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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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Oil

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

These states use stolen Indigenous land to fund prisons

by Alleen Brown, Clayton Aldern and Maria Parazo Rose February 4, 2025February 4, 2025

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

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.
Posted inArticles

Trump’s nominee for leading Interior attempted to rip up rules governing public lands

by Mark Olalde and Mary Steurer January 27, 2025January 24, 2025

North Dakota sued the Interior Department at least five times under Gov. Doug Burgum. Now he’s set to run the agency.

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

Jimmy Carter’s mixed environmental record

by Jonathan Thompson January 3, 2025January 2, 2025

The former president emphasized conservation, protection — and coal mining.

Posted inArticles

Beautiful Bears Ears is at risk, again

by Jonathan Thompson November 22, 2024November 22, 2024

What are the consequences for the land if the incoming president shrinks the national monument?

Posted inArticles

Resource production or preservation? Election puts Alaska lands on the line

by Victoria Petersen November 1, 2024November 13, 2024

From oil in the Arctic to the Ambler Road, Alaska’s resource and conservation battles await a new administration’s fate, affecting communities, ecosystems and industries alike.

Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted

What Project 2025 has to say about Native communities

by Anna V. Smith October 29, 2024December 20, 2024

The initiative focuses heavily on resource extraction of tribal lands but lacks detail on other key issues.

Posted inArticles

Fracking inside the neighborhood

by Jennifer Oldham October 22, 2024October 21, 2024

As a planned community near the Rockies rises, so do concerns over a oil and gas operation that would stretch under the homes.

Posted inArticles

The mother-daughter duo fighting fossil fuels in Colorado

by Raksha Vasudevan October 8, 2024October 8, 2024

How Madhvi and Lalitha Chittoor teamed up against a proposed oil and gas development.

Posted inArticles

Kamala Harris tries to navigate the convoluted politics of oil and gas

by Jonathan Thompson September 26, 2024September 30, 2024

Drill, Democrats, drill?

Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote

States own lands on reservations. To use them, tribes must pay.

by Anna V. Smith and Maria Parazo Rose September 16, 2024November 22, 2024

How schools, hospitals, prisons and other institutions in 15 states profit from land and resources on 79 tribal nations.

Posted inArticles

5 takeaways from our investigation into state trust lands on reservations

by Anna V. Smith and Maria Parazo Rose September 16, 2024October 10, 2024

An investigation by High Country News and Grist reveals how public institutions benefit from extractive industries on Indian reservations.

At Portland, Oregon’s Cathedral Park in 2022, kayakers protest Zenith Energy’s oil terminal operations in the CEI Hub.
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing

Preventing the next ‘Fukushima’

by Isobel Whitcomb September 1, 2024September 9, 2024

As oil and gas operations at Portland’s CEI Hub grow, so do the chances of a catastrophic spill.

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

Colorado’s oil and gas rules put taxpayers at risk, according to study

by Nick Bowlin June 28, 2024August 8, 2024

The report contradicts claims that the new rules are the ‘most robust in the country.’

Posted inArticles

Trump vs. Biden on the climate

by Jonathan Thompson May 31, 2024August 8, 2024

The next presidential election will have huge ramifications for the planet.

Posted inArticles

Can carbon capture transition California’s oil fields?

by Jake Bittle May 15, 2024August 8, 2024

In Kern County, the community searches for an economic alternative to a fossil fuel industry. Will it be any fairer than the old one?

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

Drilling for oil on public land is about to cost a lot more

by Nick Bowlin April 15, 2024August 8, 2024

Long-awaited Interior Department policy will raise financial assurance and royalty rates.

Posts pagination

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