The needs of the ungulate and cattle supported by California’s Point Reyes National Seashore have different needs and created a years-long conflict.
Agriculture
Posted inArticles
On the Klamath River, agricultural interests are pitted against the needs of tribes and endangered species
Due to severe drought, irrigation allotments were decreased to lowest amounts in history.
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A Colorado county provides a model for saving the West’s open spaces
A sales-tax funded program pays ranchers and farmers to not develop their land or sell their water rights.
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Can cloud seeding help the West’s drought?
States consider weather modification to make it rain.
Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast
Across generations, Dakota women grow resilience
Diane Wilson’s new novel explores the relationship between seeds and humans, and how our survival and abundance are intertwined.
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Megadrought: New Mexico farms face uncertain future
‘If they have an option to not farm, they should consider that option.’
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Despite discrimination and drought, Punjabi Americans farm on
As America’s food basket dries out, Punjabi American growers fear the loss of their hard-earned farmlands.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Nevada lithium mine kicks off a new era of Western extraction
The hastily approved project went forward without comment from the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Why Utah’s wild mink COVID-19 case matters
‘Vet-virologist’ Anna Fagre discusses the first positive case detected in the wild — and how ‘spillover’ could impact the West.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line
Meet the gun-toting ‘Tenacious Unicorns’ in rural Colorado
How a transgender-owned alpaca ranch in Colorado foretells the future of the rural queer West.
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Diverted, drained and dwindling: What’s the fate of New Mexico’s Rio Grande?
Century-old water rights and climate change means the river may never flow through many communities year-round again.
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California farmworkers aren’t staying in free quarantine hotel rooms
Fear, testing barriers and miscalculations have hobbled the statewide program.
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How one student brings soil science down to earth
Bo Collins’ goofy, profanity-laden social media presence makes scientific research seem humorous and relatable.
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Colorado ranchers adapt for a changing climate
Regenerative agriculture can help address drought and topsoil degradation.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
In California, 1 million people lack access to clean water
Why one community has struggled with arsenic in its water for so long, despite the state’s Human Right to Water law.
Posted inNovember 1, 2020: When the Smoke Clears
Northwest co-op builds for a local food future beyond big ag
‘I’ve always felt like this was something to do in case the world doesn’t end.’
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Will the extraction industry’s economic turmoil blight Colorado?
Questions about gas well maintenance, clean up and public safety rise amid bankruptcies in the sector.
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How the West’s wildfires impact crops
Wine grape and cannabis growers try to assess the invisible damage of ash and smoke on their harvests.
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COVID-19 makes it harder to know when to harvest sugar beets
Decisions depend on the weather, but accurate long-term forecasts are another casualty of the pandemic.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
Killing the Vegas Pipeline
Nevada’s attitude toward water is changing.