Grin and Bear It

July 7, 2017

Declaring that the Yellowstone grizzly bear has recovered from the threat of extinction, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is removing it from endangered species list. That will end 42 years of federal management of a unique American mammal, one of the primary reasons the Endangered Species Act was passed in the first place. It is a […]

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In the End, There is Truth

June 29, 2017

One of America’s founding principles is the public’s right to know what their government is doing. The framers of the Constitution mentioned no exceptions, not even for national security, but a free press was permanently enshrined in the First Amendment, because a vigilant citizenry was – and is – the only sure long-term guardian of […]

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California’s Economic Suicide

June 23, 2017

Last fall, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law requiring his State to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels. That ratchets the State’s already severe limits down even tighter, now requiring a reduction to levels not seen since the 1950s or earlier. Some are beginning to understand that it cannot be […]

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A Republic, If You Can Keep It

June 16, 2017

When Ben Franklin was asked what system of government the Constitutional Convention had produced, he said, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” He knew how strong leaders can abuse power, and he knew how easily people can forget that lesson. This week’s agitation over America’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement clearly demonstrates both. […]

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Here Comes The Judge!

June 9, 2017

The Great Falls Tribune reported, “Wolverine study’s plan preferred to endangered species listing.” That is a common sentiment in the West, where almost anything is preferable to endangered species listings, and the accompanying federal control over private land. When I started as Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, we were just beginning our […]

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Strange Bedfellows in Aspen

June 1, 2017

The headline in a recent Free Range Report reads, “Water battle pits City of Aspen against feds, enviros.” Nobody familiar with Colorado politics could help smiling at the sarcastic irony in that headline. Aspen fighting environmentalists? We can just as easily imagine headlines proclaiming “Boulder battles liberals,” or “Iowa bans farming.” The issue here, though, […]

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Golly, What a Gully!

May 26, 2017

I remember my grandparents laughing at a famous old magazine cartoon. It depicted a bow-legged old cowboy with a gray beard seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. His wide-eyed exclamation was, “Golly, what a gully!” The Grand Canyon has been a source of awe and wonder for centuries. That old cowboy fully appreciated […]

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I’ll Build it for Only $50,000

May 19, 2017

When I heard about a National Park Service estimate of $78,000 to rebuild 86 feet of walkway, my first thought was, “I’ll do it for $50,000.” I am not a contractor, but for that price I could hire several. This is just a trail, but even nice concrete walkways in the South cost only $7 […]

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How Dare They Keep Promises!

May 12, 2017

The Trump Administration’s first annual budget proposal to Congress (for fiscal year 2018) seeks to reduce the EPA’s budget by a third, as promised. Some of the details are yet to emerge, but there is already a heated debate about major cuts in the agency’s Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance (OECA). Analysts say the […]

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Eating Tofu in the Dark

May 4, 2017

The UN International Panel on Climate Change has warned for 29 years about greenhouse gases warming the planet beyond its ability to sustain life. They say the most harmful gas is methane, and the largest source of methane emissions is cattle. As a result, several States are considering proposals to tax livestock. One common version […]

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