Washington’s fruit industry is a hotbed of federal immigration policy gone wrong
Rebecca Clarren
Posted inDecember 4, 2000: Road Block
A bird? A plane? It’s the environmental air force
Soaring above oil and gas wells in a six-person Cessna 210 is a far cry from flying in a crowded commercial plane. LightHawk, a nonprofit airline, uses the view to protect the environment. Based in San Francisco, Calif.; Aspen, Colo; and Seattle, Wash., LightHawk flies nearly 1,300 politicos, conservationists and journalists over degraded landscapes every […]
Posted inDecember 4, 2000: Road Block
Final roadless plan drives Clinton’s legacy
After holding 600 public meetings and reading 1.6 million citizen comments, the U.S. Forest Service released its final version of a plan to limit road-building on nearly one-third of America’s national forests (HCN, 11/8/99: A new road for the public lands). The preferred alternative now includes protecting 9.3 million acres in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, […]
Posted inNovember 20, 2000: Water pressure
The latest bounce
President Clinton has done it again. On Nov. 10, he created the 293,000-acre Vermilion Cliffs National Monument near the Grand Canyon in Arizona, bringing the tally of new monuments to 10. Clinton also expanded Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument by 661,000 acres. Last-minute politicking by Colorado politicians ensured $5 million from Congress to […]
Posted inNovember 6, 2000: 'Re-inhabitation' revisited
The latest bounce
For more than four months, the Bureau of Land Management has threatened to fine, and impound the cattle of, three ranchers who refused to remove their cattle from the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument in southern Utah (HCN, 9/25/00: Ranchers test an agency’s image). Now, the agency has followed through: Late last month, the BLM impounded the […]
Posted inNovember 6, 2000: 'Re-inhabitation' revisited
Timber counties get new money
NATION Since 1908, counties with national forests have received 25 percent of Forest Service timber receipts to pay for schools and roads. In recent years, rural communities have struggled financially as logging has declined (HCN, 12/20/99: Counties grab for control of national forests). Now, after several years and six legislative versions, President Clinton is expected […]
Posted inOctober 9, 2000: The hunters and the hunted
The latest bounce
Republican members of the House and Senate agreed to approve President Clinton’s $1.6 billion plan for fire recovery and forest restoration (HCN, 9/25/00: Fires bring on a flood of federal funds), but there’s a caveat. An amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill, sponsored by New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, attaches $240 million for salvage […]
Posted inOctober 9, 2000: The hunters and the hunted
Homeless tribe wants its land back
OREGON It may be a long shot, but the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw want 95,000 acres of national forest, an area larger than Portland, as compensation for land stolen over 150 years ago. In 1855, the western Oregon tribes made a deal with the federal government: In exchange for 1.6 […]
Posted inSeptember 25, 2000: Backyard boom
Colliding forces
Has Colorado’s oil and gas industry met its match?
Posted inSeptember 25, 2000: Backyard boom
How well do you know your wells?
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories, “Colliding forces.” Understanding methane-gas drilling isn’t easy. Here are some basics about what might be underground in a Western backyard. Conventional wells extract methane gas from sandstone 1,000 to 20,000 feet below the surface. Sitting in zucchini-shaped air pockets in the rock, […]
Posted inSeptember 25, 2000: Backyard boom
‘We need that gas’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories, “Colliding forces.” Ken Wonstolen of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, in his own words, says that Colorado is an energy-dependent state, and the methane gas it produces is greatly needed. “We live in an energy-dependent state. Unless we’re willing to give […]
Posted inSeptember 25, 2000: Backyard boom
‘It’s corporate greed’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories, “Colliding forces.” Arnold Mackley, who is fighting to protect his ranch from 20-acre well densities, was a Garfield County Commissioner from 1988 to 1996. He currently is a consultant for a nahcolite mining company, but he and his wife have plans to […]
Posted inSeptember 25, 2000: Backyard boom
Status quo reigns in New Mexico
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories, “Colliding forces.” AZTEC, N.M. – Five miles below the Colorado border in Aztec, N.M., green-painted pumpjacks and oil wells line the highways like sentinels. Many residents of this town of fewer than 6,000 people say they worry about poor air quality, noise […]
Posted inSeptember 25, 2000: Backyard boom
‘It’s hard to keep fighting’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories, “Colliding forces.” Janey Hines runs the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance in Parachute, Colo.: “We have no idea how many wells will be here, or how many roads, because the oil and gas companies are not required to make a plan. Maybe it […]
Posted inSeptember 25, 2000: Backyard boom
‘The playing field has to be leveled’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories, “Colliding forces.” Charles Micale owns the My Way Ranch in Collbran, Colo. In October 1999, Strachan Exploration Co. drilled a methane well at the ranch’s entranceway; since then, Micale has been fighting for more property rights for landowners who live above methane […]
Posted inSeptember 11, 2000: Holy water
The Latest Bounce
The Army Corps of Engineers has suffered a setback: The National Marine Fisheries Service revoked approval Aug. 25 for the Corps to deepen 103 miles of the Columbia River’s shipping lane. New studies show dredging will hurt endangered salmon (HCN, 1/17/00: A dredging dilemma). Meanwhile, a preliminary report by independent scientists in Portland, Ore., estimates […]
Posted inAugust 14, 2000: Meth invasion
The Wayward West
Wildfires continue to scorch the West at a record pace (HCN, 7/31/00: Colorado blazes fuel forest restoration efforts). High temperatures, low humidity and a plethora of dry lightning have created the worst wildfire season since 1988. The federal government is spending $15 million a day on fire fighting. As of Aug. 7, more than 60 […]
Posted inAugust 14, 2000: Meth invasion
Composting takes out the trash
CALIFORNIA California produces nearly 48 million tons of trash every year. A decade ago, the Golden State mandated that it cut landfill waste by 50 percent in an attempt to reduce these numbers. The state is close to its goal: It’s reduced landfill waste by nearly 40 percent so far, and some say composting has […]
Posted inJuly 31, 2000: Out of the darkness
The Wayward West
The Clinton administration has weighed in on the politically charged dam-breaching debate in the Northwest – and some say it’s bad news for endangered salmon (HCN, 12/20/99: Unleashing the Snake). On July 19, George Frampton, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, announced Clinton will delay demolishing the four Snake River dams for five to […]
Posted inJuly 3, 2000: A river resurrected
The basin has a much-ballyhooed plan
NORTHWEST No one’s holding their breath, but approval may be close for an interagency plan outlining management of 63 million acres of federal land across Idaho, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and western Montana (HCN, 6/23/97: New plan draws hisses, boos). In the works for over six years, the hefty and ballyhooed Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem […]