High Country News - Most Recent
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Six Good Places
David Oates ranges from the Sierra Nevada to Aix-en-Provence as he considers the particular qualities that make a place worth living in.
by David Oates, Oct 29, 2007 -
Bloodied but unbowed
The Western novel is not entirely dead; it has simply changed a great deal since the glory days of Zane Grey.
by Michelle Nijhuis, Oct 29, 2007 -
Wet words
Brian Doyle recommends the best reads about the Pacific Northwest, with particular emphasis on his home state, Oregon.
by Brian Doyle, Oct 29, 2007 -
In Large and Sunlit Land
Peter Chilson ponders the parallel fates of two lovely and ravaged lands: The Southwest desert in America and the West Coast of Africa.
by Peter Chilson, Oct 29, 2007 -
‘Men standing in the shadows began to weep’
Writers John N. Maclean and Mark Matthews look closely at two famous – and deadly – Western wildfires in their new books, The Thirtymile Fire and A Great Day to Fight Fire.
by Ray Ring, Oct 29, 2007 -
Another near-death experience for environmentalism
Environmental contrarians Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger jump back into the fray with a new book, Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility.
by Brian Kevin, Oct 29, 2007 -
Looking forward, looking back
William Kittredge brings together new and selected essays about life in the West in The Next Rodeo.
by Claire Dederer, Oct 29, 2007 -
Mystery in Montana
Deirdre McNamer’s new novel, Red Rover, beautifully captures the unromantic realism of Montana’s small towns.
by Bruce Barcott, Oct 29, 2007 -
Borders and saints
Latino writer Luis Alberto Urrea talks about the border and remembers the women in his family who inspired him.
by Jennie Lay, Oct 29, 2007 -
No frigate like a book
This special issue focuses on books and essays that help us understand the complex, chaotic West.
by Jodi Peterson, Oct 29, 2007 -
RV Nation
On a Western road trip, Evelyn Spence ponders the peculiar names – and increasing numbers – of gigantic RVs.
by Evelyn Spence, Oct 15, 2007 -
Nothing out there can be a very good thing
Julianne Couch surveys the vastness of Wyoming’s Adobe Town badlands and hopes that oil and gas drilling does not invade its beautiful emptiness.
by Julianne Couch, Oct 15, 2007 -
Fire managers play a subtle new game
Forest Service fire manager Brent Skaggs worries that the Framework's new burning restrictions won't allow the amount of controlled burning he believes necessary to prevent catastrophic wildfires.
by Jim Downing, Aug 27, 2001 -
Road Block
When residents of the village of Tome, N.M., challenged plans for a nearby four-lane highway and bridge to facilitate the commute from Albuquerque to the suburbs, they took on New Mexico's huge "sprawl machine" - and won.
by Greg Hanscom, Dec 04, 2000 -
Where the Antelope (and the Oil Companies) Play
In Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin, a natural gas boom is threatening pronghorn antelope and other wildlife, and some Pinedale-area residents are beginning to fight back
by Brian Maffly, Aug 18, 2003 -
Wild Wyoming under siege
Environmentalists and sportsmen gather in Rock Springs, Wyo., to discuss the problems caused by increasing oil and gas development.
by Michelle McClellan, Apr 01, 1996 -
Into thin air?
Global warming spurs calls for new dams in the West – but where will the water come from to fill them?
by Matt Jenkins, Apr 30, 2007 -
Thomas McGuane’s lonely freaks
The powerful short stories in Thomas McGuane’s Gallatin Canyon prove him to be the New West’s answer to Flannery O’Connor.
by Annie Dawid, Apr 02, 2007 -
A difference of opinion over numbers
BLM and wild horse watchers disagree over how many of the animals roam Nevada and what kind of impact they're having in the state.
by Lynne Bama, Mar 02, 1998 -
Forest Service acts to preserve 'the Front'
Lewis and Clark National Forest Supervisor Gloria Flora decides against allowing oil and gas leasing in Montana's Rocky Mountain Front.
by Mark Matthews, Oct 13, 1997
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