Rounding up the Biden administration’s ups and downs on land policy.
Agriculture
Posted inSeptember 1, 2023: Food Justice
Who owns the West?
Increasingly, land is shifting into the hands of billionaires.
Posted inArticles
Why has Alaska given an uninhabited, remote island to feral cattle?
Chirikof Island belongs to cows despite habitat loss being one of the biggest issues facing wild animals.
Posted inArticles
Washington to adopt rules protecting farmworkers from wildfire smoke
Some labor advocates say they don’t go far enough.
Posted inArticles
EPA to investigate claims of civil rights violations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Tribes and environmental justice groups say management of the Delta harms traditional food systems and causes pollution.
Posted inArticles
Why you should care about the farm bill
The legislation affects hunger, food security and climate — and it begins expiring next month.
Posted inArticles
Meet the beetle threatening Washington’s cherries, hops and other crops
Invasive Japanese beetles are drawn to flowers and fruit. Washington officials are trying to eradicate them from the state.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire
The Tractor Princess
Memories from California’s Pajaro Valley.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
How private interests benefit from tribal water settlements
When power players like mining and agriculture are involved, tribal nations, usually the senior-most water-rights holders, often must fight obstruction.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
Decades after the Colorado River flooded the Chemehuevi’s land, the tribe still doesn’t have its share
Nearly all of the tribe’s water remains in the river and ends up being used by Southern California cities.
Posted inArticles
Public Lands Rule rhetoric gets wacky
Conservatives aren’t so keen on conservation.
Posted inArticles
Scene from a Mojave oasis
Our reporter’s notebook from a stretch of road in the Nevada desert.
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The miller moth is hard to love, but it deserves our respect
Every summer, the migration of the small insect plays a role in the food web. Don’t be annoyed when they show up in your bedroom.
Posted inArticles
It’s summer. But in the Northwest, spring never showed
As spring gets weirder, warmer and less stable, water supplies, ecosystems and agriculture are getting out of whack.
Posted inArticles
Hay – yes, hay – is sucking the Colorado River dry
Desert farming, wasteful irrigation and the profoundly thirsty crop is bringing the critical river to the brink.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen
The many legacies of Letitia Carson
An effort to memorialize the homestead of one of Oregon’s first Black farmers illuminates the land’s complicated history.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen
A refuge in the North Fork
Harvesting memories on Colorado’s Western Slope.
Posted inArticles
Can retiring farmland make California’s Central Valley more equitable?
Planning for the future of groundwater also offers an opportunity to plan for climate justice.
Posted inArticles
Are the feds risking endangered salmon for fries and potato chips?
Tribal nations say the decision to reduce water flow on the Klamath River “has more to do with potatoes than it does fish.”
Posted inArticles
Does California’s Friendship Park need a taller border wall?
Advocates protest plans for reconstruction of the barrier at the binational meeting point.