An interactive, year-by-year look at the current insurgency.
Marshall Swearingen
Will a twice-burned county change its ways?
Don’t count on wildfires to alter how counties plan development in fire-prone zones.
Scientists dig up the past in packrat middens
The animals’ sturdy nests can preserve clues about the climate for 50,000 years or more.
The BLM’s arms race on the range
The agency has armed up since 1978, but it’s still outgunned without local backup.
A tale of two BLM mascots
Johnny Horizon and Seymour Antelope show the agency’s changing focus.
The BLM has armed up since 1978, but it’s still outgunned
In confrontations with armed groups like the Bundy supporters, local law enforcement matters most.
High Country News: Branching out
The fourth in a series celebrating our 45th Anniversary.
High Country News: The reopening
The third in a series celebrating our 45th anniversary.
High Country News: Tragedy and transition
The second in a series celebrating our 45th anniversary
High Country News: Origins
The first in a series celebrating our 45th anniversary
A look back on 45 years of HCN
Continuing the tradition of in-depth, passionate coverage of the West’s defining issues.
Timeline of the sage grouse saga
One step forward, two steps back, starting from 1995.
Dispatch from White Hope Mine dispute in Montana
The constitutionalist group Oath Keepers is defending a mine that the Forest Service says is out of compliance.
Public-lands visitation and recreation, by the numbers
Fatalities, backcountry trips, ATVs and Denali summit attempts over the years.
A timeline of the Antiquities Act
The presidential power tool for land conservation since Teddy Roosevelt.
Controversy lingers at Missouri Breaks in Montana
Ranchers, landowners, environmentalists still disagree over the designation.
Community solar comes of age in the West
A neighborhood solar experiment in Washington gains traction in other states.
Private property blocks access to public lands
Public lands belong to everyone. But private landowners can make it hard to get to them.
Mapping threats on public land
Intimidation of federal officials is widespread across the West.