Compelled by continuing litigation from environmentalists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed two populations of bull trout as threatened – one in Oregon’s Klamath River Basin and the other in the huge Columbia River Basin, reaching into Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. The legal battle was waged by three nonprofit groups – Alliance for […]
Books
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Leeches and cod liver oil
Ever wonder if you could have survived the measles epidemics and the streets that ran with sewage in the West’s early days? An exhibit of over 200 artifacts from the 1880s to World War II at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Ore., might test your imagination. The exhibit features an “aroma interactive” of Native […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
In search of Mount Rainier’s power
What is it like to become obsessed with a mountain? In The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier, Bruce Barcott describes how he circled the mountain on foot and interviewed mountaineers, climbing guides, priests, historians and scientists before he and his father attempted to scale the country’s highest volcano. Barcott, a […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Restoring the Roaring Fork
The Roaring Fork River Valley in western Colorado has a friend – a nonprofit conservancy created to protect the river and its tributaries. From its headwaters at Independence Pass at 12,900 feet, the Roaring Fork flows 45 miles northwest through the booming town of Aspen on its way to the Colorado River. The conservancy, founded […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Lonely Art
In a crumbling, long-abandoned building in the desert of eastern Utah, anonymous artists have created one of the world’s loneliest art exhibits. “Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not steal,” is scrawled ominously above a gutted upholstered chair inside a small building called the White Buffalo Bar. Cowboy boots, stuck upside down on […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Fees please visitors
Land-management agencies call new user fees an “unqualified success’ and they’re asking Congress to make them permanent. During its first season on more than 200 sites around the country, the fee program raised $53.5 million. Before the trial fees got under way, public correspondence ran about 2-to-1 against, saying they discouraged low-income and local users […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
But trouble the Mountaineers
Mount Rainier National Park bypassed public discussion and sprang a surprise fee on backcountry visitors recently, drawing a protest letter from the Mountaineers, the Seattle-based conservation group. The Mountaineers says the new hierarchy of fees is too steep, especially for short visits. Two visitors might pay $10 to enter the park, $20 to camp in […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Motorizing Montana’s trails
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service give motorized trail projects the go-ahead without scrutiny, according to The Montana State Trails Program: Motorizing Montana’s National Forest Trails, a 13-page report by the Predator Project in Bozeman. Widening trails significantly damages habitat, but agencies dismiss it as “repair and maintenance,” […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Utah Wilderness Coalition
The Utah Wilderness Coalition of 155 conservation groups is taking its show on the road. Open houses explaining its re-inventory of potential wilderness on Bureau of Land Management lands will be held in Ogden, July 1, and Salt Lake City, July 8, both at 7 p.m. Later meetings are scheduled for San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
Winter recreation is a hot topic at Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks as well as at the five-mile John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway that connects them. To involve the public in an upcoming environmental impact statement, open houses have begun in Idaho, with more meetings set for Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Minnesota and Washington, […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Wisdom of the West: Designing our Future Together
The Wisdom of the West: Designing our Future Together, a conference in Wenatchee, Wash., sponsored by the Planning Association of Washington and others, and to be held July 29-31, invites those interested in Western planning to participate in dozens of programs such as “Ethics for the everyday planner & commissioner” and “Stream corridor management – […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies hosts a summer of naturalist-guided programs for kids and adults. Participants can choose from activities such as exploring beaver ponds at sunset or riding a gondola to the summit of Aspen mountain. Call 970/925-5756 or visit the Web site at http://www.aspen.com/aces. This article appeared in the print edition of […]
Posted inJune 22, 1998: Western water: Why it's dirty and in short supply
A lively memoir out of the National Park Service
For a variety of reasons, I have been reading about the National Park Service – reports, histories, and bilious (but also far-seeing) polemics like Alston Chase’s Playing God in Yellowstone. They’re useful but tend to be lifeless. Now we have a restorative potion to go with the reports and histories: a book that breathes life […]
Posted inJune 8, 1998: Don't fence me in
Wild Rockies Rendezvous
Alliance for the Wild Rockies invites conservationists to celebrate its 10th anniversary at the Wild Rockies Rendezvous at the Teller Wildlife Refuge in Corvallis, Mont., Sept. 18-20. Speakers include Peter Kostmayer, executive director of Zero Population Growth, and Michael Frome, author of The Battle for the Wilderness. To register, contact Jamie Lennox, P.O. Box 8731, […]
Posted inJune 8, 1998: Don't fence me in
Ecosystem Restoration: Turning the Tide
The Northwest chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration is sponsoring Ecosystem Restoration: Turning the Tide, Oct. 28-30, in Tacoma, Wash. The conference includes symposia on riparian restoration, exotic species control and agricultural land restoration. Call Washington State University for information at 800/942-4978. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the […]
Posted inJune 8, 1998: Don't fence me in
Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
The yearly number of hikers attempting a 14,000-ft. peak has tripled in 10 years, to 200,000, says the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative. And that is why the coalition of five nonprofit groups seeks volunteers to restore heavily eroded trails. Those interested in high-altitude work on Huron Peak and Humboldt Peak can contact Kristen Sauer, Colorado Fourteeners […]
Posted inJune 8, 1998: Don't fence me in
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
What’s more exciting for kids than seeing dinosaur bones? Digging them up, of course. The Wyoming Dinosaur Center, 120 miles southeast of Yellowstone National Park, offers kids 8-13 a chance to join scientists and technicians for two-day digs this summer. Already unearthed: sauropod remains (those long-necked veggie-eaters from Jurassic Park) and allosaur teeth and tracks. […]
Posted inJune 8, 1998: Don't fence me in
1998 Earle A. Chiles Award
The High Desert Museum gives its 1998 Earle A. Chiles Award to people who have enriched the cultural and natural wealth of the high desert. Past winners include photographer and writer Stephen Trimble and biologist Jack Ward Thomas, former chief of the U.S. Forest Service. Send nominations to the High Desert Museum, 59800 S. Highway […]
Posted inJune 8, 1998: Don't fence me in
Montana Wilderness: More Than Just a Pretty Place
With maps and histories, the free 18-page Montana Wilderness: More Than Just A Pretty Place, by the Montana Wilderness Association, makes the case for protecting public wildlands, from semi-arid river breaks to alpine peaks. Contact the Montana Wilderness Association, P.O. Box 635, Helena, MT 59624 (406/443-7350) or e-mail MWA at mwa@desktop.org. This article appeared in […]
Posted inJune 8, 1998: Don't fence me in
Capulin Volcano National Monument
How should a “recent extinct volcano” greet visitors in the future? The National Park Service invites the public to help plan the management of Capulin Volcano National Monument in northeast New Mexico. To comment or to receive a newsletter, contact the National Park Service, Capulin Volcano National Monument, P.O. Box 40, Capulin, NM 88414 (505/278-2201 […]