Aspen (c91) News | New West Network

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WILD BILL

Last week, the old purple Congress did something unusual. They actually worked on Friday. December 8 was the last day of the 109th Congress, so I guess it seemed like they should actually do something. Our political leaders passed a tax extender bill with a load of riders and earmarks on it. One rider banned fossil fuel leasing on public land on the famed Rocky Mountain Front in west central Montana, which is great news for anybody who enjoys outdoor activities on the Front.

Immediately after passage, the main ball carrier, Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) had this to say: “We finally got it done,” Baucus proclaimed in an interview with the Associated Press. “We finally protected the Rocky Mountain Front forever. Thirty years from now, our kids and grandchildren will thank us."

Yes, Max, I’m sure our grandchildren appreciate what we will not do to the Rocky Mountain Front, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have not saved it forever. Not yet. [more]

CHEAP PEAKS

As ski season gets under way in the Rockies, many ski towns are continuing to wrestle with how to house workers that don’t earn the kinds of salaries that the housing there too often commands. The issue isn’t just about finding a couch for lifties so they have someplace to change and shower between shifts, but about making sure those who help run a town and all of its amenities and services have a real home.

In Aspen, the Times reports, the Roaring Fork Transit Authority is asking Aspen and Pitkin Counties to give transit workers first shot at a limited supply of affordable housing. Otherwise, authority officials say, the whole system of public transportation could continue to further deteriorate — without an affordable and convenient place to live, workers won’t sign on or stay employed with the authority. [more]

WILD BILL

If you read murder mysteries or watch cop movies, you’ve heard it several times. After looking at seemingly unrelated clues, the protagonist rubs his or her chin and says, “I don’t believe in coincidences.” That’s sort of how I feel when looking for clues to solve the mystery of why visitation to our national parks has declined.

The NPS has finally--and somewhat reluctantly, in seems--confirmed that the number of people going to national parks has been on a steady decline since 1996. Well, something else happened in 1996 that may have started the downward slide--unless you believe in coincidences, that is. [more]

WHERE DO YOU STAND: SHOULD MILITARY SERVICE BE MANDATORY?

Congressman Charlie Rangel is convinced that if more of his colleagues on Capitol Hill and their close friends were forced to make their own kids eligible for military service in Iraq and other violent hotspots around the world, American leaders would find greater pause in deciding whether to have the U.S. go to war.

Rangel, a Democrat from New York, a Korean War veteran, and the soon-to-be-new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, intends to introduce legislation that would reinstate a national draft requiring that all men and women turning 18 in America be available for possible military duty. Rangel believes that the current all-voluntary military is tilted too heavily toward lower and middle class soldiers letting well-to-do kids, who may support the war in Iraq, off the hook.

Rangel has tried unsuccessfully in previous years to get similar bills passed.

Do you agree that a mandatory draft would change the way Congress thinks about committing U.S. troops to combat service around the world? [more]

WILD BILL

The Endangered Species Act is like a wolf, one of the species it strives to save. Wherever the Act goes, controversy follows. In fact, is there an environmental law on the books more controversial? I doubt it. Now, even before the January changing of the guard, the Blue Congress is sending out positive signs that the approach to the ESA will change -- and change for the good.

During the Red Congress recently sent home to lick its wounds, enviros barely fought back many attempts to “revise” or “modernize” the ESA. But no more. Now, Congress will concentrate on overseeing the law to make sure agencies implement it as intended by its authors. [more]

WILD BILL

Is anybody sad about having the election behind us? I doubt it, unless you work for a company selling political advertising.

Now that it’s over, the analyzing phase begins--what happened and why, and of course, what should we do now. You’ve heard a lot of this type of talk already, but here’s one part of it you probably haven’t heard, yet.

We have heard many times that the voters were angry, primarily with the Trillion Dollar War and the fiscal mismanagement following it. I don’t mean to imply that my concerns compare with people dying needlessly in Iraq or issues like Medicare/social security reform, the health care crisis and immigration, but out here on the “outdoor beat,” so to speak, people were just as angry. We’ve been singing the blues for many years, so I have a message for our newly elected congressional leaders. [more]

WILD BILL

Back in July, I managed to rile up the National Rifle Association when I wrote a column about the largest gun rights organization--and perhaps the nation’s most powerful lobby--not representing hunters. In the column, I wrote that the NRA does a superb job of representing gun owners and should stick to its core mission, protecting the Second Amendment. The NRA should not pretend to represent hunters because the group’s political endorsements conflict with the best interests of hunters. This idea gives a few people severe heartburn. If you want to see for yourself, check out the comments on the column.

Now, four months later, in the midst of our general big game season, we hunters here in Montana are due to receive--on election day morning no less--vivid proof that it’s true. The NRA is only about guns, not about hunting, and the group does not and can not represent both gun owners and hunters. You can argue that the two are connected at the hip because most hunters use guns, but in reality gun ownership and hunting are separate issues. [more]

Healing a History

It was a "massacre" or "uprising" or "incident" depending on who is telling the story. Nevertheless, on September 30, 1879, Nathan Meeker and 10 other Bureau of Indian Affairs employees were killed by members of the White River Utes in a rebellion against Meeker's abusive authority and increasing incursions by nearby white settlers on their lands and hunting grounds. The events near the present-day town of Meeker, Colorado led to the banishment of the White River Utes to a reservation in Utah, which they were forced to share with two other bands of Utes – the Uintah and Uncompahgre. The reservation was located in a desert region of northeastern Utah that Brigham Young described as "one vast contiguity of waste … not even fit for a jack rabbit."

The displacement has been difficult, and for over a century the White River Utes have struggled to regain a foothold on the western landscape and economy. In contrast, the town of Meeker, situated next to the winding White River on the western slope of the Rockies, has developed a thriving economy based on ranching and guided hunting on the abundant elk herds that roam the surrounding public lands – the same herds that originally attracted the Utes to the valley centuries before.

Now, the civic leaders of Meeker are working to re-establish a connection with the White River Utes. This past September, on the anniversary of Nathan Meeker's death, Meeker officially invited a group of Ute leaders, dancers, and drummers to return in the spirit of reconnecting with the town and their ancestral lands. [more]

EARLY SNOW

Just one more storm.

The Aspen Skiing Co. says that's all it would take to open the slopes before its scheduled Thanksgiving opening.

"It's definitely possible," Skico spokesman Jeff Hanle tells the Aspen Daily News. "We just need a little more. If the snow cooperates and we don't get a warm spell, we'll do the best we can to get an early opening." [more]

Snowblog Grok

Hundreds of miles of highway have reopened in Colorado after a storm leaving up to two feet of snow forced their closure, the AP reports. Around 90,000 people in the Denver area alone lost power and 110 flights were cancelled, but skiers and snowboarders certainly aren’t complaining. The ski season in Colorado has begun in earnest.

Also in the Snowblog Grok today: A Colorado octogenarian is “ready to rip up the slopes,” reports the Rocky Mountain News. Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana, looks to show off its new digs. And a chance to “Win Your Own Montana Mountain.” Click here for the full Grok. [more]

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