The legislation would add a premium for bottles returned by organizations supporting people who rely on deposit refunds.
News
Know the West, cover by cover
High Country News informs and inspires, and the magazine’s covers are part of the reason why. Here’s a peek into our process.
2023 in Native environmental news
The beat’s biggest news that you might have missed.
Stories that made us green with envy in 2023
A roundup of the articles we wish we’d written ourselves this past year.
Medicaid’s big paperwork problem
After a federal rule expired this spring, millions of people have been disenrolled from Medicaid. Many of them may still be eligible.
The EV mining rush could come to Montana’s mountains
A company announced it found the country’s highest-grade rare earth deposit in Montana.
The feds declined to seriously cut Colorado River water use. Here’s what that means
After Southwestern states failed to cut a deal, the Interior Department took it easy on them.
The most destructive forest pest in North America is now in Oregon
The invasive emerald ash borer threatens the state’s salmon habitat, urban forests and agency budgets.
Building equity into the renewable energy transition
Community and labor organizers shape New Mexico’s changing economy.
The stories that resonated with readers in 2021
From climate change to the West’s housing crisis, see the most-read stories from the past year.
The nuance and beauty of the West in 2021
From the Salton Sea to the Wind River Reservation, here are some of our most memorable photos of the year.
Stories we wish we’d written
A look at some of the journalism from 2021 that inspired us, made us feel seen, and, sometimes, even made us cry.
See HCN’s best illustrations from 2021
Artists helped us visualize the complex subjects our journalists explored.
Books on the West we think you might like
Some brand new, some from the shelves, some for the kids and some for you.
How New Mexico chiles ended up on the space station
A NASA mission to harvest Hatch green chiles in space just might help farmers on earth adapt their growing methods.
Visualizing the aquifers that straddle the U.S.-Mexico border
For the first time, scientists have mapped out the groundwater the two countries share.
Wildfire smoke pushes migrating birds hundreds of miles out of their way
‘I was glued to my computer for days, trying to figure out what these birds were doing, because it was so clearly, obviously, not normal.’
What’s going on with redistricting in the West?
Yurij Rudensky of the Brennan Center breaks down the politics — and potential issues — Western states face in this year’s redistricting process.
7 questions about Freedmen answered
Descendants of those enslaved by Native tribes are gaining political momentum. Here’s a primer on the issues surrounding Freedmen and tribal recognition.
Bears Ears is back — but don’t celebrate just yet
Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk unpacks the deeper implications — and limitations — of Biden’s monuments proclamation.