Guns are Gary Marbut’s life. A self-employed, self-sufficient jack-of-all-trades who lives outside of Missoula, Mont., Marbut says that if he didn’t cast his own bullets, he couldn’t afford to shoot as much as he does: 10,000 to 15,000 rounds per year. He shoots in both rifle and handgun competitions, teaches concealed weapons classes (he’s had […]
Profiles
Posted inMay 30, 2011: Wolf Whiplash
Richard Reynolds, raptor man
The main cabin at Big Springs Field Station in northern Arizona’s Kaibab National Forest isn’t the prettiest; there’s paint chipping from the floors and mouse poop in the corners. But the decorations cost about $9 million and took 20 years to collect. Oversized graphs, tables, maps and aerial photos crowd each other for wall space. […]
Posted inMay 2, 2011: The Westerner in D.C
Profile: Corey Shott, National Wildlife Federation
Montana native Corey Shott grew up in Missoula, came to D.C. to earn a bachelor’s in political science at George Washington University and made politics her career: An internship with Montana Sen. Max Baucus, then campaign work for various Democratic candidates, then a couple of years as a “junior lobbyist” for a D.C. firm that […]
Posted inMay 2, 2011: The Westerner in D.C
Profile: Rodger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife
“I like snow on the Crazies,” says Rodger Schlickeisen, longtime president and CEO of one of the most ardent D.C.-based environmental groups, Defenders of Wildlife. He’s not talking about snowflakes falling on members of Congress. He means the white stuff that piles up on Montana’s Crazy Mountains, northeast of Bozeman. For 22 years, Schlickeisen has […]
Posted inMay 2, 2011: The Westerner in D.C
Profile: Bethany Cotton, Center for Biological Diversity
A crowd of several dozen lawyers met in a recent D.C. federal court hearing to consider the question: Should the government limit carbon emissions to slow climate change and save sea-ice habitat for polar bears? Some represented the Obama administration, while others were there on behalf of Alaska’s government, the oil industry or environmental groups. […]
Posted inFebruary 21, 2011: Palin, politics, and predator control
Jeff Rice collects nature’s noises
Some people collect butterflies. Others amass dolls or antique cars. Armed with a microphone and recorder, Jeff Rice chases the West’s natural sounds — from the hooting of owls to the buzzing of Great Basin rattlesnakes. A relative newcomer to nature field recording, Rice worked in audio production for about 15 years. As a radio […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2010: Hardrock Showdown
A divine business
Montanan claims uncanny ability to locate water — and just about anything else
Posted inNovember 8, 2010: Dr. No
The windhover
Wildlife biologist Travis Booms tracks remote Alaska gyrfalcons
Posted inOctober 25, 2010: Lynch-Mob Politics
‘The last word is action’
Boulder clean-energy activist sees declining coal supply as a boon
Posted inArticles
“Curious about the human condition”
A conversation with Western writer Philip Fradkin
Posted inSeptember 3, 2010: Migration
What was and what is
Joan Kane’s work aims to bridge the gap between past and present
Posted inSeptember 3, 2010: Migration
Daniel Orozco is out of the office
Orozco’s darkly funny short stories flirt with the macabre
Posted inSeptember 3, 2010: Migration
Road warrior
Ted Conover talks about the West, wanderlust and the ethics of travel
Posted inJuly 19, 2010: The Ute Paradox
Seeing the triceratops for the trees
Kirk Johnson combines science and art to create an ancient landscape
Posted inMarch 1, 2010: The War Next Door
Down the wormhole
A Colorado cave might hold a key to extraterrestrial life forms
Posted inFebruary 15, 2010: Prodigal Dogs
Skeletons in the closet
Utah State Archaeologist Kevin Jones knows his bones
Posted inDecember 7, 2009: Dueling Claims
Erratic behavior
Giant Rock has inspired extremes of human reverence and abuse
Posted inDecember 7, 2009: Dueling Claims
A return to the West
Name Mary Jane SkalaHometown Cleveland, OhioVocation former journalistHCN subscriber since 2005 Mary Jane Skala took some time to visit HCN a few weeks ago while cruising cross-country on a two-month-long road trip. After 40 years in journalism, she “saw the writing on the wall” and accepted a buy-out, leaving her post as senior editor at […]
Posted inNovember 23, 2009: After the Floods
Avalanche education for all
Janet Kellam tackles an “urban” snow problem