High Country News

Writers on the Range
Go take it off the mountain

The life-size statue of Jesus on Montana's Whitefish Mountain Resort may be loved by many, but it does not belong on public land.

by Tim Lydon, Jan 06, 2012
Writers on the Range
Las Vegas needs to let the market decide where the water goes

The only reason Las Vegas has managed to thrive in the scorching desert is that its water is subsidized and its use is disconnected from the real cost.

by Andrew B. Wilson, Jan 04, 2012
Writers on the Range
A novel solution to the drug problem

A police officer suggests that all drugs should be legalized and regulated, except for meth – and that meth dealers ought to be punished unmercifully.

by Rich Wandschneider, Jan 03, 2012
Writers on the Range
Survival tips for 2012

With the economy, the climate and everything else collapsing, now's a good time to hone up on survival skills -- and a sense of humor.

by Patrick Hannigan, Dec 30, 2011
Writers on the Range
Some things deserve to stay the same

A determined coalition of outfitters, ranchers, farmers, community organizers, business owners and outdoor enthusiasts has been working for years to preserve Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front as it is.

by Gabriel Furshong, Dec 29, 2011
Multimedia
Pronghorn Passage: Tracking the antelope migration in western Wyoming

Emilene Ostlind and Joe Riis tracked the western Wyoming pronghorn migration for two years. But it wasn't until their final spring that they truly experienced it.

by Emilene Ostlind, Dec 26, 2011
Feature
Stitching habitat together across public and private lands

Migrating animals can't read "no trespassing" signs, so it’s up to human beings to try to find ways to connect wildlife corridors that crisscross public and privately owned lands.

by Cally Carswell, Dec 26, 2011

from the Blogs

The Range Blog
Montana is full.

The state is expected to reach a million residents in 2012 -- there's debate on if that's a good thing or not
by Ben Long
The Range Blog
Target shooting on public lands should be regulated

Impacts on saguaros point to need for rules
by Jackie Wheeler
The Range Blog
Lessons Learned From the Musselshell: River History

The Musselshell River, on its way to recovery
by Wendy Beye
Heard around the West
Do not sink teeth into animal testicles

Of testosterone-fueled idiots, rule-breaking officials, and laws for a good life
by Betsy Marston
The Range Blog
Winning the day

Indian Country’s election year begins now
by Mark Trahant
The GOAT Blog
Waking up from the holiday food coma

A few significant things happened in the West while you had your face buried in the green bean casserole. Oh wait, was that me?
by Sarah Gilman
The Range Blog
Former New Mexico governor leaves GOP

Gary Johnson will seek Libertarian nomination for the presidency
by Ed Quillen
The Range Blog
Tribes could turn the tables on water control

The Animas-La Plata project offers a look into how tribal water deals may proceed
by Red Lodge
The GOAT Blog
A tale of two wolf populations

The remarkably smooth recovery of gray wolves in the Great Lakes
by Cally Carswell
The GOAT Blog
Insects -- the neglected 99 percent

The Xerces society has long championed the rights of inverterbrates, who provide key ecosystem functions
by Marian Lyman Kirst
Heard around the West
All I want for Christmas is a rifle

Gun photos with Santa, dueling grizzlies
by Betsy Marston
The GOAT Blog
Coal: curbed but not crushed

Several factors are reducing coal usage -- but it's not going away
by Jodi Peterson
The GOAT Blog
The circular logic of energy independence

Energy self-sufficiency isn't realistic in our global economy
by Jonathan Thompson

View all Blogs

Search: Advanced Search…

Email Newsletter

The West in your Inbox

Comments Most Commented Most Emailed

Ben Long on Target shooting on public lands should be regulated Good bog on a sensitive topic. Shooters, including...
Lynne Gonzales on Target shooting on public lands should be regulated One always has to remember the story (true or not)...
John Pearce on Boulder, Colo., votes for energy independence -- from its utility This is GREAT! We're starting a similar campaign i...
Bill Gore on Go take it off the mountain This pervasive campaign to strip the public space ...
Christine Mills on Go take it off the mountain The constitution is being shredded from the origin...

