Politics & Policy
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This wilderness bill is a homespun vision for the West
A lifelong Montanan says the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act was made by Westerners for Westerners.
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Why I say "no" to a regional wilderness bill
A Wyoming resident says the state doesn’t need outsiders telling it which lands to protect under the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act.
Water
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Urban Creeks 2.0
In San Francisco's East Bay, activists try to reconnect impoverished communities with their local waterways.
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Rebooting Urban Watersheds
In California, grassroots activists work to restore damaged East Bay waterways and the impoverished communities that surround them.
Culture & Communities
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And you think times are tough
The articles in old American Heritage magazines remind one that life in the West used to be much harder than it is.
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Visitors from underground
Spelunkers visit High Country News; correction; obituaries for N.W. Grosse-Rhode and Ramon Mena Owens.
Energy
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The Renewable Energy Landscape
Maps, charts and text locate the nation's major renewable energy resources and some big projects on Western public land.
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Renewables: The Final Frontier
Vaclav Smil is a historian who exemplifies Vulcan-style logic and skepticism when it comes to easy solutions to energy problems.
Growth & Planning
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Old trees, new ideas, and humility
In Old Growth in the New World, 28 writers and experts debate whether and how the Pacific Northwest’s old-growth forests should be managed.
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California prepares for the next burn
Public officials – and even homeowners – are beginning to accept the inevitability of wildfires in the Golden State.
Flora & Fauna
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Go beyond dams to save salmon
We must tackle the other factors, aside from dams, that threaten the iconic fish.
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The salmon's last best hope
It's time for politicians and stakeholders to get out of their alternate reality universe, and take down the dams.
Climate & Pollution
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Western water in the age of climate change
In Dead Pool: Lake Powell, Global Warming, and the Future of Water in the West, James Lawrence Powell examines the impact of climate change on the West’s future.
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Garbage grows well on the border
The many thousands of illegal immigrants who pass through Arizona border towns are leaving tons of litter in their wake.
Mining & Agriculture
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The Hungry Intern: Lunch
Jeff's zany local food adventure continues with his second meal of the day.
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The Hungry Intern: Breakfast
Jeff Chen takes you on a zany adventure as he tries to eat locally, on a starving journalist's budget. Episode 1.
Recreation
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Finally, a burger with a taste of place
Next time you visit the Grand Canyon, stop in Flagstaff for a delicious Diablo burger made from locally raised organic beef.
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A conflict of values
Michael J. Yochim writes the primer on the Yellowstone snowmobile conflict in his admirably balanced Yellowstone and the Snowmobile: Locking Horns over National Park Use.
