An HCN investigation into violent threats to public-land employees, analysis of the newest movement to return public land management to state government, highlights of the upcoming midterm elections and more.
Mapping threats on public land
Intimidation of federal officials is widespread across the West.
The grayest of grays
I had never heard of Charles Bowden until the Oct. 13 High Country News. I am moved to tears by what he saw and how he lived and the words he shared. He saw the darkest of all of us and did not shy away from it, shun it, or ignore it. He stayed and dug in…
Pronghorn were shot and left on the side of the road in Wyoming.
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
The Latest: Sustainable seafood advocates vs. wilderness purists
After years of court battles, an oyster company in a national park agrees to shut down.
An unbent issue
I wanted you to know how much I love the cover of your “Books & Essays” special issue (HCN, 9/15/14), with the Serena Supplee painting. I have her artwork on every wall in my office, the walls of which are painted pink and orange to evoke the Colorado Plateau’s red rock at sunset and sunrise.…
The Latest: When wind and solar need reliable backup power
Western grid operators can now buy backup power on a real-time, open market to smooth intermittent renewables.
Bookshop oversight
I enjoy your publication and especially liked “The best little bookshops in the West” (HCN, 9/15/14). I am a faithful shopper of Changing Hands, two miles from my home. However, you missed one very important shop — Singing Wind Bookshop, in the middle of a cattle ranch in Benson, Arizona. They are visited by worldwide…
The lost navigator
Before Parkinson’s, my father never needed to consult a road map.
Defuse the West
Public-land employees are easy targets for a violent, government-hating fringe.
The old ennui
Review of “Funny Once” by Antonya Nelson.
Roots of rebellion: A forum
Four experts discuss threats to federal public-lands employees and where we go from here.
Western states eye federal lands—again
The ultra-right ‘remedy’ for public lands.
Goodbye Ray Ring — sort of
A long-time senior editor goes part-time, and HCN gains new board members.
House of Misrepresentatives
What would happen to the West’s environment if the House of Representatives had its way.
Midterm races to watch
Only a handful of seats are truly up for grabs, including two in the West, and they’re being fiercely contested.
Nowhere left to run
Review of “Point of Direction” by Rachel Weaver
Related High Country News coverage
Nevada’s ugly tug-of-war (1995) County commissioner courts bloodshed (1995) Utah counties bulldoze the BLM, Park Service (1996) Nevadans drive out forest supervisor (1999) Shoveling vs. sniveling (2000) Showdown on the Nevada range (2001) Change comes slowly to Escalante country (2003) Road warriors back on the offensive (2003) Rebels with a lost cause (2007 Sagebrush Rebel…
Reports from the front lines
Excerpts from official accounts of threats against U.S. Forest Service and BLM employees.
Review of “The Color of Being Born” by Michael Cadieux
Paintings that depict the precarious relationship between humankind and the natural world.
An expedition along the imperiled Rio Grande
The river’s future may include longer droughts, larger floods and shrinking snowpack.
Standing up to bullies
Remember Guy Pence? Pence — as Jeff Ruch, director of the nonprofit group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, reminded me during a recent phone interview with four public-lands veterans — was a district ranger on Nevada’s Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in 1995 when someone firebombed his office in Carson City and then dynamited his van in…