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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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Features

Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation

How a rare butterfly returned

by Jaclyn Moyer November 1, 2022January 24, 2024

The revival of Fender’s blue illustrates the collaborative nature of survival.

Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation

Carving a future for the Tongass National Forest

by Bethany Sonsini Goodrich November 1, 2022January 24, 2024

In Southeast Alaska, youth help manage a forest and protect an ancient art.

Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation

In Colorado, a storied valley blooms again

by Marissa Ortega-Welch October 31, 2022January 24, 2024

The San Luis Valley’s Acequia Institute is raising new traditions from multicultural roots.

Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge

Recollecting life on the edge of the prairie

by June T Sanders October 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Portraits of queer life and landscape in rural Washington.

Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge

Pacific lamprey’s ancient agreement with tribes is the future of conservation

by B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster October 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Despite dams, drowned waterfalls and industrial degradation, the practice of eeling persists.

Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under

How a hidden cave can help scientists understand the climate

by Emily Benson September 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Sometimes learning about the past to figure out the future requires crawling beneath tons of rock.

Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future

The fires below

by Austyn Gaffney August 1, 2022January 24, 2024

The world’s least understood ignition source is causing devastating wildfires across Montana’s Powder River Basin.

Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future

How to rebuild in a time of endless fire

by Madeline Ostrander August 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Okanogan County, Washington, had hardly recovered from the last devastating wildfire when the next one struck.

Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers

How a salmon farm disaster changed Northwest aquaculture forever

by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins July 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Thousands of salmon escaped into the Puget Sound. Then the controversy began.

Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers

Who does the state of Wyoming consider a poacher?

by Savannah Maher July 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Three years ago, the Supreme Court upheld the Crow Tribe’s off-reservation hunting rights. But treaty hunters in Wyoming still risk prosecution, even as non-Natives poach wildlife on tribal land with impunity.

Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War

When the heat is unbearable but there’s nowhere to go

by Sarah Sax June 1, 2022January 24, 2024

How last year’s record-breaking heat wave caused misery and chaos for Washington’s incarcerated population — and why it’s set to happen all over again.

Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War

Witness to the Cold War in the desert

by Terry Tempest Williams June 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Terry Tempest Williams on Emmet Gowin’s unflinching photos of the Nevada Test Site.

Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West

Don’t judge the negative

by Richard Misrach May 1, 2022January 24, 2024

The weird wonderful world of the negative image.

Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West

The lion king of Los Angeles

by Ruxandra Guidi May 1, 2022January 24, 2024

After Miguel Ordeñana discovered mountain lion P-22 in urban LA, he became a key advocate for habitat connectivity, which is essential for the species’ survival in Southern California.

Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue

What’s wrong with the Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum and Preserve?

by Miles W. Griffis April 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Archival documents reveal the true origins of a popular Colorado tourist attraction.

Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue

How a California archive reconnected a New Mexico family with its Chinese roots

by Wufei Yu April 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Aimee Towi Mae Tang’s Chinese American family never talked about the past. She decided to change that.

Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue

Images from the first-known Native American female photographer

by Will Chavez March 25, 2022January 24, 2024

Jennie Ross Cobb put her subjects at ease for uniquely candid photos from early 1900s Indian Territory.

Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum

Should we clone the black-footed ferret?

by Lawrence Lenhart March 1, 2022January 24, 2024

From petri dish to prairie with North America’s most endangered species.

Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum

Colorado River, stolen by law

by Pauly Denetclaw March 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Indigenous nations have been an afterthought in U.S. water policy for over a century. That was all part of the plan.

Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential

The beauty and complexity of farm work in Washington

by Sarah Sax February 1, 2022January 24, 2024

Artwork created by farmworkers and their communities paints an authentic picture of farm labor in Washington.

Posts pagination

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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.
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  • 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

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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

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Pay wildland firefighters a living wage

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