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!i:'2-High Country NewsFriday, June 7,1974

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,The real crunch in environmental mattersis no longer a 'matter of speculation. It is upon us. The evidence is on allsides. 'Earlier t1iis year, the New Mexico Legislature repealed

the solid core orits environment81law. Ithad only belm inexistence a year. Last month, the Massachusetts Legisla-ture passed a bill limiting state review of environmentalimpacts of private developments. One: official there saysthe state has not been too successful in offsetting what hecalls "the economic side of the environmental backlash."That -state's law was just 16 months in existenc~.A massive and concerted attempt is being m~e by elec-

tric utilities particularly to gut the Clean Air Act of 1970., They say it is unrealistic and cannot be .met. They arespending literally millions of dollars to convince theAmerican public that it is in their own best interests to

- accept the ever-darkening of skies over America theBeautiful while luxuriating in their air conditionedhomes.The National Coal Association is going all-out to kill

pending legislation regulating ship mining. And whenyou consider that the world's biggest oil 'companies arenow the heavys in the coal industry, you can bet that astrip mining bill is in for a rough time.Victor Riesel, the blind columnist for the American

labor movement; continues til fire broadsides at what heviews as the injustices of environmental matters against'the workingman. In a recent column, he presents a one-sided view of the "bottle law." He cites figures for job lossesif this country started trying to force recycling and the useof returnable containers. He does not take the trouble topoint out the experience ofOregon where jobs were lost in 'one area of the industry, but equally gained in other areas.It is ironic that Riesel espouses the same, line as indus-

try. His gullibility'and lack of understanding ofthe wholeproblem is incredible. He says, '''This is the 'moment forrealism. Someone always can find-trash baskets for dis-carded pop-top cans and throwaway bottles - withoutkilling an industry. As forcoal 8OOt- it is easier to tske fora while than an empty breadbasket."Here in the West; another problem' looms. It appears

that the federal government is very serious in consideringwater for energy development as its sole domain. Only theimplications here are economic as well as environmental.If the bureaucracy in Washington, impelled by the teem-ing masses along the coasts and incited 1>Y the VictorRiesels and the American Electric Power Systems, decidewe are more in need of power plants than we are of irri-gated farms, who will have the last word? - .Ifthe federal government should decide to takejurisdic-

tion over water rights, and should decide to switch wholerivers of water to coal-producing or oil shale areas, theresults would not, only affect the environment but also theeconomy of the whole West. Talk about displacement of, jobs and people -'- the bottling industry would be a piker incomparison.GOvernment and industry alike are in a head-long rush

to develop more energy resources: Arid the' public is ledalong·the primrose path, faced with contradictions, incon-sistencies, and the ballyhoo of Madison Avenue hucksters.Yet, there is no consistent effort to wean us away from ourinsatiable appetite for more energy. Anyone who espouses .a eutbaekin use ofeneno-,is a radical, and not in keeping. with the traditional American ethic of groWth and prosper-.ity. -;.·..t:"_/ ",' ". . -I.

The mass psychology of the American public is usually• not one ofl"ellllOned consideration of·the facts. Rather, it is, uilually oiiiofl-tlaCtion to crisis. Everyone is normally too:-busy doing'his ii-iVn thing to take time tQ.consider facts, and. it is not until crisis appears on the doorstep that the aver-~age Joe Blow suddenly learns there is aproblem,

In today's complex world, such a procedure is flirtingwith disaster. Nevertheless, it appears to be the way !!,e,are heading. It is too bad, too; forcoliectively we sreifitel-

ti~ent.~nou~? ~. ~J,!ape,andTguide J0ll;l" ,destiny, withoutbemg-pushi!<l:byevents'ilejondou .. rontrol.! '..-....- -_...'- ...._~

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'Letters . -' "

Dear editor, from college with a degree in geology and wroteI happen to be one of. many' ranchers who' my graduation 'paper on coal because Lknaw

believes we can live with controlled strip min- then, in 1928, that we had coal at Birney. I willing of coal and run cattle at the same time. To be surprised if 10 per cent of our land is mined,fortify this belief here are' a few facts. ' that will leave 90 per cent-for the cattle.

, "" I ," '0' , ' 'With the, money generated from this 10 perThe average native range I{',,~ ill spl1theast- ,: ' cent ofminedland; 'I am sur-e""y~andchildren

ern Montana requires three acres to run one'cow one mohH1.SO it't"kes'36 acres to run one . can 'maI<'e'a'betterrancli"of,this thanThavecow one year:'AIi acr'ilfoot'of coal weighs 1750 known and if they did no more than control the

, ' ncxious weeds along our portion of the Tongue.pounds. A 20 foot seam :,'pf coal under one acre, River Valley they 'would be contributing aweighs 35,000 pound>f.The 36 acres to run a co,\, major effort toward the environment, especiallywill produce 1;260,000 tons of coal. At20 cents a the environment for a cow."I think it is theton royalty this area large enough to rim one environment for a cow that most opus are 1'00.-cow will produce $252,000 to the owner of thecoal. In addition, this one cow will benefit the cerned about, not the environment for hobby'taxpayers of Rosebud County' by over $~OO,OOO ranchers.and the State of Montana coffers by $428,409. If .I decide to sacrifice this one cow that quarter ofa million dollars will go a long way toward mak-ing a better home for the rest of my cows. But Ido not have to sacrifice that cow. I can turn her * * *on another 36 acres, reseed it, fertilize it and .An Open Letter to Burton Brewster:irrigate it and that cow will have company. If! were your neighbor and living along sideMost ranchers are familiar with the old saying 'of you, and your whole desire was to build up"no use to learn anymore about ranching -be- your own capital and ranch, and make life morecause I don't ranch as well now as I know how." of a pleasure - at my expense and the, e'!'penseThis situation is brought ori by money~ the of the environment-I'm afraid the expressionslack ofit. The history of the cow business is that I would use would, not befit to print in anycows alone, have not generated enough money newspaper.to do the job of ranching that most ranchers" You know full well any efforts to reclaim this, know how to do and would'like to do. land are in extreme doubt. ldon't know what

This quarter of a million dollars that this one make's you think you can "control" strip minerscow would generate would go a long ways to- and power companies when my experience hasward furnishing better bulls, fertilizing, weed been that they absolutely Jack the ability to tellcontrol, leveling, irrigating, better corrals, bet-' the truth or keep their \\iord. , "r, "

ter fencing and many other things a rancher Can you actually look your neighbors in thealways needs but has not been able to afford. / eye when you know that there is every indica-Besides all of these essentials, it would improve tion that strip mining on your ranch is going tothe environment. interfere with their water? . 'I think the efforts of the reasonable environ- These companies want more than your land

mentalists has been- good. I am convinced that for strip mining. They want to build. powerthese' efforts will result in well controlled coal plants out here too. Next, they'll be (and in factmining ~peratiilDs. I think the environment is ARE) after my land and a lot of other people'sas important to lile as it is to anyone. My'father .land, fqr transmission lines, 'reservoirs, roads,picked this site in 1882 and I have lived here 71 .subdivisions, railroads,' and what have you.years. He had traveled from Bilston to Nevada, And if they can't buy the land, they'll try toto Cal!forn,~~<~g~,¥!a:i_n the years just p~evi- condemn us forit. _ " .,' ,'.ous tl!;rs.DJlll:'hil"h~~'! chOIceof enVIron·, ., I",tvI am as old as you are;' I am not an mexpen-ment. He liked it then, 1 like it now. I graduated" ' en1;e,Nioy. I have "engaged in'the buSiness of

Burton B. BrewsterQuarter Circle V Ranch Co.Birney, Mont:

',ReprinteMrom TIlE IDAJJ;O STATESMAN, Friday, Mily24, 1974., '

'''''Push C::Qnser'vatiQn!~NoJS,upply ,Some of th~ s:lie'm~s rtowbE!lngcllscllssed to Legislation in the Senate that woUld protect :,;> .• driv~ for new energy; s~pp~i~, Btt,t,jjji,:kinds of

increase 'U,S, enel'gy, supplies bring: back ,thenver,and canyen is stalled. No ll!'gJslation is stones are being left UJl~ikl ·on'tljMenergymemories o~'thec~mmentsofthe general Who'BIOv,ing in the House. Without legislation, the ' ~~~tvationside:Thtin.~I1~cr8shpro.,ramforsaid "it was'netesiiaty to destroy the village to "FPC could issue a license in 1975, '" "; "",,,.,energy conservation.c " ,:' :,' ",' "?" ' i

saveit.v: ,',' ',," ",' I,' ' Sonie'()fthee~ergyplamiersseem inclined to ,Far from ,it. E'nergy co~seiv~tiqn is,ket£ing'Now we have' a suggestionofdiverting Idaho the view that rio sacrifice, is 1110great, for this ' niostly liPServiceWhiI~fh." '~4I!0:ll~rgan-

,water from:' the' .upper' ,reaches .of the Snake nation -,to'meet projected demands for energy.' '.' tuan supply: plans, A: re " ,~'~ ~tionalRiver for coal and. oil shale development in ",' 'I'hose projeCtions are based largely on past :"'_Ac~emy ofEhgineering, ~II~':~fel~"geiJts

..' Wyoming. Vasramounts or water could be con-:" rates of growth in energy consumption. It is a 'an Investment, of $600 bdlillnm',new 'e~sumed in the coa1'!>l'ld shale operations, ,'new ball game. With pow'er,ratesglling up, with sources over the riext)~ 'ye~;;lJhis 'amountDownstream onthe Snake, th,ere'is the threat the discovery of energy-c0!'servatiiln, there is . exceeds the valull>ofthetop,5i'laJ;S. indJ1Strial

of a Federal 'Po\:v:eio,comfuissien 'licens~ t,onQreasonthatconsumptiansh,oul!i;growasfast cOrporations.', '~;",," . 'Orell'0n lind )Vash~ilgt,l:Jnutilities f<!tada'm that' . as in the past. " . ., While it sugg~sts solli'ir,conser.Vwould wipe out, tJl~tast r,emaining stretch of Tbe energy planners are' leaving no stone. un: 'phasis of this'repol't is on ne .free~f1owing,SnaK~Rh'er in HeHs,C~nyon, 'turn"4:--:-·evetl1ooki.llg ~t'.ldaho water '-'- in the. Consider theconseqb.~,i:tce

, : ;~ jected energy sIlPpl(':. . " ..'l'," - The ·consumer w

. -.~ ~' .... staggering ~apit81(l!i)1ltsi. double U.S.ene~~uf ~'iel#.s." Tbis~ouI~i!ln' inlla' 'm.epwpen:thenation is·aHliIidy tlir~a., ~ plll,l11fliY in- '.

\'~ '': flation., . i ~"!, ~ ,~'. "', Ji • " .'" ' . ' " _ There could be tre •,"" .~§~t':'such" .~..;":-:'" , . decisious as a diverl.io':"~\r~~tf4~la~bg or a

"""',~,, . .. . ...' .' " '. ..... ", J' :-,~ . " darn in'Hells.Can)'on, F:!lM;lilii:R~ion8:!;\l1,l,q·ber~ni'1g fa.ttl~.m~;entire lifetim.e. ,As hsee it, it" ~' . wilderness, 'The Forest ~rvice h~completed. . -<::, foreclosed in,'a short-sig1).~~~MP'!\i~... ~'.' .'"

, ,,:ould be,,~n ~tt-e'r ~po:ssib\,l.~t"y·to:r~ cattle·i~,8~lld,ies·a.ndh~arings.:uld, is aj>e.'!t,to..finalize ." ( On the other hand, it~!!t~~:th,i.publiq:;'sIde by,slde.wlth .tnp mme&and power plants. - Its !'!'COlt\1l!endatum'to 'SWl'e.tllU',ofAgnculture '':'''' much les8 to 'invest ip~"IAtiori 'of',TIle inlliii<,'1l'fp~le' and vehictes alone would be "Elii-I Buf,Z...Bi>ti· ·wiHthen,ma1l:e ~i~r!l,commen-:." '. . homes, in energy consel'J'lt(ian in industry> in ' .

