There’s still time to make a difference.
Emily Benson
Posted inArticles
The Supreme Court just made it easier to destroy wetlands and streams
The decision strips federal protections from the ephemeral streams that are crucial for life in the arid West.
Posted inArticles
‘Roadless rule’ protections for the Tongass National Forest are back
The Biden administration has reinstated pre-Trump protections in the Tongass. See what’s at stake.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
How a hidden cave can help scientists understand the climate
Sometimes learning about the past to figure out the future requires crawling beneath tons of rock.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
A new Northwest anthology finds both terror and magic in the darkness
‘Evergreen: Grim Tales & Verses from the Gloomy Northwest’ explores landscapes and life from the Inland Northwest to the Pacific.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Idaho denies proposed land exchange
The state found that the timber tracts offered in a proposed trade are worth much less than the land around Payette Lake.
Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast
Idaho state lands could end up in private hands
How a developer’s proposed large land swap ignited a fight in small but growing McCall.
Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'
#BlackBirdersWeek takes on systemic racism
‘The whole purpose is to highlight and showcase Black birders, and anybody can do that.’
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
HCN renews its commitment to covering the West’s complexities
We debut a new design as we celebrate our 50th anniversary.
Posted inOctober 28, 2019: Where Hunting Still Has Meaning
Hunting still holds meaning
Fewer people are picking up a rifle or bow, but the act warrants examination regardless.
Posted inAugust 19, 2019: 2068: The Speculative Journalism Issue
The latest from our hologram portal
We speculate updates to stories and the readers who speak out in 2068.
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
A dangerous cocktail threatens the gem of North Idaho
Upstream mining has left a toxic legacy at the bottom of Coeur d’Alene Lake.
Posted inMay 13, 2019: Atomic Tourists
Road trips and the importance of reflection
In New Mexico, tourism illuminates a violent atomic past and threatens a religious sanctuary.
Posted inMarch 18, 2019: Arizona's Wild Horse Paradox
Gay rodeo and the subversion of Western clichés
A photo exhibit asks viewers to ponder whether, in reclaiming the idea of the cowboy, gay rodeos renounce violence or reinvest in it.
Posted inMarch 4, 2019: El Nuevo Movimiento
In need of water, an Idaho town turns to its neighbors
Does recharging an aquifer solve one of the West’s oldest water problems, or perpetuate it?
Posted inArticles
Idaho’s new governor: ‘Climate change is real’
Environmentalists hope action will follow new state stance on climate.
Posted inArticles
Marine mammals and turtles rebound after endangered species protections
A new study shows broad recovery but doesn’t dive into the problems that remain.
Posted inArticles
The stories that defined the West in 2018
The year in essays, analysis and investigations from across the Western U.S.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
What you lose when you lose local news
People are less likely to vote, and politics become more polarized.
Posted inArticles
New rules limiting clean water protections ignore stream science
What happens to part of a river network affects all of it.