High Country News August 20, 2012
Feature
Troubled Taos, torn apart by a battle over historic Hispano land grants
A New Mexican town known for its art scene is home to a fractured community, where distrust of Anglo newcomers plays out in a fight over whether ancient deeds give Hispano old-timers a right to land.
Current
Tunneling under California's Bay Delta water wars
Environmentalists and fishermen have panned past versions of Gov. Jerry Brown's new proposal for water export tunnels, but it might actually help endangered fish.
Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell on the U.S. as an Arctic nation
Treadwell, an expert in the politics of the opening Arctic, discusses offshore drilling, the Arctic as a global economic powerhouse, and climate change adaptation.
Western states' transportation spending reveals their priorities
A breakdown of what various states spend on bike lanes and public transportation.
Saving threatened Utah prairie dogs -- on private property
Can a new approach to conservation help landowners and endangered species coexist?
Editor's Note
Old West versus New West in Taos, N.M.
When wandering newcomers and deep-rooted old-timers collide in the West, it gets difficult, especially in a place as culturally complex as northern New Mexico.
Dear Friends
Summer visitors
HCN gets a flood of summer visitors despite the hot, dry season; Deanne Stillman's new book, Desert Reckoning.
Book Reviews
Atlas of Yellowstone
The thoroughly researched and lavishly illustrated Atlas of Yellowstone covers the Greater Yellowstone Area from A to Z.
A long, strange trip: A review of Pot Farm
In his memoir, Matthew Gavin Frank takes the reader on a hallucinatory journey through the medical marijuana industry in Mendocino County, Calif.
Lights, camera, life: A review of Beautiful Ruins
Jess Walter's dashing sixth novel spans two continents and covers five decades as the lives of nine characters interweave throughout the years.
Essays
Love and tomatoes -- a natural combination
Diamonds aren't always a girl's best friend; sometimes a fresh, ripe, local tomato is.
