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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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Interview

Posted inFebruary 2025: Immigrant Stories

How do we raise our children in a time of wildfire?

by Erin X. Wong February 1, 2025February 5, 2025

The poet Rachel Richardson learns, through writing and motherhood, to defy fear.

Posted inArticles

How communities, officials and developers can work together on renewable energy development

by Erin X. Wong January 21, 2025January 23, 2025

Researcher Katherine Hoff explains how negotiation and dialogue can smooth the energy transition.

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.

A family of deer gather around burned trees from the Palisades Fire at Will Rogers State Park on January 9, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Posted inArticles

What do the deadly Los Angeles fires mean for the city’s wildlife?

by Kylie Mohr January 10, 2025January 13, 2025

Wildlife biologist Miguel Ordeñana explains how blazes push animals into the unknown.

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

The radical act of sharing Native literature

by Heather Hansman December 18, 2024December 18, 2024

NDN Girls Books Club is more than a big pink truck full of free books.

Posted inArticles

Reservation Dogs is finally up for the recognition it deserves

by Jason Asenap September 11, 2024October 25, 2024

Producer and writer, Migizi Pensoneau, ‘brings the realness’ to Emmy voters.

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

Trying to escape sea-level rise, Northwest coastal tribes are drowning in paperwork

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster August 27, 2024September 3, 2024

A new study shows how federal grant funding has actually become an obstacle to climate adaptation.

Posted inArticles

Hiking in the heat

by Kylie Mohr July 24, 2024August 8, 2024

A conversation with the head of the preventive search and rescue program in Joshua Tree National Park.

Posted inArticles

What being a rural election official is like

by Susan Shain June 21, 2024August 8, 2024

And what’s worrying one expert this November.

Posted inArticles

Denver’s new immigration plan, explained

by Natalia Mesa May 16, 2024August 8, 2024

The new program caps shelter stays for all new immigrants but expands services for 800 asylum seekers.

Posted inArticles

Denver lanza programa de asistencia para solicitantes de asilo

by Natalia Mesa May 16, 2024August 8, 2024

El nuevo programa busca brindar apoyo a 800 recién llegados, pero cortará recursos para los demas.

Posted inArticles

Killing one owl to save another

by Michelle Nijhuis May 10, 2024August 8, 2024

Is it ever the right thing to do? Two ethicists weigh in.

Posted inArticles

History, addiction and community in Tommy Orange’s latest novel

by Shelbi Polk May 3, 2024August 8, 2024

A Q&A with the author of ‘Wandering Stars’ and ‘There, There.’

Posted inArticles

An environmental justice coalition for all

by Erin X. Wong May 3, 2024August 22, 2024

How has Biden’s record on conservation served communities of color?

Posted inMay 2024: A River Returns

Art without the mask of Native identity

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster May 1, 2024April 30, 2024

Multidisciplinary artist Nizhonniya Austin talks about authenticity, trust fund pottery hipsters, and her role as Cara in ‘The Curse.’

Posted inArticles

Meet the tree-sitters who occupied a ponderosa pine

by Paul Robert Wolf Wilson and Erin X. Wong April 26, 2024August 8, 2024

The Oregon activists call attention to ongoing clearcuts in old-growth forests.

Posted inArticles

Are the Great Salt Lake scientists all right?

by Brooke Larsen April 24, 2024August 8, 2024

A Q&A with Great Salt Lake Institute Director Bonnie Baxter on studying a dying lake.

Posted inArticles

How Western ports anchor U.S. supply chains

by Erin X. Wong April 3, 2024April 3, 2024

The Baltimore bridge collapse highlights the nation’s dependence on the shipping industry.

Posts pagination

1 2 3 … 9 Older posts

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The West in Perspective

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