What Region and Topics Does High Country News Cover?

High Country News (hcn.org) is a news organization focused on the American West — its public lands, environment, water, wildlife, climate, politics and communities. If you want reporting on Western land-use conflicts, tribal issues or conservation policy rather than general national news, this is the publication's beat. Its homepage describes it as covering "an unsettled region," with stories on how "old battles over land, power and identity continue to shape the West's politics."

Geographic focus

HCN's coverage centers on the Western United States and the people who live there. The homepage frames the region as a distinct subject: "Origin stories from an unsettled region." Stories shown there range across Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho and Alaska, among other Western states.

Core topics

Based on the reporting featured on its homepage, HCN's main subject areas include:

• Public lands and federal land management — for example, a story on the Forest Service preparing to "hand off one of the West's most visited landscapes," and criticism of the Interior secretary's record on public lands.
• Environment, water and climate — including reporting on hail research in a warming world and studies linking New Mexico drilling to radiation, air pollution and health risks.
• Wildlife and human-wildlife conflict — such as record-breaking bear conflicts in southern Montana and a piece on living with urban roosting crows.
• Western politics and money — including Wyoming voters' decisions on public lands and a Montana ballot effort against corporate money in politics.
• Indigenous affairs, education and identity — for example, Montana's push for better Indian education and a report on American Samoans in Alaska.
• Community and culture — first-person and profile pieces, such as a Montana rancher reflecting on sharing Western life online, and the "#iamthewest" series giving voice to people across the region.

What kind of journalism it is

HCN's featured work leans toward in-depth and investigative reporting rather than breaking news. The homepage highlights accountability pieces — such as a state investigation into an unpermitted Idaho wildfire tied to a ranch manager connected to a top Trump appointee — alongside explanatory science reporting and personal essays.

Access and pricing

The site offers subscription options, including a trial. Its homepage links include "Subscribe," "Sign up for a trial" and "Get 2 free issues." Specific prices and full access terms are not stated in the available page information, so check the subscription page directly for current details.

In short: if your interest is the environment, public lands, water, wildlife, climate and politics of the American West — including its tribal and rural communities — hcn.org is built around that region and those topics.