High Country News

Heard around the West

Old-timers can no longer ski for free at Park City; 80-year-old farmer won’t slow down; scary killer bee stories; Alaskan pork; Bluff vs. Pokershare.com; no road to new high school in Tombstone

by Betsy Marston, Nov 14, 2005
Farmland conservation program may be plowed under

The Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to idle highly erodible cropland, is facing budget cuts and other challenges.

by Stephanie Paige Ogburn, Sep 20, 2011
Fixing what ain't broken in Foggy Bottom

The U.S. House of Representatives is wasting its time passing unnecessary and absurd laws, but at least that’s helping to keep it out of trouble.

by Ed Quillen, Jan 11, 2012
A Colorado newspaperman fights for his valley's water

Bob Rawlings, publisher of the Pueblo Chieftain, has battled for decades to bring water to southeastern Colorado and, once it's there, to keep it no matter what.

by Matt Jenkins, Mar 26, 2012
A New Green Revolution

In Montana’s dying farm country, "vanguard agriculture" is putting people back to work on the land

by Sam Western, Dec 26, 2005
Southwestern farmers, lawmakers seek solutions to worker shortages

The Western Growers Association says its farmers need another 20,000 workers to harvest this winter’s crop, and President Bush endorses the idea of a guest-worker program to make it easier for migrant workers in the U.S.

by Tim Westby, Feb 20, 2006
Township 13 South, Range 92 West, Section 35

A writer looks into the history of the people who lived on the Colorado mesa she now calls home.

by Michelle Nijhuis , Sep 08, 2009
From grass to grains

The local food growers in Oregon’s Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project see a unique opportunity in today’s economic crisis.

by Carla A. Wise, May 08, 2009
How can "woofers" stay on the farm?

Young people are eager to serve as unpaid interns on organic farms, but translating their dreams into a real, self-supporting lifestyle is proving harder.

by Dev Carey, Oct 13, 2011
Shear Pleasure

A photo essay follows Matt Smith and the other New Zealanders who make up the company Shear Pleasure as they travel Montana, visiting sheep ranches, shearing sheep, and drinking hard at the end of the day

by Jeremy Lurgio, Dec 25, 2006