For more than two decades, Utah wilderness advocates have been chanting, “5.7! 5.7!” Now, a similar cry is rising in Idaho: “8 million! 8 million!” There are 8 million acres of unprotected roadless land in Idaho’s national forests, according to Idaho’s Vanishing Wild Lands, a report by the Wilderness Society. The number is falling fast. […]
Wildlife
Posted inAugust 18, 1997: The West that was, and the West that can be
A small victory for logging protesters
Opponents of Oregon’s timber industry are hoping a small court victory will energize their cause. On Aug. 5, five activists fended off federal trespassing charges stemming from protests at the Warner Creek fire sale in the Willamette National Forest (HCN, 9/2/96). For almost a year, hundreds of protesters blockaded a Forest Service road into the […]
Posted inAugust 18, 1997: The West that was, and the West that can be
Dombeck shakes up agency
Forest Service Chief Michael Dombeck announced Aug. 8 that he will move some of the agency’s top managers. In the coming months, two of the West’s most spotlighted regional foresters will shuffle off the map. Hal Salwasser, regional forester for Montana, northern Idaho and North Dakota since 1995, is headed to Berkeley, Calif., to run […]
Posted inAugust 18, 1997: The West that was, and the West that can be
5.7, 5.7, 5.7 …
The rallying cry “5.7 million acres’ has become well known in Utah as the amount of wilderness pushed by a coalition of environmental groups. But because the proposal for wilderness preservation on Bureau of Land Management land was created 10 years ago, says Kevin Walker, a staffer with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, a fresh […]
Posted inAugust 18, 1997: The West that was, and the West that can be
A timber town yells for help
Town officials in Forks, Wash., have been pressing state and federal governments to make good on promises to bail out timber towns. They say money promised under President Clinton’s 1993 Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative, which helped timber-dependent towns with federal funds, hasn’t reached the communities that need it most. Now, Forks has convinced the state, […]
Posted inAugust 18, 1997: The West that was, and the West that can be
At war with a bunch of mice: Confessions of an ex-pacifist
Six years ago I bought a cabin in the mountains of eastern California. Though my fortunes rise and fall, almost every night I’ve thanked the millions of stars that I could look to the high crests and hear birdsong in the Jeffrey pines. A year ago my illusion of haven fell apart. One of my […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Volunteers test county claims in potential wilderness areas
In Utah, one way counties fight a possible designation of wilderness is by claiming a road runs through it. Some commissioners in Utah who fear that wilderness will ruin local economies cite a law dating from 1866, R.S. 2477, to claim rights-of-way through Bureau of Land Management lands that might be considered roadless. But are […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
No-show lets roads roll
For the second time in two years, the House of Representatives has shied away from a proposal to make timber companies pay for their logging roads in national forests (HCN, 6/9/97). In July, representatives voted 211-209 against an amendment that would have slashed $41.5 million in roads funding. “We clearly had the votes to win,” […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Prairie dogs beat the bullet
In Colorado, prairie dogs and other small mammals are safe from large-scale massacre in the name of sport. The Colorado Wildlife Commission voted unanimously July 10 to restrict contest shoots of small game, including coyotes and prairie dogs. Environmental and animal rights groups have expressed outrage over contests like the Top Dog World Championship Prairie […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Jaguar limps onto the list
Activists sporting jaguar costumes and picket signs outside the Tucson office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received some welcome news in July. After 18 years and two lawsuits from environmentalists, the agency added the jaguar to the endangered species list. “The Fish and Wildlife Service has been dragged screaming and kicking through this […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
What’s his are mines
Some people think controversial developer Tom Chapman may have made a costly mistake. The Colorado native recently acquired two patented mining claims within the Spanish Peaks wilderness study area in southwestern Colorado, but his critics say the price he paid for 30 acres was high and the potential for mining or other development low. “This […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Habitat Conservation Plans
Who wins and who loses whenUncle Sam cuts deals with landowners to protect endangered species?
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Critics say ‘no surprises’ means no protection
Note: This article accompanies another one of this issue’s feature stories. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Before Mike O’Connell said a single word, you could tell he was going to be the first troublemaker. It wasn’t just that he wore a tie. O’Connell’s panel was the only one at the Habitat Conservation Plans conference held in Washington, […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘The real problem is lack of time’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Biologist Dennis Murphy, president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, is a science advisor for several Habitat Conservation Plans in Southern California. The plans were designed to protect the California gnatcatcher and other species while allowing development in the […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘I’ve never seen a good HCP’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Attorney Tara Mueller works with the Environmental Law Fund in Oakland, Calif., where she helps grassroots environmental groups monitor Habitat Conservation Plans. Tara Mueller: “I can’t say that I’ve ever seen an example of a good HCP. There’re so many places that […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘We’ve turned down bad HCPs’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Curt Smitch is an assistant director for Region 1 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which covers Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho and Hawaii. He oversaw the region’s Habitat Conservation Plan program when it took effect in 1994. Curt Smitch: “We […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
The feds won’t enforce the ESA
Note: this article is part of a suite of feature articles in this issue about the Endangered Species Act and Habitat Protection Plans. Backers of Habitat Conservation Plans have a simple answer for critics: If we don’t cut deals with private landowners, we lose the habitat. That’s tough to swallow for some conservationists, since the […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘Landowners need more incentives’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Many consider Michael Bean, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, the dean of endangered species protection in the United States. Others say he weakened the Endangered Species Act in the name of practicality when he helped craft the 1982 amendments […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
Timber’s bad boy comes to the table
Note: this article is part of a suite of feature articles in this issue about the Endangered Species Act and Habitat Protection Plans. ROSLYN, Wash. – Lorin Hicks climbs the steep, muddy slope in long strides, stopping several hundred feet uphill of a goshawk nest. The agitated female screeches annoyance and lifts off the towering […]
Posted inAugust 4, 1997: Vanishing habitat
‘HCPs need peer-reviewed science’
Note: This article is a sidebar to one of this issue’s feature stories. Volunteer Michael Schindell works for the National Endangered Species Network in Sacramento, Calif. Michael Schindell: “HCPs have weak science. A good example is a plan for Yellow County, Calif., which is a rapidly growing bedroom community west of Sacramento. That HCP uses […]