Just the other morning, I mailed off my absentee ballot. I’d carefully colored in all the ovals, signed it, smacked on a stamp and tossed that baby into the mailbox. Civic duty done? Maybe not. Last month, for example, New Mexico’s secretary of State had to admit that incorrect information had been mailed to more […]
Essays
Posted inWotr
Take a hike!
“I thought we’d go for a hike,” I told the boy I’m mentoring. “You know, look at stuff.” “How about we go to a movie?” he parried. “Or we could play electronic poker.” He’s not an unusual kid. There has been a major swing in his generation away from all things outdoors. The National Academy […]
Posted inWotr
Another chance emerges for salmon
This fall, the most endangered salmon on earth is giving us another chance to save it from extinction. Snake River sockeye salmon are small as salmon go, with a blue sheen when they leave the Pacific Ocean. That sheen has burnt bright red 850 miles and two months later by the time they reach their […]
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For many Americans, voting this November will be historic
Strange the things that come to you through your kids. A week ago my daughter, Ruby, came home with an eighth-grade social studies assignment on the civil rights movement of the 1960s. “You know,” I told her, “your grandparents were involved with civil rights when I was a kid. Maybe you should talk to them. […]
Posted inWotr
Animal pharm is coming our way
On Sept. 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its “guidance” for allowing the sale of genetically modified animals as food. Guidance is agency-speak for “the law will look something like this.” With the announcement, a 60-day period for public comment opened. Right now, the only genetically modified animal licensed for sale is the […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
The end of Western welfare?
As Wall Street’s titans of finance crumbled before our eyes in mid-September (coincidentally, this was Bin Laden’s stated goal after 9/11), I remembered the day I interviewed Bill Yellowtail at his ranch, near Wyola, Mont., 15 years ago, and the shocking things he said that afternoon about capitalism in the West. One of my notes […]
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Scoundrels and scandals in the Interior Department
As the last vestiges of laissez-faire capitalism were being lowered into the ground on Wall Street last month, out on the Western edge of the high plains an administrative circus of a similar nature was unraveling. Its center was the Minerals Management Services (MMS) division of the Interior Department, in Lakewood, Colo. On Sept.10, Earl […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
Bear necessities
We wound our way up a rocky cliff-side trail toward Gunsight Pass, which straddles a ragged, 7,000-foot-high ridgeline in the heart of Glacier National Park. Forty mph winds buffeted us, and a severe case of “bearanoia” held us in its grip. The rangers had suggested Gunsight Pass because it offered stunning views and a relatively […]
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What I will say to Americans once I am elected president
Jimmy Carter once opened an address to the nation with these words: “Tonight, I have some unpleasant news for you.” His chances of re-election vanished soon after. And so, I dedicate my acceptance speech as your new president to Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and the last honest politician: My fellow […]
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We’ve heard the “drill now” drumbeat before
Perhaps it is telling that when it comes to energy policy, President George W. Bush has inspired nostalgia for Jimmy Carter. “If we had only followed Carter’s energy plan,” people say, “we wouldn’t be in this fix now.” For Westerners, though, following Carter would have been a big mistake. Granted, there were some sensible aspects […]
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Wyoming should take the lead in using CNG
Wyoming is one of the largest natural-gas producing states, so why isn’t the state leading the nation in powering vehicles with this abundant fuel? If the price of gasoline stays high and a natural gas-powered car can run on $1-to-$1.25 per gallon-equivalent cost, however, I think we’ll see the light: We’ll understand that it makes […]
Posted inArticles
One species versus 1.8 million others
I’m a student of roadkill. I keep an informal tally of the carcasses I spot on the roadside – what kind, how many and where — and I note the splatters that accumulate on our car windshield. They’re an indication of the diversity and abundance of animal and insect lives along the unnatural transects we […]
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Confessions of a former Hillary supporter
It’s true: I’m a recovering Hillary supporter. A part of me felt I owed it to Hillary as a fellow product of an all-female education. When anyone bashed on the pantsuits, I called them “practical.” When they said she was cold, I said she was “objective.” Another part of me just wanted to see a […]
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Trapped by fire on a mountain lookout
Updated September 29, 2008 The fire season of 2008 will long be remembered as the most destructive ever recorded in New Mexico’s Manzano Mountains. The human-caused Trigo Fire destroyed 59 homes after erratic winds pushed it from the west to the east side of the mountain range some 70 miles southeast of Albuquerque. Lightning ignited […]
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The roadless issue rambles on through the courts
President Bill Clinton sought to end the debate over 58 million acres of roadless national forests with a rule published in the last days of his administration. But because he issued his rule in the face of the outright anger of some Western governors and with little pretext of engaging his opponents, the roadless issue […]
Posted inWotr
Republican ticket is just more of the same
One needn’t go far to hear how the gun-slingin’ and moose-eatin’ vice presidential pick of John McCain is going to snowmobile to victory this November on the backs of rural Western voters. She is a member of the National Rifle Association, grew up in the West and likes to fish and hunt. So, a lot […]
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Nailing down the heart of Montana
Everyone in Lewistown, Mont., used to know that the heart of the state was under Mrs. Dockery’s kitchen sink. The prairie town’s claim to host Montana’s geographic center has been unabashedly celebrated, debated and defended since 1912. That was the year the Akins family moved into their stately home, newly built atop a hill on […]
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Female farmworkers are the most vulnerable
Under a scorching heat, a group of farmworkers harvests melons from a vast field near Huron, Calif. There is only one woman among the dozen or so workers; she leans into the task, her arms outstretched, her body itself a tool. The bandana around her face and her baggy long-sleeved T-shirt offer a thin protection […]
Posted inSeptember 9, 2008: Reclaiming the low country
A Western primer
The Rocky Mountain Land Library asked a panel of Western writers a simple question: What books would you recommend to the next president? What does the next administration need to know about the American West? Our respondents were both generous and inspired with their suggestions. Although I’m sure they would all agree with author Rick […]
Posted inSeptember 9, 2008: Reclaiming the low country
The deja-vu of ‘Drill here, drill now’
Perhaps it is telling that when it comes to energy policy, President George W. Bush has inspired nostalgia for Jimmy Carter. “If we had only followed Carter’s energy plan,” people say, “we wouldn’t be in this fix now.” For Westerners, though, that’s a big mistake. Granted, there were some sensible aspects to Carter’s energy policies, […]