Sarah Gilman

Sarah has covered the West's natural resources, politics and people since 2006. She writes and draws from Portland, Oregon. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Hakai Magazine, BioGraphic, Adventure Journal Quarterly and others. She was a staff and contributing editor at High Country News for 11 years. She grew up in Boulder, Colorado and has spent most of her adult life in small towns in the Rockies, studying white-crowned sparrows, reporting for newspapers and magazines and working on a trail crew. Her favorite tool — from her days building steps and retaining walls on the slopes of Mount Massive outside Leadville — is the double jack. These days, she's also especially partial to her 8-lb. maul. 

Protecting the Oregon Trail from the development it helped create
Protecting the Oregon Trail from the development it helped create
Dedicated volunteers fight to preserve one of the trails that brought settlers west.
Can drilling and recreation get along in Moab, Utah?
Can drilling and recreation get along in Moab, Utah?
The BLM unveils the unprecedented plan to balance oil and gas with conservation in canyon country.
Is this climate change-battered conifer migrating northward?
Is this climate change-battered conifer migrating northward?
Scientists in Alaska are mapping what may be the tip of yellow cedar’s expanding range.
Claustrophilia: Do wide-open lands bring us closer together?
Claustrophilia: Do wide-open lands bring us closer together?
A writer finds that Colorado small-town life and Mongolian mishaps strengthen her human connections.
New interns and old errors
New interns and old errors
Get to know Paige Blankenbuehler and Gloria Dickie. Also, a correction and a clarification.
The Latest: Oregon governor passes ethics reforms
The Latest: Oregon governor passes ethics reforms
The new reforms bar governors’ partners from using their position for personal gain.
Climate showdown on the Willamette in Oregon
Climate showdown on the Willamette in Oregon
Activists target shipping hubs to influence fossil fuel development in Alaska.
Private-land camping startups offer alternative to public lands
Private-land camping startups offer alternative to public lands
Airbnb-like websites spring up in response to overcrowded public campsites.
Hot times usher in early Northwest wildfire season
Hot times usher in early Northwest wildfire season
While Oregon and Washington broil, the Southwest and Southern Rockies enjoy a welcome reprieve of moisture
The sage grouse two-step
The sage grouse two-step
Massive federal sage grouse conservation plans strike a delicate balance.
The precious common
Utah vastly overstating future water shortages
Utah vastly overstating future water shortages
State projections downplayed what conservation and agriculture can provide.
For rural Oregonians, protections from herbicides come up short
For rural Oregonians, protections from herbicides come up short
Aerial spray regs remain the West Coast’s weakest after the death of a key law.
Knowledge, a wrecking ball
Scientists document mega Oregon-Nevada pronghorn migration
Scientists document mega Oregon-Nevada pronghorn migration
Three hikers will track ecological conditions on the route this June.
An outsider’s guide to insider Portland
An outsider’s guide to insider Portland
Dispatch from a dryland alien in the rainy Northwest.
Land-based foods won't float polar bears through ice declines
Land-based foods won't float polar bears through ice declines
As climate change sends bears searching for calories, new research suggests there's no substitute for seals.
BLM’s new fracking rules strike middle ground
BLM’s new fracking rules strike middle ground
But they're unlikely to resolve today's fierce skirmishes over oil and gas development.
Governor Kitzhaber’s fall from grace
Governor Kitzhaber’s fall from grace
The peculiar and spectacular undoing of Oregon’s top official.
Fish and Wildlife whistleblower retaliation case raises questions
Fish and Wildlife whistleblower retaliation case raises questions
A top Texas official reported political interference and scientific misconduct.
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