Democratic candidates in the rural Northwest who want to moderate logging, mining and ranching usually don’t get too far. But recent miscues by some of their opponents could change the usual dynamic. Take, for example, Rep. Wes Cooley, R-Ore., who is best known for his bill to allow jet boats to blast through Hells Canyon, […]
Politics
Posted inApril 29, 1996: A park boss goes to bat for the land
A cautionary tale in Washington state
The GOP sweep in 1994 hit Washington state like a monsoon: In seven of nine districts, voters sent freshmen Republicans to the House of Representatives. But this year’s election presents a cautionary tale: If you won your last election by a razor-thin margin, perhaps you’d better not slavishly follow the GOP line on environmental issues. […]
Posted inApril 15, 1996: Raising a ranch from the dead
Democrats gag on bitter budget pills
WASHINGTON – How strange have things gotten in negotiations over the 1996 budget? Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt unveiled an ambitious 1997 budget last month even though his department doesn’t have one for 1996. “This is surely the most unusual budget year in the history of our nation,” Babbitt said. He accused Republicans of “misuse and […]
Posted inApril 1, 1996: Gambling: A tribe hits the jackpot
Yellowtail throws in his hat
Yellowtail throws in his hat Environmentalists in Montana have a congressional candidate they can enthusiastically support to fill the seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Pat Williams. He is Bill Yellowtail, 48, who quit his job March 18 as regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in Denver. Three other Democrats, Mignon Waterman, Leo Hudatz and […]
Posted inApril 1, 1996: Gambling: A tribe hits the jackpot
Greens want to draft Nader
Greens want to draft Nader Third parties have had a miserable political history. Their candidates either get forgotten in the media hoopla or face charges of spoiling the race. But beginning with the “96 presidential campaign, the Green Party hopes to establish third parties as an election choice of the future. Its goal is to […]
Posted inMarch 18, 1996: What does the West need to know?
Greenbacks shape campaigns
Dollars continue to plague and divide candidates. For Idaho Republican Rep. Helen Chenoweth, misuse of money has become a potential Achilles’ heel. According to the state’s Democratic Party, Chenoweth’s campaign illegally hired a company she owns. Now, Chenoweth won’t say why her campaign paid $35,000 for rent and office space to her Consulting Associates although […]
Posted inMarch 4, 1996: Who owns these bones?
Idaho could move toward the center
Two years ago, Idaho’s congressional delegation took a hard turn to the right. Two Republican senators, Dirk Kempthorne and Larry Craig, already led the state, but the addition to the House of newcomer Helen Chenoweth (who claims that salmon aren’t endangered because they’re still available at the supermarket) moved the delegation to a new extreme. […]
Posted inFebruary 19, 1996: Can a Colorado ski county say 'Enough is enough'?
Wyden squeaks in
Wyden squeaks in Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden eked out an 18,000-vote victory over State Sen. Gordon Smith in the Jan. 30 election to replace Sen. Bob Packwood. With the national media noting that environmental issues took center stage in the race, environmentalists have been quick to tout Wyden’s victory as part of a backlash against […]
Posted inFebruary 19, 1996: Can a Colorado ski county say 'Enough is enough'?
Budget impasse leaves BLM scrambling
From under a blanket of snow, the Miles City, Mont., Bureau of Land Management office should be preparing for spring. Ranchers need permits to send their sheep into pasture. Roads that have decayed over winter need repairs. Outfitters need permits for spring river trips, and mining companies want their environmental assessments completed. But the BLM […]
Posted inFebruary 5, 1996: Lack of enchantment: Santa Fe's boom goes flat
Williams leaves, Montana scrambles
Williams leaves, Montana scrambles The script in Montana will read like it does every election year: Candidates will debate how much of the state’s mountains and forests should be protected and how much should be open to industry. But for the first time in nearly 18 years, the moderating voice of Democratic Rep. Pat Williams […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Big shoes empty in Oregon
Big shoes empty in Oregon After 28 years, the door to both of Oregon’s senate seats has swung wide open. The race to replace Republican powerhouses Mark Hatfield, who has announced his retirement after November, and Bob Packwood, forced to resign, begins with the Jan. 30 election for Packwood’s spot. Because many see the race […]
Posted inJanuary 22, 1996: At Hanford, the real estate is hot
Who felt the federal furlough?
While his colleagues paced anxiously at home during the 21-day federal furlough, Forest Service timber contracting officer Lathrop Smith administered 13 green timber sales in southwestern Colorado. He was hampered – -there were no soil scientists, hydrologists or biologists’ – but stayed on the job. Smith was not alone. Although most of the West’s federal […]
Posted inDecember 25, 1995: Utah hearings misfire
Allard takes aim
Last April, the League of Conservation Voters awarded Colorado Rep. Wayne Allard a score of zero for his environmental votes during his first 100 days in office. Now, Allard’s rating might dip into the negative numbers. A provision of Allard’s in the 1995 Farm Bill would prohibit the Forest Service from changing management plans to […]
Posted inDecember 25, 1995: Utah hearings misfire
They’re stepping down
Two powerful Western Republicans announced they would not seek re-election in 1996. Sen. Mark Hatfield of Oregon, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said in early December that he would step down because “Thirty years of voluntary separation from the state I love is enough.” Soon after, Alan Simpson of Wyoming said that he, too, […]
Posted inDecember 25, 1995: Utah hearings misfire
To comment on the Utah Wilderness bills
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories, Congress weighs the fate of Utah’s wild lands. To comment on the Utah Wilderness bills, write or phone your congressional representative, senators and President Clinton. Mail to Senate offices can be addressed to: U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. You can reach your representative […]
Posted inDecember 11, 1995: Hunting: Its place in the West comes under attack
Saga of Enid Waldholtz
Utah Democrat Karen Shepherd is considering a bid to retake the congressional seat she lost to free-spending Republican Enid Waldholtz. Authorities continue to investigate allegations Joe and Enid Waldholtz are at the center of a $1.7 million check-kiting scheme which may include violations of federal campaign-spending laws in the 1994 race against Shepherd. Waldholtz, a […]
Posted inDecember 11, 1995: Hunting: Its place in the West comes under attack
Congress’ war against nature creates backlash
When Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, everyone expected attacks on environmental laws and programs. And they came. But now, with just days left until the end of the 104th Congress’ first year, the anti-environment flood has been slowed. With the exception of the salvage logging legislation signed by President Clinton this summer, the […]
Posted inNovember 27, 1995: Saving the ranch
Voters say yes to elk, no to takings, jets
In state and local elections Nov. 7, environmental initiatives followed the law of the pocketbook: Measures that would have cost taxpayers money usually failed. Although fiscal conservatism spelled defeat for slow-growth initiatives in Colorado and Utah, it also contributed to a major victory for environmentalists in Washington state, where voters defeated Referendum 48 – the […]
Posted inNovember 13, 1995: Seeing the forest and the trees
Untangling Washington
UNTANGLING WASHINGTON When the 1994 Congress cut funding for its research groups, the Environmental and Energy Study Conference didn’t die, it reorganized as the for-profit Congressional Green Sheets. As a part of Congress, the conference had provided information about House and Senate actions on environmental issues. With the same staff and its new name, Green […]
Posted inNovember 13, 1995: Seeing the forest and the trees
Sinclair Lewis’ George Babbitt would be at home in this Congress
When I read recently that a couple of Republican congressmen were still fighting an impending ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), I was overtaken by a literary obsession: I had to re-read Sinclair Lewis’ Babbitt. Let me explain. About a year ago, while still gainfully employed, I wrote a column about Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, who […]