Issues

In this issue, two stories peer into the West's turbulent, exploitative, hubris-fueled past. Excerpted from his new book "The River of Lost Souls," Contributing Editor Jonathan Thompson reminds us of the toxic legacy of mining in southwest Colorado and how our collective limited memory continues to impact communities there today. In his series, "Civil Conversations," Wayne Hare explores a tiny corner of Portland, where discriminatory practices against African-Americans persisted until the far-too recent past.

May 28, 2018

Death in the Alpine

Outdoor recreation and travel through the American West are a big part of life for many out here, and our annual Outdoor and Travel special issue takes a hard look at outdoor recreation’s influence — and its costs.

May 14, 2018

Celebrity Scofflaw

This issue’s cover story, by Associate Editor Tay Wiles, untangles the many threads behind the Bundys’ rebellion, from their faith to more radical Western strains of anti-government ideology. The story also describes how the Department of Justice and Bureau of Land Management bungled their own legal case against the family. Also in this issue, the Fish and Wildlife Service revisits rare species protections, the Interior Department deals with a larger-than-expected budget and a daughter writes an ode to her father and his acequia.

April 30, 2018

Cashing in on Standing Rock

In this issue, we track the money that poured into groups involved with protests at Standing Rock in North Dakota and trace how one group spent the donations they received. Also in this issue, a look at the development of electric car infrastructure in the Interior West, and a reflection on the dramatic change the Pawnee Buttes in Colorado experienced once natural gas was found.

April 16, 2018

Desert, Divided

This issue looks at borders – physical, ecological and otherwise. The feature investigates how a wall would affect the Borderlands region in the U.S. and Mexico, while a correspondent examines how borders around protected public lands in Alaska may be opened to oil and gas exploration. And, finally, an essay ponders the intertidal zone on the Oregon coast, and the thin biological line that divides humans from a tide pool’s ‘primordial soup.’

March 19, 2018

Drilling Chaco

Conflict in the West constantly remakes itself. This issue looks at new iterations of those fights: A water battle over rural wells in Washington, Cliven Bundy’s victory rally for Freedom and Property, and the struggle of Navajo Nation residents to prevent more oil and gas exploration in historically important lands.

March 5, 2018

Unfrozen North

In this issue, the feature explores how melting permafrost in the Arctic will contribute to a changing climate, and how quickly. While that story examines the effect that human-caused climate change is already having, other stories look at one root cause: the proliferation of oil and gas drilling, which, under the Trump administration, is increasingly transferring public lands into industrial leaseholders' hands.

Feb. 19, 2018

Caught Between Crises

In this issue, the feature examines one Indigenous family's experience with structural inequities that affect the availability of housing in both rural and urban areas. Inequity is also examined in the Letter from California, on how federal tax policy will exacerbate growing class disparities. And finally, a story of a binational community shows what could be, once we look beyond borders, whether of class or nations.

Feb. 5, 2018

A Separatist State of Mind

Expressions of rural discontent are a main theme in this issue. Our feature story examines a zealous political movement born from resentment of California’s liberal ‘resistance’ to Trump. Meanwhile, the Bundy family walks free of charges from their involvement with a standoff with federal agents. These stories find common ground in their telling of cultural disempowerment.

Jan. 22, 2018

Bear Essentials

In this issue's feature story, writer Christopher Solomon visits a rare sort of place: a bear sanctuary where humans are subordinate — assuming a role we must have played long ago. Casting aside the notion that humans are somehow above and beyond nature, this issue touches on how still-wild places can be a healing force and how we might rethink our relationship with the natural world.

Dec. 25, 2017

Scorched Earth

In this issue we examine the West's relationship with fire after a difficult wildfire season. In the wildlands of California, we look at how fire is being used as its own management tool; we also look at the mounting impacts wildfire has on watersheds in the region and on public health in Montana. We break down why Congress hasn’t provided a fire-funding fix, and in an essay, a firefighter contemplates his own mortality.

Dec. 11, 2017

Profit and Politics

This issue addresses state lands, and what could come of the West's federal lands if they were transferred to states, a tenet of the Republican party platform. Our reporters investigate how wildlife, extractive industries and recreation are managed in New Mexico, North Dakota and Utah to better understand what's at stake.

Nov. 27, 2017

Solace and Perspective

In a break from covering the news, our annual Books & Authors special issue offers perspective by taking a look at the complicated West through a different lens: literature. Essays, excerpts, author profiles, Q&As and book reviews tackle grief, oddities and hard questions.

Nov. 13, 2017

The Changing Face of Woods Work

In this issue of High Country News, long-time contributor Hal Herring explains how immigration policy and a push for cheap labor have changed the economics of forest management. Film critic Jason Asenap examines the history of non-Native directors relying on overused stereotypes of Indigenous people. In a place as complicated as the West, our understanding of what shapes it is ever-evolving.

Oct. 30, 2017

Following Ancient Footsteps

This issue looks at human migrations, both modern and ancient. The feature examines the science of human migrations, with both Pueblo people in the Southwest and archeologists working together at Mesa Verde. An Alaskan Tlingit author writes about her own migration away from her homeland, and back again. And, a hunter on public lands follows the migration of deer to find food for her family for the winter. Movement is fundamental to humans, and just one way that we’re still connected to the natural world.

Oct. 2, 2017

No Hoax

In this issue, we confront the realities of climate change as its impacts on the West begin to unfold. We explore the longer growing seasons in Alaska, the fragility of shellfish in an increasingly acidified ocean and the impact of extreme weather events on indigenous people, and what they’re doing about it. With an administration at odds with recognizing climate change, it’s even more important to see what efforts are being made at the grass roots level.

Sept. 18, 2017

The Elwha, Unleashed

In this issue, we look past the contentious symbolism of dams and see what we can learn from them. We examine the lessons learned on Washington’s Elwha River, whose dams came down six years ago, and Utah’s Bear River, where a diversion is still being planned. And we look at the surprisingly scant science behind calls to take down Glen Canyon Dam, which would be a major win for preservationists but a potential disaster for many Westerners.

Sept. 4, 2017

Rooftop Revolution

This issue delves into the forces that shape our energy system – from corporate profit motives, to the individuals with solar panels on their roofs. These decisions affect our ability to mitigate climate change, which is also touched on in this issue from the Southwest’s songbirds struggling with increased heatwaves, to volunteer firefighters battling more wildfires.

Aug. 21, 2017

Los Promotores

This issue makes visible the communities who often go unseen and unheard. The feature looks at local activists in California who, without assistance from the government, have been doggedly trying to heal their communities from toxic dumps through education and community service. The issue also covers a new species facing extinction, dams in the West and enlivened efforts to drill near national monuments.

Aug. 7, 2017

Down the Dark Mountain

This issue delves into the choices we must make as we begin to face the consequences of the Anthropocene. Reckoning with the grinding anxiety of climate change and the grief of losing our most precious species, how we cope with these fears will define us. Also, how Trump could reshape important courts, what's caused California's white shark boom, and tribal nations fight grizzly bear delisting.

July 24, 2017