Items by Jon Christensen

Seeing Mars on Earth
Seeing Mars on Earth
Kim Stanley Robinson on how the High Sierra has influenced his science fiction.
Harry Reid’s legacy will be remembered on the land
Harry Reid’s legacy will be remembered on the land
A reflection on what endures after the death of the longtime senator from Nevada.
How we risked losing the West
How we risked losing the West
A look back at how range science misled land managers.
Brave new L.A.
Brave new L.A.
Los Angeles is an unlikely model of urban sustainability for the West and the world.
Land trusts thrive despite, and because of, the Great Recession
Land trusts thrive despite, and because of, the Great Recession
The recession has afforded a unique opportunity for land trusts to protect more of the West’s private open land through direct acquisitions and, increasingly, conservation easements.
Measuring Tahoe’s blues
Jon Christensen accompanies scientists trying to measure the opacity and “blueness” of Lake Tahoe.
Dreaming of a New Deal for nature
A review of Neil M. Maher's book, "Nature's New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental Movement," which reminds us that to succeed, an environmental policy must reckon compromise.
The great wilderness compromise
Both sides of the contentious debate over a proposed Idaho wilderness bill invoke Howard Zahniser, father of the Wilderness Act -- and both sides have a point.
How not to fix conservation easements
The writers urge support for conservation easements and their tax breaks as a way to protect private land from development
Gov. Schwarzenegger is the nation's newest Progressive
The writers watch Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger launch initiatives over the head of California’s state legislators
It takes a community to save the sage grouse
The writer says it’s up to locals to keep sage grouse alive
Go West, Democrats, in the path of Harry Reid
New Senate minority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., brings to Capitol Hill the lessons learned from a hardscrabble Nevada childhood
Go West, Democrats, in the path of Harry Reid
The writer profiles the Democrats’ new minority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, a quintessential Westerner
Biology: The missing science
Studies by Montana’s Andrew Hansen and Colorado’s Rick Knight offer some of the first scientific evidence that preserving ranch lands provides important benefits to surrounding ecosystems
Not just a ranch: Bucks and acres
Carl Palmer hopes to make his Adobe Ranch in California an economic success to prove that open space can be financially as well as environmentally valuable
Who will take over the ranch?
As private lands become the new frontier in the West’s wild real estate frenzy, ranchers are turning to land trusts in places like Gunnison, Colo., to find out how to hold on to their land and keep it open and undeveloped
Showdown on the Nevada range
The Sagebrush Rebellion smolders when the BLM impounds and tries to auction off cattle owned by ranchers Ben Colvin and Jack Vogt for refusing to pay for grazing allotments.
A bitter valley waits
Residents of Nevada's Amargosa Valley, not far from Yucca Mountain, seem to be mostly ambivalent over the prospect of the high-level nuclear waste dump opening.
Can Nevada bury Yucca Mountain?
The unexpected power shift in the U.S. Senate raises environmentalists' hopes that the high-level nuclear waste dump proposed for Yucca Mountain in Nevada, which once seemed unstoppable, may not be a "done deal" after all.
An environmentalist in the heart of cowboy culture
Former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, Arizona native, rancher and environmentalist, lectures on cooperation and community in the West at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nev., and gets a surprising ovation.
The weedy future of the Great Basin
The fire-loving weed cheatgrass is taking over the Great Basin's overgrazed sagebrush steppes, and BLM scientists are struggling to find a way to eradicate the non-native weeds and restore the land before it all goes up in flames.
Save Our Sagebrush
In the wake of the huge fires that swept across the Great Basin in August 1999, the BLM is seeking ways to restore the sagebrush landscape and to control the fire-prone cheatgrass that now infests it.
Nevadans drive out forest supervisor
Citing a climate of threatening, "irresponsible fed-bashing" that made it almost impossible for her to do her job, supervisor Gloria Flora resigns from her job overseeing Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Nevada rebellion ends with a whimper
What was slated to be a big, vigorous wise-use protest, during which sagebrush rebels would open up an old Forest Service road into Nevada's Jarbidge Wilderness, sputters to a halt with fewer than 50 attendees.
Beyond sagebrush politics: A prospering megalopolis steers Nevada
Nevada is the fastest-growing state and its politics reflect a lively, complex reality.
A senator for the New West in the race of his life
Democrat Harry Reid brings a reputation for integrity, a record of environmentalism, and the toughness he kept from his hardscrabble Western upbringing into a challenging race for a third term as a U.S. Senator from Nevada.
At Tahoe forum, a tribe wins a deal
Washoe Tribal Chairman Brian Wallace gains assurances from President Clinton at the forum on Lake Tahoe that the Washoe Indians have rights to Lake Tahoe land.
A lot is at stake in Supreme Court case
Bernardine Suitum, 80, sues Tahoe Regional Planning Agency over her desire to develop a lot she owns in Incline Village, Nev.
Las Vegas may shoot craps with its water
A small but determined group protests Las Vegas' plan to take more water from Lake Mead and the Colorado River, saying the city's growth is already out of control and a potential public-health disaster looms if the water is contamined.
High Country News Classifieds
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSTRUCTION GEOPHYSICS
    We characterize contaminated sites, identify buried drums, tanks, debris and also locate groundwater.