High Country News – Know the West

Karen Mockler likes the West’s grittier towns – the ones that aren’t remotely cool, the ones with a certain funk

Karen Mockler Essay July 23, 2007 From the print edition

In Ahead of Their Time, editors Broughton Coburn and Leila Bruno collect the stories of the heroes and heroines of the Wyoming wilderness movement

Karen Mockler June 27, 2005 From the print edition

A new look at Yellowstone

With its beautiful photographs and fine writing, Pete Bengeyfield’s Incredible Vision: The Wildlands of Greater Yellowstone succeeds in giving readers a new look at an often-photographed landscape

Karen Mockler March 15, 2004 From the print edition

West Nile isn’t just for people

West Nile virus is impacting Western wildlife, particularly birds, and some think coalbed methane development may be spreading the disease

Karen Mockler Dec. 22, 2003 From the print edition

Yellowstone’s grizzly stalker

Grizzlies in the Mist by Chuck Neal is an idiosyncratic look at the great bears of Yellowstone, combining scientific background and personal anecdotes with a strong conservation message

Karen Mockler Sept. 15, 2003 From the print edition

States crack down on wildlife cruelty

Westerners are becoming more concerned about incidents of cruelty to wildlife, but laws against such acts remain inconsistent in the region

Karen Mockler March 17, 2003 From the print edition

Small-town determination at 25 percent off

People of Powell, Wyo., resurrects their own department store.

Karen Mockler Essay Oct. 28, 2002 From the print edition

Golfers may oust eagles

The plan for a golf course and housing development on the Snake River near Jackson Hole, Wyo., would allow the developer to displace or kill up to 18 bald eagles.

Karen Mockler Sept. 30, 2002 From the print edition

Griz ordered to get scarce

Several communities surrounding Yellowstone National Park have passed regulations banning grizzlies, wolves and other "unacceptable species," even though the laws are unenforceable.

Karen Mockler April 29, 2002 From the print edition

Are Wyoming's feedgrounds a hotbed of disease?

Conservation groups want to phase out 23 elk feedgrounds managed by the state, claiming they are expensive breeding grounds for disease.

Karen Mockler April 29, 2002 From the print edition

Scouts (dis)honor

Tucson, Ariz., development foes are upset by a plan to sell land that was given to the Boy Scouts by a local rancher 30 years ago.

Karen Mockler Feb. 18, 2002 From the print edition

Agencies tangle over Hells Canyon dams

In the Northwest, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is fighting with the National Marine Fisheries Service over relicensing three dams in Hells Canyon on the Snake River that the fisheries service says are killing salmon.

Karen Mockler Nov. 5, 2001 From the print edition

The tale of a salmon slinger

On a tributary of Oregon's Nehalem River, the writer worked with Fish and Wildlife biologist Michele Long to scatter the carcasses of hatchery salmon, which feed a wide range of wildlife.

Karen Mockler March 26, 2001 From the print edition

Chinook tribe recognized

At long last, the Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes the existence of the Chinook Tribe.

Karen Mockler Feb. 12, 2001 From the print edition

Land trade threatens trails and trees

Some environmentalists fear that a proposed land exchange involving Oregon's Clatsop State Forest will lead to the logging of an intact forest ecosystem.

Karen Mockler Jan. 15, 2001 From the print edition

Down under: Arizona boasts the 'show cave of the century'

A tour of Arizona's recently opened Kartchner Caverns State Park reveals an extraordinary underground landscape that was undiscovered until 1974.

Karen Mockler Essay April 24, 2000 From the print edition

Loggers tap new forests

The decline of logging in the Northwest has created a timber boom in the South, where most timber grows on private lands and chip mills are increasingly popular.

Karen Mockler March 13, 2000 From the print edition

Gracias

Photographer Celia Roberts' bilingual Year 2000 calendar "Gracias" celebrates the Latino migrant workers who harvest western Colorado's fields.

Karen Mockler Dec. 20, 1999 From the print edition

Desert development raises dust

In Phoenix, Ariz., cases of "Valley Fever" are rising as rapid development stirs up pathogens in the area's dust.

Karen Mockler Dec. 20, 1999 From the print edition

Counties grab for control of national forests

Environmentalists are worried by a new House bill that will strengthen county control of national forests and their budgets.

Karen Mockler Dec. 20, 1999 From the print edition

Rivers among us

In its study, "Rivers Among Us: Local Watershed Preservation and Resource Management in the Western United States," the Reason Public Policy Institute offers a free-market, libertarian look at balancing water needs with environmental protection.