How hundreds of Front Rangers got scammed.
In Colorado, a green fleecing worth millions
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: One dog can be worth three hands
A cowboy and a good canine or two can handle several hundred cattle.
Posted inArticles
Drought on the Pacific Crest Trail offers harsh lessons
We had barely covered the first 10 miles of trail, hiking north from the California-Mexico border, when my hiking partner, Flash, and I found the first Pacific Crest Trail casualty. A man in his 20s, face flushed red from heat, watched us approach with clear embarrassment. He sat in a small patch of shade next […]
Posted inArticles
Rants from the Hill: Don’t fence me in
Marking our territory with wildlife-friendly fences.
Posted inArticles
Bringing a long-lost artifact back to the Hopi
Iconic Western author Katie Lee journeys with a tribe’s spiritual talisman.
Posted inArticles
Big ruckus over little streams
A new EPA rule to regulate US waterways has provoked a pile of lawsuits.
Posted inArticles
Mapping fish die-offs in warming waters
Help High Country News identify trouble spots for West Coast fish runs.
Posted inArticles
Inside the transient world of mushroom pickers
People spend months scouring forest floors for money-making fungi in the Pacific Northwest.
Posted inArticles
Washington state sues feds over worker safety at Hanford
A watchdog group also filed, citing ‘toxic roulette’ for workers at the former nuclear facility.
Posted inArticles
Why Silverton still doesn’t want a Superfund site
A polluted Colorado town wants to clean up on its own terms. But it’s been saying that for years.
Posted inArticles
Hydropower doesn’t need any more loopholes
A bill pending in the U.S. Senate would give the hydroelectric industry and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the kind of unconditional authority more akin to what the Robber Barons enjoyed in the late 1800s, than to what reasonable people might expect today. Consider the last time a plan like Senate Bill 1236 was hatched. […]
Posted inArticles
Invasive crayfish in Oregon devastate native newts
At Crater Lake, the National Park Service is seeking solutions — but it could be too late.
Posted inArticles
A tense confrontation on a quiet Montana road
It’s one of those summer mornings in Montana when whatever compromises you’ve made in life seem totally worth it. The fields are deep green, the mountains still shine white, the rivers bump their banks, the sky is that unfathomable blue. Better yet, we’re driving in two cars to the put in for an early-season canoe […]
Posted inArticles
Jonathan Thompson talks methane leaks with KDNK Radio
Researchers are trying to find the source of emissions in the Four Corners region.
Posted inArticles
Abnormal weather linked to more recreation deaths
Summer is always high season for fatal outdoor accidents, but increased lightning and heat seem to make it worse.
Posted inArticles
Why I swam through Canyonlands: Fish can’t live where people can’t swim
Under a blue moon at the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers, I was exhausted but exhilarated: I’d just completed the first swim of the Colorado River through Utah’s Canyonlands, starting at Moab and ending at this merging of two rivers, a distance of 47.5 miles. Time: 13 hours and 56 minutes. The swim […]
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
Standing up for regulations
Reading the special recreation edition, a theme came through to me: It is understandable and even honorable to push the envelope, stretch the rules, and even break them now and then in the interests of pursuing the right to recreation. Whether biking, BASE jumping, skiing, etc., rules and restrictions are un-American, even when they exist […]
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
No ads for the average reader
After I read the news in your July 20 special recreation issue, I read all the ads. They were about one-third of the print content. What’s in the ads for me? I’m 20 years over the 55.6 median age of readers, make a little less than the median household income ($63,750), and my M.A. makes me […]
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
Acknowledging the lawbreakers
Sarah Tory’s July 2 article, “End of the Trail Wars,” ends with, “We reach an intersection where a big Forest Service alert sign warns us that the trail is closed except to pedestrian traffic. ‘Rama’ stops and looks around briefly, ‘Well,’ he says, a mischievous glint in his eyes, ‘I can’t resist.’ ” Why you […]
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
A Culture of Privilege
I wanted to give you feedback on the “Living the Dream” article (HCN, 7/20/15). When someone is profiled who only earns $1,800 a summer, it tells me: “This is someone who has a support structure in place to be able to live on that little money.” It’s someone who does not need to support other […]