How the West Was Won: The Sage + Westies Photo Essay

Image by Spayne Martinez. On February 18, 2010 in Salem, Oregon, Jeff Mitchell, representative of the Klamath Tribes makes a speech to the stakeholders and their constituents, Oregon and California Governors Kulongoski and Schwarzenegger, PacifiCorp President Greg Abel, and over 30 different groups of people before the signing of the KBRA (Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement). After many years of disagreement, this historic event marked an agreement to share the water between farmers and fish and also to move forward with the largest Dam Removal and Salmon Recovery Project in the world to bring the salmon back up the river into the Klamath basin streams! The removal of four hydroelectric dams will pave the way in restoring the Klamath river and allowing salmon back into the streams of Southern Oregon and Northern California. The dams currently block the upper Klamath River, completely cutting off the natural flow of the salmons journey into the upper Klamath Basin.

Image by Sarah King. Bill Zeedyk, retired Forest Service wildlife biologist, teaches volunteers how the low-tech sytem of induced meandering stabilizes and restores eroding gully systems at a hands-on erosion control workshop in the Altar Valley, southwest of Tucson, Arizona. The volunteers helped to install rock structures that harvest upland rainwater flows to arrest erosion in order to restore watershed surface hydrological function and promote vegetation for wildlife and livestock. The Altar Valley Conservation Alliance organized the workshop as part of a demonstration project that addressed rapidly escalating erosion problems on the boundary fenceline between the Elkhorn and Las Delicias Ranches. The Alliance is a collaborative conservation organization of ranchers and agriculturalists working together with their partners to conserve the Altar Valley, an approximately 600,000 acre watershed, for future generations.

Image by Mike Perlmutter/Shaun Dardenelle. Canary Island St. John’s wort (Hypericum canariense) is a noxious weed in California, and a high priority eradication target by the Bay Area Early Detection Network (BAEDN). The plant easily grows to 10 feet tall in dense single species stands. It is highly invasive elsewhere, but California has just a few occurrences along the coast from San Diego to Marin. Most of the populations are small and BAEDN is collaborating with partners on eradication efforts. By far the largest infestation is on the San Mateo coast near Año Nuevo State Park, where a large stretch of high quality coastal scrub habitat has been invaded. Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), California State Parks, and San Mateo Resource Conservation District worked to control and contain this “mothership” population, with additional support contributed by BAEDN, San Mateo Weed Management Area and Agricultural Commissioner, California Department of Food and Agriculture, the US Forest Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service San Francisco Bay Coastal Program, and a private landowner. This image by Shawn Dardenelle shows contractors from Go Native Inc. treating Canary Island St. Johns wort along the San Mateo coastline.

Image by Kyle Meister. Mike Jani, CEO of Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC), is photographed during the certification evaluation for the Forest Stewardship Council - less than one year after HRC took over after PALCO. The forester in the center is John Woessner, who transferred from Mendocino Redwood Company to HRC. The activist, Amy, was out with an increment borer identifying 'bastard' old growth trees so that HRC would not cut them down. HRC's policy is that if they accidentally cut down old growth, that it must remain on the job site. This creates an incentive to ID the stuff prior to harvest. So Mike had a collaborative relationship with Amy and allowed her and her husband to go out and ID some potential old growth trees. Later, HRC foresters took this over once they understood the behavior of redwood in this area. 'Bastard' old growth refers to redwood that was suppressed for hundreds of years before the first harvest in the area, likely 50-100 years ago. Redwood is a highly plastic species and can hang on for a long time just waiting to be released.

Image by Stephen Brooks.

Image by Darcy Dugan.

Image by Larry Rogero. This picture is from a backpacking and mountain bike trip in North Dakota through Theodore Roosevelt National Park: a sunrise with the Little Missouri River in the background, which we crossed later that morning. It’s interesting to note that today oil and gas development is booming all around the park. During our trip we only saw a scattering of [drilling] pads.

Image by Noah Walker. A snow-less half dome, shot in January 2012 in Yosemite National Park. No snow in the Sierras meant poor December and January skiing this year, but it meant empty trails and a snow-less Yosemite Valley in midwinter.

