Magazine
The Gold King Reckoning
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May 2, 2016

The long history behind the Animas River spill. Plus, a moss mystery in Portland and environmental upset at California agencies.

Feature

Silverton’s Gold King reckoning
Silverton’s Gold King reckoning
How the Animas River disaster forced Silverton to face its pollution problem — and its destiny.

Editor's Note

Essays

The life of a fire lookout is one of the senses
The life of a fire lookout is one of the senses
A former lookout finds the woman who used to guard her tower.

Book Reviews

In a dead-end prison town, a fraught journey home
In a dead-end prison town, a fraught journey home
A first-time novelist follows a quiet Montana man in the wake of grief.
The absurdist Western
The absurdist Western
It’s worth following the twists and turns of Robert Garner McBrearty’s The Western Lonesome Society.
Meet one of the great forgotten Western painters
Meet one of the great forgotten Western painters
Frank Mechau, who died in 1946 at age 42, saw the West through an unusual lens.

Writers on the Range

Want to build the second century of American conservation? Look to César Chávez.
Want to build the second century of American conservation? Look to César Chávez.
On the eve of the National Parks centennial, Chávez’s son praises a monument to his father.

Heard Around the West

Gnome sharpshooting, satanic texts in schools, and coal bonuses
Gnome sharpshooting, satanic texts in schools, and coal bonuses
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.

Dear Friends

Letters

Current

National Park Service centennial shares limelight with scandals
National Park Service centennial shares limelight with scandals
Chief Jon Jarvis faces ethical challenges and questions about the agency’s approach to sexual harassment.
Will the ouster of California green leaders imperil clean air?
Will the ouster of California green leaders imperil clean air?
High-profile turnover at state agencies reflect a culture split between grassroots demands and developer interests.
Inside the moss mystery: How the organisms helped reveal Portland’s pollution
Inside the moss mystery: How the organisms helped reveal Portland’s pollution
Surveys of tree moss uncovered contamination that may have led to higher cancer rates.
Latest: Court orders reconsideration of whether to list wolverines
Latest: Court orders reconsideration of whether to list wolverines
Some say state opposition stymied efforts to provide the species federal protection.
Latest: Peer-reviewed study undermines fracking’s claims of safety
Latest: Peer-reviewed study undermines fracking’s claims of safety
Researchers in Pavillion, Wyoming, traced the chemical footprint of the drilling.
White-nose comes West, readers respond to Grand Canyon harassment, and the election out West
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