By Ted Williams Beavers, through their assiduous dam building, can recharge groundwater and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. In the Pacific Northwest, for example, managers are bringing back beaver as part of trout and salmon management. “God bless beavers and their industrious nature,” writes Trout Unlimited’s Idaho-based Chris Hunt in Hatch magazine. “They make […]
Editorials
Writers on the Range – Creative builders get rural housing done
By Dave Marston Here’s a statistic to be unhappy about: Colorado and Utah host the fifth- and sixth-most expensive housing markets in the country, according to Bankrate.com. But here’s the good news: two rural housing champions in those states have found creative ways to build affordable housing. Moab, Utah, sited along the Colorado River, draws […]
Writers on the Range – When a skunk goes after your garden
By Richard Rubin Skunks love autumn as our backyard gardens fill up with ripe vegetables. But in my northern New Mexico corn patch, that meant a determined skunk chowing down on ears of corn every night. What followed next was a conundrum: I wanted it gone but didn’t know how to make that happen. My […]
Writers on the Range – Goats can be a forest’s best friend
By Dave Marston Goats are particularly good at one thing: Eating. Unlike a horse or cow that leaves noxious weeds behind, goats eat the whole menu of pesky weeds, bushes and small trees. That means goats can be one of the answers to the growing problem of tinder-dry, highly flammable forests. In Durango, Colorado, former […]
Be cool on the pool
Deep breaths, everyone. As the November general election nears, the public discussion — which takes many forms — about Proposition 1 has heated up. That’s to be expected. The proposal to form a Methow Aquatics District is regarded by many in the community as bold, ambitious, sensible and forward-looking. It’s also perceived in some quarters […]
Get behind Give Methow
Give Methow is not about testing the Methow Valley’s generosity. It’s about trusting it. For the past seven years, that trust has paid off. The annual fundraising drive during the month of October has raised nearly $4 million for valley nonprofits, including a single-year record of nearly $802,000 in 2022. The Community Foundation of NCW […]
My Turn – Seeking clarity on WDFW land closures
By Sam Lucy While I think the intentions of the recent Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) forum were good, structure was lacking. The prospect of closing two-thirds of our Methow Unit lands for winter is no small matter. Nor is the topic of displaced wildlife. The interface between humans and animals is growing […]
Writers on the Range – Let’s blow the whistle on public-land abusers
By Rob Pudim Dozens of TVs, refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers and abandoned cars had either been gunshot, torched or both. This place of destruction was what some locals called “Carnage Canyon,” roughly 30 acres off Lefthand Canyon in Boulder County, Colorado. It was a shocking sight, but was it unique? Think about your own nearby […]
Go to the light
Once you start trudging down that long, dark tunnel that public process often becomes, looking for a glimmer of light at the end can test one’s patience and confidence in the system. It’s more or less an axiom of government that, even at the local level where process is not as ponderous as in the […]
My Turn – WDFW needs to make better case for land closures
By Nick Hershenow The Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is proposing to close about 80% of the state wildlife lands between Carlton and Winthrop to human entry from Dec. 15-April 15. These lands were purchased primarily as wildlife sanctuaries, with a particular focus on winter range for deer. Public use is a secondary benefit. […]
