• Your Dashboard
  • Features
  • Public Lands
  • Indigenous Affairs
  • Water
  • Climate Change
  • Arts & Culture
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Donate Now
  • The Magazine
  • Jobs & Classifieds
    • Jobs & Classifieds
    • Place a Classified Ad
    • Display Ad Info
  • Your Dashboard
  • Features
  • Public Lands
  • Indigenous Affairs
  • Water
  • Climate Change
  • Arts & Culture
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Donate Now
  • The Magazine
  • Jobs & Classifieds
    • Jobs & Classifieds
    • Place a Classified Ad
    • Display Ad Info
Skip to content
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.

Support

Read more Western reporting

Sign up to receive High Country News’ email newsletters and get on-the-ground reporting and investigations delivered to your inbox each week.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Welcome to High Country News

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.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Communities

Posted inArticles

Washington voters stand up for climate action

by Natalia Mesa November 13, 2024November 21, 2024

The state’s landmark climate law survived a repeal effort — and has raised billions of dollars. Here’s where that money is going.

Ryan Madros takes a boat full of children, teens and adults to this year’s culture camp upriver from Ruby, Alaska. Madros and his wife, Rachael Kangas Madros, played key roles in organizing culture camp this year.
Posted inIssues

Fish camp in Alaska – without the fish

by Julia O'Malley November 1, 2024October 31, 2024

Yukon River communities fight to maintain their salmon fishing traditions.

Western Yarrow, or Achillea millefolium, growing on a pocket prairie near Pullman, Washington.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie

Your lawn could host an endangered ecosystem

by Kylie Mohr November 1, 2024November 8, 2024

In the effort to restore the Palouse Prairie, no project is too small.

Sign with direction arrow for Tolt Dam Flood Evacuation Route in Carnation.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie

Tolt River Dam false alarms prompt worry and distrust

by Hannah Weinberger November 1, 2024October 31, 2024

The town of Carnation has declared a state of emergency and is threatening dam managers with a lawsuit.

The exhibit offers a variety of objects and personal histories from decades of the quinceañera tradition in the Yakima Valley’s Latino community.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie

In Washington’s Yakima Valley, quinceañeras connect people and place

by Natalia Mesa November 1, 2024January 21, 2025

Teens are making the tradition their own with high-top sneakers, glowing dresses and Tiktok dances.

Los visitantes al Museo del Valle de Yakima disfrutan de la exposicíon de quinceñeras en Yakima, Washington.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie

Tenis, vestidos brillantes, y bailes de TikTok

by Natalia Mesa November 1, 2024November 1, 2024

En el Valle de Yakima, las jóvenes hacen suya la tradición quinceañera.

Glen Alps overlook, near Anchorage, Alaska.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie

The search for a taste of home in a new place

by Laureli Ivanoff November 1, 2024October 31, 2024

After a move from rural to urban Alaska, a writer hunts for the blueberries that nourish her family, body and spirit.

Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie

Remembering a remarkable environmental journalist

by Greg Hanscom November 1, 2024October 31, 2024

Bob Jones’ pioneering reporting spanned the West and the world.

Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations

Denver rideshare drivers just launched a worker-owned co-op

by William M. Adler October 31, 2024November 21, 2024

A new alternative to Uber and Lyft aspires to give workers more income and more say over their working conditions.

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.

Briarwood Estate, a farm and wedding venue in Skagit County, Washington.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie

Is a farm that hosts weddings still a farm?

by Rebecca Dzombak October 29, 2024November 8, 2024

Agritourism divides a rural Washington county.

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

What Nevada’s Culinary Union wants this presidential election

by High Country News and Quiet Pictures October 28, 2024October 28, 2024

La Culinaria, which represents 60,000 hospitality workers in the battleground state, faces a high stakes election year.

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 inOctober 2024: Latino Vote

On the road with Latino organizers in the swing states of the West

by Bernardo Ruiz October 1, 2024September 30, 2024

In Nevada and Arizona, Latinos make up nearly a third of all voters. What are they thinking this election year?

LaLo Montoya, director de participación cívica de Make the Road Nevada, hace campaña con un voluntario en un barrio del lado este de Las Vegas, Nevada, el pasado marzo.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote

El voto indeciso latino

by Bernardo Ruiz October 1, 2024October 4, 2024

De gira con organizadores en Arizona y Nevada.

Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote

Latino voting power is building in Yakima

by Natalia Mesa October 1, 2024September 30, 2024

Activists in central Washington focus on informing voters and getting them to show up to the polls.

Una pintura por la artista local, Maria G Rueda, cuelga en el vestíbulo del Centro Chinampa en Yakima, Washington.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote

Poder latino

by Natalia Mesa October 1, 2024October 4, 2024

En el centro del estado de Washington, los organizadores latinos están promoviendo el voto y eligiendo a sus propios candidatos

Posts pagination

Newer posts 1 2 3 4 … 241 Older posts

Support nonprofit news

High Country News relies on donations as well as subscription fees to produce independent reporting on the West. Help continue the legacy of reader-supported journalism by making a tax-deductible contribution today.

Make a contribution

Find out more about how we use your contributions in our annual reports and filings.

Subscribe to High Country News

Get access to on-the-ground reporting from across the West and support continued coverage of our region.

Read more Western reporting

Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from High Country News for the best on-the-ground reporting from across the region.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most popular stories

  • People brace for impacts on land, water and wildlife after feds fire thousands over holiday weekend
  • Trump’s funding cuts leave the nation vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire
  • ICE in your community? Here’s what to know.
  • Bringing black abalone back from the brink
  • The Forest Service is cutting its seasonal workforce and public lands will suffer

Featured Stories

People brace for impacts on land, water and wildlife after feds fire thousands over holiday weekend

People brace for impacts on land, water and wildlife after feds fire thousands over holiday weekend

ICE in your community? Here’s what to know.

ICE in your community? Here’s what to know.

Trump’s funding cuts leave the nation vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire

Trump’s funding cuts leave the nation vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire

The West in Perspective

AI on public lands and Biden’s environmental legacy

by Jonathan Thompson

We must protect our sacred lands

by Clark Tenakhongva

Pay wildland firefighters a living wage

by Riley Yuan

About High Country News

  • Our history
  • How to support HCN
  • Submissions

Know the West.

Get 2 free issues ↓

119 Grand Avenue
PO Box 1090
Paonia, CO 81428
(970) 527-4898

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed
  • Contact Us
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Pitch us a story
  • Fellowships
  • Education
  • Get email newsletters
  • Support our work
  • Advertise
  • Syndication
  • Subscriber services
Get 2 free issues ↓
Magazine cover: January 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst

Sign up for a free trial of High Country News. Learn what’s happening across the West today and see if becoming a subscriber is for you.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

© 2025 High Country News. All rights reserved Powered by Newspack