While it may grab headlines, the actual sparks are much more complex.
California
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Black entrepreneurs built beach havens in California. Racism shut them down.
The hidden history of Santa Monica’s Black coastal enclaves.
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How the U.S. legal system ignores tribal law
Elizabeth Reese, Stanford Law School’s first Native American professor, discusses the intentional marginalization of tribal legal structures.
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California oil spill contaminates restored wetland
The Talbert Marsh is refuge to at least 90 species of shorebirds, and now it’s slicked with oil.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
A recovered sum; a bear with a job; a loss of goofy trees
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Where do public lands factor into the homelessness crisis?
As the housing crisis in the West deepens, more unhoused people are making a home outside.
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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.
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After the Palisades Tahoe name change, where is the Washoe Tribe looking next?
‘This whole thing, it’s decent. It’s a decent thing to do.’
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California Farmworkers Union fights to vote by mail in union elections
For a largely unorganized sector, expanded voting access would be a huge win.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Fuel for the electrical fire
Utility equipment sparks blazes, but climate change stokes them.
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.
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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.
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‘Deadbeat dams’ and their impact on cold-water ecosystems
As California mulls water storage, a new study adds nuance to cold-water conservation.
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A California county spars over water, marijuana law and race
Tasked to map an enigmatic aquifer for future water management, scientists confront political and scientific uncertainty.
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National park managers search for answers to overcrowding
Timed-entry reservations and apps that point visitors to less-trafficked areas work to disperse the denizens.
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Klamath River issues explained
Confused about what’s happening on the Klamath? Dams, salmon, irrigation and more.
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Uncurbed climate change and extreme heat will extract a toll on outdoor labor
A new report forecasts the loss in workdays and wages if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reined in.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2021: Where Wolves May Tread
The familial bond between the Klamath River and the Yurok people
How a tribal community’s health is intimately connected to the health of the river.
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 inSeptember 1, 2021: Where Wolves May Tread
The effort to save Upper Klamath Lake’s endangered fish before they disappear
Another dry year pushes tribal nations, federal agencies and irrigators to find long-lasting solutions.