In this issue, we bear witness to the protesters in the #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations who have overflowed the streets of Los Angeles. We examine innovative alternatives to policing in Eugene, Oregon, where non-emergency EMS services are dispatched for de-escalation, mental health crises, substance abuse and other issues — all without police involvement. Scanning the data, we map the disproportionate police militarization and violence across the Western U.S. As the climate crisis worsens, we consider the adaptions forced on the Inupiaq people of the Arctic, as well as on the coastal cities of California. Our feature story follows the arduous efforts to save a vanishing species of catfish along the U.S.-Mexican border. And we describe the unexpected rise of labor organizing among fruit packers and ski patrollers alike. The issue also features an interview with a founder of #BlackBirdersWeek; an argument for full-time wildland firefighters; and a former insider’s warning of a compromised Bureau of Land Management.

Skye Woods, photographed outside Los Angeles City Hall, where daily protests have been part of the international response to police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May. Credit: Stephanie Mei-Ling/High Country News

Download the Digital Issue

Rollbacks at a breakneck pace

While the nation is distracted by a pandemic, the Trump administration is rolling back health and environmental protections at a breakneck pace. Susan Stone, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Rollbacks at a breakneck pace.

by Susan Stone

The crisis is culling our vulnerable

The culling of human beings is what I am heartbroken about — our old, our houseless, our vulnerable. Natalie Hirt, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The crisis is culling our vulnerable.

by Natalie Hirt

Unjustified captivity

Rena Priest does an effective job in her story, drawing parallels between captive orcas and missing and murdered Indigenous women (“A captive orca and a chance for our redemption,” April 2020). Fifty years on, how do we justify the conditions Tokitae lives in, let alone the fact of her captivity itself? Lance Martin, via Facebook…

by Lance Martin

A chilling analysis

The interview provides a view on the armed reopen “protests,” from an interesting point of view. It’s a chilling analysis summing up three centuries and their original sins: guns, profits and a culture of privilege. Maybe a tad bit radical, but makes you think. Jürgen Kraus, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition…

by Jürgen Kraus

A flag of fantasy

The Gadsden flag has become a symbol of ignorance and hate (“Who’s Treading Now?” June 2020). Worse yet, the purveyors of this image represent the darker elements of human nature, including selfish, violent and anti-democratic sentiments, often under the guise of Christianity. They live in a fantasy bubble where there are no rules, no regulations…

by Joe Bickel

America’s historical violence

Graham Lee Brewer’s interview with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz provides some historical framing for current socio-political happenings (“Armed and contagious,” June 2020). When things don’t make sense, dig into history to find out why. Alan-Michael Foucault, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline America’s historical violence.

by Alan-Michael Foucault

An orca as a surfboard

Such a tragic story. Poor sweet Tokitae, imprisoned for 50 years in a tank that’s illegally too small. In 2005, southern resident orcas finally received protection under the Endangered Species Act and were never to be kept captive again. But the law excluded Tokitae. She is made to perform circus tricks and be USED as…

by Fred Page

Anti-regulatory architect

The architect of President Trump’s environmental rollbacks, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, has spent most of his career serving industry, anti-regulation ideologues. J.K. Sloan, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Anti-regulatory architect.

by J.K. Sloan

Flying fish?

I cannot help but comment in protest of the practice illustrated in the story, “Running hot” (June 2020) of apparently tossing (live?!) salmon up and over a stationary setnet onto the rocky shoreline. I’m sure I don’t understand the business of commercial fishing, but no animal deserves to be dispatched in such a degrading manner.…

by Alex Kouvel

Graphic content warning, please

As a subscriber and contributor to High Country News for many years, I have to say I was shocked by the graphic descriptions of animal cruelty in the poaching article (“Digital Shadows,” June 2020). I happened to be browsing the print edition over lunch. Bad timing. The article describes admirable teamwork by the people who…

by Louis Jaffe

Orca culture

The scientific name for the orca is Orcinus orca. To my tribe, the Lhaq’ te’mish of the Salish Sea, they are people. In our stories, they have societies and a culture similar to our own. Quad Finn, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Orca culture.

by Quad Finn

Poison for profit

This is the Trump administration’s environmental shock doctrine (“Reg wreckage,” June 2020): Ramping up the killing of poor, Black, brown and Native peoples, and poisoning the world for profit. Alyosha Goldstein, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Poison for profit.

by Alyosha Goldstein

Radicalized poaching

One of the smartest moves in this story is that the reporter included comment from a foreign terrorism and radicalization researcher. The story is about heavily armed men running a poaching ring in Washington and Oregon. Ian Morse, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Radicalized poaching.

by Ian Morse