Who Decides What’s a Public Road?

October 22, 2024

Several years ago, Utah filed a suit insisting that the federal government turn over to the State 12,000 roads that cross federal lands within Utah. Few officials noticed, as disputes over who controls public roads on federal lands are nothing new. But the federal judge hearing this case just sent shock waves through Washington with […]

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Climate Protocols – the Ultimate Entangling Alliances

October 18, 2024

The “doctrine of unstable alliances” in George Washington’s “Farewell Address” underpinned U.S. foreign policy for decades and is still considered wise, though mostly ignored. “The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible,” Washington wrote. “It […]

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Nature is Cruel – Voters Shouldn’t Be

October 11, 2024

One of the most popular speakers at Club 20 in the 1990s was a Montana logger named Bruce Vincent, founder of a PR firm called Environomics, Inc. He was, and is, one of the country’s most inspiring and entertaining speakers on natural resources and conservation issues. I still remember his description of “the Walt Disney […]

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Corridors of National Interest – or Special Interest?

October 4, 2024

Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanual famously advised, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” he explained, “What I mean by that [is] it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” He was talking about the financial crisis of 2008, which Congress was so desperate to […]

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Animal Cruelty on This Year’s Ballot

September 27, 2024

Wolves yelp, bark, and howl at night to commmunicate, establish territories, and even to show affection. They do not actually howl at the moon, although that romanticized vision was cited by many voters who thought returning wolves to Colorado would somehow enhance their lives. Artworks showing silhouettes of wolves howling at the moon are very […]

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A New National Sacrifice Zone

September 20, 2024

A couple years ago a little-noticed report called, “Beyond Carbon-Free: A Framework for Purpose-Led Renewable Energy Procurement and Development” was published by an energy company in Seattle, together with the Nature Conservancy and the National Audubon Society. It suggested that the goal of net-zero carbon emissions would require “massive areas of land for development,” perhaps […]

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Easements on Water – An Idea Whose Time…

September 13, 2024

French novelist Emile Souvestre famously wrote in 1848 that “There is something more powerful than strength, than courage, than genius itself: it is the idea whose time has come.” It was later paraphrased by Victor Hugo, often quoted as, “More powerful than the tread of an army is an idea whose time has come.” It […]

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“Cumulative Impact” Should Work Both Ways

September 10, 2024

They’re getting old now, but I still know people who lament the urban sprawl they think ruined Denver. They miss sleepy little towns that used to be miles away from Denver and have completely separate identities – places like Parker, Golden, and Louisville. Today it’s one giant “metroplex,” as the Census Bureau calls it, and […]

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Can the Federal Government Own Land Forever?

August 30, 2024

The U.S. government paid $55 million for the entire West.  That’s less than a sixth of the annual budget of Grand Junction. In five separate treaties, the U.S. acquired the whole country from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. The 1803 Louisiana Purchase cost $23.2 million for all or parts of 14 states. In […]

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Protecting Dolores Canyons – From What?

August 23, 2024

The Sentinel’s Dennis Webb wrote an excellent and thorough article a few weeks ago about the effort to protect Dolores Canyons, including proposals for a national monument, a national conservation area, and several other options. As he chronicled, opinions are almost as varied as the communities potentially affected. One Nucla resident who opposes the monument […]

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