A humming good race This summer, the Rockies will host a kinder, gentler type of car race – one without roaring, polluting engines. The first annual Sun Sprint of the Rockies solar and electric car-race, a 500-mile run from Aspen, Colo., to Moab, Utah, is set for July 11-21. Racers will travel about 50 miles […]
Staff
Posted inJune 12, 1995: The Southwest's last real river: Will it flow on?
Dear Friends
It must be spring Wyomingites Geneen Marie Haugen and David Titcomb stopped by on Memorial Day, hoping to get away from the snow and rain. “Fat chance,” they reported. With no television reception or newspaper delivery at their house, they told us they like picking up High Country News for the latest scoop – even […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Rivers in jeopardy
RIVERS IN JEOPARDY It sounds like an honor, but it’s not. This year, the West contains four of the nation’s 10 most endangered rivers, chosen annually by American Rivers, a river conservation group. Because of a proposed gold mine near Yellowstone Park in Montana, the group voted the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River the […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Give “em an award
GIVE “EM AN AWARD Do you know a group or individual who deserves recognition for efforts to protect the environment? If so, send a nomination to the National Wildlife Federation by June 15 for the federation’s 1995 national conservation achievement awards, which range from communications and corporate leadership to an outstanding affiliate. The group will […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Cohabiting in Yellowstone
Cohabiting in Yellowstone While wolves dominate the news, another predator takes top billing at the Yellowstone Grizzly Foundation’s annual summit June 2-3 in Jackson, Wyo. Participants at the conference Bears and Ecosystems: A Period of Transition will discuss ongoing research and how grizzlies are adapting to the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. Speakers […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
New rules, less protection?
New rules, LESS PROTECTION? The Forest Service says its revamped regulations under the National Forest Management Act will streamline planning for recreation, logging, grazing and other activities and better integrate ecosystem management. Critics say the new rules, published April 13 in the Federal Register, strike a blow at environmental protection. One requirement, to maintain “viable” […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Wonder hemp
Wonder hemp “Make the most of hemp seed and sow it everywhere.” * George Washington, 1794 Did you know that canvas was named for cannabis, the Latin term for hemp, because Renaissance artists used hemp cloth for their paintings? Or that our founding fathers wrote the first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence on […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Water and the West
WATER AND THE WEST In the face of rapid development, how will the West maintain and manage its water? A conference on Sustainable Use of the West’s Water will address the problems of water rights, June 12-14 at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder. Twenty-six speakers are on tap, including Molly Harriss […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Booming in ski country
BOOMING IN SKI COUNTRY They may disagree on many issues but ski resort operators, environmentalists and real estate developers have one thing in common: They are often unable to manage the problems of employee housing and traffic congestion caused by rapid growth. A conference at Colorado’s Keystone Ski Resort June 7-10 aims to resolve those […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Dear Friends
Ramon in Paonia We’re a little upset with Ramon – an activist against logging clearcuts whose 20 acres of private land is the staging ground for the continuing fight against fragmenting the Cove/Mallard area in central Idaho (HCN, 3/6/95). If we had known the exact day of Ramon’s visit, we would have organized a public […]
Posted inMay 15, 1995: Dog and pony show about salmon and owls
Dear friends
Semi-special Since several recent issues have been labeled “special” because of their long planning time and extra pages, we were loath to call this edition on the Endangered Species Act a special issue too. But as the publication date approached, pages filled with yet more dimensions of the story. So we compromised: no extra pages […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Bring in more wolves
BRING IN MORE WOLVES The private group Defenders of Wildlife recently extended its Wolf Recovery Fund, established in Wyoming in 1987, to cover the Southwest. The program reimburses ranchers for livestock killed by wolves by raising funds from “the millions of wolf supporters all over the nation,” says Hank Fischer of Defenders. A Phoenix-based citizens’ […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Baiting continues unabated
Baiting continues unabated When the Forest Service announced last year that it would write a new policy regulating bear baiting, environmentalists and animal rights advocates were hopeful. They thought the agency might take a hard look at the controversial practice of laying out rotting foods to attract bears within shooting distance. But the new policy, […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
A place of one’s own
A PLACE OF ONE’S OWN Are you thinking of buying a few acres of land to satisfy that pastoral desire? It may be more complicated than you think and not as much fun. That’s why Montana has published a brief booklet for small-acreage landowners called Tips on Land & Water Management for Small Farms and […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Grassroots unite
GRASSROOTS UNITE Activists concerned about health, justice, peace and the environment will share organizing tactics May 5-6 in Missoula, Mont. Bryony Schwan, director of the Missoula-based Women’s Voices for the Earth, says the conference aims to diversify the environmental movement and pinpoint common ground among the participants. Speakers include Love Canal activist Lois Gibbs, now […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Slashing water welfare
Slashing water welfare The Bureau of Reclamation released new rules this month to stop corporate farms from using subsidized water meant for family farmers. In a 1993 court settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Bureau promised to look comprehensively at the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 and propose regulations to close loopholes. Subsidies […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
A last laugh
A Last Laugh Although environmentalists don’t have much to laugh about these days, Orlo, a Portland, Ore.-based environmental education group, wants to help lighten the mood. Its free exhibition of environmental cartoons called “The Last Laugh” is now showing at The Art Gym on Marylhurst College campus until May 20, featuring more than 150 editorial […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Goats in the crosshairs
GOATS IN THE CROSSHAIRS Managers at Olympic National Park propose shooting mountain goats to save the stuff they graze, wallow and walk on – native plants. A recent draft environmental impact statement recommends killing the park’s 300 non-native goats rather than transferring them outside the park, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Park managers say efforts to […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Wild symposium
WILD SYMPOSIUM “Always Cry Wolf” is the theme of a symposium during the 17th annual MountainFilm festival in Telluride, Colo., May 26-29. Speakers include author Rick Bass and wildlife photographer Jim Brandenburg, and on tap are wolf films and talks by filmmakers such as Ray Paunovich, who is now documenting the lives of wolves released […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Dear friends
Stacked deck? When Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young decided to leave the Beltway to hear opinions on changing the Endangered Species Act, he set no House (Natural) Resource Committee hearings in what we think of as The West: Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, or South Dakota. Young selected mainly small […]