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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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Welcome to High Country News

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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Gas

Anti-fracking graffiti on an abandoned house near Bloomfield, New Mexico, near Navajo Nation, expresses opposition to the oil and gas in the area.
Posted inArticles

Days before Trump took office, Interior approved oil and gas leases for land bought during 2019 public auction

by Chad Bradley February 11, 2025February 11, 2025

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

Posted inArticles

Outgoing Bureau of Land Management director optimistic about public lands

by Kylie Mohr January 10, 2025January 10, 2025

Tracy Stone-Manning discusses the BLM’s achievements and talks about the future as we enter a new political era.

Posted inArticles

Polluted air threatens the health of New Mexico infants

by Nick Bowlin July 3, 2024August 8, 2024

A new study finds a link between air pollution and low birth weight.

Posted inArticles

Is Biden a public-lands protector? 

by Jonathan Thompson April 25, 2024August 8, 2024

The administration makes the biggest land-management moves in a half century.

Posted inArticles

Alaska environmentalists disappointed by Inflation Reduction Act compromise

by Avery Lill August 16, 2022January 24, 2024

The bill includes historic investments in climate programs — and expands oil and gas leasing in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.

Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers

The hydrogen blues (and greens and grays)

by Jonathan Thompson July 1, 2022March 14, 2024

Is this wonder fuel truly green — or just another fossil fuel in disguise?

Posted inArticles

Interior’s new oil-and gas-leasing roadmap sidesteps climate action

by Theo Whitcomb December 2, 2021January 24, 2024

The report leaves the door open for new leases on public land. What does that mean for the West?

Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door

Why reducing methane emissions matters

by Jonathan Thompson October 29, 2021February 29, 2024

What you can’t see can hurt.

Posted inArticles

Marilyn Vann becomes the first person of Freedmen status in Cherokee Nation government

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster September 28, 2021January 24, 2024

A retired engineer and Freedmen activist, Vann joins the tribe’s Environmental Protection Commission.

Posted inArticles

Can New Mexico transition from fossil fuels?

by Lindsay Fendt May 21, 2021January 24, 2024

Oil and gas revenue funds everything from campaigns to government functions, complicating promises of a greener future.

Posted inArticles

Haaland kicks off tenure focusing on climate and environmental injustice

by Amanda Eggert April 20, 2021January 24, 2024

The new Interior secretary issued orders to create a Climate Task Force at the agency and to prioritize the social costs of greenhouse gases.

Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast

Energy companies have left Colorado with billions of dollars in oil and gas cleanup

by Nick Bowlin March 11, 2021January 24, 2024

As the state tries to reform its relationship to drilling, an expensive task awaits.

Posted inArticles

A crude virus: How ‘man camps’ can cause a COVID surge

by Kalen Goodluck, Lucy Meyer and Anjali Shrivastava January 8, 2021January 24, 2024

The Keystone XL Pipeline threatens to spread more than just oil through Indigenous communities.

Posted inArticles

New Mexico is on track to have the weakest methane emissions regulations in the nation

by Wilfred Herrera and Jr December 8, 2020January 24, 2024

Laguna Pueblo Gov. Wilfred Herrera, Jr., urges the state to strengthen its proposed air quality rules.

Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front

Energy dominance or climate action: Trump, Biden and the fate of public lands

by Paige Blankenbuehler October 1, 2020January 24, 2024

In Grand Junction, Colorado, the presidential election is a choice between two distinct energy futures.

Posted inArticles

Trump cancels methane regs intended to quell pollution

by Alexander C. Kaufman August 17, 2020January 24, 2024

As the climate crisis worsens, oil and gas companies can continue to emit the potent greenhouse gas.

Posted inArticles

Ailing oil companies get a pass on royalties

by Nick Bowlin May 21, 2020January 24, 2024

According to documents obtained by High Country News, the BLM bypassed normal processes to provide pandemic relief.

Posted inArticles

What are the Trump administration’s new plans for Utah monuments?

by Nick Bowlin March 20, 2020January 24, 2024

Tribal nations and conservation groups hope to dismantle the policies in court.

Posted inArticles

No relief from fracking industry on Colorado’s Front Range

by Stephanie Kirchgaessner October 15, 2019January 24, 2024

Advocates hope new laws will bring changes, but they aren’t seeing much yet.

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High Country News relies on donations as well as subscription fees to produce independent reporting on the West. Help continue the legacy of reader-supported journalism by making a tax-deductible contribution today.

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Most popular stories

  • People brace for impacts on land, water and wildlife after feds fire thousands over holiday weekend
  • Trump’s funding cuts leave the nation vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire
  • ICE in your community? Here’s what to know.
  • Bringing black abalone back from the brink
  • The Forest Service is cutting its seasonal workforce and public lands will suffer

Featured Stories

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

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

ICE in your community? Here’s what to know.

ICE in your community? Here’s what to know.

Trump’s funding cuts leave the nation vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire

Trump’s funding cuts leave the nation vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire

The West in Perspective

AI on public lands and Biden’s environmental legacy

by Jonathan Thompson

We must protect our sacred lands

by Clark Tenakhongva

Pay wildland firefighters a living wage

by Riley Yuan

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Magazine cover: January 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst

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