Items by Robyn Morrison

Putting the 40th Anniversary Blog to Bed
HCN is now 41, so it's time to get on with another four decades of reporting and inspiring debate in the West.
Robyn Morrison Jan. 13, 2011
Cows, coyotes and a revelation
Twenty years ago, Ed Marston found reform taking root in the West
Robyn Morrison Aug. 31, 2010
From prom queens to dam dialogue
The Marstons prodded the West to sit down and talk
Robyn Morrison Aug. 11, 2010
What about Watt?
A look back at James Watt's undoing of Interior
Robyn Morrison June 15, 2010
The summer the dam almost didn't
A look back to 1983 when the Colorado River almost tore out Glen Canyon Dam
Robyn Morrison June 8, 2010
Pack the truck.....we're headed to Colorado
HCN trades small town Wyoming for small town Colorado
Robyn Morrison May 21, 2010
Psssst…everyone… jobs in North Dakota.
North Dakota's oil fields are booming….is this 1982 or 2010?
Robyn Morrison May 2, 2010
Out of tragedy, High Country News soldiers on
A devastating car crash in 1978 results in another miracle for the institution
Robyn Morrison April 21, 2010
An age-old story of the high cost of coal
Coal mine disaster is a stark reminder of the human costs of energy production.
Robyn Morrison April 8, 2010
Readers wield their fiery pens
One thing hasn't changed in 40 years - HCN readers instigate lively debate
Robyn Morrison March 29, 2010
Forged on a Rough Frontier
Founder Tom Bell's successors try to strike a chord among a broader audience across the West.
Robyn Morrison March 17, 2010
The Crusade Continues
A young couple is tapped to fill a 'big set of Vibrams'
Robyn Morrison March 9, 2010
What Tom Bell Had to Say
Candid words from a feisty, cowboy-hat-wearing eco-nut of the '70's.
Robyn Morrison March 5, 2010
The First Scrappy Years
How High Country News was resurrected ... twice.
Robyn Morrison Feb. 17, 2010
Tom Bell, Spaghetti Westerns and HCN
40 years ago Wyoming rancher and wildlife biologist Tom Bell set the tone for High Country News
Robyn Morrison Feb. 5, 2010
They say it's your birthday
High Country News turns 40.
Robyn Morrison Jan. 29, 2010
Riding the middle path
A homegrown consensus effort called the Owyhee Initiative is trying to save both wilderness and ranching in southwestern Idaho – but in the polarized Bush era, consensus is often controversial
Robyn Morrison Dec. 8, 2003 From the print edition
Climbers: More than just fun-hogs?
The Access Fund says it’s out to prove that climbers care about the environment, but some say that the group’s tactics are no different from any wise-use group’s
Robyn Morrison July 7, 2003 From the print edition
One park clamps down on climbers
Hueco Tanks State Historic Site near El Paso, Texas, had to enact strict regulations governing climbing after the area’s rock art was vandalized
Robyn Morrison July 7, 2003 From the print edition
Who’s managing climbers?
A look at popular climbing areas around the West shows both the problems – and the solutions – inspired by the popularity of rock climbing
Robyn Morrison July 7, 2003 From the print edition
Invasion of the rock jocks
Bishop, Calif., is a hot spot for the lively new sport of bouldering, but some fear that the new generation of rock-climbers is short on environmental ethics, treating nature as little more than an outdoor climbing gym
Robyn Morrison July 7, 2003 From the print edition
A small-town mayor challenges developers
Erie, Colo., one of the country’s fastest-growing communities, is trying to slow development down, with the help of a controversial anti-growth mayor, Barbara Connors.
Robyn Morrison March 31, 2003 From the print edition
As the dust settles
Michael Brown’s documentary, Dust to Dust, tells the story of Libby, Mont., and the struggle of its people against deadly disease caused by asbestos-laced dust from a vermiculate mine
Robyn Morrison Feb. 17, 2003 From the print edition
Conservation pays off in a desert town
Residents of Castle Valley, Utah, are working with the state trust lands agency to find a way to preserve open space while also raising more money for schools
Robyn Morrison Feb. 17, 2003 From the print edition
Logging for water creates a buzz
In Colorado, a long-dead notion to clear-cut forests to increase water runoff is resurrected in a time of drought.
Robyn Morrison Dec. 23, 2002 From the print edition
One Colorado county takes a stand
Poor but coal-rich Delta County, Colo., made history when its county commissioners, responding to a determined citizens' movement, voted to deny four coalbed methane test wells and attach conditions to the drilling of a fifth.
Robyn Morrison Sept. 2, 2002 From the print edition
Land plan attracts an anti-grazing gorilla
A draft plan by Moffat County, Colo., commissioners to turn over control of 1.7 million acres of federal land to local trustees draws the ire of environmentalist Jon Marvel of the Western Watersheds Project.
Robyn Morrison Aug. 5, 2002 From the print edition
Spilling salt into rivers
The Southern Ute Tribe is upset with Colorado state officials for issuing a permit to allow two coalbed-methane wells to spill polluted water into the Florida River, upstream from the tribe.
Robyn Morrison May 13, 2002 From the print edition
Dunes shifts toward park status
Residents of Colorado's San Luis Valley are pleased at the prospect of the Great Sand Dunes National Monument adding the neighboring Baca Ranch and becoming a national park.
Robyn Morrison Feb. 18, 2002 From the print edition
Church aims to purchase public land
The Mormon Church is working to purchase a national historic site along the Oregon Trail in Wyoming, where nearly 200 Mormon pioneers died in the winter of 1856.
Robyn Morrison Dec. 3, 2001 From the print edition
High Country News Classifieds