D.C. correspondent Elizabeth Shogren travels through coal country to find where ‘keep it in the ground’ meets ‘keep the lights on.’ Plus a look at El Niño in the West, oil and gas compromises in Moab and more.
The Greatest Generation at its worst
A review of ‘Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II,’ by Richard Reeves.
A model for planning
For over a century, energy development on public lands has put coal, oil and gas extraction at odds with stewardship of wildlife, wildlands and recreational opportunities. As noted in your Oct. 26 piece “Clean Energy’s Dirty Secret,” the growth of clean energy development has similarly presented challenges for the West. Recognizing the lessons learned and pitfalls of…
The ground game
Coal is still a power in the region, but one day it may be grounded for good.
A tour of vibrant skies of the north
A review of ‘The Northern Lights: Celestial Performances of the Aurora Borealis,’ by Daryl Pederson and Calvin Hall.
The Latest: Supreme Court denies roads rule appeal in Utah
Decision makes it harder for counties to claim roads on public land.
An ode to germs, guts and gardens
When calamity strikes, a gardener finds her way back to the basics.
Can drilling and recreation get along in Moab, Utah?
The BLM unveils the unprecedented plan to balance oil and gas with conservation in canyon country.
Coalbed methane explainer and post-fire logging.
Hcn.org news in brief.
Fall visitors
Welcome visitors from near and far to the HCN office in Paonia, Colorado.
High Country News: Tragedy and transition
The second in a series celebrating our 45th anniversary
Knock-out punch
A review of ‘Contenders,’ by Erika Krouse.
‘Legal monkey-wrenching’ on Western trails
One man’s guerrilla trail work aims to improve public access to public land.
Motive, not method
While he does not come right out and say it, Brian Calvert appears to advocate altering the Second Amendment to the Constitution in his opinion piece “Growing up with guns” (HCN, 10/26/05). To confuse the use of weapons used for hunting with guns used in the commission of violent crimes is a greater stretch than comparing…
Recreation, unleashed
There are situations in which leash laws are appropriate on trails, but I encourage the Jackson Hole task force (“Heard around the West,” HCN, 10/12/15) and others to consider their effect on off-leash recreationists. Places off-leash recreationists can legally engage in their activity are often limited in number, accessibility and quality. For many (perhaps most) of…
Saluting a salamander and surviving an unexpected windfall
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Solar impacts
Overall, I felt that the Oct. 26 story “Clean Energy’s Dirty Secret” approached the issues in a fairly even-handed way. However, I wish the editors had done a better job with one significant issue. The author often conflates the wildlife harms caused by solar thermal power plants with those caused by solar photovoltaic plants in…
The beaver whisperer
A biologist figures out how to keep beavers alive on Western landscapes.
The campaign against coal
Where ‘keep it in the ground’ meets ‘keep the lights on.’
What does super El Niño mean for the American West?
The weather event follows Earth’s two hottest years on record.