High Country News January 19, 2009
Feature
Blood Quantum
The system that determines membership in most American Indian tribes could threaten the survival of those tribes.
Mountain of doubt
The long-delayed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., faces a new challenge: Barack Obama’s presidency.
Editor's Note
Who’s an Indian?
Deciding who is, and is not, a member of a Native American tribe can be a difficult business.
Dear Friends
Welcome, new board members
Marley Shebala and Jesus De La Rosa join HCN’s board of directors; Ed and Betsy Marston win Champions of the Rockies award; Rebecca Clarren wins Alicia Patterson Fellowship and Ken Wright has a new book.
Two Weeks in the West
The West goes to Washington
Barack Obama is bringing Westerners to Washington, including Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to run Homeland Security, and Cabinet picks Ken Salazar, Hilda Solis and Steven Chu.
Uncommon Westerners
Notes from the (water) underground
Research hydrologist Gordon Grant is fascinated by the groundwater in the Pacific Northwest.
Writers on the Range
Of an environmental hero and the need for reform
Paul Larmer reminds us that it will take more than a single environmental hero – like Tim DeChristopher, who cleverly sabotaged a BLM energy-lease auction – to reform the agency.
News
The return of Colorado's missing lynx
Colorado's reintroduced lynx are in trouble, and a detailed map shows where -- and why -- they’re facing problems.
Book Reviews
In praise of prey
In his unusual natural history book, American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon, Steven Rinella reveals himself as a hunter with complex feelings about his prey.
Essays
The fine art of bureaucracy
Forty years ago, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation commissioned 40 artists to document -- and glorify -- its dam and reservoir sites.
