History and hiking in the Southwest.

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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.

Public lands like this are the backbone of the American West.

America’s public lands

Posted on July 17, 2022July 19, 2022 by rondungan

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…

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Hiking Elk Creek

Posted on July 10, 2022July 10, 2022 by rondungan

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…

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Bighorn Fire

Arizona Wildfire

Posted on August 26, 2021July 19, 2022 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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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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Stories

Saying goodbye to a teacher, mentor, friend.

Chris in The Office. / Family photo

https://kjzz.org/content/1842080/chris-smith-taught-history-asu-now-hes-part-mill-avenue-history

The opening piece of our water series, in which we try to look past the bathtub ring of Lake Powell. In this story, I follow a single drop of water on its journey to your tap.

Oak Creek. / Ron Dungan

https://kjzz.org/content/1792236/better-understand-arizonas-water-supply-we-retrace-its-origins

Another installment in the Every Last Drop series.

https://kjzz.org/content/1846861/quality-not-just-quantity-arizonas-water-concern-and-list-threats-long

https://kjzz.org/content/1831459/while-covid-19-raged-archival-history-research-was-pushed-back-burner

The next time you're in the Marble Canyon and wonder if you can snag a permit to Coyote Buttes, you might be surprised to find that the answer is yes. No line. No early wake up call. / Ron Dungan

https://kjzz.org/content/1822075/blm-expands-use-reservation-app-coyote-buttes-south-area-permits

Apache trout. / USFWS
https://kjzz.org/content/1813132/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-recommend-delisting-endangered-apache-trout

My story for Here and Now.

A volunteer at the dog races. / Ron Dungan

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

A meadow along Canyon Creek, Tonto National Forest. / Ron Dungan
https://fronterasdesk.org/content/1629386/western-fires-burn-forest-management-easier-said-done
Shop Beer Company / Ron Dungan
https://kjzz.org/content/1631717/arizona-craft-beer-finds-its-way-during-pandemic
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge / Ron Dungan
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/best-reads/2015/04/17/edward-abbey-last-act-defiance/25930091/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/fashion/weddings/rebecca-mackinnon-bennett-freeman-marriage.html?ref=oembed
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. / Ron Dungan

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

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