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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 22h

There’s a growing movement within ranching to practice understanding how cows experience the world, and practice low-stress handing. But is that realistic?

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What’s it like to be a cow? - High Country News

A cattle rancher reflects on her occupation and the growing movement to understand how other animals see the world.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 1d

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

The dried-out subdivisions of Phoenix - High Country News

A groundwater crisis halted the construction of thousands of homes and pitted affordability against environmental concerns.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 2d

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

Denver’s storied tradition of sex work, then and now - High Country News

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.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 5d

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

How tribal educators are navigating budget challenges - High Country News

Tribal college and university leaders lean on their resiliency and cultural values in the face of federal funding unknowns.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 6d

Who is furloughed, and who isn’t, remains uncertain, according to agency employees and observers interviewed by High Country News; it is not being carried out in an orderly or consistent fashion across the agency.

Shutdown causes ‘confusion’ across the Forest Service - High Country News

Prescribed burns are on hold during shutdown while logging continues.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 6d

National parks left their gates open the last time the government shut down and sent park rangers home in late 2018, and national parks paid a high price. buff.ly/FDJXa6x

Visiting public lands during the shutdown? Be polite and prepared - High Country News

Public land advocates say the shutdown threatens resources but offer advice on how to help.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 6d

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

The ‘bear’ necessities of good sign design - High Country News

Researchers study the principles that promote bear-safety behavior.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 7d

On the necessity of recharging the spirit in order to keep fighting. buff.ly/AYFPm8w

Give yourself a break - High Country News

On the necessity of recharging the spirit in order to keep fighting.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 7d

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.

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What the government shutdown means for public lands - High Country News

Many parks will stay open, and oil and gas permitting will continue — even as tens of thousands of staff are furloughed at NPS, BLM and USFS.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 7d

October issue has dropped 🔥 From Phoenix’s shrinking groundwater to whale songs under Arctic ice, the West is reckoning with change.

New issue ➡️ buff.ly/WDJzIny

October 2025: Limits to Growth - High Country News

“You don’t miss your water till your well runs dry,” an old blues song mourns, and ambitious developers and would-be homebuyers in Phoenix, Arizona, would probably agree, now that planned…

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 8d

The Trump administration’s war on wind is throttling offshore and onshore wind projects, in turn, hurting local economies and decarbonization movements in the West.

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The Trump administration’s war on wind - High Country News

How energy companies and states are navigating federal policy that’s hostile to wind.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 9d

A coalition said no to selling its public lands. Will it coalesce around other public land issues?

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Will the public-lands coalition hold? - High Country News

Americans came together to keep public lands in public hands this summer. Will they do it again?

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 9d

The Trump administration’s plans would remake the agency and public lands. The deadline to comment is tomorrow, Sept. 30.

The dismantling of the Forest Service - High Country News

The Trump administration’s plans would remake the agency and public lands. The deadline to comment is Sept. 30.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 10d

Efforts to restore and protect Colorado’s high-altitude fens help protect regional water supply and promote storage of carbon that would otherwise contribute to climate change.

What do fens do? Make peat, store water and help combat climate change - High Country News

Meet the researchers restoring these unique wetlands high in Colorado's San Juan Mountains.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 10d

Idaho’s newest wildlife crossing didn’t need to be built. It already existed near Coeur d’Alene.

Osburn’s bridge to nowhere becomes a lifeline for Silver Valley’s elk - High Country News

Idaho’s newest wildlife crossing didn’t need to be built. It already existed near Coeur d’Alene.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 11d

My favorite job reminds me that working together is everything.

The joyful responsibility of cutting fish - High Country News

My favorite job reminds me that working together is everything.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 11d

In 2006, large-scale ICE raids in Greeley, Colorado, and elsewhere, triggered massive changes to the meatpacking workplace that continue reshaping the center of the country.

How an immigration raid reshaped meatpacking — and America - High Country News

In 2006, large-scale ICE raids in Greeley, Colorado, and elsewhere, triggered changes to the center of the country that fed today’s nativist politics.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 11d

Powerful food interests in the West are putting profit ahead of the environment.

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The Rio Grande’s pecan problem - High Country News

How Big Ag is threatening New Mexico’s water supply.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 12d

After oil companies go bust, the state is left paying to clean up abandoned wells, tanks, machinery and sludge pits.

New Mexico’s billion-dollar orphaned oilfield problem - High Country News

After oil companies go bust, the state is left paying to clean up abandoned wells, tanks, machinery and sludge pits.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 13d

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.

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Denver’s storied tradition of sex work, then and now - High Country News

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.

www.hcn.org

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 13d

A wild marmot somehow hitched a ride inside the wheel well of a Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance field truck and ended up taking a three-hour road trip from a field near Minturn, Colorado, all the way to Denver.

Felonious foxes, mischievous marmots, dog meets wolf and a chat with the tooth fairy - High Country News

Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 14d

The Western U.S. in remaking its energy structure by expanding trade among power generators and utilities across a wider geographical footprint, potentially lowering energy costs, enhancing grid reliability and empowering renewable development across the West.

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How to make electricity in the West cheaper and more reliable - High Country News

Regionalized power markets give utilities more buying options, driving down prices and boosting stability.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 14d

🏆 Congrats to B. 'Toastie' Oaster, winner of a 2025 Covering Climate Journalism Award! Their reporting on WA’s solar permitting exposed risks to tribal resources & helped pause a project until Indigenous concerns were addressed.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 15d

After 85 years, Luis Torres still has answers to our many challenges.

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What makes a community activist optimistic - High Country News

After 85 years, Luis Torres still has answers to our many challenges.

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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 15d

The Trump administration is eager to abandon the Forest Service’s founding mission.

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The dismantling of the Forest Service - High Country News

The Trump administration’s plans would remake the agency and public lands. The deadline to comment is Sept. 30.

www.hcn.org

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