In this issue we take a deep look at hunting and its meaning for the West. We dive into a Washington-Canada cross-border hunt that also served as strategic attempt to get Canada to recognize a tribe it considers ‘extinct.’ In Alaska, a hunter pursues a mountain goat but gets another adventure entirely. We take a look at cash-strapped states that sell high-priced trophy tags and allow sportsmen to hunt where, when and what they want – to the dismay of some. In Wyoming, a hunting family faces the prospect of chronic wasting disease on their kill. We also check in on the Klamath River, which now has the legal rights of personhood in Yurok tribal court. And we look into a new study that finds antibiotic-resistant bacteria proliferates in coastal waterways.
Salmon swim above the Grand Coulee Dam for first time in 80 years
Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation gather to begin a new cycle for salmon.
A retired WWII pilot photographs ‘the saga of fallen flesh’
Anne Noggle documents herself and other aging women with respect and a touch of wry humor.
Jars of jam and a lot of joy
Harvest season meant conferences, visitors and a wonderful wedding.
Hunting still holds meaning
Fewer people are picking up a rifle or bow, but the act warrants examination regardless.
Skoolies; preservation vs. profit; forest therapy
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Faced with chronic wasting disease, what’s a hunting family to do?
Hunters are critical for game management, but the spread of CWD means some may put down the rifle.
In Southeast Alaska, a hunter searches for kinship with the wild
A mountain goat’s death brings life into focus.
Killing Bullwinkle: Big money and controversy surround Western trophy hunts
Wealthy hunters pay top dollar for desired hunts, padding Fish and Game budgets and prodding resistance.
How an Arrow Lakes elk hunt became a case of tribal recognition
Rick Desautel shot an elk to prove the Sinixt descendants are not legally ‘extinct.’ Now the Supreme Court of Canada will decide.
Environmental study of Shasta Dam height halted
Stakeholders disagree over whether raising the dam would offer benefits or detriments.
Snake River dams
Thanks for this important article on the shifting politics of the movement to breach the four Snake River dams in southeast Washington (“Courts can’t keep salmon from the edge of extinction,” HCN, 10/14/19). It needs to be added, however, that the court-mandated National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, review, a draft of which is expected…
Treat all firefighters equally
Editor’s note: Pablo Aguirre received this letter from his brother, Francisco X. Aguirre, a participant in Arizona’s Inmate Wildfire Program, who asked him to share it with High Country News. This letter has been edited for length and clarity. Thank you for highlighting the heroics and challenges of imprisoned Arizona wildland firefighter crews in your…
Antibiotic resistance is spreading among marine mammals
A new study of seals and porpoises in the Salish Sea shows how antibiotic-resistant bacteria proliferate in coastal waterways.
‘Smoke Signals’ was needed, but it doesn’t hold up
The seminal film, while important for finally having Native representation, relied on stereotypes.
The Klamath River now has the legal rights of a person
A Yurok Tribe resolution allows cases to be brought on behalf of the river as a person in tribal court.