Category Archives: National Parks, Forests and Monuments

Bark Beetle Infestation Accelerating

Leave a reply

Kirsten and I are taking a drive through western Colorado next week, working our way up from Durango, through Silverton, Paonia, Steamboat Springs and the Rocky Mountain National Park to Denver for the Mountain and Plains booksellers trade show there. Along the way we are going to see alarming, heartbreaking swaths of rust colored evergreens. Warming winters have allowed waves of beetles to gnaw their way through millions of acres of forests in Utah and across the West.  It’s sadly amusing to watch the western politicians blame a lack of logging.  But the problem is climate change and the beetles are getting worse, not better.  Brandon Loomis has a terrific essay in the Salt Lake Tribune yesterday covering the bark beetle sad state of affairs.  . . . more>>

New Wilderness Designations in Montana?

Leave a reply

The possibility of breaking the 28-year stretch of no new wilderness designations in Montana by designating the Sleeping Giant and Sheep Creek WSAs thrills John Gatchell, the conservation director for the Montana Wilderness Association.   “That area looks the same now as it did when Lewis and Clark passed through here 200 years ago,” Gatchell said. “Captain Clark walked across it hunting, while Lewis brought the boats up the Missouri River. It has a lot of historical value for us here in Lewis and Clark County — it’s our heritage.”   BLM Director Bob Abbey recently visited the area.  . . . more>> 

Chas. S. Clifton on Eric Blehm’s THE LAST SEASON

Leave a reply

. . . backcountry rangers are like the adjunct professors who teach more than half all all university classes.. They do the work, but they have no job security from one year to the next. They have no pension plans and far fewer benefits than permanent employees. And Randy Morgenson was past the middle of his career.  His marriage was going downhill.  One day, he missed his radio check, part of the routine for backcountry rangers who camped out and worked alone. And the next day.  His colleagues grew worried . . . more>>

Voting for Oil Field Vistas?

Leave a reply

You don’t have to be an environmental activist to believe that it would be criminal to see oil, gas, or coal mining corporations destroy our beautiful canyons and our wild lands. Not all agree, including members of the Legislature’s Redistricting Committee, several of whom are also members of the Patrick Henry Caucus. And Gov. Gary Herbert.  . . . more>>