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, …
Forgotten Ancestors in a Sultry September
This is a hot, sultry September. I think about the hurricanes overwatering the eastern states, and the big Southwest rivers fading away with millions of people gathered at their sides …
There are no Indigenous People in the Americas
There is an unmistakable trend in progressive and environmental thinking today. All compasses point toward a focus on Indigenous people and their long experience on this continent and the discrimination …
Lightning Fire, Wild and Free
In mid-June lightning struck a remote slope in the Pecos Wilderness east of Santa Fe. The bolt started a fire that ignited dry fuels in a spruce-fir forest and quickly …
A Life of Caring about Bandelier National Monument
I found myself clearing out old files from my activist work in the 1980s about Bandelier National Monument. It struck me how I have been focused on this area and …
The Future and the Past of the South San Juan Wilderness
The main mass of the San Juan Mountains dominates Southwest Colorado with its fourteen-thousand-foot peaks and steep gorges. These mountains feed their snowmelt into the Colorado River basin, a vast …
When Will Wolves Roam Northern New Mexico?
Wolves will soon be ranging into northern New Mexico because of pending wolf reintroduction in Colorado. Wolves may move on their own into the Pecos and other New Mexico wilderness areas.
Planning the Valles Caldera National Preserve
The Valles Caldera in northern New Mexico is a vast collapsed volcano now coated with forests and grasslands. People have been coming to the Caldera seasonally for centuries, making paths …
Ranching is Driving the West’s Water Crisis
At some point, Americans may come to grips with the fact that the cattle ranching industry is using too much water in the American West. The livestock industry takes large …
New Gila Wild and Scenic Bill an Empty Gesture
What do you imagine when you think of a wild and scenic river? Do you think of a deep clear stream running among thick grasses with flowers bobbing, deer grazing …