Give and Take Inside this issue of High Country News, you’ll find a flier for our newest book, called Give and Take: How the Clinton Administration’s Public Lands Offensive Transformed the American West. It pulls together our best coverage of the national monument spree engineered by Clinton and his Interior secretary, Bruce Babbitt, along with […]
Greg Hanscom
Greg Hanscom is the publisher and executive director for High Country News. Email him at greg.hanscom@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor.
Posted inJanuary 19, 2004: Two decades of hard work, plowed under
Dear Friends
MANY THANKS Happy New Year from snowy Paonia, and a huge thanks to all of you who sent cards and treats to the office over the holidays. They certainly lifted our spirits, and, in at least one case, reminded us what this enterprise is all about. Tracy, who gave no last name and identified herself […]
Posted inDecember 22, 2003: Being Green in the Land of the Saints
Toppling monoliths in Mormon Country
It’s all too easy to stereotype Mormons as conservative, anti-environment and unquestioning of their leaders. Kudos to those within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are breaking out of that stereotype — those who are proving that there is room within the faith for diversity and debate. As Rosemary Winters writes in […]
Posted inDecember 8, 2003: Riding the middle path
Save the middle ground: Hug a radical
Here’s a message for all the “radical centrists” out there, those who have decided that the best way to manage the public lands is to sit down at the table with ranchers, off-roaders and everyone in between, to come up with a plan everyone agrees on: The next time you run into a radical, thank […]
Posted inDecember 8, 2003: Riding the middle path
Dear Friends
PARTY TIME The staff of High Country News cordially invites all readers and friends to HCN’s holiday open house at our Paonia, Colo., office (119 Grand Ave.) on Monday, Dec. 15. Knock back a few eggnogs with the entire HCN crew between 5 and 7:30 p.m. Please bring a treat to share. We’ll provide drinks. […]
Posted inNovember 24, 2003: New Mexico goes head-to-head with a nuclear juggernaut
Dear Friends
HCN shows its roots There was a veritable High Country News love-fest in Gunnison, Colo., in early November. Western State journalism professor George Sibley called together several hundred academics, activists, writers, students — and even a rancher or two — to ponder the history of this newspaper, and the state of the West, at the […]
Posted inNovember 10, 2003: San Diego's Habitat Triage
Conservation in an imperfect world
In the three decades since it was signed into law, the Endangered Species Act has had some remarkable successes: Wolves have made a comeback in the Northern Rockies; bald eagles have rebounded. But the ESA is an imperfect tool. The endangered species list is often likened to the hospital emergency room, and the comparison is […]
Posted inOctober 27, 2003: The Gear Biz
Dear Friends
CHARGE ON The High Country News board and staff couldn’t have wished for a better weekend — or a better location — for the fall ’03 board meeting. Fifteen board members, eight staffers, and HCN founder Tom Bell all gathered at the Murie Ranch, just inside Grand Teton National Park, near Moose, Wyo., to talk […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2003: The Big Story Written Small
Talking about a revolution
For 33 years, High Country News has built its reputation on giving people news about the West’s environment. At times, it’s been a lonely business. Betsy Marston, who served as the paper’s editor from 1983 to 2001, says that in the 1980s, HCN was one of the only newspapers that consistently covered issues affecting the […]
Posted inSeptember 1, 2003: Courting the Bomb
Dear Friends
Farewell, Radio HCN We’re writing today with both sadness and gratitude. We’re sad because, after years of hard work, we have decided to end our weekly radio program, Radio High Country News. But we’re grateful to you, our dedicated readers, because you believed enough to contribute to the Spreading the News Campaign, which allowed us […]
Posted inSeptember 1, 2003: Courting the Bomb
The best little radio show in the West
An appreciation of Radio High Country News,and of the band of brilliant, visionary and completely nuts peoplewho made it possible
Posted inAugust 18, 2003: Where the Antelope (and the Oil Companies) Play
Dear Friends
Louisiana’s Big Oil slayer There may be any number of environmental activists who run thriving Cadillac dealerships, but we only know of one: Harold Schoeffler of Lafayette, La. The grizzled 63-year-old recently camped overnight on Lamborn Mesa outside Paonia with the Boy Scout troop he founded 20-some years ago. They were taking an eight-day tour […]
Posted inWotr
It’s time for ‘quiet recreationists’ to speak up
At long last, the people who make our beloved backpacking tents and climbing ropes and kayaks have taken some responsibility for helping us trample freely about the wilderness. In May, leaders of the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) gave Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt an ultimatum. Leavitt had just signed deals stripping temporary wilderness protection from 2.6 […]
Posted inAugust 4, 2003: Pipe Dreams
Dear friends
We’re back! Following a two-week hiatus, the High Country News staff is back on the job, looking a little sunnier, and feeling refreshed. Temperatures on Colorado’s Western Slope have been rocketing over the 100-degree mark every afternoon, so it’s good to be back under the swamp cooler. Visitors Truckloads of HCN subscribers have ducked in […]
Posted inJuly 7, 2003: Invasion of the rock jocks
Speak up, ‘quiet recreationists’
At long last, the good people who make our beloved backpacking tents and climbing ropes and kayaks have taken some responsibility for helping us trample freely about the Western wilds. In May, Peter Metcalf, co-founder of the climbing-gear company, Black Diamond, gave Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt an ultimatum. Leavitt had just signed deals stripping 2.6 […]
Posted inJuly 7, 2003: Invasion of the rock jocks
Dear Friends
We need a vacation! Don’t be surprised that High Country News isn’t in your mailbox two weeks from now. Each summer, we skip an issue, to give staffers a chance to crawl out of their cubicles and frolic in the hills. Your next issue should arrive August 4. The board comes to Paonia The High […]
Posted inJune 23, 2003: 'Sound science' goes sour
Hear that whistle blow
Last year, Republican strategist Frank Luntz wrote a report, coaching Republicans on how to talk about the environment. Straight Talk is a fascinating, albeit nauseating, read — particularly the section about science. “Americans unanimously believe all environmental rules and regulations should be based on sound science and common sense,” it says. Then, Luntz does a […]
Posted inJune 23, 2003: 'Sound science' goes sour
Dear Friends
HCN in the spotlight Thanks go out to all the readers who have written e-mails, postcards and letters in recent weeks to comment on the paper’s new look. So far, the reviews have been mostly positive: “GREAT,” “easier to read,” “handsome and easy to handle,” “a job well done,” “I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new […]
Posted inJune 9, 2003: How we see the West
Dear Friends
A new supporter Once a year, High Country News dedicates almost an entire issue to essays. We hope this issue gets stuffed into the backseat of a few cars for the summer road trip, tucked into backpacks, or packed in dry bags for a little reading on the river. We’ll be back with more news […]