Scientists are racing to figure out why porcupines are disappearing from their former stomping grounds.
Shi En Kim
Shi En Kim is an editorial fellow at HCN covering science, environment and society. Feel free to email her at shien.kim@hcn.org to speak with her about these topics and more or submit a letter to the editor. You can follow her work on Twitter at @goes_by_kim.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
The ‘bear’ necessities of good sign design
Researchers study the principles that promote bear-safety behavior.
Posted inArticles
The Trump administration’s war on wind
How energy companies and states are navigating federal policy that’s hostile to wind.
Posted inArticles
How to make electricity in the West cheaper and more reliable
Regionalized power markets give utilities more buying options, driving down prices and boosting stability.
Posted inArticles
How to comment on the planned roadless rule rollback
The deadline to weigh in on the change is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 19.
Posted inArticles
Counting flowers to read the saguaro’s future
Saguaros are struggling to cope with extreme weather, monitoring studies reveal.
Posted inArticles
Searching for the next generation of American kestrels
Around California’s Mount Diablo, chicks are hard to find.
Posted inAugust 2025: Fire Culture
Get to know the American kestrel
This small falcon faces an existential crisis.
Can nest boxes help?
Posted inArticles
The Trump administration’s repeal of the roadless rule could threaten wildlife
A 2001 policy restricts road construction on Forest Service land. What happens to at-risk species if it’s removed?
Posted inArticles
Trump administration budget cuts wreak havoc on trail maintenance
As tourism season begins, trail crews are facing disruptions in key trail maintenance projects.
Posted inArticles
Why isn’t agrivoltaics taking off in Arizona?
Logistical hurdles and a lack of solar incentives keep panels and plants apart.
Posted inArticles
Can fracking wastewater be reused?
New Mexico’s legislators are eager to repurpose “produced water,” but environmental organizations say that there is no safe way to do that.
Posted inJune 2025: The Promised Land
As Trump comes after research, Forest Service scientists keep working
Scientists describe how they’re preparing for the upcoming field season despite the challenges.
Posted inArticles
The horses and mules that moved mountains and hearts
Forest Service stock animals are indispensable to trail work on public lands in the West. Trump’s radical upheaval is accelerating the death of a dying art.
Posted inArticles
Judge rules federal job cuts ‘unlawful’
The Forest Service, Park Service and other agencies must immediately reinstate workers purged by Trump.
Posted inArticles
Turkey vultures in California are testing positive for rat poison
Despite statewide restrictions on the deadly poisons, new research shows they’re still infiltrating the food web.
Posted inArticles
How DOGE threatens the Forest Service and public lands
Workers describe projects on wildfire prevention, environmental restoration and trail repair halted by Trump administration terminations.
Posted inArticles
‘They’ll have to drag me out before I go.’ EPA workers stand firm despite Trump chaos
Staff outside D.C. headquarters respond to funding freeze and other orders from the new administration.