Jackson Hole fills gap, removes snow
The citizens Jackson Hole, Wyoming (population 9,710)—an almost-gateway to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and a pleasant tourist town in its own right, if you don’t mind the town square with its frankly creepy antler arches—has taken on the job that couldn’t be managed by government of the United States of America (population 313,914,040)....
That sharp pinching sensation? Might be the sequester
At first glance, the sequester seemed like nothing more than a Great Unpleasantness. Much bickering, many threats and accusations, many teeth gnashed by people who said the across-the-board cuts were irresponsible and idiotic. But there was no obvious sense of urgency, which is why your federal leaders declined to hammer out a deal. A...
Sally Free Ride
Last week’s biggest under-reported story was the U.S. Senate’s confirmation hearing for Sally Jewell, CEO of outdoor retailer REI and President Obama’s nominee to be Secretary of the Interior. It’s easy to see why this story is big: the Department of the Interior holds the deed to 417 million acres—18.4 percent of the land...
Are we being teased about a new CCC?
We were as ecstatic as we get to read that the federal government is going to do something obvious and excellent, which is reconstitute the Civilian Conservation Corps. At a time when we have too many unemployed (and more to come, as the war in Afghanistan winds down), and crumbling national parks, and young...
Does the Forest Service hate the President?
Last week, the U.S. Forest Service trumpeted the news that it would be offering four fee-free days in 2013. This is dandy, but not as dandy as it sounds, for two reasons. First, “fees are not charged on 98 percent of national forests and grasslands, and approximately two-thirds of developed recreation sites in national...
A “Vertigo” moment for the NPS
The National Park Service is like your cool aunt who can never quite get it together. Despite all her great beauty and abilities and the consensus that life just wouldn’t be the same without her, she’s eternally on the edge of a collapse. Lipstick on her teeth, one corner of her deck railing is loose...
Our Election Day video
We feel like this dog on Election Day. We want to go outside—let’s say, to take a nice walk—but we have an obligation to do something else. Something we really should do but we’re just so done with it all that we want to crawl under the bed. That said, we’re crawling out from under...
What would “more accountable” parks look like?
If we hated election season anymore, we would advocate for monarchy. We would trade this rancorous debate for no debate. We would replace distortions of political ads for the relative integrity of other ads. For chiropractors and mattress stores. But we aren’t there yet. We still pay grudging attention to what the sides are...
There will be dope-slapping
“Do you think God is going to come down here and save you for being stupid? He doesn’t save stupid people, Abel.” Those lines—from There Will Be Blood, a movie about an obsessed oil driller—came to mind reading the Center for American Progress’ recent report on oil and gas drilling within national parks. Surprising fact:...
Briefly, we rise from our political stupor
One reason why no one pays any attention to what a candidate says on the issues is that no one believes they say what they think. This is cynical. And accurate. If you don’t recognize a platform as a jumble of marketing phrases meant to cobble together enough votes to win, you are not paying...
Outdoor industry flexes its nicely toned muscles
Look who’s throwing its granola-fed weight around. The 4,000-member Outdoor Industry Association is threatening to pull an important trade show from Salt Lake City unless Utah stops its plans to horn in on millions of acres of federally protected lands. A lot of money and a lot of land is caught up in this debate....
