Molly Samuel’s article “Pika politics” highlights the difficulties and nuances in determining whether species should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (HCN, 4/26/10). It’s very apparent that species in peril will have difficulty getting listed in the current fiscal and political climate around the ESA. While some lament the pika not being listed for […]
Communities
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Stories from the shadow sides
Boys and Girls Like You and MeAryn Kyle225 pages, hardcover: $24.Scribner, 2010. Writer Aryn Kyle, who was raised in Grand Junction, Colo., examines the frontier between childhood and adulthood in 11 stories threaded by themes of solitude and unrest. The characters — precocious girls, a middle-school boy, women caught in adulterous or unstable relationships — […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Did you get your cow?
Your article on wolf hunting in Montana was certainly written from a hunter’s perspective (given that the writer is a Field & Stream contributing editor), and I respected his take on the issue, complete with those hunter magazine close-ups of people “bagging” a wolf (HCN, 5/10/10). I did find the article wanting from two other […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Everyone benefits from Indian education
When Lenna Little Plume started second grade at Lewis and Clark Elementary in Missoula, Mont., in 2006, statistics suggested that she might have a bleak future. Montana’s American Indian families earn 25 percent less than the average family — an economic reality that can put Indian children at a disadvantage from their very first day […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
HCN’s key numbers: 3, 170, 20
To save some money during these tight times, the High Country News Board of Directors held its late spring meeting over the phone and Internet on May 20. Thanks to the marvels of technology, including the tiny cameras in most of our computers, the experience wasn’t half bad. Board president Florence Williams of Boulder, Colo., […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
It’s a thin line between law and hate
My May 10 issue arrived with two references to the recent Arizona bill signed into law regarding enforcement of federal immigration laws. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon’s quote about the authors of the bill not representing Arizona is simply not true. Fact: Over 70 percent of Arizonans supported the bill. Apparently both Phil Gordon and the […]
Posted inJune 7, 2010: One Tough Sucker
Making mining pay
Kudos to Judith Lewis for her insightful and balanced report on Nevada’s bondage to the mining industry (HCN, 4/26/10). As one who lives within 20 miles of a Barrick behemoth, I am deeply distressed at how megacorporations like Kinross-Barrick ravage Nevada’s unspoilt wilderness areas to satisfy their quest for profit. As the leach pads pile […]
Posted inWotr
Dress code for the Western guy
Wranglers, snap shirts, and cowboy hats — horse optional.
Posted inWotr
First clean up, then talk more mining
Trust us, the industry giants keep saying as they try to assure us they can mine the earth without harming it. Trust us, for we have the best technology now and have learned from our mistakes. Trust us, for we have every possible safeguard in place for every event that could go terribly wrong. Trust […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Crime doesn’t pay
UTAHSome Salt Lake City crooks easily get away with audacious heists, while others are, well, inept. The first caper involved the theft of Mayor Ralph Becker’s bike, locked in front of the main library while folks inside took part in an all-day Utah Bike Summit. The thief used bolt cutters to break the bike lock […]
Posted inWotr
Whoever thought the Lake Powell bathtub was a good idea?
A dozen miles from Lake Powell, up the Dirty Devil River, our canoes enter the old lake-bottom layer. Dirt banks rise above our heads, and the turbid river churns through an alley bounded by sand walls. Bend by tight bend we cut deeper into the canyon of fine sands. On top, a fringe of tamarisk […]
Posted inGoat
Names in high places
An old college friend lives near Seattle. He’s about as chauvinistic about his Cascades as I am about our Rocky Mountains. I used to annoy him by pointing out that his majestic Mt. Rainier was only 14,410 feet high, while our rather nondescript Mt. Harvard was a towering 14,420. And Harvard is only the third-tallest […]
Posted inRange
HCN Reader Photo: Western Sandpipers
Given all the sad news and images out of the Gulf lately, particularly of oil-covered fauna like birds, I thought I’d highlight this reader-submitted photo of two happy and healthy Western sandpipers – as a reminder that there are still some things right with the world. This photograph is from Flickr member SigmaEye, a regular […]
Posted inWotr
We need a new Civilian Conservation Corps
I’m 59 years old. I’ve been a professional photographer for 40 years. And now I’m done. Not because I’m retired, but because I’ve outlived my profession. Technological change has met economic downturn in a perfect storm in which I am sinking. The same seismic shifts have transformed music, journalism, design and publishing. This revolution has […]
Posted inWotr
Here’s to a water czar with the unlikely name of Chips
Twenty years ago, many car bumpers in Colorado sported a no-holds-barred sticker: “Dam the Denver Water Board.” It was easy enough to dislike the agency then. It was big — Colorado’s largest water utility and one of the largest in the West — and it reflexively used its political muscle and economic sway to realize […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Of guns and mordant humor
THE WESTIt became official Feb. 22: Visitors to national parks can now tote loaded firearms, openly carrying legal handguns, rifles and shotguns. But oh, the many restrictions, as noted in a handy brochure available at parks. Here’s a major one: Although it is legal to carry loaded weapons in national parks, existing laws and regulations […]
Posted inMay 24, 2010: Accidental Wilderness
HCN wins awards
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve received the prestigious 2010 Utne Independent Press Award for Environmental Coverage. “High Country News covers this vast (Western) landscape like an experienced backcountry guide, pointing out the threats along with the wonders,” wrote the Utne judges. “Whether its writers are watchdogging resource-intensive industries like ranching, mining, drilling, and logging […]