USDA Forest Service

Bryan Teague Got Off Easy in 2011 Firearms Case, Started 5,220-Acre Fire in Tonto Forest Months Later

Bryan Teague of Peoria, the suspect in a 5,220-acre wildland fire east of the Valley in August, has been thrown in prison several times for his persistent drinking and driving since 2000. Being a prohibited possessor, he wasn't allowed to own or carry a firearm when he wandered around 29th Avenue a ... More >>

Bryan Teague of Peoria Accused of Starting 5,220-Acre "Mistake Peak Fire" With Propane Tank in Tonto National Forest

Putting a propane tank in a campfire turns out to be an even stupider idea than we thought. After Bryan J. Teague of Peoria put a 16-ounce tank in a campfire on August 8 while on an off-roading trip in the Tonto National Forest, the predictable explosion sparked the 5,220-acre "Mistake Peak Fire," ... More >>

Worst "Bath Salts"/"Spice" Tale From Yavapai County (Part 2)?

See also: "Bath Salts" Tales From Yavapai County, Part 2See also: "Bath Salts" Tales From Yavapai County, Part 1 See also: Bath Salts: Our Told-Ya-So Moments on "Ban" Continue See also: Naked Men in Tempe High on Bath Salts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.Last week, we brought you the second half of the ... More >>

Bath Salts/Spice Tales From Yavapai County, Part Two: Calvin's Naked Hostage Situation

See also: "Bath Salts" Tales From Yavapai County, Part 1See also: Bath Salts: Our Told-Ya-So Moments on "Ban" ContinueSee also: Naked Men in Tempe High on Bath Salts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.As the Yavapai County Attorney's Office filed for a restraining order against county businesses to prevent ... More >>

"Bath Salts" Tales From Yavapai County: "That's the Car That Raped My (Imaginary) Daughter"

See also: Bath Salts: Our Told-Ya-So Moments on "Ban" ContinueSee also: Naked Men in Tempe High on Bath Salts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3It appears that Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk may have found a way to ban the sale of all the synthetic drugs known as "bath salts" or "spice."The Legislatur ... More >>

Ted Nugent: We Spoke to Him Right Before That Controversial Obama Rant

See also: Ted Nugent's Still a "Special Deputy" to Sheriff Joe Arpaio (2012) See also: Ted Nugent Talks Guns, Meth, and Hippies Before NRA Convention in Phoenix (2009) Ted Nugent doesn't need much of an introduction. To put it lightly, he's intimidating. It has nothing to do with him being so outsp ... More >>

James Reich of Sedona Hiking Adventures Sentenced to Jail and Probation for Illegal Guide Service

Image: www.sedonahikingadventures.comJames Reich, owner of Sedona Hiking Adventures, has been sentenced to two days in jail for running an illegal guide service on national forest lands.​ A Sedona-based hiking guide has been sentenced to two days in jail and is banned from national forests for ... More >>

John McCain's Bigotry Earns Hashtag, Near-Universal Ridicule, Help from Bigot-Boy Sheriff

TwitterNo hash pipe for McCain, but his stupidity has scored him his own hashtagGuess I've heard the last from U.S. Senator John McCain's haughty, over-paid flack Brooke Buchanan.Yesterday, in the midst of a PR meltdown that's turned McCain (once again) into a political laughingstock, his office iss ... More >>

Six Structures Lost in Greer to Wallow Fire; Weather Conditions a Slight Improvement for Firefighters

​Greer lost six structures last night to the still-growing Wallow fire, but weather conditions are expected to improve today for firefighters.A U.S. Forest Service spokesman said the blaze, for now, is holding to its eastern borders."It did push into some structures last night, but we were able to ... More >>

Dead Body Found in Burning Truck at Tonto National Forest

Gila County Sheriff's Office An unidentified dead body was found in this truck after fire officials extinguished a blaze that burned it to a crisp.​When authorities from the U.S. Forest Service and Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to a report of a fire off a Forest Service road ... More >>

Hot Links: ID Theft, Hoover Dam, and Black Bears

The Arizona Department of Economic Security is warning clients in DES' Early Intervention Program of possible identity theft. After two backup hard drives were stolen from a Phoenix storage facility last October, the department sent out 65,000 letters to warn people of identity theft. Ten thousand o ... More >>

Yuma Man Charged in 2008 Crown King Fire; Former National Park Services Employee Set Signal Fire

Image: WikipediaCrown King Saloon A former National Park Services employee is being charged by the federal government for leaving a fire unattended that grew out of control and spurred the evacuation of Crown King, a small, mountain town northwest of Phoenix. The "Lane 2" fire burned nearly 10,000 ... More >>

Sacred Hypocrisy

Navajos say making Snowbowl snow from reclaimed water is "genocide." Please!

