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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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Michelle Nijhuis

Michelle Nijhuis is a contributing editor of HCN and the author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction. Follow @nijhuism.

Posted inArticles

Project 2025’s extreme vision for the West

by Michelle Nijhuis and Erin X. Wong July 19, 2024August 9, 2024

The demolition of public lands, water and wildlife protections are part of conservatives’ plan for a second Trump term.

Posted inArticles

Deer 255 reaches the end of her journey

by Michelle Nijhuis June 6, 2024August 8, 2024

The ungulate migrated farther than any deer known to science.

Posted inArticles

Killing one owl to save another

by Michelle Nijhuis May 10, 2024August 8, 2024

Is it ever the right thing to do? Two ethicists weigh in.

Deseret milkvetch, a flowering plant found only in central Utah, grows only between 5,400 and 5,600 feet elevation.
Posted inArticles

A Westerner’s guide to the Endangered Species Act

by Michelle Nijhuis December 18, 2023May 8, 2024

What you need to know about the law that’s shaped our region.

Posted inDecember 1, 2023: December 2023

The epic history of the Endangered Species Act

by Michelle Nijhuis December 1, 2023May 8, 2024

The two-volume ‘Codex of the Endangered Species Act’ takes a long look back — and forward.

Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen

The West is an accumulation of stories

by Michelle Nijhuis June 1, 2023January 24, 2024

Complex and different to all, the region changes with time and tellings.

Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen

When fire goes feral

by Michelle Nijhuis May 30, 2023January 24, 2024

A conversation with John Vaillant, author of ‘Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World.’

A mask created by McCarty, photographed in the forests near Neah Bay.
Posted inMay 1, 2023: Reemergence

The illusion of discovery

by Michelle Nijhuis May 1, 2023January 24, 2024

How understanding our past can strengthen our future.

Richie Diehl, a musher and racer, on a training run near his home in Aniak, Alaska. “In my opinion, I think it’s a pretty supportive region,” Diehl said. “We compete with each other and when we compete with each other, we make each other better.”
Posted inApril 1, 2023: The Path Forward

Finding tools for the future

by Michelle Nijhuis April 1, 2023January 24, 2024

Westerners continue to innovate despite adversity.

Posted inMarch 1, 2023: Moving Parts

Finding stillness in the whirl

by Michelle Nijhuis March 1, 2023January 24, 2024

The West is filled with motion and reflection.

Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal

Water makes the rules

by Michelle Nijhuis February 1, 2023January 24, 2024

Political wrangling over climate change must concede that water obeys its own.

Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation

What can conservation learn from science fiction?

by Michelle Nijhuis November 1, 2022January 24, 2024

New works by Western authors explore the brighter futures of our swiftly tilting planet.

Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation

Conservation is an ecosystem

by Michelle Nijhuis November 1, 2022January 24, 2024

To protect what needs protecting, repair our ties with one another.

Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge

Refuge is a practice

by Michelle Nijhuis October 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Protecting ourselves and other species has always been an active endeavor.

Posted inArticles

COP21: Let us celebrate the lack of total failure

by Michelle Nijhuis December 14, 2015January 24, 2024

The Paris agreement won’t end climate change. But it’s a long awaited step forward.

Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked

As wildfires get bigger, is there any way to be ready?

by Michelle Nijhuis August 3, 2015January 26, 2024

After one record-setting wildfire, a Washington county prepares for more.

Posted inArticles

Aldo Leopold explains it all

by Michelle Nijhuis February 12, 2015January 24, 2024

Should nature be protected for humans or from humans?

Posted inJanuary 12, 2015: What Are We Thinking?

Can Aldo Leopold’s land ethic tackle our toughest problems?

by Michelle Nijhuis January 19, 2015January 24, 2024

An argument for ‘voluntary decency.’

Posted inDecember 9, 2013: The Tree Coroners

For the love of trees

by Michelle Nijhuis December 9, 2013January 24, 2024

Last summer, after 15 years in western Colorado, my family moved back to the Pacific Northwest. The move was a shock in many ways, taking us from dry to wet, rural to town, red politics to blue. The topography here is different, the wildlife is different, and the trees are very, very different. But our […]

Posted inOctober 14, 2013: The New Geronimo?

The mysterious reappearance of the white-bottomed bee

by Michelle Nijhuis October 14, 2013January 24, 2024

A Western species that crashed in the 1990s may be making a comeback in Washington and Colorado.

Posts pagination

1 2 3 … 15 Older posts

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