· enouih.toprjlJilo!t',thal· ' ";';,,"-:, ,,' .... ~",!Iatlo.nJil·j,ht!Rresidehf;,~lio'wi!1 Ri,;jte his re-'" mass tran;.itlfo redJ1,~e;"ll,J;ltG,COlllnIuting),in~obody e"e" stayed with the rahchiIfg busi- . 'c~~n:ieriJ;t#o~ to G6n~i' Co!,~s makeS ."2';~cities.A da.Ill in HeHlt.:eM~jYVOll4t';ProdllCe .t;;;;;;;:.:J.;:.; .....-.:.;:.,..:..,. ness:and made it a.life"time'pCcupation flli what, .tljef!.~al d~cision.., :,J~," :';:' "ri"",;, i:..' one 15~hRf~~llIj'.rllYi'i:· .. "., rCldlecretlll'y

"he made out 'of it; becaJ1Se the histor.y of the', '. 'Sllecial (nterest"groUp,lI ltimber(miniIig,' . ·Dentsays':C s~~d:i> . . rY.,US!!1il'Pre,F:· ranching bUsiness has always been a Doo'mand dam-liuilding, .etc.) are' JI,l'tting ~\lt"a lot of ent tech~ . 9m~~'~, , i~.c~ 'p~y.feI· '.,,'bust'~ituation. Tb~. only reason anybody. ever,. money,and.effort,against·~ildemeas classifica- itse~ '!)~:', ,,¥"l!IlW saring&. ,', .stayed with.·\fwa~· becaiIile he loved; the busi· ,:tion,)fthis .wilde.rtie,ss.i~ ~l()stnow, it is gon~ If we' ~ :~Jrig)~io~.Jit~'erasli 'pro~~, \,tness . .Ifmo~ey is.1!'0re iinpOl:tarit~to you; then. . forever., foO mllch~f thi,$:couIItry"hSs already . shOlI1d.~a·cr~~p,reil11~W\'l,1J!e1,l~rgycon,serva-.,get out o( th\~ \>u8'ineBsandin~o a.Qother - but . been destroyed in the name. of pregress' and.' tion "'-nota;cn.ti!hli~iDtMw<:pansii:ln;at llDY

.<, 1i9I:\'ttak~:thefe"1' ;pfJ1S. w~t~{y?U, Beside~, if 1 1ecl1nology.'studies ",fthis'area ha"e been made··:."<cost".;' . ' . ""tf "l'~'t';~::;:;\':;. ,:",.' •..•.....you,; f""'\l), has lieE!n ranchmg s}incethe '880s .'.~d: its,tiI\;be" and 'JPl)ini~PO¥Jntial is not that ,.. '~~~;~Thi~·n.~tiil~~"4~¥I~1liii~~ith a ciu~J\ ;;. .. ',ail,d'still hasn't 1p.ade it:;maYWit's.timl! to quit: ' .'si~fiFant."e8Peclally whl1n,compaied to wild","":'" tIuced 'rate::il!~Be'; i'l1&ielilll'''y use. Past.,

" ::.. ·Ttl J' ~~~ t? t~illk.ioq,c~B,j;ilHeave y~'ur ~.: life?i~~a~~9n, high-qiaJityw~tersh~!1 and>;" .:>, growthra:~s~b~\I.:;6~~~!~~lYlowpower: ,·~andcl!I1d~·. It b~% bli1,lqJ~,qf~o~ey. I hke .c, ~,fi~Ji~!1e~;~\!,~1l say\Vene,~ the tl~lie1' desper-' 'rate~ ,and" ~j>~!t.dant."!lPPP"t!l!i;W·lll!SUme that,

.. ,'; m~'l~y as w.-~piIs"l!"ybodi; ~'i~~\b.llt,Jliere "~:,,.;~~!~,Re'S,J:ly:?.Sev~ntY.~Fnt pt>the timber "energrf;l~p~it~8:'~an~r'sh9liji;double ~~eryIO .·t!ungll on th~s,eartli more, v:i!1lfl!~le'thSJlffioney::".. ·c~t ';,n',:A:J~~ IssljipPed: !lirllctly. ~ Japan. A" . years"or SO:.IS:nl' JOI'.\Wrre~n'llble"It Is,a· de-

·;Ify:ouhavei!'tleftypil~Il'!;~~~Ilf.l~I:\JlD.y.sta~;'.? · ·;,J:tW~ese:i>;!yned c<!mplIllr..h8\l. a 5o.,year le~es~ctiiv.~ ~sumllti~ii,~n~iae:ri!1;,the: ~ollllr'.J· ~i'ds othel(,than the.,,~h'eji£tlie,all!,IQ~, th'ln"',,;'O'l,pllrt of the Tongass,National.Forest In enV1ronmental:.an4A~!ii!r CO!l~. 'S.;;" ,.'. ;'you haven't left the"lIilt~ch;;Wtl:ll('yfq.u,8r.ideav,. ' '.. ~!fS~,.: ' ." .. ,< ;;.: "'. ". Federal Jl!llicie~~lio:uld"ebil!ljaSiill congerva-mg'themis 'thi(be.li"fthlitEJi1~';pIUin1i:.OK to ": ~fFh"':~ive:rofNo ReturnWildem~s~ouiuiil is tion, St~te,:utility:;~dmmisBl(jrl's; ipchidingprofi~ at Y.?ttr neighb9r1iJ~~Pe.ll,~;;.>, .";'. ..IlW.I)P \V,~!li!llsole objecti~js to 8avet~iB·llre~.. .Idaho'r., shoul~()~~Wa':Uhti1ity:,17ate'~heatiles ;.'TbeaeCl~lOns you and,I lllail:eWday"!)aye a It;you.want. to help, con¥!ct them at'Box 8#, to reward CO$erva.tipn"t'ather thanl cllnsum\l': .

big qeari'ng, .o.n,the fiIture o~.MOIitaria arid" Boise, ill83'701. Write Bqtz, the ~siCIent, and tion. T/lX creditsshoulcj be given tii:~6ineO)V1lers"Wyoming, and the kind ofpeoplenurgrandkids Congress suppOrting a 2:amillion acre.Rivet of . who insulate or to indtistries tliat conserve;grow up to be.Are, YQU wHling to put a plaque lip No RilturnWildeI:ri.ess. Support candidates in '" . The. costs of-attenipting to' cllntihue P8st·on your ranch sayingy<!usanctioned the strip' thE!fltll elections wh,o S\lPP,ort'wildlll'lless ... ~ energy consumptfor\ h$its co.uld'4,,·eic~d the

t mining.~nhe place and let future generations . We have li right to haveareasofwildemess to, '.,,' bepefits.:PoSSible,loE;S!'iiqaaha,water' is an ex-judge what kind of am!¥' you weretI'd be \:oil- rjltreat to and 'renew bi:ldy.;mindandspirit.wh',. ample. ~ . " 1;"'; . i!!fi're:.~\. ..' .damned if IJdwant such a pla<ille up oil'my .der,ness 1;Ias'uniqiIe quiiH~ies foilJidnowhere:.>~ ,~... , /,,:\. '"ranch.. .'. ." . ..' AIs'/!'-- solitude, and exqUisite beauty ~ name' '. . ". :', E,,'15. .It' ' .i.'· Acoup'I~,IIf yeai1l ag:o,J. wouldn't have com.., jilSttwo. It"Wiluld'!le ali i~p~raDle mistake '~~'\ .' " ..' ,r... ,.. ;,o.utand said this'. But if people' don't's,tai't hay; lo~e this wilderness.":', ' :,~:;'<;." .. "., ,: .... :": " '1'.'),; ,ing the guts.tospeak'llp,'theliG\>d iIeli>us," '. ", !':'O::'Rl~Hcb"uNtRrYN~S:·:. i,

, . '" ....',.t .. -. ,'," . ;.,' .I.? .'.\ ". '.;' . ,.~" ,l' . " .' ''''''''"l'~' " .• " ,; ", .'•. ; ",,' .'. : \ .:,~';-J'_'..d. ~'~"'~,'l"~~' "~-.4 ' '

" ·,Boyd·l.lhsrter,Member '. ';.' " PUbliilhe'iii'bl,week1Y,·at1..4Q;Nonh:&ventbNmi1;lern Plltins. Reso~rce qOl;',iic,i,l, :St.reet" Llilidet';:Wyommg825~O .. 'l'!\le.l:a07"

. ' ,38,2-4877;.;); COpyliilht \."1973 'r by' , mGR: 'COUNTRY ~'Ejws,'li\c;'2ridditss pbiiuge Paidat Lander; WyamiJ)g ..82520. i. . .

• • >,-", f.'""~' '" :0"

EdItor.... , . _'J.'homas A. Ben" ~, .

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High Country NewHI~daY ..June~41

-~ '" .'&\.~ ~, ...;). .-It ,s. "I"ws '~:. -"!l..=~:ri,--,rt'''fi'

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· EditOr," ... The ~entral'Idaho wilderness:'is in jeop~i, .

, ahd people whowant to see itpreservedshoUld;.,take action. The Idaho and Salmon River· ...'Breaks Primitive Areas will soon be either clas-sified as wilderness or~pened up to logging,roadbuilding'andot!:Ier uses incompatiI.!le'with

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. ----,------:..- --' -SllbscripUon rate . - $10;00 .Single copy rate 35¢

Box K",,' Lanlier, Wyoming 8252'0

4-High'Country NewsFriday, June 7; 1974---'

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Green Rivllr, now a part of a multi-million dollar expansion in.seuthwesteen Wyom.'ing based on energy andtrona resources, made a shaky debut as a railroad town.When the Union Pl.cific came West in 1868,Green River sprang up. The town flourishedfor a few months until the tracklayers made their way farther West to what is now'Evanston. She re-emergedto beoomethe county seat of Sweetwater County in 1875. Her, greatest mineral .asset, trona, was discovered in the 19308. -

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1.BoOm~••Bridger construction force shrinks, probably no,one will notice.

"

cranny is being,rented in some fashion. There's .". just no housing available." ' ,..:

One RockSprings ;"'altor SllyShe.put a house. on the market at 1 p.m. and had it soldby 1:30p.m:the same day. . .The resUlt looks at little like a return to the

old mining camp days. The tents are up again.Well paid workers find shelter wherever theycan - in a tent, a 'camper or a· trailer.Squatters on federal and Union Pacific Rail-

.road land are' usually tolerated. Because of thecheckerboard pattern of ownership "it wouldtake a:Sury~yorto tell whose land the peopleare'squatting on," says Tim Ryan, real ~state man-ager for Upland Industries, a subsidiary of, Union Pacific. 'Ryan is barraged with callsabout land sales. Recently a Bridger workercalled and begged Ryan to sell him a cave forshelter., Upland Industries has been slow to let go of.their holdings in the area, despite-the demands.The corporation says they ·are moving slowlybecause -they want quality development. With.extensive holdings ofland, coal and-trona in theregion, "we can't just make a fast buck and getout," Ryan says',Upland plans to sell some land along Bitter

Creek to the west ofRack Springs as soon'as it ismaster-planned, Such'sales are vital to thecommunity, since most of the rest of the unde-veloped land in Sweetwater' County is tightlyheld by the Bureau ofLana Management and bythe RockSprings Grazing Association.

.Companies are 'taking some steps to solvehousing, problerns.. since the situation hasbegun 1:0 .affect their profits. Despite the highwages paid to their employees, the Jim Bridgerplant turnover has run as high as 40%amonth.. It takes to days to a, morith before a workerreally: becomesproductive, a Pacific Power andLight Co. official.Says: PP&L, a partner WIthIdaho Power.Company in the Jim Bridger-pro-ject, has lost an estimated"$.75 ~illion due toturnover ..The, comi'ng' ami,g6in~"takes placedespite very attractive, wliges, which will bEi "$5.75 anhour for the ~verage pe':ihaI)ent emp-loyee working o~ theBridger plant and which "

(Continued from page 1) , ' BOOMS,IJEF,okE' . -probleins in the area at the annual Green River Boom Conditions .and·industrialization areChamber of Commerce banquet in March. Ten not new to Rock Springs, The town was built in ..years ago the southwestern Wyoming economy IB6B when coal minesfirst oJiened to supply the·was "sour" and the state tried to attract indus- Union Pacific Railroad. 'Rock '$prings"bO<1m-'"try to the area" he said.' town style was reflected In its'arcliitecture, saysItwas "too much, toofast," Hathaway admit: historian T. A. Larson: "Old 'fJOards, packing'

ted. "Once you prime the pump of free enter- boxes and building papers were basic construe-prise, it doesn't stop whereyou want.", tion material and flattened tin cans were used"Priming the pump" has more than doubled as roofing."

Rock Spring's population since 1970. The Mayor Paul J. Wataha and his family havecounty seat, GreeilRiver has made a parallel lived through much of'tbetown's booming, bust-leap fromabout 4,000 residents in 1970to 9,000 ing history. Watah'a's great grandfather 'residents today. worked as a stable boss around the time of the 'For Rock Springs, the' population increase Chinese massacre in 1885. In later years, his

.has generated an overloadedsewage system, grandfather drove a city garbage truck.- bond issues for neweehoolsand a new hospital, Wataha's own experience in the town hashigh price's, traffic congestion"myriads ofmetal trained him to be ready for the unexpected ..homes on wheels, .!!ondnew kinds of crime. "Patience is a tremendous virtue here,"'he says."On K street gambling, prostitution and 'He first became mayor after the coal mines

cocaine are 'available to anyone,' sa,ys Casper,.' .' closed-down 'in 1954.The trains had switched tobased psychologist Dr. EIDean Kohrs. > diesel power and left Rock Springs in a slump.Most people predict,that the new numbers' The Sweetwater County paYroll dropped from'

and new problems are in Rock Springs to stay. $21,000,000 in 1953to $14,000,000 in 1958.The Jim Bridger power plant's peak construc- People were selling pro~rty for peanuts,"tion force of 3,000 has shrunk to 2,800. Bilt; Wataha says. "AI1dwehad applications an i!lchalthough units one ;and two are nearly com- thick for city jobs."plete, a third'unit will,bebuilt, a fourth is under "Then we really started sinking," WatahaconSideration and there' are rumors of even a says of the town'S 1969,1970period ofland sub- 'fifth and sixth to come. , ' sidence. Rather than leaving pillars in the oldMore growth is also expected from the coal underground mines less than 300 feet belowthe

mining and the oil: gas'and 'trona industries in . ,town, miners ''just pulled the pillars ~ extractthe area. Fifty-four per' cent of the Country's the last' nickel's WQrthof coal," Watana says., soda ash is Jl!'Oducedfrom Green River trona. The tOwn survived that crisis by blowing a sandThe chem!~~ used to manufacture glass, de- and water slw:ry into the cavities. 'tergents, (Jiit'ithers, drugs, Plastics, paints, tex- "Now -things .have completely reversed," 'tiles, leather, ~sticides, and many other pro- , .wataha says. ,ducts. About '800 newworkers will be needed by Now, the economyis booming again. Finding Paul J. Wataha, a public accountant, has1976 to meet the expansion plans of Allied merchandise and employees, not customers, 'been the mayor of Rock Springs, Wyo. forChemical, -stauffer of Wyoming and F'Meo-A----' hale become the merchants' concerns. tmtd-~~~t;:'h'::'e pa8F1'P'years, "PatiencecisTtremend-'new trona o~ration owned by Texas-Gulf will and hoUseS to buy"!!re extremely scarce and ous virtue here," he says. Wataba has'require another 300 workers by 197"6,' . high priced. Almost no rentals are available. steered the town 'through economic bustOil shale extraction and coal gasification,are , ' . '. and environmental calamity and now is

, -', . .' -,., HOU"INGalso pO~WRW~tllf;*lh~ ~.'!ttXw:~rt~XSJllJP <;Il;'T','\W fI'l.,.j~"v"lflJ!,a t!~{lU-.-1';.fnp '.l",!~Il.mrl w«;>r.1£w.g,ati~as'~gsocial,painsln anuncon-re,,:sons,most OffiClar~-S~/lJhtP!-~~bff'JI1Me$Hm~~'JHam!'~} ~~ 1.~i~V&m~Of~i!llW! t1"()tl,ab1fllC?,Rm.,' _','~'>w • ' ,c 'n. "

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...,' are.$4'.lTto' $4.91 an hourfor the avet~na'~o'Ni.:er ~': _., :' ~.:i.,_,:__.t':·_:._~ ,:"<:" <;;~>~'Y~-·?r·. The'c'row~ed, u;;';omfort,;til~h~~;;~lias'~Oii~ '".' ;'""tributed to tile ,severity, of Rock Spring's other"socialdislocations, ;AinPtig them: ")," ". <C.",", \ "·t._, .

