Should I Stay or Should I Go?

March 13, 2021

In the 1980s, when the Clash sang “Should I stay or should I go,” its lyrics include the no-win scenario, “If I go there will be trouble, An’ if I stay it will be double.” That damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t dilemma is a perfect description of the current debate about the headquarters of the U.S. Bureau of […]

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A New Sheriff (and Posse) in Town

March 5, 2021

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held confirmation hearings this week on President Biden’s Interior Secretary nominee, Rep. Deb Haaland. The Committee had already approved the nomination of Jennifer Granholm to be Secretary of Energy, and the Environment and Public Works Committee already approved the EPA Administrator nominee, Michael Regan. Those hearings were civil, […]

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With the Stroke of a Pen

February 26, 2021

After several years of frustration with Congress, President Obama famously said, “We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation. I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone, and I can use that pen to sign executive orders… that move the ball forward.” Much has been written about the use of executive orders by […]

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Saving Places That Don’t Need Saving

February 19, 2021

When Congress created the U.S. Forest Service in 1905, it had several clear purposes. Part of the role of national forests was to provide timber and other forest products the country needed, and part of it was to ensure a steady flow of clean water from healthy forests. But the main purpose was to preserve […]

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A Monumental Opportunity

February 5, 2021

The headline has become so familiar that few people even notice anymore: Washington Monument Closed Again. The most recognizable structure in the nation’s capital, which attracts over 600,000 visitors annually, has also become a symbol of government arrogance. That’s because it is closed so frequently it is a laughing stock among tour guides. “Why have […]

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One God Tern Deserves Another

January 29, 2021

The pop band Ocean Park Standoff had a hit a couple years ago called “Good News.” It didn’t quite make the top ten, but topped Amazon’s list of the most requested song lyrics that year. Maybe that’s because the words ring so true to so many people these days: “I need some good news, baby […]

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Sorry, Still Not for Sale

January 25, 2021

It’s not every day that a photo of the Grand Valley Canal makes the New York Times. Many Grand Junction residents may have missed this momentous occasion, right after New Year’s. But there it was, right in the middle of a multi-page article, about Arizona water and the involvement of private investors from New York. […]

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Ode To the Big Meadows, R.I.P.

November 11, 2020

Don’t you hate leading, when it becomes clear that nobody is following? It’s the story of my life, so I don’t take it personally anymore. I have tried for years to lead a conversation about restoring healthy forests. Yet I continually look around and nobody’s there. Even with constant news showing the despair of people […]

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They’re Just Nine People

October 30, 2020

Few new Supreme Court nominees have generated as much interest as Judge Amy Coney Barrett, because her confirmation could have far-reaching implications by upending the court’s decades-long liberal majority. More has already been written about Judge Barrett than my poor power to add or detract. It is appropriate in this space, though, to opine on […]

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Aren’t They All the Same?

October 23, 2020

In 1998 the government added “Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse” to the endangered species list, a decision that has cost Front Range communities millions. The State argued that this “subspecies” is no different than ordinary field mice everywhere. A respected geneticist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science published DNA-based test results proving that these […]

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