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High Country News

High Country News

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Cameron Walker

At Sequoia National Park in California, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees cover trees in structure wrap to protect them from fires in late September, 2021.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted

Fire crews do more than fight fires

by Cameron Walker January 1, 2025December 31, 2024

Some protect habitats and cultural resources from smoke and flames.

Posted inDecember 24, 2012: The new Wild, Wild West

At home with the oil rigs

by Cameron Walker December 24, 2012January 24, 2024

Coming down from Gaviota Pass, it’s the ocean I see first. But I look past the waves and ignore the distant Channel Islands, searching for the landmarks that tell me I’m really home. When I fly, my eyes search for these other islands, too, as we bank and straighten out, bound for the runway. They […]

Posted inMarch 5, 2012: The Zombies of Teton County

Watching the weather in California

by Cameron Walker March 9, 2012January 24, 2024

At 15, I waited for storms. I wanted drama in my placid life. But when I finally got one — the 1991 Oakland firestorm — it destroyed a few thousand houses, including ours. Afterwards, my dad sank into a depression, my younger brother started climbing out of windows and into trouble, and for years, I […]

Posted inJanuary 24, 2011: Serendipity in the Desert

Depth afield

by Cameron Walker January 28, 2011January 24, 2024

Why is the Western image so appealing?

Posted inNovember 23, 2009: After the Floods

Avalanche education for all

by Cameron Walker October 27, 2009January 24, 2024

Janet Kellam tackles an “urban” snow problem

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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.
  • 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

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