Public lands are the backbone of the American West, and they are under attack. Sagebrush rebels, state governments and political action committees want to do away with federal oversight, while robber barons from back east buy vacation homes, put up gates and seize their own personal forest. When the locals protest, they lawyer up. The…
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.
Hiking Elk Creek
The best policy is to keep walking. The fishing at Elk Creek ranges from so-so to pretty darn good, and the hiking keeps getting better as the creek climbs and loops through wood and meadow. The aspens flutter and the air is thin as you climb, but the views are worth it: Keep walking. The…
Arizona Wildfire
The Bighorn Fire.
Grand Canyon bison saga continues
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
Up in smoke: Will Arizona escape a major wildfire this year?
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…
Conservationists say BLM living up to its nickname: Bureau of Logging and Mining
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…
New monuments keep feds busy
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…
Getting lost in the Maze
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…
Grand Canyon Escalade dies another death
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…
Grand Canyon helicopter crash – how did we get here?
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…