After just 8 months, Biden’s green jobs program shut down before Trump took office. What did it do?
California
Posted inArticles
Wildfires are too much for municipal water systems. In Los Angeles, firefighters tried anyway.
Water systems aren’t designed for unlimited demands during wildland-urban interface fires.
Posted inArticles
What it’s like to be an incarcerated firefighter
Eddie Herrera, a formerly incarcerated firefighter, talks about the job and how he sees what’s happening in Los Angeles.
Posted inArticles
What do the deadly Los Angeles fires mean for the city’s wildlife?
Wildlife biologist Miguel Ordeñana explains how blazes push animals into the unknown.
Posted inArticles
How to understand the West’s ‘forever wildfire season’
Amid California’s deadly fires, here are 10 High Country News stories to help you bring context to wildland blazes.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Wind energy jobs are taking off, but so are risks
Workers are pushing for improved training and safety standards to help avoid falls, electrocution and equipment failure.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Fire crews do more than fight fires
Some protect habitats and cultural resources from smoke and flames.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Felonious furries, bunches of bats, a coyote commune and pumpkin paddlers
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
2024’s biggest conservation wins for the West
There were glimmers of good news across the region, from restored habitats to growing wildlife populations.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire … in winter?
Expect more fires like the fast-moving one in Malibu, scientists say.
Posted inFebruary 2025: Immigrant Stories
Unhoused people pay a disproportionate price for the West’s deadly roads
People experiencing homelessness are more likely to die from transportation-related injuries than the general population.
Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations
Can land repair the nation’s racist past?
California’s approach to Black reparations shifts toward land access, ownership and stewardship.
Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations
2024 was a year of wacky Western weather
When assessing the region, not much was normal but climate change.
Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations
How blue jeans got their sexy reputation
The artist George Quaintance painted some of the first erotic depictions of denim.
Posted inArticles
Audio: How nature can thrive despite human impact
What disturbance-loving plants teach.
Posted inArticles
Why did Nevada vote to ban slavery, when California didn’t?
Both states require incarcerated people to work — often for critical and dangerous jobs.
Posted inArticles
Western monarch butterflies favor private land. Now what?
A new analysis of the butterflies’ migration routes shows the need for collaborative conservation.
Posted inArticles
Key Senate and House races remain uncalled across the West
A dramatic shift by Latino voters toward Trump helped create a red wave.
Posted inIssues
Forest therapy for wildfire survivors
Spending time in the woods can help wildfire survivors recover.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie
Lovesick elk, flamingo fathers, Frankensheep and Bach for bison
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.