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Healthy Public and Private Lands
At Home in Debris
Typically in the past, rural and suburban landowners had no trouble taking care of their seasonal accumulations of brush, branches, dead leaves, and other organic debris. They piled it in the backyard and set it alight. Now, many towns and counties ban outdoor burning as the smoke can cause health problems. The alternative is toContinue reading “At Home in Debris”
Let’s lift the burden
Scottsdale Tribune June 27, 2005 Paying modest fees would enablenational parks to cover costsof protection and upkeep By Holly L. FretwellSpecial to the Tribune Load up the car. Throw in the pillows, the DVD’s, the CD’s, and headphones. The season for cross-country travel is upon us. Carloads by the millions are heading for national parksContinue reading “Let’s lift the burden”
National Heritage Areas
Concerned about the creeping uniformity of modern suburban life, many people are seeking a renewed ?sense of place? in their communities. The popularity of historical societies and preservation projects is a sign of this trend. Some people have discovered that adding the words ?nationally significant? to their area or region can result in millionsContinue reading “National Heritage Areas”
Success Overdue at The Quincy Library
Enthusiasm surged recently in southwestern Washington when a community coalition announced that it had come up with a plan for logging Gifford Pinchot National Forest that was supported by environmentalists and industry officials alike. “We’ve identified the common ground . . . and hope the Forest Service will use this model,” said coalition memberContinue reading “Success Overdue at The Quincy Library”
Name That Species
Looking for a chance at immortality? It could be as close as the dusty file cabinet at a nearby museum. Thousands of new animal and plant species are discovered every year, only to languish in storage?unnamed, undescribed, and thus without entry into the larger scientific world. So here is your chance. Ante up a bitContinue reading “Name That Species”
Nature Undisturbed
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is broken. Indeed, it was born broken. Enacted in 1973, the act is based on the myth of the balance of nature and, in particular, on a flawed understanding of the biological state of the Americas at the time of Columbus’s arrival. It is not even an endangered speciesContinue reading “Nature Undisturbed”
The Endangered Species Act Needs a Better Definition
Headwaters News January 5, 2005 By Randy T. Simmons At the Western Governors Association’s two-day Executive Summit on the Endangered Species Act, I told the governors that the Endangered Species Act is broken – that it was born broken. The ESA is based on a flawed understanding of the Americas at Columbian contact and onContinue reading “The Endangered Species Act Needs a Better Definition”
Mining the Waste
By some estimates, mining waste has polluted the headwaters of 40 percent of the West’s watersheds. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth says that cleaning up as many as 38,000 abandoned mines on national forests is a high priority, but certainly not one that his agency can tackle on its own. Ironically, the Superfund law hasContinue reading “Mining the Waste”
Give governors, residents more say in land designation
Billings Gazette September 11, 2004 By Holly L. Fretwell BEAVERHEAD-DEERLODGE NATIONAL FOREST – As I sit on a knoll on South Willow Creek, the family still snug in the tent, I have a rare moment to reflect on this beautiful spot. Surely this is wilderness. The creek water runs wild and swift, swollen from lastContinue reading “Give governors, residents more say in land designation”