Workshop Weighs Peak's Biological And Astronomical Value

Too late, scientists agree too little is known about an Arizona mountaintop set to become a haven for astrophysical research University of Washington anthropologist Don Grayson went to Tucson in October to take part in discussions concerning the history of mammals in the desert Southwest. He left believing that he had taken part in an autopsy. The victim was Mount Graham, a mountain slated to become the home of up to seven telescopes. Like many of the 50 participants in the "Workshop on the Bi

Written byElizabeth Pennisi

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Too late, scientists agree too little is known about an Arizona mountaintop set to become a haven for astrophysical research

University of Washington anthropologist Don Grayson went to Tucson in October to take part in discussions concerning the history of mammals in the desert Southwest. He left believing that he had taken part in an autopsy. The victim was Mount Graham, a mountain slated to become the home of up to seven telescopes.

Like many of the 50 participants in the "Workshop on the Biology of Mount Graham," Grayson found the discussion stimulating. But he wished the meeting had been held earlier, when it might have actually influenced the mountain's fate.

The controversy over Mount Graham (The Scientist, Nov. 28, 1988, page 5) is more than a simple fight over the environmental impact of a new scientific project. For one thing, the debate pits one discipline against another. For another, ...

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