High Country News - Current Issue
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How the amount of fish you eat impacts water quality
Idaho is updating its standards for water pollutants based on how much fish residents eat.
by Sarah Jane Keller, Apr 15, 2013 -
Strolling San Francisco with a special guidebook to street trees
“The Trees of San Francisco” walks you through a unique urban forest that has hundreds of species from around the world.
by Leath Tonino, Mar 29, 2013 -
Volunteering provides a special experience in national parks
Retirees and interns donate millions of hours in national parks, and get to know the parks intimately.
by Henry Ring, Mar 27, 2013 -
Secret getaways of the National Landscape Conservation System
A desert hiker finds a lot to like in little-known Bureau of Land Management gems.
by Craig Childs, Mar 25, 2013 -
A photographic journey through Montana’s vanished towns
When a state tries to erase towns from the official highway map, a lot is at stake.
by Jeremy Lurgio, Mar 22, 2013 -
Tribal casinos expand and go upscale
To attract more customers and revenue, many Western tribal casinos are adding resort hotels, golf, spas and fancy restaurants.
by Jason Begay, Mar 18, 2013 -
Field notes from a solo paddle in Alaska’s Inside Passage
A journalism professor kayaks alone for nearly 1,000 miles, dealing with difficult seas, icebergs, orcas and bears.
by Nadia White, Mar 18, 2013 -
Visitors to public lands seek different experiences than in the past
With demographic shifts, trendy activities like wildlife viewing and kayaking are increasing faster than traditional activities like hunting and backpacking.
by Sarah Jane Keller, Mar 18, 2013 -
Travel, HCN-style
Editor’s note for HCN’s second annual special issue on travel in the West describes some quirky personal trips.
by Ray Ring, Mar 18, 2013 -
HCN takes a break
The next issue of HCN will be out April 15; reprint of corrected mountain lion deaths chart
by Jodi Peterson, Mar 18, 2013 -
Westerners love erotic landscapes
The Western landscape is full of arousing features.
by Stephen Lyons, Mar 18, 2013 -
Kids in the backcountry: The earlier, the better
A father understands what’s gained by taking his kids deep into the backcountry again and again as they’re growing up.
by Alan Kesselheim, Mar 18, 2013 -
Climate change turns an already troubled ski industry on its head
California's Mammoth Mountain provides a case study on the uncertainty of the ski business, and how global warming threatens to make it even more unpredictable.
by Greg Hanscom, Mar 04, 2013 -
(Manmade) snow is for fighting over
In an increasingly arid West, snow-making becomes a more important component of a ski area’s operating plan. But they need water to make snow, and getting it isn’t always easy.
by J.R. Logan, Mar 04, 2013 -
'We Don’t Give a Damn How They Do It Outside'
An Alaska native struggles to "blend in" in the Lower 48.
by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock , Mar 04, 2013 -
Lake Mead's retreat leaves Nevada ghost town high and dry
The residents of St. Thomas were forced to leave their homes behind when Lake Mead submerged their town. But after decades under water, drought has brought it back to the surface.
by Kate Shaw, Mar 04, 2013 -
Global warming's reluctant poster child
The ski industry, for whom bad press means all the difference between a banner year and a bust, tries to manage public perception of climate change's impact on snowfall and resort conditions.
by Greg Hanscom, Mar 04, 2013 -
Can Sally Jewell interest a new generation in public lands?
The chief of Recreation Equipment Inc. has worked hard to support conservation and get people of all ages and colors outside. Can she do the same at the Department of Interior?
by Greg Hanscom, Mar 04, 2013 -
An unlikely penitent: A review of On Top of Spoon Mountain
John Nichols’ latest novel tells the story of an aging writer who wants to climb one last peak to redeem his mistakes and restore his relationship with his children.
by Traci J. Macnamara, Mar 04, 2013 -
Ski industry supports cloud seeding but downplays climate change
Getting skiers on the slopes is less about actual snow and more about getting skiers to believe there is snow.
by Jonathan Thompson, Mar 04, 2013
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