For the first time, scientists have mapped out the groundwater the two countries share.
Arizona
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
Wiggling ice worms; historical matchmaking; bizarre Utah politics
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
What’s going on with redistricting in the West?
Yurij Rudensky of the Brennan Center breaks down the politics — and potential issues — Western states face in this year’s redistricting process.
Posted inArticles
The public lands that kept us sane
In honor of National Public Lands Day, High Country News staff reflect on access to spaces across the West.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
In Arizona, a radical change in juvenile detention
How a rural town transformed a juvenile facility into a safe space for teens.
Posted inArticles
A monsoon summer in the Southwest
How residents across the region are engaging with the yearly weather phenomenon.
Posted inArticles
Searching for the lost: The people called to find missing migrants
Many Aguilas del Desierto volunteers once crossed the dangerous desert in the Borderlands themselves.
Posted inArticles
6 things you should know about the 2021 Native American Voting Rights Act
Indigenous communities face disproportionate barriers to voting, but the act would help protect this important right.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2021: Where Wolves May Tread
The incredible shrinking Colorado River
Climate change and rising demand are sucking the life out of the Southwest’s water supply.
Posted inArticles
Colorado River water shortages highlight the urgency of reducing water waste
Conservation, water reuse and better irrigation technology all make more sense than proposed water pipelines.
Posted inArticles
The Apache community running to rescue its holy mountain
Indigenous spiritual leaders say the Vatican’s observatory is searching for something it doesn’t understand.
Posted inAugust 1, 2021: A Mega-Dairy Comes to the Desert
A mega-dairy is transforming Arizona’s aquifer and farming lifestyles
Minnesota’s Riverview Dairy has deep pockets and long straws.
Posted inArticles
Climate change sinks Lake Powell, local rec industry
The water line has dropped to historic lows, and house boats are at risk of being marooned.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2021: Where Wolves May Tread
Supreme Court ruling fails to protect Indigenous voters
In Brnovich v. DNC, the court has made it harder for people of color — especially Indigenous populations — to vote.
Posted inArticles
The once-perennial Gila River ebbs to an uncertain future
‘We are in uncharted territory.’
Posted inAugust 1, 2021: A Mega-Dairy Comes to the Desert
Could casitas help prevent displacement in the West’s cities?
As the housing crisis worsens, advocates sound off on how to bring homes to the people.
Posted inArticles
The return of the endangered Mexican wolf
A program that places captive-born pups into wild dens is helping North America’s rarest wolf subspecies reclaim its native territory in the Southwest.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
Mining for lithium, at a cost to Indigenous religions
In western Arizona, the push for EVs threatens the Hualapai Tribe’s religious practices.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
A hallucinogenic toad in peril
How a Sonoran Desert species got caught up in the commodification of spiritual awakening.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Impossible markets; Schroederisms; Western advice
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.