What the future holds for the Yellowstone grizzly. Plus, cities sue Monsanto, the secrets of Western trees, and coal lessons from Europe.
As delisting looms, grizzly advocates prepare for a final face-off
The Yellowstone grizzly population is poised to lose its endangered status, leaving protection in the hands of the states.
Who’s cutting illegal ski trails in the Santa Fe National Forest?
On the trail of a backcountry criminal with the Forest Service.
Blossoming fruit trees and a bounty of awards
As local orchards and vineyards gear up for business, the High Country News staff has been busier than ever. Something about this glorious time of year is bringing visitors aplenty to our headquarters here in Paonia, Colorado. Erik Cadaret of Mission Viejo, California, recently toured the office before jetting off to Utah’s national parks on…
Photos: Inside the controversial sport of coyote coursing
This subset of coyote hunting involves trained dogs and is relatively uncommon in the West.
Delinquent goats, a cat murder mystery and rock ‘n roll spiders
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Grizzly fascination
The professor’s assignment was open-ended: Get together with another graduate student and write about a current natural resource dilemma, one with lots of competing players. Both topic and partner came readily to mind: The Yellowstone grizzly bear intrigued not only me, but also my vivacious, intelligent colleague, Ann Harvey. That was back in 1985. The…
Hopes for land buy-back
My name is Ed “Cowboy” After Buffalo Jr. As I read the story “A Land Divided” (HCN, 4/4/16), I am getting ready to attend the kick-off event for the Blackfeet tribal land buyback program on April 8, hoping to get good feedback on the program, which in turn will help me make an informed decision…
How Utah’s public defense system is failing the poor
The state is one of just two that provide no funding for the right to legal counsel, leaving local governments on the hook.
Local cleanup control
Jonathan Thompson did a particularly comprehensive job of covering issues in Silverton (“The Gold King Reckoning,” HCN, 5/2/16). There is probably an additional point relative to Superfund opposition. Mining communities throughout Colorado witnessed the conflicts between local governments and the Environmental Protection Agency at Leadville’s Superfund site over several decades. As a consequence, many communities strongly prefer…
Opiates on the rise; Northwest tribal members fight disenrollment; ‘Best idea?’
HCN.org news in brief.
Past and present fauna
Writers bear witness to the “Age of Loneliness,” in the midst of a mass extinction.
A life aloft
An ode to airport-dwelling birds.
West Coast cities sue Monsanto to pay for chemical cleanup
Cities take a new tack to fight pollutants: targeting companies who make them.
A necessary dimension
In your latest “Editor’s Note,” you indicated that some readers have “wondered” about recent editorial forays into long-standing social and cultural issues, such as the Sagebrush Rebellion, or the Wise Use Movement (HCN, 5/2/16). As a new subscriber (and educator who shares HCN with two college composition courses), I support such intentional turns as a…
What the U.S. can learn from European coal miners’ second act
Europe and the U.S. have taken different paths in response to climate concerns and coal declines.
A romanticized past
“The Gold King Reckoning” hit home for me and once again renewed my quandary over the nostalgic interest in all things mining-related in the American West (HCN, 5/2/16). I once participated in the Hardrock Hundred Mile Run, which offered me a unique tour of the vestigial remnants of Colorado’s San Juan mining industry, and I…
What the West’s trees tell us
How can biomass and carbon data help us mitigate the effects of human activity?
Latest: New wind farm releases plan to mitigate bird deaths
Renewable energy installations can cause thousands of bird deaths but have been slow to respond.
Latest: California county cuts tie with Wildlife Services over predator killing
In 2014, the federal agency killed over 60,000 coyotes, despite research into new non-lethal methods.
Real predators don’t eat popsicles
Once again, in Zootopia, Disney’s view of nature is sanitized and out of touch.