As New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness Area — the nation’s first designated wilderness — turns 100, HCN considers how the nature — and concept — of wilderness have changed over the years. Political conflict, violence and bigotry have deep roots in the Western U.S., as the history of Centralia, Washington, reveals. A group of unhoused Californians found shelter and community in a flood-control channel — until the day the floodwaters swept it all away. Western cities like Las Vegas, Nevada, are successfully cutting their water consumption, but the sacrifices needed to do so are not shared equally.  Can pronghorn adapt to large-scale solar development? Tribes and federal agencies are working together to co-manage Bears Ears National Monument. Indigenous Western artists make waves at the Whitney Biennial. Why not give all schoolkids a free lunch? A late artist’s work and wisdom and a visit to a temporary lake in Death Valley teach hard but necessary lessons about life with chronic illness. It’s long past time to reconsider our culture’s perpetual growth machine.

Gila Trinity #18. (Inside image: Descending into Jordan Canyon fire north of the Gila River Middle Fork, 2023. Outside image: A fence across Chihuahuan Desert grasslands in southeastern New Mexico.)
Gila Trinity #18. (Inside image: Descending into Jordan Canyon fire north of the Gila River Middle Fork, 2023. Outside image: A fence across Chihuahuan Desert grasslands in southeastern New Mexico.) Credit: Michael P. Berman

Download the Digital Issue