I want to comment on a phrase that was used in the recent article entitled “The ineffectual bombing of sea lions” (HCN, 9/16/19). In it, the authors describe the behavior of the sea lions eating the fish out of the fishermen’s nets as “unabashed thievery.” This is the second time I have read an article […]
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Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Party Favors
High Country News gets an overhaul
The magazine refreshes its brand and frequency as we plunge into the future.
Posted inArticles, En español
California pudo haber ayudado a sus residentes de bajos ingresos soportar mejor los apagones de PG&E.
El estado tenía un programa – y $72 millones – pero casi nadie solicitó ayuda
Posted inNovember 11, 2019: Storied Landscapes
Humans are great at giving real problems the side-eye
Two new titles provide insight on the willful ignorance that lead to the West’s water woes.
Posted inNovember 11, 2019: Storied Landscapes
Support beehives; fecal time bombs; super-tough roundworms
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inOctober 28, 2019: Where Hunting Still Has Meaning
Jars of jam and a lot of joy
Harvest season meant conferences, visitors and a wonderful wedding.
Posted inOctober 28, 2019: Where Hunting Still Has Meaning
Faced with chronic wasting disease, what’s a hunting family to do?
Hunters are critical for game management, but the spread of CWD means some may put down the rifle.
Posted inOctober 28, 2019: Where Hunting Still Has Meaning
In Southeast Alaska, a hunter searches for kinship with the wild
A mountain goat’s death brings life into focus.
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
The West moves ever closer to a unified power grid
A unified grid would allow for easier sharing of wind and solar power.
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
Exotic management narrative
Based on the photos accompanying “A high-flying act in Olympic National Park” (HCN, 9/2/19), it looks like your reporter participated in an exciting adventure. However, the article unwittingly reflects a false narrative that has been used to justify the park’s management goals for more than four decades. The transfer of mountain goats to other areas, […]
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
Not-so-speculative journalism
I’ve never been a fan of science fiction and was skeptical of your “speculative journalism” issue (HCN, 8/19/19), so I only skimmed most of it. But the article on Glacier National Park 50 years in the future got me thinking about how much the West has changed since I moved here 46 years ago. Winters […]
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
Tell the whole story
Suggesting that Robert “Lavoy” Finicum “was later killed by law enforcement at a traffic stop during the (Malheur) occupation” vastly underreports the facts of that law enforcement contact (“Extremists appropriate Indigenous struggles for violent ends,” HCN, 9/16/19). Mr. Finicum blew through a stop, nearly hit a law enforcement officer, asked to be shot and reached […]
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
Skip the talking points
An HCN article, “Frontier myths crash into Trump’s border wall” (HCN, 9/16/19), recently came across my Facebook news feed. I’m a fairly new subscriber and just started following along on social media, and I was mildly shocked at the complete lack of nuanced thought in the comments. That’s the typical online climate today, but I […]
Posted inSeptember 16, 2019: "We can either wait on Mother Nature – or we can give it a shot ourselves."
Fall brings professors, pedalers and presidential candidates
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet stops by our office, and we wish a fond farewell to a longtime staffer.
Posted inSeptember 16, 2019: "We can either wait on Mother Nature – or we can give it a shot ourselves."
A buried history of conflict
Anna Smith’s article on the challenges the Cow Creek Band has faced in regaining and now managing forest lands in Oregon is the kind of piece that both informs and challenges readers. The challenge thrown down by some tribal members is quite provocative: Shawn Fleek’s quote — “The conservation movement began as a way for […]
Posted inSeptember 16, 2019: "We can either wait on Mother Nature – or we can give it a shot ourselves."
Irresponsible journalism
Is HCN a news journal or a creative writing magazine or simply fake news? As a professional educator and writer, I was deeply disturbed by the Aug. 19 issue. I use HCN as a classroom resource, as I hope others do as well. I teach critical thinking and journalistic skepticism along with the regular course […]
Posted inSeptember 16, 2019: "We can either wait on Mother Nature – or we can give it a shot ourselves."
Recipe for a great issue
Start with Kim Raff’s excellent cover shot (HCN, 9/2/19). Add Paige Blankenbuehler’s note on accountability, San Juan County, Utah’s Indigenous reversal of power, and a positive story on our polygamous neighbors, plus the opening up of Colorado’s state trust lands to public access. Mix in biocrust skin grafts, Wyoming’s self-dug coal-pit woes, and flying goats […]
Posted inAugust 19, 2019: 2068: The Speculative Journalism Issue
Coming home to the West
Old friends swing by our offices, and we say a few sad goodbyes.
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
A Forest Service low
I certainly agree with the article, “Forest Service might limit public comments,” (HCN, 7/22/19). It is not that they “might,” though, in my opinion, but that they will. I have made personal comments to the agency, and I can see how the U.S. Forest Service plans to remove opportunities for public comments by categorically excluding most […]
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
D.C. out of the wonk?
You’ve heard the old saying: “You can take the policy wonk out of D.C., but you can’t take the D.C. out of the policy wonk” — or something to that effect (“Critics wary of moving BLM,” HCN, 7/22/19). I find it pretty humorous, the recent administrative trend to move federal agencies out of Washington, D.C., […]