Items by Jim Stiak

House of Garbage
A new house in Missoula, Mont., showcases recycled building materials.
Logging firms rob a lax agency
Forest Service practices permit logging fraud by the Columbia River Scaling and Grading Bureau.
WPPSS's endless saga
After Trojan closes, Oregon's last nuclear power plant faces an uncertain future.
Oregon's Trojan horse
Oregon's Trojan nuclear power plant closes permanently after charges of safety violations.
How to repack and shut Pandora's box
The decommissioning of the Trojan nuclear power plant may serve as a model for other plants.
Eugene: A gathering of green energy
Eugene, Ore., boasts a concentration of conservationists perhaps unmatched in the rest of the country.
Why logging and salmon don't mix
Clearcut logging allows rain to wash away the gravel salmon need for spawning. The loss of shade also can raise the temperature of the water to lethal levels.
Raw-log export ban helps Northwest
Trees cut on state lands in the West can no longer slip past local mills onto foreign-bound ships.
Bush team quick-kicks the spotted owl issue to Congress
Federal officials recently announced plans to dilute the Endangered Species Act and continue logging the owl's habitat.
The most complex ecosystems on earth
Scientists have discovered that old-growth forests, far from being biological deserts, are among the most complex ecosystems on earth, habitat for dozens of animals that might not be able to survive anywhere else.
Ancient forest protection: Groups plot political strategies
As the effects of last year's congressional compromise trickle down to the ground and the ancient forests of the Northwest continue to fall as fast as ever, conservationists and politicians have been wrestling to draft new legislation that would save the remaining trees.
Bringing back the range
In Oregon, ranchers, academics and environmentalists are managing watersheds of small creeks with chainsaws, fire and cattle to bring those creeks back to life and save an endangered trout.
The old growth fight and logging go on
Twenty-four people were arrested July 11 while protesting the logging of old-growth forests in southern Oregon's North Kalmiopsis area.
Forester challenges his agency to a discussion
It wasn't until timber sales planner Jeff DeBonis was transferred to the Willamette National Forest -- the biggest timber-producing national forest in the country -- that what he saw made him open his mouth.
Dynamiteer makes instant old-growth
Larry Wineberg makes the biggest birdhouses in the Pacific Northwest by blowing Douglas firs in half.
It is very early springtime on Mt. St. Helens
Above, there once was a mountain; below, a new one is rising, a jumbled mound of steaming magma. Surrounding it, striped spires of rock shoot 2,000 feet straight up from the bottom of North America's most famous volcano.
Cancer strikes indirectly at the slow-growing yew
With the discovery that it may help cure cancer, a long-ignored tree has become the center of a lively debate in the Pacific Northwest.
An attempt to save the last 10 percent
In one of the more contested timber sales last year, 20 people were arrested while demonstrating against the logging of 63 acres near Detroit, Ore.
High Country News Classifieds
  • ARKANSAS RIVER COMMUNITY PRESERVE LAND MANAGEMENT PLANNER
    Central Colorado Conservancy seeks a land management planner to facilitate the creation of a management plan for the Arkansas River Community (ARC) Preserve on a...
  • WATER ADVOCACY MANAGER
    Do you want to help shape the future of groundwater in the Grand Canyon region? The Grand Canyon Trust is hiring its first water advocacy...
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH) seeks a strategic and visionary Executive Director: View all job details here- https://bit.ly/CCRHED
  • MONTANA BLUES
    The new novel by Ray Ring, retired HCN senior editor, tackles racism in the wild, a story told by a rural White horsewoman and a...
  • DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST
    Title: Digital Engagement Specialist Location: Salt Lake City Reports to: Communications Director Status, Salary & Benefits: Full-time, Non-Exempt. Salary & Benefits information below. Submission Deadline:...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    Apply by Oct 18. Seeking collaborative, hands-on ED to advance our work building community through fresh produce.
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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....
  • 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...
  • 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,...
  • 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....
  • 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...
  • CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
    Rural Community Assistance Corporation is looking to hire a CFO. For more more information visit: https://www.rcac.org/careers/
  • 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...
  • 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.