The Mount Graham red squirrel suffers an ecological shock
Wildlife
Posted inAugust 30, 2004: How Long Will it Flow?
“W” in 2004: Taking stock of wilderness at 40
As the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act approaches, this Sept. 3, there is an overwhelming temptation to talk about iconic places like the John Muir Wilderness in California or the Bob Marshall in Montana. But out in the middle of a worked-over oil and gas patch south of Vernal, Utah, lies a place that […]
Posted inAugust 16, 2004: Journey of Rediscovery
Feds pass roadless headache to states
States may have a say in forest protection — but can they afford it?
Posted inAugust 16, 2004: Journey of Rediscovery
Truce holds on the Platte River
Environmentalists and farmers take a leap of faith for the sake of staying out of the courtroom
Posted inAugust 16, 2004: Journey of Rediscovery
‘Conservation’ strategy is a wolf in sheep’s clothing
One of our nation’s more dubious political practices is the tendency to cloak questionable — even harmful — environmental policies in the rhetoric of conservation. Consider the debatable environmental merits of the current administration’s “Clear Skies” and “Healthy Forest” initiatives, two policies that many argue weaken existing protections for air, water and forests. This month, […]
Posted inWotr
Once burned, twice shy
The more I learn about the Forest Service’s approach to the aftermath of the Biscuit fire in Oregon’s Siskiyou National Forest, the greater my sense that history is about to repeat itself. Some people might wonder why a 55-year-old man living in a cabin surrounded by Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest would have such a keen […]
Posted inWotr
Here come the wolves
Wolves are once again loping through Colorado and Utah, and I suppose I should be glad. More rapidly than it took to wipe out grizzlies, lynx and other competitor species, wolves are returning to the ark of the Southern Rockies ecosystem. But yet I pause, and an absorbing four-minute film I saw recently gets at […]
Posted inAugust 2, 2004: The Greening of the Plains
The Greening of the Plains
A conservation movement is stirring on the Great Plains, but farmers are stuck with a stark reality: It pays to plow up virgin ground
Posted inAugust 2, 2004: The Greening of the Plains
New Mexicans move to make roads more wildlife-friendly
Local residents and school kids speak up about preventing roadkill
Posted inAugust 2, 2004: The Greening of the Plains
An icon of the Rio Grande has all but vanished in the wild
Consensus efforts and millions of dollars haven’t saved the silvery minnow
Posted inAugust 2, 2004: The Greening of the Plains
You can’t plant a prairie
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “The Greening of the Plains.” Once the sod has been busted, prairie restoration becomes extremely difficult, to say the least. “I always say that you can’t plant a prairie,” says Jim Stubbendieck, a grasslands ecologist and the director of the Center for Great Plains […]
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Timber company collides with gas drillers
Conservationists have struck a $4 million deal with a progressive Canadian timber company, Tembec Inc., to protect land just west of the Glacier National Park/Waterton Lakes National Park complex. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is buying 3,800 acres of Elk River riparian habitat outright; purchasing a conservation easement on another 7,400 acres; and obtaining a […]
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
King of Fish, Slave to Man
In his new book, David R. Montgomery wants Northwesterners lamenting the decline of wild Pacific salmon to know they’re not alone. King of Fish documents the death of Atlantic salmon, while pointing out that the same threats — and similar challenges — face salmon recovery around the world. Today, one-third of Pacific salmon stocks are […]
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Oceans need a sea change
It’s time to wake up and smell the salt water. According to a recent report from the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, America’s oceans are overfished, polluted and in desperate need of new management policies. After three years of study, the President Bush-appointed commission came up with more than 200 preliminary recommendations aimed at […]
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Life cycle of a bark beetle
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “Global Warming’s Unlikely Harbingers.” This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Life cycle of a bark beetle.
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Roadkill is a right and a privilege, and don’t you forget it
Driving through northern Idaho this summer? Bring a fork. A judge in Bonners Ferry recently stood up for the right of people to eat the kind of roadkill that even other roadkill fanciers might find inedible. It sounds like one of those jokes bluegrass musicians tell: “How many banjo players does it take to eat […]
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Global Warming’s Unlikely Harbingers
The West is heating up — and bark beetles are moving in for the kill
Posted inWotr
Living with wildlife in an urban setting
The good news is, there are foxes in my neighborhood. The bad news? There are foxes in my neighborhood. Bad news for my cats, anyway, because I allow them to cruise outside for a few daylight hours on warm weekend days. Recently, like an overanxious mother, I panicked when my favorite lap cat, Sonar, failed […]
Posted inWotr
Enough is enough
The announcement this June that Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal opposed new oil and gas leases in the Upper Green River Valley startled both conservation groups and the oil industry. After all, Wyoming is one of the few states fortunate enough not to face a budget crisis because of oil and gas royalties. Yet, in the […]
Posted inWotr
Roadkill is a right and privilege, and don’t forget it
Driving through northern Idaho this summer? Bring a fork. A judge in Bonners Ferry recently stood up for the right of people to eat roadkill that even other roadkill fanciers might find inedible. It sounds like one of those jokes bluegrass musicians tell: “How many banjo players does it take to eat a possum?” The […]