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Month: May 2024

Pinyon-Juniper Deforestation, Pine Nuts, and True Sustainability

Pinyon-Juniper Deforestation, Pine Nuts, and True Sustainability

By Will Falk / June 2017 A windmill blade knocks the head off a Cooper’s hawk interrupting the late afternoon peace in Spring Valley. The blade tosses the hawk’s body onto yellow gravel the power company spread, over living soil, in circles around their windmills. The ever-present Great Basin breeze, who usually whispers with a soothing tone through pinyon needles, juniper branches, and sage tops, becomes angry. Grazing cows pause their chewing and look up to consider the scene. Heads…

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Layla and the Owl’s Eyes: Ecopsychology and Being Human

Layla and the Owl’s Eyes: Ecopsychology and Being Human

By Will Falk / December 2016 Recently walking up Main Street in Park City, Utah, I saw in the Visitor’s Center doorway what looked like a man holding a great-horned owl surrounded by children. As his voice carried across the street, I heard the man explain that this owl had been found with an injured wing after being struck by a car. I love owls. I love the haunting sound of their hoots in the darkest hours before dawn. I…

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The Swamp Cedars vs. The SNWA Water Grab

The Swamp Cedars vs. The SNWA Water Grab

By Will Falk / June 2016 The Swamp Cedars in Spring Valley, Nevada have grown long memories. They stand on the valley floor under the bright Great Basin stars where the skies are still unspoiled by the encroaching glow of electricity. Beneath the trees’ branches, the blue petals of wild irises flutter in the breeze. All of them – the trees, the flowers, the stars – sway to the soft melodies played by the valley’s bubbling springs. Most of the…

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Interview about Pinyon-Juniper Forests

Interview about Pinyon-Juniper Forests

Will Falk is a former public defender turned grass-roots environmental activist, and a member of Deep Green Resistance. His first passion is poetry. The natural world is speaking and his work is an effort to listen. He currently lives in Park City, Utah. Today we talk about Pinyon-Juniper forests.

Pinyon-Juniper Forests: The Language of Trees

Pinyon-Juniper Forests: The Language of Trees

By Will Falk / 2016 After two months of struggling to write anything coherent about pinyon-juniper forests, I was on the verge of giving up. Members of the group I am campaigning with to stop pinyon-juniper deforestation began brainstorming about applying for grants to support the campaign. Many of the grants they discovered required us to demonstrate that pinyon-juniper deforestation harmed wildlife populations, poisoned water supplies, or had a tangible effect on human populations. Thinking that I could support our…

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