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Beware the Trojan Horse targeting public land

By Ben Long

Sometimes when I drive past the little house my wife and I bought when we first married, 30 years ago,…

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The Salton Sea’s weirdness is what’s appealing

By Dennis Hinkamp

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

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Hey, Utah, Americans love our public lands

By Aaron Weiss

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

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Time to get real about plastic recycling

By Karen Mockler

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

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Los Angeles is a wake-up call for the West—especially Durango

By Dave Marston

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

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Savoring the darkness in Alaska

By Tim Lydon

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

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What westerners cared about in 2024

By Betsy Marston

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

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Observations of a fire lookout

By Rick Freimuth

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…

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Old fire lookout towers find renewed purpose

By Zeke Lloyd

There’s a small wooden cabin at the top of Northwest Peak, a few miles from Montana’s borders with Idaho and…

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Imagine a river more fascinating than football

By Patricia J. Rettig

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

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Let’s scrap the stigma of mental illness

By Dave Marston

Even though one in five Americans is estimated to suffer from mental health illness, talk about mental health in the…

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Public land protectors are ready for a fight

By Jennifer Rokala

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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