High Country News

Parched lives in a parched land: A review of the Ordinary Truth

Jana Richman's novel of a Nevada family divided by conflict over water

by Michael Engelhard, Apr 29, 2013
$Abrahm Lustgarten on fracking$
Abrahm Lustgarten on fracking

An interview with ProPublica energy and environment reporter Abrahm Lustgarten.

by Cally Carswell, Jun 26, 2011
A divine business

In Bozeman, Mont., 78-year-old Vern Bandy says he finds water using the legendary art of dowsing.

by Sam Western, Nov 30, 2010
Getting the salt out

Arizona considers plans to clean up salty irrigation water without drying out wetlands created by that water.

by Michelle Blank, Apr 25, 2007
Lost and found waterways

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

by Cally Carswell, Apr 17, 2012
Brad Udall on Australian water reform

Lessons from Australia for the Colorado River Basin

by Cally Carswell, Oct 09, 2011
The debate that won’t happen

Even though the West is supposed to be a key battleground in this year’s election, so far the presidential candidates have managed to avoid addressing Western issues.

by Ed Quillen, Jul 21, 2008
The Efficiency Paradox

Water efficiency has long been touted as a silver bullet for the West’s water problems, but too much efficiency can cause problems of its own, especially in the fragile Colorado River Delta.

by Matt Jenkins, Feb 05, 2007
The Land of the Dry

A Westerner makes the disconcerting discovery that as we age, the high, dry West we love isn't so good for our moisture-loving bodies, and the only cure is a trip to the beach.

by Ted Kerasote, Feb 19, 2007
Stream leases languish

Efforts to privatize instream-flow protection – to keep enough water in rivers and streams to sustain their ecological functions – face tough going in the West.

by Matt Jenkins, Mar 05, 2007