| Jun 28, 2023 | Environment / Health|HP SubfeaturedWhen you think of Americans whose music has made a lasting difference, you might think of Scott Joplin, Woody Guthrie, Maybelle Carter, Harry Belafonte … or Roger Payne. Who? I came across Payne in a June obituary reporting that he’d died at age 88. Yes, I...
| Nov 10, 2021 | Environment / HealthThis week, while watching an online panel about grizzly bears, I noticed something that encapsulates a larger issue in this country. Grizzly bears aren’t COVID vaccines or abortion, but in the Northern Rocky Mountains, they are a culture war issue. I’m a sociologist,...
| Mar 10, 2021 | Environment / Health|Food / FarmingIn late February, Wisconsin held a wolf hunt. Hunters shot over 200 wolves — 82 percent more than the quota allowed. The hunt occurred during wolves’ breeding season. It’s likely some of the wolves were pregnant, but we don’t know how many. As a result, the effect on...
| Jan 22, 2020 | Environment / Health|HP SubfeaturedI grew up in Michigan — a place with many deer and very few wolves to keep their populations in-check. Flawed wildlife management decisions caused our wolf numbers to plummet decades ago. While gray wolves are historically native to the state, the only place I’ve seen...
| Feb 20, 2019 | Environment / HealthA lot has been written lately about the possibility of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This is hardly new. In 2001, as George W. Bush and his Interior Secretary Gail Norton were pushing to open up the Refuge, a photographer friend and I flew...