High Country News

Writers on the Range
Don’t bury her deep in the cold, cold ground

A writer’s mother -- like an increasing number of Westerners -- is pretty determined that when her time comes, she wants to go down in flames, via cremation.

by Marian Lyman Kirst, May 18, 2012
Writers on the Range
Rachel Carson's redwood dreams, and 50 years of "Silent Spring"

Scientist and writer Rachel Carson's intelligence, courage and love for life are remembered on the 50th anniversary of her groundbreaking book "Silent Spring."

by Carol Carson, May 17, 2012
Current
Recycling diesel emissions for farm fertilizer?

Canadian farmer Gary Lewis, fed up with the failures of synthetic fertilizer, has invented a system called Bio-Agtive Emissions Technology, a tractor add-on that recycles diesel emissions into fertilizer.

by Marian Lyman Kirst, May 14, 2012
Feature
L.A. activists try to stop woodlands from becoming sediment dumps

When Camron Stone realized that an oak forest was about to be bulldozed by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, he started fighting back.

by Emily Green, May 14, 2012
Writers on the Range
The teenagers we're not helping

The West's gay teenagers are too often ignored -- abandoned by their families to live on the streets or in overcrowded homeless shelters.

by Tim Lydon, May 11, 2012
Writers on the Range
Selling what's priceless is the nuttiest idea of all

Some Western legislators want to sell off our public lands -- an idea that is not only impractical, but contrary to the desires of most Westerners.

by Jeff Welsch, May 10, 2012
Writers on the Range
Micah True, born to run

Remembering Micah True – known as “Caballo Blanco,” or the white horse – a gifted athlete who devoted his life to helping the Tarahumara, a remote tribe of long-distance runners in Mexico’s Copper Canyon.

by Hal Walter, May 04, 2012

from the Blogs

The GOAT Blog
Friday news roundup: fires start, wildlife die

Sagebrush rebellion failures, pipeline setbacks and California wolf photos
by Jodi Peterson
The Range Blog
Make anglers allies for endangered species

The Endangered Species Act is more flexible than it gets credit for, particularly for those who would eat endangered fish like bull trout
by Ben Long
Heard around the West
How to dispose of frozen cows

It's harder than you think; plus transforming the seedy side of Las Vegas
by Betsy Marston
The GOAT Blog
The time for oysters

Increasing ocean acidity spells trouble for shellfish
by Danielle Venton
The Range Blog
Treaty tribes dedicate final replacement fishing site

The lost fisheries and drowned Celilo Falls are not truly replaceable, though
by Terri Hansen
The Range Blog
Debate over what makes a road rages on in Utah

The state sues for control and road access in public lands -- for recreation and extraction
by Red Lodge
The GOAT Blog
The Colorado River and Big Daddy drought

Low snowfall = less water = more stress, in the seven states fed by the Colorado River
by Jodi Peterson
The GOAT Blog
From gust to gale

So-called "grass-roots" opposition to wind may be centrally organized by powerful conservative think tanks and funded by oil and gas
by Marian Lyman Kirst
The GOAT Blog
Friday news roundup: Catch-share cuts and free water

NOAA gets a budget slash; activist appeals sentence; woodpeckers are endangered
by Stephanie Paige Ogburn
The GOAT Blog
Fire wise

Arizona ranchers say enviro regs lead to more catastrophic wildfire; more grazing and logging can help
by Neil LaRubbio
Heard around the West
Library-loving geese intimidate kids

Kind billboards and locals forgoing cash for mineral rights
by Betsy Marston
The Range Blog
Strip mining kitty litter

A cat-loving English teacher ponders the origins of the clay she's been using
by Jackie Wheeler
The GOAT Blog
Frack fricasee

Election-year politics (partially) hijack Interior's new rules for hydraulic fracturing
by Sarah Gilman

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Ben Long on Make anglers allies for endangered species Thanks Robb. I often ask conservationists how they...
Joshua Link on L.A. activists try to stop woodlands from becoming sediment dumps By publishing such an indispensable, comprehensive...
Robb Cadwell on Make anglers allies for endangered species What an enjoyable read, here's hoping those waters...
Scott Berry on Debate over what makes a road rages on in Utah I own a home within a half mile of one of the most...
Paul Maurer on The Pawnee Buttes oversee a changing landscape I slept out between the Buttes 30 years ago with m...

