The agency under-counted abandoned wells by more than half, which means the effort covers only a fraction of the cost.
Bureau of Land Management
Posted inArticles
Biden’s ‘herky-jerky’ first year on Western issues
The new president sacrificed bold executive action to try to win over Congress.
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40 years after its closure, the Jackpile Mine’s toxic legacy continues
‘They have to look at it every day and wonder if that’s the reason why they’re dying.’
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Utah has a water dilemma
Record-breaking drought along the Wasatch Front forces tough decisions about water supply.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Wind turbines proposed near a Japanese American incarceration camp prompt outrage
The Lava Ridge Wind Farm in Idaho would more than double the state’s wind energy output, but at what cost?
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Wild horses, buffalo and the politics of belonging
On the Wind River Indian Reservation, two animals slip between the cracks of what is wild and what isn’t.
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‘A ticking time bomb for a mass die-off’
Recent grazing decisions continue to risk Southwest Colorado’s bighorns.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
The nation’s last uranium mill plans to import Estonia’s radioactive waste
Utah says the White Mesa Mill isn’t contaminating groundwater, but its neighbor, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, disagrees.
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Wildland firefighters struggle with homelessness
Workers are being pushed out of the field by low pay and few affordable housing options.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Bears Ears is back — but don’t celebrate just yet
Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk unpacks the deeper implications — and limitations — of Biden’s monuments proclamation.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Collecting seeds to restore prairie grasslands
‘These youth are going to be able to take ownership of healing the land at Fort Belknap.’
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Where do public lands factor into the homelessness crisis?
As the housing crisis in the West deepens, more unhoused people are making a home outside.
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9 numbers that explain the BLM’s headquarters boomerang back to D.C.
A look at what happened to the reorganization of the agency under the Trump administration.
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Federal judge allows excavation work on Native massacre site
The decision could shape the way electric vehicles are powered.
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Anxiety and hope in wildfire-prone Oregon
How might we live in the reality of our climate?
Posted inSeptember 1, 2021: Where Wolves May Tread
The effort to save Upper Klamath Lake’s endangered fish before they disappear
Another dry year pushes tribal nations, federal agencies and irrigators to find long-lasting solutions.
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How yellowcake shaped the West
The ghosts of the uranium boom continue to haunt the land, water and people.
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Alaska bumblebees are thriving
Extreme environments offer them an unexpected paradise, and now researchers are working to get a head count.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
Crowds swarm the public lands
Land managers and gateway communities struggle to keep up.
Posted inArticles
Why I changed my mind about Bears Ears
The benefits of a national monument in San Juan County outweigh the costs.