The Clinton administration’s Northwest forest plan received a blow March 21 when a federal judge ruled the plan was prepared in violation of a federal open-meetings law. Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., said the administration failed to include public comment and took information from a limited circle of […]
Staff
Posted inMay 2, 1994: A struggle for the last grass
Oregon dam is in limbo
The future of partially completed Elk Creek Dam in southern Oregon remains murky. Federal judge James Burns recently decided that the Army Corps of Engineers has not adequately considered new studies which show the dam significantly impairing salmon runs. But instead of ordering the dam razed, or lifting an injunction against completing work, the judge […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
A word for the wild
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act protects rivers and streams – no matter how small – from development and pollution. In Colorado, the Cache la Poudre remains the only river protected under the act. The non-profit Colorado Environmental Coalition would like more free-flowing rivers designated, but needs help to identify the most remarkable in Colorado. […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Wolves get green light
Wolves will roam wild again in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho as early as fall. Although 60,000 people opposed wolf reintroduction, 100,000 people told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service they supported its draft environmental impact statement for wolf recovery. Ed Bangs, project leader for the agency in Missoula, Mont., said many people commented […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Consensus on tape
The consensus approach to public-land grazing is like ecosystem management: a largely undefined process. To ground matters, Oregon State University has produced a 29-minute video titled, “The Miracle at Bridge Creek.” It examines how the Oregon Watershed Improvement Coalition brought together the various players on public-land grazing to improve several Oregon watersheds. The video is […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Hopis attack false kachinas
In recent years, tourists have bought tens of thousands of kachinas, many of which are mass produced by Navajos. “We can’t keep up with the demand,” says Steve Roberts, manager of a factory in Thoreau, N.M., where the carved, wooden figurines representing ancestral Hopi spirits are turned out. But, the Navajos may not be able […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Recylcing service goes regional
Recyclers in the Rocky Mountain West will soon have the opportunity to link up by computer. RecycleNet, an electronic bulletin board based in Colorado, plans to expand services this summer to Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, thanks to a $10,000 federal grant. The service encourages those in hands-on, day-to-day recycling programs […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Bats need a home
A Nevada legislative mandate to seal some 3,000 abandoned mines in Nevada threatens bats that roost in the shafts. Biologists who study bats say that as cave exploration has grown in popularity, “cavers’ have scared bats out of their natural habitat. Many now take refuge in abandoned mines. At a recent workshop with Nevada officials […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Talk wild
This summer some 330 high school students will build trails in parks and national forests as volunteers for the Student Conservation Association. But their minds require a workout, too. The non-profit SCA needs people to visit backcountry crews and spend time talking to them about natural resource issues. Previous “Educators Bureau” speakers have shared information […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Wallop bows out
Sen. Malcolm Wallop, Wyoming’s senior Republican senator, has decided to bow out of politics after serving for 18 years in the U.S. Senate. A major player in federal water and energy policy, Wallop had considered a run for Wyoming governor, but decided instead that his “political Energizer bunny” had run out. He will return to […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Sea lions slated for killing
Northwest lawmakers are urging legislation that would permit state wildlife officials to kill sea lions that feast upon a decreasing stock of steelhead at Seattle’s Ballard locks. Under the bills, which would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act, states could petition the federal government to kill non-threatened sea mammals if they continue feeding on vulnerable […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
South Pass reconsidered
A Wyoming environmental group has been successful in getting the Bureau of Land Management to reconsider the route of a natural gas pipeline over historic South Pass. Following a tour of the area last year, the Wyoming Outdoor Council convinced former BLM chief Jim Baca to reconsider the route. Council founder Tom Bell and other […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Recovery plan bearly there
Seventeen environmental groups said March 16 they will sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because its Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan will fail. The announcement follows a similar notice filed by three other groups in late January (HCN, 2/21/94). All say the federal plan needs to include more specific standards for the protection of core […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Wildlife advocates stand firm
Despite pressure from Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus not to testify against the proposed Owyhee Canyon bombing range, both the Idaho Fish and Game Department and its appointed commission came out against it (HCN, 1/24/94). At a recent public hearing, department representatives opposed the northern portion of the bombing range, saying it seriously threatens the protection […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Northwest forest watchers
Who says writing letters doesn’t work? Last fall Okanogan National Forest in Washington received over 700 letters protesting a draft environmental impact statement for the Granite Mountain Roadless Area. As a result, forest officials dropped plans to build at least 30 miles of new roads and log 15 million board-feet of timber. Leaders of Methow […]
Posted inApril 18, 1994: The salmon win one
Charisma counts
Although Americans want a balanced and healthy ecosystem and favor the right of all species to exist, turtles and otters are valued above rodents and insects. Donald Coursey, public policy specialist at the University of Chicago, says his national survey “showed a difference between the public’s walk and their talk.” Conducted last fall, the survey […]
Posted inApril 4, 1994: Who speaks for the Colorado Plateau?
Jackalopes in Japan
Two antlered rabbits recently made their way to Osaka, Japan, from the world capital of the jackalope, Douglas, Wyo. Japanese customs officials found the man-made novelties while searching the luggage of Douglas, Wyo., trade delegate, John Blair. Unable to understand the animals’ identity, officials began to look for jackalope on a list of endangered species. […]
Posted inApril 4, 1994: Who speaks for the Colorado Plateau?
An alleged massacre comes under fire
As the story goes, Shoshone-Bannock warriors scalped and murdered nearly 300 men, women and children near Almo, Idaho, in 1861. Now, several historians call the massacre mere campfire folklore. Brigham Madsen, a retired University of Utah professor who recently researched the killing, says no newspapers or U.S. military records in 1861 mention the massacre, and […]
Posted inApril 4, 1994: Who speaks for the Colorado Plateau?
Silent swans in Yellowstone
For the first time in recorded history, Yellowstone National Park trumpeter swans added no young to their flock last summer. The decline in cygnets parallels a decrease in the adult population from almost 500 last year to 277 this year. Ruth Shea, of the Idaho Fish and Game Department, believes a major cause is competition […]
Posted inApril 4, 1994: Who speaks for the Colorado Plateau?
Troubled waters on the Arkansas
-How bad is the water in the Arkansas – Really?” A conference on Colorado’s most popular rafting river will ask that question at an Upper Arkansas Watershed Forum, April 7-8. It brings together water quality and quantity experts to discuss heavy metals pollution, water rights, possible wild and scenic designation for the Arkansas, and a […]