David Brower resigned from the national
board of the Sierra Club on May 18, criticizing its
neutral stand on U.S. immigration issues (HCN, 5/11/98: Give me
your tired, your poor, your huddled masses) and accusing the
organization of a general lack of gumption. “Overpopulation is
perhaps the biggest problem facing us, and immigration is part of
that problem,” he told The San Francisco Chronicle. Brower’s
resignation follows a board election marked by bitter conflict
between the John Muir Sierrans, a hard-line faction within the
group, and members who favor a more conciliatory approach to
issues. The board remains roughly balanced.
The
proposed White River National Forest plan has caused an avalanche –
of mail, that is. At the May 9 deadline, the Colorado forest had
received 14,400 comments on the controversial
plan, enough to create a stack of paper 12 feet high
(HCN, 1/17/00: STOP – A national forest tries to rein in
recreation). Forest officials say only about one-third of the
comments are form letters or postcards. When the existing plan was
reviewed in 1983, the public sent 275 letters and about 100
postcards.
A federal judge says the Army Corps of
Engineers has been ignoring environmental laws on the
Yellowstone River, the longest free-flowing river in the
lower 48 states (HCN, 3/27/00: The last wild river). In mid-May, a
judge in Billings, Mont., found the agency hadn’t paid attention to
the combined effects of 14 bank stabilization projects permitted in
1996 and 1997. The Corps must now review its decisions and decide
whether any of the projects warrant environmental impact
statements.
Bart, the
“spokesbear” for animal cancer research and wildlife
habitat protection (HCN, 5/8/00: Bart: Still a trooper), has died.
The 1,500-pound grizzly bear was raised in captivity near Salt Lake
City and starred in several films, including The Edge. After he was
diagnosed with cancer in late 1998, he underwent two surgeries to
remove tumors from his paw. His trainers believed he had made a
full recovery, but the cancer reappeared in recent months. Bart was
euthanized on May 10 at the age of 23.
Copyright © 2000 HCN and Allen Best
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The Wayward West.
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