High Country News stories show how Obama wrangled the West.
Energy & Industry
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5 reasons to be optimistic about climate change
Recent accomplishments have paved a way forward for environmental progress.
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Trump’s Interior pick confounds conservationists
Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke evokes Roosevelt, but his record has veered away from environmental protection.
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Trump’s Cabinet choices reflect deep Koch influence
A rundown of the people with ties to ALEC, the Koch brothers and federal land transfer legislation.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
Feds withheld key documents from Standing Rock Sioux
Still, Trump’s election reduces chances that the Dakota Access pipeline will be permanently blocked.
Posted inJanuary 23, 2017: For Which it Stands
We talked to protesters at Standing Rock. Here’s what they learned.
What protesters are thinking as crowds dissipate and cold seizes camp.
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
Plans falter for West Coast coal terminals
Coal companies look to Asia, but face port challenges.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
The twisted economics of the Dakota Access Pipeline
It’s not about energy independence or even climate change. It’s all about profit.
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Pipeline protesters seek refuge from the cold
A dispatch from Prairie Knights Casino, now an outpost of the Standing Rock protests.
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Missing science, disagreement surrounds fracking report
Pavillion, Wyoming is at the center of a fight over fracking’s risks.
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West Obsessed: The view from inside Standing Rock’s camps
In a special episode, we talk to reporter Tay Wiles, who is in North Dakota reporting on DAPL protests.
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In the decision on Standing Rock, ghosts from the past
The federal government’s decision on Dakota Access pipeline could signal a shift in U.S.-tribal relations.
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The companies behind DAPL don’t think they’ve lost
They “fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting.”
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Army Corps denies crucial DAPL easement
Protesters react to the decision to halt construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
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Feds to send conciliators amid tensions over Dakota Access
In Bismarck, officials describe a chaotic mix of law enforcement and protesters.
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At Standing Rock, activists dig in on historic treaty land
‘Water protectors’ say they won’t move on a Dec. 5 eviction notice.
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What Obama can actually do about Standing Rock
According to tribal law experts, not much.
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West Obsessed: Trump’s cross-purposed energy policy
The staff of High Country News discuss the inherent paradoxes in the president-elect’s campaign promises.
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Obama’s rush to the end
Keeping track of rulemaking, policy decisions and other last actions before the Trump administration’s inauguration.