Image by Dan Constable. "Forest Management". In World War II this area in southeast Alaska was clearcut and used to house troops. Now a national historic park, it serves as a reminder of cultural heritage and resource management. The US Forest Service left this portion unmanaged, while thinning a neighboring area. Trees in this unmanaged section remain small and spindly over half a century later.

Image by Erin Derrington. A stunning geological record of the Missoula Floods from the last Ice Age, roughly 13-15,000 years ago, and an important part of the recently implemented Interpretive Master Plan for Ice Age Floods (IMPAF) in Washington's State Parks, at Dry Falls. The IMPAF is the first step in an effort to develop a network of interpretive park units, Scenic Byways, and museums across the four states - MT, ID, WA, and OR. These efforts provide an example of utilizing coordinated interagency planning to achieve conservation goals and public outreach objectives, an approach which is supporting cooperative stewardship efforts across the West.

Image by Matthew Strausser. The Skilak Glacier rolls out from the Harding Icefield on the Kenai Peninsula. The glacier falls within the protection of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and is part of the congressionally designated Kenai Wilderness, yet this high level of legal protection does not protect the glacier from the changing climate. The glacier’s recession is evident on the scoured valley walls that have been buried under ice for hundreds of years.

Image by Austin Lord. A legacy from earlier logging days alongside the mountain biking trails on Mt. Galbraith in Bellingham, Washington, shot in spring 2011. The trails have since become hotly contested as ownership and use rights for the land have changed - accomodating landholders come under financial pressure, new owners seek to restrict bike access, the bike population of Bellingham opposes.

Image by Austin Lord. A fifteen foot cornice in the Northern Rockies holding out in August on the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana. Shot in 2009.

Image by Stella Cousins. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides),one of the world's most widespread tree species, ranges from Alaska east to Newfoundland and south to Arizona and New Mexico. Recently, episodes of rapid dieback in mature aspen stands have increased, particularly in the southern Rocky Mountains. Drought and rising temperatures, acting in combination with other environmental and biological factors, are the likely cause. This thriving stand is found on the shores of Patricia Lake near Jasper, Alberta.

Image by Michael Finney. Overgrown Ponderosa Pine forests are referred to as dog-hair stands because the tree's close proximity to one another and dark color resemble the fur on a dogs back. The mountains around Flagstaff, Arizona, used to be covered with the tall and healthy forests of widespread old growth Ponderosa, which are red and fire resistant. Ironically, because of the work done to suppress forest fires as well as other factors like livestock grazing, forest health began to decline and the dog-hair pines grew increasingly thick. This modification of the ecology of the Colorado Plateau lead to large buildups of organic waste creating ideal conditions for severe forest fires. The Schultz fire - pictured here - burned 15,075 acres.

Image by Anthony Clark. On my first visit to Yellowstone in 1998, I was greeted by vast swaths of burned out landscape. Twelve years later I returned to find fire-sprouted trees surging among the charred remains of their forebearers.

Image by Austin Lord. A message from one traveler to another, scrawled on the makeshift mirror at Bagby Hot Springs in the Mt. Hood National Forest. The message, "Look at yourself. Please respect this place," is in response to accumulated trash near this improved hot springs tucked away in the old growth forest of the west Cascades; the forest itself in the background reinforcing the message. Shot in 2010.

Image by Citlali Cortes Montano. Cascada de Basaseachi - the tallest perennial waterfall in México, located in Parque Nacional Cascada de Basaseachi, Cañón de Candameña, municipio de Ocampo. The Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOc) is the largest non-designated "wilderness" left in México. It comprises some of the largest roadless areas (such as the Tasahuinora canyon) in the country, which are very important wildlife corridors for all kinds of species, including endangered mammals like jaguars, ocelots, black bears, or birds such as green macaws or thick-billed parrots. The SMOc is where all the important rivers that drain to the east (Río Bravo/Grande) and west (Yaqui, Mayo, Fuerte) originate. Some of the upper tributaries are still free-flowing rivers that have populations of endemic fishes, such as trout (some still in process of being described). These rivers are also crucial for agriculture, industry and urban development throughout northern México. Some of these forests have maintained frequent fires (data shows that they burn, on average, once every ~8 years). Incidentally, Aldo Leopold discussed the beauty and overall health of the ecosystems of northern Chihuahua in his Song of El Gavilán.

