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
The Wayward West
Conservationists in north-central Washington worked hard and fast to raise over $13.1 million to keep chain saws out of the 25,000 acre Loomis Forest (HCN, 5/24/99). Now, the state’s Board of Natural Resources says they’re millions of dollars short. After wrestling over the value of the forest’s timber for more than a year, the board […]
Posted inOctober 25, 1999: Monumental chaos
Finally, a National Grassland Wilderness?
LONG X DIVIDE, N.D. – The green Forest Service rig pants like a winded dog on the rim of this canyon. The two-track ahead is washed out; I’ve taken the vehicle as far as it will go. But the view from the edge is breathtaking. On the horizon, a dusky cerise sky. Below lie rugged […]