Government-issued maps offer a promise for safely exploring our public lands, but they no longer reflect the reality of what’s actually on the ground.
Climate change
Posted inArticles
Alaska’s public lands are a political battleground
The first year of the second Trump administration saw a bewildering array of federal actions in the 49th state. Here’s your guide to where things now stand.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
How pronghorn outran the ice age
Can they outrun an uncertain climate future?
Posted inArticles
Congress passes environmental funding without Trump’s deep cuts
But the bipartisan effort still trimmed climate research and fails to solve agencies’ chronic underfunding.
Posted inArticles
Western Washington faces a long recovery after record-breaking flooding
An unusually swift series of atmospheric rivers hit the region, worsened by warm temperatures.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
Inside California’s wild Christmas tree harvest
Each winter, migrant crews climb into the Sierra to cut wild silvertip firs, a fragile tradition now imperiled by wildfire, climate change, and tightening immigration laws.
Posted inArticles
Skimpy snow makes life worse for skiers — and everyone else
The sport may seem selfish, but it reminds us why good snowpack matters.
Posted inArticles
Water across the West at risk as Trump targets national monuments
A new study found that about 83% of water passing through public lands uses monument designation for its only protection.
Posted inArticles
National parks aren’t just for tourists. They’re an essential home for wildlife.
Pick up this new book on Yosemite for the photos but stay for the captivating animal stories.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
Congress made it easier to ignore grazing’s harm to public lands
Federal law requires agencies to review the environmental impacts of grazing, but government employees allege the system is riddled with loopholes.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
The wealthy profit from public lands, and taxpayers pick up the tab
Roughly two-thirds of grazing on Bureau of Land Management land is controlled by just 10% of permit holders.
Posted inArticles
Western climate litigants keep fighting
After disappointing losses in Alaska and Montana, an Indigenous-led climate case is making strides in New Mexico.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
In Mendocino, river restoration pays off for salmon
Coho love the newly ‘messy’ streams.
Posted inArticles
Why Colorado River negotiations are so difficult
Basin states have had 2 years to figure out how to share the shrinking river. Will they get there before the feds step in?
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
For rural Californians, unreliable power has become the norm
Years ago, the state’s largest utility rolled out a power outage program designed to reduce wildfires. Customers now experience thousands of outages a year.
Posted inArticles
Fix Our Forests Act divides environmental community
But it’s a rare instance of bipartisan lawmaking and the biggest wildfire legislation in recent history.
Posted inArticles
The nation’s energy dominance falters
Trump is killing clean energy, and it’s not even helping fossil fuels.
Posted inArticles
Truly grasp what Typhoon Halong did to western Alaska
This is not only a climate emergency. It is a cultural one.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
In a changing Arctic, how much noise is too much?
Alaska’s bowhead whales can hear the climate changing. Scientists are listening in, too.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
What do fens do? Make peat, store water and help combat climate change
Meet the researchers restoring these unique wetlands high in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.