Experts say low natural gas prices are the biggest cause of coal’s downturn.
Trump’s contradictory promise: Bring back coal and boost natural gas
Posted inArticles
Wyoming considers raising an already unique wind tax
Legislators say wind needs to pay its fair share, but critics fear a higher tax could drive energy—and revenue—away.
Posted inArticles
Why the EPA fails to enforce the Civil Rights Act
Despite a new environmental justice action plan, the EPA has a poor record of protecting communities of color from toxic environments.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Traditional agriculture meets progressive ideals
Can producers come together to find common ground and work toward common goals?
Posted in2016
High Country News gives voice to women firefighters speaking out about harassment, abuse and sexism on the job
PAONIA, COLO. – High Country News, the nation’s leading source of reporting on the American West, just released the first feature in a continuing series of stories about women working in public-land agencies who are being harassed and abused by their male colleagues. Read the complete story here: hcne.ws/trial-by-fire (contact joann@hcn.org for free editor […]
Posted inArticles
The land transfer movement’s great public-lands hoax
Idaho has sold off 40 percent of its state lands. Why would it do any different with formerly federal lands?
Posted inArticles
Can California’s water agencies keep up the conservation momentum?
Without mandatory regulations, some local districts fear a return to water waste.
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Big funds for Native American farmers and ranchers on the way
The largest ever philanthropic fund for Indian Country stems from a 1999 class-action lawsuit.
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Are we smarter than the hummingbirds?
We produce abundance. Are we smart enough to share and sustain it?
Posted inArticles
Christina Benton: Nomadic mama with a mission
An African-American family hits the road on an RV adventure to spread the word about diversity in national parks.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
Why Hetch Hetchy is staying under water
A judge ruled in favor of San Francisco water needs over the valley’s restoration.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
Trial by fire
Women in the male-dominated world of wildland firefighting still face harassment, abuse and sexism.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
Photos: Three years with New Mexico’s Hispanic communities
A photographer’s nostalgic look back at time spent with Nuevomexicanos.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
The Wampus Cats, a Chinese Jackson Hole and a sheriff on the loose
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
The tenuous fate of the Southwest’s last jaguars
U.S. conservation of the endangered big cats depends on their populations in Mexico.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
Tainted values
National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis and his book about American values are forever tainted as he knowingly bypassed the National Park Service rules, a huge ethical error (“National Park Service centennial shares limelight with scandals,” HCN, 5/2/16). The Inspector General’s report documents how he also tried to mislead investigators regarding how he negotiated the […]
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
Protecting the protectors
The public lands are arguably the West’s most precious resource. These half-billion acres of forests, red-rock canyons, spectacular peaks and subtly beautiful seas of grassland and sagebrush are deeply important to anyone who cares about our region. To protect and manage these lands, we rely on a host of federal, state and local agencies, and […]
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
On the road with a transient immigrant rights lawyer
Lawyer Melanie Gleason is traveling the West, offering legal advice pro bono.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
No drift here
After reading the Editor’s Note in the May 2 issue, I’m compelled to write you a note. You noted that some HCN readers express concern that the publication is drifting away from its core with stories like the one on the Malheur occupation crowd. I am not one of those readers. To me, that story, […]
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
How the BLM is overhauling land-use planning
The agency is aiming to increase public involvement and collaboration.