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Montana’s politicians have lost their ties to land

By John Clayton

Tim Sheehy, the Republican seeking to unseat Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester, is a business executive born and raised out…

Montana, plains Lee Peters image, via Unsplash

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In small towns, bookstores are thriving

By John Clayton

“I love to spend my day in a bookstore,” said Amy Sweet. She lives in Red Lodge, Montana, and was…

beartooth books, Red Lodge, Montana, John Clayton

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How did so much stuff pile up?

By Rich Wandschneider

A few years ago, I turned a carport into a bedroom. But first I had to empty out the books,…

Adam Winger, Unsplash, Logan Utah

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Collaboration gets you farther than insults

By Ben Long

Is there any habit harder to break than harboring a grudge against an old adversary? Yet burying hatchets is exactly…

Taylor Brandon via Unsplash

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Ski bum culture hits reality

By Heather Hansman

Nearly two decades ago, I moved to the mountains to be a ski bum, chasing snow. I was a stereotype—an…

Robson Hatsukami Morgan, via Unsplash

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Farewell to two radicals with a common goal – changing the West

By Ernie Atencio

The West lost two larger-than-life conservationists this year, and while I considered both friends, they couldn’t have been more different….

Sid Goodloe and wife Cheryl

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Report from Burning Man 2023

By Dennis Hinkamp

After a quiet year of preparation and premature eulogies, Burning Man roared into the news this August. There were unplanned…

BM Build Day 3/credit Dennis Hinkamp

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Tips for a new Westerner

By Betsy Marston

Hurray, you’ve moved to the rural West from a crowded subdivision or city where the traffic has become an out-of-patience…

Reno Nevada Mutton bustin’ photo by Cornelius Photography

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Old bones can be a small town’s movie stars

By Adam Larson

The prehistoric past can perk up the present. When woolly mammoth bones were found in my hometown in Wisconsin years…

Allosaurus jimmadseni, courtesy NPS

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Some people just like to get things done

By John Clayton

Although I’ve lived in a small Western town for 30 years now, I have never known much about one of…

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The West is an exploiter’s paradise

By Richard Knight

High on a mesa where everyone can see it, a trophy house is going up in the northern Colorado valley…

Outside Capitol Reef, photo courtesy of Michael Shoemaker

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Public land — a true blessing

By Dave Marston

At every Thanksgiving dinner, my family asks everyone around the table to say what they’re grateful for. It puts new…

Green River from White-Rim in Canyonlands National Park near Moab UT Oct.-2022 credit Dave-Marston

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