Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology can turn hard data into colorful maps and geographic databases, but few nonprofit groups can afford the expensive computer tool. The Conservation Technology Support Program wants to solve this problem by offering GIS grants to environmental groups. In the year 2000, the program will give away more than $1 million […]
Books
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Risks multiply for land managers
Beatings, bombings, death threats and other acts of violence against Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees are on the rise. According to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), agency workers or buildings were attacked or threatened nearly 100 times in 1998 alone. One Forest […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Nevada names
JARBIDGE (Elko). A Nevada post office, established March 5, 1910, and town (the most isolated mining camp in the state) … According to Jarbidge legend, the name … comes from a Shoshone Indian word Jahabich, meaning “devil,” or from Tswhawbitts, the name of a mythical crater-dwelling giant who roamed the Jarbidge Canyon for many years. […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
BIA told to get organized
Allocate $10 million to $15 million for new bosses at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the beleaguered agency might get itself back on track, says a new report from the National Academy of Public Administration. The BIA, which represents 1.2 million Indians from 558 tribes, has long been plagued by mismanagement (HCN 4/15/99). BIA […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Kartchner Caverns State Park
There’s a new world underground: Nov. 12 marked the grand opening of Kartchner Caverns State Park, 50 miles southeast of Tucson, and so far 30,000 people have reserved tours of the cave. Reservations are strongly recommended from 520/586-CAVE. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Kartchner Caverns State Park.
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Tailings and mine waste
Colorado State University is hosting a conference on tailings and mine waste Jan. 23-26, 2000, for members of the mining community and other interest groups concerned with mine waste management. Mining, tailings management, geohydrology, geochemistry and other related topics will be covered in focused sessions. For information, contact Linda Hinshaw, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Great Salt Lake Issues Forum
The third Great Salt Lake Issues Forum will spotlight selected watershed programs within the state and around the country, including Idaho’s Salmon/Lemhi Resource Area. The goal is to use these examples to devise a collaborative restoration and protection program for Great Salt Lake. The Feb. 25-26 forum is presented by Friends of Great Salt Lake. […]
Posted inNovember 22, 1999: Go tell it on the mountain
Cartoons from Elmer Sprunger
In Montana, the nonprofit Friends of the Wild Swan is ringing in the new year with a calendar of favorite cartoons from Elmer Sprunger (see page 6), the man who can make bears talk. It’s $10 from Friends of the Wild Swan, P.O. Box 5103, Swan Lake, MT 59911. This article appeared in the print […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Every January for the last 15 years, ranchers, poets, musicians, gear makers and Western enthusiasts have headed to Elko, Nev., for the Cowboy Poetry Gathering. The Jan. 22-29, 2000, event, expected to draw some 10,000 people, will explore ranch culture and cowboy tradition. Tickets range from $15 to $100 for a package. Call toll free, […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Montana Wilderness Association
The Montana Wilderness Association’s annual conference will be held Dec. 3-4 in Butte. Plans for the gathering include a slide show of Montana’s wildest places and an update on efforts to inventory the state’s roadless areas. Write MWA at P.O. Box 635, Helena, MT 59624 (406/443-7350), or e-mail: mwa@wildmontana.org. This article appeared in the print […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Montana Audubon
Montana Audubon will be offering grants totaling more than $1,000 in the year 2000. The money will be awarded to individuals or nonprofit organizations whose project will directly benefit wildlife in Montana. Preference will be given to projects involving non-game wildlife, from birds to invertebrates, and their habitats. Interested applicants should call 406/443-3949 to obtain […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Frank Church lecture series
The late Idaho Sen. Frank Church, an architect of the Clean Air Act and the Wilderness Act, is often hailed as an environmental hero. The Environmental Resource Center of Ketchum, Idaho, will pay tribute to Church’s spirit at its first annual Frank Church lecture series, Dec. 4 in Sun Valley. Speakers include Assistant Secretary of […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
California Wildlands 2000 Conference
Supporters of California wilderness are invited to participate in the California Wildlands 2000 Conference, co-sponsored by the California Wilderness Coalition, the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society and Friends of the River. The May 5-7 conference at California State University in Sacramento will focus on building support for an initiative to inventory all of the land […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Wolves at Colorado’s door?
During a recent presentation at the University of Colorado by a Boulder-based wolf recovery organization, Sinapu, a captive-raised wolf named Rami was introduced to the audience. As Rami calmly walked up and down the aisles with her handler, sniffing boots and licking faces, audience members sat in awed silence. Wolves, like many other predators, are […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Wolff campaigns for wolves
For nine years, New Mexican Pat Wolff has been working to shut down publicly funded programs that kill predators and other problem animals (HCN, 4/27/98). Last year, the organization she founded, New West Research, won a lawsuit requiring the government to release names of ranchers who get federal help to control predators. Now, she’s touring […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
A lasting chemical legacy
When a Missoula Rail Link train derailed April 11, 1996, ruptured tank cars exposed suddenly wakened residents of Alberton, Mont., to 129,000 pounds of chlorine gas and 17,000 gallons of potassium cresylate (HCN, 8/3/98). More than 1,000 people were evacuated from the western Montana town that night, and most didn’t return until health and emergency […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Keeping Glacier Park intact
Four years of work, months of public review and a $1.5 million investment have paid off for Glacier National Park planners. Last summer, the Park Service signed the General Management Plan that will guide Glacier’s resource management for the next few decades. Project leader Mary Riddle says the plan reflects people’s desire to keep the […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Wising up to whirling disease
Scientists are considering new management strategies for whirling disease, which has been attacking fish in the West since the early 1990s. The disease has spread from one Western river to the next, eluding attempts at a cure and draining funds from state game and fish department budgets. Trout get the disease by eating worms infected […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
Mining may need some brakes
Outdated federal mining regulations cause environmental disasters, says the Mineral Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Its 32-page report, Six Mines, Six Mishaps: Six Case Studies of What’s Wrong With Federal and State Hardrock Mining Regulations and Recommendations for Reform, describes a wide range of mining sites that have “slipped through the loopholes of regulations,” says […]
Posted inNovember 8, 1999: A new road for the public lands
USFS plans for more planning
The Forest Service proposes to improve national forests by reshaping the 15-year management plans that guide them. The agency’s draft rule says plans must emphasize ecological balance and sustainable use of forests, boost public involvement during the planning process, and shift some decision-making from regional and national offices to forest-level managers. The current system of […]