Writers on the Range

Writers on the Range was a project of High Country News from 1998 to 2018. It is now an independent nonprofit organization.


Who knows best: grassroots or foundations?
Bad times in Congress point up the lack of unity in the environmental movement which is split between foundation and grassroots strategy.
Jealousy, passion, rage: It all takes place in Yellowstone National Park
During elk rutting season, the little town of Mammoth Hot Springs inside Yellowstone National Park becomes a wild "cauldron of lust."
Congress fights to restore a filthy past
Memories of the horrors of corporate water pollution before environmental regulation prompt the author to warn Congress against weakening the law.
BPA scapegoats fish to protect fat cats
If Bonneville Power Administration can't afford to save salmon, it should be gotten rid of entirely.
Grazing reform: Here's the answer
A liberal and a conservative come together to offer a grazing reform package that they claim will work.
We need to avoid riparian hysteria
"Climatic serendipity" is more likely to restore riparian areas than human tinkering and the use of scare tactics.
'Pocahontas' is a mean-spirited lie
A Native American journalist offers a fierce critique of Walt Disney's "Pocahontas."
Don't worry: Have a Kokopelli day
The catalog-consumerism of trendy "Native American" items exploits both Indians and the non-Indians who want to dress and decorate for the part.
An Easterner ponders the West's alleged wildness
The writer seeks to change the sometimes-competitive relation between Easterners and Westerners into a true working partnership to save all American wildlands.
Grow up, dig in, and take root
Talk of the West's "dream towns" should focus less on moving to one than on staying and creating a home where we already live.
Devastation at the center of his universe
The destruction of the Big Wild in Idaho's Greater Salmon-Selway ecosystem by logging moves the author to rage and grief.
How to get rural people to stand proud and tall
The second annual meeting of the Sierra Nevada Alliance attracts activists including David Brower and Andrea Lawrence.
And you thought cows were bad...
A wilderness ranger describes the less-aesthetic parts of her job as she cleans up after campers.
Small town, quirky lives
Former intern Auden Schendler recalls life at "Intern Acres" in Paonia.
A decadent, old-growth timber baron is chopped down
Ousted Louisiana-Pacific chairman Harry Merlo leaves a legacy of pollution, fraud and betrayal.
Tom Bell: outraged by the outrageous
Altamont is the rural West in microcosm, writer says.
HCN's tough underbelly
Former HCN interns share memories and offer updates on their lives since the paper.
HCN interns: city kids meet gritty rural life
Shea Andersen describes the life of an HCN intern.
The little paper that could
The little paper that could
HCN editor Betsy Marston reminisces about the early days of the paper after it moved from Lander, Wyo., to Paonia, Colo.
My kingdom is a horse
The writer considers how hard it is to love the earth or anything else in the abstract, as opposed to the particular and familiar, and reminisces about getting to know a horse when he was a child.
High Country News Classifieds
  • ARKANSAS RIVER COMMUNITY PRESERVE LAND MANAGEMENT PLANNER
    Central Colorado Conservancy seeks a land management planner to facilitate the creation of a management plan for the Arkansas River Community (ARC) Preserve on a...
  • WATER ADVOCACY MANAGER
    Do you want to help shape the future of groundwater in the Grand Canyon region? The Grand Canyon Trust is hiring its first water advocacy...
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH) seeks a strategic and visionary Executive Director: View all job details here- https://bit.ly/CCRHED
  • MONTANA BLUES
    The new novel by Ray Ring, retired HCN senior editor, tackles racism in the wild, a story told by a rural White horsewoman and a...
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    Title: Digital Engagement Specialist Location: Salt Lake City Reports to: Communications Director Status, Salary & Benefits: Full-time, Non-Exempt. Salary & Benefits information below. Submission Deadline:...
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    Title: Conservation Field Organizer Reports to: Advocacy and Stewardship Director Location: Southwest Colorado Compensation: $45,000 - $50,000 DOE FLSA: Non-Exempt, salaried, termed 24-month Wyss Fellow...
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    Who We Are: The Nature Conservancy's mission is to protect the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we create...
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    Apply by Oct 18. Seeking collaborative, hands-on ED to advance our work building community through fresh produce.
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    High Country News is hiring an Indigenous Affairs Editor to help guide the magazine's journalism and produce stories that are important to Indigenous communities and...
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    Staff Attorney The role of the Staff Attorney is to bring litigation on behalf of Western Watersheds Project, and at times our allies, in the...
  • ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
    Northern Michigan University seeks an outstanding leader to serve as its next Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. With new NMU President Dr. Brock...
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Clark Fork Coalition seeks an exceptional leader to serve as its Executive Director. This position provides strategic vision and operational management while leading a...
  • GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT MANAGER
    Help uphold a groundbreaking legal agreement between a powerful mining corporation and the local communities impacted by the platinum and palladium mine in their backyard....
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Feather River Land Trust (FRLT) is seeking a strategic and dynamic leader to advance our mission to "conserve the lands and waters of the...
  • COLORADO DIRECTOR
    COLORADO DIRECTOR Western Watersheds Project seeks a Colorado Director to continue and expand WWP's campaign to protect and restore public lands and wildlife in Colorado,...
  • ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY - INDIGENOUS HISTORIES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WEST
    Whitman College seeks applicants for a tenure-track position in Indigenous Histories of the North American West, beginning August 2024, at the rank of Assistant Professor....
  • DAVE AND ME
    Dave and Me, by international racontuer and children's books author Rusty Austin, is a funny, profane and intense collection of short stories, essays, and poems...
  • CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
    Rural Community Assistance Corporation is looking to hire a CFO. For more more information visit: https://www.rcac.org/careers/
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    The Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation (ABWF) seeks a new Executive Director. Founded in 2008, the ABWF is a respected nonprofit whose mission is to support...
  • CANYONLANDS FIELD INSTITUTE
    Field seminars for adults in natural and human history of the northern Colorado Plateau, with lodge and base camp options. Small groups, guest experts.