No matter how long you live in your small town, you'll never be a native | In the West's rural lands, you might think you're ...
Water-quality standards unfairly burden rural communities | The plight of a small water and sewer association ...
Jon Huntsman Jr. -- a pragmatic Westerner for the White House | Despite poor poll showings, the worldly Jon Huntsm...
The perilous journey of Wyoming's migrating pronghorn | Along the 120-mile-long "Path of the Pronghorn," m...
A tale of two wolf populations | The remarkably smooth recovery of gray wolves in t...

Jon Huntsman Jr. -- a pragmatic Westerner for the White House | Despite poor poll showings, the worldly Jon Huntsm...
Land trusts thrive despite, and because of, the Great Recession | The recession has afforded a unique opportunity fo...
Water-quality standards unfairly burden rural communities | The plight of a small water and sewer association ...
No matter how long you live in your small town, you'll never be a native | In the West's rural lands, you might think you're ...
Raymond Ansotegui and the art of artificially inseminating cattle | The "overeducated cowboy" Raymond Ansotegui roams ...

Special coverage

Special coverage

High Country News on Twitter

HCN Classifieds

Current issue

Perilous Passages

Along the 120-mile-long "Path of the Pronghorn," migrating animals cross rivers, dodge traffic, battle blizzards and navigate the infrastructure of Wyoming energy development.

Browse issue | Browse all issues

Latest Multimedia

Pronghorn Passage: Tracking the antelope migration in western Wyoming

Emilene Ostlind and Joe Riis tracked the western Wyoming pronghorn migration for two years. But it wasn't until their final spring that they truly experienced it.

by Emilene Ostlind, Dec 26, 2011
A Texas town welcomes dairies; a New Mexico activist fights them

Jana Hughes, of Hobbs, N.M., does not find dairies to be good neighbors. Janet Claborn, of Muleshoe, Texas, has recruited 14 dairies to her town and sees them as an economic development blessing.

by Stephanie Paige Ogburn, Nov 28, 2011

More Multimedia

Book Reviews

Love and loss on a Wyoming ranch: A review of Lime Creek

Lime Creek, Joe Henry's ravishing first work of fiction, is filled with exquisite snapshots of life on a Wyoming ranch.
Girls gone wild -- 1900s style: A review of Nothing Daunted

Dorothy Wickenden's charming, meticulously researched Nothing Daunted tells the true story of two society girls who went to Colorado to become rural schoolteachers in 1916.
A celebration of Cascadia: A review of Open Spaces: Voices from the Northwest

Open Spaces: Voices from the Northwest doesn't quite work as an anthology, but it features some intimate and thoughtful writing about the Pacific Northwest.

More Book Reviews

Uncommon Westerners

Raymond Ansotegui and the art of artificially inseminating cattle

The "overeducated cowboy" Raymond Ansotegui roams the West in the "Shaggin' Wagon," artificially inseminating cattle with the help of friends and family.
A part of something old: writer Kim Stafford's storied places

Oregon writer Kim Stafford looks for "scattered Edens" in contemporary Western life.
Cody Cortez: A faux-file of the West's most mysterious writer

Buddhist cowboy poet Cody Cortez is so elusive it's almost as if he doesn't really exist.

More Uncommon Westerners

Essays

No matter how long you live in your small town, you'll never be a native

In the West's rural lands, you might think you're invisible, but the old-timers -- and their dogs -- know you are there.
What is that dead deer thinking about, and why is he hanging there?

A close encounter with a deer head on the wall of an inn leads to musings on death, immortality, ancient Egypt, Lenin and Trigger the Wonder Horse.
Fighting the wind on a Montana camping trip

If you want to be driven crazy by the wind, try canoeing and camping on Montana's Marias River.

More Essays

Letters to the Editor

More Letters to the Editor

Personal tools

more

from the Blogs

Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Latest Multimedia

High Country News in your inbox!

Sign up now to receive our weekly email newsletter!