The Ranter Defends Both Nevadans and Count Chocula.
Rants from the Hill: What’s Drier than David Sedaris?
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Mission Ready for Climate Change
Five things the West can learn from the military about climate adaptation.
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Will California’s Proposition 1 give rise to more dams?
While some environmental groups support the water bond on Tuesday’s ballot, some call it “mystery meat.”
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Dispatch from a young farmers confab
How better dirt can conserve water, save farming and help feed the West.
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The BLM fails to provide public records
The agency’s main Freedom of Information Act office appears incompetent or overworked.
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Report warns of illegal drilling on federal land
Outdated rules and budget shortfalls make it hard to catch.
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The push is on to “take back” public lands
Utah is ground zero this year for the attempt by some Western states to claim federal lands. In September, when Southern Utah University hosted a debate on the controversial proposal, close to 250 people packed the hall as two professors, Bob Keither and Dan McCool, argued that however messy its oversight, the federal government should […]
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The Young and the reckless: Alaskan congressman’s offenses draw spotlight
Don Young might be the most volatile politician in America.
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Making sure every Native voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot
Less than a week to go until Election Day. Its one thing to make the case that every American Indian and Alaska Native should vote. Its another to make certain that the door to the voting booth is actually open and there is a ballot ready to go. Across the country thats the challenge. One […]
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In small-town baseball, a wider world
My anxiety-prone 7-year-old son, Elias, was so nervous about his first baseball game that he felt sick. “Those are called butterflies,” I said. To help him out, I took him into the backyard and pitched some balls, all the while reciting a litany of “great athletes who got nervous” stories. I told him that the […]
Posted in2014
High Country News awarded grant to serve college students
For immediate release: Oct. 28, 2014 High Country News has just received a $30,000 INNovation Fund grant from the Investigative News Network. The magazine –– one of only eight nonprofit newsrooms to receive a grant –– plans to use it for the High Country News University program, which works with colleges and universities nationwide to integrate HCN’s […]
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Extraction taxes are on the ballot
North Dakota and Nevada voters might learn something from Wyoming.
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Will a small town’s underground economy get legitimized?
A little-known battle in this country’s marijuana war is underway in a small town of 1,500 in western Colorado, known – if at all — for its underground coal mines, 12 wineries, a microbrewery, organic vegetables and fruit, and, its perfect climate for growing pot. The town is Paonia, and this November, its registered voters […]
Posted inOctober 27, 2014: Defuse the West
Mapping threats on public land
Intimidation of federal officials is widespread across the West.
Posted inOctober 27, 2014: Defuse the West
Western states eye federal lands—again
The ultra-right ‘remedy’ for public lands.
Posted inOctober 27, 2014: Defuse the West
The lost navigator
Before Parkinson’s, my father never needed to consult a road map.
Posted inOctober 27, 2014: Defuse the West
The Latest: When wind and solar need reliable backup power
Western grid operators can now buy backup power on a real-time, open market to smooth intermittent renewables.
Posted inOctober 27, 2014: Defuse the West
The Latest: Sustainable seafood advocates vs. wilderness purists
After years of court battles, an oyster company in a national park agrees to shut down.