http://www.newwest.net/topic/main/C146/L41/ New West Network: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains en info@newwest.net Copyright 2008 Tue, 20 May 2008 12:31:00 MDT Tue, 20 May 2008 12:31:00 MDT http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/how_to_drive_a_motor_vehicle1/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/how_to_drive_a_motor_vehicle1/C146/L41/ Thu, 15 May 2008 01:48:00 MDT A couple of weeks ago, I was riding my bike up MacDonald Pass, on four-lane U.S Highway 12, on the shoulder. It was a mid-day, low-traffic time, and even though the left lane was available, a driver purposely hazed me by speeding by with his right wheel on the fog line going at least 80 mph. His mirror missed my helmet by about six inches. One minor correction to miss a rough spot on the road, and I wouldn't be writing this. Besides wondering if this reckless driver realizes how close he came to killing somebody, the incident reminded me of one of the first commentaries I wrote for NewWest.Net when I started the Wild Bill column three years ago called I Can Feel the Scorn. I'm sorry to say that I can still feel it. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/wilderness_is_multiple_use/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/wilderness_is_multiple_use/C146/L41/ 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/topic/article/the_wilderness_drought_and_how_the_green_group_feud_keeps_it_alive/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/the_wilderness_drought_and_how_the_green_group_feud_keeps_it_alive/C146/L41/ 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/topic/article/merge_remake_the_forest_service/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/merge_remake_the_forest_service/C146/L41/ 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/topic/article/wolf_recovery_turned_out_as_planned/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/wolf_recovery_turned_out_as_planned/C146/L41/ 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. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/more_fly_fishing_only_rivers_please/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/more_fly_fishing_only_rivers_please/C146/L41/ Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:01:00 MDT Before all the non-flycasters get excited about the headline, I should say that I like all kinds of fishing, not just fly fishing, a problem that has made my life a constant struggle against poverty. In fact, I have more spinning and baitcasing rods than fly rods, and probably use them more, too. Nonetheless, today, I'm feeling sorry for those anglers who only use fly rods. I think fisheries managers should throw them a bone by designating a few stretches of a few rivers as fly-fishing-only--especially a few rivers with steelhead in them. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/wolf_haters_fight_trigger_itch/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/wolf_haters_fight_trigger_itch/C146/L41/ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:14:00 MDT Here's something you probably never heard a western rancher say: "Government is a wonderful thing." But that might be precisely what they're saying down in the coffee shops and saloons in Idaho and Wyoming because they could be thinking the federal government has accidentally given them the opportunity to shoot as many wolves as they can for the next 30 days with no consequences. To this, I say: Don't even think about it. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/comments_worth_repeating_2008_ii/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/comments_worth_repeating_2008_ii/C146/L41/ Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:00:00 MDT This is another of what's becoming a long series of posts highlighting insightful comments by the readers of NewWest.Net. This time, though, before reading them, here's a comment of my own, a comment on comments. I welcome any comment, even those critical of me or NewWest.Net, but some comments are definitely more effective than others. To read them all, click on the Comments Worth Repeating Chronology http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/green_group_feud_afterthoughts/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/green_group_feud_afterthoughts/C146/L41/ Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:26:00 MDT A few weeks ago, I lost a few friends in Wilderness movement when I wrote about a feud between green groups stifling efforts to protect roadless lands. The following week, I invited the executive directors of two of the opposing groups to write guest commentaries on how they think we should end the Wilderness drought in Montana. After carefully reading the words of what I called "dueling greens," reviewing all the comments, and having a few more chats with wilderness leaders, I have a few afterthoughts and possible solutions to the stalemate. http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/dont_buy_fools_gold/C146/L41/ http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/dont_buy_fools_gold/C146/L41/ Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:59:00 MDT During a bout of insomnia last night, I watched CNBC to see if any of the talking financial heads thought my retirement funds might stop disappearing, and there it was. Perhaps the biggest environmental, wildlife habitat and water quality problem we don't like to discuss. Yes, it's touchy, but that has never stopped me, so why start now. We all need to stop buying fool's gold.