'.-" . 1',' -"'::...•. .. , • ~MENTAL HEALTH" ~.

Caseloads-at the county mental institutionhave increased tenfold 'in-the-past five years.

SEWAGE·DISPOSALThe Rock Springs sewage disposal plant, with

a capacity of2 million gallons, hasbeendelugedwith as much as 2% million gallons at peaktimes during the last two years. An adequate

- plant for the future, with a capacity of three'million gallons.Iwould cost' $5 million, MayorWataha estimates, The city' doesn't have that Imuch money, so they'llsettlefor a stop-gap sol--ution - another'300,OOO gallon plant costing. '..about $300,000.

HOSPITAI:'"

. -Before the Jim, Bridger plant construction'began; thccountyJ1ospitalemergency room av-,eraged about'30d admissions Per month. In, the ',:Union PaCific gave the trona-soda ash inl;lustq a stat1ifi :Wyoming by brbiging'a .fall Qfl973that,ugure. w as up 333% - to 1,300 'chemica] co~pany.in tp test drill on their land near GPeen Riv-er In 1944. In 1947 thatadmissionsper month.Il'he .county approved a . 1'1 'company began' Pl:ocessiiig,what are nowreeognized as the richest and most accessiJJle$5.5 miliionbondiss.uelast!alHortbe construe- trona reserves in the"world: TIle three companieswhicli'estabfished themselves in the. tion of a new hq§pit.'1.L••' _ " " area ho~ .have plans forlme ~]q)ansions. They are .Ameli Chemical; Stauffer' ,of

" •Wyo~ng~ and the grigiilal drillen., F~pdMachinery alid ChemiciU,CorporatiQD (FMC).;., c' PPLICE,.Texllil, Gulf, IJI!" el<pects,tej start, a new $7,5 Dilllion opeeation in 1976.· '.,' "" . , . , ' The boom in trori8'8nd energy reSources means many new neighborsfOr·tlie people ofTlJe Rock.Spring~ pollee depi.rtmen( 1jSe.c!to, - Sweehvater County - and the problems thabccompany rapid ch'ange. Thellopulation

get about. 8,800cajls a year. Since .the boom , .Q{Greei1 Rjver hill! swollen from 4,OOCHoabout9,OOO since 1970 •.About 1;100 new tronaReg~It.:in J970 t!la,t../igy,re,hl'S more thanquad". :worlt"~ andtheji families are ex~ted toai'rive 6y''l97& • .'", :' ~,~- '~ ~. . .rupled.The~partmenttookaboIl!3(1,OOQ,calls~' -, .~, . - . , ",' ' ''','. last Year.,~e,w9~kforceP"l!n~t beenable to ' this year to prfivide more opportunities' for ' ,. govenimei:ltoffic~s.''With'iiidUiltries'~ay1ng·exp;mdas·rapjdlY'IIJl-th,e wo."k,!oad, howe~r. ' ~~o~eiin::th;<~~~: ~;qel1~healtheipi;lt put' Y"'C'eit~m:elY'highsaiaries tOll.liskilled labor, we

,·The c!eplUj;me!lt,h,ad2;lwon\ters-in 1970,Now the Pl'll1;lle,mtJ;>.i,!J -:vay:"TjIe,. p'rjm\tivelil kt\ew ':'anihaVi:lilftroubJ:eg~itiD:gpeoini!and~ losingthe:Y.J>"'Y~ 32,\\\1: aon,~t, tpin\< t.h\ltJ,s"pe,¥,I)' ), . 'aoont' communicatIon 111ili::providedfor womeo " , employees ;o'he said,: , - " • ,', , w .~~.~• " .

eri!>ugh;' sayMa,yor, yvataha. Coun,ty SheI-W .~w~ t6~~llr"atjh,e,rir.~t.~iJ<. Th~,!y~m- '. '0', ," , • :' • .' .' r "J9h,!Zakovitch,no~s that mu~h ,Qf.his in- , mg trail~rcourt d,oesyo~ prqVlde thIS. For eIght "The fuf.~re of the Rqck'Springs' area depends:creased work is related to new .kinds'o£Crilnes~ . hours women wit!:ler, ill -isolation while the kids .. upon trona' and' tfu, ;)iJn Bridger plant expafi-

· .~ore-!~iri-ilY t""u~lE)c,al\~,bu~glarie~, thefts,ancl: "are in school; Then the~js the bedlambeforesions andupQnthe t'utmeofoil shale, coal min-...:"ban'OO1l).ora\yls. < .. ". ." 0, - ".', . and af'te(school wh~n the '~ld man gets home ing and coal gasification. Officials tryjng to or-

. ~. . from work" ' ~ .' ~hestrate:llrowthJ'areriot opj;iiriistic, T4ey Clm-~.·1:::' ',: Sj;:HOqLS_':., ',' ." . . . '. ': ,,<', "::,< 'notpls';'llroperly becA~ev~n'inaus'ti'Y has not"""'Th~ ;;f;~i~s 'theb~iilYas~i~&a~n.tlie school 'i' SMALL BlJSINESSES .. been abje to ac~rately predict its needs. Before

sy~tem made it ne~sSa,ryto psss' a ~5.3 milli~n . . ~, '. ,. conStrUction beglln on the Jim Bridger plant, ,· . ,sc,k~~.)l,Pndl.a,!lt:,y.,e,a~.;..,{o,l;,t-., .1,1E)w, j!,!"ior, big,h ,"~', ,c' ,.~tle.son:, e ~,'.e!,cha';'tIJ aI'Jl!Il.p4.th;.~ncre~ , st,udies predicted am/lXimum"constructiQDs!,hooranllJwotlew elewentary'schools ..In 1.973 ,',: ",":.-:;~~;J)UsII).';~f'frl'h~~. wl~h. t)1eydi~ t:have to foh:e of 1,200. ·.Three thQlisand cllfiS1;tuctionalone,Rock Springs schools', enrollment in- compete WI~ bIg ~ndustry w!l~~s to attra~t 'wor)<erS'wereadually needed.',. creased by over 11%. Next fall the superinten" ' workers. A clty,offiClal sees thes~e problem In (Continued '<in'plll~Ir'6)''dent' of the Green River scl'iool districf. 'expects .' ." " ..... c" '. L . . . ,," •

'._ -~. J':O,' '>:,,', -." -, " • " .".- ,. ,, etironm~ntin that CIt)'to Increase by 50 to 60%. '.'RetainiIi.g t~iI~lie;s i""11-t;;~n witlihighpriees,-, no houses, cl'll~d~dli-,<ing condiiions 'ana over- ., 'flowing classrooms. has also ,become.a problem

.. • - _." .<'" ~" l-in the last few years. . "

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.• Cc.>NSTRUCTIoN ASTIVITX

City' planner Bill Ba'hks says that last yeartile City 'issued 460 building permits in RockSprings, about the same number issued in B\~-lIngs; yvhi~h is a city of 80,000 people. "• ' ""~ \ "\~. "'I ~ >~ .:'. "~'

'.;.:,,~ 'TRANSP()R~ATl(,)N "'. ~."'" \ '.1 .~~ .' ..~. ':,.. ~.

,"- Mo;' cars pass on the'Rock 'Springs overpass • 'leading to downtOwn ,than 'in'simiTafly moni~"...'.

· '" tored spots· in C~sper'andeheyenne, Wyo. The' ~" only,,\,ay to,accilriimodaf.e t\1e tramfiiili toWn',"\withna'rrow,~w-indinf;!'cQal-carilp streets i.s tobuild' a.. circmIlference .to'ute~says'Milyor

, ..Wataha. "TIre new road will bei.fundf!dr-bythe-' .••d, " 'statl!'''ofWYllmi.ng, ,< "" :.-,,"', , ..,,,, ,.' '> .

i" .VolunteerS in Serviceo.·to..:A:ffleri'ca'(NlSTAF''has statib~ed seve~al"workierS'ltrRock' S~r!ings 'r, .

.. • "'~,,, Triillilreamps:are fillifig:ill:the spaces in what used 'to be 'the ghost town of SuperiOr;'Wyo.'SupenOr'was a cow mining 'tOwn in. the'earlypart ofthe·centutY:ImHaf.ely lhiDilS ,..

,~~ .had been qUiet';' 'i[ntil ;Qtlthwesterii.;Wyomiiik quiCkly'*!as-made--tIle-eiliii'gylii1d'fron& ~-,· ':tapiM6fthe'i!iate; su'i>errtl¥ i8!ati&tii 25'mi1esMiiDrR~~g"j: Wyo; ,).'" ,,, ,-

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6-High Country News f

l.Boom. • •(Continued from page 6)

And even if officials could make plans, itlooks like they wouldn't have, the money to im-plement them. ''Mayor Watah~ hopes he will not have tousebonds to provide basic. services for RockSprings,"Bonded indebtedness goes against, the 'prop-erty owner," Wataha says, "And most, property' , 'owners in Rock ,,?pritigs have paid for theschools and the se"yersonce.'We have attemptedto use bonds for service we've not had before -in areas' like recreation.",To fund the basic services, Wataha prefers

the-one pe~ cent city sales tax. The tax broughtin $500,000 last year. Officials can't plan abudget around this income, however, because -the tax comes up for a vote every two years atthe general election.

Wataha says it's hard getting used to "a newway of living" in town. <,

"I've met some very fine people who come intothe community and want to become active. Andthen I've met some who cause problems, be-cause they say 'I'm not going to be here ..so why

LIne Reference T....,. LRl

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should I care,''' Wataha says. "I 'mjust thankfulthat we haven't had more problems than ";e'vehad. But if I started over and somebody told meto run for mayor today and I knew all the prob-lems ahead, I don't think you could get me any-where close to jt.1'

In the Rock Springs area, every available piece of land is desperately needed forquick, cheap housing. Most of the wide open spaces around the town are tightly held bythe federal government (the'HureauofLand,Management), Upland Industries (a sub-sidiary of Union-Pacific), or by the Rock Springs Grazing Association.

Energy 800m - Plans and Payments- ... '

2. Gillette, Wyoming.Nine thousand people live in the Gillette, ~

Wyo. area today. The population may sweII to40,000 by 1978; according to a study drafted bythe five coal companies, the one power companyand the railroad withinterests in the area.At the Wyoming Environmental Congress,

Dr.-EIDean Kohrs painted a grim future for thearea by describing the much smaller boomwhich he experienced in Gillette a few yearsago. Kohrs, now head of the Wyoming Counsel-ing Center in Casper, worked 'as a clinicalpsychologist at the mental health center in Gil-lette during the oil boom, 'The history of power production in Wyoming

"is a dismal record of human ecosystem was-tage," Kohrs said. "Frontier expansion withoutplanning has lett- cities crippled by shameful

_ ' environments which cause human casualties."Back in :1950 'when Gillette was a ranching

and farming community,' 2,191 ,people livedthere. By th", peak of the oil boom in 1970, thetown had 7,194 residents. Kohrs saw as theresults of that expansion: divorce, tensions on ~ ", children, emotional damage, alcoholism 'and ':·\Sui'Cide. ."\"Children went to sehoolIn double shifts,"Kohrs said. "Motels turned over their linens in

" triple shifts. Jails became crowded . .-.. mayors., shuttled in and out 01"office regardless of party, '

P",chologist Dr. EIDeiIDKobrs spoke atthe WyoD!ing Environmental Congress inSheridan this year. He's concerned aboutthe "people problems" which rapid \coaldevelopme~t will bring. 'His experienceshows that-energy booms Itll"e brought de-pressions, divorce, dissipation, drianken-. ness and death to the West... -_'

children lived. Nothing' seemed permanent,"Kohrs said.The psychologist f~und that -between 1960

and 1970 crime quadrupled, while the popula-tion only doubled. '''Drunkenness, prostitutionand gambling flourished," he said.School' administrators were unprepared for

the number of new students. By 1970 the ~ati9of school children'to the rest of the populationhad changed from one in 70 to one in four, Kohrssaid. It was not Until two years after the influx 'that new schools were built. - ."The grim statistics of spiritual depression,'

divorce, dissipation, drunkenness and death in-dicate that tile old West - not the idealized TVkind - but the real world ;'f drought, dirt, ele-mental danger and a dismal battle for existenceare not even,IOO years 'in thepast for Wyom-.ing," Kohr~ said.

,3.;Hc:nno,':Wyoming""He is 25 years old, married with one cqild. Nellis offers some suggestdons: "The state

and working for ,a coal company at a very high" should require energy Tesource developers torate of pay. He is a Democrat or an Independent ,file extensive impact statements accurately de-voter. The 'newcomer has probably moved .tailmg the extent -and duration of their de-around quite a bit in the past. He takes his .;,' velopments," he says. Once illformed, "Localrecreation outdoors, hunting and fishing, but people should establish direction for ,their com-would appreciatemore 'in-town 'recreational munity before the trailers roll in, '01e planningfacili ties.. The newcomer -is a hi'gh school, shouldtake into account: a:) a maxitnum.popu-.graduate. His-demands on municipal services lation desirable, b) a minimum level of com-are high ... ." . munity ser,vices desirable. and its costs, c) theThis,acCording to 'researcher Lee r-fellis, is a layout of the community including sites for re-

statistical portrait ofthe average newcomer in ,.creation,' population ,density li!Jlits, and ,theHanna, Wyo., Since 1970, ,Hanna has experi- quality of housing desired, d) the expansion ofenced a second boomo(,\,oalmining aetivity. Ina, utilities along the plan'laid out, and e) somebooklet called What Does, Energy Develop- meims of stabilizing the economy.", ment Meail"for Wyoming?, Nellis explainS,what l:l>Cent'-<}nergy,development did to tllijlsmall Western cOmrtlllBity.'From 1970 to 1972, Hanna nearly doubled in

pop~lation. In 1970 there were 460' people. ByDecembeJ: of-1972, Kanna housed 858.'During the boOm, the money'available to,the

county and city rose, but not as fast as the popu-lation and the demand for serviceS'. While thepopulation rllse '8'7.3%,asseseed valulltion rose 'only 65.8.%. And the per capita tax base fell from$562.12 to $499.87. •Suddenly, the towil needed a sewer systein; a

polieeforCi" and an expal;!ded water system.Traffic increased 39.3% over the two years. Al-ways content with a few bars for recreation,Hann'a people are now talking of needirig abowling alley and a drive- in restaurant. Schools, are overcrowded and chaotic. - _, Nellis's report; What Does Energy De-,"TeaChers leertl1a:t newcomet'!nfre-more'de-~-----yelopment..MeB.n3.9L WY-,oming?, was 'pull-

manding of~oolseI'Vices while their·children lished by the Office of Special Projects; Univer,are hlirder..,todiscipline," Nellis says. sity of Wyoming; Laramie, Wyo. 82414 .

