From Wyofile
Mad Dog and the Pilgrim Booksellers
Sweetwater Station, Wyo.—If you blink once or your attention drifts for an instant on the two-lane highway between Muddy Gap and the Lander, Wyoming, you may miss one of the world’s great road signs, a weathered, wooden square flanked by an American flag: “Old Books Fresh Eggs For Sale.”
And if you don’t stop and go inside the two-story, structurally-reinforced, climate-controlled book barn stuffed with more than 75,000 hardback volumes ranging from leather-bound Balzac to first-edition Beatrix Potter, you will miss one of Wyoming’s and the Mountain West’s hidden treats.
Owners Lynda “Mad Dog” German and Polly “The Pilgrim” Hinds moved their Mad Dog and The Pilgrim Booksellers from Denver to Sweetwater Station in 2000 after an unpleasant encounter with the Aurora, Colorado, Police Department.
JUNK FOOD FOR FISH
Pollution Altering Alpine Lakes
What seem to be pristine alpine lakes high in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park are getting greener, and not in a good way.
A report in the current edition of Science finds that those lakes are being swamped with nitrogen from the atmosphere, caused by pollution from cars, factories, feed lots and fertilizer. The nitrogen is essentially fertilizing lakes that aren’t used to being fertilized, causing a growth of algae and threatening to harm the fish at the top of the food chain.
In addition to our carbon footprint, researchers say, human activity leaves a more subtle nitrogen footprint that is affecting natural systems around the world, even in some of the most remote places.
Commentary
New U.S. Parks Chief Puts Gloves On, Might Need Them
A massive job awaits Jonathan Jarvis, the man who became chief of national parks this month, according to a fine feature story by Todd Wilkinson (which was published today in the Flathead Beacon).
The new park service director, a 32-year veteran of the National Park Service, kicked off his new job by visiting the home of conservationist John Muir and taking his family to Yosemite National Park, Wilkinson writes. If Jarvis got some extra energy from the trips, that’s good, the story notes. Because he’ll need it.
We're Winners
Montana, Wyoming Lodges Take Guide’s Top Honors
Away.com, a leading website for travel planning, has listed a Montana and a Wyoming destination on its latest list of top resorts. The “Best Resorts & Lodges Guide,” as described by the Away.com press release, offers “in-depth profiles of 200 of the world’s best destination resorts across ten popular travel categories,” chosen by a team of travel experts. And the experts liked what they saw out West.
Green Light for Wolf Hunts
Wolf Hunts Will Go On; Judge Denies Injunction Bid
The Montana and Idaho wolf hunts will not irreparably harm wolf populations and may proceed, according to a ruling filed last night by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy.
Molloy on Aug. 31 heard arguments from environmental groups seeking to halt the fall wolf hunts—the first of their kind in the lower 48—on the grounds that the killings would irreparably harm the species, which was on the Endangered Species List until just this spring. The coalition of 13 environmental groups, which has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in an attempt to restore federal protections for the gray wolf, asked Molloy to issue an injunction to stop the hunts, arguing that killing even a single wolf is a problem.
In a 14-page ruling, Molloy disagreed, and said the “low threshold” for irreparable harm—a single wolf death—was not supported by the law.
Canis of Wormis
Wolves Shot, Boycotts Called, Fur Flies
Game officials and wolf hunt fans often say the same thing when it comes to the wolf hunt in Idaho and the upcoming one in Montana. Don’t worry, they say. Wolves are fast, nocturnal and darn hard to draw a bead on.
The question of just how tough they are to shoot even came up in federal court, where U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy on Monday heard a plea by environmental groups for an injunction to stop the wolf hunt seasons.
“Isn’t there evidence ... that with fair-chase hunting, not many wolves will be killed?” Molloy asked.
Yes, that’s right, as Steven Strack, attorney for the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, explained during the hearing. “There are nine million acres of wilderness areas in Idaho,” Strack said. It’s hard to even spot a wolf without using a helicopter, traps, baits or motor vehicles like ATVs (which are not legally allowed in the hunts), he noted.
The news from Idaho this week seemed to, well, blow a hole in that theory.
Mellon said: "I would not advise using Morton's at all, it is refined via chemicals and is not good at all.. Raw Sea salt is best, as…
Talia said: "This has been one of my favorite stops in the whole state for years! What a great spot and thanks for writing about it!"