Fallout from a former era

Two villages on the Hopi Indian Reservation in northern Arizona are facing a big and dangerous threat to their water supply: uranium contamination. Last month, consultants did a series of studies and found uranium contamination within 100 feet of water supply wells that give drinking water to the village of Lower Moencopi. Contamination is within 2,000 feet of the water supply for the village of Upper Moenkopi. If the contamination hits the water supplies, it would create an emergency. Right now, there isn't a viable solution. The estimated cost to clean up the water is about $38 million. There also is a battle over who is responsible. The uranium leak is from the 1960s when El Paso Corporation move from one mining process to another.

Regained access

The completion of a $1.4 million purchase and transfer of the Kentucky Placer - a 114-acre corridor - will reopen public access to the Bridal Falls near Telluride. The purchase opens one of the state's premier ice-climbing sites. It was made possible by the Trust for Public Lands in partnership with the Town of Telluride and San Miguel County. Telluride and San Miguel County will own the parcel running from Bear Creek Preserve to the falls.

On board to alternative transportation

By early December, the second phase of the Rail Runner Express commuter train should begin operating between Bernalillo (on the northern edge of Albuquerque) to Santa Fe in New Mexico. Officials are extending the commuter train service to the north because the corridor from Albuquerque to Santa Fe has about 50 percent of the state's population and 60 percent of the state's jobs.

Eco-effort in Telluride

The Telluride Ski and Golf Co. has announced a new business division: Telluride Ecotourism. While the company is still exploring ideas of what ecological tourism activities to offer, word is that it may include things such as zip-line tours, backcountry yurt trips and overnight hikes. According to a Sept. 19 press release, the ski resort will follow the criteria set out by the International Ecotourism Society including minimizing impact; building and respecting environmental and cultural awareness; providing positive experiences for both visitors and hosts; providing direct financial benefits for conservation; and providing financial benefits and empowerment for full-time residents.

Animal alert

The Colorado Department of Transportation is testing a high-tech way for drivers to avoid crashes with deer and elk. And any other large, wild animal that may amble its way across the Colorado landscape. CDOT recently put a wildlife detection system in place on U.S. Highway 160, just east of Durango. The agency buried cables along the highway. It ties them to technology where the cable emits an electromagnetic field that can detect the large animals. The information is then transmitted to a module that activates electronic signs warning drivers of the danger on the road.

Bien viaje!

Stephen Allen, 24, of Telluride, left Oct. 15 to pedal his way around the world. The Telluride native expects to be gone about 2½ years on his solo ride. His aim is not to pull off some feat of cycling ability. At least not entirely. Allen has epilepsy. Since he was 15 years old, he has had 10 seizures. Yet he lives an active life despite the disease, and he wants to help step up awareness of medical advancements and raise money to fund research for new treatment and knowledge. As he makes his way across the world, Allen will stop in hospitals, gear shops and college towns to talk about his experience, the disease and to raise money. He created a nonprofit, Seize the World, to help with this project. To learn more about his project and his progress, visit seizetheworld.com.

Return of a western icon

The amazing Book Cliffs in eastern Utah are seeing a return of a long-gone animal: bison. In August, the Ute Tribe Fish and Game released 14 bison in the cliffs, and the agency expects to release 30 more later this year. This creates a new free-roaming herd in Utah. For almost 30 years, the Division of Wildlife Resources has been trying to re-establish bison in eastern Utah. The Ute tribe has been rounding up a herd off the Hill Creek portion of the Ute tribal lands for 10 years to monitor the bisons' health. Wildlife officials knew bison had been living in that area after they found artifacts, horns and skulls in the Book Cliffs and willow drainages. There also are verbal stories, Native American rock art and explorers like Escalante who recorded seeing and hunting bison as a food source while crossing the Uinta Basin. If all goes well, the plan is to introduce 450 of the animals across the north end of the cliffs.

Need a lift?

The Telluride Ski and Golf Co. is expanding its offerings to skiers yet again. This year, the ski area is adding a chairlift in Revelation Bowl. It will eliminate the need for mainly backcountry skiers to hike to Bear Creek. The area is good for skiing but not necessarily safe. For about 10 years, the resort closed Bear Creek to skiers accessing it from the ski area. Now skiers can get there with some help and safety. Davie Riley, CEO of the ski company, says he is exploring the idea of expanding the ski area's boundary to include Bear Creek. That decision isn't likely to come soon. Riley says he'd do it only if the Telluride community gave some sort of indication that it wants the company to manage the area.

