Los 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
MoreFreed wolves move into their old niche
What was it like for 10 captured Oregon wolves when Colorado Parks and Wildlife opened their crates on a December…
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…
MoreThe West has too many visiting hunters
Hunting may be losing popularity nationally, but in the West the number of hunters is climbing. According to the U.S….
Dan Vigueria, Paonia, Colorado, Grizzly Longbows LLC
MoreChronicle of an abandoned oil and gas well — one of millions
Even from a distance it’s clear that an oil and gas well called “State Senate #2” in New Mexico has…
Abandoned well, Jonathan Thompson image
MoreA Japanese-American internment camp has much to teach us
“While other children were sent to daycare, when I was 3 years old I was sent to a Japanese-American prison,”…
MoreTwo Western states act to control methane
Gated methane vent pad in Sunshine Roadless area above Paonia, CO. Methane originates in active Arch Resources coal mine. This collection of vents makes Arch the third biggest greenhouse gas polluter in Colorado.
MoreColorado Needs Wolves
“…we can efficiently and affordably undo our ancestors’ shortsighted decision to erase wolves from America’s wild place.”
Photograph by Robert Larsson, Courtesy of Unsplash
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