\like bobbins in a loom."The ultimate sign that sometliing was wrong

was the suicide rate - 'one attempt for every, ,

,250 people . .An increased divorce rate also en,sued. In 1970 there was one divorce for every 1.8marriages 'in Gillette,The sad statistics were a natural consequence

'of the living conditions, Kohrs said.~ J ~. .......

"Fatigued men working long shifts, drivinglong distances to work Came home to equallyfatigued' wives coping with a mud-splatteredworld," he said. "Trailer courts (42% lived inthem) offered only a mud ,paddy for children'splay as they raced betweeri trailer houses andacross the' trailer court traffic, Even schoolswere in trailefs similar to those in which the

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r-feHis also 'suggests tha,t locaL school" shouldmake Ii!,attempt to traih people.(or the jobs that, might come into their commUnity. Hanna old-timers di!l not llmdhighpaying jobs, NeHis,notes. Most of the skilled laborJor the coal oper-ations came from out of state.,Finally, Nellis suggests that, "an impact tax

Sh9Uld be added to the severance tax and paiq toimpacted communities .... As debts_and taxesrise, a fortune inmin,eral we!ilth leaves.th'e areain eastbound unit trains, It seems logical-thatsome of this wealth be applied to problemscreated by its extraction," NellIS says. :'Costs tothe corporations, will be passed on 'to eiiergyconsumers and this, t90, seems logical,...,. con- ', sumers should help payoff the social costs or.theJr comfort and convenience."- .

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4.Colstrip, Mont~na, .. ~ ", .

Citizens in Rosebud County, Mont. are de-~ manding that industry pay its own way in theircommunity. The group, the Rosebud Protective

o Association, has asked Montana Power Co. andPuget Sound Power and Light Co. to build a newschool for children in Colstrip, Mont.The Colstrip school is overflowing now, with

400 students. An, industry study predicts thatcoal development activity in the area couldpush that enrollment up to 1,073 by next yearand 1,800 in 1978. 1Thesohool would cost about $2.2 million, ac-

cording to the study. Even if the county were'bonded to capacity, Rosebud would still lackover $800,000 of the capital needed. (The cur-rent legal bond limit is five-per cent of the totalcounty taxable value.)Duke McRae, president of the Rosebud Pro-

tective Assiciation, says "the energy companiesare responsible for 100% of the impact on theschool and they should provide 100% of the,funds for a new building, That doesn't includethe cost of additional teachers, books and sup-plies." .. . .Although the impacts have already hit Col-

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This country ls faced with not onlyan energy shortage but also an im-pending food shortage. While the Un- ,,Ited States is fortunate to have .vastdeep reserves ,of fossilfuels, its pro-, ductive land, base is finite, and evershrinking as it makes way to provide 'room for a growing population which, must also be fed. If coal is required to- ,ease the energy crunch thenthe em-phasis must be on deep mining.

Mrs.',Art Hayes, Jr.Trl-County Ranchers AssOCiation,Birney, Mont.

RadioadiveT;itiu'm ,Lea~s-~i~-Georgia '

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A cloud, of radioactive tritium gas acciden-tally disc\1arged by the Atomic EnergyCommission's Savlmnah River Plant drifted ofTthe,South Carolina Coast and was floating over'the Atlantic Ocean early inMay., ,An AEC spokesman said the gas would main-

tain an altitude of at-least 200 feet and probablywould dissipate in, "a matter of days." The gasescaped'''as a result offailure in a process line atthe production facility," he, said, " N ". , ..

strip, increased taxrevenues won't come until ''the power plant' under construction becomesoperational- in 1975. Up until now, money topay for community improvements has come outof established residents' pockets."Taxes in the Colstrip district increased over

20 mills from 1972 to 1973 and apparently will,increase as much or more for the 1974 tax year,"

, , says William Gillin, a Colstrip area rancher,The Rosebud group suggests that the two,

energy firms could pay for the school withmoney they saved when the COUIltyhelped fi-nance their air' pollution. control equipment.The county helped by-floating an industrial re-venue bond, Without putting the ,county intodebt, the bond allowed the companies to borrow'money at a two to three per cent lower interest-rate. The companies saved about $12 million by'obtaining those bonds., McRae, also points out that when Northern'Pacific Railroad' expanded coal production atColstrip during World War II, its subsidiary,Northwest Improvement Co., built a school forthe community,Montana Power Company (MPC) and Puget

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High Country News-7 j

Friday, June 7, 1974

Sound Power and Light Company are partnersin the power plant venture at Colstrip. MPCpresident George O'Connor says thatIt is notappropriate for his company and Puget Sound tobuild a school in Colstrip, If it were, he said,Exxon and Continental Oil would be buildingschools in Billings because 'of their refineriesthere.

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The recent coal development ~ theColstrip are(l of Eastern Montana ishaving a very serious impact on thesmallrural community where it is tak-ing place. SIIUllI communities, such asColstrip was prior to the Jiresent de-velopment, are .not in any' waY,pre·pared to or capable of absorbhig thelarge influx of people that are, coming.in with the 'coal development,

,William Gillin 0

RosebudRanchers AssociationColstrip, Mont.

5. lame Deer,Montana

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Dave Robinson is chairman of the North.ern Cheyenne Landowners Association inLame Deer, Mont. Rapid coal development 'on the reservation "can ofiIy be felt as modo'ern day genocide." Robinson says.

Our resources are fi,',ite. If you're an Indianliving on a reservation you can walk 'up' and', ,touch thelimita of your 'world:From one bound-ary lin~ to another is all you have. ,,'The Northern Ch'eyenne tribe of Montana is

looking'at the 'value of the coal in the space in,which they live, They are asking not only howmuch money'coal will brirtgthem, but also what'strip mining wilLdoto',tbeir way:Of life. '

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Consolidated Goal, AMAX, Peabody Coal and,Chevron all have permits or leases-en the reser-, vation: ' ', The Northern Cheyenne have asked the De-partmentof. Interior' to-cancel existiit..lL£!lalleases arid permits, on, their'land. ' In its ad-,'ministration ofthese agreements the Bureau ofIndian Affairs-has violated federal regulations, 'says tribal council chairman All~Ji Rowlimd, ,The BIA omitted' the required technical as-sessment ancLset,thebonding rate too low tocover possibleraamage, Ro",Jaro,says., g<,Jc.L,;'oAt Senatec' heariHgs" olli:cil'al.deasirlglihulm.m

lings, Rowland stated that-the 'NorthernCheyenne want complete control over stripmining activities. "We donot want a high influxof non-Indians coming into our reserVation anddestroying our culture and our life style," hesaid:' ,David Robinson, chairman' of the Northern

'Cheyenne Landowners Association, wants tlie, leases canceled to give his people timeto learnabout what coal development will mean tothem, before massive strip mining leaves them .without a choice:,The Northern Cheyenne Research Project,

, headed by Robert Bailey, is trying to, fill theresearch and education gap. The team is look-ing at coal and various other ways the tribecouldsupport itself. The-group has already dis-covered that there is no baseline information toensure reclamation and environmental protec-tion on Cheyenne lands, should coal .develop-ment begin immediately,

The LandoWnerS AssOci~ti~n has stated thatrapid coal development might mean "genocide"for the tribe. About 3,000 Cheyennes live on thereservation now. Coal development might bringin 1,100 workers and their families - making,the Indians a 'minority on their own reserva-tion. .'uWe areIi't'~·a.big tribe," says association

member Jirr. King. "If coal companies come inthey would vanish, us." '

\ -. . . - .' ~ ,," ..', , We feel,very strongly, that special 'interest, groups, such' as (loiil"cqm-pani'es; :g~li ,and ,oil companies andothetil.are serv:ed first and'~ That, the inliirlduid landowner~~back -seat position. ••:. We would, WiPit'to beable to cOntrol the number of peoplewho would come into our'reservationand wh~~-;' theywoiild Jive- and howthey would relate to, us.

AlIen Rowland, president ', Nortllern Cheyenne Tribal Coun!)ilLame Deer, l\{pn.t. ' ,_ ,.

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tj-HighCountry NewsI:o'riday,June 7,1974

Hurrayl.foy"th.e Wreck-the-Nation BureaHurray! for the Wreck-the.;Nation Burea~'Bureaucrats with souls so pure-oWiped out the good Lord's work in fiveshort years.

They never saw the old Glen CanyonJust dammed it up while they were standin' .At their drawing boards with cotton in theireerst

Three cheers! fortheWreck-the-Nation BureauFor them you'll find there is no cure-oAll waters of-the world they would impqunrLI'll tell you now of their latest whimseyTo fill Grend Csnyorrto the brimseyWhile Rainbow Bridge comes crashing to t:heqrountil ~- .,

Oh, they're gonna dam the Frying PanYou're next old Roarin' Fork.-And when they.built Glen Canyon damThe San Juan qot « cork!No river's safe until these apesFind something else to do .-So have your tun in Ceterect C4

. Cause afterthat, you're through!x- "1

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>'Katie Lee--1963•

Katie Lee has put together a fine record "Folk Songs of the Colorado IUver" that wasreviewed in the Nov. 9,19'73issue of High "Ci)UDtryNtL~.The record is available fromKatie1..ee. Box 395, Jenime, Ariz.8633lfor$e.50.. . . .

I

Glen Canyon near Lake Powell The lower stretches of the canyon are now lost to therisiDg waters of-the lake. .

. Photo by Steve Miller

", .<. R!iJIIIIug Salmon Fthe FtIe8t Se~ce fo.. '

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eoiureau '.

five

in, standin'1 in their

ition Bureau"e-oimpquntl.rseyy'ling ts t:he

jam

"

Rainbow Bridge. Water fromLake Powellisslowly backing uP.BridgeCreek Canyontoward the world's largest natural bridge. The Utah Division of WildlifeResourcespredicts the water should reach a 15 foot depth jJeneath the bridge by this summer.Structural damaqe to tlie bridge is feared by conservationists, but their court suit tohalt the intrusion failed.

I 'II . Photo by Fran Barnes'

,1'>,."'"

. R!JIIIlIugSalmon Falls. A stretch of the Salmon River in'central Idaho propoeed »ythe ~ 8eryice for wild river status. . . .

Photo by Veme H1l8erI

-IO-High Country NewsFriday, June 7, 1974

by Lee Catterall

/' The Interior Department has begun, a complete-.overhaul of its draft environmental statement on re-sumption of coal ieasing, reacting to "heavy" 'criti:cism even before hearing from the critics.Under Sec. of Interior John Whitaker h";' ordered

an enormous volume of material to be assembledquickly to redo the two-volume statement, whichproposes ending the current coal leasing moratoriumand replacing it with'a five-year schedule for openingup coal-bearing areas in the West.'- '

Whitaker has called for four extensive "back-ground studies" on 'different features of coal de-velopment and 10 "option papers" on governmentpolicies that might be taken.Outlines for the studies were due last Friday, only

three weeks after the draft statement's public re-lease. While "deadlines" for the papers stretchthrough July, most are due by the end-of June."The name of the game right now is speed over

quality, and nobody's looking at the tradeoffs," a highdepartment official told this column. 'Whitaker's directive stemmed from a memo -

within the department but not for public release -attached to the statement. In the memo, ROystonHughes, Asst. Interior Secretary for Program De-velopment and Budget, cited "major ~eaknesses" ofthe statement, which he "reluctantly" agreed to re-lease.' '"In a broader context," the Hughes memo said, III

am afraid that the weakness of this draft reflects thegeneral state of our development of the new coalprogram."It calls for "major revisions," emphasizingthe department "cannot simply touch up the draft ... 7The Hughes memo predicted "heavy criticism" of

parts of the draft. The decision-making process is"not well explained;" it said. The lease schedulingplan is "somewhat out ofdate, in light of our recentdiscussions with OMB (Office of Management and. Budget, an 'arm of the White House)." The draft is"ve& thin" on what the environmental effect of newgovernment regulations would be. And "severalother major points ofpolicyand their alternatives are.not sufficiently analyzed." " .Earlier this year, Sen. LeeMetcalf(D-Mont.) asked

Wyoming native Jack Horton, Asst. 'Interior Secret,ary for Land and Water Resources, "Who's the boss"within the Administration on coal development?Horton was fuzzy in his response. But the answer

now is clear: "Roy" Hughes, Whitaker has put him incharge of "overall. coordination of the preparationand scheduling" of the statement's overhaul and,therefore, of the program, except where he's'over--ruled by OMB.Hughes, 0!11y35 years old, took over his current job

three months ago. A former Navai' officer -Annapolis-trained-e- he probably is closer than any-one in the department to Interior Sec. Rogers C.B.Morton.Hughes was Morton's legislative assistant when he

*as a Maryland congressman, and came with him tothe department when Morton was appointed to theNixon cabinet three years ago. He hIlSworked closely)vith Morton ever, since. '. ,

