Irrigation shutoffs in the river’s upper basin may finally help move a historic water deal on the Oregon-California border.
Tony Barboza
Posted inSeptember 19, 2005: Squeezing Water from a Stone
In the orchards, questions about immigration reform
Washington state offers a cautionary tale for would-be reformers in Washington, D.C.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2005: Rangeland Revival
Judge rejects old-growth forest rollbacks
A federal judge in Seattle has rejected the Bush administration’s elimination of the Northwest Forest Plan’s “survey and manage” rules. The rules required government agencies to survey for hundreds of rare species in the Pacific Northwest’s old-growth forests, logging only where those species wouldn’t be disturbed. In August, Judge Marsha Pechman sided with conservationists, saying […]
Posted inSeptember 5, 2005: Rangeland Revival
Pollution for jobs: a fair trade?
Navajos consider benefits — and drawbacks — of a new power plant
Posted inAugust 22, 2005: A Military Town Fights for its Life
Island’s pig problem pits animal-rights activists against conservationists
An animal rights group is trying to stop the killing of thousands of feral pigs on Southern California’s Santa Cruz Island. But the National Park Service says the hunt, which started in April, is necessary to put an end to the pigs’ destruction of native plants and animals. Channel Islands National Park occupies the eastern […]
Posted inAugust 8, 2005: The Gangs of Zion
A refreshing take on Wal-Mart vs. The World
“Unless you’ve been residing in a national wildlife refuge, you probably hear a lot about Wal-Mart,” begins The United States of Wal-Mart, by Denver writer John Dicker. Being anti-Wal-Mart is so popular these days, it can be hard to separate the good criticism from the bad. But Dicker’s book clearly qualifies as good. It is […]
Posted inAugust 8, 2005: The Gangs of Zion
Industry embeds its own in the BLM
Mining and energy companies fund workers at land-management offices
Posted inJuly 25, 2005: The Many Faces of Richard Pombo
Mining waste dumped in streams — and now lakes
The Bush administration tweaked Clean Water Act regulations to reclassify mining waste as “fill.” Now, that revised definition has been applied to metals mining for the first time — allowing a gold mine to put its tailings directly into an Alaskan lake. The 1972 Clean Water Act prohibited dumping waste into streams and lakes. But […]
Posted inJune 27, 2005: Reflections on a Divided Land
Factory wants to squeeze cheese underground
A massive cheese factory, mired in controversy over water-quality violations, has innovative plans for its wastewater: It wants to pump the milky liquid deep underground. In December, the Sacramento Bee exposed wastewater disposal violations at Hilmar Cheese Company near Modesto, which produces over 1 million pounds of cheese every day. A subsequent state investigation into […]
Posted inJune 13, 2005: Owning a Piece of Paradise
Soaring home prices spur changes to environmental law
California’s main environmental protection law is slated for reform in the name of affordable housing. With the median home price in California now over $500,000, developers and real estate agents say the best remedy is to build more homes fast. But the California Environmental Quality Act, passed in 1970 as a more stringent supplement to […]
Posted inMay 30, 2005: Write-off on the Range
State takes another shot at land swapping
After several failed attempts at land exchanges, Utah is giving the idea another try. In early May, Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, reintroduced the Utah Recreational Land Exchange Act. The bill would give the federal government 46,000 acres of land in southeastern and northeastern Utah, while the state would receive 40,000 acres in the northeast. The […]
Posted inMay 30, 2005: Write-off on the Range
Dear friends
WELCOME, NEW INTERNS As a teenager, HCN summer intern Patrick Farrell says he spent summers in his hometown of Lincoln, Neb., “scheming ways to get to Colorado to rock climb.” Lured by his love of nature, he moved West to study history at the University of Washington — but spent “more time in the library […]