Key legislation failed in 2015. Will this year be any different?
Krista Langlois
Krista Langlois is a former High Country News fellow and correspondent, and longtime freelance journalist. From her home on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, she writes and edits stories about biodiversity and the more-than-human world for bioGraphic magazine. Find her on Bluesky @cestmoiLanglois.
Posted inArticles
Where private land meets public interest
A group of landowners on the Colorado-New Mexico border aim to conserve a contested landscape.
Posted inDecember 21, 2015: Secrets of the Deep
These are your state’s gun laws
In the wake of mass killings, a state-by-state look at Western gun policy.
Posted inArticles
Five new studies that change our understanding of permafrost
Why they matter, even if you don’t live in the Arctic.
Posted inArticles
The Freedom Caucus and the West
The new Tea Party-friendly movement is small but already has had a big impact on Western issues.
Posted inArticles
Alaska’s wolves and bears get new protections
New regulations help wildlife on federal lands. But they’re still no match for state predator control.
Posted inArticles
Legal challenges over Exxon Valdez sputter to an end
Lingering oil remains and ecological monitoring will continue. But Alaskans are moving on.
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
The rise of Lisa Murkowski
Alaska’s pragmatic senator wants to reshape America’s energy policy.
Posted inOctober 12, 2015: The Rise of Lisa Murkowski
Beyond the energy omnibus: a look at Sen. Murkowski’s hard-to-pass bills
The head of the Senate Energy Committee has crafted a comprehensive energy plan. But she left her most ambitious initiatives to be battled over separately.
Posted inArticles
Shell’s giving up drilling in the Arctic Ocean. Now what?
The (controversial) case for drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Posted inArticles
Why Silverton still doesn’t want a Superfund site
A polluted Colorado town wants to clean up on its own terms. But it’s been saying that for years.
Posted inAugust 31, 2015: Unlocking the Methane Mystery
Hunting the Arctic’s disappearing treasures
Ancient artifacts in the thawing North vanish before archaeologists can document them.
Posted inArticles
Five Western waterways worse than the orange Animas
Colorado’s Animas River has gotten the most attention — but it’s hardly alone.
Posted inArticles
Animas dispatch: Hundreds celebrate the river’s reopening
Durango may be moving on, but wider fears about the toxic spill still reverberate.
Posted inArticles
Murkowski unveils energy plan for the nation
Highlights and what it would mean for Western states.
Posted inJuly 20, 2015: Shredded
Misadventures in packrafting
Is the new sport just an expensive way to get into trouble on the river?
Posted inArticles
Idaho mining dispute raises questions about the future of wilderness
A grandfathered mining claim has opened the doors to development.
Posted inArticles
Arctic off-shore drilling hits home in Barrow, Alaska
Dispatch from the nation’s northernmost town, a community divided.
Posted inArticles
Wrangell recovers from its timber hangover
Can a small Alaska town overcome the booms and busts of resource development?
Posted inArticles
Weather dispatch from Wrangell, Alaska: Drought in the rainforest?
As Southwest states were pummeled with rain, Southeast Alaska dries out.