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ICE is eroding the rule of law

By Benjamin Waddell

“I got lucky,” José told me. “Because they got the wrong person.” José, 28, who did not give his last…

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Solar panels have more than proven themselves

By Andrew Carpenter

I’d never heard of “net metering” until my electric bill hit $600 last February. Desperate for a way to reduce…

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Rural Colorado county gets ready for wildfire

By Dave Marston

When La Plata County in southwestern Colorado needed a director of emergency management in 2021, they found a winner in…

Shawna Legarza Kennebec Trail Race 2024

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When reality weighs you down

By Richard Knight

A lot of us feel hopeless today. There’s the return of energy dominance as a federal goal, which places oil,…

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Wolves need federal protection to survive

By Ted Williams

On January 31, the 30th anniversary of wolves getting reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, congressional representatives Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and…

Darren Welsh via unsplash.jpg

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It’s still the West against itself

By Stephen Trimble

Nearly 80 years ago, Bernard DeVoto, the Utah-born writer and historian, wrote an essay titled “The West Against Itself” for…

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We see the climate change in New Mexico

By Laura Paskus

Here in New Mexico, our growing season has lengthened since the 1970s, even as stream flows have decreased. Fire season…

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The gutting of our national park system

By Ben Long

Imagine a million-acre wilderness: Mountain peaks. Rushing rivers. Bears and wolves. Now imagine a city the size of, say, Chicago….

Glacier Park Logan Creek, by Ben Long

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Why do we blame lions?

By Wendy Keefover

Mule deer herds are declining across the West for many reasons. But three states, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada, want to…

Lion double set trap, Photo NDOW

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Mass firings cut the muscle not the fat

By Riva Duncan

The stories are heartbreaking. US Forest Service, National Park Service and other federal workers — some of them within weeks…

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Trump’s policies put us in economic danger

By Dave Marston

Donald Trump’s platform was clear when he was running for president. He promised to make bold improvements—quickly raising revenue by…

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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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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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