High Country News December 26, 2011
Feature
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.
Protecting wildlife corridors remains more theory than practice
There's a growing understanding of the scientific importance of wildlife migration corridors, but protecting them is a huge political challenge.
Stitching habitat together across public and private lands
Migrating animals can't read "no trespassing" signs, so it’s up to human beings to try to find ways to connect wildlife corridors that crisscross public and privately owned lands.
Current
Jon Huntsman Jr. -- a pragmatic Westerner for the White House
Despite poor poll showings, the worldly Jon Huntsman Jr. is the most qualified candidate in the Republican primary, especially when it comes to environmental issues.
The year 2011, in apocalyptic weather events
Fire and flood, snowstorms and droughts, downburst winds and desert haboobs -- 2011 brought incredibly wacky weather to the West.
A Q&A with former Colorado National Monument head Joan Anzelmo
The retired Park Service superintendent stands by her controversial decision not to allow a major bike race in the monument, and continues to be passionate about preserving landscapes.
Boulder, Colo., votes for energy independence -- from its utility
After a hard-fought political campaign the town of Boulder passed a ballot initiative allowing it to create its own municipal utility in order to help reach its ambitious environmental goals.
Editor's Note
Animal migration occurs all around us and yet remains a mystery
Sandhill cranes and pronghorn antelope are among the many creatures that make long and arduous seasonal migrations across the West.
Dear Friends
Holiday break
High Country News skips an issue; visitors; HCN founder Tom Bell is honored; correction.
Uncommon Westerners
Raymond Ansotegui and the art of artificially inseminating cattle
The "overeducated cowboy" Raymond Ansotegui roams the West in the "Shaggin' Wagon," artificially inseminating cattle with the help of friends and family.
Book Reviews
Girls gone wild -- 1900s style: A review of Nothing Daunted
Dorothy Wickenden's charming, meticulously researched Nothing Daunted tells the true story of two society girls who went to Colorado to become rural schoolteachers in 1916.
Love and loss on a Wyoming ranch: A review of Lime Creek
Lime Creek, Joe Henry's ravishing first work of fiction, is filled with exquisite snapshots of life on a Wyoming ranch.
Essays
No matter how long you live in your small town, you'll never be a native
In the West's rural lands, you might think you're invisible, but the old-timers -- and their dogs -- know you are there.
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