Feature

Seeking the Water Jackpot

The Navajo Nation is determined to finally claim its rightful share of the Colorado River after 86 years of being left out of the region’s water politics.

Editor's Note

The elephant that was left out of the room …

Indian tribes were left out of the negotiations that divvied up the Colorado River in 1922, but it’s no longer possible to ignore them – particularly in the case of the Navajo Nation.

Dear Friends

Dear friends

Sarah Gilman is HCN’s new assistant editor; HCN wins design awards, and Ray Ring is a finalist for a major journalism award; visitors; corrections.

Uncommon Westerners

Stay in the Hunt

Jim Posewitz believes hunters can help save the planet with their clear-sighted, on-the-ground conservation ethic.

Writers on the Range

Falling off the heat ladder

In the Rocky Mountains, a cold and snowy winter reminds Westerners that the best way to stay warm is by conserving energy.

News

Bush brings more green into the green movement

The Bush administration has been good for environmental groups, at least when it comes to money and membership numbers.

Book Reviews

Finding beauty in devastation

In his richly illustrated book Boy Wonder & the Big Burns, Montana photographer Chris Peterson finds beauty in the aftermath of fire – and in his relationship with his autistic son.

Remembering our wildness

In The Animal Dialogues, Colorado author Craig Childs writes of chance encounters with wild animals.

Essays

From the backcountry to the building zoo

Robin Pam and Erin Beller remember an adventurous summer spent documenting the historic structures of Yosemite National Park.

Heard Around the West

Heard Around the West

Utah Republican Chris Buttars just doesn’t know how to talk to “those people”; stupid poachers in pickup trucks; earliest recording of “Howl” discovered; more guns in schools – and national parks; and great rental deal in Logan, Utah.

Letters

Getting the salt out

Homeward bound

Block that mine

Geothermal is no joke

(Man-made) smoke gets in your eyes

Two Weeks in the West

Two weeks in the West

Nasty chemicals in the Western air; drilling dust; EPA gets tougher on mercury; wildlife agency reconsiders habitat for Canada lynx and protection for sage grouse and white-tailed prairie dogs; and Grand Canyon gets a man-made flood.