Who wins and who loses when Uncle Sam cuts deals with landowners to protect endangered species with Habitat Conservation Plans — the latest attempt to balance private-property rights with the protection of endangered species?
No-show lets roads roll
For the second time in two years, the House of Representatives has shied away from a proposal to make timber companies pay for their logging roads in national forests (HCN, 6/9/97). In July, representatives voted 211-209 against an amendment that would have slashed $41.5 million in roads funding. “We clearly had the votes to win,”…
Co-existence criticized
If five environmental groups have their way in Wyoming, grizzly bears won’t have their territory invaded by oil and gas exploration teams on 2,000 acres of Shoshone National Forest. The groups fear that the exploration will lead to road building and drilling. The leases sought are in the Brent Creek and Lava Mountain/Sheridan Pass areas,…
Prairie dogs beat the bullet
In Colorado, prairie dogs and other small mammals are safe from large-scale massacre in the name of sport. The Colorado Wildlife Commission voted unanimously July 10 to restrict contest shoots of small game, including coyotes and prairie dogs. Environmental and animal rights groups have expressed outrage over contests like the Top Dog World Championship Prairie…
Jaguar limps onto the list
Activists sporting jaguar costumes and picket signs outside the Tucson office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received some welcome news in July. After 18 years and two lawsuits from environmentalists, the agency added the jaguar to the endangered species list. “The Fish and Wildlife Service has been dragged screaming and kicking through this…
What’s his are mines
Some people think controversial developer Tom Chapman may have made a costly mistake. The Colorado native recently acquired two patented mining claims within the Spanish Peaks wilderness study area in southwestern Colorado, but his critics say the price he paid for 30 acres was high and the potential for mining or other development low. “This…
A-LP looms liter
In a move that’s either desperate or practical, proponents of southwestern Colorado’s Animas-La Plata water project applied “tough love” to their aging proposal and unveiled a leaner alternative in early July. The reservoir and pumping project that was supposed to provide water for irrigators and cities in Colorado and New Mexico is also key to…
A do-over in Telluride
Environmental activists may get a second shot at containing the ski industry in Telluride, Colo. Supervisor Robert Storch of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests has reversed his approval of a ski area expansion onto public land. “In the interest of fairness,” Storch wrote the regional forester on June 30, “I have agreed…
A cheatgrass antidote – maybe
The federal Bureau of Land Management wants to send the message that cheaters never win, and that goes for cheatgrass, too. The agency’s weapon of choice is Oust, a controversial DuPont herbicide. Last fall, BLM range specialists with the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in Idaho found that in early tests, Oust…
You’re picking on ranchers
Dear HCN, I read in stunned amazement your story June 23 that was not only totally off-base on the premise but factually incorrect as well. When the reporter called me, I told him for the record that if he wrote a story based on the false premise that big, bad ranchers were behind the firing…
Don’t give up on Boulder, Utah
Editor’s Note: In a letter to the editor on June 23, Katherine and Michael McCoy of Buena Vista, Colo., expressed dismay about the lack of entrepreneurial zeal in the town of Boulder, near Utah’s new monument. This was one response to their complaint: Dear Mr. and Mrs. McCoy: We are sorry you were unable to…
The Wayward West
Two of the West’s greenest representatives in Congress have announced they will not run for re-election. One, nicknamed “Senator Public Lands’ for his commitment to environmental issues during his four terms in office, is Arkansas Sen. Dale Bumpers, who led the fight to reform the 1872 Mining Law and raise grazing fees. The other is…
‘Change is hard, change is scary’
Dear HCN, Katherine and Michael McCoy lament the lack of entrepreneurial spirit of the folks of rural Utah and chastise Westerners in general for a lack of excitement about the changes sweeping through the economies and landscapes of the West (HCN, 6/23/97). The McCoys seem to suggest that we in the rural West should put…
Trucks: Take a brake
Dear HCN, If letter-writer George Burns (HCN, 6/9/97) wants to have the whole west rim of Hells Canyon open to him and his buddies in their trucks, he ought to just say so. Even though we still wouldn’t agree, those of us who desperately cling to the last 12 miles of nonmotorized rim could respect…
Volunteers test county claims in potential wilderness areas
In Utah, one way counties fight a possible designation of wilderness is by claiming a road runs through it. Some commissioners in Utah who fear that wilderness will ruin local economies cite a law dating from 1866, R.S. 2477, to claim rights-of-way through Bureau of Land Management lands that might be considered roadless. But are…
A great analysis
Dear HCN, Thanks for the extraordinary stories on Wyoming (HCN, 7/7/97). The response from those I have talked with has been elation for a great analysis and critique of Wyoming; hopefully, those responsible for making public policy will learn from the picture Paul Krza put together. Tom Throop Lander, Wyoming The writer is executive director…
Owens Valley finally loses patience
A water grab 84 years ago that turned one of California’s largest lakes into a dust bowl and enabled Los Angeles to boom may not have been permanent. By a vote of 6-1 July 2, rural elected officials ordered Los Angeles to forego diverting 43 million gallons of water a day from Owens Lake. The…
Judge clubs Sierra donor
A San Francisco Superior Court judge has found that Ray Graham III maliciously prosecuted the Sierra Club Foundation and owes the organization $2.8 million. The judgment, made in mid-July, is the latest wrinkle in the long-standing feud between Graham, an heir to the Firestone fortune, and the foundation over a $100,000 donation he made back…
Timber’s bad boy comes to the table
Note: this article is part of a suite of feature articles in this issue about the Endangered Species Act and Habitat Protection Plans. ROSLYN, Wash. – Lorin Hicks climbs the steep, muddy slope in long strides, stopping several hundred feet uphill of a goshawk nest. The agitated female screeches annoyance and lifts off the towering…
