Research
Reports
The Mining Law of 1872: Digging a Little Deeper
The 1872 Mining Law, which governs the transfer of rights to mine gold, silver, copper, uranium and other hardrock minerals from federal lands, is the subject of continuing and sometimes rancorous controversy.
Back to the Future to Save Our Parks
Our national parks are in trouble. Their roads, historic buildings, visitor facilities, and water and sewer systems are falling apart. What has gone wrong?
Priming the Invisible Pump
Rain and snow may be falling today, but throughout the world, people continually fear the threat of water shortages. Is there too little water for the world's growing population? Are we running out of water?
Environmental Federalism: Thinking Smaller
Change is in the air. After a century of growing national control, Americans are rethinking the role of the federal government vis-à-vis the states. This reconsideration has led to welfare reform and to a nationwide debate over education. Now it is beginning to focus on environmental policy, too.
Community-Run Fisheries: Avoiding the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’
In spite of years of governmental restrictions on gear, catch, and seasons, fishers are over exploiting the once-productive resource their livelihoods depend on.
Conservation Native American Style
Over the past three decades, the environmental movement has promoted a view of American Indians as the "original conservationists"—that is, "people so intimately bound to the land that they have left no mark upon it."
Superfund: The Shortcut That Failed
Nearly twenty years ago, homeowners around Love Canal, an abandoned waste site in Niagara Falls, New York, found chemicals leaking into their homes. Crude health studies suggested that the chemicals might have caused serious diseases and genetic problems. The State of New York declared a public health emergency. Soon, Love Canal, "toxic waste," and "ticking time bombs" became household words.
Turning a Profit on Public Forests
Each year, at least fifty national forests managed by the Forest Service lose money on their timber sale programs. To some critics, these programs represent an environmental travesty and a classic example of corporate welfare.
The Endangered Species Act: Making Innocent Species the Enemy
It is increasingly clear that Congress will amend the Endangered Species Act. For one thing, property rights groups, who are important constituents of the new Republican Congress, are outraged at the power the Act gives federal agents to control landowners' use of their property. For another, the Act isn't working well to save species.