High Country News

High Country News is the nation's leading source of reporting on the Western United States. Through in-depth reporting, High Country News covers the West’s social, political and ecological issues.

High Country News

Know the West.

The miracle of food

CONTRIBUTORS

LETTERS • High Country News is dedicated to independent journalism, informed debate and discourse in the public interest. We welcome letters through digital media and the post. Send us a letter, find us on social media, or email us at editor@hcn.org.

Greenwashed efforts to block affordable housing • In Eureka, the California Environmental Quality Act is used to target projects that benefit low-income people.

Melon days • Celebration and an uncertain future for Green River’s landmark festival.

After the fire, a new threat • Geologists in Washington are monitoring burn scars to better predict post-wildfire debris flows.

Gold Ring

Meat to market • Montana ranchers starting small processing facilities get creative to find customers.

Losing the scent • As they migrate back to their spawning grounds, some California salmon are getting lost. The culprit is a tactic designed to save them.

High Country News is reader-supported journalism. • These pages wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of readers like you!

Encountering HCN

Unstable Earth • Kasigluk, Alaska, endures the many challenges of thawing permafrost.

THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS PUSHING WASHINGTON’S PRISONS TO THE BRINK. WHY NOT LET PEOPLE OUT?

We must go beyond it • On artistic influence and a pain peculiar to America.

What does it mean to be American? • DACA failed Tony Valdovinos. He succeeded anyway.

Rise above • The beauty of a cherished and familiar landscape.

Heard Around the West • Tips about Western oddities are appreciated and often shared in this column. Write heard@hcn.org.

#IAM THE WEST