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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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Justice

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.

Posted inArticles

What it’s like to be an incarcerated firefighter 

by Natalia Mesa January 14, 2025January 13, 2025

Eddie Herrera, a formerly incarcerated firefighter, talks about the job and how he sees what’s happening in Los Angeles.

Posted inArticles

President Biden to apologize for federal Indian boarding schools

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster and Kate Schimel October 24, 2024October 25, 2024

The U.S. government hopes to assuage cynicism and begin a new chapter of healing for Native people.

Posted inArticles

In rural Washington, a ‘constitutional sheriff’ and his growing volunteer posse provoke controversy

by Paul Kiefer October 10, 2024October 10, 2024

Where some see a ‘rural neighborhood watch’ that saves money, others worry about liability and ties to extremism.

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

Will exploratory lithium mining continue near a sacred hot spring?

by Maya L. Kapoor October 2, 2024November 7, 2024

A judge will decide the fate of Ha’Kamwe’ as the Hualapai Nation fights the drilling in court.

Eric Parker from central Idaho aims his weapon from a bridge as protesters gather by the Bureau of Land Management’s base camp near Bunkerville, Nevada, in April 2014.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote

What the Bundy Bunkerville standoff foreshadowed

by Leah Sottile October 1, 2024September 30, 2024

Ten years after the impasse between the Bundy family and the BLM, the doctrine of white oppression is widely embraced.

Posted inArticles

Supreme Court curtails agencies’ ability to enforce regulations

by Erin X. Wong June 28, 2024August 8, 2024

The repeal of the bedrock Chevron doctrine throws climate and conservation laws into doubt.

Posted inArticles

Supreme Court gives cities and towns power to criminalize homelessness

by Natalia Mesa June 28, 2024October 23, 2024

The Oregon case has been closely watched by Western cities and states.

Posted inArticles

Meet the women fighting to end detention and deportation in Washington

by Natalia Mesa April 2, 2024April 4, 2024

La Resistencia is working alongside people in immigrant detention to shut down the Northwest Detention Center.

Posted inArticles

Conozca a las mujeres que luchan por acabar con las detenciones y las deportaciones en el estado de Washington

by Natalia Mesa April 2, 2024April 11, 2024

La Resistencia, un grupo de base en el noroeste del Pacifico, trabaja junto a personas detenidas para cerrar el Centro de Detención del Noroeste.

Collage features Juliana v. United States plaintiff Levi Draheim and other young climate protesters.
Posted inApril 2024: Epic Journeys

Youth are leading the way on climate action

by Ruxandra Guidi April 1, 2024April 1, 2024

Start thinking like young people to secure our future.

Posted inArticles

Who are the real Black superheroes?

by Nikia Chaney March 22, 2024March 21, 2024

A photo exhibition captures the courage of Mamie Till surrounding the lynching of her son, Emmett Till.

Posted inArticles

Fighting climate change by fighting racism

by Susan Shain March 21, 2024May 8, 2024

Hop Hopkins, the new executive director of WildEarth Guardians, explains how the two movements are connected.

Posted inArticles

Disaster disparities in the West

by Natalia Mesa March 4, 2024March 1, 2024

The risk of climate catastrophe is complex, but people of color often face ‘unnatural hazards.’

Posted inArticles

A proposed bottle-deposit bill in Washington would help the environment — and low-income communities

by Erin X. Wong February 12, 2024February 9, 2024

The legislation would add a premium for bottles returned by organizations supporting people who rely on deposit refunds.

New Mexico State University, as seen in an aerial view, is a land-grant school founded in 1888.
Posted inArticles

Stolen Indigenous land is the foundation of the land-grant university system. Climate change is its legacy.

by Tristan Ahtone, Robert Lee, Amanda Tachine, An Garagiola, Audrianna Goodwin, Maria Parazo Rose and Clayton Aldern February 7, 2024February 7, 2024

Extractive industries are filling public university coffers on stolen land.

Maskwacis, Alberta.
Posted inArticles

New DNA technique could bring closure for families of missing and murdered Indigenous people

by Martha Troian and Hilary Beaumont January 31, 2024February 1, 2024

But experts say this risks DNA sovereignty.

Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst

The Northwestern Shoshone are restoring the Bear River Massacre site

by Brooke Larsen January 29, 2024May 8, 2024

The tribe is reclaiming their gathering place and returning water to the Great Salt Lake.

Posted inArticles

Will the Supreme Court allow agencies to continue interpreting ambiguity in laws?

by Robin Kundis Craig January 22, 2024February 1, 2024

If the ‘Chevron deference’ is overturned, federal enforcement of key environmental and health care regulations will be sharply curbed.

Posts pagination

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