Essays
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Butte ponders the power of Evel
Notorious daredevil Evel Knievel is the star of Butte, Montana’s "Evel Knievel Daze," but not everybody in his hometown looks up to him
by Tom Zoellner, Nov 24, 2003 -
Like Butte, a lonely dog hangs on
A mysterious, mangy, half-wild dog known locally as "The Auditor" has made the moonscape of the Butte’s Berkeley Pit his home for 16 years, hanging on to life as stubbornly as the town of Butte itself.
by Matt Vincent, Dec 09, 2002 -
At Yucca Mountain, deadlines take precedence over science
The Bush administration is ignoring the warnings of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board created by Congress, and is racing ahead with its plans to store nuclear waste at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain
by Paul P. Craig, May 24, 2004 -
If a town is more dead than alive, it's the Old West
Musing on the gravestones in Anaconda, Mont., a writer theorizes that one can tell whether a town is Old West or New West by the ratio of the buried to the currently alive inhabitants.
by Ray Ring, Aug 18, 1997 -
Underworld
In a dark, narrow storm drain below the border town of Douglas, Ariz., eight illegal immigrants drowned in the summer of 1997
by Craig Childs, Sep 04, 2006 -
Nine reasons why a river is good for the soul
A writer on a river trip through canyon country muses on things like sand, rapids, ruins and time, as well as the joy that comes from being outside in the company of family and friends
by Paul Miller, Aug 21, 2006 -
How we lost our ranch to gas drilling
A rancher recounts how oil drilling destroyed her rural lifestyle and forced her and her husband to sell their western Colorado ranch
by Rosemary Bilchak, Aug 21, 2006 -
'There was just some hard hittin' going on'
Matt Jenkins visits the annual Combine Demolition Derby in the tiny farming town of Lind, Wash.
by Matt Jenkins, Aug 07, 2006 -
Worlds converge in energy's shadow
Photographer Jared Boyd spends a day with Navajo Alice Benally, who lives less than a mile from the Four Corners Power Plant but only received electricity last year
by Jonathan Thompson, Aug 07, 2006 -
Why did Norton really leave Interior?
If outgoing Interior Secretary Gale Norton didn’t receive a push out the door, she certainly deserved one after her involvement in the sleazy Jack Abramoff scandal
by Jon Margolis, Aug 07, 2006 -
Prey at the waterhole
The experience of watching a mountain lion is utterly transformed when the watcher realizes he is the one being watched
by Craig Childs, Jul 24, 2006 -
Dems contract case of self-delusion — or not
The Democratic bloggers on the netroots seem to be prone to wildly optimistic self-delusion – and then again, maybe they’re not so crazy after all
by Jon Margolis, Jul 24, 2006 -
Fishing ban will make us forget salmon
Fishing is not the reason behind the decline of the Northwest’s salmon; the desire for cheap hydroelectric power is
by Gina Knudson, Jun 12, 2006 -
Dust and Snow
In Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, Tom Painter and other scientists study the dust in the snow and ponder its implications for future drought and weather conditions, especially in the era of global warming
by Michelle Nijhuis, May 29, 2006 -
A very brief conversation with a Jet Fighter
A long solitary hike through an empty, pristine desert is interrupted by a close encounter with an F-16 fighter plane
by Craig Childs, May 01, 2006 -
In Washington, a broad-based effort aims to kick the oil habit
The Set America Free Coalition is a new organization that brings together liberals and conservatives to try to reduce America’s dependency on imported fossil fuels
by Jon Margolis, May 01, 2006 -
Eco-terrorism and the Trial of the Century
The upcoming trial of 11 alleged "eco-terrorists" may not be the Trial of the Century, but it reminds the writer, a longtime activist, of the Boston Tea Party
by Robert Amon, Apr 17, 2006 -
High Country Zoo Special Edition - Apr. 1
A special April 1st issue of High Country Zoo contains stories about the Bureau of Land Ravagement and National Park Circus, as well as reviews of best-sellers like Memoirs of a Grazer.
by Staff, Apr 03, 2006 -
Resurrecting J. Thomas
The crumbling remains of a man named J. Thomas have a story to tell about life and death in the northern Colorado in the 1870s
by Laura Pritchett, Mar 20, 2006 -
Of feral dogs, and feral Westerners
Westerners like to romanticize our wide-open spaces and wild wolves, but in rural areas, our real mascot is the ubiquitous feral dog
by Jonathan Thompson, May 28, 2007
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