The failure of Utah and Pennsylvania to provide state funding for criminal defendants who require the services of public defenders raises serious questions (“Justice denied,” HCN, 5/16/16). The U.S. Constitution requires due process but does not require the kind of defense that the wealthy are able to engage, compared to the inadequacies of legal representation […]
Indifference to the system
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Human costs are too much of the equation
On the back of the May 16 issue, you quote Wendy Beye’s recent Writers on the Range opinion piece about how the coal industry’s decline is challenging the Western communities that rely on it: “Too often, the human costs of doing what’s right for our Earth are not considered as part of the equation.” To […]
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
How a Utah county silenced Native American voters — and how Navajos are fighting back
A series of lawsuits could help counteract decades of racist practices.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Horse catheters in classrooms, a crackdown on toxics, and an update on the Animas River
HCN.org news in brief.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
High Country Blues?
Once again our subscription has come up for renewal and, as usual, it’s a difficult decision — not because of the writing, the photography or the wonderful back page. It’s because the news is so depressing, as it is where we live. We pass our copy of High Country News on to various friends and […]
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Federal-lands ranching: A half-century of decline
How grazing fell from its Western pedestal — and fueled Sagebrush Rebellion.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Farewell to a valuable staff member
For the first time in several years, the blossoms on the apricot trees at the High Country News headquarters in Paonia survived the spring frosts, and bright green nascent fruit is already weighing down the branches. Throughout the valley, all the fruit seems to be thriving — from peaches and nectarines to apples and wine […]
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
El Niño adds fuel to Southwestern fires
In California, Arizona and New Mexico, an underperforming weather pattern increased wildfire risk.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Canadians’ bad behavior, a cat-lover’s nightmare and gun-toting steeds
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Arizona fends off threats to water supplies
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey is sticking by regulations and negotiating deals.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
A drying lake, and a conundrum
On the first truly warm morning this spring, I awoke to the songs of birds. From high in the cottonwood came the clear melodic whistles of a northern oriole, fresh in from the southland. Soon this migratory bird and its partner would find a suitable branch from which to hang their nest, intricately weaving it […]
Posted inArticles
Wildfire archaeology exposes treasures of the dead
Wyoming fires revealed long hidden historical artifacts.
Posted inArticles
Are Hillary Clinton’s clean energy goals achievable?
Before clinching the nomination, she outlined her ambitions for public lands and renewables.
Posted inArticles
How the West nurtured eco-minded agriculture
The ranchers of the Western Plains’ shortgrass prairie started a movement to find a less destructive way to farm.
Posted inArticles
Oregon oil train explosion fuels growing opposition movement
Some activists see the Pacific Northwest as a major new front in the climate fight.
Posted inArticles
Chemical safety law that gives EPA more power passes Congress
The bipartisan measure represents the most sweeping environmental law to pass in decades.
Posted inArticles
Native American women still have the highest rates of rape and assault
A flawed tribal court structure, little local law enforcement and a lack of funding fail to protect women from violence.
Posted inArticles
Tracing the West’s heroin highways
Illicit drugs move through this region at farther distances and greater speeds.
Posted inArticles
Keep ranchers on the land, and the land stays open
Want to keep those wide-open spaces? Pick ranching over development.
Posted inArticles
Rewilding the shortgrass prairie
A scientist with ranching roots is trying to restore balance to degraded grasslands.