These are challenging times for everybody who cares about the West, but High Country News sees reasons for hope in the region’s inspiring inhabitants — people like Papay Solomon, an Arizona artist whose breathtaking portraits celebrate his fellow African immigrants, and Alexander Lemons, a veteran who helped heal the trauma of his past through his work in habitat restoration. Researchers tackle new strategies to save the imperiled black abalone, and Western governments continue the energy transition despite President Trump’s opposition. Department of Energy grants help Utah prepare for coal power plant closures, while Western volunteers acquire firsthand experience in lighting and controlling prescribed fire. Indigenous immigrants are especially threatened by the Trump administration’s policies, and unhoused pedestrians are disproportionately likely to be killed on California’s highways. Elsewhere, an Alaska Native adapts to life in the city, and a poet confronts wildfire in her latest collection.
Reenvisioning the image of immigration
Artist and refugee Papay Solomon juxtaposes European painting with African ancestry.
A veteran transforms a legacy of violence into a campaign for restoration
How a former Marine found a road to repair.
The climate fight endures
Despite a hostile administration, local governments in the West recognize the need to continue the energy transition, and they have plans.
Bringing black abalone back from the brink
To save the species, researchers translocated the endangered California mollusk.
The power of prescribed fire
A wildfire journalist steps behind the drip torch.
How do we raise our children in a time of wildfire?
The poet Rachel Richardson learns, through writing and motherhood, to defy fear.
A writer finds freedom in being unapologetically Indigenous
On strengthening roots in a new place.
‘If we center Indigenous birthing people as the standard for protection, then everybody’s protected’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Captive
A poem by D.A. Powell.
There’s more than one kind of migrant
Like LA’s new climate refugees, immigrants also deserve respect.
Orcas à la mode, totally tubular sea pickles and bloodthirsty squirrels
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
What are you reading?
When finding news consumption difficult, connect with community.
Letters to the Editor, February 2025
Comments from readers.
What happens after Utah’s coal-fired power plants close?
Department of Energy grants are helping eastern Utah plan for the energy transition.
‘This is about power’: Indigenous immigrants face a second Trump administration
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who was banned from nine tribal reservations, will oversee policies uniquely important to Indigenous people.
‘Esto se trata de poder’: Los inmigrantes indígenas se enfrentan a una segunda administración de Trump
La gobernadora de Dakota del Sur, Kristi Noem, a quien se le prohibió la entrada a nueve reservas tribales, supervisará las políticas de importancia única para los pueblos indígenas.
Unhoused people pay a disproportionate price for the West’s deadly roads
People experiencing homelessness are more likely to die from transportation-related injuries than the general population.