Montanans worried about the effects of development and population growth on wildlife and its habitat have a reason to attend the Montana Audubon Annual Meeting: Held in Hamilton on April 23-25, the conference will focus on “Preserving Our Rural Landscape.” To learn more, contact the state office at P.O. Box 595, Helena, MT 59624 (406/443-3949). […]
Books
Posted inApril 12, 1999: Is trapping doomed?
Dr. Jane Goodall
Primate expert and author Dr. Jane Goodall will speak on “Chimpanzees: So like us’ at the Snow King Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on April 27 at 7 p.m. Goodall, brought to Jackson by the nonprofit Murie Center, has researched primate behavior for decades and has made a series of discoveries that have changed the […]
Posted inApril 12, 1999: Is trapping doomed?
A River of Dreams and Realities
At the Arkansas River Basin Water Forum, A River of Dreams and Realities, in Caûon City, Colo., April 23-24, ranchers, Bureau of Reclamation managers, members of the U.S. Geological Survey and locals will try to find solutions for a resource too much in demand. For registration, contact Pat Clifford at CSU Cooperative Extension, 411 N. […]
Posted inApril 12, 1999: Is trapping doomed?
A history of how a grassroots rebellion won a water war
I made the mistake of reading Peter Carrels’ Uphill Against Water not long after I’d read David Remnick’s Lenin’s Tomb, his account of the fall of the Soviet Union, and at times had trouble remembering whether I was in South Dakota or in the old U.S.S.R. Of course, in South Dakota, political opponents were not […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Adopt-a-ferret is under way
Once close to extinction, the black-footed ferret is making a comeback this year. Over the past decade, thousands of the critters have been raised in captivity by a federally funded breeding program. This year, scientists plan to release around 250 ferrets in five Western states, adding to the estimated 200 captive-bred ferrets already in the […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Are salmon bear essentials?
New research shows that the decline of salmon populations in the Northwest has drastically altered the diet of the region’s grizzly bears. Historically, say Charles Robbins of Washington State University and other researchers, salmon accounted for an average of two-thirds of a grizzly’s diet, and, at times, as much as 90 percent. The biologists examined […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
The big picture
-These photos are a stop-gap look at a point in time, a chance to see what the landscape looked like six or 10 years ago.” *Bill DuBois From the pilot’s seat of his 44-year-old Cessna 180 plane, F.E. Bill DuBois has been taking photos of every precious metal mine in Nevada for 24 years. What […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Wirth Chair for Environmental and Community Development Policy
The search is on. The Tim Wirth Chair awards directors are seeking nominations for Wirth Chair for Environmental and Community Development Policy awards, given to individuals, groups and media for work in sustainable development. Nominations are due by April 15. Contact Marshall Kaplan at 303/820-5605, Tom McCoy at 303/820-5628 or write 1445 Market Street, Suite […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
22nd International Film Festival
The 22nd International Film Festival in Missoula, Mont., showcases the world’s best wildlife films on April 17-24, beginning with the WildWalk parade, which hoots and howls through downtown Missoula. For more information, contact festival organizers at 27 Fort Missoula Rd. #2, Missoula, MT 59804-7200, 406/728-9380, iwff@wildlifefilms.org, http://www.wildlifefilms.org. This article appeared in the print edition of […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Honoring the Mother, Healing Global Wounds Spring Gathering
Community groups and activists are invited to “break the nuclear chain” at the Nevada Test Site May 7-10. Honoring the Mother, Healing Global Wounds Spring Gathering will include nonviolence training and programs on empowering youth. Contact P.O. Box 420, Tecopa, CA 92389 (760/852-4175), hgw@scruznet.com or www.shundahai.org/HGW for more information. This article appeared in the print […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
A Culture to Sustain Us: Creating a Center that Holds
This year’s Sitka Symposium, featuring writers David Orr, Pattiann Rogers and others, revolves around the theme, “A Culture to Sustain Us: Creating a Center that Holds.” The gathering is set for June 17-23, in Sitka, Alaska. To learn more, contact the Island Institute, P.O. Box 2420, Sitka, AK 99835; 907/747-3794; e-mai;: island@ptialaska.net. This article appeared […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Spring Action Training Camp
The Cove/Mallard Coalition in Idaho is offering hands-on experience May 26-31 to anyone interested in becoming an in-the-woods activist. Workshops at the Spring Action Training Camp include wilderness survival and the “how to” of successful blockades and tree sits. Call 208/882-9755, write P.O. Box 8968, Moscow, ID 83832 or e-mail cove@moscow.com. This article appeared in […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Nebraska National Forest
The national forests of Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming need volunteers who are passionate about the outdoors and conservation. There are a variety of opportunities, from trail work to answering questions at visitor centers. Contact Nebraska National Forest, 125 N. Main St., Chadron, NE 69337, or www.fs.fed.us/r2/nebraska/volunteer/ index.htm. This article appeared in the print edition […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Cyanide Uncertainties: Observations on the Chemistry, Toxicity, and Analysis of Cyanide in Mining Related Waters
The Mineral Policy Center has published a 16-page pamphlet on the hazards of mining with cyanide. For a free copy of Cyanide Uncertainties: Observations on the Chemistry, Toxicity, and Analysis of Cyanide in Mining Related Waters, contact Mineral Policy Center, 1612 K St. NW, Suite 808, Washington, DC 20006, 202/887-1872, or email: mpc-us@msn.com. This article […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Dangers of exploring abandoned mines
A 24-page workbook about the dangers of exploring abandoned mines is available free to youth groups and educators. Mining Utah’s Heritage includes drawings, games and quizzes to get its message across. For a copy, call Jan Morse at 801/538-5305 or write the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program, P.O. Box 145801, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5801. This […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Mormons on the land
-We cannot return to Eden. We know too much and we care too little about the complexities of our collective past. But perhaps we can find our way toward a new genesis, a wiser relationship toward Creation that is founded on the sacred principles of love and respect and empathy.” * Terry Tempest Williams, New […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Just go away
-So what’s the American Dream for the people out here?” I asked. “To be left alone,” Baker replied. “Just to be left alone?” I asked. “But that’s not possible, is it?” “Nope,” Baker said. “How do they react when they find it’s not possible?” I asked. “They get really mad,” and (she) broke up laughing. […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Green versus gold
California sometimes seems to play in its own league, its affairs completely separate from the rest of the West. But the lively new collection, Green Versus Gold: Sources in California’s Environmental History, shows how universal California’s lessons are. Editor Carolyn Merchant dips into every phase of California’s history, from before Europeans arrived, through Spanish colonization, […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Deciphering the ditches
It is widely acknowledged that conventional approaches to economic development in the rural West, based on mineral extraction, industrial relocation, and capital-intensive tourism, have met with dismal results. Jobs may be created, but the benefits are inequitably distributed; growth may or may not occur, but poverty and underdevelopment persist, and in the process, the community […]
Posted inMarch 15, 1999: Selling off the Promised Land
Help arrives for the ailing Alamosa
For years, locals have declared Colorado’s Alamosa River “dead,” killed by pollution from the notorious Summitville Mine. Now, a grassroots organization has teamed up with a national group to resurrect the river. The Capulin, Colo.-based Restore Our Alamosa River was selected from 130 applicants to join a national umbrella group, Water Keepers Alliance, that provides […]