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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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Kylie Mohr

Kylie Mohr is a correspondent for High Country News writing from Montana. Email her at kylie.mohr@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor.

Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst

Fire is driving animals’ evolution

by Kylie Mohr February 1, 2024February 9, 2024

Can species evolve fast enough to keep up with changing wildfire conditions?

Posted inJanuary 1, 2024: January 2024

Homeowner’s insurance is going up in smoke

by Kylie Mohr January 1, 2024February 5, 2024

A Q&A with California’s former insurance commissioner about coverage in the age of climate change.

An oil refinery on Puget Sound near Anacortes, Washington.
Posted inArticles

Washington lags behind in water-pollution oversight

by Kylie Mohr December 14, 2023May 16, 2024

State officials have been missing Clean Water Act deadlines for a decade.

Posted inDecember 1, 2023: December 2023

Does voluntary conservation work?

by Kylie Mohr December 1, 2023May 8, 2024

Can pre-listing conservation save the last native population of Arctic grayling in the Lower 48?

In 2022, The Kwethluk Fire burns 9,693 acres in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge.
Posted inArticles

Wildfires are thawing the tundra

by Kylie Mohr November 15, 2023January 31, 2024

Researchers discovered recently burned areas emit more methane gas than the rest of the landscape.

Posted inNovember 1, 2023: November 1, 2023

When burn scars become roaring earthen rivers

by Kylie Mohr November 1, 2023June 26, 2024

Geologists in Washington are monitoring scorched forest to help create a better warning system for deadly debris flows.

Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry

The dangerous consequences of wildland fire dispatcher burnout

by Kylie Mohr October 2, 2023January 24, 2024

An internal Forest Service survey shows a critical link in the wildfire fighting apparatus is struggling.

Cattle graze at Delamar Lake, Nevada. A lawsuit states that the BLM hasn’t conducted required environmental reviews for almost two-thirds of its 35,000 current grazing permits.
Posted inArticles

Conservation groups sue BLM for rangeland degradation

by Kylie Mohr September 13, 2023January 24, 2024

The lawsuit alleges the agency isn’t conducting environmental assessments before renewing grazing permits.

Youth plaintiffs in the climate change lawsuit, Held vs. Montana, arrive at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse in June for the final day of the trial.
Posted inArticles

How climate science won in the Montana youth climate case

by Kylie Mohr August 18, 2023May 22, 2024

The ruling in Held v. Montana is expected to bolster cases in other states with similar environmental protections in their constitutions.

The glow of the Golden Fire burning on Bly Mountain, Oregon. The fire destroyed over 43 homes.
Posted inArticles

People are starting a lot of fires in the Pacific Northwest

by Kylie Mohr August 8, 2023January 24, 2024

The Forest Service reports 197 human-caused or undetermined starts since the beginning of June.

Burned-over forest in Washington near the origin of the Bolt Creek Fire, with Eagle Rock on the right and Townsend Mountain in the distance.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire

‘We have fire all around us and we can’t get out’

by Kylie Mohr August 1, 2023April 23, 2024

What happened when two experienced hikers got caught in the Bolt Creek Fire.

Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water

Elk calls have regional dialects

by Kylie Mohr July 1, 2023January 24, 2024

Whales, bats and birds sound different depending on where they live. So do elk, according to new research.

Firefighters drop retardant over Aliso Canyon during the Coastal Fire in Laguna Niguel, California, on May 11, 2022.
Posted inArticles

Fire retardant kills fish. Is it worth the risk?

by Kylie Mohr May 10, 2023January 24, 2024

A lawsuit could change how the Forest Service fights fires.

A farmer mows alfalfa amid the smoke from the Okanagon Complex Wildfires on August 23, 2015 near Omak, Washington.
Posted inMay 1, 2023: Reemergence

Climate change is changing public health

by Kylie Mohr May 1, 2023January 24, 2024

In Washington, a new team of epidemiologists is preparing for a hotter, smokier future.

Allanite minerals in carbonatite rock found at the Sheep Creek site by U.S. Critical Materials. The company announced that its holdings contain the highest grade rare earth element deposits in the country.
Posted inArticles

The EV mining rush could come to Montana’s mountains

by Kylie Mohr March 16, 2023January 24, 2024

A company announced it found the country’s highest-grade rare earth deposit in Montana.

Posted inMarch 1, 2023: Moving Parts

Get to know the whitebark pine

by Kylie Mohr March 1, 2023January 24, 2024

This threatened tree feeds and shelters the high country.

Posted inArticles

How far will you go to reduce your wildfire risk?

by Kylie Mohr February 21, 2023January 24, 2024

It may depend on how you see the world.

Posted inArticles

How humans break up wolf packs

by Kylie Mohr February 13, 2023January 24, 2024

A new study explores how packs change when activities like hunting and car accidents kill wolves.

Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal

Missoulians nearly lost access to their beloved community ski hill

by Kylie Mohr January 25, 2023January 24, 2024

Now they’re rallying to ensure public access to the recreation hotspot.

Posted inArticles

How to save the whitebark pine

by Kylie Mohr January 5, 2023January 24, 2024

The tree is getting federal protection. But plenty of people were already trying to save it.

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