Chad Bradley

‘Help is not on the way’ - High Country News As fire season ramps up, thousands of Forest Service firefighting positions are vacant.

The Forest Service doesn’t have all the people it needs for a busy fire season after layoffs, deferred resignations and early retirements led to an exodus of almost 5,000 employees this spring.

buff.ly/kYOyPp2

In Wyoming, forestry work is female - High Country News In the wake of DOGE cuts, an all-female ‘Forest Corps’ is filling federal agency gaps for Wyoming trail projects.

In the wake of DOGE cuts, an all-female ‘Forest Corps’ is filling federal agency gaps for Wyoming trail projects.

Native languages need radio, which is at risk of being lost - High Country News As public media is threatened after cuts from Trump administration, Indigenous radio also face threats to how they preserve and grow language.

The growth of Indigenous language through radio is at risk, along with the rest of public media, but cultural reclamation at large will persevere.

Native languages need radio, which is at risk of being lost - High Country News As public media is threatened after cuts from Trump administration, Indigenous radio also face threats to how they preserve and grow language.

"Indigenous radio and media help Indigenous communities engage and grow in their understanding of their language and show them how they can better connect with their culture."

By @chadebradley.bsky.social, from HCN's Indigenous Affairs desk.

In wildfire-prone Washington, ‘collaboration’ on forest management gives way to timber interests - High Country News Forest collaboratives formed in the wake of the Pacific Northwest’s ‘Timber Wars’ have become major power players operating largely out of the public eye.

Forest collaboratives formed in the wake of the Pacific Northwest’s ‘Timber Wars’ have become major power players operating largely out of the public eye.

Our August issue just dropped. ✨

Navajo sheep. Water-guzzling data centers. Indigenous radio at risk. Queer rivers. Final meals. First hotshots. Community care.

The stories the West needs. Read now: buff.ly/QX7h75X

#IndigenousHistory #EnvironmentalJustice #WesternUS

Native languages need radio, which is at risk of being lost - High Country News As public media is threatened after cuts from Trump administration, Indigenous radio also face threats to how they preserve and grow language.

Congress voted to cut funding for public media, jeopardizing the operations of dozens of Western rural stations, many of which serve Indigenous communities. Local news/info & even language & cultural expression are at risk. My latest for @highcountrynews.org
www.hcn.org/issues/57-8/...

“Being an immigrant is risky:" ICE enforcement drives Arizona families to online fundraising platforms - AZ Luminaria Georges Maskini is no stranger to being told he doesn’t belong. His parents fled political persecution in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sought refuge in South Africa in 2000, where Georges was ...

Georges Maskini’s family is fighting to free their son using GoFundMe — a struggle that shows the legal battles Arizona’s immigrant communities face amid the Trump administration’s crackdown

How a network of volunteers helped spot Colorado’s butterflies in decline - High Country News A Q+A with an entomologist who trains people to count butterflies for science.

An entomologist in Colorado talks about her favorite place to look for butterflies, and why they’re struggling throughout the U.S.

buff.ly/puF4fp3

Calling all educators! High Country News is proud to offer classroom access to our award-winning journalism for FREE for educators.

From conservation to climate change, we deliver reporting that helps students engage with the critical issues shaping the American West.

Learn more ➡️ buff.ly/qZSmsej

The West's data centers suck (water and power) - High Country News From simple searches to chatGPT, the big digital buildup threatens the grid and water supplies.

AI-processing data centers require massive amounts of energy and water, and relatively low power prices, state tax incentives, and lax regulations are attracting them to the West, threatening water supplies and straining the grid.

buff.ly/tnoapOO

In stressful times, what do the plants and animals have to say? - High Country News The time-honored tradition of humans looking to the natural world can help us survive difficult times.

The time-honored tradition of humans looking to the natural world can help us survive difficult times.

Fewer than half of ICE arrests under Trump are convicted criminals The Trump administration's immigration arrests have been catching a smaller share of criminals overall than the Biden administration did.

Forty percent of the nearly 112,000 arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from Jan. 20 through late June were of convicted criminals. That’s compared with 53% of the nearly 51,000 arrests for same time period in 2024 under the Biden administration.

Tempers flare as Navajo council seeks answers over closure of modular home factory Navajo council delegates sought answers over the closure of a modular home factory, but President Buu Nygren left more questions.

From me: ‘Tempers flare as Navajo council seeks answers over closure of modular home factory’

An Interior Department veteran looks to the future - High Country News Love for the land and for public service broke Jacob Malcom’s heart on Valentine’s Day 2025. That Friday, Feb. 14, he was ordered to terminate probationary employees at the U.S. Department of the…

Former Department of Interior official Jacob Malcom, founder of the group Next Interior, shares his vision for “a strong and supportive Department of the Interior that's really serving current and future generations.”

buff.ly/Vym9NfC

I am a fighter’: Jonathan Nez launches second bid to flip Arizona’s largest congressional district | Arizona Mirror Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has launched another bid for Congress, seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Eli Crane.