Image by Benjamin Goldfarb. A helicopter battles a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park. Scientists think that climate change could increase the frequency of Yellowstone's fires over the next century, potentially turning many of its forests to grasslands.

Image by Citlali Cortes Montano. El Gigante – the tallest vertical rock wall in México, located in Cañón de Candameña, municipio de Ocampo. The Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOc) is the largest non-designated "wilderness" left in México. It comprises some of the largest roadless areas (such as the Tasahuinora canyon) in the country, which are very important wildlife corridors for all kinds of species, including endangered mammals like jaguars, ocelots, black bears, or birds such as green macaws or thick-billed parrots. The SMOc is where all the important rivers that drain to the east (Río Bravo/Grande) and west (Yaqui, Mayo, Fuerte) originate. Some of the upper tributaries are still free-flowing rivers that have populations of endemic fishes, such as trout (some still in process of being described). These rivers are also crucial for agriculture, industry and urban development throughout northern México. Some of these forests have maintained frequent fires (data shows that they burn, on average, once every ~8 years). Incidentally, Aldo Leopold discussed the beauty and overall health of the ecosystems of northern Chihuahua in his Song of El Gavilán.

Image by Austin Lord. The Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the United States and emblematic of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Its famous range of colors is created by a balance between mineral content and colonizing extremophile bacteria - the extremely fragile nature of this area contributed to the iconic decision to create the park, America's first.

Image by Stephen Brooks. Improved partnerships between private landowners and federal agencies are playing an increasingly important role in the conservation of rangeland out west. Above, a deep canyon separates private property and federally-managed BLM land near Madras, Oregon.

Image by Austin Lord. Looking into the canopy in the Opal Creek Ancient Forest, an incredible resource at the center of the Opal Creek Wilderness in Oregon - the first preserve to carry that designation and the site of the famed spotted owl controversy. Shot in 2009.

Image by Tania Ellersick. I extracted over 200 tree cores as part of my research project comparing fire-regulated stands in the first collaborative old-growth restoration project on the Colville National Forest. This study builds upon my previous work with the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, an alliance of timber companies, conservationists, business owners, and forestry professionals. It is estimated that only 3-15% of pre-Euro-American settlement levels of old growth Ponderosa pine east of the Cascade Crest remain. The success of the coalition has led to a recent award from the U.S. Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. This award will assist in the restoration of watersheds on the Colville National Forest, which provides vital habitat for black bear, cougar, bobcat, wolverine, pine marten, lynx, bighorn sheep, moose, elk, gray wolves, grizzly bear, and the only population of woodland caribou in the continental U.S.

Image by Erin Clark. The Invenergy wind energy site in Montana's Judith Gap on a summer day. Invenergy develops, owns, and operates large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation facilities across North America and Europe. Its Judith Gap site contributes to Montana's current 386-megawatt commercial wind turbine capacity and capitalizes on Montana's ranking among the top five states for wind power potential. In 2009, more than 3% of electricity generated in Montana came from wind sources.

Image by Annie O’Sullivan. Lava Lake Ranch is a conservation organization based near Sun Valley, Idaho that sells grassfed lamb in an effort to fund conservation and restoration efforts on a nearly one million acre landscape. Every summer, Peruvian shepherds live in these sheep camps and guide bands of sheep along the green up through the mountains of central Idaho. The ranch raises many important environmental questions. Aren't sheep and conservation antithetical? How should public lands be used? Can a new model of conservation sustainably fund itself? Can environmentalists use an ancient business in combination with modern technology and science to change western land management?

Image by Michael Finney. Water use is the primary environmental concern for the majority of the American southwest. Large desert cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson rely heavily on reservoirs and the canals, which transport water throughout deserts like highways. Open canals are a constant reminder of the struggle to keep water flowing to the urban populations living the in deserts, as well as the major agricultural systems that produce much of the United States' vegetable crop.

