A cattle rancher reflects on her occupation and the growing movement to understand how other animals see the world.
What’s it like to be a cow?
Posted in2025
HCN and Report for America launch environmental reporting partnership
High Country News and Report for America are seeking local and statewide newsrooms to build an environmental reporting network for the Western U.S.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
He makes bows — and bow makers
Joshua Hood is decolonizing traditional bow-making and archery education from his Portland backyard.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
The dried-out subdivisions of Phoenix
A groundwater crisis halted the construction of thousands of homes and pitted affordability against environmental concerns.
Posted inArticles
The strange loneliness of Charlie Kirk’s funeral
Photos and reflections from the memorial in the Phoenix suburbs.
Posted inArticles
Shutdown causes ‘confusion’ across the Forest Service
Prescribed burns are on hold during shutdown while logging continues.
Posted inArticles
Visiting public lands during the shutdown? Be polite and prepared
Public land advocates say the shutdown threatens resources but offer advice on how to help.
Posted inArticles
How tribal educators are navigating budget challenges
Tribal college and university leaders lean on their resiliency and cultural values in the face of federal funding unknowns.
Posted inArticles
What the government shutdown means for public lands
Many parks will stay open, and oil and gas permitting will continue — even as tens of thousands of staff are furloughed at NPS, BLM and USFS.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
The ‘bear’ necessities of good sign design
Researchers study the principles that promote bear-safety behavior.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
In a changing Arctic, how much noise is too much?
Alaska’s bowhead whales can hear the climate changing. Scientists are listening in, too.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
Give yourself a break
On the necessity of recharging the spirit in order to keep fighting.
Posted inArticles
The Trump administration’s war on wind
How energy companies and states are navigating federal policy that’s hostile to wind.
Posted inArticles
Will the public-lands coalition hold?
Americans came together to keep public lands in public hands this summer. Will they do it again?
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
What do fens do? Make peat, store water and help combat climate change
Meet the researchers restoring these unique wetlands high in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.
Posted inArticles
Denver’s storied tradition of sex work, then and now
In her new book, Michelle Gurule reveals her experience as a sugar baby and just how little has changed about the industry in the last century.
Posted inArticles
How to make electricity in the West cheaper and more reliable
Regionalized power markets give utilities more buying options, driving down prices and boosting stability.
Posted inArticles
The dismantling of the Forest Service
The Trump administration’s plans would remake the agency and public lands. The deadline to comment is Sept. 30.
Posted inArticles
Washington moves to conserve its state forests
The proposal would protect 77,000 acres of ‘structurally complex’ forests.