“Eli Crane voted to gut Arizonans’ health care and take food off our tables – all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” Nez said. “Nearly 1 in 3 people in our district depend on Medicaid.”

Story by @diinsilversmith.bsky.social

High Country News won 11 awards from the 2025 Indigenous Media Awards! We’re proud to be recognized for journalism that uplifts Indigenous voices, stories, and sovereignty.

Gratitude to our contributors, editors, and @indigenousja.bsky.social for the honor.

buff.ly/bwGmdln

“Under the Microscope”: Activists Opposing a Nevada Lithium Mine Were Surveilled for Years, Records Show Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have collaborated with private security to surveil largely peaceful protesters opposed to the Thacker Pass mine, according to a ProPublica review of thousa...

NEW: Indigenous activists opposed to Nevada’s Thacker Pass lithium mine have for years been surveilled by law enforcement agencies and the company behind the mine, records show.

“They treat us like we’re domestic terrorists,” an organizer said.

Inside Colorado’s famous resort for Black Americans - High Country News Colorado was once a beacon for members of the Harlem Renaissance and Black families from all over the country.

Inside Colorado’s famous resort for Black Americans

Colorado was once a beacon for members of the Harlem Renaissance and Black families from all over the country.

www.hcn.org/articles/ins...

Kotzebue public broadcaster warns of looming closure after federal funding cut Members of the station’s board and staff said the station had enough reserve funding to last a few months, but that the station would close within a year without an alternate funding source.

Members of the Kotzebue public radio station’s board and staff said the station had enough reserve funding to last a few months, but that the station would close within a year without an alternate funding source. www.adn.com/alaska-news/...

https://azcir.org/news/2025/07/22/colorado-river-water-settlement-repair-decades-tribal-marginalization/

My latest from @azcir.org

“After decades of drought, pollution & legal battles, Hopi, Navajo & San Juan Southern Paiute tribes are closer to securing long-promised water rights. A $5B federal settlement could finally deliver Colorado River water to the tribes after generations of exclusion.”

The Forest Service Claims It’s Fully Staffed for a Worsening Fire Season. Data Shows Thousands of Unfilled Jobs. DOGE cuts and voluntary resignations have severely hampered the agency as the nation enters the peak of fire season, with more than 1 million acres burning across 10 Western states.

NEW: According to data not previously reported, thousands of firefighting jobs — as many as 27% of them — remain vacant as the nation enters the peak of fire season, with more than 1 million acres burning across 10 Western states.

By @abestreep.bsky.social

Amazon Web Services is company behind Tucson’s Project Blue, according to 2023 county memo - AZ Luminaria Amazon Web Services is revealed to be the company behind the Project Blue data center proposed for Tucson.

Exclusive: Records obtained by Arizona Luminaria tie Amazon to a massive Tucson area data center that has been shrouded in secrecy until now

Tribal water settlement aims to repair generations of exclusion The Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act would repair decades of legal disputes and devote $5 billion to delivering Colorado River water to tribes in northeastern Arizona.

After decades of drought, contamination & legal battles, Hopi, Navajo & San Juan Southern Paiute tribes are closer to securing long-promised water rights. A $5B federal settlement could deliver Colorado River water after generations of exclusion, via @clomahqu.bsky.social
azcir.org/news/2025/07...

“They didn’t want to see us” | Searchlight New Mexico New Mexican downwinders, receiving financial compensation for the first time, reckon with the ongoing tragedy of the Trinity bomb detonation — and fight to ensure remembrance

Today is the 80th anniversary of Trinity. At 1 P.M. Eastern, the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium will dedicate the first permanent public marker to the New Mexicans who died or were made ill by radioactive fallout that nobody told them was coming. searchlightnm.org/trinity-bomb...

Native American radio stations part of funding deal as US Senate takes up cuts to NPR, PBS | Arizona Mirror U.S. Senators are considering cutting funding for public broadcasting stations, but might exempt tribal stations.

Tribal radio stations in several states, including Arizona, could see federal funding continue even if Congress votes to cut off money for other public broadcasters.
azmirror.com/2025/07/16/r...

Their foundation begins with the foot: Master farrier equips Indigenous students with skills for life - AZ Luminaria Tucson farrier George Goode sends Tohono O'odham Community College students home with horseshoeing skills, confidence and a new mindset — just as federal workforce grants may help expand the program.

At 85, Tucsonan George Goode sends Tohono O’odham Community College students home with horseshoeing skills, confidence and a new mindset — as federal workforce grants may help expand the program

59 tribal radio stations across U.S. could go dark if Congress claws back federal funding Flagstaff-based Native Public Media, which supports the network of 59 radio stations and three television stations serving tribal nations across the country, said stations that rely heavily on Corpora...

Flagstaff-based Native Public Media, which supports the network of 59 radio stations and three television stations serving tribal nations across the country, said stations that rely heavily on Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding would be the first to go dark.

As a journalist and emerging public historian, I spent much of the past week reading through transcripts of oral histories made and collected by residents of Kerr County, Texas – where flash floods killed more than 100 people this month.

There’s one recording that stood out to me. 🧵