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Must water be enhanced and encased in plastic?

By Marjorie “Slim” Woodruff

If someone told me 10 years ago that people would willingly pay over $5 for a one-gallon container of water,…

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Southeast county in Utah has a radioactive target on its back

By Zak Podmore

In the early 1980s, southeast Utah was targeted as a potential dump site for high-level nuclear waste, the kind that…

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What reporting on three city councils teaches me

By Marty Durlin

For the past year and a half, I’ve been reporting weekly on municipal government in three rural Western Colorado towns….

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What Western writers cared about during a tumultuous year

By Betsy Marston

Once the Trump administration took over the reins of government last year, attacks on public land came fast and furious….

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Former Senator Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell knew how to horse trade

By Dave Marston

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the former Colorado U.S. senator and congressman who served first as a Democrat and then as a…

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This Trump nominee wants to liquidate public lands

By Aaron Weiss

Do Western senators really care about keeping public lands in public hands? Steve Pearce, President Donald Trump’s nominee to run…

Canyon of the Ancients, BLM land, near Cortez Colorado, Dave Marston photo

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Every kind of Thanksgiving

By Pepper Trail

On a recent walk through the woods of southern Oregon, I found myself thinking about my feelings of gratitude as…

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The pleasures—and perils—of seasonal jobs

By Kira Cordova

I was a student at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado when my professor told our class he had a…

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What happens to our parks when rangers  disappear?  

By Alex Johnson

For over a month, the longest government shutdown in American history has left our national parks in free fall. When…

Tourists at North Window Arch, Arches National Park, Nov. 25, 2024.

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Sandstone towers challenge this rescue team

By Molly Marcelo

I was high up on a cliff above Moab, Utah, as night was falling, and I couldn’t find my way…

Grand County Search and Rescue members rigging a technical rope rescue on the top of Castleton Tower near Moab. Photo courtesy Grand County Search and Rescue

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Storms trigger a humanitarian disaster in western Alaska

By Tim Lydon

Powerful back-to-back storms have ravaged dozens of mostly Alaska Native communities in western Alaska: Approximately 2,000 people were displaced, and…

survivors of ex-Typhoon Halong file onto C-17 military transport plan in Bethel for transport to Anchorage

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Jane Goodall told us never give up

By Stephen Trimble

In her “Last Words” interview that was broadcast after her death, Jane Goodall talked about her calm in the face…

The Lee-Curtis proposal would bring OHV traffic into the wildness and quiet of Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef National Park. Photo courtesy Stephen Trimble

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What others are saying See More

The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colorado places a premium on content that examines management of public lands and natural resources. We’re big fans of Writers on the Range. The contributors come from all walks of life, but their column always hit home with our readers, for whom access to public lands is an important part of the lifestyle in western Colorado. Cutbacks to the newsroom have seriously hampered our coverage of the environment. Most often these stories are best told by people who have first-hand experience dealing with a particular challenges — from loving favorite trails to death to rebuilding coal communities or threats to the sagebrush sea. Writers on the Range consistently identifies problems and solutions in a thorough and engaging way. We need more of this kind of advocacy journalism on our opinion pages because it fosters understanding and dialogue about the unique living conditions in the American West.

Andy Smith, Opinion Page Editor
Grand Junction Sentinel, Grand Junction, CO

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