By Lisa Stiffler Portland’s ecoroof program is enough to turn other sustainability-striving cities green with envy. The City of Roses boasts 351 green roofs and rooftop gardens covering more than 26 acres.* By comparison, Seattle has 62 vegetated roofs totaling about 9 acres. How’d they do it? I had the opportunity to talk to Amy […]
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The difficult windows of September
Often I have observed that September is our reward for putting up with Colorado the rest of the year: Generally clear skies, warm sunny days that don’t get too hot, brisk mornings, glowing aspen leaves — what’s not to like? Well, as the nights get cooler — our first killing frost typically arrives around Sept. […]
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Do Indian Country voters have the president’s back?
By any objective measure Barack Obama has been the most engaged and effective president on American Indian issues since at least since Richard Nixon. You could even make the case that Obama is better than Nixon because there has been so much successful legislation and Executive Branch action in less than two years. A quick […]
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Native discovery could save important fish
The scientific discovery of an ancient stress hormone by a tribal member could lead to the survival of the most ancient of the native fish in the Pacific Northwest, the Pacific lamprey, an eel like fish that evolved more than 500 million years ago. David Close, Ph.D. is a Cayuse and a member of the […]
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Rants from the Hill: Guests in the house of fire
“Rants from the Hill” are Michael Branch’s monthly musings on life in the high country of Nevada’s western Great Basin desert. For once, fire has remained absent from our home landscape this summer. Winter was so long and wet as to have repressed fire season, and it seems strange that our home mountain, valley, and […]
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How bad projects get built
Editor’s note: David Zetland, a water economist who recently finished a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley offers an insider’s perspective into water politics and economics. We will be cross-posting occasional posts and content from his blog, Aguanomics, here on the Range. RM sent me the “Review budget for Bay Delta Conservation Plan […]
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The Public Trust makes a comeback in California
When the Mono Lake Decision was issued by the California Supreme Court in 1983, environmental spokespersons claimed that it would revolutionize the way water is managed in California. Citing both the ancient Public Trust Doctrine (which dates to Roman Times) and a modern California Fish & Game Code, the state’s highest court stated unequivocally that […]
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A new twist in an old contention
For more than a century — the first court case was filed in 1901 — Kansas and Colorado have fought over the Arkansas River, with Kansas claiming that Colorado keeps too much of its water. Now there’s a new twist in the long dispute. (The two states can’t even agree on how to pronounce the […]
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Mystery Salmon
Pull up to any fish buying station in the Salish Sea and you will likely spy many stupid grins. The reason, as Mary Ellen Walling crowed last week, is that “The Sockeye are back!” The news is as good as it gets in this long suffering fishery. In the last few decades sockeye runs have […]
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Remembering Labor on Labor Day
Labor Day comes on Monday. It inspires thoughts of picnics and mountain outings, but it also brings to mind a conversation I had years ago with my state representative — the rare Republican who carried a union card. Several mines had closed. Our area had lost a lot of well-paid steady jobs with excellent benefits. […]
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What will the Indian health system look like?
What will the Indian health system look like a decade from now? That’s an impossible question to answer. There is the potential of a court ruling striking down at least part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And, there is always the possibility of Congress will rewrite the law (I view this as […]
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Enchanted with carbon caps
New Mexico is known for its stunning desert and mountain landscapes, vibrant mix of cultures and unique history. But this month the state is perched on the brink of becoming a leader in climate change regulation and plays a major role in moving the nation to a greener, stronger economy. The New Mexico Environmental Improvement […]
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The role of higher education
Recently, the New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote “We should be able to….establish a set of concrete understandings about what government should and shouldn’t do. We should be able to have a grounded conversation based on principles 95 percent of Americans support.” Instead, as former congressman (and now Chairman of the National Endowment on […]
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The Goliath of beets
By Michelle Venetucci Harvey As of a recent court hearing, a multinational biotech company feels threatened, thousands of farmers in the Pacific Northwest see impeding doom, and half of the US sugar industry is potentially depleted. What could be causing all this ruckus? The sugar beet. This month’s ruling by US District Judge Jeffrey White […]
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The Amargosa
The chef at Las Vegas’ Luxor hotel has a special recipe for dates: pit them, stuff the sweet, succulent fruit with cheese, and wrap them in bacon. It’s a recipe that takes skill, planning, and a certain panache. But what’s unique about this hors d’oeuvre isn’t just its sweet and savory flavor, but the fact […]
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Educational benefits
Some people love to travel, but I am not among them. I have the good fortune to live in a town that’s just the right size. Salida, Colo., is small enough that I can walk to conduct most of my routine errands, and big enough for a supermarket, library, bookstore, pharmacy and the like. America’s […]
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Spread of Bighorn Sheep Pneumonia Continues
By Jule Banville, NewWest.net guest blogger 8-23-10 The deadly spread of pneumonia in Montana’s bighorn sheep population picked up momentum west of Anaconda, where a hunter alerted Fish, Wildlife & Parks of possible disease in the Lost Creek population. Biologists killed four sheep and confirmed through lab work they were infected. FWP announced the latest […]
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A fast year
Lessons from the Indian Health System A year goes by fast. Way too fast. Thirteen months ago I plunged into my “year-long” exploration of the Indian health system. It’s been fascinating because there has so much activity: Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and included with that bill the permanent authorization of […]
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From payment to prevention
Restoring wolves to their native habitat in the West hasn’t been easy. Some were opposed to the idea from the start, including ranchers who already viewed wild predators as a threat to their livelihoods. That’s why compensating ranchers for losses to wolves was an integral part of promoting tolerance, even before wolves were reintroduced. Wolves […]
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Conservation groups reject deal for Child Nutrition Program
The Capital Press – a western agricultural weekly – is reporting that “conservation groups” are part of a coalition of agricultural and other organizations opposing cutting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) in order to fund the Obama Administration’s drive to expand child nutrition programs – including the innovative farm-to-school program. […]