High Country News https://www.hcn.org/ A nonprofit independent magazine of unblinking journalism that shines a light on all of the complexities of the West. Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:07:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cropped-HCN_Logo-Monogram_White_Sq-2-32x32.png High Country News https://www.hcn.org/ 32 32 229054741 People brace for impacts on land, water and wildlife after feds fire thousands over holiday weekend https://www.hcn.org/articles/people-brace-for-impacts-on-land-water-and-wildlife-after-feds-fire-thousands-over-holiday-weekend/ Tue, 18 Feb 2025 00:07:39 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331828

Career employees told HCN they were unsettled by the termination email sent by HR, which cited ‘performance issues.’

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]]> 331828 Trump’s funding cuts leave the nation vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire https://www.hcn.org/articles/trumps-funding-cuts-leave-the-nation-vulnerable-to-catastrophic-wildfire/ Mon, 17 Feb 2025 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331811 A wildland firefighter observes a prescribed burn in Everglades National Park in 2023. Uncertainty over funding and other interruptions related to President Donald Trump’s executive orders have delayed work to reduce flammable vegetation and other preparations for wildfire season.

‘What do they want, more fires?’

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]]> 331811 ICE in your community? Here’s what to know. https://www.hcn.org/articles/ice-in-your-community-heres-what-to-know/ Mon, 17 Feb 2025 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331795

Advocates say people who face less legal risk have an important role to play, from documenting raids to advocating for their neighbors.

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]]> 331795 Urban wildfires shouldn’t surprise us https://www.hcn.org/articles/urban-wildfires-shouldnt-surprise-us/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331703

Southern California is jolted into a new reality.

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]]> 331703 Los incendios urbanos no deberían sorprendernos https://www.hcn.org/articles/los-incendios-urbanos-no-deberian-sorprendernos/ Fri, 14 Feb 2025 08:59:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331705

El sur de California se ve sacudido a una nueva realidad.

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]]> 331705 Days before Trump took office, Interior approved oil and gas leases for land bought during 2019 public auction https://www.hcn.org/articles/days-before-trump-took-office-interior-approved-oil-and-gas-leases-for-land-bought-during-2019-public-auction/ Tue, 11 Feb 2025 23:03:59 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331714 Anti-fracking graffiti on an abandoned house near Bloomfield, New Mexico, near Navajo Nation, expresses opposition to the oil and gas in the area.

Company can begin to issue plans for drilling near Chaco Canyon buffer zone on Navajo Nation allotment.

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]]> 331714 The Indian education of Charles Sams https://www.hcn.org/articles/the-indian-education-of-charles-sams/ Wed, 05 Feb 2025 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331618

How the first Native director of the National Park Service drew from a legacy of federal boarding schools and Indigenous teachings.

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]]> 331618 The possibilities of climate grief https://www.hcn.org/articles/the-possibilities-of-climate-grief/ Tue, 04 Feb 2025 09:01:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331562

A journey through the heart of despair to find what’s on the other side.

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]]> 331562 These states use stolen Indigenous land to fund prisons https://www.hcn.org/articles/these-states-use-stolen-indigenous-land-to-fund-prisons/ Tue, 04 Feb 2025 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331453

State trust lands generate millions of dollars for carceral facilities and programs every year, largely from extractive industries like oil and gas drilling.

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]]> 331453 Reenvisioning the image of immigration https://www.hcn.org/issues/57-2/reenvisioning-the-image-of-immigration/ Sat, 01 Feb 2025 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=331309 The Dance to the Top of the Palm Tree, Bright Ntimba, Part I. 2021, oil on linen, 45 x 80 inches.

Artist and refugee Papay Solomon juxtaposes European painting with African ancestry.

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