Family inspiration Fictional and real-life families are the focus of this year’s Fishtrap gathering of writers in northeastern Oregon, July 3-9. Orphaned in Eden: The Search for Family in the West features workshops and discussion groups with literary agent Lizzie Grossman, novelist Craig Lesley and poet Naomi Shihab Nye, among others. Workshops will examine fictional […]
Books
Posted inJune 12, 1995: The Southwest's last real river: Will it flow on?
A humming good race
A humming good race This summer, the Rockies will host a kinder, gentler type of car race – one without roaring, polluting engines. The first annual Sun Sprint of the Rockies solar and electric car-race, a 500-mile run from Aspen, Colo., to Moab, Utah, is set for July 11-21. Racers will travel about 50 miles […]
Posted inJune 12, 1995: The Southwest's last real river: Will it flow on?
Deconstructing the rural West
Patrick Jobes has written a profoundly pessimistic analysis of the fate of the West’s attractive, or amenity, towns in the April/May 1995 issue of Western Planner. Fortunately, the article by the Montana State University sociologist is so densely written that its full, depressing impact may hit only those who reread it several times. Based on […]
Posted inJune 12, 1995: The Southwest's last real river: Will it flow on?
Rescuing Colorado’s rivers
Rescuing Colorado’s rivers The rivers of Colorado have a new advocate. The nonprofit Colorado Rivers Alliance aims to protect and restore Colorado’s rivers and hopes to gain members from all streams of life, including environmentalists, farmers and politicians. Although the group’s mission is broad, it has more specific intentions as well, such as re-establishing riparian […]
Posted inJune 12, 1995: The Southwest's last real river: Will it flow on?
Having it all
Having it all Can a city like Boulder, Colo., really have it all? Is it possible for a community to have open space, a sound economy, adequate schools, a healthy environment and affordable housing, all at once? A June 22-23 workshop, sponsored by the Boulder Housing Authority, will address those issues and invite participants to […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
New rules, less protection?
New rules, LESS PROTECTION? The Forest Service says its revamped regulations under the National Forest Management Act will streamline planning for recreation, logging, grazing and other activities and better integrate ecosystem management. Critics say the new rules, published April 13 in the Federal Register, strike a blow at environmental protection. One requirement, to maintain “viable” […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Wonder hemp
Wonder hemp “Make the most of hemp seed and sow it everywhere.” * George Washington, 1794 Did you know that canvas was named for cannabis, the Latin term for hemp, because Renaissance artists used hemp cloth for their paintings? Or that our founding fathers wrote the first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence on […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Water and the West
WATER AND THE WEST In the face of rapid development, how will the West maintain and manage its water? A conference on Sustainable Use of the West’s Water will address the problems of water rights, June 12-14 at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder. Twenty-six speakers are on tap, including Molly Harriss […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Booming in ski country
BOOMING IN SKI COUNTRY They may disagree on many issues but ski resort operators, environmentalists and real estate developers have one thing in common: They are often unable to manage the problems of employee housing and traffic congestion caused by rapid growth. A conference at Colorado’s Keystone Ski Resort June 7-10 aims to resolve those […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Rivers in jeopardy
RIVERS IN JEOPARDY It sounds like an honor, but it’s not. This year, the West contains four of the nation’s 10 most endangered rivers, chosen annually by American Rivers, a river conservation group. Because of a proposed gold mine near Yellowstone Park in Montana, the group voted the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River the […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Give “em an award
GIVE “EM AN AWARD Do you know a group or individual who deserves recognition for efforts to protect the environment? If so, send a nomination to the National Wildlife Federation by June 15 for the federation’s 1995 national conservation achievement awards, which range from communications and corporate leadership to an outstanding affiliate. The group will […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Save wild connections
SAVE WILD CONNECTIONS “In every biotic community, there are story lines which fiction writers would give their eyeteeth for: Desert tortoises with allegiances to place that have lasted upward of 40,000 years, dwarfing any dynasty in Yoknapatawpha County. Fidelities between hummingbird and montane penstemon that make the fidelities of Port William, Kentucky, seem like puppy […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Cohabiting in Yellowstone
Cohabiting in Yellowstone While wolves dominate the news, another predator takes top billing at the Yellowstone Grizzly Foundation’s annual summit June 2-3 in Jackson, Wyo. Participants at the conference Bears and Ecosystems: A Period of Transition will discuss ongoing research and how grizzlies are adapting to the return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. Speakers […]
Posted inMay 29, 1995: Politics 101
Just a moment! Can we learn from a bogus book?
A Moment on the Earth: The Coming Age of Environmental Optimism, by Gregg Easterbrook, 745 pages, $27.95; cloth, Viking. At no extra charge, you get with Gregg Easterbrook’s 745-page, $27.95 book, A Moment on the Earth, an erratum. Easterbrook had incorrectly written that the Environmental Defense Fund had sold, instead of given, its advice to […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Slashing water welfare
Slashing water welfare The Bureau of Reclamation released new rules this month to stop corporate farms from using subsidized water meant for family farmers. In a 1993 court settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Bureau promised to look comprehensively at the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 and propose regulations to close loopholes. Subsidies […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
A last laugh
A Last Laugh Although environmentalists don’t have much to laugh about these days, Orlo, a Portland, Ore.-based environmental education group, wants to help lighten the mood. Its free exhibition of environmental cartoons called “The Last Laugh” is now showing at The Art Gym on Marylhurst College campus until May 20, featuring more than 150 editorial […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Goats in the crosshairs
GOATS IN THE CROSSHAIRS Managers at Olympic National Park propose shooting mountain goats to save the stuff they graze, wallow and walk on – native plants. A recent draft environmental impact statement recommends killing the park’s 300 non-native goats rather than transferring them outside the park, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Park managers say efforts to […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Wild symposium
WILD SYMPOSIUM “Always Cry Wolf” is the theme of a symposium during the 17th annual MountainFilm festival in Telluride, Colo., May 26-29. Speakers include author Rick Bass and wildlife photographer Jim Brandenburg, and on tap are wolf films and talks by filmmakers such as Ray Paunovich, who is now documenting the lives of wolves released […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Bring in more wolves
BRING IN MORE WOLVES The private group Defenders of Wildlife recently extended its Wolf Recovery Fund, established in Wyoming in 1987, to cover the Southwest. The program reimburses ranchers for livestock killed by wolves by raising funds from “the millions of wolf supporters all over the nation,” says Hank Fischer of Defenders. A Phoenix-based citizens’ […]
Posted inMay 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
Baiting continues unabated
Baiting continues unabated When the Forest Service announced last year that it would write a new policy regulating bear baiting, environmentalists and animal rights advocates were hopeful. They thought the agency might take a hard look at the controversial practice of laying out rotting foods to attract bears within shooting distance. But the new policy, […]