Category Archives: Dexter Gill

Come and visit “your public lands”! That sounds great, where is mine? What do you mean, I don’t have any? Lots of history and confusion have preceded the misconception of “your public lands.” I was thinking this is a good … Continue reading →

In these recent changing times, there has been a real push to “protect” the natural environment. The drive goes out to collect money to save everything from bugs to polar bears from supposed extinction. I have not figured out how … Continue reading →

Stop! We are on the wrong road. Look, I have been hunting here for 20 years and this does not look right! We were supposed to turn where there were three huge yellow pine trees. I have seen nothing but … Continue reading →

OK, turn on the water, fill it up! Let’s get the boat in the water! People that have grown up with a resi­dential water system tend to take good water for granted. You turn the tap at the sink, and … Continue reading →

“Conservation” – that seems to be the word for these days! You have heard me harp about the importance of conserving our wa­tersheds. After all, our water is one of the most important items in our lives along with air … Continue reading →

It’s 1956, we are driving our car across the Mexican border into Nogales, Sonora. Look, there is a parking place near some shops. We get out, lock the car and immediately a young boy comes up and offers to “watch … Continue reading →

Last month I left you with a question, remember? It went something like “how would your life be impacted if the entire county lost all electric power for six months?” Well, what did you come up with? Right off we … Continue reading →

LAND, what is it for? Probably first priority is to prevent you from drowning or having to grow fins and gills in devolution, for those that believe they were once a mud puppy. No, I won’t say it. What next? … Continue reading →

Here it is December and your mind is slipping off into dreaming of sugar plums and suddenly you smell the pungent odor of a Christmas tree wafting through your mind. Well, maybe that is not quite the smell you were … Continue reading →

What in the world is going on with our public lands? Well, the so-called “public lands” are such a convoluted aberration of the U.S. Constitution in the establishment of states that they cannot be realistically protected, managed and used for … Continue reading →

No, I’m not talking about having good pajamas to sleep in or to go shopping in Walmart! Foresters, like other scientists, like to use acronyms to save space and time in filling out data forms, so here PJ is the … Continue reading →

Come on, move it! All together now, ah one and ah two and ah LIFT! No, Lawrence Welk was not there. The ancient Chaco Pueblo culture in New Mexico preferred ponderosa pine trees for the beams in their construction. Have … Continue reading →

“Wood is good” is one of those statements that may arouse different emotions in different people. For some like me, wood comes from trees that our Creator made for man to use. Wood is one product of trees that provides … Continue reading →

Hey, the weather is great, and I need to get away so let’s go on a road trip or ride up into the forest, I remember a real neat woods road we used to drive in the fall to see … Continue reading →

Trees are like people in a lot of ways, they may even look like some people. You have seen some, tall and straight like a pine tree, or short and squatty like a juniper or even tall and straight but … Continue reading →

Hey, I smell smoke, where is it coming from? I think it is probably from the forest fire up on the mountain, see? Well, close the windows before our fire alarms go off and it is so thick it is … Continue reading →

Flu season is here, so are you going to take some action to prevent catching the flu? The doctors say that to be healthy, don’t smoke, do exercise, eat right, and drink water. How do we measure health? The medical … Continue reading →

I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. This verse by Joyce Kilmer just brought some visual image into your mind, I bet! Now consider cooling water, you quench your thirst. Of all the drinks, … Continue reading →

It is all in the news! The forests are dying and burning, followed by snow avalanches and then flooding, then it’s droughts and no water. The screams go up: DO SOMETHING! So the Forest Service in Arizona and New Mexico … Continue reading →

Westward Ho, the wagons! The pioneers moving westward was the third of many movements of peoples into the North American Continent and specifically here in the Southwest, over many centuries, especially following the last Ice age with the receding glaciers … Continue reading →

In 1775 the combined population of all 13 colonies of America was approximately 2,500,000. When formulating the Articles of Confederation to join forces to fight for Freedom, Liberty and Property. The Crown or King controlled the property, resources and lives … Continue reading →

Recently there’s been a lot of talk and some action regarding new wilderness designations here in Colorado and in other western states to “protect” the public lands. Then there is the issue of the Forest Service deciding to use chain … Continue reading →

Do you remember just a few years back when they improved Highway 145, the Dolores highway, and widened it for turning lanes at the junction with Road P? Everything was going well and suddenly it stopped and they pulled out … Continue reading →

Who are you? Throughout history people have been identified with or by a land area they resided in. Some by a country, a region, or even more local features like a canyon. Where are you from? Well, I’m from Lewis, … Continue reading →

The teenage years were very frustrating for many young people. The time in life when things were changing and you were trying to get a hot date and right there on your face was a big red zit! You cover … Continue reading →

Hey, let’s hit the slopes this weekend, there’s a good storm blowing in some fresh powder, it will be great! Here we are in the recreation capital of Southwest Colorado, and it is free. Well, maybe not so much. We … Continue reading →

Do you always obey all the laws of the land? When you do obey a law you voluntarily do so, usually on fear of prosecution of being caught, right? Did you know that the Supreme Law of the Land, the … Continue reading →

There is a time to be born! There is a time to plant! There is a time to harvest! There is a time to be thankful! There is a time to fight! There is a time to love! There is … Continue reading →

Maybe a better opening would be “I want I want”! We really hear a lot of those words these days when the subject of “public lands” comes up. I want to raft the Dolores River; I want to save a … Continue reading →

Wow! Why is the west arm of McPhee Reservoir all mud and weeds? Why is water still being released out of the dam but the much-needed irrigation water was shut off a month and a half early? Have you been … Continue reading →

Now, that is a word that has sparked the emotion of some people for over 50 years now. Most of those that get their knickers all in a twist over the word don’t realize that natural clear-cutting has been happening … Continue reading →

What in the world is the fuss over some dirty old roads all about? Most of the discussions center on current Forest Service road restrictions and closures, but do not look at the history of why there is this issue. … Continue reading →

To manage or not to manage, that is the question! How does that apply to the resources on our so-called Public Lands? Well, first, what do we mean by “manage”? According to Webster, manage is “To handle or direct with … Continue reading →

So excited! Going to have a real Wilderness Experience, just like the explorers and trappers in the early days. Let’s see, need new mountaineering boots, ventilated four-season tent, waterproof breathable sleeping bag, propane stove, and for sure need a Sherpa … Continue reading →

I really love to eat roasted piñon nuts, they are so good but also hard to collect. However, I learned that if you can find a big packrat nest, it will likely have a nice stash of piñons in it, … Continue reading →

You are walking through the forest, scouting for interesting wildlife when suddenly — there, on the edge of a little clearing, you see them. A doe mule deer with twin fawns, one nursing as the other explores its new world. … Continue reading →

Stop all the wildfires! We want more elk to hunt! No, we want more deer to hunt! Sage grouse, that is what we want! We want more wilderness and parks! We want wolves! No, what we really need is for … Continue reading →

If you have ever been on a hot wildfire, you learn that you have two major concerns. First is the main fire and second is to be on the alert for spot fires that start behind you and the main … Continue reading →

Devastated, disastrous, pristine, beautiful, values, destroyed, protected, saved are all very good and descriptive words in our English language and are commonly used in discussing the status of management on the public lands of the state. Now take a minute … Continue reading →

A friend recently asked me, why is there so much conflict over the use of the public lands, and what can be done to resolve those conflicts? Well, the first part is fairly simple to answer, however the second is … Continue reading →