High Country News

The vast, unpatrolled public lands

The same solitude that attracts nature-lovers to the West’s public lands attracts lawbreakers as well – particularly a growing number of Mexican marijuana-growers

by Greg Hanscom, Oct 31, 2005
Wilderness, schmilderness

In Nevada, local counties spooked about the prospect of wilderness within their boundaries derail public-lands bills that could actually help their communities.

by Gordon Gregory, Jun 23, 2008
How to survive the lean times

Her brush with homelessness gives Jane Goetze the background to offer some wry advice.

by Jane Goetze, Dec 01, 2008
Energy illusions

A BLM report issued in late 2006 appears to show that less land is available for energy exploration now than in 2003, but a closer look shows that appearances are deceiving.

by Michelle Blank, Feb 05, 2007
A chance to do it right in the West

Hoping for a Western Interior secretary who practices the politics of collaboration.

by Daniel Kemmis, Nov 26, 2008
Coal-export schemes ignite unusual opposition, from Wyoming to India

Ambitious schemes to build railroads and ports to ship Powder River Basin coal abroad will bring pollution and traffic to communities along the transport path, who are rising up in protest.

by Ray Ring, Jul 24, 2012
Can the outdoor gear industry wield its power for conservation?

Pioneering mountaineer Peter Metcalf built Black Diamond into a successful climbing-gear business when nobody thought it could be done. But his dream of turning the outdoor industry into a force for nature remains tantalizingly elusive.

by Greg Hanscom, Jul 29, 2012
Is the great federal land debate over?

Two trends are almost as dangerous as the idea of directly selling off the public lands: land transfers done in the name of economic development, and the outsourcing of jobs in the federal land-management agencies.

by John Freemuth, Sep 18, 2006
Fees have become a public-lands shakedown

Ted Williams says charging fees to use public lands is worse than extortion.

by Ted Williams, May 21, 2007
Driven to fight

Retired BLM agent Lynell Schalk goes head-to-head with her former bosses over protecting southern Utah’s priceless archaeological sites from off-road vehicle traffic.

by Jen Jackson, Mar 19, 2007