Jonathan Thompson

High Country News, like everyone else who covers the West’s environmental issues, loves “unlikely alliances.” We’re delighted whenever chardonnay-sipping Sierra Clubbers from Mill Valley fight on the same side of a cause as Budweiser-swilling elk hunters in Idaho. We love writing about what happens when surly miners join forces with grassroots greens, partly because these […]

When people think of Durango, Colo., they usually think of the scenery, or the tourist attractions, or the disproportionate number of healthy, spandex-clad bicyclists, runners and raft guides. Rarely do they think of cancer. Perhaps they should. I spent the first 18 years of my life in Durango. It was a nice place to grow […]

There was a time in much of the West when communities would hop onto an extractive boom like a hobo onto a freight train, determined to ride those high-paying jobs all the way to the end of the line. That was certainly the case in western Colorado for a long time. But these extractive economies […]

The circle of stones sits in the Utah desert, on a bench above the murky waters of the river. Nearby, more stones are strewn about in an orderly fashion. And everywhere, pieces of gray, red and corrugated pottery lie scattered. Hundreds of years ago, this was a sacred Puebloan site. The circle, about 50 feet […]

Why is High Country News writing about mental illness and suicide? Many of you are probably asking yourselves that question right about now. After all, suicide has nothing to do with public lands, natural resources, endangered wildlife or environmentalism. And of course it has nothing to do with Western culture. Or does it? The West’s […]

When you read Matt Jenkins’ cover story in this issue, there’s a good chance you’ll be a bit surprised and even somewhat outraged. You’ll learn that hundreds of homes on the Navajo Nation are without running water, despite the fact that, no matter how you slice it, the tribe has rights to a substantial piece […]

The stories Russ told always ended with a big chunk of uranium ore being dumped on the table, its yellow dust collecting as a thin film on top of my coffee. And they always began with the phrase: “There used to be 10,000 men with boots on in this town.” It was Silverton, Colo., 1996. […]

The presidential candidate stood on the back of the train in Helper, Utah, and declared: “The fuel for our machine age economy will be absolutely dependent at some time or other upon this great West.” The candidate was Harry Truman; the year, 1948. Besides being prophetic, the speech was significant because it was the last […]

Government sharpshooters may soon stalk elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, picking off one animal at a time. They promise to do their shooting in the early morning, so as not to disturb park visitors, and officials have assured the press that they plan to preserve the herds’ “viewability” throughout all of this. After all, […]