A reporter travels through Washington state’s 5th congressional district to try to understand the November election defeat of Democratic Speaker of the House Tom Foley after 30 years in office.
The Magazine
May 15, 1995: Dog and pony show about salmon and owls
Public hearings on the rewriting of the Endangered Species Act stir up controversy among environmentalists and their opponents.
May 1, 1995: Land grants under the microscope
The land-grant university system has been challenged and is slowly beginning to change.
April 17, 1995: The New West’s servant economy
Ski resorts begin to resemble the Third World as Africans and others come to take low-paying service jobs, but have trouble finding housing.
April 3, 1995: The Great Basin: America’s wasteland seeks a new identity
The Great Basin has often been seen as a wasteland, but now new visions are defining the region.
March 20, 1995: The fight for Reclamation
New Commissioner of Reclamation Dan Beard seeks to make his agency more environmentally sensitive.
March 6, 1995: The fires next time
It’s not a fluke, it’s not just the drought, and it’s not careless smokers. Decades of all-out logging and all-out fire suppression torched Yellowstone in 1988, ignited the fatal Colorado fire last summer, and set the stage for the thousands of fires in between.
February 20, 1995: No more ignoring the obvious: Idaho sucks itself dry
Overpumping has drained Idaho’s Snake River aquifer until rivers like the Big Lost run dry.
February 6, 1995: The wolves are back, big time
The first wolves return to Yellowstone amid much fanfare and mixed reactions.
January 23, 1995: What a long strange trip it’s been
Denver International Airport may become a giant boondoggle.
December 26, 1994: Albuquerque learns it really is a desert town
Uncontrolled growth and the relocation of Intel Corporation to Albuquerque force the city to re-elvaluate its water policy.
December 12, 1994: Shrink to fit
The National Park Service may be downsized and reorganized.
November 28, 1994: Beauty eludes the beast
An unusual consensus may stave off industrial tourism in Washington’s Methow Valley.
November 14, 1994: Land grant universities
The most important institutions in the West enter a critical period.
October 31, 1994: Water for the taking
As some irrigators get loose with the law, Oregon’s Umatilla River is being depleted.
October 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Environmentalists face upcoming elections with some anxiety.
October 3, 1994: Subdividing the desert: Should there be a vote?
Tucson activists fight development of the desert’s ironwood forest.
September 19, 1994: Flame and blame in the Northwest
Timber companies are eager to log the West’s still-smoldering forests.
September 5, 1994: Can planning rein in a stampede?
The uncontrolled growth of Western states makes planning essential.
August 22, 1994: Whose fault? A Utah canyon turns deadly
The deaths of two hikers in Utah raise legal and ethical questions about risk and responsibility.