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Smoke Gets in Their Eyes

Dry ice missiles? Bomb the mountains? Phoenicians come up with some wacky plans for snuffing out the fires.

Bye Bye Birdie

An endangered bird is thriving in the dry bottom of Roosevelt Lake. Too bad it's in the way of water for Phoenix.

Rec Room

Squeezed out by developers and environmentalists, recreational users gird for a rumble in the desert.

Wolfing Down Beef

A Mexican gray wolf pack learns to kill cattle and loses its freedom

Flashes

Forest Grump

A prominent Southwestern environmental group is at the center of a squirrelly federal lawsuit

Flashes

Legacy or Sham?

The Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution has been established in Mo Udall's name. Would he even like it?

Balancing Act

Western governors conference weighs pros and cons of environmental policy

Forest Chump

The Treasure of Spur Cross Ranch

Saving Private Interests

John McCain says he wants to save Spur Cross Ranch. Has he really gone Green, or is he just scrounging for greenbacks from a Cincinnati fat cat?

Rainbow Warriors

Government gears up for an onslaught of Flower Children

Cleaning the Creek

A mining company mucks out its own mess at Pinto Creek

Snow Clouds Over the San Francisco Peaks

Like some weather cycle, the battle between skiers and Native American religion returns to Arizona Snowbowl

Flashes

Letters

Government by Litigation

Increasingly, public officials ignore laws they're paid to uphold. Citizens and interest groups regularly drag these same bureaucrats into court, trying to ensure that the laws of the land are enforced. But now even the courts, once bastions of authority,

Flashes

Cow Punchers

Ranching takes a blow in the courts, an uppercut to the bottom line and a jab in the marketplace

MisJudged

U.S. District Court Judge Carl Muecke ruled on the letter of the law, but his liberal views and tough courtroom style made him the judge that conservatives love to hate

Hayden High School Had a Farm, E-I-E-I-O

The Center for Agribusiness and Equine Science was supposed to help desegregate the Phoenix Union High School District. Now the same lawsuit that created it is shutting it down.

Flashes

Pining for Justice

Once again, a legal effort aims to compel the Forest Service to follow its own logging rules

Owl See You in Court

From spikedaces to spotted owls, the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity has logged the legal system and rewritten the book on environmental activism

Silver Versus Shadegg. Rad.

A battle of GOP extremes pits environmentalist Robin Silver against conservative Congressman John Shadegg

Time to Burn

Is the Lone Fire a preview of California-style infernos to come?

Crime Me a River

A Salt River rafter rides a torrent of legal and financial troubles

Whats the Cost of Elk? Maybe $10,000.

Secretive group considers letting ranchers charge for elk hunting on public land

NO MINER CONSIDERATION

A CANADIAN MINING COMPANY WANTS TO DIG A 300-ACRE HOLE BEHIND DONNA GOODALE'S HOUSE. ALTHOUGH MOST ALL OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES INVOLVED THINK IT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA, THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO STOP THE EXCAVATION.

SYMINGTON'S PLAN TO GUT GAME AND FISH

ARIZONA'S WHITE WATER SCANDALTHE RIVER GUIDE WHO DESTROYED QUARTZITE FALLS HAD PLENTY OF MOTIVES--NOT ALL OF THEM NOBLE

GOV'S FOREST MANAGEMENT MANTRA: TIMBER!FIFE'S PRICEY SUMMIT IS A ONE-SIDED AFFAIR

STAR GATE

GIVE ME THAT OLD-TIME CONSTITUTION

THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND INDUSTRY OVER PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS HAS TAKEN ON A RELIGIOUS FERVOR

WHOSE WOODS ARE THESE?

THE WOODS ARE LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP; THE FOREST SERVICE HAS PROMISES TO KEEP