Environmentalists and conservationists must be clear eyed and realistic about what is happening in the broader body politic right now. We cannot join the foggy complacency that seems to captivate …
Category: public agencies
The Politics of Big Fire in the West
Climate change, on top of the abuse of forests through fire suppression, grazing and intensive logging have created the fire storms of today.
Exploring the Nambe Badlands Wasteland
Thousands of people per year drive to Chimayo through the brown desert between the Nambe Creek Valley and the Santa Cruz River Valley. Tourists love this stretch for its strange …
The Forest Advocate, or Forest Fantasy
Most Santa Fe residents recently got a mailing from a group called “The Forest Advocate” which discusses forest management around Santa Fe. While I appreciate the spirit of the publication, …
Ranching is Driving the West’s Water Crisis
At some point, Americans need to come to grips with the fact that the cattle ranching industry is using far too much water in the American West. Ranching damages almost …
Getting Cows out of Wilderness
Many people are unhappy when they find livestock grazing inside designated wilderness areas on national forest lands. People hiking the Continental Divide Trail encounter cattle in the Colorado national forests …
Raking the Forest With Donald Trump and Mike Pence
We unravel the nonsense of Donald Trump’s talk about forest management and wildfire.
Valles Caldera to Stay in Public Ownership
In the center of northern New Mexico, the hulk of a huge dormant volcano rises above the Rio Grande Valley. This volcano formed the Jemez Mountains, one of the most …
Birds One, Trump’s Lawyers Zero
The Trump administration has a strong ideological opposition to regulations and to any sort of environmental protection. This near obsession has put the administration in opposition to every basic environmental …
Solving the West’s Water Crisis, One Cow at a Time
The Southwest is a dry place. Thin streams flowing from the high peaks trail intense green through millions of acres of red, yellow and gray desert landscape. Green fields of …
