At first, as the armed occupation in Oregon’s High Desert unfolded in January, it looked like a widescreen version of the flare-ups we’ve seen in the West ever since the Sagebrush Rebellion erupted in the 1970s. Recall the so-called “oppressed ranchers,” their anti-federal rhetoric and the sight of cowboy-hatted heroes riding to their rescue. But […]
Jonathan Thompson
Jonathan Thompson is a contributing editor at High Country News. He is the author of Sagebrush Empire: How a Remote Utah County Became the Battlefront of American Public Lands. Follow him @LandDesk
Posted inFebruary 2, 2016: Sagebrush Insurgency
Graphic: The hidden connections of the Sagebrush Insurgency
Where a sprawling network of actors find common cause.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2016: Sagebrush Insurgency
The rise of the Sagebrush Sheriffs
How rural ‘constitutional’ peace officers are joining the war against the feds.
Posted inArticles
Authorities closing in on Oregon’s Malheur occupation
FBI calls for removal of occupiers following eight arrests and the death of one man late Tuesday.
Posted inArticles
BLM proposes rules for oil and gas methane emissions
The rule will help conserve natural gas and mitigate pollution, targeting 100,000 existing wells.
Posted inArticles
Massive leaks are an everyday occurrence in gas fields
California’s Aliso Canyon is a reminder that methane emissions are widespread, poorly regulated — and ongoing.
Posted inArticles
The first Sagebrush Rebellion: What sparked it and how it ended
Today’s movement is a radical, perverted version of the 1970s-80s rebellion.
Posted inArticles
Who’s who inside and on the outskirts of the Malheur occupation
Here are the most vocal occupiers, along with a core group of militia members staying in Burns.
Posted inArticles
The BLM’s inconsistent approach toward rule breakers
A look at how the feds have — and have not — punished individuals for defying regulations.
Posted inArticles
Economic diplomacy in Sagebrush Rebel country
A new science and education center gives rural Utah a boost.
Posted inArticles
Slow-motion methane disaster
Aliso Canyon has leaked more greenhouse gases in two months than a coal mine does in a year.
Posted inArticles
Pot growers put huge energy demand on the grid
Utilities should view legalization as an opportunity, not a threat.
Posted inArticles
A pumpjack is not a coal mine
Eight things you need to know about coalbed methane mining.
Posted inArticles
Two oil-boom soap operas, then and now
How ‘Blood & Oil’ in today’s Bakken and ‘Dynasty’ in a 1980s Colorado match up.
Posted inArticles
Fracking has a big water footprint, but that’s not the whole story
A new study finds other energy extraction methods have a bigger impact.
Posted inArticles
A crude oil export ban primer
All you need to know, and then some, about selling U.S. oil overseas.
Posted inAugust 31, 2015: Unlocking the Methane Mystery
Unlocking the mystery of the Four Corners Methane Hot Spot
Scientists zero in on the culprits behind a giant plume of greenhouse gases.
Posted inArticles
Gold King Mine water was headed for the Animas, anyway
The nuts and bolts of acid mine drainage.
Posted inArticles
Could fugitive methane help out remote communities?
The greenhouse gas that seeps from underground is both a problem and opportunity.
Posted inArticles
Animas River spill: only the latest in 150 years of pollution
Mapping the other threats to the Animas and San Juan Rivers.