The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided not to protect the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act (HCN, 12/20/04: Rulings keep the West open for business). In early January, the agency announced that even though there are only 100,000 to 500,000 of the birds left in 11 Western states and two Canadian […]
Laura Paskus
Posted inDecember 20, 2004: Stand Your Ground
Conscientious Objectors
Public employees and their allies on the outside fight against Bush’s war on science
Posted inDecember 20, 2004: Stand Your Ground
Nevada BLM cleans out cleanup project manager
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “Conscientious Objectors.” Earle Dixon was in for a surprise this fall, when he showed up for a meeting at his office in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Carson City Field Office. Over the previous year, Dixon had overseen the cleanup of the Yerington […]
Posted inOctober 25, 2004: Window Shopping: Part-Time Paradise
Follow-up
New rules that require retailers to label where fish come from have gone into effect — sort of. The new rules, which were mandated under the 2002 Farm Bill, require fish and shellfish to be labeled as “farm-raised” or “wild-caught,” as well as identified by their country of origin (HCN, 3/17/03). The only catch is […]
Posted inOctober 25, 2004: Window Shopping: Part-Time Paradise
Racetrack
Environmental groups are worried that a proposition on California’s ballot may limit their ability to sue corporations that violate state or federal environmental laws. Proposition 64 would repeal a section of the state’s Unfair Competition Law that allows state or local attorneys or members of the public to sue a business for “unlawful, unfair and […]
Posted inOctober 25, 2004: Window Shopping: Part-Time Paradise
Despair not one more day
“… My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.” — Adrienne Rich History shows that the proverbial rock can be rolled, if not to the top of the mountain, […]
Posted inOctober 25, 2004: Window Shopping: Part-Time Paradise
Dear friends
A lesson the First Amendment Writer and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams came to western Colorado in early October for the 24th annual meeting of the Western Colorado Congress. She spoke to a packed auditorium about the “open space of democracy.” Williams, who just published a book by the same name, talked about the differences that […]
Posted inOctober 25, 2004: Window Shopping: Part-Time Paradise
Election-year environmentalism
The Bush administration throws enviros and hunters some bones
Posted inOctober 11, 2004: The First Family of Western Conservation
Follow-up
Former workers at a nuclear bomb factory may soon get a cold shoulder from the U.S. Department of Energy. In 1993, Congress created the Former Worker Medical Screening Program to notify and test nuke workers who might be at risk for health problems (HCN, 11/24/03: Cold war workers seek compensation). But the screening program for […]
Posted inOctober 11, 2004: The First Family of Western Conservation
Racetrack
This election day, Arizonans will decide who can vote in future elections — and what they’ll have to bring with them to the polls. Proposition 200, or the Arizona Tax Payer and Citizen Protection Act initiative, would prevent noncitizens from voting, require all voters to present identification at the polls, and also require state and […]
Posted inSeptember 27, 2004: Life After Old Growth
Follow-up
Shipping radioactive waste around the country is neither cheap nor easy: When the U.S. Department of Energy shipped the wrong type to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the New Mexico Environment Department slapped the Energy Department with a $2.4 million fine for violating the state’s hazardous waste laws (HCN, 8/2/04: Follow-up). Then, at the end […]
Posted inSeptember 27, 2004: Life After Old Growth
Racetrack
Since the 1970s, Oregon has pioneered land-use laws to preserve rural landscapes, prevent irresponsible suburban development, and support local businesses over big-box stores (HCN, 11/25/02: Planning’s poster child grows up). Now, Oregonians in Action, a private-property rights group, is supporting an initiative that would force the state to compensate private-land owners who are restricted from […]
Posted inSeptember 27, 2004: Life After Old Growth
Dear friends
End of summer swarms During the tail end of August, as the last cobs of sweet corn were cut and sold, and local farmers began transforming their fields from verdant rows of uniform green to mazes for kids to run through, visitors flocked to High Country News. Colorado subscribers included Bobbie and Roy Wright from […]
Posted inSeptember 13, 2004: When a Boom is a Bust
Colorado voters hold the cards on renewable energy
In the state Legislature, utilities have had the upper hand — but now the choice is up to voters
Posted inSeptember 13, 2004: When a Boom is a Bust
Japanese cars may get all the good lanes
Note: in the print edition of this issue, this article appears as a sidebar to another news article, “Colorado voters hold the cards on renewable energy.” A proposed new law would give some hybrid-vehicle owners access to California’s coveted commuter lanes — and the CEO of Ford Motor Co. is feeling left out. The bill, […]
Posted inAugust 30, 2004: How Long Will it Flow?
Follow-up
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is getting into the endangered species business. On July 29, the agency announced it is “streamlining” pesticide registration. Under the old rules, the EPA had to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries, the federal agencies that enforce the Endangered Species Act, before approving a new […]
Posted inAugust 30, 2004: How Long Will it Flow?
Racetrack
A proposed ballot initiative in Montana would add one sentence to the state Constitution, “forever” preserving the right of Montana citizens to hunt and fish. However, that right “does not create a right to trespass on private property or diminution of other private rights.” The race is on for retiring Colorado Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell’s […]
Posted inAugust 30, 2004: How Long Will it Flow?
Dear friends
THE HCN FAMILY GETS A LITTLE BIGGER — AND MUCH CUTER The summer has been a fruitful one — and not just for farmers growing sweet corn, cherries, peaches and tomatoes. Within only 15 days, we were graced with two new members of the High Country News family. On July 30, Lydia Kestrel Puckett was […]
Posted inAugust 16, 2004: Journey of Rediscovery
Follow-up
Tired of hearing about the 33,000 salmon and steelhead that died in the Klamath River two summers ago? According to the California Department of Fish and Game, those numbers were off: Based on a two-year study of the fish kill, which was believed to be the largest in the Pacific Northwest, the agency has found […]
Posted inAugust 16, 2004: Journey of Rediscovery
Racetrack
California tribes are standing tall against the Terminator. The California Nations Indian Gaming Association is endorsing Proposition 70, an initiative opposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R. Proposition 70 would allow the state to grant tribes renewable 99-year contracts to exceed the current limit of 2,000 slot machines and allow roulette and craps in return for […]