The recipe for a political swing: retirees, unpopular candidates, local organizing.
West Obsessed: Why a blue town voted for Trump
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River is shrinking because of climate change
A long-term drought threatens Western cities’ water supplies.
Posted inArticles
6 tips for authentic Western home decor
“No trespassing” signs, broken-down machinery and old stacked tires are a must-have.
Posted inArticles
Experts: Captive breeding of sage grouse won’t work
Zinke calls for a review of conservation plans.
Posted inArticles
Why the next generation needs public lands
Experiences in the wilderness are crucial for troubled youth.
Posted inArticles
Can Zinke shrink Bears Ears?
The Interior Secretary hints at a smaller, scattered national monument.
Posted inArticles
Making the California coast public for all
Invisible barriers have kept people of color at bay.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Voiceless no more
It’s very interesting that now that we have a president who looks at national monuments from the other side of the aisle, some people feel that their voices are not heard (“Zinke listened at Bears Ears, but supporters felt unheard,” HCN, 5/29/17). Consider how those who voted for this president have felt for the past […]
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
The Big Swing: Why a blue Colorado county voted for Trump
How a wave of retirees and a changed economic landscape reshaped rural politics.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Subsidized ranchers
The article about the American Prairie Reserve and Phillips County ranchers and farmers ignores the role that federal farm subsidies play in helping to keep the ranchers on the land (“Montana refuge divides tribes and ranchers,” HCN, 5/29/17). According to the Environmental Working Group, from 1995 to 2014 U.S. taxpayers generously paid out $219 million […]
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, revisited
A new book examines six decades of transformation in Monterey, California.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
See photos that illustrate the cost of building Alaska’s Pebble Mine
Carl Johnson’s photography shows the bay ‘where water is gold.’
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Reading the old-fashioned way
Warmer weather brings visitors to High Country News.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Our ‘Montana moment’
Perspective on polarized politics in the West.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
No land-grabbing here
The erroneous claim that the Antiquities Act is another form of federal land grab is so often repeated but seldom challenged (“Fact-checking Trump’s Antiquities Act order,” HCN, 5/15/17). Switching management from one federal agency to another is not a federal land grab, certainly not in the sense that detractors claim: the federal government taking over […]
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Native Lives Matter; Elk slaughter; Labor union movement
HCN.org news in brief.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Locked out of lands
I guess as I slip into advanced stages of crusty ol’ farthood and fall from my state of grace formerly attained as a member of various enviro-spiritual organizations, e.g., Sierra Club and Greenpeace, I am developing a certain appreciation for those who oppose the relentless march of special designation of vast tracts of land, such […]
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Hooligan Island; Tree-hoppers in Joshua Tree; Kanye for president?
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
FLDS awareness
While I might agree that the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and its treatment of its members, is not the usual subject to be discussed in HCN, I am glad it is (“Change comes to Short Creek,” HCN, 5/1/17). This is part of “our” West, and we should be aware of these […]
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Cherry-picking clauses
The conservative fantasy that the federal government can’t own land in the states is based on an ability to ignore relevant parts of the U.S. and state constitutions (“Fact-checking Trump’s Antiquities Act order,” HCN, 5/15/17). For some reason, they think that Article 1 Section 8, which is written specifically about the District of Columbia, is […]