Beware the Trojan Horse targeting public land

Sometimes when I drive past the little house my wife and I bought when we first married, 30 years ago,…
MoreThe Salton Sea’s weirdness is what’s appealing

Fascinating and fetid, the Salton Sea in southern California lures me back, every year. Driving south from Utah, I take…
Bales of straw along the banks of the Salton Sea, Hinkamp photo
MoreHey, Utah, Americans love our public lands

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while hoping in vain for different results,…
Natural arch, the terminus of Grandstaff Canyon Trail, near Moab Utah, Dave Marston photo
MoreTime to get real about plastic recycling

I’m a dedicated recycler. I fret when I see people throwing garbage in with soda cans and empty water bottles….
Plastic garbage in the Himalayas, Sylwia Bartyzel via Unsplash
MoreLos Angeles is a wake-up call for the West—especially Durango

After fierce winds whipped fire out of brush-covered hills on January 7, entire Los Angeles neighborhoods burned down. Within a…
MoreSavoring the darkness in Alaska

In my part of Alaska, not far from Anchorage, winter solstice is always a dark day, but not because of…
Northern lights Alaska, Image Tim Lydon
MoreWhat westerners cared about in 2024

Writers on the Range, an independent opinion service based in western Colorado, sent out close to 50 weekly opinion columns…
MoreObservations of a fire lookout

The writers Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder and Norman McLean all staffed high-elevation fire lookouts in the West—their experiences rich fuel for their work. But Jack Kerouac’s reaction makes…
MoreOld fire lookout towers find renewed purpose

There’s a small wooden cabin at the top of Northwest Peak, a few miles from Montana’s borders with Idaho and…
MoreImagine a river more fascinating than football

Imagine a best-selling, 900-page novel using “a sad, bewildered nothing of a river” as its centerpiece, connecting the earth’s geologic…
South Platte at 52 bridge image by Laura Perry, courtesy USGS
MoreLet’s scrap the stigma of mental illness

Even though one in five Americans is estimated to suffer from mental health illness, talk about mental health in the…
MorePublic land protectors are ready for a fight

President Donald Trump’s first term was a disaster for America’s public lands. While the prospects for his second term are…
The Citadel, Bears Ears National Monument, Dave Marston photo
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