Beer and clothing in second-place Aspen
In December, Teton County, Wyoming, residents learned they were the wealthiest people in the country, making an average of $471,751…
MoreCoal gets a boost as renewables are gutted
A few years back, my friend Norm told me that when he was growing up in northern New Mexico in…
MoreEnergy dominance harms our public lands
I live in Jackson County, in northern Colorado, where hundreds of inactive and abandoned oil wells litter the landscape. Not…
MoreSolar panels have more than proven themselves
I’d never heard of “net metering” until my electric bill hit $600 last February. Desperate for a way to reduce…
MoreRural Colorado county gets ready for wildfire
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
MoreWhen reality weighs you down
A lot of us feel hopeless today. There’s the return of energy dominance as a federal goal, which places oil,…
MoreTrump’s policies put us in economic danger
Donald Trump’s platform was clear when he was running for president. He promised to make bold improvements—quickly raising revenue by…
MoreLos Angeles is a wake-up call for the West—especially Durango
After fierce winds whipped fire out of brush-covered hills on January 7, entire Los Angeles neighborhoods burned down. Within a…
MoreWhat westerners cared about in 2024
Writers on the Range, an independent opinion service based in western Colorado, sent out close to 50 weekly opinion columns…
MoreObservations of a fire lookout
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…
MoreImagine a river more fascinating than football
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
MoreHunting is a valuable tool in managing lions
Asking the public to decide if it’s a good idea to ban hunting mountain lions and bobcats is no way…
Mountain lion, courtesy Writers on the Range
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