Lisa Murkowski, the senator from Alaska, alternates between diplomat and bulldog in her rise to the top, plus the Pope on climate change, immigrants after the Front Range floods, and more.
The waning power of Alaskan lawmakers
The energy-backed powerhouses once wielded outsized influence in Congress. That’s changing.
Battle-ready dogs, badly behaved dogs and one pup hardened by an encounter with the wilderness.
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
The self in perpetual motion
A review of “Spirit Bird: Stories” by Kent Nelson.
Blind hypocrisy
I found your story “Sea lions feast on Columbia salmon” (HCN, 8/17/15) both interesting and disturbing. That some are ready to kill these animals due to their apparent localized “over-population” is the very definition of hypocrisy. Humans have over-populated the planet since the 1960s, and our over-consumption and careless actions have put the entire planet…
Board meeting updates and HCN family visitors
Plus, a look at our strategic planning and a graffiti correction.
Can the pope bridge the climate divide?
Catholics in the West are responding to his call. Will Congress?
For the Lassics lupine, wilderness is a mixed blessing
The Wilderness Act has complicated efforts to protect the rare California wildflower.
Galled, but not surprised
The article “On life support,” (HCN, 8/3/15), on the efforts to “save” the silvery minnow, is so depressing. Yes, I realize this is a desert river, not like the rivers of British Columbia. I’ve travelled often in the Southwest and subscribed to HCN for well over a decade, so there were no surprises here. Yet this…
How 2013’s Front Range floods changed the face of the region
Two years after floodwaters swept through, many immigrant families are still struggling to rebuild.
How to survive the bust
As oil prices plummet, a drill rig worker traces the effects among his brethren.
Manifest destiny today, bees and climate, sage grouse legal wrangling on the horizon.
Hcn.org news in brief.
Pontificating
When John Boehner, Republican speaker of the House, announced in September that he was resigning, he affirmed a basic political reality of our time: Uncompromising hijackers have fractured his party and turned Congress into a mean-spirited, ineffectual mess. “We got groups here in town, members of the House and Senate here in town, who whip…
Prejudice by degree
In “It’s time to end Custer worship,” (HCN, 8/3/15), writer Todd Wilkinson asks whether George Custer should “be celebrated as a hero of conquest or recast as the bigoted, egotistical, narcissistic villain he apparently was? Does he deserve to have his name attached to towns, counties, a state park and a national forest, or should…
Revolting review
My thanks to Emma Marris for saving me precious time and money with her reviews of the wilderness-themed books by Jason Mark and Fred Pearce (“Wilderness redefined and defended,” HCN, 9/14/15). As she suggests, the authors’ purist non-interventionist OK with extinction philosophy will alienate many readers, but I think “revolt” might be a more accurate…
The Colorado River’s desalination plant is on its last legs
The obscure Paradox Valley Unit keeps the Colorado River’s salinity levels in check for farmers, but causes quakes upstream.
The rise of Lisa Murkowski
Alaska’s pragmatic senator wants to reshape America’s energy policy.
Beyond the energy omnibus: a look at Sen. Murkowski’s hard-to-pass bills
The head of the Senate Energy Committee has crafted a comprehensive energy plan. But she left her most ambitious initiatives to be battled over separately.