Hcn.org news in brief.
Public lands
Posted inOctober 26, 2015: Clean Energy's Dirty Secret
The Latest: Park Service takes the reins at Valles Caldera
The failed experiment in privatized land management has come to an end.
Posted inOctober 26, 2015: Clean Energy's Dirty Secret
Will the Land and Water Conservation Fund rise again?
Congress derails the nation’s most successful public access and recreation program.
Posted inArticles
Jeb Bush outlines plans to limit federal control of Western lands
The presidential hopeful would move Interior Department from Washington to the West.
Posted inArticles
Public-land transfer proponents may have violated lobbying laws
Colorado puts the American Lands Council on “notice” for ethical missteps.
Posted inArticles
Congress tries to speed up contentious post-fire logging
New legislation comes despite science showing timber salvage harms essential wildlife habitat
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
Manifest destiny today, bees and climate, sage grouse legal wrangling on the horizon.
Hcn.org news in brief.
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
The rise of Lisa Murkowski
Alaska’s pragmatic senator wants to reshape America’s energy policy.
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
Beyond the energy omnibus: a look at Sen. Murkowski’s hard-to-pass bills
The head of the Senate Energy Committee has crafted a comprehensive energy plan. But she left her most ambitious initiatives to be battled over separately.
Posted inArticles
Monument designations aren’t land grabs. They’re protection against theft.
Today, some Westerners might call the 1908 presidential proclamation of a Grand Canyon National Monument a “surreptitious land grab.” But it all depends on who’s doing the grabbing, and for what purpose. Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop says that such proclamations allow presidents to “lock up” millions of acres of public land “like bandits in […]
Posted inArticles
A trail runner defends his right to public lands
One September morning, with huckleberry bushes burning a fierce red against a dusting of snow on the banks of the upper Nisqually River, I left Mount Rainier National Park headquarters on a pilgrimage. Twenty-seven hours later, depleted but filled with a near-religious sense of reverence and elation I’ve rarely felt since, I arrived back where […]
Posted inArticles
Groups sue Wyoming over ‘data trespassing’ law
The laws make it a crime to collect data on open land if the collector lacks certain permissions.
Posted inArticles
Wildland restoration is like marriage: An imperfect work in progress
When I first joined Wildland Restoration Volunteers, I had the naive idea that helping the environment was a lot like a blind date: You get together and hope you click. Some of the projects were just like that: We’d carry tools in, rebuild a trail so it no longer interfered with endangered plants, and go […]
Posted inArticles
Congress lets sun set on Land and Water Conservation Fund
The nation’s most successful conservation program is in jeopardy.
Posted inArticles
Fossil fuel extraction on public lands is the next climate fight
Stopping Keystone is only one part of the larger agenda to keep fossil fuels in the ground.
Posted inArticles
For Dinosaur National Monument’s 100th birthday, let’s protect more land
We launched our rafts on Colorado’s Yampa River at Deerlodge Park, and ran Little Joe and Big Joe Rapids. On the second afternoon, we pulled into Mathers Hole Camp under an overhung cliff wall that towered 500 feet above us. As I set up my tent, I thought about the 100th birthday of Dinosaur National […]
Posted inArticles
Cue the greater sage grouse lawsuits
With the bird’s non-listing under the Endangered Species Act, expect more of the legal crawl that got us here in the first place.
Posted inArticles
Mountain bikes on the Colorado Trail leave something to be desired
This summer, I hiked approximately half of the Colorado Trail, from Waterton Canyon to Highway 50 near Salida, covering about 250 miles in 23 days. Overall, it was a good experience, though not a great one. Among the factors limiting my enjoyment were the many road crossings and noise from nearby cars, ATVs and – […]
Posted inAugust 31, 2015: Unlocking the Methane Mystery
Where vandals target Western parks
A by-the-numbers look at the most graffitied national parks.
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
Beekeepers vs. invasive species rules on federal lands
Should apiarists be allowed to place hives of non-native honeybees on public lands?