. 1) '_",.IHughes has disagreed lately with Horton over the'.,. ...\,

direction lif the .government's CQalpolicy. Hughes isregarded as)8, proponent of as iittle as possible gov-ernment CQntrol over industry, while Horton favorsfairly strict control.The draft statement, while vague, reflects Horton's

view of ,how development should be allowed. ThatCouldchange. ' ". . -.~~,<~"':;;~:Z::;""1"""'1"1~ ~

·Coal Impact Study 'Doner

A five-month study of the probable results-physical, social and economic - of coal de-velopment in the eastern portion of Wyoming's. Powder River Basin has be,en completed by theBureau of Land Management.Release of a draft, environmental impact

statement for public review was announcedtoday by Dan Baker, state director for the fed-eral agency in Wyoming.Comments from the public, other governmen-

tal agencies and industry should be submitted, by July 18, said Baker, to be considered in afinal version of the statement, scheduled for,completion this fall."This report - and I should emphasize that

it's only a first draft at this point - seeks. toanalyze the predictable regional impact ofproposed development by coal companies andthe railroads," said Baker. Such proposals in-clude four strip coal mines and a rail line. bet-ween Douglas and Gillette, he noted, and otherproposals are expected.A limited number of the 2,000 page, five-

volume document - "Environmental ImpactStatement-Eastern Powder River Basin. ofWyoming" - will be available free from theBLM state officein Cheyenne, said Baker. If the 'initial printing is exhausted, reprints may be,

Oil Sands Mined,

In the Canadian prairies,' near Fort McMur-ray, Alberta, 10 story high bucketwheel ex-cava tors churn through the earth. The.machines belong to Great Canadian Oil Sands,Ltd. and they mine 'a suhsjance known asAthabasca oil sands. Great Canadian Oil Sandsproduces 60,000 lla'rrels of synthetic crude fromtheir operation. So far they have not realized a.profit from their operation.'Oil sands, or tar s:ari4s, are found under. f r

10,000 square miles ,of .Alber ta's northeastcorner. Thedeposit holds 900 billion barrels of'oil, but present technology.canonlyhope to tap60 billion barrels. All that is needed is a rise in, the price of oil to make the synthetic oil com-pet.itive. The latest energy crisis may haveusfiered in that rise.Already Syncrude Canada, Ltd. has started

work on a second plant for the area that maycost $1 billion. The Japanese have expressed aninterest in investing in the area. Herman Kahnof the Hudson Institute has proposed a multi,national $20 billion investment in the resourcebacked by Japan, the Ll.S, and several Euro-pean countries ..Canada may not want the foreign money cou-

pled with commitments to export petroleumproducts, External Affairs Minister MitchellSharp say the sands oil will be needed forCanada's own needs by the 1980s. EnergyMinister Donald McDonald has warned theU.s. that Canada would likely phase out ofex-porting its oil within 10,to 15 years. Canadaexports about half its oil and more than-a thirdofits natural gas to the U.s. Foreigners alreadycontrol 95% of the Canadian petroleum indus-try.With this in mind, the Canadians are follow-

ing a more conservative route. Alberta plans tospend $100 million and the Canadian govern-ment an addition8J. $40 million over the nextfive years, to find new technology for the sands.They ate also understandably worried abOutthe 'environmental problems associated withfull production. Separating' the oil from, the /sand involves floating the substance as a froth'on E.!\t_Fliter., H~zarils..to~wi1dlife and theAthabasca River which flows through the reg-i0!t remain unresolvedlO: iI', ~-? U' :) .d~f

purchased for $17.50 each, the cost of'reproduc-tion.While the BLM had "lead responsibili'ty" for

preparation of the statement under terms ofthe. National Environmental Policy Act 'of 1969,Baker-said that the Geological Survey, Forestservice and Interstate Commerce Commission'also participated on the EIS study team formedin February. 'Review copies of the draft statement will be

available at BLM offices in Cheyenne, Casperand Buffalo, said, Baker, as well as at ForestService officesin Laramie and-Douglas, the SoilConservation' Service office in Gillette, com-munity libraries in Upton, Moorcroft and Gil-lette, and founty libraries in Laramie, Natrona,Converse, Niobrara, Johnson, Weston, Crookand Sheridan 'Counties.An additional 400-plus copies were mailed to

individuals and organizations known to have adirect interest in the environmental study.To assure representative comments on the

draft, formal public hearings will be conductedin late June; he explains, in Cheyenne, Casperand Gillette. The schedule is as follows:- Cheyenne, Little America Motel, June 24

at 7 p.m. and June 25 at 9 a.m,,'-'Casper, Ramada Inn, June 26at 1:30 p.m.and 7'p.m. .' ''i'- Gillette, Campbell County High School,

June 27 at 7 p.m, and June 28 at 9 a.m.Oral testimony will be limited to 10minutes,

with registration required beforehand: Writtensubmissions are invited. Registration formsand further information may be obtained fromthe Environmental Impact Statement team,Hitching Pos~ Inn; 1700 West Lincolnway,Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001. . ... Written coinm~rts may'also be 's4bmifted tothe State Director, Bureau of Land Manage-ment, P.O. Box 1828, Cheyenne, Wyoming82001. •-

I, ',,'"-- .. .- -" .. '

The burden <ifproof is on the public utility toprove the need for requested power gener-. ation expansion, according to new rulesadopted by the Montana Board'of NaturalResources. The board, which administers thestate Utility Siting Act also now requires the, applicant utility to pay for a .state-conductedenvironmental assessment of a requested ex-pansion. The Billings Gazette says, "By its ac-tion, the Board of Natural 'Resources is trulycarrying out its role as a public board, one toprotect the public's interest when it is in conflictwith that of the utility,"

A new method of separating .va.luablesodium minerals from oil shale has beenpatented by Industrial Resources of Chicago.The firm says. t,hey.can extract nahcolite anddawsonite from the shale and produce soda ash'. on a co.mpetitive basis. The method involvesflotation separation. of the minerals prior toheating up the shale to extract,oil.

Mobil Oil has agreed to acquire TipperaryCorporation's interest in 20,000 acres of coalleases in Wyoming. Mobil will pay Tipperary$2.66 million at the time of.assignment and$9.85 million over seven years. Tipperary re-served a 1.5 per cent overriding royalty payablefro,,! future coal production.

The University of Wyoming's Water Re-sources Research Institute has been awardeda $20,000 grant to study the environmental I

0\1 and gas,shortages in Texas-have sparked a rushto open. up coal strip mines in that state. TexasUtilities has already opened up one mine and hasplans to oPIli! three more: Texas hasno state lawsconlrollingjJ1>rip mining.' .

~.{ .oS ,'I ~f - - • ~ '.

" Gulf Oillmmpany was-a bit embarrassed'late in'/.1:+"'. _'. ,- ': •

Ja'nuary~.".; after forcefUlly arguing that it neededincreased ~bteaks and higher profits to stimulatefurther cap1;t~'investment, it was announced thatthecompan~Jias just purchased the Barnum andBailey ,Ci~S~·. .' 1:~.,_' .. ",:ttr"r·$". - - -: -. . ..W!l~t ~\f"nia R!lp. Ken H!lchJer says CQalo~~ato~ ·~.persuading Jed~ral,p.iRe safety,ad-ministrat<!r,;ji!nes M. Day tliat stJ:i~\!nforcement,of.s8fety laWjlslows down production. "He seems tovie~, mine"liifety as kind of a:coIDPW}nisebetween

· .. Tl~"' - > - "high. prodp.i!tion and keeping casul!1tY rates fromgoing off th'e:iihart," said Hei:hler .. ",

• - '.j ,~.

· ~.:~$>''- _ ~'- ~-'ConsoUffijted Coal has su"c;Cllssf~tested I!-n!iw

method Qf,iUnderground'CQaI'mUiiilg that" could~~~ the;i~ing pr~u:tice ;nlo!" e~.srent and. eO~-pet!,tlve. 'J!Iijl:~cess mvolvesl;rushit.\trthe coal, DlIX-.,ing"jt~itn~ater, and pumpill/lthl!,slurry to,the

.. surface. th~h piP!ls. Or!Iinarily 'coal is brought to· the surface',hY"conveyor belts or ·electric rail carli. '

r' -. "~~~ • ';; • \ .' ~-: -'. -'~

, The At~~!' Energy Commission]ias published"newregulat>pns o!1'nuclear powel'Jiliint approval tlipd C)Qnstmction. to'speed up theptWC8s. The new

, . ' regulations aJlow site cO,nlltructionbefore approvaJ ofI A coal leasing expert says the Department of '" the.nuclea ..~ant is granted, EnvbnPI:"entaJists say'Interior will test Montana's resistance to the -.... .~ ~ew propedure will mak~ it diflkult to prevent I'creation of a "national 's.acr'ifice area" tor' _ ,: ..,~w.t ...money will already be 'in-veSted in 1strip mined coal in eaStern MOIltsna,. "LeaSing ','c'i:l'{i'"', n the site. A leglil cha!le,nge is ex-' 1pl:obably will open in the Decker-Birney area ,c. . pectea. '1before 1975," said James GannonoftheCouncil -., -on Economic Priorities .. The federal govern· ' 'ment has not leased public coaJ since 1971, but A major study by the Massachusetts Institute of /20 biJIion, tons passed to private hands before Technologysays if the U.S.,becomesindependentofthat date, says Cannon. (Cannon is author of foreigu oil, it will be 8,( a very high price. The report"Leased and Losk a critic~ review of federal says energy prices might haveto be doubled to briDgcoalll1asing sum1l,larized· i;"_the May 24 issue pf,' about large~e.develol'nfel!t 'of syiithetic fuels in~igh <iountryNe~s oD._l!age 19.~ ~"'C:~ .the...I'l7ar;~ture.c. ,

, Ellen Cotton, Qeft, above) like many ranchers around Decker, Mont., depends onnatural springs to provide water for her livestock. Coal seams near the surface are the,aquifer. Where the coal outcrops the water surfaces and gives Iife to the land. "This.IandIs more precious and valuable than any .coal they'll ever dig out of it," she says.South of the Cotton ranch, the Decker Coal Company is strip mining the coal aquifer.

During the Wyoming Environmentsl Congress tour of the mine on M,ay 17, the companywas askedwhat effect they were having on the grtlllndwater. A spokesman for the.company said. they'd been studyingthe situation; the effect was hardly noticeable. Thenearest well'hadonlydroppea one and a h,aIf feet, he said.' ' ,Ten days later an independent report on the subject hy the Montana Bureau of Mines '

waa released; Researchers found the level of water-wells located within a quarter mileof the Decker mine dropped 20 feet. Wells located within one and a half miles droppedan average of 10 feet, The study predicted water levels would continue declining,somewhat more slowly, during the 20 years the 'mine is in operatfon.

'y .,r ·"f,h~,.!'jtu.a,tiWl at n.~,:ker inrt;lIar~to thegroundwater is similar to.the con'!itions,found throughout the Fort Union formation," says hydrologistWayp.e VIUl No..st,'

Eifihphasij,:E H !D,GT '~rin -theNorthern:Rockie.~ ..and Great Plains

, ' - f ' '. '$;, " •• ,. ~ , c._ -,' • ,:""!J.~~~_consequences of strip .mining in.tb.e;'Powder The Powder River,B;asin Res~urceCoun- ..'f· Rivet Basi~.The:rese!ll'ch, funded I:!¥, tiie'U,S: . ~ilhas. p8;8sed,!, resolution supportdng-a t8x:~~· Forest SerVIce, will focus on undergr"und',jXater, ,mcentlve to'encourage the development:of ''ft?:·,.s]l~plies and. the impact on streampllm~;lh'\i ,. it-enewable, n~n-polluting energy 8Our~es. '~ammaJs. ;:1" " ' ... :ii.'%1 T:he ~olinl'il· feel~' ,solar, wind arid methane'_ /"

.. energy canlt comp~te on the open'mar~et.with. Construction'Owill start in July ?,\"a .l:"\llti. , oil, coa1,gas and uranium because t1ie"llI.ttermillion dollar project designed to,l-sise thil.levek'\ group receives a tax-free percentage depletion ~',· of !,ake DeSmet b:y40'feet for future eoi!l\,<¥ •. ~ allowance. The Council js,'made,.up.-\argel;y 'ofvelopment. Lake DeSmet is between Buifa:lo " ranchers and farmers 'in Wyoiniligls.!Po~er (",.arid Sheridan, VIIyo.Texaco Inc,,, tl!e oWJ:!-e~of ' River Basin,,,\,here largescaJecoal stl'ip·minil1g'i;.;t'"the lake and 37,000 acres ofsuri'dundirig~a.e· > and powergenCl'ationis anticipateCl.· ,· '''fl'fields. said th.e-l'!rojectinvolves diver.ting· wa:tl.· .·V' .. '. . . :. . '.' :-,.,:· from Clear Creek and'cxiJandingthe' exi,stiqg The San Antonio Public "Service lIoarddam at the north of the reservoir. No coal de"' said it,has arranged til buy,55:5 million tons ofvelopmentplans have been announced by Tex· . CQal;to be supplied frOm Wyoming under a 20 """.· aco, . y.ear cOntract. T!l-e'city·owned utility has been ' ,.

unable to get ,additional natura.l gas. Coal' will >.come from s Sun Oil Co .. mine in Campbell .' .County near GiHette. ..

Western Enel'gy'Co., a whol1yownedsub-· sidiaD' of. the Montana 'Power Co;, h:m reo .ceived permission' to leave 1.4 'million tons ofcoal underground during the next year. Cur-relltly Western Energy is mining only the topseam of coal at their mine near Colstrip, Mont.and'Jeaving a lowet coal seam undisturbed,Under ,Montana law. a strip nime operationIl).listextract aJl coal that is classified as stripp·able and, marketable to prevent waste of tneresource and to avert the need to ret~rn to a-mined area at a later' date and disturb it twice.Western Energy saysthe lower, seam, which is· nigher in sHlfur content and lo~er in energy .rating, is not marketable. The'Peabody Coal Co.is mining and selling both seamS at their BigSk;y.mine a few-mHes-awsy,·.· _. ~~_..:I,,· ... .

