High Country News - Writers on the Range
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The Pawnee Buttes oversee a changing landscape
Eastern Colorado’s Pawnee Buttes have witnessed so many historical changes that they’re likely to survive the current energy-development boom.
by Allan Best, May 10, 2012 -
Selling what's priceless is the nuttiest idea of all
Some Western legislators want to sell off our public lands -- an idea that is not only impractical, but contrary to the desires of most Westerners.
by Jeff Welsch, May 09, 2012 -
Micah True, born to run
Remembering Micah True – known as “Caballo Blanco,” or the white horse – a gifted athlete who devoted his life to helping the Tarahumara, a remote tribe of long-distance runners in Mexico’s Copper Canyon.
by Hal Walter, May 03, 2012 -
The hoof stops here
A proposal to reopen slaughterhouses in the U.S. for old, unwanted, abandoned or wild horses is a cruel and foolish idea.
by Mae Lee Sun, May 01, 2012 -
A final hats off to rancher Doc Hatfield
With the help of his wife, Connie, and a bunch of determined fellow ranchers, the late Doc Hatfield helped change the face of public-lands ranching in the West.
by Ed Marston, Apr 26, 2012 -
The truth about wolves is hard to find
Some hunters claim wolves are killing too many deer and elk in northwestern Montana, but the facts indicate otherwise -- although those facts are easily lost in all the emotional rhetoric.
by Christina Nealson, Apr 26, 2012 -
Wolf management in Idaho is not ready for prime time
The controversy that flared when a trapper posted a photo of himself with a dying wolf proves that Idaho and other Western states are incapable of managing wolves without the help of the Endangered Species Act.
by Michael J. Robinson, Apr 24, 2012 -
When wolf-trapping goes viral
When a trapper posted photos of himself with a dying wolf on Facebook, the resulting angry, hate-filled uproar on the Internet accomplished nothing useful.
by Erin Zwiener, Apr 23, 2012 -
A good ranger stands up to bad bureaucrats
National Park Service ranger Robert Danno is still being punished by the agency he loves, despite being vindicated for his work as a whistleblower eight years ago.
by Andrea Lankford, Apr 20, 2012 -
A future of big fires and tiny bugs
A second-generation forest ranger considers how fire prevention and climate change are affecting the forests he once roamed with his father.
by Frank Carroll, Apr 17, 2012 -
Face it: All forests are "sluts"
If an allegedly untouched piece of woodland is "virgin forest," what does that make a forest that’s been logged or burnt or otherwise used by humans over the years?
by Sharon Friedman, Apr 12, 2012 -
Dead man working
When Robert Palmer began crusading for better medical care on the firelines in memory of his brother, he realized -- as many reformers do -- that one of the problems lies in the risk-accepting culture of firefighting and other outdoor occupations.
by Neil LaRubbio, Apr 12, 2012 -
Solar power works best when it stays small and local
Industrial-style, large-scale solar developments on Western public lands are simply not the right way to go.
by Janine Blaeloch, Apr 11, 2012 -
Conserving water makes more sense than moving it around
It makes both ecological and economic sense to try to use water more efficiently, rather than gamble on high-stakes, ill-advised, expensive water diversion schemes.
by Sharlene Leurig, Apr 02, 2012 -
How to heat-proof your garden
In a spring so hot and dry that it’s breaking records, backyard gardeners might considering using edible living mulch to protect the soil.
by Ari LeVaux, Mar 29, 2012 -
Fracking is the big new gun
Hydraulic fracturing is changing the energy industry -- and the entire nation -- in ways we’re only beginning to understand.
by Randy Udall, Mar 29, 2012 -
The lure of skiing in avalanche country
Powder calls, but skiing in the backcountry can be a dangerous game.
by Allan Best, Mar 22, 2012 -
Deadly handouts, dependent deer
A neighbor's outdoor feeding efforts endanger local deer, who might be spreading chronic wasting disease.
by Susan Tweit, Mar 21, 2012 -
A moral issue confronts industrial farmers
Farmers in Nebraska are feeling the pressure from groups that demand better treatment for animals on factory farms.
by Pete Letheby, Mar 15, 2012 -
Saying good-bye to the ranch
Four families cooperate on conservation easements in order to save a huge ranch in Colorado from development.
by Kerry Brophy Lloyd, Mar 13, 2012
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