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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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State Government

California Proposition 4 will continue to help fund projects related to climate change, including beach restoration projects like this one in San Clemente.
Posted inFebruary 2025: Immigrant Stories

The climate fight endures

by Jonathan Thompson February 1, 2025January 31, 2025

Despite a hostile administration, local governments in the West recognize the need to
continue the energy transition, and they have plans.

Posted inArticles

Welcome to Daylight Nonsense Time

by Eva Holland October 30, 2024October 30, 2024

When the Yukon tinkered with the time change, it stretched the Mountain Time Zone to its breaking point.

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

How carbon removal can help curb wildfires and build houses

by Erin X. Wong August 30, 2024August 29, 2024

Local governments in the Four Corners back homegrown carbon-removal projects.

Posted inArticles

Why Utah is suing the U.S. for control of public land 

by Brooke Larsen August 23, 2024August 22, 2024

The state asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to weigh in on the future of federal lands.

Posted inArticles

Washington solar project paused amid concern about Indigenous sites

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster August 12, 2024October 23, 2024

Avangrid Renewables said they plan to review comments from tribal nations and private landowners.

Posted inArticles

Is your community ready for a wildfire?

by Erin X. Wong August 5, 2024August 12, 2024

Local governments throughout the West are investing in wildfire defense. Here’s how to know if yours is one of them.

Posted inArticles

Wildlife habitat and tribal cultures threatened by Washington’s largest wind farm

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster April 26, 2024August 8, 2024

The newly approved renewable energy project is planned across an eco-corridor and ceremonial sites.

Sonya Schaller, a supporter from Omak, Washington, holds a sign during a gathering on Badger Mountain in East Wenatchee, Washington.
Posted inArticles

Wenatchi-P’squosa people demonstrate against proposed solar project 

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster April 5, 2024October 23, 2024

The Badger Mountain development in eastern Washington threatens heritage foodways on sacred lands.

Posted inArticles

Washington’s controversial cap-and-trade program, explained. Really.

by Natalia Mesa March 20, 2024March 19, 2024

It’s hailed as the strongest in the nation, but will it reduce carbon pollution equitably?

Posted inArticles

Could building on public land address the housing crisis?

by Susan Shain March 7, 2024March 19, 2024

The West has a plethora of land and a shortage of houses. Some are wondering if a solution lies within.

Posted inArticles

The good, the bad and the ugly of the state legislative season

by Jonathan Thompson February 29, 2024February 28, 2024

While Congress does nothing, Western state lawmakers pass a flurry of consequential and/or crazy — bills.

Posted inApril 2024: Epic Journeys

How states make money off tribal lands

by Anna V. Smith and Maria Parazo Rose February 28, 2024March 22, 2024

Ten states own 1.6 million acres of land within 83 tribal nations’ reservations. How did they get there?

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.

Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst

Learning to live with musk oxen

by Megan Gannon February 1, 2024May 8, 2024

The species were introduced to Alaska’s Seward Peninsula decades ago, without local consent. Now they pose danger to life and property.

Central Valley Chinook salmon are released at Nimbus Hatchery in Gold River, California.
Posted inArticles

Gov. Newsom releases new plan to save California salmon

by Sharon Levy January 31, 2024February 2, 2024

A wave of dam removals is planned, but salmon strategy relies on voluntary water cuts.

This massive flare and the black smoke coming from the flare stack in New Mexico’s Permian Basin is a sign, according to Wild Earth Guardians, that the flare is not working appropriately and polluting above permitted emission limits.
Posted inArticles

New Mexico pushes back on Big Oil

by Jerry Redfern January 23, 2024February 1, 2024

New bills in the legislature could curb industry excesses.

Posts pagination

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The West in Perspective

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

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