Life is on the move in our April issue. Every spring, Wyoming’s mule deer navigate deserts, highways and oil and gas fields to reach their summer range, and now their travel corridors are in need of protection. Can drones help mitigate predator-livestock conflicts? Native plant landscaping is increasingly popular, but unregulated harvesting has environmental impacts and impinges on the rights of Indigenous people. Why do states own so much land inside reservation boundaries? We investigate natural gas exports and discuss where to build large-scale solar energy projects. Has Elko, Nevada’s National Cowboy Poetry Gathering lost touch with its ranching roots? During World War II, incarcerated Japanese Americans created bird pins of astonishing beauty. Youth lead the charge against climate change while grownups dither. Border walls and immigration laws should not make us forget our common humanity. There’s more than one way to appreciate the outdoors. And Terry Tempest Williams remembers Barry Lopez, a writer who helped us see the world, and ourselves, with fresh eyes.

The untold history of Japanese American bird pins
They were one of the most ubiquitous crafts to come out of Japanese incarceration camps. But few knew their back story — until now.
For these mammals, migration is a means of survival
Will Westerners repair a fractured landscape for mule deer, pronghorn, and elk?
Reflections on Barry Lopez
Terry Tempest Williams contemplates her friendship with the late author and what he left behind.
Managing predators from the sky
How to harness drones for conservation.
The great solar build-out
Public-land managers ponder where to allow utility-scale solar projects
The complex case of growing native plants
As the use of native plants becomes more widespread, Indigenous communities could lose out.
What’s going on with natural gas exports?
The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of LNG, but President Biden just paused new permits.
Youth are leading the way on climate action
Start thinking like young people to secure our future.
A border need not be a wall
An immigration journalist on confronting laws and encountering humanity.
Notes on not sending it
Not all people who enjoy the outdoors do sporty things.
‘I am very hopeful for the future’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Crumpled Up
A poem by Kazim Ali.
A compact with the Earth
Growing things requires water, light and intention.
Pleistocene Park, flamingo eggs and a very cute baby rhino
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Changes on HCN’s horizon
From new staff additions to planned leaves, the organization continues to transform.
Letters to the editor, April 2024
Comments from readers.
Is it cowboy poetry if it’s not written by a cowboy?
An event protesting the cowboy poetry festival faces questions of growth and authenticity.
How states make money off tribal lands
Ten states own 1.6 million acres of land within 83 tribal nations’ reservations. How did they get there?