Feature stories http://www.hcn.org Browse High Country News feature stories daily 1 2008-06-25T21:37:51Z How right-wing emigrants conquered North Idaho http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.8/how-right-wing-emigrants-conquered-north-idaho Conservative transplants largely from California have taken over Kootenai County -- have they gone too far? No publisher Sierra Crane-Murdoch The Big Sort Reagan Republicans Kootenai County Coeur d'Alene Idaho Republicans California emigrants Rally Right 2013-05-20T15:13:17Z News Article Seeking balance in Oregon's timber country http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.7/seeking-balance-in-oregons-timber-country Can logging towns and old-growth forests both thrive in the Northwest? No publisher Nathan Rice logging Oregon Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act spotted owl Glendale Roseburg Northwest Forest Plan timber 2013-05-06T15:22:27Z News Article Sacrificial Land: Will renewable energy devour the Mojave Desert? http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.6/sacrificial-land-will-renewable-energy-devour-the-mojave An unlikely group of activists is championing a new bill to protect the Mojave Desert. But even if it passes, large swaths of once empty land will be developed. No publisher Judith Lewis Mernit utility scale solar power China Farm Date Ranch Death Valley National Park Mojave Desert wind power California Desert Protection Act Desert Tortoise Joshua Tree National Park Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System 2013-04-22T15:09:43Z News Article Secret getaways of the National Landscape Conservation System http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.5/secret-getaways-of-the-national-landscape-conservation-system A desert hiker finds a lot to like in little-known Bureau of Land Management gems. No publisher Craig Childs Gold Butte Canyons of the Ancients desert hike Sonoran Desert National Monument Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Agua Fria National Monument National Landscape Conservation System Bureau of Land Management National Conservation Area 2013-04-09T17:37:41Z News Article Field notes from a solo paddle in Alaska’s Inside Passage http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.5/field-notes-from-a-solo-paddle-in-alaskas-inside-passage A journalism professor kayaks alone for nearly 1,000 miles, dealing with difficult seas, icebergs, orcas and bears. No publisher Nadia White British Columbia Inside Passage sea kayaking Alaska paddle solo travel 2013-03-19T19:24:48Z News Article Climate change turns an already troubled ski industry on its head http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.4/climate-change-turns-an-already-troubled-ski-industry-on-its-head California's Mammoth Mountain provides a case study on the uncertainty of the ski business, and how global warming threatens to make it even more unpredictable. No publisher Greg Hanscom Sierra Nevada ski business climate change Hot Times Mammoth Mountain resort town global warming recession housing bust Skiing mountain town economics drought 2013-03-11T15:12:44Z News Article Farmers agree to tax those who deplete groundwater http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.3/conservative-farmers-agree-to-tax-those-who-deplete-groundwater Amid drought and climate change in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, farmers vote for a new approach to rein in their overpumping of groundwater. No publisher Cally Carswell irrigation farm climate change San Luis Valley taxes aquifer groundwater drought agriculture 2013-04-23T16:32:03Z News Article Will the Badlands become the first tribal national park? http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.2/will-the-badlands-become-the-first-tribal-national-park Oglala Lakota leaders hope to transform their bombed-out Badlands and help lift the tribe out of poverty, but it won't be easy. No publisher Brendan Borrell Badlands Tribal Park Oglala Lakota American Indian Movement Pine Ridge Reservation 2013-03-11T23:41:22Z News Article How Outward Bound lost, and found, itself http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.1/how-outward-bound-lost-and-found-itself The original outdoor education school came close to falling apart after consolidating into a single national school. Now, its newly separate branches are thriving and redefining themselves. No publisher Emily Guerin Colorado Outward Bound School Outdoor education Experiential education Outward Bound National Outdoor Leadership School Urban outdoor education 2013-02-06T21:46:18Z News Article A field program teaches undergrads to think differently about public lands http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.1/a-field-program-teaches-undergrads-to-think-differently-about-public-lands Whitman College's Semester in the West and similar programs strive to make students think about resource issues critically and compassionately, and often change their lives in the process. No publisher Sarah Gilman Wild Rockies Field Institute Land Arts of the American West Immersion Collaboration Semester in the West Sierra Institute Public lands issues Mary O’Brien Experiential education Phil Brick Whitman College Liberal Arts 2013-02-06T21:46:10Z News Article Oil and gas companies pour money into research universities http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.1/oil-and-gas-companies-pour-money-into-research-universities In the midst of the nation’s current oil and gas frenzy and controversies over fracking, energy company contributions to schools are raising questions about academic integrity. No publisher Joshua Zaffos Academic integrity standards Shell Conflicts of interest Ed Warner Hot Times Frackademia Fracking Hydraulic fracturing Industry-funded academics Environmental mitigation Colorado State University ExxonMobil Warner College Environmental restoration 2013-01-30T15:59:38Z News Article Oil boom spurs a rush on extractive education programs http://www.hcn.org/issues/45.1/oil-boom-spurs-a-rush-on-extractive-education-programs As production from unconventional reserves ramps up, students are flooding into university and technical programs supporting oil and gas development. No publisher Jeremy Miller Harold Hamm Unconventional reserves Geological engineering Bakken Williston State Industry-funded academics University of North Dakota Petroleum engineering 2013-02-27T17:53:49Z News Article In Montana, Dark Money Helped Democrats Hold a Key Senate Seat http://www.hcn.org/articles/in-montana-dark-money-helped-democrats-hold-a-key-senate-seat With control of the Senate at stake, liberals hit the Montana streets in support of Jon Tester, buying ads for a libertarian candidate who likely siphoned crucial votes away from Denny Rehberg, the Republican challenger. No publisher Kim Barker, ProPublica 2013-01-07T15:38:03Z News Article A mining rush in Canada’s backcountry threatens Alaska salmon http://www.hcn.org/issues/44.22/a-mining-rush-in-canadas-backcountry-threatens-alaska-salmon Canadian governments back proposals for more than a dozen new mines along salmon-rich rivers that flow to the Alaska coast. No publisher Christopher Pollon First Nations National Geographic Society British Columbia Stephen Harper J. Michael Fay 2013-01-11T16:51:13Z News Article As it goes high-tech, wildlife biology loses its soul http://www.hcn.org/issues/44.21/as-it-goes-high-tech-wildlife-biology-loses-its-soul We're learning a lot by monitoring wild animals, but the high tech methods used to track them take some of the mystery out of our relationship with the wild. No publisher Jim Robbins transmitter ornithology wolverine drone Kate Kendall wildlife monitoring de-extinction grizzly bear 2013-01-02T15:55:40Z News Article