Browse High Country News issues

Nevada’s dirt-poor Lincoln County is rich in water, but conservationists have reservations about Vidler Water Company’s plans to market it, and the city of Las Vegas has its own needs– and plans – for that water. Also in this issue: As drought dries up the Rio Grande, New Mexico’s congressional delegation goes after a court decision upholding the endangered silvery minnow’s right to water.

Bishop, Calif., is a hot spot for the lively new sport of bouldering, but some fear that the new generation of rock-climbers is short on environmental ethics, treating nature as little more than an outdoor climbing gym. Also in this issue:Even as wildfires blaze in Arizona and New Mexico, and President Bush’s forest-thinning plan moves through Congress, Western governors counsel moderation in logging and suggest more research and collaboration.

Federal scientists are facing increasing pressure from bureaucrats and politicians, and some are blowing the whistle on what is happening in their agencies – among them biologist Michael Kelly of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Also in this issue: Three Colorado towns have won water rights for kayaking courses, making the state one of the few that recognize in-stream water rights for recreation, and worrying traditional water users.

A life-threatening stroke in Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument puts the author’s fight for wilderness into perspective. Also in this issue: Frustrated by Utah’s anti-wilderness moves, the national outdoor-equipment industry threatens to move its twice-yearly giant Outdoor Retailer show out of Salt Lake City.

Billions of dollars are being spent to fight Western wildfires, but some scientists now believe that the big blowups can’t be prevented, and that they may be good for the health of the forests. Also in this issue:Environmentalists fear the Republican-sponsored "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003" – intended to prevent wildfires – will prove anything but healthy for the forests.

The native-seeds business is thriving, as more Westerners realize the value of a restored and healthy rangeland, but the current unfriendly political climate in Washington, D.C., may bring an untimely frost. Also in this issue:The Clinton-era Sierra Nevada Framework is being dismantled under the Bush administration, and California spotted owls, denied protection as endangered species, may pay the price.

Fueled by money from casino gambling, New Mexico’s Indian pueblos and reservations are throwing their political weight into the state’s water tug-of-war. Also in this issue:Starting in Utah, Interior Secretary Gale Norton has slammed the door shut on new BLM wilderness proposals and inventories and wilderness study areas.

Just as it seemed the local communities were starting to accept the BLM’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the rise of conservative national politics has helped to revive old grudges and stir up opposition. Also in this issue: Conservationists say it’s too soon for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to declare that wolves are no longer endangered.

Predator control may have a small place in saving endangered species, but it makes a lot more sense to bring back an ecosystem’s keystone species – as can be seen in Yellowstone, since wolves have returned. Also in this issue:Fallon, Nev., is home to the fastest-growing cancer cluster in U.S. history, and some researchers suspect that the seemingly harmless metal tungsten may be to blame.

On the coast of British Columbia, tribes, fishermen and environmentalists are fighting the spread of Atlantic salmon farms, which they fear could have catastrophic effects on already endangered native salmon runs. Also in this issue: Westerners are becoming more concerned about incidents of cruelty to wildlife, but laws against such acts remain inconsistent in the region.

As the Wilderness Act nears its 40th birthday, it takes a new kind of wheeling and dealing to protect wild lands, and there’s no better place to see the new face of the movement than Las Vegas, Nev. Also in this issue: The Border Patrol wants to erect 249 miles of fences along the Arizona-Mexico border, and some environmentalists are worried about their impact on desert wildlife.

Wyoming’s new governor, Democrat Dave Freudenthal, may have a chance to turn the stagnant state around economically and environmentally, by reducing its dependence on energy and mineral industries. Also in this issue: Some residents of Los Lunas, N.M., say the planned expansion of the wastewater treatment plant is designed to benefit the mayor, who wants to build a subdivision.

The disappearance of the Rocky Mountain locust -- which once swarmed the Plains like a biblical plague, only to die out entirely within decades --- holds serious lessons for humanity. Also in this issue: The Bush administration rolls back a Clinton-era moratorium on RS 2477, a controversial old statute that some Western counties have used to claim designated roads in wilderness areas, parks and monuments.

For over 30 years, the Northern Cheyenne have stood firm against energy development and its environmental impacts, but now, faced with crushing poverty, some are starting to think about developing the reservation’s coal and methane resources. Also in this issue: At midnight on New Year’s Eve, Interior Secretary Gale Norton astonished California by it cutting off from the "surplus" Colorado River water it has long been using, after the state failed to come up with promised water transfers.

Twenty years after its longtime mainstay, the Climax Molybdenum Mine, closed, Leadville, Colo., is still groping for a secure economy and a new identity. Also in this issue: The Forest Service has announced a major overhaul of the forest planning process that some fear may cut out both environmental oversight and public involvement, and lead to even more legal gridlock.

Eureka, Utah, unearths a toxic legacy just at its only hope for rescue, the federal Superfund cleanup program, blows away. Also in this issue:Thousands of park and forest jobs could go to private contractors.

As Oregon cities hit their urban growth boundaries, some say it's time to look at the 30-year old rules that govern development. Also in this issue: Congress may have turned to the right, but enviros claim victory at the state level.

The "Real West" at the touch of an access code? A look into the fortified rural retreats of the West's moneyed elite. Also in this issue: Hanford bomb factory's hard-to-reach radioactive dregs might stay where they are.

Tenacious animals like crows and coyotes have made a home for themselves in the suburbs - and even downtown areas - of places like Seattle and Phoenix. Can we make cities friendlier for less-adaptable species? Also in this issue: Hunters turn out in record numbers as Colorado tries to figure out just how serious the chronic wasting disease outbreak is.

After a decade and a half without reasonable or effective leadership,Arizona has become the West's most incompetently run state, its politics propelled almost entirely by growth. This year's gubernatorial election offers a chance for change. Also in this issue: The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan was seen as a watershed move to balance logging with environmental protection. But logging companies say the plan's controversial species-management provision has put too much land off-limits, and now the Bush administration is moving to relax the rules.

California's sprawling San Joaquin - Sacramento river delta has been mercilessly shaped by agriculture and water-development projects. A massive $8.7 billion plan holds hope for restoring the Delta and helping sate California's growing thirst, but political infighting and a lack of funding have clouded the project's future. Also in this issue: In central New Mexico's Sandia and Manzano mountains, drought, hunting and traffic accidents have cut black bear populations in half. But for the second year in the row, the state's Department of Game and Fish has extended the bear hunting season.

For nearly a century, the Imperial Valley's wastewater has kept the Salton Sea alive. Now, the push to make California more watertight may threaten this wildlife haven - and Imperial's agricultural economy. Also in this issue: The San Juan Basin, on the New Mexico - Colorado border, has long been an oil and gas hotspot. It's about to get hotter: A new BLM management plan could add nearly 10,000 new wells over the next 20 years.

As a new boom in coalbed methane gas drilling hits the West, some counties are taking on industry-friendly state regulating agencies and demanding that gas companies listen to local concerns. Also in this issue: EPA chief Christie Whitman and Idaho Sen. Larry Craig dipped champagne glasses in Idaho's Lake Coeur d'Alene and toasted the newly-created commission tasked with cleaning up mining waste in the lake. But the Coeur d'Alene Tribe wants the problem to be taken seriously.

The drought of 2002 has left the West blistered and burnt, scientists predict worse to come. Have we learned anything yet? Also in this issue: This year's drought has killed 10,000 cattle and ravaged the range. But corruption and resentment over earlier attempts to control grazing are stifling reform just when it's needed most.