Let’s go in on the American dream, together
Samantha Paige Rosen’s anthology offers communal living as affordability solution.
Love letter to a blooming giant
What a single plant can tell us about humanity.
Meet the students graduating from Montana’s smallest classes
The people graduating from classes of 3, 2 and 1 have big ambitions.
Will betting on wildfires lead to arson?
Fire survivors say using prediction markets to gamble on wildfire is “morally reprehensible.”
The Deschutes River goes to the water-rich few during drought. Farmers are paying the price
A century-old Oregon water law lets one wealthy region turn the desert green while water-starved ag fallows commercial crops.
What if the mountains are the medicine?
Why people stay in the rural West despite the health-care crisis.
Meet the West’s new environmental reporters
The Western Environmental Reporting Collaborative launches this month.
Sen. Mike Lee targets the Roadless Rule
The Utah senator launched another unpopular assault on public lands.
‘What we have to do is come together and stick together’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
White Salmon has been fighting for free mail for decades
The small Washington town exemplifies a broader problem across the West, where some pay for a service others get for free.
Heat waves increase the West’s wildfire risk
A new study found that 42% all the area burned by Western fires had occurred during or right after a heat wave.
If you can’t find a Utah peach this year, climate change may be to blame
Record-breaking spring heat followed by freezes led to 95% crop losses.
The electrifying allure of a tide pool creature
The moon, the stars and the sea anemone.
Interior delayed endangered wolf release in New Mexico
Karen Budd-Falen, Interior’s associate deputy secretary, former private attorney and grazing advocate, intervened in the release after meeting with former clients.
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High Country News Classifieds
- Explore the creativity of Paonia, Colorado's local artists through a collection of ceramics, paintings, photography, and other unique works.
The West in Perspective
In This Issue
July 2026: Lost in the Weeds
The West has always dealt with natural disasters, human trafficking and crime, but today those problems are taking on new forms. What happens when one of Alaska’s melting glaciers causes a landslide that sends a tsunami tearing through a fjord frequented by cruise ships and…
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Water
The curious comeback of Putah Creek’s salmon
Glen Canyon Dam dances with deadpool
On Oregon’s McKenzie River, an unprecedented approach to restoration takes shape
Wildlife
Bazillions of bunnies, Montecito’s ‘hog heaven,’ and pride will always prevail
Elk herd habitat near Dinosaur National Monument to open for drilling
Making grazing great again?
Public Lands
Billions in border wall contracts are going to a Montana firm run by a Trump donor
Managed retreat in Ruidoso could mean more public lands
Treat water like family, not profit
Indigenous Affairs
The facade of the Red Wind commune
War, climate change and AI are at stake at the 2026 UN Indigenous forum
‘Energy dominance’ agenda sidelines tribes
Communities
O’Keeffe Country was never O’Keeffe’s to begin with
The Death Valley opera house that’s sinking back into the earth
The dark legacy of the atomic age is still playing out in New Mexico
Books
What can we learn from salt lakes?
Badger signs: An essay from Terry Tempest Williams’ new book ‘The Glorians’
Three books explore deep time and help us look forward
In the News
The dismantling of the Forest Service
The Trump administration’s plans would remake the agency and public lands. The deadline to comment is Sept. 30.