crosscut.com : Recreation / Outdoors

A Seattle software exec makes sure that the buffalo don't roam

Crosscut — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:35:01 PDT

In the 19th century, tourists used to slaughter bison herds from passing trains, blasting the big beasts into near extinction just for fun. That ugly tradition is echoed in the recent massacre of buffalo in Colorado, which has also touched off a classic confrontation over rights between two ranchers. The Northwest connection: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's John Cook points out that the man behind the recent massacre is the chairman and CEO of one of Seattle's top software companies, Jeff Hawn of Attachmate. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Another Teton Dam

Crosscut — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:01 PDT

The golden age of dam building has long since passed, capped by the tragic failure in 1976 of the last big dam, an earthen structure on the Teton River of Idaho. Few new dam projects are being proposed these days, and many dams are being purposefully breached. But that hasn't stopped some from resurrecting the possibility of a new Teton Dam.

Fast times and loads of fun, despite expensive gas

Crosscut — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:00:01 PDT

Photo story: Drag racing today is a AAA-sanctioned activity for high school students — on a track, without alcohol, and with plenty of supervision. But high-priced fuel takes a toll.

The Northwest's real fairy tales

Crosscut — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:08:01 PDT

When it comes to Northwest legends, we usually think big: There's Bigfoot, D.B. Cooper's Big Heist, Paul Bunyan and his Big Blue Ox — even the Big White Worm of the Palouse. This tradition goes back. When Jonathan Swift documented Gulliver's travels in the early 1700s, he placed the land of the giants, Brobdingnag, in the Pacific Northwest — somewhere between what we know today as British Columbia and Alaska. But we have our mini-myths, as well. Yes, Northwest giants are fun to think about (remember Olaf?), but take a minute to think about our munchkins.

The Great White hope

Crosscut — Mon, 05 May 2008 07:00:01 PDT

It may be the season for finding big white enigmas. In March, scientists spotted a long-rumored white killer whale in Alaska. Closer to home, researchers who have been pawing the sod in search of the Great White earthworm of the Palouse have come up with some surprising new clues about the elusive and possibly endangered creature. Two recent discoveries, one near Moscow, Idaho, and one near Leavenworth, Wash., suggest that the worms are not only out there, they may live farther afield than previously thought.

Winter in late April

Crosscut — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:53:01 PDT

Up to a foot of snow could fall in the Cascade Mountains over the weekend. And some Snohomish County lowlands are already seeing flakes. This wacky blast of winter has ski areas cheering and farmers worried.

When Proust met Miss Bardahl

Crosscut — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:00:01 PDT

I happened to be down near Seward Park late Thursday morning. Weekdays are usually very quiet along Lake Washington, save on Thursdays when the model plane guys fly their buzzing aircraft over Andrews Bay. But today, I heard the unmistakable roar of the past, a familiar RUH-RHU-RHU-RHU of an old-time hydro. I could see the flying spray of a rooster tail and spotted KIRO's Chopper 7 hovering overhead. As I came around the corner to Stan Sayres pits, a crowd had gathered. There in all her glory was Miss Bardahl, the Green Dragon of hydroplane racing's glory years.

So much talk about so few fish

Crosscut — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:00:01 PDT

The salmon fisheries of the Northwest have spawned a new industry of bureaucrats, lawyers, environmentalists, sport fishers, commercial interests, scientists, and natives, all focused on the absence of fish. Meanwhile, four sockeye returned last summer to a lake in Idaho once teeming with tens of thousands.

Go fish: The government's answer to depleted stocks

Crosscut — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:00:01 PDT

While officials are calling for a moratorium on commercial salmon fishing along much of the West Coast, they're opting for a different tactic in Puget Sound: continued fishing.

Scaling that summit could cost you a few brain cells

New West — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:01 PDT

Often joked about in the mountain-climbing world, the aftereffects of oxygen deprivation is no laughing matter, as they may point to long-lasting symptoms. A recent study suggests that climbing to high altitudes may cause irreversible brain damage.

Conspicuous Seattle

Crosscut — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A town of modest pleasures has become a city of cringe-inducing excess, even in the little things like coffee, booze, and movie tickets.

Sharing a sense of place when change is fast-paced

New West — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:01 PDT

A definition of the Western landscape varies according to individual economic, social, and recreational values. Here's a look at how our Western neighbors foster a shared sense of place across differing perspectives.

It's stormy, and the Pacific coast beckons

Crosscut — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:00:01 PDT

While it's customary for Northwesterners to flock to the beach in summer, an off-season visit stays with you longer.

The new Seattle Center: light on the vision thing

Crosscut — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:00:01 PDT

The new master plan for the signature park near the center of the city creates more open space and adds some good amenities, but it keeps the awkward Center House and proposes a living-together arrangement with school football teams.

Do we need guns at Paradise?

Crosscut — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:00:01 PST

Some Northwest lawmakers have pushed the Bush administration to allow visitors to carry loaded guns in our national parks. It gives backpacking a whole new meaning.

A beleaguered Forest Service cancels reorganization

Crosscut — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:00:01 PST

The once mighty Forest Service has fallen on hard times in recent decades, ever since the downturn in the timber industry, from which much of its budget and clout derived, and it has been hit by accusations of shoddy science under the Bush administration. The latest chastening arrived this week: According to an agency memo released by the whistleblower group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Forest Service is quietly shelving an ambitious plan to restructure its operations, conceived as part of Bush administration efforts to outsource government functions to the private sector.

Clear-cutting the Fun Forest

Crosscut — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:01 PST

Seattle Center's Fun Forest will most likely shut down before the end of the year. It's the city's only amusement park, and in losing it we risk taking ourselves too seriously.

Where the wild things aren't

Crosscut — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:00:01 PST

Briana Waters is on trial in Tacoma for her alleged role in the 2001 arson at the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture. It was one of a number of incidents of vandalism in the Northwest attributed to Earth Liberation Front's campaign to rid the world of things that aren't "wild." So what is wild?

Palm Springs not so eternal

Crosscut — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:47:01 PST

Taking advantage of a long weekend, I took the Crosscut Gulfstream V*** to Palm Springs, Calif., where page one in the Desert Sun is a water fight related to the the sinking Coachella Valley.

Here's the paragraph that caught my attention:

Studies have shown groundwater overuse is causing subsidence, the literal sinking of the valley, which if left unchecked could cause millions in infrastructure damage to buildings, pipelines and roads.

As the snow goose flies

Crosscut — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:01 PST

A trip to Skagit Valley reminds us of what we've lost — and what we still have.