After more than a century, some Western states receive school trust lands.
Public lands
Posted inArticles
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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Bears Ears: Correcting an off-base argument
In the debate over a national monument, don’t be swayed by myths.
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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.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
How to love a weird and perfect wilderness
A desolate Oregon landscape offers lessons on the modern wild.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
How Ammon Bundy got acquitted in Oregon
At the Malheur trial, Bundys were acquitted, but what will happen in Nevada?
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More books essential to understanding the American West
Readers tell us their favorites from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
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Two lesser-known reasons to celebrate our public lands
It may be the Park Service’s 100th year, but these policies have done a lot for open space.
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Election roundup: What happened in the West
A rundown of the West’s political shifts and ballot measures.
Posted inNovember 14, 2016: The Long View
The deeper meaning of trails
Insightful new books in the well-worn genre of trail literature.
Posted inNovember 14, 2016: The Long View
Why we don’t mention my great-grandfather’s name
Aaron A. Abeyta on his family’s shadowy past in New Mexico
Posted inNovember 14, 2016: The Long View
15 books every well-versed Westerner should read
A reading list for understanding the region.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
Where will the West’s next national monument be?
Bears Ears isn’t the only local effort to get Obama to designate protections before he leaves office.
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Biggest loser at Comb Ridge? The public.
A landmark within the proposed Bears Ears Monument was sold to private interests.
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Why the Malheur verdict sets a dangerous example
Lawyers “aimed too high” for a conspiracy charge—and lost it all.
Posted inOctober 31, 2016: A Monumental Divide
A national monument is a heavy-handed solution for Bears Ears
More protection for these lands would mean more regulation and less freedom.
Posted inOctober 31, 2016: A Monumental Divide
Famous Western landscapes, recreated with processed food
A pair of artists take on our consumption habits, with Froot Loop hills.
Posted inOctober 31, 2016: A Monumental Divide
The fight for Bears Ears, on the road
Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, Ute Mountain Ute member, takes the monument debate to Washington.
Posted inOctober 31, 2016: A Monumental Divide
The many landscapes of Bears Ears
See photos of the proposed national monument, ranging from meadows to cliffs.