And Here We Have Idaho

The High Mountain Pleasures of an Idaho Family Hike

Hiking to Shirts Lake, accessible from West Mountain Road around Cascade Reservoir in Idaho’s beautiful Valley County, was a part of our kids’ childhoods. The fishing, camping, swimming and messing around in the mountains turned them both into lovers of nature and the earth. Son is a hiker and mountain biker, and Daughter, close to finishing a degree in environmental science, wants to spend her life trying to save the planet. Getting kids outdoors really does help them stay rooted in what’s real.

The lake, no doubt named after somebody named Shirts, rises from the town of Cascade’s 4,760 foot elevation to 7,700 in Idaho’s beautiful Valley County, where it is no longer early spring but not quite mid-spring.

That means wildflowers and songbirds, and a weekend family hike to Shirts took us through meadows and mountainsides grinning with both.

NOW CALLED WHOLESALE SPORTS

UFA Rebrands Its 15 Sportsman’s Warehouse Stores

Putting a formal stamp on its difficult transaction that netted it 15 stores from the bankrupt Sportsman's Warehouse chain, UFA Co-operative Limited,of Calgary, Alberta, has quickly rebranded the stores as part of the Wholesale Sports chain it has owned and operated for many years in Canada.

The new signs are going up right now, says Natalie Dawes, of UFA, but customers still might find temporary banners in some locations.

Let There Be Dark

AMA Links Light Pollution to Cancer, Health Woes

The American Medical Association this month passed a resolution that recognizes a host of problems with light pollution, including health issues -- such as breast cancer -- that are "associated with human eye exposure to light at night."

The AMA resolution (view it in full here) explains that the increasing amount of light in the world, including streetlight glare and intrusive light that "trespasses" into bedroom windows and homes, is linked to higher rates of cancer and other health woes. It harms wildlife as well, the medical group says.

As the AMA puts it: "Light trespass has been implicated in disruption of the human and animal circadian rhythm, and strongly suspected as an etiology of suppressed melatonin production, depressed immune systems, and increase in cancer rates such as breast cancers." In addition, it "disrupts nocturnal animal activity and results in diminished various animal populations’ survival and health," the group says.

IS ANOTHER LAYER OF PROTECTION WORTH THE COST?

Is National Park Wilderness a Good Idea?

If you've read any of my past columns, you know I'm a strong proponent of designating more Wilderness, but when considering whether to support including our national parks under the National Wilderness Preservation System, I have to wonder if this is a good idea. Here's why.

Running the Bighorns is Well Worth the Pain

My training approach for the 30-k Bighorn Mountain Wild and Scenic Trail Run was completely unscientific. It basically consisted of running four or five miles around Sheridan with Lindsay and the dog two or three times per week after work. During this "training", I realized that I find road running boring without music and discovered I develop shin splints 20 minutes into every run. I'm not in love with running, I'm in love with moving quickly through the mountains. I'm also addicted to the idea of testing my physical and mental limits.

Herd Horrors

Wyoming’s National Elk Refuge on Ten Most Imperiled List

A grim future is predicted for the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge in Wyoming unless the sprawling home to elk and bison gets an infusion of new policies and resources, according to a new report from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The group ranks the wildlife sanctuary -- which has one of the largest concentrations of elk in the world -- as one of America's Ten Most Imperiled Refuges.

The refuge was established in 1912 in the wilderness south of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks in an effort to resuscitate elk herds, which had faced mass starvation after bitterly cold winters and human encroachment, PEER notes. The results have not been good.

"STATEWIDE WILDERNESS BILL" COMING SOON

Tester Ready to Test Political Waters on Wilderness Issue

After 26 years, will this be the year Montana breaks the Wilderness Drought?

Perhaps. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and his staff are working hard with stakeholders right now and preparing to introduce a bill that combines aspects of three collaborative efforts that could loosely be defined as a statewide wilderness bill, but it probably will not have the word "wilderness" in the title.

HOW TO ENJOY BICYCLING CITY STREETS

Practical Tips for Making Bicycle Commuting Safer and Easier

More and more people are making the big move to bicycle commuting and finding out it isn't that difficult or dangerous to make it to work or school or coffee shop or grocery store, but even more haven't make the move. Having talked about this issue with many who haven't, I made a list of practical tips and advice that address many of the common concerns I've heard.

I've been commuting around town on my bicycle for thirty years without a single accident involving a motor vehcile, and for a long time, I couldn't understand why people didn't do it, but now, I get it.

From the Missoulian

Tom Tidwell is New Forest Service Chief

The new Chief of the U.S. Forest Service will be Tom Tidwell, the Region 1 Forest Supervisor, according to a Missoulian news story by reporter Rob Chaney.

In February 2007, the U.S. Forest Service promoted Tidwell to regional forester for the Northern Region, which includes more than 25 million acres of public land in Montana, Idaho and North Dakota. Prior to the promotion, Tidwell had been deputy regional forester in the Pacific Southwest Region.