Ron Dungan

A few words about the wild west

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Category: the west

A site about the western United States: Public lands, national parks, monuments, conservation, outdoor recreation, wilderness, national forests, trees, fish, animals, nature, hiking, fishing, rambling around, backpacking, Grand Canyon at risk, Bears Ears National monument.

Bighorn Fire

Arizona Wildfire

Posted on August 26, 2021November 4, 2021 by rondungan

The Bighorn Fire.

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Grand Canyon bison saga continues

Posted on June 21, 2018 by rondungan

The latest in the story of the rogue Grand Canyon bison herd: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/too-many-bison-culling-hunting-grand-canyon-beefalo

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Up in smoke: Will Arizona escape a major wildfire this year?

Posted on May 31, 2018 by rondungan

Spring is here, and the Forest Service has taken charge. People in the high country are nervous. They talk about a year with no winter. How it’s drier than it was when Rodeo-Chediski blew up. Just before Memorial Day weekend, the Forest took the rare step of closing down sections of various tinder-dry sections of…

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Conservationists say BLM living up to its nickname: Bureau of Logging and Mining

Posted on March 26, 2018 by rondungan

Bureau of Land Management employees have begun to wear cards with oil rigs affixed to them, according to media reports. At first glance, the story appears like fake news, but Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility obtained images of the cards and gave them to The Washington Post. The Post reported that it independently confirmed the…

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New monuments keep feds busy

Posted on March 13, 2018 by rondungan

The Trump administration’s monument reductions are likely to fail, conservationists say, but that hasn’t stopped the feds from moving forward with new management plans. The reductions came late last year, when the administration announced it would shrink Grand Staircase-Escalante, created during the Clinton administration, and the newly created Bears Ears National Monument. Conservationists, tribes and…

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Getting lost in the Maze

Posted on March 7, 2018 by rondungan

Every now and then you need a do over. Years ago, Tom and I paddled down the Green River in Canyonlands National Park, stashed the canoes and backpacked for a couple of days in the Maze District of the park. I won’t go into details, but things went a little sideways up there. We may…

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Grand Canyon Escalade dies another death

Posted on February 27, 2018 by rondungan

  A proposal to drop a gondola ride into the east rim of Grand Canyon suffered another blow Saturday. The project, known as Grand Canyon Escalade, had a couple of moving parts: a bill before the Navajo Nation Council and a 2012 resolution passed by the Bodaway-Gap Chapter. The council voted overwhelmingly against the bill…

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Grand Canyon helicopter crash – how did we get here?

Posted on February 22, 2018 by rondungan

Analysis: A fatal helicopter crash at the Grand Canyon’s west end is the latest chapter in a story that goes back decades. The crash killed three people and injured four others, but dozens have been killed in around Grand Canyon over the years. How did we get here? The short answer is money. The longer…

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Grand Canyon helicopter crash – what we know, and what we don’t

Posted on February 14, 2018 by rondungan

Analysis A fatal helicopter crash has drawn attention to the Las Vegas helicopter tour industry, which sends hundreds of flights into the western Grand Canyon on a typical day. Conservationists have been alarmed at the growing number of flights, and although their objections have largely focused on noise in the Canyon, the issue of safety…

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Little white lies: part II

Posted on February 8, 2018 by rondungan

Far too many people seem to break down reality to a set of numbers … so it’s only natural that they transfer that thinking to fishing – numbers of fish caught, size of fish, nothing but the best gear that money can buy – the usual trappings of a consumer society that doesn’t know when to quit.

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Stories

You can now hang out in northern Arizona and snag a permit for The Wave without waiting in line. / Ron Dungan

The Wave is one of the most famous red rock features in the Southwest, but permits to the popular hiking area on the Utah-Arizona border are hard to come by.

Visitors will soon have a more convenient option to getting one.

It’s possible to get a permit to visit The Wave through a lottery, months in advance.

The other option was to wake up early and stand in a long line. But in mid-March, the line is going away, and visitors will be able to get permits on their phones.

The advanced reservation system will remain in place, but a new system will allow visitors in the Four Corners area to reserve a spot through an app, says David Hercher of the Bureau of Land Management.

“But the beauty of it is, that, you apply, and then you go on about your business. I mean, you want to go to Four Corners? Go to Four Corners. You’ll get a notification if you’ve actually been awarded a permit,” Hercher said. 

Because service is spotty in northern Arizona, he recommends downloading the app before you travel.

Flagstaff mushers are making some changes - my story on Here and Now.

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/01/17/arizona-dog-sledders-climate

Brewing day at The Shop Beer Co. / Ron Dungan

How craft brewers adjusted during the pandemic.

https://kjzz.org/content/1631717/arizona-craft-beer-finds-its-way-during-pandemic

A meadow along Canyon Creek, Tonto National Forest.

Western wildfires story for Colorado station KUNC.

https://www.kunc.org/2020-10-22/as-western-fires-burn-focus-narrows-on-forest-management-but-its-easier-said-than-done

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, southern Arizona.

The secret, probably illegal burial of Edward Abbey.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/best-reads/2015/04/17/edward-abbey-last-act-defiance/25930091/

El Camino del Diablo, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, southern Arizona.

The Border, a history.

https://www.usatoday.com/border-wall/story/us-mexico-border-history/510833001/

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