The future of nuclear power is more uncertain than ever, so this issue includes two features that examine the forbidden power — its legacy and its possibilities. Meanwhile, we look at tunnels underneath the border wall; investigation errors for missing and murdered Indigenous women; a wayward pocket of Alaska yellow cedars; an interview with Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva, the soon-to-be majority head for the House Committee on Natural Resources; and more.
Doing justice to our stories
A few of the recent letters to the editor (Ferm, 10/29/18, and Mumaw, 10/15/18) lamenting High Country News’ shifts toward coverage reflecting the issues faced by people in the region — not just white recreationists, ranchers or public-lands managers, but people, including immigrants, prisoners, queer people and others, who have often been overlooked in the…
Hate-group agitation
I just read your article on the Citizens for Equal Rights Alliance with great interest and gratitude (“Why don’t anti-Indian groups count as hate groups?” HCN, 11/26/18). I’d be interested regardless, but I am a landowner in Sanders County, Montana, and have been bombarded by the oddest, most addled, acerbic and confusing series of votes…
‘Limousine liberals’ and ‘redneck riffraff’
In the excerpt from her new book, Desert Cabal, Amy Irvine speaks volumes of truth in a few carefully chosen words (“Contrarian Cowboy: A note to Edward Abbey,” HCN, 11/12/18). I nodded in recognition as she described the contrast of old-time rural folk with the vociferous shouts of urban activists who fail to recognize that…
Voter exclusion
As facetious as it might sound, the lawmakers in North Dakota could be included on a list of anti-Indian hate groups (“Why don’t anti-Indian groups count as hate groups?” HCN, 11/26/18). The evidence: North Dakota’s 2017 voter ID law, which requires strict forms of identification, including street addresses. The law disenfranchises voters on American Indian reservations, where…
Is nuclear energy the key to saving the planet?
A new generation of environmentalists is learning to stop worrying and love atomic power.
There’s no easy fix for our nuclear past
At Washington’s Hanford nuclear site, failing infrastructure and make-do plans as the West prepares for a new round of radioactivity.
Photos: the Borderlands free from stereotypes
Experience the banalities, triumphs and fragility of life on the U.S. – Mexican border.
A most welcome winter
Former editorial fellows receive recognition, and fact-checking curious visitors swing through the office.
Looking for love in all the wrong places
A quest for connection unites a new collection of Western stories.
Nuclear’s long odds
Climate change is here, but nuclear power as a solution faces economical and historical challenges.
Batsh*t bafflegab?; flatearthers not on a ball; trolling the troll
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Latest: BLM abandons plan to surgically sterilize wild horses
The agency will focus on increasing adoption of horses and research other methods.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva intends to force a reckoning with climate change
A Democratic spitfire takes the helm of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
In Oregon, a mysterious tree grove conjures a colder time
Yellow cedars are suited to damp coastal Alaska. So what are they doing in the desert?
Latest: Top National Park Service climate official resigns
Marcy Rockman cites pressure from agency.
Is sporting a Patagonia fleece a political statement?
A reporter ponders the message the logo of an increasingly political company sends.
Study of missing and murdered Indigenous women highlights police data failures
Poor data collection by law enforcement creates a significant hurdle to understanding the crisis.
As the border wall grows, smuggling tunnels proliferate
The Trump administration is ignoring a big question: How do you secure a border below ground?
The arresting quiet of a crane migration in Washington
Sandhill cranes, cattle and the surprising benefits of their coexistence in the West.