In Sierra Vista, Ariz., a partnership of developers, environmentalists and government agencies is trying to keep the San Pedro River alive, while at the same time allowing for continued growth in this burgeoning Sunbelt city. Also in this issue, Assistant Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett wants Congress to give the Bureau of Land Management increased incentive to sell off more public lands.
Bark beetles affect human communities, too
Your bark beetle article missed the human and community dimension (HCN, 7/19/04: Global Warming’s Unlikely Harbingers). People who live, work, and play in forests devastated by beetles (e.g. Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula) perceive a wide range of impacts and risks. The biological implications of widespread beetle-kill include invasive, fire-prone grasses, decline in fish and animal habitat,…
Central City road is wildlife-friendly
Your article on the new road to Central City struck a tone that might give your readers a faulty impression about the construction of this badly needed road and the potential impact on wildlife (HCN, 6/21/04: Mining town gambles on a road to riches). Prior to construction of this new parkway, the Central City Business…
Remembering those forgotten in the desert
Every year, hundreds of Mexican immigrants die in the Arizona desert. This year will be no different. Their deaths generally receive little more then a mention in some local papers. But author and poet Luis Alberto Urrea is trying to change that. In The Devil’s Highway, Urrea chronicles the ill-fated journey of a group of…
Calendar
The 15th annual Bioneers Conference will be held in San Rafael, Calif., from Oct. 15-17. Sessions range from “Media and Democracy” to “Art in Action: Accelerating Social Change” and “Social Profit: From Value to Values.” Register by Sept. 24 to get in on the action. 505-986-0366 www.bioneers.org Do you have questions for the Center for…
Follow-up
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is getting into the endangered species business. On July 29, the agency announced it is “streamlining” pesticide registration. Under the old rules, the EPA had to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries, the federal agencies that enforce the Endangered Species Act, before approving a new…
Mining research tool debuts on Web
A new Web site provides a comprehensive look at who owns mining claims on public lands in the West, along with a scathing analysis of the legacy of the 1872 Mining Law in 12 Western states. Produced by the Environmental Working Group, “Who Owns the West,” allows the user to scroll through regional, state and…
Public lands lifeline
Wading through the vast web of laws and policies that govern our public lands can be confusing even for lawyers, let alone for ordinary citizens. Even commenting on a Bureau of Land Management resource management plan, which guides grazing, mining, oil and gas drilling, and off-road vehicle use, can be daunting. But The Wilderness Society…
Ancient archaeological secret is revealed
Over the years, rancher Waldo Wilcox had told very few people about the well-preserved Fremont Indian settlement on his land in eastern Utah’s Range Creek Canyon. The site, which includes a thousand-year-old treasure trove of pottery, arrowheads and cliff dwellings, is one of Utah’s most dramatic archaeological finds. But in the late 1990s, when Wilcox…
Racetrack
A proposed ballot initiative in Montana would add one sentence to the state Constitution, “forever” preserving the right of Montana citizens to hunt and fish. However, that right “does not create a right to trespass on private property or diminution of other private rights.” The race is on for retiring Colorado Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell’s…
Collaboration is killing Klamath salmon
Your “follow-up” article about juvenile salmon dying in the Klamath River (HCN, 7/19/04: Follow-up) contained an error. You stated: “But the Bureau of Reclamation has no more water to send downstream …” BuRec does have the ability to send more water downstream. They could do this by cutting irrigation deliveries by as little as 10…
‘No’ isn’t enough
I just wonder if, when we oppose mining, drilling, etc., in the United States, the effect of a victory merely spawns more destruction in other parts of the world? This world is getting smaller every day. Are we holding seminars and discussing the “costs of civilization” as we’ve come to know it? I think we…
Give the beaver a break
Bill Croke’s piece about beavers caught my eye (HCN, 6/7/04: Revenge of the old-timers: The beavers are back). I’m one of the “New Westerners” who likes the idea of having beaver around, and I’ve spent time and energy over 30-plus years trying (to no avail) to get the Nevada Department of Wildlife to prohibit the…
Trees face twin devils
Thank you for your recent, timely and in-depth article on the horrors of increasing bark beetle infestations (HCN, 7/19/04: Global Warming’s Unlikely Harbingers). In this report, changes in beetle life histories were targeted as the principal effect of climate change. However, rising temperatures and drought are apt to affect plant defenses as well. Trees facing…
A Thirst for Growth
For decades, Sierra Vista, Arizona, has pumped groundwater like there’s no tomorrow. Now, to save the Southwest’s last free-flowing river, the city’s leaders must confront an age of limits.
Turning water inside-out
Our feature story this issue tells the tale of two cities — a city and a fort, actually — along the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona. As veteran growth reporter Tony Davis shows, the two places have had markedly differing success in dealing with a shared water problem. On one hand, there’s Fort Huachuca.…
Fees and our forests don’t always fit
The next time you visit your local public library, drive an interstate highway through the West or attend a city council meeting, imagine how frustrated and upset you’d be if you were charged a fee for the privilege of doing so. In spite of the tax dollars you already pay to support these entities, imagine…
Dear friends
THE HCN FAMILY GETS A LITTLE BIGGER — AND MUCH CUTER The summer has been a fruitful one — and not just for farmers growing sweet corn, cherries, peaches and tomatoes. Within only 15 days, we were graced with two new members of the High Country News family. On July 30, Lydia Kestrel Puckett was…
Interior encourages BLM land sales
Selling public lands will let Western cities sprawl into new territory
Will a mining-reform victory hold water in Nevada?
Long-term cleanup trust fund may get shortchanged
Squirrels and scopes in the line of fire
The Mount Graham red squirrel suffers an ecological shock
“W” in 2004: Taking stock of wilderness at 40
As the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act approaches, this Sept. 3, there is an overwhelming temptation to talk about iconic places like the John Muir Wilderness in California or the Bob Marshall in Montana. But out in the middle of a worked-over oil and gas patch south of Vernal, Utah, lies a place that…
Heard around the West
MONTANA Artist Phil Kunz recalls seeing a vending machine filled with tiny art a few years ago, and the vision stayed with him; now, he’s created one for the former mining town of Butte. Kunz first had to track down an out-of-date cigarette vending machine; then, he enticed fellow artists to help decorate it to…
Arizona elections stay ‘clean’
Despite a challenge from big business, the state’s public campaign program prevails
Death of the San Pedro: Not if, but when
Note: this is a sidebar to a main story about the political struggles over protecting the San Pedro River. New evidence has surfaced that pumping in the Sierra Vista area may already be reducing groundwater flow to the San Pedro River. Water levels in seven monitoring wells on U.S. Army property have dropped by roughly…