‘HCPs need peer-reviewed science’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Volunteer Michael Schindell works for the National Endangered Species Network in Sacramento, Calif. Michael Schindell: “HCPs have weak science. A good example is a plan for Yellow County, Calif., which is a rapidly growing bedroom community west of Sacramento. That HCP uses…
Habitat plans are in full flood
Note: this article is part of a suite of feature articles in this issue about the Endangered Species Act and Habitat Protection Plans. Nowhere is enthusiasm for Habitat Conservation Plans greater than in the Pacific Northwest. For that, thank (or blame) the northern spotted owl. Since 1990, when the owl was listed as a threatened…
Heard around the West
Once a plump owl earnestly told boys and girls: “Give a hoot, don’t pollute!” Then the bird went mute during the controversy over northern spotted owls losing their nests to loggers. Well, the 25-year-old mascot of the Forest Service is back, reports the Jackson Hole News. While on sabbatical Woodsy may have enjoyed a stay…
Foreman finds hope amid ecological rubble
Pat Robertson and Jesse Jackson should thank their stars that Dave Foreman chose to become a conservation preacher rather than a religious preacher. Otherwise, they would be out of jobs. Foreman, who said his family had expected him to become a Bible-thumper, traces his unique ministry back to the doomsday preaching of Cassandra, and he…
Dear friends
Out of the hot Kay Firor and Kent Osterberg, accompanied by their children, Brent and Lissa, all of Cove, Ore., came through town. Kay teaches math at Eastern Oregon University, and Kent swears that he is a metrologist – a specialist in the measuring of things. The Red Robin Bike Tour of Colorado, a benefit…
Whitewater comes roaring back
GRACE, Idaho – After more than 90 dry years, a canyon near this quiet town recently filled with the roar of whitewater. Kayakers in mid-May ran the rapids through Black Canyon while a nearby power plant went two days without the river’s water. But PacifiCorp of Portland, Ore., didn’t release the Bear River back to…
Forest plan powers through Congress
Federal legislation to launch the Quincy Library Group’s forest management plan soared through the House, 429-1, a landslide victory which supporters are boasting was bigger and faster than the vote following Pearl Harbor. The lone holdout was Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Opposition to the controversial bill faded in last-minute negotiations between Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska,…
Trouble for grizzly bear recovery plan
After a four-year, $250,000 effort, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released its draft plan for restoring grizzly bears in western Montana and central Idaho. Now, Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, want to cut the project off at the knees. Hailed by many as a groundbreaking compromise between the timber industry,…
Habitat Conservation Plans
Who wins and who loses whenUncle Sam cuts deals with landowners to protect endangered species?
A Colorado reality check: lions roam and kill
On July 17, 10-year-old Mark David Miedema was hiking minutes ahead of his parents in Rocky Mountain National Park when an 88-pound pregnant female mountain lion attacked. The lion had fled by the time the family found the unconscious boy. Miedema, who choked on his own vomit, was dead when park rangers arrived. Three hours…
Critics say ‘no surprises’ means no protection
Note: This article accompanies another one of this issue’s feature stories. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Before Mike O’Connell said a single word, you could tell he was going to be the first troublemaker. It wasn’t just that he wore a tie. O’Connell’s panel was the only one at the Habitat Conservation Plans conference held in Washington,…
‘The real problem is lack of time’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Biologist Dennis Murphy, president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, is a science advisor for several Habitat Conservation Plans in Southern California. The plans were designed to protect the California gnatcatcher and other species while allowing development in the…
‘I’ve never seen a good HCP’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Attorney Tara Mueller works with the Environmental Law Fund in Oakland, Calif., where she helps grassroots environmental groups monitor Habitat Conservation Plans. Tara Mueller: “I can’t say that I’ve ever seen an example of a good HCP. There’re so many places that…
‘We’ve turned down bad HCPs’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Curt Smitch is an assistant director for Region 1 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which covers Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho and Hawaii. He oversaw the region’s Habitat Conservation Plan program when it took effect in 1994. Curt Smitch: “We…
The feds won’t enforce the ESA
Note: this article is part of a suite of feature articles in this issue about the Endangered Species Act and Habitat Protection Plans. Backers of Habitat Conservation Plans have a simple answer for critics: If we don’t cut deals with private landowners, we lose the habitat. That’s tough to swallow for some conservationists, since the…
‘Thrillcraft’ leave a polluted, contentious wake
“What we ought to do is establish parks for motorized recreational use, and shove all the ATVs and all the jet skis in there and let ’em run over the top of each other and break each other’s eardrums,” says Ric Bailey, the outspoken director of the Hells Canyon Preservation Council, a coalition of commercial…
‘Landowners need more incentives’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Many consider Michael Bean, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, the dean of endangered species protection in the United States. Others say he weakened the Endangered Species Act in the name of practicality when he helped craft the 1982 amendments…
‘Road warriors’ spread out over Utah
The pink line drawn on the topo map looks like a small finger poked into the close contour lines of Utah’s Deep Creek Mountains. My job as a “road warrior” for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance was to find this jeep road, if it still existed in the BLM wilderness study area, follow it as…