Feature stories
Browse High Country News feature stories
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Vagabond writer Craig Childs on 20,000 years of wanderlust
The author traces the paths of peoples that have wandered the earth for centuries, from Alaska to the Southwest.
by Craig Childs, Oct 14, 2012 -
Can pallid sturgeon hang on in the overworked Missouri River?
In the dam-locked Upper Missouri, scientists search for signs that the ancient species hasn't reached the end of its line.
by Marian Lyman Kirst, Sep 23, 2012 -
Great Basin scientists unleash new weapons to fight invasive cheatgrass
A trio of dedicated scientists are testing out cutting-edge ways to finally turn the tide against the Great Basin's cheatgrass invasion, as the weed continues to cause devastating fires.
by Stephanie Paige Ogburn, Sep 17, 2012 -
Who is Denny Rehberg, really?
Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg has exploited his family's long Montana history to get where he is today, but his current campaign for Democrat Jon Tester's Senate seat is raising questions about his record and that history.
by Ray Ring, Sep 03, 2012 -
Troubled Taos, torn apart by a battle over historic Hispano land grants
A New Mexican town known for its art scene is home to a fractured community, where distrust of Anglo newcomers plays out in a fight over whether ancient deeds give Hispano old-timers a right to land.
by J.R. Logan, Aug 27, 2012 -
The Salt Pond Puzzle: Restoring South San Francisco Bay
The unintended consequences of the most ambitious wetland recovery project on the West Coast -- and the tough choices biologists may face as they try to balance the competing demands of rare species.
by Nick Neely, Aug 13, 2012 -
Can the outdoor gear industry wield its power for conservation?
Pioneering mountaineer Peter Metcalf built Black Diamond into a successful climbing-gear business when nobody thought it could be done. But his dream of turning the outdoor industry into a force for nature remains tantalizingly elusive.
by Greg Hanscom, Jul 29, 2012 -
The Quileute Reservation copes with tourists brought by "Twilight"
At La Push, Wash., the small but vital Quileute Indian Nation copes with tourists brought by the popular Twilight books and movies.
by Bryn Nelson, Jul 02, 2012 -
Exploring the West's land sculptures -- made by artists and industry
A land-art-inspired ramble takes the writer from Michael Heizer's Double Negative, to Robert Smithson's underwater Spiral Jetty, with detours to places including the Bingham Canyon copper mine.
by Jonathan Thompson, Jun 24, 2012 -
FLDS continues abusive polygamist practices in Utah and Arizona
The states' failure to crack down on Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints means abuses still happen, despite the conviction of extreme polygamist Warren Jeffs.
by Debra Weyermann, Jun 18, 2012 -
The fading Arizona town of Gila Bend bets big on solar
At last -- a place to put utility scale plants that won't ruin the desert. But will politics and the economy get in the way?
by Judith Lewis Mernit, Jun 04, 2012 -
L.A. activists try to stop woodlands from becoming sediment dumps
When Camron Stone realized that an oak forest was about to be bulldozed by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, he started fighting back.
by Emily Green, May 20, 2012 -
A Mexican rancher struggles to shift from cattle to conservation
In Northwest Mexico, rancher Carlos Robles Elías works hard to make his Rancho El Aribabi into an oasis of biodiversity, despite the challenges of a sagging economy and rampant drug cartel violence.
by Tony Davis, May 06, 2012 -
The Other Bakken Boom: America's biggest oil rush brings tribal conflict
North Dakota's Three Affiliated Tribes have long wanted a stake in the state's occasional oil booms, but the size, scope and speed of the Bakken development caught them completely unprepared.
by Sierra Crane-Murdoch, Apr 23, 2012 -
A Colorado newspaperman fights for his valley's water
Bob Rawlings, publisher of the Pueblo Chieftain, has battled for decades to bring water to southeastern Colorado and, once it's there, to keep it no matter what.
by Matt Jenkins, Mar 26, 2012 -
Unfinished zombie housing developments haunt the rural West
Lack of planning rules and the housing bubble led to dead subdivisions plaguing the West, especially in Teton County, Idaho, where locals are trying to deal with the impacts of the real estate bust, yet still arguing if planning even works.
by Allen Best, Mar 12, 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 -
Can snowshoe hares outrace climate change?
The seasonal coat changes of snowshoe hares may provide wildlife biologists with clues about how wild animals evolve in response to climate change.
by Hillary Rosner, Feb 12, 2012 -
Billboard corporations use money and influence to override your vote
In Salt Lake City and other Western communities, billboard companies battle local democracy by fighting attempts to regulate the giant signs.
by Ray Ring, Jan 30, 2012 -
The perilous journey of Wyoming's migrating pronghorn
Along the 120-mile-long "Path of the Pronghorn," migrating animals cross rivers, dodge traffic, battle blizzards and navigate the infrastructure of Wyoming energy development.
by Emilene Ostlind, Jan 03, 2012
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