High.CountrY News-llFriday, June 7, 1974

The Bot"Lineacrossthe country'

A coaJ carsbortage is now threatening the opera-. . ,. .tion of new mines. RaIJ1P and mine operators inLetcher COU!lty,Ky. report they are getting on1y 30%ofthe cars they order from the Louisville and Nash-.viJIeRailrol!lI...Without cars, no coal can be shipped to.market no matter what the demand. Part of the prob-lem is a proliferation of new operations. Estimatesare that at least IJ}O new mining firms have openedup operations in Letcher County this winter andspring.. .

, ., . The Fedehil Power Commission said on May 21that barely adequate fuel supplies-for power plants'may lead to brownouts by this simmer; "With de-clining availability of natural gas for electric genera-: -tion, difficulties' in increasing coal.production, and a.tight fuel oil supply situation even a slight disruptionof fuel sUI!J?ly..could produce power shortages," theFPC said. .

Despite lirecommendation that the Mono'Countyarea around Mammcth Lakes, €lalif. 'in the HighSierra be kept free from geotherm8J. power pro-jects, a Los Angeles firm says it intends to build a'10,000 kilowatt pilot plant there. A federaJ maeterplan for the 300 square mile area recommends no, ge~thermalleasing on national forests in the vicin-ity. A spokesman for the Inyo National Forest said hecould not prevent construction of the pilot pla';tplanned by'Magma Energy Inc" since' it will be onprivate land.' .

.,

\ .>. , " ..

RuCl,earliabilitytaw under Fi~r~-'The Price-And~~on Act, a law which liurltS does not specify howmuch additional protection utilities would put only $2 million st risk per

C the amount of money.which the public can col. will be provided above the present-$56!l million nuclear plant if H,R. 14408 is passed, is an in-lect-in the event ofacatastrophic nuciearpower (a figure set in 1957dollars.) Gravel says Con: . suit to· public intelligence,'.' said GraveL. .plant-accident, is cOring up for renewal before gress must not leave this important matter - . 'Gravel is urging individuals and groups toCongress. Conservation, 'public-interest and the heart ofthe limited liability issue -. toth~ ",rite their Representative and.Senators on this·consumergroups are rallying to urge that the .diseretton of the AEC.Uliability is robe limited" .-. 'issue, "Every:.Congressional office I know ofact not be renewed. . . by Congress, then figures must be in the~bill. '~)i:e~s a ~ail.couPtP .~ai~l'Gravei. No mail; noAt present the 'act limits liability to $560 . "The industry's proposal, ':Iri.der w1)~ch, '" action';'

million: Documents prepared by an Atomic e.."Energy Gommfssion(AEC).fabin 1965 say po-, H' h" C' " et'e" •• ,c" ~ C"·· ~" "'E~" 'ttential damage per nuclear catastrophe could' .ec er." ',c,:zes', ·00 ~ ~Rorsexceed $17 billion and'contaminate an area the" '., .' . . -" '"..' .• :· size of Pennsylvania. Of. the $560 million, th~ 7 Congressman Ken 'Bechler oj·w.Va.}' r:_. "Ijleh~in the same period oft973.·, .: Japan, the. utilities. are only required-to cover what they sharply criticiied the '!'rapidly' increasing ~x-' '0': largest 'corisum~r of American coal, took 5,7,'can get fromthe insurance industry - $95 mill. ports eru.s, coal at a time when coal is critically -'million tons of. U :~'. bi tu minous coal inion today, The balance 0($465 million would be in demand to meet the nation's energy needs':'; --JanuaryoMarch 1974: up-a!..! '10 from the likepaid by the taxpayers - including' the victims In a speech. on the House floor.Rep, Hechler. period of 1973," . . ., ,. .of the accident.· . . quoted National tloalA.'t\'Ocia,tionfigures show- ';. "Did:you :ev~r· he~r of.~y.thing 'so ,craZyas"The public would only receive 'a few cents on ing: ,'.,,;. . ': 'steppiag up tfie .exports. of coal; at a time when

the dollar if there were a catastrophic accident·, .. "Total U.S. exports 'ofbituminous COaIiir'the . we aresufferirig inore and more damage fromcausing massive injury and propei'tydamage. . ' first qu';:"t'er of'1974.'il)1:~asec;l18%-r';m shiP:.~' :c~st9P rriining?"Rep~.Hechler said, .', .

, The act h'as been far'more ",frecti"e in inducing· '..' .... .."., ;. . . 'C'. .,'.' , ., " ,: •• - '''The' House Interior .Commitu.e hasj';"t re-industry to enter the nuelear power fiel.d by . plitted out il. woefullY weak' strip mine regul~-shielding it' from the ·cim;"'q;"erices·of its own The production of one' million I!~r. Uon bill. The,strip .miners saytp.eyhave to keepnegligence, than'ithas'ileen in projiiding ade- Tels of oil from oi'-shale would require .o~.ripP'ingup ourownl~dbecl!usewe need the

". quate fi·nanCial pr<!~ction to the public against proc~~'~ing ·app,roxin.1a~~y .57.~million. '" <;oal,.Th~n why in (Etxp!etive .<jeleu.<l)are we..• a major nuclear. ~w.ilr catast.· i-op·he," SaYS ,Ann :.tons of oil shale annually. This appro\<, , .shipp'ing coal·to .!;allan and Europe, so they can

..- ' lmates 'the annual level' ofU.S~ coal; ''1'. Roosevelt of Friends' of the Earth. . '. ,,' ,save:t):>eirown ,land.wpile.}Ve,ll.estroyollrs? The. Roosevelt points out~hat the AEC says risk of- ' productioil and woUfd theref"re ca~e '. .-. exporters Bay,this is metalhlrgieal coal used ina majoraccid~r;t ;at' a nuclear pow~r' plant is " a severe i~pact 'on th~avliilabilitY.oi . _steel pFod!1ction. ,But the' President of ·the

. .' both Mining personnel'a:nd heavy Jiiin:' " A..me.ri.canIrotr an.d Steel In.stitute, Stew.arl. S ..very remote; and:yet paradoxically, thi!insur· ing equipment.' , ..•. , • '.ance.induS~ w·Qjclt· 'cuStomarily, assesse~ risk' .. .," _'.'....,. "- .','" ~{).' ~_.1: .. :1' ,Y-""' p.tl"~,:~~ifie(tpn April.,2!i, 191.4~beforewthe-rer"Ms to fully' "re'tli la'nts . 1 ' . .. ,.Blluse eommitte. e.,on. Bar:>kinO',andCurrency1...,.,· .' 1\lSU e p . ..', .• ' Atolitic.En'ergy·CommlSsion ........, " _. - .,.·Sen: l\:lil<'e,'prave. of Alaska ,has introduced " oil .Shaie DeDidnstJoatiob:ProjEfcf . '. that the steel inciustry is hurtidg because of a

;"" ·legislatiO,n(S. 3254)'til'Correctthissituation. He . .. , . severe shortage, of metallurgical coal. for the.feels ,rnuclear ·power is -· .afe enoligh'; f~r .. StudYyI>r~' . manufacture ..of sUlel. Mr. Cort stau.d that 'the ~.

" ... Americans to 'lIisk their li'veson,' i~1s "safe ' ,., '. ,.. , .'," .. .. ::'i!J1P~ly situation' hasbec~me'criiic'ai.' '. ... eiIough':farstOekholdenitAlrisk'theirailBe:t.sol!,.,. " ..";~'" ~i. ""i"o ~. ,."._ "<·~'T~rl{eniYcon,<am.~~tQsupport'mY.~ill,!f.~.; ..

·-:'.'~W8:are!a$i~!Or.sOin~t\iing,V!"lY.;re~~i:,.' ;'",t. ~,1~,';""1;': ,; '.~., . · ._V695:w~i~prOh;ib.i"",the. E\Xp"0rt' Df A:!ri~rican' •..ble/,' Says Grsveb"We wilnt w'restOrErthe nor.-..... -:. , .." ~ , ....,,:.... • 'f, coal, except to Canad,a, from whom we' import· ', inaf restraint.ol1 reckless activity provided by· . .oii, I alI).sEockedlp"dis,co:ver..th~~'Yecontinue to... ""..'.. public liability responslbmties: ·If:,Il~clear ..'.:, ~l'poI:t.~oalw,hilecQl!tinuil1g.·todestrQyOIIr ownpower is: 8ssafe'as utilities'claim'it is" their. "....; , '.c .. ': ...limd"bx strip .~(m~g,::~~Jd1!~fhler~: ' .' ."sWcklioldei's 'won't flinch at putting tl!eir own .., "';;'''-''': ,,- ",; ~." '-1 ........'.'> I:" C " dO.as~~~~~ t:~~~~~e~~ liIi~~f144~8,the " btl ci~le's '·RQiisJle •.:.:renewal oithe PriCEl,~derson,AI't. R.:a:.14408 ,.,....- '.. ;,.{ .Ci, ' __" .../' "/'''<'':I'Y'!''.. , '.~ ... " . . ,., .." Large private utility::,cQ.mpilniei!/a~ebeing

~ c, 'E" ..... n" "..... d ".,1:;, . 'IT · i:ri.tici~~for ~peVeii!,gvl\;(aJ)io,lltl1;8of mane)'.-n~rgl_.e~~n ....t'~lre~~ens.."',ater ~;~:,~~::~c~:h~cimli~e jikt!l~eX~fise." ~" .•~, .ACCQrdingto a report from the Instituu. for

Critical water shqrtages' in·th~West, acceler' men!s.· '. . Southern Studies, the giant electric utilities in~ted by increasing demahdS.for'ene!gy,. could, .The. suggestion of (e<:leral involve ..ment in the South are. spending millions of their cus-.bring neW dem8nd,s for massive diversions-of transbasi.ndiversions, an(f.j'iIri~dlCtion:.oV:er<tomer,dollars for such things as televisionwater. 'A recent 'inventory of Upper 'Colorado wateI' rights hasled to cries,of alarro,trom west, ., . advertising, lobbying in,-Washington, and coun-River Basin 'needs for projected energy de; -em governots. Oregon Gov. TOl1) MeCallcalloo,< .try club membership dues for employees.velopment shows shortages of Several hundred . it "a.very dangerous doctrine;" and said'''lpa!\o, The Institute surveyed the eighteen largestthousand acre feet per year. Of the five Upper Oregon and Washington depend on hydro for80 . privau. electric systems in the South - whichBasin. states. (Wyomi"g, Ut~, Colorado and percent of their electric power.: .'. we will get account for 95% of that area's private electricparts of Arizona anp NewMexico), only Wyom, int~ h~nd.to-hand combat i~ l1I!y~ne tr~? ,to, ·utiliti~s.: Among the stranger expenses unco-inghas enough.)Vl!-u.r.to· meet authoriz.ed or '. tai<:eit away.", .. -, " ." c.,.... ; ''',vered' were $25,0(jlJby'West Texl\SUtilities for· projected enejogy developmentS. ,. . ',' · 'Idaho' Gov., Cec;"IJ\narussaid his state's wJite'f "..; ':1:1"i" lmdcountry c.rubd~es, $7,800byKentucky.The Interio.r DellaitlQllnt's preliminary in~ c. laws ~ere adequate"toprovid~:wate;rfor future • Utilities for"CIlI'istmas'(Jecorations, $3,000 by

ventOry; announcedthis week, comes on topofa', . . us.e~;includiJlg energy,", !lIld saiif-the'Coundl Alabama Po~er"'for a' cohtribution to BillyNational Water Resources .Council survey iJf ,"is attempting to seize upon the energy cri$is-tO·., ·...'Qraha~'s,Bivn;;ingham CFusad~, )ind $5,500states. ,The Council B8YcS tluit in order to meet ~ expand federal°intervention iJ;lto tradi,tionally,. ': ' ..'from, Tam»~ Elliott'ic fi\P-t-n<rLfttleteagUe ballwater' req~mEmts fOrEitiergy,"certain alu.r· ,..tat.E;: b'\isiness.':4zidt:us, said tfj;«;,' state was ~~"',: .."te'alIj.s:: The Ge..orgilf' Power'Co'mpany ~.nal.ivil·sol~ions'~. may ]:Ie ·propQBE!don.-tbe fed- :., . . ,Yeloping,.a,loitg:range. water-l'laI1~hat WQul<,l>:;;::;;.·aliegedly.:tliat state's worstopotlhu.r ~ cleanedera! !Eftref'ThdSe !!!1lutiol!S:in,clJ!.de:.traiillbasin·...' jIistify Useof all tl).ewau.r'Idahohas: . .::'" '•. :upiheir image; if not their. pollution' - by_diversion· of wate~,..federal take-over of water: " :<'GlliyWii;ks', director Qfthe Montana Natubili :donating $10;000 ·tl¥an -'ec6f~gygroup,~-:- - .~. rightl!,and a reallocation ofexisting-storage hi.. 'f: :·Re~~rCj!s·pepaltment: .sai~. in aprepe.rl!,d re,· ' '::, ,Meanw.hile; the Iilidwestern (;oinp~ies havereservoiI'!!. lnterior sent a questionnaire to all·: " . leas"';'~e Stau.of M!>nta.na,jsinjili;el'f!~r'<1P;"",,,, ~n ,suedby, ,custon;Iers for refunds of money . .

