Would you still call your town library “public” if a private corporation managed the books your taxes paid for, then charged you a fee to borrow them? Thanks to a provision sneaked into the recently passed federal spending bill, we may face that question about our public lands. Just hours before senators were expected to […]
Recreation
Posted inDecember 6, 2004: Where Do We Go From Here?
Grand plan for Grand Canyon
Every year, more than 22,000 people run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Amazingly, there is still a list of 8,000 private, non-commercial boaters who have waited up to 15 years to get on the ultimate whitewater run in the country. That waiting list is among several reasons the National Park Service has released […]
Posted inNovember 22, 2004: Conservationist in a Conservative Land
A mountain lifts a heavy heart
On a recent Saturday, with a heart heavy as concrete, I headed north, leaving my house in Portland, Ore., as rain pounded the windshield. The remnants of a recent breakup cast the world in dull hues. Mount St. Helens was busy spitting ash into the sky, and I figured, what else cheers the soul like […]
Posted inNovember 8, 2004: Keepers of the Flame
Judge vaporizes Yellowstone snowmobile ban
A second judge will likely demand some limits on winter traffic
Posted inWotr
Cheering on Mount St. Helens is a spectator sport
On a recent Saturday, with a heart heavy as concrete, I headed north, leaving my house in Portland as rain pounded the windshield. The remnants of a recent breakup cast the world in dull hues. Mount St. Helens was busy spitting ash into the sky, and what else cheers the soul like a good case […]
Posted inWotr
Presidential candidates try to look svelte in blaze orange
Ernest Hemingway said every writer needs a “shockproof B.S.-detector.” My B.S.-detector has been getting a workout, as the presidential candidates have been hunting for votes this autumn. In particular, they are seeking the votes of the 47 million Americans who hunt and fish. In a race this tight, politicians see this as a bloc as […]
Posted inWotr
Give a cheer for Winnebagoes
This is America: You can drive just about any kind of gas-guzzling, hydrocarbon-spewing, rust exhibit you want — unless you drive a recreational vehicle, otherwise disdained as an “RV.” Among the pundits of political correctness, driving an RV puts you one social notch above suspected terrorist. Sure, RVs are big, ugly, get notoriously poor mileage […]
Posted inAugust 16, 2004: Journey of Rediscovery
National parks pinching pennies
Former Park Service employees say headquarters is hiding budget woes
Posted inAugust 16, 2004: Journey of Rediscovery
Park police chief canned for candidness
Note: in the print edition of this issue, this article appears as a sidebar to another news article, “National parks pinching pennies.” U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers didn’t know what to expect when she reported to the Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Park Service Deputy Director Don Murphy, on Dec. 5, 2003. “I had […]
Posted inWotr
A tale of two Yellowstones
The ice cream cones were super-sized, and my two young daughters’ faces lit up as they held them in their hands. We walked out the door of the Old Faithful Lodge and headed down the paved path to the official viewing area. About 1,000 people had gotten there before us and were now sitting and […]
Posted inAugust 2, 2004: The Greening of the Plains
New rules coming down for off-roaders
Cross-country travel will be banned in most areas, but enforcement may be next to impossible
Posted inAugust 2, 2004: The Greening of the Plains
Backpacker, beware: Don’t boldly go where you don’t belong
I was dismayed when I read Backpacker magazine recently. I worked for the National Park Service for eight years, and I’ve been a guide in Yellowstone National Park. I know there are some places we can hike to and camp at safely, and some places we should leave alone. But now we have Backpacker magazine, […]
Posted inWotr
One significant step toward reining in those pesky all-terrain vehicles
For years, environmental groups like the Bluewater Network have warned of the coming plague of Jetskis, snowmobiles and the many versions of all-terrain vehicles on our public lands. Now, the plague is upon us, and while the impacts of these machines have been documented in countless studies, more and more people are witnessing the damage […]
Posted inWotr
John Muir, go home
Any experienced summer traveler through the West might have pointed to my wife and me as classic examples of clueless tourism: “See what you get when you travel without an itinerary? When you think camping has something to do with owning a tent?” I can hear them stifling their snickers, trying to sound sympathetic but […]
Posted inWotr
Backpacker beware: don’t boldly go where you don’t belong
I was dismayed when I read Backpacker magazine recently. I worked for the National Park Service for eight years, and I’ve been a guide in Yellowstone National Park. I know there are some places we can hike to and camp at safely, and some places we should leave alone. But now we have Backpacker magazine, […]
Posted inWotr
Lake Powell: When drought becomes opportunity
Drought is a rude reminder that in any given year the interior West is but a storm or two from that hydrological tipping point where farming, ranching and the presence of cities become not merely ill-advised but — impossible. The region is being reminded of this now in a big way: Five consecutive years of […]
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Proposal for Lassie’s lumber mill has enviros barking
WASHINGTON A dilapidated lumber mill in the Columbia River Gorge, famous for its appearance in an 1967 TV episode of Lassie, is now the site of a controversial development proposal. Since the time when the famous collie floated down the flume to the Broughton Lumber mill, recreation — particularly windsurfing — has skyrocketed in the […]
Posted inJune 7, 2004: Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
Journal of the Dead
The open roads and big spaces of the West have always called young men and women from the cities and suburbs of the East. So it was with David Coughlin and Raffi Kodikian, both in their 20s, who, in 1999, headed from Boston to California. Inspired by Jack Kerouac, the nascent literati took along a […]
Posted inWotr
Driver’s ed from a pedestrian’s point of view
A few of my friends have completely sworn off bike-riding on roads. One too many shoulder brushes with the side-view mirror of a recreational vehicle. One too many dives for the ditch. They can’t take it anymore, and who could blame them? Some are threatening to give up walking as well, since being a pedestrian […]
Posted inJune 7, 2004: Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
Small-time ski operator fights for his life
A mom-and-pop ski area takes on a Texas billionaire and his plans for a mega-development