A desert village called Big Water and a troubled ski resort near the hardscrabble town of Beaver are two unlikely places in Utah where entrepreneurs plan to build exclusive resorts for the ultra-rich.
Items by Jonathan Thompson
High Country News photographer Morgan Heim joins the International League of Conservation Photographers to document the gasfields and the wildlands around Pinedale, Wyo.
Some moderate Western Republicans, tired of being penned up behind rigid ideological fences, are rebelling against the hard-line elements of their party.
Our policies are schizophrenic.
In most of the West’s complicated environmental
problems, so-called “unlikely alliances” between greens
and their opposite numbers are really not that unlikely after
all.
Garry and Diann Fulks have been recycling large metal
objects for 35 years at their scrap yard in Montrose,
Colo.
Westerners in towns like Durango, Colo., and Monticello,
Utah, have been exposed to mine tailings for years, unaware that
uranium might be even more dangerous than scientists used to
believe.
The West’s weather is full of surprises this spring,
with snowstorms, windstorms, rain and wildfires all happening at
the same time.
Just as western Colorado towns like Rifle have begun a new
life as thriving “amenity” economies, an energy boom of
unprecedented proportions has taken over the landscape.
Archaeology is, or at least ought to be, about more than
just picking up artifacts to gather dust on the shelves of crowded
museum storerooms.
It may seem like a considerable departure for High Country
News to write about mental illness and suicide, but as Ray
Ring’s deeply personal lead story shows, both tragedies are
rooted in the West.
Indian tribes were left out of the negotiations that
divvied up the Colorado River in 1922, but it’s no longer
possible to ignore them – particularly in the case of the
Navajo Nation.
Quagga mussels hit the jackpot in Nevada; Lakes Mead and
Powell are in trouble; lots and lots and lots of snow – and a
few ambitious ski resorts; and Colorado is building a vegetated
overpass for wildlife on I-70.
Fiction: A child's road trip to the Salton Sea
The transformation of once-scrappy mining towns like
Silverton, Colo., and Superior, Ariz., into trendy tourist havens
is bound to leave the locals with mixed feelings and some
nostalgia.
A copper-mining company is courting Superior, Ariz., but
the former mining town – now re-inventing itself as a modest
tourist haven – is unsure whether it really wants a new
marriage with extractive industry.
Something deeper than party lines is at work in Western
politics.
The Interior West’s growing political voice –
and its status as the nation’s energy supplier – mean
presidential candidates need to see the region as more than
campaign flyover country.
Greater sage grouse gets another shot at protection;
Colorado River water users ratify new plan; news from around the
West; a high-tech “virtual fence” on the U.S.-Mexico
border runs into problems.
A chaotic effort to restore Mexican wolves in New Mexico
and a problem with too many elk in Colorado are two facets of the
same problem: Our propensity to manage nature in very unnatural
ways.
Two weeks in the very arid West means dry ski slopes,
destructive wildfires, unending drought and unhappy bears; timber
mills are victims of housing collapse; costs of carbon dioxide and
its removal.
Even as the air over power plants clears, the coal
combustion waste on the ground gets worse – and the EPA seems
disinclined to deal with the problem.
One of coal's big messes is transformed into building
blocks
In this issue of High Country News, Matt Jenkins dives
into the murky world of L.A.’s water system
Jonathan Thompson kayaks Lake Powell and finds it
drastically changed – and shrunken – from the
“Lake Foul” he first visited 20 years ago.
California’s continuing water troubles; saving water
for the Delta smelt; New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici to retire; Idaho
grizzly shot; polygamous community in the spotlight; Vegas goes a
glitzy shade of green.
Wilderness bills are coming back to life, especially one
that would protect Arizona’s Tumacacori Highlands; a lot of
things besides windmills are killing birds.
Health insurance – and the lack of it – in the
West; Larry Craig, Burning Man, and parts of Montana go up in
flames; Wyoming booms and house prices are up, but the kids are
still leaving in droves; new Border Patrol duds debut.
In southern Colorado, conservation groups find a way to
save 9,000 high-altitude acres from second-home
development.
Coal-mining is always a dangerous business; wild horse
problems in Nevada; biofuel boondoggle?; and biofuel bio the
numbers.
Featured stories
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CONSERVATION FIELD ORGANIZER 
Title: Conservation Field Organizer Reports to: Advocacy and Stewardship Director Location: Southwest Colorado Compensation: $45,000 - $50,000 DOE FLSA: Non-Exempt, salaried, termed 24-month Wyss Fellow...
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UTAH STATE DIRECTOR
Who We Are: The Nature Conservancy's mission is to protect the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we create...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Apply by Oct 18. Seeking collaborative, hands-on ED to advance our work building community through fresh produce.
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INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS EDITOR - HIGH COUNTRY NEWS High Country News is hiring an Indigenous Affairs Editor to help guide the magazine's journalism and produce stories that are important to Indigenous communities and...
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STAFF ATTORNEY Staff Attorney The role of the Staff Attorney is to bring litigation on behalf of Western Watersheds Project, and at times our allies, in the...
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ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION Northern Michigan University seeks an outstanding leader to serve as its next Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. With new NMU President Dr. Brock...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Clark Fork Coalition seeks an exceptional leader to serve as its Executive Director. This position provides strategic vision and operational management while leading a...
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GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT MANAGER Help uphold a groundbreaking legal agreement between a powerful mining corporation and the local communities impacted by the platinum and palladium mine in their backyard....
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Feather River Land Trust (FRLT) is seeking a strategic and dynamic leader to advance our mission to "conserve the lands and waters of the...
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COLORADO DIRECTOR COLORADO DIRECTOR Western Watersheds Project seeks a Colorado Director to continue and expand WWP's campaign to protect and restore public lands and wildlife in Colorado,...
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DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: WYOMING, MONTANA AND UTAH Digital Media Specialist - WY, MT, UT OFFICE LOCATION Remote and hybrid options available. Preferred locations are MT, WY or UT, but applicants from anywhere...
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GRANT WRITER (PART-TIME, FREELANCE CONTRACT) HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
High Country News seeks an energetic, articulate and highly organized grant writer to support a growing foundations program. This position works closely with our Executive...
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ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY - INDIGENOUS HISTORIES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WEST Whitman College seeks applicants for a tenure-track position in Indigenous Histories of the North American West, beginning August 2024, at the rank of Assistant Professor....
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DAVE AND ME Dave and Me, by international racontuer and children's books author Rusty Austin, is a funny, profane and intense collection of short stories, essays, and poems...
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CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Rural Community Assistance Corporation is looking to hire a CFO. For more more information visit: https://www.rcac.org/careers/
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation (ABWF) seeks a new Executive Director. Founded in 2008, the ABWF is a respected nonprofit whose mission is to support...
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CANYONLANDS FIELD INSTITUTE Field seminars for adults in natural and human history of the northern Colorado Plateau, with lodge and base camp options. Small groups, guest experts.
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COMING TO TUCSON? Popular vacation house, everything furnished. Two bedroom, one bath, large enclosed yards. Dog-friendly. Contact Lee at [email protected] or 520-791-9246.
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ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSTRUCTION GEOPHYSICS We characterize contaminated sites, identify buried drums, tanks, debris and also locate groundwater.
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LUNATEC HYDRATION SPRAY BOTTLE A must for campers and outdoor enthusiasts. Cools, cleans and hydrates with mist, stream and shower patterns. Hundreds of uses.
