Twelve Western states have declared drought emergencies.
California
Posted inArticles
A Yosemite gathering takes on culture, race, socioeconomics in national parks
Minorities, millennials and urbanites are less likely to visit national parks than upwardly mobile, white baby-boomers.
Posted inMay 25, 2015: Monument Man
The urban coyote watcher
Janet Kessler has spent the last decade tracking, studying, documenting, and generally enjoying the heck out of her favorite neighbor.
Posted inMay 25, 2015: Monument Man
Making a monument from scratch
A writer wonders if this piece of Northern California federal land is worth the new designation.
Posted inMay 11, 2015: The Wetland Wars
The Los Angeles wetland wars
Environmentalists saved a wetland from developers a decade ago. Now they’re trying to save it from each other.
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Gov. Brown slashes Sacramento Delta environmental protection
California tunnel plan also introduces water uncertainties for farms and cities.
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What wildlife scat can tell us about how to protect open space
A Santa Cruz study of carnivore diets reveals how animals respond to human disturbance.
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Hundreds of lapsed permits found on Forest Service land
Expired water permit for Nestlé draws attention to flawed federal supervision.
Posted inApril 27, 2015: Lost frontier
A plague on the Klamath River
The race to prevent a repeat of the West’s worst salmon-kill.
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Feds opt not to list Mono Basin sage grouse
Conservation efforts persuaded officials that the Nevada-California population will fare well.
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Famous Los Angeles puma holes up in residents’ crawlspace
The mountain lion brings attention to the role of urban wilds.
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Fowl play: California’s drought fingered in bird deaths
Native pigeons and waterfowl fall victim to avian disease.
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Unwanted California tires end up in rivers and beaches
But efforts to use the trash as building materials in Mexico offer new hope.
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California state parks’ blueprint for a more diverse future
Plans to overhaul park system, appeal to communities of color.
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California has one year of water left: Hype or reality?
When a NASA scientist speaks in blunt terms about water supply, other scientists take notice.
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States give Senate an earful on EPA greenhouse gas plan
Wyoming critiques federal coal plant cleanup at Senate hearing.
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Marie’s dictionary
The last fluent speaker of Wukchumni creates a dictionary to document her tribe’s language.
Posted inMarch 2, 2015: Unite and Conquer
Keeping the dust down in California’s Owens Valley
A civil engineer battles Los Angeles over its air pollution legacy.
Posted inMarch 2, 2015: Unite and Conquer
Latest: California fracking companies inject protected aquifers with wastewater
EPA found that state regulators allowed 2,500 to be contaminated.