In this issue, we focus on some of the ways the ongoing transition away from coal will be felt across the West. Our feature story profiles Diné activist Nicole Horseherder and her long quest for an equitable energy economy on the Navajo Nation. A half-century ago, what law professor and scholar Charles Wilkinson dubbed the “Big Buildup” transformed the West’s energy economy; now, it’s coming to an end in the “Big Breakdown.” We talk to some of the workers at the Boardman coal-fired plant in Oregon, as it shutters. Elsewhere, in Wyoming, we look at how communities are turning to wind power to make ends meet as they figure out how to get by in a future less dependent on fossil fuels. In other news, we look at how Western tribes are taking over land-management responsibilities at places like Montana’s National Bison Refuge. And we examine the disturbing links between the attempted coup in Washington, D.C., and the right-wing extremism rooted in the West. Activist Jackie Fielder discusses housing inequities in the time of COVID-19, while in rural Colorado, we meet a unique group of LGBTQ+, anti-fascist, pro-gun ranchers who have put together a community of their own. Finally, we reflect on the legacy of legendary Western author William Kittredge and reconsider Joan Didion’s vision of the West.
HCN in the 2000s
A look back at time when extraction was king and Jonathan Thompson was our editor-in-chief.
Coal’s big breakdown
A half-century ago, the ‘Big Buildup’ transformed the West; now, it’s all coming to an end.
The fight for an equitable energy economy for the Navajo Nation
Diné activist Nicole Horseherder’s long quest for equity from the rise and fall of the coal economy.
Cogitate this
I started a two-year subscription in response to the sterling reporting you provide. I’ve sporadically read articles from HCN for many years, but the tipping point to convert me to a subscriber came after reading Nick Bowlin’s piece on the political efforts of second-home owners in Crested Butte against COVID restrictions. While I have my own point…
Fair and balanced
My sincere and respectful congratulations for the fine article on the Gunnison election. As an aged near-native of the area who still carefully reads the Gunnison Country Times, I can verify your descriptions and revelations, and appreciate your deft manner of educating us all on the local background issues. I found your descriptions to be fair and…
More friction
Thank you for the deeply reported article by Nick Bowlin. The Gunnison Valley may be the sharpest illustration of the changes in the mountain West that were worsened by COVID-19. Clearly, it was a mistake, in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, to try to ban “outsiders” from using their second homes in Gunnison…
Rich and uplifting issue
Such a rich January edition deserves praise. Kudos to the “Rebel Constables,” each one of them, and to Gabriel Schivone for excellent coverage. It did me such good to read this story. And I was on the edge of my chair waiting for election results, fuming over the attempted big-money takeover of the Gunnison County…
Salton Sea
I watched the Salton Sea go from a fun place to boat and fish to a wasteland of dead fish and dreams. The article (“Sea change,” January 2021) is a rerun of a rerun of a rerun about broken promises from a dysfunctional state government. California is never going to spend mega-millions on the Salton…
Second-home owners
Thank you for the excellent January 2021 issue. Every article was pertinent to one or another of the pressing problems here in the West. I especially liked the article and photos by Nick Bowlin and Luna Anna Archey in your feature story, “Second Citizens.” It’s very evident that we need to find a way to…
New interns join the team
And our latest Virginia Spencer Davis Fellow is announced.
Subscribing in response to reporting
Nick Bowlin’s piece “Second Citizens” was an absolute gem. The reporting and emotion invoked were beautiful, and I want to thank Bowlin from my heart for stirring it up. As someone who lived in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for five years (and moved around a lot) I understand the dynamic intricacies of a seasonal town and…
Remembering coal
A look at the end of an era and its transition.
Mountaintop removal threatens traditional Blackfoot territory
Stop the Grassy Mountain coal project before it starts.
Multipurpose microbes; therapeutic cows; a liberal’s passing
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
How Wyoming’s Black coal miners shaped their own history
Many early Wyoming coal towns had thriving Black communities.
Is it time to decolonize the housing market?
In California, COVID-19 is exacerbating housing inequities. Indigenous activist Jackie Fielder believes she has a solution.
Reclaiming the National Bison Range
After decades of battling misinformation, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes recover their lands and the herd.
Finding meaning on Joan Didion’s frontier
With the release of a new collection, the 86-year-old author returns to her old work and a vast, complicated legacy.
Bears Ears is just the beginning
As the Biden administration begins, tribal nations with ties to Utah assert their relationships to the land.
In Arizona, fighting a copper mine planned on sacred land
Oak Flat has been an important location to Indigenous peoples for millennia.
Workers reflect on Oregon’s first and last coal plant
‘The people here made the plant. What we did is something that was needed.’
The lessons on storytelling that William Kittredge taught
The beloved teacher and writer was preoccupied with the particular.
Meet the gun-toting ‘Tenacious Unicorns’ in rural Colorado
How a transgender-owned alpaca ranch in Colorado foretells the future of the rural queer West.
In cash-strapped Wyoming, a community votes for a new hospital
As the state cuts funding for public services, cities and counties are figuring out how to go it alone.
New wind projects power local budgets in Wyoming
As the pandemic hit the fossil fuel industry, renewable energy projects filled community coffers.
The Washington, D.C., siege has Western roots and consequences
History and the growing power of right-wing extremism point to a volatile future for the West during the Biden presidency.