-Few citizens, however well intentioned, can cope with the array of industry experts and lawyers that they will face when opposing a mine,” says Sue McIntosh of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club. That’s why McIntosh has written a handbook for mining activists called Avoiding the Shaft: The New Mexico Citizen’s Mining Manual. […]
Books
World Oil Forum
The World Oil Forum in Denver, Oct. 30, considers the future of the world supply of petroleum. Experts from advocacy groups, industry and government will discuss the timing and consequences of oil production’s impending decline. Contact the Community Office for Resource Efficiency, P.O. Box 9707, Aspen, CO 81612 (970/544-9808). This article appeared in the print […]
Trails and the American Spirit
Tucson, Ariz., plays host to this year’s National Trails Symposium, Nov. 13-17. “Trails and the American Spirit,” sponsored by American Trails, features keynote speakers Royal Robbins, the adventurer and outdoor clothing baron, and Tom Whittaker, the first disabled person to summit Everest. Contact American Trails at 520/632-1140 or visit www.outdoorlink.com/amtrails. This article appeared in the […]
Solar power is booming
After lagging for decades, solar power is booming; its growth rate of 16 percent per year from 1990-1997 ranks it as the world’s second fastest-growing energy source after wind power. Worldwatch Institute attributes the boom to declining manufacturing costs and subsidies. Japan, Europe and the United States, for example, have instituted programs to encourage use […]
Elk: Pursuing the hunt and preserving the species
For author, hunter, woodsman and “hard-core, out-and-amongst-’em … serious wildlife watcher” David Petersen, elk are more than just a hobby, topic or even a passion; they are a religion. If books had to have subtitles that reflected their deeper messages, Petersen’s newest book, Elkheart: A Personal Tribute to Wapiti and Their World, might be A […]
Prisoners for hire
A new magazine called ColorLines, with editorial offices in Oakland, Calif., takes a harsh look at what it calls the “prison-industrial complex.” It finds an unsavory relationship between corporations that improve their bottom line thanks to cheap prison labor, and our society’s desire to lock up people we’ve given up trying to socialize or educate. […]
Irrigators speak a volume
After a federal water commission published Water in the West: The Challenge for the Next Century (HCN, 6/22/98), a 250-member industry group known as the Family Farm Alliance went to work on a report of its own. Irrigated agriculture has gotten the blame for the West’s water woes, members say, and they want to clear […]
Let’s talk about salmon
Wana Chinook Tymoo means “salmon stories’ in Sahaptin, a language shared by the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakama tribes. It is also the name of a free magazine published quarterly since 1991 by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. The group brings together members of the four tribes to help fight for the […]
Speaking of eating: There is no meat I would rather eat
Speaking of eating: There is no meat I would rather eat, and none I eat more of, than wild meat got with my own bloody hands as an ethical predatory omnivore. To the contrary, I go sick at the thought of swallowing “alternative livestock” flesh butchered from the bones of captive-raised wild animals. Magazines running […]
Wildlands Grassroots Rendezvous
Conservation biologist Michael Soulé and activist Dave Foreman are featured speakers when the Wildlands Project holds its Wildlands Grassroots Rendezvous: Science and the Conservation of Nature, Oct. 8-11, in Estes Park, Colo. Contact The Wildlands Project, 1955 W. Grant Road, Suite 148, Tucson, AZ 85745 (520/884-0875) or e-mail: wildland@earthlink.net. This article appeared in the print […]
Large-Scale Hog Farming in Colorado
Corporate hog farms have targeted Colorado, and an Oct. 20 conference, “Large-Scale Hog Farming in Colorado: Sooey or Sue Me?” will discuss regulatory options. Contact the Natural Resources Law Center of the University of Colorado School of Law at 303/492-1272 or Campus Box 401, Boulder, CO 80309-0401. This article appeared in the print edition of […]
Colorado Trails Symposium
All kinds of trail managers – volunteers and professionals who maintain trails for everyone from hikers to ATV riders – will come together at the Colorado Trails Symposium, Oct. 8-11 in Grand Junction, Colo. For information contact: 1998 Colorado Trails Symposium, c/o Colorado State Parks, 1313 Sherman St., Rm. 618, Denver, CO 80203 (303/866-3203 ext. […]
Tour the underground
It’s probably not the first place you might think of for a family vacation, but coal mines and electricity-generating plants in North Dakota have packaged a tour of their facilities as the “Energy Trail.” Hitting the trail offers more than authentic coal soot. If you time it right, Thursday at the Freedom Mine in Mercer […]
Glacier takes a stand
A draft plan for managing Glacier National Park in Montana for the next 20 years would avoid problems plaguing other national parks by proposing bold moves: banning personal watercraft use and barring commercial air tours. The proposal would also protect historic lodges, gradually improve Going-to-the-Sun Road, increase services for visitors during the winter season, and […]
Mining: There’s a reform-blocking rider
It’s not easy fighting mines. Under the 1872 General Mining Law, mining is the “highest and best use” of federal public lands, and every anti-mine effort is an uphill battle. But buried in the Bureau of Land Management code of regulations is a glimmer of good news for activists: a directive to the secretary of […]
Doing dirty work for free
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado is looking for people to do their dirty work – shoveling, that is, and hoeing, digging, planting and hammering. Since 1984, Outdoor Colorado has been enlisting individuals, families, children and adults to plant gardens and mend trails on Colorado’s public lands. The group hosts 10 to 12 projects throughout the year, […]
High desert pronghorn
In the northern reaches of the Great Basin, a herd of more than 6,000 pronghorn antelope roams across a high desert range. Two islands of this vast desert are protected by federal refuges, but thousands of acres that straddle the Oregon-Nevada border separate them. A coalition of environmental groups led by the Oregon Natural Desert […]
Zero Circles
ZERO CIRCLES Daniel Dancer’s “Zero Circles Project” sets out to end logging in the West’s public forests by illustrating the history of logging on these lands, as well as illuminating the wonders of the native forests that remain. He has trekked across forests of the West, forming circles of fire, people or wood – then […]
The Oregon Natural Desert Association
The Oregon Natural Desert Association holds its annual meeting Sept. 26-27 at the Hancock Field Station near Fossil, Ore. Activities include a slide show by photographer Larry Olson, fossil excavation, a canoe trip and early-morning birding. Contact Gilly at 503/525-0193 or write ONDA, 16 NW Kansas Ave., Bend, OR 97701. This article appeared in the […]
Great Old Broads for Wilderness
The Great Old Broads are taking on the Good Ol” Boys in Utah. Organized in 1989 for the 25th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a group of over 70 women dedicated to preserving wild places. Their ninth Wilderness Conference will be held Oct. 10-11 in Grand Staircase-Escalante National […]
