What did Westerners care about in 2023?
This past year, Writers on the Range, an independent opinion service based in western Colorado, sent out 52 weekly opinion…
Arches National Park, image courtesy Writers on the Range
MoreSki bum culture hits reality
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
Morea warning from the snowbirds
No, this isn’t about those folks who spend their winters in Arizona or Florida. The snowbird behind this warning is…
Cristina Glebova; courtesy Unsplash
MoreLive rough and know the real world
Guides in the outdoor industry inevitably come up with collective nicknames for customers. On horseback they’re “dudes,” on the river…
MoreReport from Burning Man 2023
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
MoreRequiem for the Joshua tree
Disheveled, gangly, the Joshua tree is surely one of the West’s strangest — and most recognizable — plants. Named by…
Conglomerate Mesa, Photo by Louis Medina, Friends of the Inyo
MoreWildland firefighters need our support
At any given moment during this smoky summer of 2023, hundreds of wildfires were blazing in the United States —…
Calwood fire, near Jamestown Colorado, by Malachi Brooks, via Unsplash
MoreA dogged reporter covers our roiling world
Usually seen with a camera slung around his neck, Allen Best edits a one-man online journalism shop he calls Big…
Allen Best at work
MoreRestoring the land can feel a lot like fun
Driving back to Colorado State University with a van full of students after a day of working to heal some…
Autumn at a cattle ranch in Colorado near Ridgway – County Road 12, Craig Zerbe Photo
MoreFarmington, a city in need of a jolt
The good news these days about Farmington, New Mexico, is that the air looks clear. That’s a huge change. For…
Blue skies over the closed San Juan Generating Station, Mike Eisenfeld photo
MoreKilling fish to save frogs
By Ted Williams Shortly after World War II, California fish managers had a brainstorm: They loaded juvenile trout into airplanes…
Yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa), courtesy USGS
MoreWhen giants fall, we need to listen
“God has cared for these trees …but he cannot save them from fools.”— John Muir In just two years, wildfire…
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