Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Since taking office in 1993, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has been an ardent supporter of habitat conservation plans. In a recent telephone interview, he elaborated on his position. Bruce Babbitt: “I got involved (in urban habitat conservation plans) early on in Southern […]
The secretary speaks
Posted inAugust 30, 1999: Who's stopping sprawl?
Salmon and suburbs struggle over a Washington river
Note: two sidebar articles accompany this feature: “The king of fish” and “The secretary speaks.” CEDAR FALLS, Wash. – In this valley at the foot of the Washington Cascades, 40 minutes’ drive southeast of Seattle when traffic is light, the Cedar River runs clear and cold. Slipping over its bed of cobble and gravel as […]
Posted inAugust 30, 1999: Who's stopping sprawl?
The king of fish
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. The hefty chinook salmon, also known as the king salmon, often exceeds 30 pounds. In 1949, a 126-pound chinook salmon was caught near Petersburg, Alaska. It remains the largest chinook on record. In the past 25 years, the number of chinook caught […]
Posted inAugust 30, 1999: Who's stopping sprawl?
An ESA cheat sheet
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Endangered – Any species in danger of extinction throughout all or most of its range and “listed” as such under the Endangered Species Act. Now, 357 animals and 568 plant species in the U.S. are listed as endangered. Threatened – Any species […]
Posted inAugust 30, 1999: Who's stopping sprawl?
A pocket-sized bird takes on Sunbelt subdivisions
Note: two sidebar articles accompany this feature story: “A tiny owl with a big name” and “An ESA cheat sheet.” MARANA, Ariz. – An eerie calm hangs over Dove Mountain, a mega-development spilling out of the saguaro-lined canyons about 30 miles northwest of Tucson. Here in the foothills of the Tortolita Mountains, developers have spent […]
Posted inAugust 30, 1999: Who's stopping sprawl?
A tiny owl with a big name
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. The cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl, described as “fist-sized” and “no bigger than a muffin,” measures seven inches from beak to tail, and is the second smallest owl in North America. Only the elf owl, also native to southern Arizona, is smaller. Pygmy-owls spend […]
Posted inAugust 30, 1999: Who's stopping sprawl?
Montana tribes bid their leader farewell
Michael T. “Mickey” Pablo, leader of Montana’s Indian nations, died at his ranch Aug. 5, at the age of 51. Postoperative complications from surgery on a knee he twisted while fishing have been reported as the likely cause of death. This humble man was highly respected for his wisdom and much loved for his kind […]
Posted inAugust 30, 1999: Who's stopping sprawl?
Dear Friends
Colorful gathering of journalists Assistant editor Greg Hanscom headed to Seattle last month for the Unity Conference, a gathering of 6,000 Black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian American journalists. Power-suited journalists packed the Seattle convention center for four days to hear panel discussions, prize-winning authors and four presidential candidates expound on the importance of media […]
Posted inAugust 30, 1999: Who's stopping sprawl?
Who’s stopping sprawl?
Note: this front-page essay introduces this issue’s feature stories. The northern spotted owl created an enormous controversy in the timber towns of the Pacific Northwest. But at least it never had to tangle with the PTA. Less than 80 cactus ferruginous pygmy-owls are thought to survive in southern Arizona, and many of them live in […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
Building on Leopold’s Legacy: Conservation for a New Century
The 50th anniversary of A Sand County Almanac will be celebrated Oct. 4-7 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison, Wis. Building on Leopold’s Legacy: Conservation for a New Century presents Bruce Babbitt, Michael Dombeck, and conservation biologist Richard Knight, among others. The conference fee is $250. Live Webcasts of the conference […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
A Guide to Land Exchanges in the Northern Rockies
American Wildlands has produced a helpful brochure, A Guide to Land Exchanges in the Northern Rockies, which explains what exchanges are in the works and what questions should be asked of decision-makers. For a free copy, contact American Wildlands, 40 E. Main, #2, Bozeman, MT 59715 (406/586-8175); awl@wildlands.org. This article appeared in the print edition […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
Water Issues and Partnerships for Rural Arizona
At the Arizona Hydrological Society’s symposium, Water Issues and Partnerships for Rural Arizona, workshop participants will talk about everything from water quality to flood management, Sept. 8-11, at the Hon-Dah Conference Center in the White Mountains. Speakers include Stephen Cornell, director of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona, […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
Effective Forest Road Management Workshop
Woodlot owners and professional foresters might be interested in the Effective Forest Road Management Workshop, at Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, Sept. 20-21. The workshop includes a field trip to examine forest roads managed by Starker Forests and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon. Contact Conference Assistant, Oregon State University, College of Forestry, […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
Beaver and Common Sense Conflict Solutions
A conference focusing on one of the most important animals in the wetlands corridors, the beaver, will be held Sept. 7-9 in Estes Park, Colo. Beaver and Common Sense Conflict Solutions is sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, Wildlife 2000, and Rocky Mountain National Park. For more information, contact Sherri Tippie, 4905 […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
The river rules a hidden canyon
Day 2 “Then the sound of motors. “Baloney boats,” says John. We look upstream and see a huge silver-gray rubber raft come charging around the bend, bearing down on us. Swarming with people, it looks like a floating anthill. John pulls our dory aside to let it pass. Waves and shouts. At full throttle the […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
Dams must go
Can salmon be saved? A free, 15-page report, Returning Salmon by Restoring Rivers: The Case for Partially Removing Four Dams on the Lower Snake River, says yes. Prepared by the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, which includes 230 conservation groups, Indian tribes and others, the report says breaching the dams is the best way to […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
Making the land pay
Farmers and ranchers can supplement their incomes by putting tourists to work as “hands’ and allowing camping and hiking. That’s a way to make land pay and stave off selling out to developers, according to a new report about protecting wildlife habitat around Yellowstone National Park. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Environmental Defense Fund and […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
Summit to Envision Colorado’s Future
A Summit to Envision Colorado’s Future invites some 200 teachers, students, government representatives and community and business leaders to work together as a team, planning a sustainable economic future for Colorado. Cosponsored by The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education among others, the summit can be attended either […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
All That Glitters
All That Glitters is a beautifully illustrated book about Native American pots that surprise because they sparkle. Mica occurring naturally in clay in northern New Mexico makes the shine; Duane Anderson documents the continually emerging tradition of micaceous-art pottery. The publisher of the $27.50 paperback ($55 hardback) is School of American Research Press, P.O. Box […]
Posted inAugust 16, 1999: Standing up for the underdog
Waterton-Glacier International Writers Workshop
The 1999 Waterton-Glacier International Writers Workshop brings more than a dozen writers together to discuss writing and environmental issues. The Sept. 16-18 workshop meets at Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, and costs $175 U.S. For details, contact Barb Grinder, Box 127, Hill Spring, Alberta, Canada T0K 1E0, e-mail: bgrinder@telusplanet.net (403/626-3658). This article appeared […]