Why suppressing wildfires costs public land agencies so much money.
Climate change
Posted inOctober 3, 2016: Purple Rain
Geologic vandalism, the return of the Blob and Glacier’s top dog
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inOctober 3, 2016: Purple Rain
How the West’s populist politics play out at the ballot box
Voter-driven ballot initiatives are a powerful force during the Western election season.
Posted inArticles
What the Clean Power Plan means for you
The U.S. Court of Appeals will hear arguments on the federal carbon plan in the coming weeks.
Posted inArticles
Where the Clean Power Plan will have the most impact
The federal rule would intensify an existing trend toward clean energy.
Posted inArticles
Washington state implements rule to combat climate change
State Department of Ecology unveils initiative to cap and reduce the carbon pollution.
Posted inArticles
West Obsessed: After 100 years, the national parks have hit some road bumps
The staff of High Country News talk about the challenges the Park Service faces.
Posted inArticles
For the first time, U.S. and Mexico take stock of the underground water they share
The two countries have tried for years to thoroughly assess aquifers along the border.
Posted inArticles
How do you beat hunger and food waste? Try compost
Reunity turns restaurant scraps into soil — and connects Santa Fe with rural farms in the process.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Alaska’s emergency wildfire crews are burning out
The state is grappling with more fires and fewer fighters where they need them.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Meet the West’s oldest climate correspondent
Anna Mae Wright has spent seven decades recording the weather.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Time to make peace with invasive species?
A conversation with climate science director Stephen Jackson about why and where we should tolerate non-native invaders.
Posted inArticles
After thousands of fish die in the Yellowstone River, officials lift boating bans
Stretches of the river remain closed as officials scramble to save the iconic fishery.
Posted inArticles
American pika disappearing from Western regions
The pika is fading from historical habitat and a new study points to climate change.
Posted inArticles
Photos of the North Dakota pipeline protest
Background on the Standing Rock Sioux pipeline protests and how social media and climate activism raised their profile.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Latest: NASA determines methane hotspot is from natural gas production
BACKSTORYA methane “hot spot” over the Four Corners region has puzzled scientists for nearly a decade: Concentrations of the greenhouse gas were far higher than could be accounted for by official inventories from known contributors — an underground coal mine, landfills, and oil and gas infrastructure. So in 2015, NASA scientists began an intensive examination […]
Posted inAugust 22, 2016: 100
What climate change is doing to the parks
A sample of the shifts already underway due to a warming climate.
Posted inAugust 22, 2016: 100
Nuclear power divides California’s environmentalists
Is the closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant good or bad for the climate?
Posted inAugust 22, 2016: 100
How the Park Service is planning for climate change
The agency is forging ahead despite meager help from Congress.
Posted inAugust 22, 2016: 100
Meet the man helping the Park Service prepare for a hotter future
Patrick Gonzalez walks the walk when it comes to climate action.