Flagstaff pretty

Travel Web site Forbestraveler.com recently released its "Prettiest Towns" list, in which it named 20 places in the U.S. Flagstaff, Ariz., made the list. One of the list's panelists, author Greg Ward, says Flagstaff  combines natural and manmade elements and describes it as a "definitive little Western town, where fine brick buildings on every block hold lively hotels, bars, stores and restaurants, and the majestic San Francisco Peaks soar to the north."

Protective status

The Navajo Nation in northern Arizona has added the bald eagle to the tribe's list of endangered species. That action comes one year after the federal government removed the bird from its list. A zoologist for the tribe says the bald eagle is not thriving on the reservation, even if it is elsewhere in the country.

New home for artifacts

The Hubbell Trading Post in Winslow, Ariz., is getting a makeover. The historic building reopens later this year as the new Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. In it will be a new exhibit, "A Tribute to Tribes & Traders," which will focus on the commercial connections between Native Americans and residents of neighboring communities. Artifacts of the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni and ancestral Puebloans will be on display as well as mercantile equipment that was used by the Hubbell employees, including the original safe and freight scales used for weighing wool and other commodities. Legendary Indian trader Lorenzo Hubbell established his first trading post in Ganado, Ariz., north of Winslow, in 1878. As his enterprise grew, a distribution center was built on the main street in Winslow (on what would become Route 66), with access to the Santa Fe Railroad tracks at the rear of the property.

Fee to see

Beginning Jan. 5, the Bureau of Reclamation will begin charging visitors to tour Glen Canyon Dam. Before the charge takes place, tours have been free. Agency officials say they need to begin charging for tours to offset rising operational costs. The cost will be $5 for adults, with reduced costs for seniors, children and military members. Admission to the visitor center will remain free.

Cultural objections

The Edge of the Cedars State Park in Blanding, Utah, has recently bowed to conservatives wanting to sanitize Native American culture. The Hopi-inspired sculpture is of a hump-backed flute player and is a modern interpretation by local artist Joe Pachak. It had been in front of the park's museum for 19 years. The image the statue depicts - a man announcing the arrival of spring with a flute - is commonly found on rock panels in southern Utah. Tribal elders say the flute player is a Hopi clan symbol that is often confused with the fertility god Kokopelli. So to distinguish the two, they asked the park, the site of an ancient Pueblo Indian ruin, to make the distinction to visitors by making clear its anatomical correctness. But a group of local conservatives objected to the male anatomy and said the phallic symbol has not always been depicted in traditional rock art images and was unnecessary in the sculpture. The first solution was to remove the sculpture from the park. Another group protested that decision on grounds of censorship. Ultimately, park manager Teri Paul decided to move the sculpture to behind the museum so that it cannot be seen from the road.

Talk to the tree

A recent tidbit from The Christian Science Monitor tells of a Santa Fe man who is working with another to listen to trees for clues about climate change and forest infestations. From the Monitor's Oct. 2 edition: "James Crutchfield with the University of California at Davis and David Dunn, who heads the Art and Science Laboratory in Santa Fe, N.M., are listening to trees in their research into the effect of climate change on forest infestations. They described their ongoing work two years ago on the Santa Fe Institute website. The journal Leonardo will carry an updated version. The two found that trees stressed by drought emit sounds pitched too high for human hearing. The researchers suspect that bark beetles detect these sounds and thus locate weakened trees to attack. The beetles also emit ultrasounds with which they communicate among themselves. This, too, may attract more beetles to a tree under attack. Dr. Crutchfield is quoted in Science News as warning that these hypothesizes now need to be thoroughly tested. If true, it may be possible to use ultrasound to divert and confuse the beetles and thus protect vulnerable trees."

Who will be the first? You decide and win.

Each year, ski resorts in North America battle over who will be the first to open for the season. It's a mark of pride to boast about offering skiers and snowboarders the first turns of the season. Among the stiff competition are Colorado ski resorts. Not only does winning mean more people and more dollars, but also it boosts media coverage, which translates into money. For many years, Loveland Ski Area owned the race; it won 11 out of 14 years and tied two of the other three years. Then Arapahoe Basin joined the race and edged out Loveland. It has been a battle brewing each year.

To make it fun for Inside/Outside Southwest readers, the magazine is asking you to guess which Southwest ski area will open first this season. Here is the lowdown. You must select a ski area from one of the following in the magazine's readership area: Durango Mountain Resort, Wolf Creek, Telluride Ski Resort, Santa Fe Ski Area, Taos Ski Resort, Angel Fire Ski Area, Arizona Snowbowl (Flagstaff), Red River Ski Area, Silverton Ski Area, Sipapu Ski Area and Pajarito Mountain.

You must select which ski area will open first and the date it will open (before it opens). E-mail your entries to amy@insideoutsidemag.com along with your name and contact information. The top three winners will receive a hat or T-shirt from Inside/Outside magazine.