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High Country News

High Country News

A nonprofit independent magazine of unblinking journalism that shines a light on all of the complexities of the West.

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HCN has covered the lands, wildlife and communities of the Western U.S. for more than 50 years. Get to know the West better by signing up to receive HCN’s on-the-ground reporting and investigations in your inbox.

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Samuel Shaw

A BNSF Railway train travels east along the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on its way toward Denver, following the same route proposed for the Uinta Basin Railway project.
Posted inArticles

Federal court derails proposed Utah oil railroad

by Samuel Shaw August 23, 2023January 24, 2024

Failures to assess risks to Colorado River and ‘numerous NEPA violations’ in project’s impact analysis highlighted.

The Dixie Red Hills golf course was the first to arrive in St. George in 1965. Now, there are 14 in this remote corner of southwest Utah, drinking up 13% of the municipal water supply.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire

In the Utah desert, can golf justify itself?

by Samuel Shaw July 31, 2023January 24, 2024

The struggle for water is straining St. George, Utah, where golf – and grass – are sacred cows.

Fred Galvez stands on the shoulder of eastbound I-15 in southern Nevada.
Posted inArticles

Scene from a Mojave oasis

by Samuel Shaw June 28, 2023January 24, 2024

Our reporter’s notebook from a stretch of road in the Nevada desert.

In Aurora, Colorado, a Say's Phoebe female with a miller moth, the adult stage of the Army cutworm, in its bill. During their migration, the moths are a crucial food source for native bird species.
Posted inArticles

The miller moth is hard to love, but it deserves our respect

by Samuel Shaw June 27, 2023January 24, 2024

Every summer, the migration of the small insect plays a role in the food web. Don’t be annoyed when they show up in your bedroom.

East of Louisville, where evacuees gathered to watch the road back towards the city. The fire would rage into the early morning of New Years eve.
Posted inArticles

Lessons from Colorado’s Marshall Fire

by Samuel Shaw June 19, 2023January 24, 2024

A conversation with County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann on her community and what comes next for the Boulder-area suburbs.

Fields in the Sonoran Desert near Centennial, Arizona. The state grows over 2 million tons of alfalfa, most of it in the scorching Southwest corner of the state.
Posted inArticles

Hay – yes, hay – is sucking the Colorado River dry

by Samuel Shaw June 5, 2023January 24, 2024

Desert farming, wasteful irrigation and the profoundly thirsty crop is bringing the critical river to the brink.

An aerial photo above Cave Creek, Arizona, from this April shows the proliferation of stinknet.
Posted inArticles

A weed is swallowing the Sonoran Desert

by Zach Duncan and Samuel Shaw May 9, 2023January 24, 2024

The invasive Stinknet plant fuels wildfires, irritates lungs and smothers native flora. ‘It’s everywhere’ and removal efforts in Arizona can’t keep up.

A derailed train spilled dry ammonia near residential homes in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2015. Residents were asked to remain indoors and to close their windows and doors.
Posted inArticles

What hazardous cargo moves on Colorado railroads? It’s a ‘black box’, even to state regulators

by Samuel Shaw April 19, 2023January 24, 2024

In many Western states, 19th-century laws and deregulation allow chemical- laden trains to roll in obscurity — leaving hazmat teams guessing.

Pumpjacks and reserve tanks on Uintah and Ouray reservation land in Utah. The Ute Indian Tribe holds a small equity stake in the proposed Uinta Basin Railway project.
Posted inArticles

Utah’s proposed crude oil railway could see an accident every year

by Samuel Shaw March 23, 2023January 24, 2024

Coloradans fight the oil train project, fearing a repeat of East Palestine’s toxic derailment — but in the Colorado River.

A 1900 map showing land ownership and other details of Yolo County, California.
Posted inArticles

Western legislatures take on foreign land ownership

by Samuel Shaw March 8, 2023January 24, 2024

Six bills in six states propose limits on who can own land, homes and natural resources in the region.

Posted inArticles

Can net-zero homes really be affordable?

by Samuel Shaw March 3, 2023January 24, 2024

A Colorado nonprofit is constructing its second affordable housing complex with an eye toward mass production.

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People brace for impacts on land, water and wildlife after feds fire thousands over holiday weekend

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