http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/main/C466/L/ New West Network: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains en info@newwest.net Copyright 2008 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:23:17 MDT Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:23:17 MDT http://www.newwest.net/city/article/glacier_brewing_a_taste_of_the_wild_west/C466/C466/ Mon, 12 May 2008 16:06:00 MDT When you drive up the main street of Polson to Glacier Brewing, you get a little flashback to the Wild West. Swinging saloon doors always do that. The weathered BREWERY sign above the swinging doors helps, too. Later, I found it came from the historic H.S. Gilbert Brewery in Virginia City, which was Montana's first-ever brewery--and where the Virginia City Players still act out a comedy called The Brewery Follies. (The webiste touts the follies as all "satire, nonsense, foolishness and absurdity," so that sounds like something that fits into the Montana Microbrew series, don't you think?) http://www.newwest.net/city/article/wilderness_is_multiple_use/C466/C466/ Thu, 08 May 2008 04:57:00 MDT Have you ever heard somebody say they prefer "multiple use" over Wilderness? I have what seems like a thousand times, and every time I hear it, I say to myself, wrong! So, it seems like a good time to say it out loud because the words, "multiple use" have been lost in the Wilderness. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/public_land_owners_taking_rat_forest_service_to_civil_court/C466/C466/ Mon, 05 May 2008 18:01:01 MDT Enough is enough, say the owners of our national forests. And they may have finally found a way to spike the Recreation Access Tax or RAT. After years of working through cumbersome administrative channels and several rounds in criminal court, people interested in reasonable and free access to their public land have dragged the Forest Service (FS) into civil court. In addition to asking for injunctions against collecting "illegal" fees while the case is being litigated and if successful the fee program terminated, the plaintiffs in the class action complaints--to be filed tomorrow morning in Arizona and Colorado--want all fee collection signs removed and all fees collected through the years under the program returned to the people who shouldn't have had to pay them. Suffice to say, it's panic time in the FS offices back in Washington, D.C. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/tamarack_brewing_a_brewpub_montana_style/C466/C466/ Sat, 03 May 2008 10:00:00 MDT When I'm interviewing brewery owners for the Microbrew Montana series, I always ask the same question: What's different about your operation compared to the other 26 Montana breweries? When visiting Tamarack Brewing in Lakeside, a rapidly growing berg on the west shore of expansive Flathead Lake, I thought I knew the answer as soon as I walked through the front door. But when the co-owner Craig Koontz brought out the brandy snifters, I realized I knew only part of the answer. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/the_wilderness_drought_and_how_the_green_group_feud_keeps_it_alive/C466/C466/ Thu, 01 May 2008 01:02:00 MDT Over the past two years, I've been periodically posting selections of my favorite comments from readers of my columns and articles. I plan to continue doing this, but differently. Instead of listing comments chronologically, I've edited them into general subject areas. In this case, here are a few insightful comments that came in over the past few months on several articles on the wilderness drought and the green group feud that keeps it alive and if not endless. Enjoy. Editor's Note: For a complete list of Comments Worth Repeating, click here. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/lang_creek_brewing_americas_most_remote_brewery/C466/C466/ Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:01:00 MDT When visiting Lang Creek Brewing, getting there is half the reward. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. The owners left a clue right on the top of their website by advertising themselves as "America's most remote brewery." So, be sure to call ahead for directions. If you don't, you might be too old to enjoy those tasty brews when you finally get there. Editor's Note: For a complete list of Microbrew Montana articles to date, click here. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/merge_remake_the_forest_service/C466/C466/ Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:00:00 MDT Last month, the General Accountability Office (GA0) announced it was studying a plan to take the Forest Service out of the Department of Agriculture and merge it into the Department of the Interior. Predictably, this news was met with a chorus of yawns because we've heard many grandiose plans for reorganizing federal land-managing agencies. In every case, after significant wasted staff time and much stress for employees, nothing happens. But this one wasn't a yawner for me because something like this really needs to happen. This time, let's get serious and seize this opportunity to remake the Forest Service (FS), an agency lost in the today's political landscape. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/royal_teton_ranch_deal_critical_for_yellowstone_bison/C466/C466/ Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:54:00 MDT Yellowstone bison have been mired in hopeless controversy for more than a decade. Some people argue for killing every bison that leaves Yellowstone Park. Others believe that bison should be allowed to roam without restriction. Practical people all ask the same question: isn't there an option that treats bison like a valued wildlife species, while respecting the needs of private landowners and livestock interests? The National Wildlife Federation believes there is, and leasing of grazing on the Royal Teton Ranch north of Yellowstone National Park is a critical first step in that vision. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/motnana_conservationists_defend_obama_on_hunting_gun_issues/C466/C466/ Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:47:00 MDT Stung by recent accusations that he doesn't support the best interests of hunters, anglers and gun owners, presidential candidate Barack Obama had his campaign office hold a press conference call today to refute those claims and show "Senator Obama's commitment to the rights and traditions of Montana's sportsmen." An impressive line up spoke on Obama's behalf, starting with Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission chairman and former state senator Steve Doherty, who pointed out that roughly half of the people in Montana's hunt or fish and that he believed Obama would more strongly represent hunters, anglers and gun owners than Hillary Clinton. Updated: 9 pm, 4-18-08. http://www.newwest.net/city/article/wolf_recovery_turned_out_as_planned/C466/C466/ Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:41:00 MDT Some NewWest.Net readers might be a bit "overwolfed," but I thought the views of the man who probably did more to return the Big Dog to the Rocky Mountain West than any other person on Earth could be interesting. And surprisingly, to me at least, he thinks it all turned out about how he expected.