In this issue, our feature story explores a small corner of the region: A fundamentalist empire called Short Creek on the Arizona-Utah border that’s feeling the encroaching pressure of the modern-day West. There we find uncomfortable truth — but an important aspect of the past. In the rest of the issue, we have an eye on the future: A Westerner on the Supreme Court, and solutions to endless sprawl in water-scarce Arizona.
How stargazing connects us
And how growing light pollution threatens that connection.
Inside a taxidermy shop
In Western Colorado, bringing “life” to freeze-framed wild animals.
Latest: Zinke releases ATV plans for Recapture Canyon area
The Interior Secretary wants to prioritize public-land access.
Love, loss and nuclear reactors
Two new books explore the perspectives of women during the West’s nuclear boom.
Ten years, 3 million pounds of soil and 1,800 sensors
The numbers behind the world’s largest weathering experiment.
The monkey on art’s back; Bigfoot in Idaho; Tent City’s second life
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Vote with your dollars — on public lands
Many people have applauded the Outdoor Retailer Show companies moving their $10 million convention business out of Utah and said that they plan to take their personal outdoor recreation dollars elsewhere this year (“Outdoor rec industry defends public lands,” HCN, 2/20/17). However, our economic role as public-lands lovers is opposite that of the recreation retailers.…
We’ll keep covering the West’s politics
Below are readers’ responses to the editor’s note by Editor-in-Chief Brian Calvert in our April 3 issue, in which he addressed recent criticism of our coverage of “divisive” political issues. I appreciated your editor’s note about the mix of politics and High Country News. In today’s polarized political environment, we tend to be more sensitive…
An end to Tucson’s growth wars
A conservation plan puts science ahead of politics.
We’re not an environmental magazine
A deeper look at the way we cover the lands and communities of the American West.
Bundy trials; Congress’ attack on science; a dirty West
HCN.org news in brief.
What happens when the church comes for your kids?
Former FLDS members fight for their families and homes.
What is owed to a damaged river?
A new book illustrates the Duwamish’s difficult path to recovery.
Fresh eggs and fresh journalism awards
The sun has been shining for weeks here in Paonia, Colorado, and despite some frosty nights, we are in the full throes of spring. A thin layer of snow coats Mount Lamborn above town, but down here, fruit blossoms have burst forth, and blooming hyacinth, daffodils and tulips have brought a riot of color to…
Should courts defer to the expertise of agencies?
Our new Supreme Court justice doesn’t think so.
Latest: Mixed progress for Park Service on harassment
Interior Department clears former Yosemite superintendent of discrimination — and reports evidence for sexual harassment at Yellowstone.
Who will pay for unsexy repairs in national parks?
Congress discusses how to prioritize the Park Service’s maintenance backlog.
How environmentalists could do more for Bears Ears
On issues of industrial recreation, green groups say too little.
The biocrust conundrum
By destroying biocrust communities, climate change may be making arid lands more reflective — which could slow down warming.
Republicans push to split the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Bills to break up the big Western court have reappeared in Congress.