Resource-reliant states feel pinch as fossil-fuel revenue dwindles.
Mining
Posted inArticles
Western states struggle to reform recreational streambed mining
Recent bills to change suction dredging regulations faltered in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Posted inFebruary 22, 2016: Fractured
The fractured terrain of oil and gas opposition
In one of the West’s biggest arguments, the battle lines are complicated and opaque.
Posted inFebruary 22, 2016: Fractured
The ‘poisoned landscapes’ we leave behind
Q&A with photographer David T. Hanson about his new book, ‘Wilderness to Wasteland,’ which shows a dystopian side of progress.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2016: Sagebrush Insurgency
How a huge Arizona mining deal was passed — and could be revoked
Pushed through Congress, the Resolution Copper deal could damage sacred Apache sites.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2016: Sagebrush Insurgency
Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff
How a small-time mining dispute in Oregon readied a network of militias for the Malheur occupation.
Posted inJanuary 25, 2016: The Forever War
Coal company bankruptcies jeopardize reclamation
The public could foot the bill for billions in cleanup costs.
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The first Sagebrush Rebellion: What sparked it and how it ended
Today’s movement is a radical, perverted version of the 1970s-80s rebellion.
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Which stories held your attention this year?
From the Animas to Washington wildfire, here are the stories that our readers spent most time on in 2015.
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Why are the feds sticking with a racist name for a Washington lake?
Update from HCN staff, Oct. 23, 2015: Two days after this piece was published, the National Park Service reversed its decision and recommended that the U.S. Board of Geographic Names change the name of Coon Lake to Howard Lake, Glenn Nelson reports. “We recognize that our previous decision on this issue overlooked relevant information, and […]
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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.
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Gold King Mine water was headed for the Animas, anyway
The nuts and bolts of acid mine drainage.
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Five Western waterways worse than the orange Animas
Colorado’s Animas River has gotten the most attention — but it’s hardly alone.
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Animas dispatch: Hundreds celebrate the river’s reopening
Durango may be moving on, but wider fears about the toxic spill still reverberate.
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Animas River spill: only the latest in 150 years of pollution
Mapping the other threats to the Animas and San Juan Rivers.
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
The Latest: San Carlos Apache lobbies to protect lands threatened by copper mining
Resolution Copper company engineered a land swap with the feds, but locals oppose it.
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Nevada’s gold mining industry is hanging on — for now
Gold producers in Elko see job growth, despite an international price drop.
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Dispatch from White Hope Mine dispute in Montana
The constitutionalist group Oath Keepers is defending a mine that the Forest Service says is out of compliance.
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When our river turned orange
Nine things you need to know about the Animas River mine waste spill.
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Idaho mining dispute raises questions about the future of wilderness
A grandfathered mining claim has opened the doors to development.