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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 inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential

A just transition for farmworkers

by Sarah Sax February 1, 2022January 24, 2024

As agricultural laborers continue to bear the brunt of climate change, activists in Washington chart a new path for climate justice.

Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities

Indigenous feminism flows through the fight for water rights on the Rio Grande

by Christine Trudeau and Kalen Goodluck January 1, 2022January 24, 2024

An intergenerational group of Pueblo women lead the way on water policy along the Middle Rio Grande Valley.

Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities

Gold country: A precious metal, a mining mega-corp and a captive workforce

by Nick Bowlin and Daniel Rothberg January 1, 2022January 24, 2024

In 2019, two gold-mining giants joined forces, with huge consequences for the Northern Nevada community and economy.

Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness

Wild horses, buffalo and the politics of belonging

by Stephen Lezak December 1, 2021January 24, 2024

On the Wind River Indian Reservation, two animals slip between the cracks of what is wild and what isn’t.

Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness

Betting the ranch

by Lee van der Voo December 1, 2021January 24, 2024

Cody Easterday wagered hundreds of millions of dollars on the price of beef. He lost.

Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door

The winnowing of winter

by Heather Hansman November 1, 2021January 24, 2024

As the climate crisis worsens, what will happen to snow?

Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door

The nation’s last uranium mill plans to import Estonia’s radioactive waste

by Jessica Douglas November 1, 2021January 24, 2024

Utah says the White Mesa Mill isn’t contaminating groundwater, but its neighbor, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, disagrees.

Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses

Where do public lands factor into the homelessness crisis?

by Sarah Tory October 1, 2021January 24, 2024

As the housing crisis in the West deepens, more unhoused people are making a home outside.

Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses

When public health becomes the public enemy

by Jane C. Hu September 24, 2021January 24, 2024

Far-right extremists are robbing the West of the officials who protect community health.

Posted inSeptember 1, 2021: Where Wolves May Tread

Why have gray wolves failed to gain a foothold in Colorado?

by Paige Blankenbuehler September 1, 2021January 24, 2024

The Green River Corridor, a pathway from Wyoming to Colorado, highlights the political and physical barriers wolves face.

Posted inAugust 1, 2021: A Mega-Dairy Comes to the Desert

A mega-dairy is transforming Arizona’s aquifer and farming lifestyles

by Debbie Weingarten and Tony Davis August 1, 2021January 24, 2024

Minnesota’s Riverview Dairy has deep pockets and long straws.

Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution

How a trail in rural Oregon became a target of far-right extremism

by Leah Sottile July 1, 2021January 24, 2024

To understand the state’s urban-rural divide, start by looking at Yamhill County’s proposed walking trail.

Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution

Reclaiming LA

by Stella Kalinina June 30, 2021January 24, 2024

Communities in Los Angeles are turning industrial sites into pockets of green.

Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires

Facing future wildfires, a community fights for its forest

by Carl Segerstrom June 1, 2021January 24, 2024

Conflicting visions in central Idaho force tough decisions over logging and prescribed burning.

Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands

See the first-ever survey of the Atascosa Highlands

by Luke Swenson and Jack Dash May 1, 2021January 24, 2024

An ecologist and a photographer teamed to document and build a living archive of the Borderlands’ biodiversity — before it’s too late.

Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast

The ‘slow-motion genocide’ of the Chinook Indian Nation

by Anna V. Smith April 1, 2021January 24, 2024

Federal recognition provides tribes with critical healthcare and education. What happens to the tribal nations that the U.S. refuses to recognize?

Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast

Idaho state lands could end up in private hands

by Emily Benson March 8, 2021January 24, 2024

How a developer’s proposed large land swap ignited a fight in small but growing McCall.

Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead

Did James Plymell need to die?

by Leah Sottile March 1, 2021January 24, 2024

How homelessness is criminalized in small cities and towns across the West.

Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line

The fight for an equitable energy economy for the Navajo Nation

by Jessica Kutz February 1, 2021January 24, 2024

Diné activist Nicole Horseherder’s long quest for equity from the rise and fall of the coal economy.

Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home

When COVID hit, a Colorado county kicked out second-home owners. They hit back.

by Nick Bowlin January 1, 2021January 24, 2024

How a group of nonresident homeowners tried to influence a rural Colorado election.

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Most popular stories

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

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The West in Perspective

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