Mapping the state of the rails across the region.
Jonathan Thompson
Jonathan Thompson is a contributing editor at High Country News. He is the author of Sagebrush Empire: How a Remote Utah County Became the Battlefront of American Public Lands. Follow him @LandDesk
Posted inArticles
Could Arizona’s new governor shift Colorado River politics?
There’s a historic reckoning in the Colorado River Basin — and Katie Hobbs is here to play hard ball.
Posted inArticles
The state of the land: Biden’s mixed conservation record
The president has riled up just about everyone with his public-land policies. Maybe that’s a good thing.
Posted inArticles
Plans for a new uranium mill in Utah announced
Fierce opposition to the project is likely.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal
Save public lands: Put solar on Walmart!
Parking lots and big-box store roofs could generate oodles of clean power.
Posted inArticles
Why are so few talking about the power grid amid extreme winter storms?
California’s current deluge highlights huge vulnerabilities.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2023: Ripple Effects
La Niña expected to serve up a hat trick
The weather pattern hits the West for a third consecutive winter.
Posted inArticles
How the West’s public lands fared in 2022
It was a bad year for dams and a good one for ‘green’ metals.
Posted inArticles
Should we worry about 8 billion people?
Breaking down population’s role in the environmental impact equation.
Posted inDecember 1, 2022: Beyond Illusion
Mythbusting in the Mojave
The vitality in the vast desert.
Posted inDecember 1, 2022: Beyond Illusion
Carbon capture convolution
A complicated process, explained.
Posted inArticles
Western voters favor public lands
Trumpism and extremism didn’t fly during the 2022 midterms.
Posted inArticles
On its 100th birthday, the Colorado River Compact shows its age
The foundational document was flawed from the start.
Posted inArticles
Bighorn-lovers butt heads with Vail Resorts’ affordable housing
The ski industry giant wants to build workforce housing in wild sheep habitat.
Posted inArticles
The green metal mining boom is on
Now is not the time to loosen mining regulations.
Posted inArticles
Will the Supreme Court gut the Clean Water Act?
The justices could remove federal protection from 80% of the Southwest’s streams.
Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge
Races to watch throughout the West
The midterm elections promise to be a referendum on Joe Biden — and Donald Trump.
Posted inArticles
The Green New Deal didn’t crash California’s grid
Climate change is wrecking the electricity system.
Posted inArticles
The divide over Diablo
Greens battle greens over the fate of California’s last nuke plant.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
Climate and Congress
Historic political action, but is it enough?