High Country News

Beehive state may get new wilderness — and more

In Utah, an "omnibus" public-lands bill may create several new wilderness areas near Zion National Park, but at the same time authorize the auction of federal lands for development

by Matt Jenkins, May 16, 2005
The paradox of the housing boom and bust

Outside Delta, Colo sits yet another rural subdivision that was never completed -- a sign of the West's housing bust and of the difficulty of regulating rural growth.

by Paul Larmer, Mar 04, 2012
How Arizona's culture helped shape the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords

If you want to understand why Jared Lee Loughner shot Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and 18 others at a Tucson Safeway in 2011, look to Arizona’s soulless culture and vitriolic politics.

by Tom Zoellner, Feb 26, 2012
Land deal, New Mexico style

In booming Albuquerque, N.M., the former Atrisco Land Grant – now the Westland Development Corporation – wants to sell land to developers, but not all the land grant heirs are pleased with the prospect

by Laura Paskus, Jun 26, 2006
Poison in the Wind

As suburban neighborhoods sprawl into California’s agricultural land, residents are faced with pesticide drift and other problems

by Michelle Burkhart, Apr 03, 2006
The adolescent West

Logan, Utah, needs to get over its adolescent angst and decide what it wants to be when it grows up.

by Dennis Hinkamp, Jun 30, 2011
Wyoming wildlife faces twin threats

A major pronghorn migration route near Pinedale, Wyo., gets squeezed by new subdivisions and oil and gas drill rigs

by Noah Brenner, Jan 24, 2005
Green 'New Urbanist' development rises in Albuquerque suburbs

An ambitious green development is in the works on Mesa del Sol just outside of Albuquerque, N.M.

by Stan Alcorn, Apr 17, 2011
Beyond the exurban dream

The West’s rural areas are erupting with large-lot, big, expensive homes, but the actual costs of this new rural lifestyle extend far beyond the purchase price

by Paul Larmer, Jun 13, 2005
So far, Oregon land-use measure is more bark than bite

Oregon’s Measure 37 has so far proven less liberating than property-rights activists thought, and less destructive than sprawl-fighters feared

by Randy Stapilus, Jun 13, 2005