“Perhaps the rebuilding of body and spirit is the greatest service derivable from our forests, for of what worth are material things if we lose the character and quality of people that are the soul of America?” Arthur Carhart—widely regarded as a pioneer in wilderness protection—posed that question more than 90 years ago after a…
The wind blows in Wyoming. So much so that over much of its southern acreage, trees live in a constant state of sideways, bowing to the prevailing forces. Tumbleweed bounces through prairie sagebrush. The earth’s guts, buttes, and sawtooth ridgelines live outside its skin—exposed. There are rivers. And there are generally few roads and people…
A telling 28-foot pair of scissors and a 160-foot dotted line appeared overnight on the Matilija Dam near Ojai California in 2011. The defunct impoundment on the upper Ventura River blocks steelhead migration and generates no electricity. Over the past decade, plans to remove it have been met with across-the-board agreement, as well as debate…