Sarah Jane Keller
Posted inMay 12, 2014: Parks for All?
Hunting for conservation dollars
State wildlife agencies struggle to broaden funding as their duties expand.
Posted inGoat
Mojave Desert is an amazing carbon storehouse
Add this to the list of why deserts are awesome: they can suck a bunch of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. For ten years, researchers in southern Nevada piped extra carbon dioxide into the Mojave Desert’s air. Their goal was to learn about the capacity of arid ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide as we […]
Posted inArticles
Locals resist a Bakkenization of the Beartooths
South-central Montanans oppose new drilling, forewarned by fracking’s impacts in other states.
Posted inGoat
EPA may finally look at coal ash regulation, much needed in Montana
When rancher Clint McRae first saw the swirling green and white ponds of arsenic, boron, mercury and lead-containing sludge 10 miles from his property, it was in a photography show at the Montana statehouse. He first thought they were abstract art, but quickly realized some were aerial photos of the ash slurry left over from […]
Posted inGoat
Climate-based wolverine listing delayed by scientific disputes
With thick fur and snowshoe-like feet, wolverines are well-adapted to live in snow caves and run straight up mountains. Their high elevation lifestyles have helped them stay out of harm’s way in recent decades, and stage a slow comeback from the rampant carnivore persecution of the early 1900s. Though elusive and tenacious, they won’t be […]
Posted inFebruary 17, 2014: The Gila $olution
How political extremism and primary reforms limit choices for Western voters
‘Top-two’ primary systems banish third parties from the ballot.
Posted inGoat
In a new study, megafauna more likely to feel climate impacts than smaller species
Climate change has always picked winners and losers from the animal world. Some, like unbearably cute, mountain-dwelling pikas are already retreating from lower, warmer elevations in places like Yosemite National Park, and heading for cooler heights. Beyond existing research on how climate change is responsible for certain species, like pikas or polar bears, shifting elevation, […]
Posted inJanuary 20, 2014: Building a More Sustainable West, One City at a Time
From paradise paved to paradise saved?
Driving around in circles looking for parking is so 1935 – the year Oklahoma City installed the world’s first parking meter. Parking’s waste of gas, time and space has recently inspired a host of phone applications to help people find spots more quickly, or even sublet their empty residential spaces. Though handy, the apps are […]
Posted inArticles
Are Yellowstone grizzlies ready for delisting?
A recent study of the bears’ diets has spurred a move toward ending endangered protections.
Posted inDecember 23, 2013: Beauty or Beast
The Latest: First federal prosecution of wind farm bird deaths
BackstoryDespite their clean-energy appeal, wind farms have a reputation for mowing down birds and bats. Much of the “bird blender” blame rests with one of the first farms, poorly placed on Altamont Pass near San Francisco (“Birds, blades and bats,” HCN, 5/02/05). But even with wildlife-friendly siting and better turbine technology, hundreds of thousands of […]
Posted inGoat
What Arctic climate has to do with this Interior West cold snap
The recent cold snap has destroyed low temperature records in the West. In parts of Montana it hasn’t been this frigid since the ‘70s, grape growers in California have been anxious about their vines freezing, homeless shelters have been filling up, and in Oregon it’s been so cold that even a geothermal bathing pool had […]
Posted inGoat
New study shows how helping desert soil could save our snow
It’s the start of snow season, which means that everyone who cares about water is keeping an eye on the mountains, anticipating how long we’ll ride the wave of snowmelt into next summer. The runoff season is never as predictable as anyone would like, but in the last decade or so there’s been a new […]
Posted inNovember 25, 2013: Ecosystems 101
Montana tribes will be the first to own a hydroelectric dam
The three tribes of the Flathead Reservation may see significant economic and cultural benefits.
Posted inGoat
Will the farm bill leave private lands conservation behind?
Right now, following the farm bill’s progress seems a lot like watching corn grow. The bill is due for reauthorization and the senators and representatives charged with finding a compromise are under pressure to make progress before Thanksgiving. The major hurdle to clear right now, and that’s received a fair bit of media attention already, […]
Posted inGoat
Drought and population growth punch Colorado in face, state fights back with water planning
Last week, while speaking at lunch during the Upper Colorado Basin Water Conference in Grand Junction, the director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board could have put his audience to sleep in their cannoli. He was talking about the narcolepsy-inducing topic of water planning, after all. Instead, James Eklund captured the room’s attention by quoting […]
Posted inNovember 11, 2013: Cosmic Prospecting
The Latest: California is first state to ban lead ammunition to protect condors
BackstoryCalifornia condors were nearly extinct by the 1980s. Thanks to habitat loss, wanton shooting, egg collecting, and the scavenger’s propensity for eating animal carcasses tainted by lead bullet fragments, fewer than 30 remained. After decades of captive breeding, about 200 condors now fly free in central California, Utah, Arizona and Mexico. But death by lead […]
Posted inGoat
Salt Lake City water managers troubleshoot climate change with local data
In many Western cities, municipal water management is a job tied to the mountains. In Salt Lake City, for example, 80 percent of the city’s water supply comes from snowpack in seven Uinta and Wasatch Mountain watersheds. Yet it’s becoming all too clear that the mountains’ water yield will decrease, come earlier in the year, […]
Posted inGoat
Why the farm bill’s crop insurance is a missed opportunity for reducing climate risk
This week, Congress is getting back to the big issues haunting the public, including the farm bill, which expired amid the government shutdown. Since the House and Senate have already passed two separate versions, select lawmakers are meeting today to try to reconcile their differences. The division between the two chambers centers on, you guessed […]
Posted inOctober 28, 2013: Lifeblood of the Delta
Western GOP governors buck their party on Obamacare
How three Western Republicans are defying party ideology by accepting the Medicaid expansion.