'.' stat.es, .•requesting a reSPOnseby' June 3. Six;",;,' pose'dl:.9:.linyass1J!1lptioriby,.thefed!}ra!'gove~::i·{:<·\.:/pyen to clyirities, The chstome.scnarged that·questions- aslted ·~e st!lu.s what ~nergyde-: f. me.nt of juris«!iliion cover 'tbollll,watei rig~ts:' . "nliri~i,sllel1 'I;"elephone-:Pe'?l'lesGaSLight andvelopmtWts were being considered; ·how they· ,.~. tradition'allya~ly .ad~i1iistered. una~ :. "'. Coke company and. the' Northern. illinois Gase.xpected to provide water for such develop- state laws, for the result wouljl be amassive. company have beeil contributing betweenments, lIi)d th~probleDlll involved; w)1at laws •. , bl,l~aucra~,.",it1l,~~~eqpate~Q1l,c~rt:I fQrJh!,,'- ,~.,.$10.!1.0.0,0,a.1?:d.$c400,Q(W,a.y;,ear to vca,riousright be imPl'diments to development, includ,· ~ l¢i>ti,diIai statj!'s needs.::Hi~reJllaDk~ wereJ'e" .iiI,,,,,~hl!Pties.'fh.~Illi.n\1i!3,§ppte.~e,vourt.ruledlast

• )M thak0!lCinvol~:a~:~el~~ti: ~g~~~Jl~~~lt~l':" i.~!~,~,St;iM~~~~1)l~?nt.$ Goy<. Tho1:l!l!:8.:il''!dge'S;.,,~.~."l~~~kl!C!ht·~t;tJ\~~eRn~ri.b'Hti:o~~sE~~oRnTstHituNtEewaSn~l' _.->"~~ ~.-:,,,!~~r .. _" e 0,6. . w::ve v)"'::, ~ .', :om.ce...... \';''', r., .. _','~,_;',", / '.-', '~'_- ... ,--{./,ef'-'.' .: ... ,',' o.;AA<':-O. ~.~~",~I.C ,,:L.!1cr~8!e.•• , .('I. • _

,12-lijgh Country, ~eWI!','Fn~y,J~e 7, 1974" .

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W'eslern '~,!Dundup;'Jackson Jetport Still Not 'Qead

The Jackson HoleAirport is in formorestudy even as the'~ouncemen{.i~made to go aheadwith improvements.Jn .announcing the.deciaionnot toextend the runways beyond the present 6,305 ft.Becretary of the InteriorRogers Morton said he was ordering a regional transportation study. That'study would determine if alternate sites for a larger airport were availa-ble. Morton said the study was necessary according to law beforehe couldapprove a 1,700-tt extension of the present airport runway.Morton said he has given the go ahead for the National Park Service to

use authorized funds for the safety features and improvements. The ParkService is directed to strengthen and widen the one existing runway,construct-a paralleI6,305-ft taxiway, provide additional aircraft and vehi-cle parking, install a new sewage system, and make some other minorimprovements. The Federal Aviation Administration can install an in-strument landing system, provide for lights for the runway, and install anair traffic control'tower. '. '" ' .Wyoming Sen,CliffordP Hansen.a proponent of runway ex~nsion, said

hewas disappointed in the decision notto'authorize the extension now.But.he said he was pleased'that the decisionwas not a flat denial and providedfor the study.·· · '. ,., ',. .Many opponents see the study as'a ruse to.buy time and allowfor more

, pressure to eventually 'get .the extensionc-They ask, where is there an. alternative location that could handl;big jets? 'The 1,700-ft. extension pf the run wayfurther into Park Servicelands on

the',northh~s,bee'l a bitter(yfought issue since it'was first announced in.late 1971. Environin,mtalists and the Rockefeller interests questioned thea:dvisabili~y of flying big Jets into 'the restriCted valley.

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..High Country.Newa-U'. Frillay, Jun~ 7, 1974

. ,....,._1IIII'~ipI.IQ""" CAt_ NAT.

REC. AREA r'-

Rep. St@iger, Heads Dirty Dozen~,- .

.Arizona &p,Sain Steiger heads the list of Environmental Action's"Dirty, Dozen,"The Washington political lobby in environmel:l.talmatterssays Steiger topstheir list because he votedagainst the environrilenton 15 <'\1.-out ofi6 crucial votes.They paint out that Steiger voted against clean air, ' Wild. horses in the Pryor Mountain Complex of. Montana -"nd ..-the National'Environmental PolicyAct, and mass transit, amongothers.' Wyoming'got an additional 12,440 acres of. range last month.Environmental Actjon has had two previous "Dirty Dozen"campaigns in . , (Shaded areas on mapubove.) Following a two-year study. thewhich they publicize the 12 congressmen with the worst e..vironmental Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest ServiCe. in eoop-:,votirlifrl!co¥as:Dij'nrig,tlielailt'eleetic\n,twdcongressmen whoappeared onc ~ation with the National Park !3ervice; have come up' with a report,their list were defeated: Wayne Aspinall' and George Fall.on..· _ ,,-Land Use Recommendations fqr.the Pryor Mountains:That repoi:tSteiger has recently been Instrumental-in stymying land uselegislation;. ",.' says the wild .horse population'will be allowed to use the extra

has requested, that the ~ofa Game ReSeJ:Yebe opened permanentlytffi..t: '. " range. some ofiton a conditional basis, and will not be allowed to gomining and grazing, and supports the proposed Bridge Canyon Dam in" beyondalimitof130-140head.exclusi~eofcolts. The BLMproPo8esGrandCanyori. He works very closely with the NationalCham!lerof to allow a system of roping yearling animals on a permit basis toCommerce. ' I help coptrolcnumbers.,fhorses.lt also proposel! ,to,destJ!oy.some of

I ..' the old •.sick and lame ariimals, and to encOluage;inountain lion.Pr iVdte Nat ion aI P.ar kifEstobiished predation in some areas. Additional recommendations are to estab-.lish speci81 scenic and ""creation areas, and to prohibit some off-

,.' The 486,000-ac"; Verrneio'Park Ranch in northeastern New Mexioo ., road travel.may become il sort of private national park. Pennzoil Corp. bought the·ranch for $26.5 million -and says it hopes to 'preserve .the area whileopening it tomoregeneral recreation. Atthe same time, the companymayexplore for oil.and 'gas !].ndit has leased timber resOurces.,· At one time, the U.S. Forest Service hoped to buy' the ranch through -authorization fromCongress. But Congress delayed, and the NewMexieqLegislatureturned"down the offer.' .'The New Mexico Wildlife'and Conservation Association called the

480,000-acre expahlle of forest and grassland a "paradise." It has peaks· rising to 13,000'feet; 60 lakes, someof th~in alpine; 100 !)l.ilesof-trout 'streams;' Some40,000 deer and 5,000elk, and a dearth of people. '

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Briefly noted .,Requestscfor exU;iJsionof the ~view period have led to a delay in

authorization for a highway through the Bighorn CanyonNational ~cre-ation Area. (see map of general.area this.page,l.The proposed hignway'Woul.dconnectsections.already buiitfrom-Lovell. Wyoming,northward toFort Smith, Montana, and Yellowtail Dam ..Objectiens to the highwaycenter around damage to archeological sites and the intrusion into thePryor Mountain Wil.dHorse Range.' .•

Mining Louses Wdter ProblemsColorado has some 450-rriiles of streams in 25 different areas that are" AUtah University scientist says,preliminary fignres indicate Salt Lake

'adversely affected.by drainage frommetal-mining sites. In a report by the· City could be making money from. itl! solid wastes. Dr.David W.E~otr,, Colorado Water Pollution C0ll-trolCommission,in cooperation with the.U. chairman of the €ivil Engineering Department, says about 1;100 tons ofS.Geological Survey;the adverse effectsare said to be frombothactive and \ the 1,500tons generated daily in the'city could possiblybe recovered. ADd.inactive inining operatipns. The effectsare the result of high acidity and/or . with a manageinent system, the waste might earn as mile!)ali$3.78 a~tOn.high concentrations of trace !,Iements that are poisonous to hl1mans and . One area of resource recOveryis in ~teel.cans, used by Kennecott;.~qpPerstream life. Copper,zinc and cadmium posed the greatestthreats. Arsenic .v "Corp .. in re£Qveringcopper. Kennecott cUrrently. imports steel ~'anli;:-:.aand lead were of lesser consequence.. .. .. . situatiOn termed ironic by Eckhoff. "'" : 'i'-~ .." -• _ _ _O,.n ""-"'_>

Alternative to DDT for Tussock * * *.,~h'· . - '., RequestS that further construction on the GaiTiso~versioii 1';W'ectin,',Sprayi)lgof I>;DT on tussock moth infestations in forests of the North- North Dakot,a be liroited have been made by theJ'lo~taeFarniers'west will bewithheld on about 80,000acres. The Forest Service~aysthat is Union, NDFlJ President E. W. Sm~h has,3skoooBureau,of,Reclamiitio;--about one-sixth of the. infested area in eastern Oregon and Washingtl?n Commis~ionerGilbert Stamm to li.!fut.constcruction-tothose activities nowand northern l~aho. Other insectiddes will he .tested on ~he withheld' undE\rway,and .!"J:hange·BUii!aUlandacquisition policies.Smith pointedareas, scattered oyer the three states. The test insecticides are short-lived, out that wlleIl the Bureau puts farmers off the land to make way forcomparl'~ to DDTwhic!' isob~e~tiolla~le~e£,~~e,--it is.:£.~lo,~l.1ts~j~;an5l}jJflflf' ,.SI'm'tlll'-ction,Ltp.~$!,-rmelSoften canno\;fi~ J.uitab~~ reflU\!lll,ID.eI)tlanJl.bec",:u~eIt;er~ntuallYd~wrs ~P~JQ,q.~M;J,W',,'1T)iumans,-' '-- SmIth says th~~wau sh<!Rb1s\?:ffitl{~I!J'%?~'J.ll!l~C;«:Ij\mt.laflq,i"

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14-High Country NewsFriday, June 7.1974 -

tloug~t~ ~/rOtlt the C[)~taf6'·Co1tt\~1t. ~ 10'

by MaqeIlilleJ:'t :,2;',

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. £li:ave lo~been f~inateci by tales'l\hose harilY,,~couplgeoui! men and women who B:~.crossed the,~p~~ins and mountains of :the w,,~rn fro"\tie_r.,,~

.. fi!,neer,settl~ lIll1untain pte!' .:. ~~appers:.:. "4nomesteadem seekers of gold" .: ~.. see),;ers-,pf'~adventure: Reading those pages ofh' I'Y, Ialways }~';'feltakinshipwitht.hem-asharin" . eir sense of 1;jJ!ii~disCove?, aDd then: feeli~ of w~n . '.t, . '1"'f,jJl,l. ,As chIldren; a younge,rslster and I ad a sort of ."<.make believe game. I)uring'the smii': •monthswe:,*,~lived in what was then a rather isola"" ,oSpot in the· ....-mountains, and Leu and Ispent many\dilrs roaming ,the hillsides. Sometimes,as we rou~, a curve in'the trail. or reached the toPcofa:"'ill.· ,'<i!l'~9Uldbehold'r a new and beautiful seene.Jaggediiflks on the far",.,

" horizon,. perhaps;"Qr a tiny: stre " ' ..eandering .'through the willoW!\;'or maybe j "small· tree- .'shaded grassy glen dbtted with:blu ~ tians:,.~··Oh.lookl?,Qne ofts would silyfaj} .' ,in llnlsOli,J>tIi·"Fll'bet we're the firSt white}Ifuui; . set foot in 'h. h" . 'c. 1-' 1" ;'.'~' '(,' ,.' ,i ":. ";:" ,t IS exact, very, P'~,ce. ..",. ". ", .f"" ..., . .-'.. • '....

t . ..An~,completelyoIiVvi?i1ii:tO.th\! ~~l~at we.werejI2~~··:'~~ada~e~as:a p~ of Colorado'~gold ~j)o~ t~ .yi!l~aga.'Th~ t~',"D>·~li:il;lii~:', ...,~ . stimdmg on a"welf-:wom traIl, and !~ng the fact. ~"f';ntlar Central CIty;; has life today onlymtouriSts' unagmlitions~- o. ';" ;'1!

that the county road'layjll"t-over th*t; we beeame .~(. >,-L"," _. . .' ' .'.';0 '. . . ;. ;'," ':'-

f .. ~ai~:e:;e~Lfl~::i~sS:::~~T.:~~UiVOCallY·~f£~'J~~;;;:<, ERi.. Cracks':Down'Cilt ":GM~:"-}~,:";;,, 'rYe never'qmte outgrown that IMilgJnary game. c,,,,,-, ", ,,! .. '. "':""<>'~;:\':-;. . ',':"~:'"'':~\.''i''',y".Somehow hiways want.to explore th.~!ilext cutVe, or, P;ci' Th~ Environmental Protection Agency 'hei" " '~2'5%iiidre~J'il·per~6nalgai:mileM~n~"h~id:.:', ... ,_what's jilSt over the.crest l!f the hil1~;\Vhen I <4ive :<> cracked down on a recent General Motors newlt- .. to be."grossly hiflated.'and fuisleiidifJgig'~cG~r~4:ZV~:' j'

1,.. oyer a mountain, palis and look do~10nto a'wide "~'i>aper"ad from "Your Chevrolet Dealer" which ing,to.EPA Administrator RuBs-ellTrain, tlie'ad: ". . .green valley. my fiNt thQught is apt.~ something i)ic,rl!dvocated removal of auto emission controll!)'s- ~as "at,the expense of a irulnefable-pulilic',du'i~:: .

