A conversation with climate science director Stephen Jackson about why and where we should tolerate non-native invaders.
Time to make peace with invasive species?
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
The West’s widening health care gaps
Changing demographics, including an aging rural population, put more pressure on health care systems.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
The slaughter of innocents
After prairie dogs invade a corner of her lot, a writer weighs the cost of eliminating them.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species triage
Buried in petitions to list new species, the Fish and Wildlife Service proposes a system for prioritizing who gets help first.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Telemedicine shrinks the West’s vast health desert
In New Mexico, an experiment in treating stroke victims at a distance.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Rural hospitals pool their resources to survive
A group of ten New Mexico hospitals is making a go of it in tough times.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Reapportionment, Hawaiian style
Your June 13 issue reminded me of my years on Hawaii, where, despite the good intentions of the Bishop Estate’s huge land distribution, the powers that be created conditions similar to what you describe in the present Navajo system (“Disenfranchised in Utah,” HCN, 6/13/16). Bishop lands were in trust, to be divided in half for […]
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Our winning writer, and so long to a good friend
As summer fades, we’re wrapping up our annual photo contest, in which we solicited images of the West’s national parks. While it’s too late to submit a picture, you can still vote for your favorite until Sept. 15 at hcn.org/photos16. Meanwhile, we’ve been busy catching up with visitors. Dave Morris, who works at the Wild […]
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Meet the West’s oldest climate correspondent
Anna Mae Wright has spent seven decades recording the weather.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Geology of power
In Paige Blankenbuehler’s article on Diablo Canyon in your Aug. 22 issue, I was surprised that there was no mention that this nuclear station is located near the San Andreas fault. A few decades ago, I was staunchly opposed to nuclear power. After becoming aware of the contribution of fossil fuel-burning power plants to climate […]
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Dangers of privatizing parks
What will areas administered by the National Park Service become (HCN, 8/22/16)? Will the enormous shortage of congressional appropriations undermine a century of relative stability? Fifty years ago, massive infrastructure improvements were made under a program called Mission 66, but no such program has existed since. Congress got in the habit of not fulfilling appropriations […]
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Burning questions
I feel that Jane Braxton Little told a very incomplete story of how fire danger relates to beetle-killed trees (“Forest fatalities,” HCN, 8/8/16). Granted, after the needles have fallen off beetle-killed trees, they are less susceptible to forest fires than live trees, but the process of needles falling off takes about four years. Then, about […]
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Bunny times at the state fair, dumpster-diving bears and parasitic springs
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Alaska’s emergency wildfire crews are burning out
The state is grappling with more fires and fewer fighters where they need them.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
A cure for the ‘catch-all’ emergency room
In Colorado, a new movement aims to provide an alternative for people experiencing mental health crises. But does it work?
Posted inArticles
After thousands of fish die in the Yellowstone River, officials lift boating bans
Stretches of the river remain closed as officials scramble to save the iconic fishery.
Posted inArticles
California nixes funding for coal export terminals
Governor’s bill blocks transport to markets in Asia.
Posted inArticles
American pika disappearing from Western regions
The pika is fading from historical habitat and a new study points to climate change.
Posted inArticles
What every hiker should know (by now)
In the Grand Canyon, pack in some common sense.
Posted inArticles
Legislation revives Grand Canyon development question
Escalade bill leaves opponents scrambling for support, and tribal members divided.