High Country News

Another water-short year in the Southwest is taking its toll

Generous spring snow storms were a momentary, if welcome, distraction from the region's real weather story: drought.

by Cally Carswell, May 13, 2013
(Manmade) snow is for fighting over

In an increasingly arid West, snow-making becomes a more important component of a ski area’s operating plan. But they need water to make snow, and getting it isn’t always easy.

by J.R. Logan, Mar 04, 2013
A citizen activist forces New Mexico's dairies to clean up their act

When a giant dairy proposed building near Jerry Nivens' beloved New Mexico home, the chain-smoking Texas hermit became an activist who organized other locals to fight the industry.

by Stephanie Paige Ogburn, Dec 05, 2011
It ain't easy getting old

In No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy discards his bitter nostalgia to tell a story set along the border in the 1980s

by Laura Paskus, May 15, 2006
River tales: The Rio Grande from the headwaters to the sea

In Rio Grande, editor Jan Reid has assembled a marvelous collection of essays and photos about the Southwest’s Great River

by Laura Paskus, Jun 13, 2005
Good work in Washington

The Bush administration deserves credit for its "Water 2025" initiative, which provided grants that have helped the Deschutes River Conservancy and the Central Oregon Irrigation District begin restoring Oregon’s Deschutes River

by Greg Hanscom, Oct 16, 2006
Pueblo water battle nears its end

If New Mexico’s 40-year-old Aamodt case is settled, it will end centuries of wrangling over water use, but not everybody is happy with how it’s ending

by Eric Mack, Oct 30, 2006
Too much can be asked of a river

Laura Paskus lives a mile and a half from the Rio Grande, a river which shares a dubious distinction with India’s Ganges and China’s Yangze: The three are among the Top Ten most endangered rivers on the planet.

by Laura Paskus, Apr 02, 2007
Flood insurance crimps Western waterways

Critics say that FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program is encouraging development in flood-prone areas alongside Western rivers, such as the Rio Grande

by Randy Stapilus, Dec 12, 2005
The River Has Never Divided Us: A Border History of La Junta de los Rios

In The River Has Never Divided Us, Jefferson Morganthaler studies the hard-working people of La Junta de los Rios, a river basin along the U.S.-Mexican border

by Staff, May 02, 2005