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Show seemed like a lot of work to drag out all that equipment for ' such a dinky little rescue. My fellow ranger Salamacha and I proposed the use of aluminum ladders, but our superiors said it Was an improper rescue technique. And once, when a kid stranded himself on a ledge just ten feet up and near a large juniper, Salamander and I encouraged him to jump. "For cryin’ out loud," Mike yelled up to the boy, "the * tree’ll break your fall. You’re looking at nothing but a few cuts and scratches. Broken ankle tops." But he wouldn’t do it. That was all small potatoes, compared to the risks the Grand County Search & Rescue Team encounters nowadays. I don’t think I have the proper attitude to rescue a BASE jumper. One of Moab’s BASE guys once told me that his he flashed a twisted grin and said, "Whoa DUDE! What a rush!" “soaring like a hawk." When IJ told him he Those guys just don’t have a sense of humor. And when we were dealing with the likes of him, neither did we. EDITORIAL DILEMMAS To write or not to write. That is the dilemma. More a few times in the last 14 years, I’ve had to decide if a was worth telling, or better left alone. Shining light on issues can often make things worse. And sometimes, I than story some have to hope that in the long run, the story will do more good than harm. A few years ago, | received solid information from a National Park Service ranger that an NPS employee was deer hunting inside the park and that it was perfectly legal. He explained that on Utah State School Sections, park rules and regulations were void and that this employee was taking advantage of that loophole to get his buck. He was even reportedly leaving salt blocks inside the park to the lure deer. If I reported the story, I was potentially informing hundreds of deer hunters about a new untapped hunting ground. If I didn’t report it, I knew at least one mule deer inside a national park was not going to live past October. National Park’s a similar dilemma. But this time, the 4...... LHE RAZOR'S EDGE... Jrom the Heath Monitor Files Impacts from residential development. Zephyrs at BOOMER’! Looking back--I3 years ago in The Zephyr need to inform the public outweighed similar concerns that I wrestled with right up to press day. If an agency of the federal government, mandated to protect wilderness lands, needs to rely on the ignorance of the public to compensate for inadequate regulations, then the policy is the weakest link, not the reporting of it. Several circumstances have combined to create the current breach at Arches, most of it the doing of NPS personnel who no longer work there, and in this case, the US Congress. The NPS staff now dealing with the problem have, for the most part, inherited it. I hope they have the foresight to correct these loopholes--for the park’s sake. Jim Stiles can be reached at: jimostiles@yahoo.com NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS If your mailing label indicates a: 8/02 OR 9/02 your subscription is ABOUT TO EXPIRE! You should have received or you should soon receive a renewal notice. In order to avoid an interruption in your subscription we must receive your renewal before 13... THE SILVER BULLET By Scott Silver: Why “wilderness?” Ask the Wilderness Society? Fees UP... Visitation DOWN. What does Udall think of Fee Demo? I5..... HERB RINGER'S AMERICAN WEST Life at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, 1949 wth SPECIAL SECTION ae NEW EXTREME SPORTS! For Moab in the 2Ist century! By Jim Stiles Bi-Pedal Chicken! Oral Bolt Pulling! BASS Jumping! Colonic Floss Tug-O-War! Body Pierce Belaying! 22... Looking Back: LADDERING! : A 199 reprise of an up G coming sport... By Jim Stiles 26...MY OLD MAN: THE URANIUM KING #4 The final chapter (for now) in the Saga of Charlie Steen By Mark Steen weak climbing policy and its lax commercial permitting system presented August/September 2002 9... THE HEART of the DROUGHT Photographs of SE Utah as it struggles to survive the worst drought in its history. should try it without the chute, ] never heard from him again. Ultimately, I didn’t write the story. This issue’s article about Arches ZEPHYR Volume 14 Number 3 6..... POINTBLANK "What did you ‘do" today?" By Bob Novellino and NEW WEST BLUES By Jim Stiles " Thinking Outside the BOX?" The moment he was safe, the terror left his face, sport resembled THE 30... ARCHES and LOOPHOLES and the NPS A weak climbing policy 6 permitting loopholes do the Arches backcountry a disservice. By Jim Stiles 33... THE ZEPHYR BACKBONE REPERTORY CO. ‘Canyoneering in 2040 AD" 34.... AROUND THE BEND AGAIN The Early History of Pack Creek Ranch By Ken Sleight 37..... FEEDBACK: SUBSCRIBE TO THE ZEPHYR SIX ISSUES (ONE YEAR): $15.. TWELVE ISSUES (TWO YEARS): §28 EIGHTEEN ISSUES (THREE YEARS): $40 NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE 6 9-DIGIT ZIP SEPTEMBER 15, 2002 We cannot include back issues with a bulk mailing. ZEPHYR@MOCI.NET AND THE WEB SITE WWW. CANYONCOUNTRYZEPHYR.COM PLEASE READ THIS! The Post Office will NOT forward 3rd Class mail. If you do not send us a change of address, we cannot be responsible for issues you did not receive. Subscriptions must begin with the next issue. Back issues are available at ridiculous prices. Call for a price list. Those readers who choose to take advantage of the multi-year discounts do so at their own risk. There is no guarantee that the world will be here in three years, let alone this publication. - CHECKS OR MONEY ORDERS ONLY TO: a P.O. BOX 327, MOAB, UT 84532 |