High Country News

Setting the record straight on wilderness

America needs wilderness to preserve its soul, not to mention its water, air and wildlife.

by Tim Lydon, Dec 17, 2009
The great wilderness compromise

Both sides of the contentious debate over a proposed Idaho wilderness bill invoke Howard Zahniser, father of the Wilderness Act -- and both sides have a point.

by Jon Christensen, Jan 22, 2007
“W” in 2004: Taking stock of wilderness at 40

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, it’s time we got back to a realistic attitude about proposed wilderness, saving actual places, no matter how small they are, instead of holding out for mega-proposals

by Matt Jenkins, Aug 30, 2004
Utah's wilderness warriors reply

Scott Groene of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance disagrees with a recent High Country News essay about the best way to protect our remaining wilderness

by Scott Groene, Sep 27, 2004
Udall patriarch laments startling changes

Stewart Udall talks about his years as Interior secretary, and criticizes the Bush administration’s environmental policy

by Ray Ring, Oct 11, 2004
The logging town of Darrington, Wash., fights to save a fire lookout

A lawsuit raises questions about how far environmentalists should go to keep wilderness 'untrammeled.'

by Nathan Rice, Jan 24, 2012
Wilderness and military use can coexist

The U.S. Army has no reason to oppose the proposed Red Table Mountain wilderness in Colorado, because its helicopter training flights could easily be grandfathered in.

by Connie Harvey, Sep 28, 2011
Only 40 years ago, the Earth got its day

Earth Day, which was first celebrated 40 years ago, was largely created by Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic senator from Wisconsin who fought hard for environmental laws.

by Tim Lydon, Apr 13, 2010
Leave the wheels out of wilderness

As enjoyable as mountain biking is, bikes simply don’t belong in the wilderness, partly because the faster you travel through a place, the smaller – and tamer – that place begins to seem.

by Greg Hanscom, Sep 18, 2006
Four decades of the Sierra Club

Michael McCloskey’s autobiography, In the Thick of It: My Life in the Sierra Club, covers four decades of his life and work as an environmentalist

by Steve Rumsey, Nov 13, 2006