Image by Dan Constable. "Land of Mines and Ranches". The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode is credited with a population boom here, ultimately resulting in Nevada's statehood in 1864. A boom of another type has taken place in Las Vegas. Once a small farming town, the metropolitan area has mushroomed to nearly two million people, taxing water resources in this arid region.

Image by Leah Butler. The collapsing remnants of the Humboldt Smelter, which processed ore from Arizona's numerous silver, copper, and gold mines until the 1960s. While once a major contributor to the local economy, it now sits as a bulls-eye within more than 300 acres of contaminated soils as part of a designated Superfund Site that awaits cleanup.

Image by Shane Hetzler. This photo was taken at dusk on a rock promontory in Washington State’s Goat Rocks Wilderness with Mt. Adams in the background. Funding for federal wilderness programs across the country has steadily declined over the years, leaving federal land management agencies to rely on volunteer groups and non-profits in part to fulfill their stewardship responsibilities.

Image by Dan Constable. Erected in 1928 by the American Green Cross in Glendale, California, this statue implores residents to conserve their forests. An engraving below the statue reads, "The Forest is the Mother of the Rivers."

Image by Austin Lord. In the San Gabriel Mountains, a severe dust closed this pass after fires swept through the area, near the frontier of development in the mountains just outside outside the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, California. Shot in 2009.

Image by Leah Butler. An old baby's doll emerges from the Tuba City Open Dump, an unlined and unregulated municipal disposal site on Hopi and Navajo lands. Groundwater beneath the site contains high levels of uranium that threatens the local drinking water supply. Tribal members, regulators, and operators struggle to locate the source of the contamination and ponder connections with the nearby uranium mill and the thousands of abandoned uranium mines scattered across the Navajo Nation.

Image by Ariel Patashnik. Impoundments like this one dot the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming. These small ponds hold water produced by coalbed methane extraction. This water, which must be pumped from deep aquifers in order to access gas, is often saline or otherwise unsuitable for agriculture and wildlife. Disposing of the water without contaminating shallow aquifers or disturbing stream flows and water quality is one of the biggest challenges involved in coalbed methane extraction. Building impoundments is a common strategy, though not without its problems. The Bureau of Land Management plays a large role in permitting and monitoring this extraction of federal mineral in the Powder River Basin.

Image by Stephen Brooks.

Image by Elyzabeth Earnley. I spent three and a half years in San Antonio advocating for greater protection of the city's sole source aquifer for 1.2 million South Texans. The limestone aquifer is porous and vulnerable to surface pollution, and it recharges just north of downtown in a rapidly developing area. Every week I spoke out at City Council hearings on the particularly scarring form of development taking place with no regard to the natural resource buried beneath. One day I brought pictures. This photo is of an area once part of the foothills of the Hill Country, a region of reserved beauty, rolling hills covered in live oak and ash juniper, and charismatic inhabitants such as armadillos, roadrunners, and golden-cheeked warblers. On a spring evening you swing slowly, warmed by a southern breeze sweet with huisache blossom, while various croaks and chirps are a reminder of what else is there. It's a dry landscape that's developed over years of slow accumulation, sustained only by the limited quantities of water stored underground. Texas may be known for its oil, but water is its most precious resource.

Image by Kyle Joly. Though virtually extirpated in the contiguous States, caribou have flourished in Alaska. However, the Arctic is rapidly changing. Climate change and industrialization threaten caribou habitat and migratory patterns, which can involve circuits of nearly 2,000 miles. Here, two bulls swim across the Kobuk River. Their hollow hair, wide hooves and powerful legs make them very buoyant and strong swimmers.

Image by Alisa May.

Image by Jim Lawler. Muskoxen were extirpated from Alaska in the 1800s, then reintroduced in the 1970s. In western Alaska, muskoxen populations have fared well, however, climate change may threaten this Arctic-adapted species. Icing events, which are predicted to increase, could "lock away" winter forage and loss of sea ice has the potential to increase storm surges that may have claimed a large band of muskoxen in a western Alaska National Park in 2011.

Image by Maya Kane. This photo is from a project documenting the effects of mountain lion predation on endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. The mountain lion is wearing a GPS collar to help scientists get a better sense of predator-prey dynamics in the region.