The five best resources for understanding the region’s wacky weather.
Climate change
Posted inArticles
California’s recent rains won’t fix its other, very big problem
Even in wet years, farmers use too much water — and the Central Valley is sinking.
Posted inArticles
In Canada, a move to protect data from Trump
Researchers and citizens are rushing to back-up government data on climate change and other issues, fearing political interference.
Posted inArticles
Ski areas add warm-weather options
Forest Service has made it easier for resorts to include summer activities.
Posted inArticles
West Obsessed: Obama’s region-wide legacy
The staff of High Country News discuss the 44th president’s impact on the West’s land, energy and the environment.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
Obama’s lasting legacies in the West
Under the 44th president, the West re-examined its relationship to energy and the climate.
Posted inArticles
Canada’s pipeline plans run afoul of its climate goals
Environmentalists on both sides of the border are gauging Canada’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.
Posted inArticles
5 reasons to be optimistic about climate change
Recent accomplishments have paved a way forward for environmental progress.
Posted inArticles
Trump’s Interior pick confounds conservationists
Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke evokes Roosevelt, but his record has veered away from environmental protection.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
Can Trump undo Obama’s policies?
What the President-elect can — and can’t — do when it comes to water, coal and climate change.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
Latest: Roadless rule loophole for Colorado coal mine
Enviromental groups had sued over the mine’s carbon impacts.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
Latest: California’s tree die-off is bigger than you thought
An additional 36 million trees have died since May.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
Plans falter for West Coast coal terminals
Coal companies look to Asia, but face port challenges.
Posted inArticles
Obama’s rush to the end
Keeping track of rulemaking, policy decisions and other last actions before the Trump administration’s inauguration.
Posted inArticles
In California caves, a millipede mystery
A new species in Sequoia National Park reminds scientists of what is yet to be discovered.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
Hope in a post-nature society
A writer seeks answers from Lake Powell.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
Alaska’s gas pipeline dreams
A decades-long plan to deliver the state’s gas reserves to the market remains in purgatory.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
Could land speed racing fade from Bonneville Salt Flats?
Utah’s changing landscape casts doubt on the future of a sport.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
The captivating magic of a dry, dusty text
An encyclopedia-style book published in 1933 offers surprising perspective.