., like: "What a thrill- this sight: niUij}lii!;ve been fot d:i'ttem.!i/ The national.ad, whieh 'stated that' if ing tlii~energy crisis.~ Technical 'data shows' At., those early' settlers when they fitst~covered this i't'ienrlll8fun devi';;'s.-werl! removed.· ..5 billion gal- " that a mass program to 'remove !'r modif;y !'~~-:.t"-.." beautiful valley!"' '. . <, "'~:'J ·~'91oriSofgas"co;;ld.besavedayear.resulting'ina - ilion eontrols;on-'existing cars wouldresult:in:T. . ,WhenleonieacrossoneofthbsehisWiiCalhighway!!;~' r·-.'.· '. 'little'or no net'gain ingasolinesavihgs. "The', 'uui'd<erswhfehstatethat"ih~Ovel'la:i\lI!I'r!1ilcro~ 'Jf",;'I.U.tl.II.r.'. ." ." limy eertain result ... : .would be a,~iljorin~'~.,: this spot." IsJ;Op, and look toward ~lnount8ib.s,to 0:;'(·." '. : ,.... . crease in -emissions -of pollutants 'from' au-t, the· west. ADd I wonder what thosilfil1'i'st trsveleri·:;t¥,::, .',HOW TO PRESERVE' OPEN' SPACE , .tomobil~s.'1 Generm Motors' s,tatemerital~ 8.1-- .L . thOught as they' stD9d upon this .~. Were the~iftY ..•, . C ~:' '.... ...• " " .,' leged tHat lilatiada has legalized. ;J'!lmoval"of-f; .. ~untains;ie:them; a thfug ofbea:u~;or wer~ they' ';f;'<.. ~~ Depa.rtment of4gnC)1ltl',re bas prepared. . . emi88ion.cont~1 equipment. Acoordi~g to EPA!: "1: •jUiitanotherobstsele to,cross? W~N;!tJt>se inen lind;;;~~an~w.report thllt tells~<,i1r :varioU8sta~s are"" that statemen~ is,false. The Canadian posiii~nW,'Wimen eager to see,what lay aliiilcf:.~i'iJ:'iiiadthe Iong:%,!:: tryn,lg to gIVe ,f~rmja'}~>in).dopen spaC(ls, t~ .".. i~ that removafof emission devices "would, n<it'~~ ~ trail btlhlnd ieft them toowe~for anti(ipa- ~fib~e~ forstaymg:':!'}d,t:vel?~d'''-:hete,pol1:, .. 1. 'red\'il:eiuel:~iig~to:anY'significant'exteht. ~ndJ,',tiOii? "'.1', ;,~i'" .' ;!:,>~,"St~~ .ProgranudQr ..t~4!' DitjereI!tl~1 ¥se8l!':~: 'it anmlUvf!i:;..il':i!oe" remove this equiplIlen~ he. ,~').'· ;!:m.e othe~ cfuyali'1 was readinga',$lifidaysupple-;~,J"m~~!ofFarm and Op;~p:Space~and, ~al~~s." maY.lieliailtiJ'f6ra slZ.eable fine'lnaotrte "rtlfe. ',<:,'f :."ii1'81itof the:benverPost,'I came.'.ss an insert"'$·the,al?Proa.cheso~ 38s.~ates., 'l'hereport, I1lim'.(:·~.' I'roVinces."'· ;":'{ - ',',;, ,", ',.', '", ,}?,:.,;.: o:dIititled "Mountain Living." Therea four or five N'lJbeiedcAER 256, 'I~ av~~ble for free fJ:om-the •. "' <" ." : '. , ., ..'., , .' .f,' "'lUtides. buf'lnOlit,ofthll36 pages~ filled With1~iOffi~ofColllmunl~~tl()I1S; U$.D\lpartlll.entof , .' Wlfale, BOJlCQ·t,~;'.' 'advertisements for things designed:t6:tl:fhig ease and .''"::',•..•)\grlc11lture" W.ashmgton, D.C. 20250. . , ,-:". " ~ ",' ,... ,TheNational4,udubonSocietyiscaliingfora!-ti;~:"~t:~~~~:~~::'~fe;'i&::i~:r,: :~~:" i:Ai,.Ti1:liNAT~ EDUCATION': . . " _ genei-sIboycQtton goods mad,dn the Soviet, • , ' ltl:!::~ . ,••" " ,-, ' Union .and :Japallto"Protest r,their needless).',i ~atme.nt. plan.,.,ts.-J>o.:,it'-yourself A- .",~",'"'.s. ModJl1ar ,;"',n.".,, Wan, t, to learn how to,build'a windmilJo,build, . . .. , ."., ' b B dAi~ f, 'I:'( . , 'sla,*htering QI':whales."As first )loops,the con·-;", ~untalUca. I!'". utm08tofth~a",.,~re ()r.m~un"~;,:.~n electric ear or raise dairy,.goat.s? Bet",een ,sertation organizati(ln is dropping,advertise.;" tain condommlUDIs,complete WIth 8l1{i!(mdltlOnmg, ':i; June'.,17 and July 4 the Unnze.rslty of Mas- - mente for Russi.an and Japanese pr<fdu~s from.;, tennis courtS,. sWimming pools anli~i~-aunas.Con- '),:,tsachJl.'"tt,s is offering~eek long course~ inj\lst its mag'l!?ine, Audubon, and has cancelledt~e" .- dominiums - seell\ing1y scattered ,~ughout the ,/~lsuCh :ar.eas. Workshops are held at the Amhe.tst,· . tWQwildlife tours.to Russia and one to Japan itI once almost uninhsbited mountain8'ilj"!ilolorado. , ~"~Mass.;campus and cost $90. Other course offer· . hadsc!Jeduled., for tl;Iis year .. ,..... _' ..t As IthuO-:beci t~~h t~e pages'i.;~mind sud- ':;;l~~,i~CIUd~ o~:~ic ~!U'de~ing, h()7ato ~un a, . . ~Modern whaling· technologyan1lhuge fa.c'!-l, denly started'to,p18y the "pioneer''''Iii'iPe. but this ':,if,' , 'd b~IPdi" ed ~ aquadcu ~~I~\~~ r fnergy . tory ships\J:aveJ5rought flve ofthew'orld~s eighti time, in re"erse. 1 didn't ask myselfi~at did the '_1,}lU. ,~ ng es~~ •.an ur"", •• o~· syste~'species of great", hales close to .extipction. a.ill .~ ~early settleri think:when they first ~ithese moun- .;~~,Fo~,a .:mp~eteK hstin~ !lndtdm;!"\' IDfor~aD't,lO~ the ..other tliree ..species have dwindlecf '81a~; :.•' . tains?" Instelld, I asked; "What wo~ey think if' 1:~~~;~te ~'l1I1"l~ ~ster, o~a. 0D!-0':"'l!w..lVI' _ ingly," said,' an, Audulion spokesman, Russia· 't t;heYS8.wthOiNnnoUJ,1tai~right nowll.<'~.. . :.,<SI01.1-ff Contl!1umg EducatIOn, l!my~rsl!y of anliiJapan .h:e'the only twoi>h¥ing natidrls".\.f -"'I'h!re is no:answ'!r, of ~urse, How (~\!fd those men ~f~;ldaSS8Ch~,: Anili~~t, Masil. 0,1002:. ,thai have refUs(i:dto· acCept whaling'quOt8S se,t .l:· ~ wOp;!~nJl!lI!8iblX,C!Jmp.rehe,:,dan ~'i-co~ditioned ,~i;t; . , CLASSES-IN THE PARK'" :: . by-the Intemation8I· Whali,niconimisslon for. .~'" CimdoDllmum1-Th~tfrontler Wife wbOi:Madcm:efully ,"210ft',.," .. .,' ' ,:," , .. .' the cunent ..Seuiin.... "C ".'

tJ, ' . guarded her ~~hed wood a.ndme~'f.~board on ;";,j,i , ~e Rocky Mlluntain,Nat\lre ,Asso.c.' is offer- ,.;...;.,' .-',;",, __ ~' __ ..... ,,;;,, ,,;;,,__ -,"'t,· .tbI! long trek from tlieeast~ would Sh.t~ally lielieve;!~ingweek long cOurses wit1I optiotuil university." . '1?h~.L8.ndUsePla~ing Act of 1974 (if R" ..j. .' the gurglinll' gyratiollS of an. autolll8lij¢'washer? !If credit,in Rocky MoUntain National Park this'.' ",1(294) is scheduled 'for a floor vote in t~e HoilSe": '; . ,No. there is no ril8l8IllJWer to my ~ary quee- >\:summer. Mo,!ntainecology and elivirolUl\ental' '. "on June 11. Action is needed no", uOOngt . ·tion. But. in !hebl!Ck of my mind~th,'ks a sneaky ..heducation claslies are being !>~red during June, . 'yoUr Representative to supporlth:e' Act." suspicion that those.hardy pioneel'l! w'?u,ld turn away •. j;,.July ·and A~t. For more information write. Faililre'po pasS laiJd uSe planning legislation ati ..to ~k more challenging ~ntiers~ Frontiers worthy ..~; Dwight Hamilton, ~clty' ~ountliin Nature this time will delay any further. consideration of•. of the sweat and hardship they had:end:ured, and . Assoc" Rocky Mountam National Park,.Estes stichl,egisl~tion.forat\eastanotheryearortwo.:' 'more in tune with their sense ofreal';alue. "Park. Golo, 80517. .. '

I. I

..I

• t, , , • , '-', ".,...., ~.

Coal v. Cattle

'Mining Down onthe"~Ranch

-cCarolyn .Alderson looking over the Birney area of Montana where she and her

husband, Irw.run cattle. . '" .'

. by Bruce Hamilton "Carolyn and Irv Alderson, owners and

operators of the Bones Brothers Ranch in Bir-n'ey,Mont" believe that "in the end the produc-tivity of the land is the only material thing onthis earth that can 00 left to .thefuture."

;~~.f~:~tTown~onie<"'coa:l:'~-saY8 ltv,~~~fil.i1rI'· ·aJ.B6·know, that land is the true wealth of this country andthat is why it is, referred to as real estate."Carolyn's ancestor', Oliver Henry Wallop,

-came to Montana 4'roII!'England and later set=-tied in Wyoming and "participated in the build-ing of this state and left his lovely ranch intactand improved to-his beirs," she says, Irv's ances-tor, ZacHary Taylor Cox, "drove a team andwagon 90 miles to Forsyth, Mont, in 1887.1~fileon the water rights to Hanging Woman and the· East Fork of Hanging Woman Creeks" whichstill supply the Bones Brothers Ranch."They did this for all of us although they did

not know us," says Carolyn,' .--, ,, But the Alderson's may not be allowed to passon their ranch to their heirs, The }dyllic

"When you see your ranch under aqueducts inthe triangle of three power plants, you get gal-vanized," says Carolyn. uWe have no choice but I

to fight. Everythingwe are, we.have, is at stake.Our business, our-future, our children's future,even our presentrrrs tied up-with, what happens

'~!-'-with~the~-e(ral~'b·v~· .,{l;1: (!'t"":) '~'~""'" ~ ,,"'<!,

"We'll probably be able}o keep our ranch.Butif our neij:hbors'a,~goJle~'and our water isgone, .and there's thousands of people around us; and.power plants too ~.. well, that's.no way to run aranch;" says Irv.The head of Hanging WOlOOnCreek is, in an

area designated for strip mining" says Irv. "Idon't think Hanging Woman would survivestrip mining because water can't be reclaimed. Idon't want agood court case. Iwant that livestream torun over my meadows in the springtime and water my cows through the fall andwinter months,' and to do the same for myneighbors as it has for many, many years.""We just don't have to ruin any more grazing

and hay land," says Irv, "It's trading off our

,"It is impossible to continue ranching when the hay meadows are 'taken up with trailer settlements, when the range land is strip minedand the ground water is gone." '

, '_: ~ ~ ' , ' 0·.· .· · · ·..•...' ..: Have you considered a gift'Subscription for:tbefellow ",he) borrows- your,~CN? :· ~ . - .· .1 ' Enclosed is $10.00 Please send, High Countrylaws· ro I' l· .· ..· .: ,Na,me. :·' .i 'Street - '\ :o· . :;. city' , "l'St~~ __ ,~'I Zip ~' .__~ .... ~

· ~ " .Please sign the gift; card: 1• \l ,,,. , ~ •· .: 1 " '.', ";. '.'.> .l,j: ,1.;e\JI1? 'h l'iJfe.:':!. <);'jQ 1, il',' ',f.,". '~"'J,;;,nd}", ..' .. t~!...,... :

:" ~, ,; , HlpH C.qUN'l'RY: Nt.w Box K Lander WyO',JllIli2lloJ ,l!1sQ :'.

• plateaus, breaks and valleys around Birneyhave been studied and selected by energy com-, parries, the state of Montana, and the federal" government to be the scene of massive stripmining'and power generation facilities.

tomorrow for someone else's today, and. it isn'tsmart or .goodbusiness in the long run or in theface of a world food shortage." ,"Our land, has produced cattle - the most

(Corrtinued on page 16)

High~~try Nm15Friday, June 7.1974

LOONEY LIMERICKS

, by Zane E ".eoIogy ,..

A sad fact but 'one the world faces=- 'We're running out of earth's sPace's'.The "people boom"Can spell our doom,

'Cause there are no alternative places!

A bill in Congress would.allow income from federaltimber sales in the Lake Tahoe area of Nevada andCalifornia to be used to buy up private property nearthe lake. The bill, introduced by California Reps .

.I John McFall and Harold Johnson would attempt tostem the tide of development of recreational secondhomes in the aeea and preserve "critical scenic,Em-vironmental, and outdoor values." .. ,

A city cannot impose a moratorium on new connec-tions to its water supply because of threatened watershortages, ruled the California Superior Court forMarin County. The court said only an actual water, shortage could justify a moratorium.

-- - .. -Walt Disney Productions is planning a futuristic

experimental city near its Disney World amusementpark in Florida. The group is also tryipg to buy up·land near Lake Tahoe, Calif. to develop a recrea-tional resort at Independence Lake. '

Citing the possibility of.a world food crisis, Iegisla-tion is ,being drafted in the California Assembly 10put a freeze on the commercial development of prime· agricultural land for two years .. u', "" , ,'.

· The Environmental Protection Agency announcedin May that it has tested a steam powered car, thatmeets, for the first time, federal' antipollution stan-dards, But EPA says the engine needs more develop-ment since it only delivers 15 miles pel:' gallon insimulated urban driving.

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader and WisconsinSen. William Proxmire are pushing research on afungus, that could help solve food and energy prob-lems. The fungus was researched during World WarII because it rotted the Army's khaki,.but now itlooks like the same process can be harnessed to helpman. Nader says the fungus could be a key to findingways to produce food sugars and energy from thebreakdown of cellulose,

Good news for the bald eagle. Oregon's 47 activeeagle nests produced 42 young this year.

The Department of Agriculture announced thatcotton boll weevils were virtually eliminated in a5,OOO.square-mile test area in parts of Mississippi,Alabama and Louisianna through integrated eon-trois which used smalllii'nounts of pesticides coupledwith measures such as sex-lure traps and release of'.sterile males. After t;wming the test for two years,scientists found no evidenCe of boll weevil reproduc-tion on ~35 of23&cotton fields. Light infeStation wasfound in <lne"field .on 'tile edge'Of'the' eeit Section.Department officials estimated $275 'lill'iTIon annu-'ally might be saved in cOtton.produCti~Ili:bsts by useofth,e "technicallyfeaaible and ecologically'accepta-ble techniques." '-

" .