After Southwestern states failed to cut a deal, the Interior Department took it easy on them.
Agriculture
Posted inArticles
A new investigation reveals depth of skewed policing in Siskiyou County
A staggering percentage of stops by county deputies targeted Asian-American residents.
Posted inArticles
Botanists find one of ‘the world’s worst weeds’ spreading in the Boise foothills
Cogongrass is the latest of a fast-growing number of invasive plants threatening Idaho’s fire-prone rangelands.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
Can Arizona citizens use the tools of democracy to preserve the state’s dwindling water?
How a group of ‘scrappy’ locals are working to create Arizona’s first citizen-initiated groundwater management area.
Posted inArticles
Alaska land sale kicks off the state’s ambitious new agricultural project
The Nenana Totchaket Agricultural Project aims to fight food insecurity in the state but could interfere with local trappers’ ability to gather food.
Posted inArticles
Nebraska’s curious ‘canal to nowhere’ would siphon water from Colorado
Water experts say the $500 million project won’t really do anything to help the Cornhusker State’s water supplies. What’s going on?
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Russia’s war reverberates in the West
Putin’s military moves — and the globe’s response to them — have unexpected consequences for the region.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Why is this California sheriff suddenly interested in ‘environmental crimes?’
Law enforcement takes center stage in Siskiyou County’s fight over who can, and can’t, use land and water.
Posted inArticles
How marijuana, legal and not, is reshaping the West
A 4/20 roundup of the industry’s trials, triumphs and political conundrums.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Cows, coal and climate change: A Q&A with the new BLM director
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses how the federal agency sees conservation, the climate crisis and the Indigenous history of public lands.
Posted inArticles
For cannabis farms, ecosystem science is scarce
An interview with an ecologist studying the West’s emerging, and rarely researched, industry.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
There are millions of acres of ‘failing’ rangelands, data shows
54 million acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management aren’t meeting the agency’s own land-health standards.
Posted inArticles
What is California’s ‘War on Breakfast’ really about?
Years after animal cruelty legislation passes, the pork industry tries one last time to stop it.
Posted inArticles
A vision for more sustainable farmlands
Central California can’t continue to farm at its current industrial scale. As land is fallowed, what could take its place?
Posted inArticles
The first answer for food insecurity: data sovereignty
A new report shows tribal communities have adapted to meet the needs of their people in ways that state and federal governments can’t.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
The beauty and complexity of farm work in Washington
Artwork created by farmworkers and their communities paints an authentic picture of farm labor in Washington.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
A just transition for farmworkers
As agricultural laborers continue to bear the brunt of climate change, activists in Washington chart a new path for climate justice.
Posted inArticles
A history of pollution pervades a California neighborhood
As new soil tests reveal remaining lead contamination, the people in the Logan barrio continue their long struggle for justice.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
A shellfish company gets into the weeds
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community shows how eelgrass and aquaculture can coexist in Puget Sound.
