There was a moment when I discovered something truly magnificent — when a great light struck me, when something new, different and special opened up for me. I may have been still in grammar school when my friend Julius took me on a hike above his neighborhood. We passed a small pond on the edge […]
CVEPA Views
Posted inColumns
CVEPA Views: Treachery at the highest level
It has been a long, slow evolution in the United States to achieve the environmental standards and protections that the American people have come to benefit from. We stand stunned at the short period of time that these achievements have unraveled. Clean air and water… are they not inalienable rights? Greed, an unquenchable thirst for […]
Posted inOpinion
CVEPA Views: A smell conspicuous in its absence
This latest cold snap was reminiscent of years gone-by. This is cold that pinches your nose and robs your breath as the snow crunches beneath your feet. It was common fare in Carbondale. With the cold came an odor so ubiquitous, if not pervasive, that it was part of our everyday life. The pungent smell […]
Posted inColumns
CVEPA VIEWS: Unite, baby, unite
Whether you viewed November’s election results with delight, disinterest or dismay, most of us find ourselves suffering from political fatigue right now. We’re shutting off the TV, avoiding the web and trying to ignore the news. But as tempting as it might be to hide under the covers, so many important issues need our attention, […]
Posted inColumns
Farewell, Ranger
I was deeply saddened by the loss of yet another Crystal Valley icon, a man who spent his career defending wildlife and an ally for the quality of life we all cherish here. The passing of John Seidel last week brings a tear and evokes many precious memories of our dear friend. John worked as […]
Posted inOpinion
CVEPA Views: The River of No Return
My beautiful summer of moderate temps, ample moisture and smoke-free skies got spicier with a phone call from a friend. Their rafting permit on the Main Salmon River in Western Idaho was canceled last year due to a large forest fire. Their permit was honored this summer, and one party could not make the trip […]
Posted inOpinion
CVEPA Views: Who was Nikos Patsantaros?
Graffiti on public buildings, carving into soft desert sandstone and covering signs with insipid stickers all seem endemic these days. Is there a point when vandalism becomes artifact? Reflecting back on my high country meanders, I treasure the shepherd’s tree carvings the most. Throughout the boreal forest on Colorado’s Western Slope one can still find […]
Posted inOpinion
Freedom’s just another word…
“Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” I love the curious lyric in Kris Kristofferson’s ballad of Americana, and it’s good enough for Bobby McGee. I resonate more with Dylan’s perspective on such values as freedom: “I spoke the word, as if a wedding vow.”On the birthday of The Sopris Sun, I keep […]
Posted inOpinion
CVEPA Views: Nuts! An American Tragedy
I found myself giggling with the exhilaration of each steep, sinuous turn. We descended rapidly down a perfect ribbon of asphalt as if on a roller coaster. We had driven almost 3,000 vertical feet up from Italy’s Mediterranean Sea coast to hike the subalpine spine of the Ligurian Apennines. This hundred mile long mountain chain […]
Posted inOpinion
Wildlife McCarthyism, impact credits and the humility necessary to share Earth’s beauty
Early in my career, I clerked at the Environmental Defense Fund trying to help negotiate changes in California’s massive irrigation system, trying to stave off the extinction of the Sacramento River winter run of Chinook salmon. The irrigation system, known as the Central Valley Project, irrigates a good share of the fruits and nuts produced […]