The hoof stops here | A proposal to reopen slaughterhouses in the U.S. f...
From gust to gale | So-called "grass-roots" opposition to wind may be ...
Frack fricasee | Election-year politics (partially) hijack Interior...
A Mexican rancher struggles to shift from cattle to conservation | In Northwest Mexico, rancher Carlos Robles Elías ...
The Pawnee Buttes oversee a changing landscape | Eastern Colorado’s Pawnee Buttes have witnessed ...

The Other Bakken Boom: America's biggest oil rush brings tribal conflict | North Dakota's Three Affiliated Tribes have long w...
Micah True, born to run | Remembering Micah True – known as “Caballo Bla...
A final hats off to rancher Doc Hatfield | With the help of his wife, Connie, and a bunch of ...
Balancing fish and farms on a Washington estuary | A restoration effort at Fisher Slough in Washingto...
The truth about wolves is hard to find | Some hunters claim wolves are killing too many dee...

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Current issue

The sediment dumps of L.A.

When Camron Stone realized that a nearby riparian forest was about to be bulldozed by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, he tried to fight back. Also, the skinny on land grabs by state lawmakers, turning diesel into fertilizer, new science of beetle kill and wildfires, and more

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Latest Multimedia

Rantcast: The silence of desert greetings

Michael Branch muses on Mary Austin, desert loners, and why the inhabitants in his arid part of western Nevada choose to limit their interactions to a few choice syllables. Rants from the Hill are Michael Branch's monthly musings on life in rural Nevada.

by Stephanie Paige Ogburn, May 01, 2012
Lost and found waterways

Rediscovering the forgotten rivers and streams of Los Angeles and Tucson.

by Cally Carswell, Apr 17, 2012

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Book Reviews

The least -- and most -- American of places: A review of Rez Life

In Rez Life, novelist David Treuer takes a nonfiction look at his own life as an Ojibwe Indian on the reservation.
Matters of life and death: A review of Contents May Have Shifted

In Contents May Have Shifted, Pam Houston writes about a writer’s journeys, both physical and emotional
New telling of a geologic saga: A review of Rough-Hewn Land

In Rough-Hewn Land: A Geologic Journey from California to the Rocky Mountains, Keith Heyer Meldahl brings the geography of the West to vivid life.

More Book Reviews

Uncommon Westerners

Environmental warrior Martin Litton is still fighting at 95

Martin Litton, who has spent his entire life fighting to preserve Western landscapes, is still battling to save California’s giant sequoias.
John Mionczynski: naturalist, accordionist, and Bigfoot expert

In rural Wyoming, naturalist John Mionczynski plays piano, restores motorcycles, studies wildlife and tracks down evidence for the mysterious creature known as Sasquatch.
Richard West Sellars' accidental but distinguished National Park Service career

Historian Richard West Sellars didn't intend to spend a career in the Park Service. But after 35 years, his impact still resonates.

More Uncommon Westerners

Essays

Kayaking memories on the White Salmon River

Will all of a kayaker's memories of Washington's White Salmon River change once the river changes, now that Condit Dam is gone?
Imaginary journeys on a rowing machine

When a writer buys a rowing machine, her 3-year-old daughter's enthusiasm turns exercise into an adventure as they imagine rowing to reach the island of Yap in Micronesia.
Could doing chores save the world?

While living at a remote commune in the wilds of New Mexico, author Emily Schosid learned what real sustainability means. And it’s not at all what you’d expect.

More Essays

Letters to the Editor

Dear HCN: Reader survey responses

A sampling of what you had to say
Common ground in a fractured land
Same church, different pew
Bravo, Bob!
Pragmatism is doomed
Doc's Legacy
A headstrong hero
Diverters be damned
At the boiling point

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