Our February issue travels from Black Portland’s musical history to sage grouse on the steppe, Colorado’s roaming wolves, LandBack victories, rising insurance costs, the giant kangaroo rat and a new film honoring photographer Frank Matsura. buff.ly/6UEz6ZL

Step away from the churn of day-to-day, season-to-season, election-to-election urgencies.

Indigenous scholar Dina Gilio-Whitaker wants Natives to approach a difficult topic rationally, vulnerably and honestly.

If you’ve seen the phrase time immemorial used repeatedly in Indigenous affairs reporting, there are some compelling reasons why.

The Eaton Fire stripped Altadena of its trees, and for some Black families, of their place in it.

Our top stories from the year that resounded across the West (and beyond).

To move forward, Coloradans must face the massacre’s trauma and begin to repair trust. buff.ly/JOuX5NG

1/ At bargaining yesterday, @propublica.org management said that they should have 100% discretion to replace workers with AI and would not commit to labeling future AI-generated content.

Do I know any western Washington-based freelance writers interested in being considered for a @highcountrynews.org assignment for a web story on the flooding + aftermath?

Our top stories from the year that resounded across the West (and beyond).

Scientists are racing to figure out why porcupines are disappearing from their former stomping grounds.

Washington approves over 99% of archaeological permits, records show As tribes struggle to protect their heritage, the nation’s leading state archaeologist says she lacks the authority to to stop development projects.

Tribal sovereignty and prosperity are tied to gaming’s sovereign source of income.

HCN’s journalism is having on-the-ground impact Our communities are at the heart of our work.

Journalism is made by humans, not machines The humanity behind the words.

How we reported Free Range, our grazing investigation Data and analyses used in the stories.

The wealthy profit from public lands, and taxpayers pick up the tab Roughly two-thirds of grazing on Bureau of Land Management land is controlled by just 10% of permit holders.

New issue out now: Our @ProPublica partnership examines public-lands grazing and who’s paying the price. Plus stories of Tribal strength, an Oregon bow-maker, wild Christmas trees, returning wildlife, the Gay Rodeo comeback + Alaska in winter. buff.ly/3xzijUY

At least six Western conservation groups have abruptly lost their federal grant funding, threatening efforts to restore habitats, protect at-risk species, and support small farmers.

The big data center buildup An AI server farm tsunami threatens to overwhelm the West’s power grid and water supplies.

Western climate litigants keep fighting After disappointing losses in Alaska and Montana, an Indigenous-led climate case is making strides in New Mexico.

Peek behind the scenes at the challenges and joy of covering Fire in the Mountains.

The West’s vanishing porcupines Scientists are racing to figure out why porcupines are disappearing from their former stomping grounds.

National news coverage framed November’s elections as proof that anti-trans messaging wasn't effective this cycle. @lookoutnews.bsky.social found the opposite in Mesa, where that rhetoric helped power a recall against District 2 Council Member Julie Spilsbury. www.lookoutnews.org/mesa-recall-...

I've never published anything so close to my heart. Hope ya love it.

A heavy music festival in Blackfeet Nation this summer was abut more than just music – it was a protective ceremony to shelter Indigenous youth from suicidal distress. buff.ly/aQQC7EX

The government froze food aid. Tribes are thawing old traditions. Decades of work to rebuild traditional food systems are paying off, but droughts and funding cuts threaten to unravel the progress. grist.org/indigenous/t... #Tribes #Food #Indigenous #Farming

Wrote about Condé ending Teen Vogue as we knew it. talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/what-we...

Rural Californians living without power. Coho salmon finding new life. Indigenous youth finding joy in heavy metal. The November issue of High Country News captures a West in flux — and in motion. buff.ly/HYteQGv

In her new book, Michelle Gurule reveals her experience as a sugar baby and just how little has changed about the industry in the last century.

The first crack in the area’s suspension on new housing that relies on groundwater appears.

Advocates say some tactics used by officers to target Latinos in Trump’s deportation effort draw from Joe Arpaio’s playbook. “The model was Maricopa County — the very public, very humiliating, demoralizing approach to the raids, and the cruelty.” With @azluminaria.org

The Alaska Native village of Kipnuk was devastated last week by a typhoon. Before the storm, the Trump administration cut a $20 million grant that would have helped protect the village from coastal erosion. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...

An invasive beetle is poised to destroy Oregon ash forests across the Pacific Northwest. As people prepare for the coming loss, Jaclyn Moyer explores the roles this tree plays in ecosystems and communities around the region.

Joseph Rushmore attended events in memory of Charlie Kirk, in Phoenix. As one who has been documenting right wing extremism and christian nationalism for more than a decade, he felt that Kirk’s death marks an important moment for this nation and he wanted to better understand it.

Arizona’s groundwater law has stopped thousands more proposed homes in the Phoenix area than publicly acknowledged.

Alaska’s bowhead whales can hear the climate changing. Scientists are listening in, too.

Researchers find that the best bear-safety road signs are authoritative, engaging and persuasive.

🧵How Native Americans are impacted by the government shutdown…

What inspires Diné ballet dancer Jock Soto www.hcn.org/articles/wha...

Tribal governments fend off the worst of the impacts of the shutdown In the weeks leading up to the shutdown, tribal nations hefted their political and economic capital to protect services for their citizens. www.hcn.org/articles/tri...

From me: ‘Navajo president installs a new tribal controller; Council backs the old one’

While often frowned upon, the story of sex work is as American as any, in which people use available resources to overcome obstacles, and should be viewed as such. buff.ly/rssT3UD

For a century unsustainable groundwater pumping has taxed aquifers and caused subsidence. A 1980s law intended to rein it in has stopped the constrction of thousands of homes near Phoenix, pitting the environment and existing water uses against new housing developments. buff.ly/Hrzh2WX

Tribal college and university presidents discuss how they’re navigating the fluctuating budget changes to higher education and its impacts on tribal communities. buff.ly/8xQraXV

Under the federal government shutdown, public lands agencies say they’ll keep parks open and continue oil and gas permitting — even as they furlough tens of thousands of employees. Advocates warn the approach will do lasting ecological damage. buff.ly/pRNqypO

Researchers find that the best bear-safety road signs are authoritative, engaging and persuasive. buff.ly/xgARJu6

📄 Newly released records show Pima County signed a confidentiality deal with Amazon Web Services on Project Blue — keeping its role secret for up to 5 years or until the project was complete

The memo asks the UA and the other colleges to commit to a series of policies to get preferential access to federal funds