Frank Mechau, who died in 1946 at age 42, saw the West through an unusual lens.
Colorado
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
Silverton’s Gold King reckoning
How the Animas River disaster forced Silverton to face its pollution problem — and its destiny.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
A Gold King Mine Timeline
A tangled history of profit, tragedy and unfulfilled dreams.
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Thousands of fish die in Colorado, amid flood recovery projects
Concrete used to rebuild bridges on the Front Range appears to be the culprit for the deaths of 5,600 trout and other fish.
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Can food hubs boost rural farming economies?
The Department of Agriculture is funding new initiatives to streamline local food systems.
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Pain pill addiction has helped precipitate a rise in heroin abuse West-wide
Near Sacramento, California, nearly a dozen people died from opioids in recent weeks.
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On becoming reacquainted with sandhill cranes
I’m on my way south to chase the first harbingers of spring in our High Plains desert home.
Posted inApril 4, 2016: A Land Divided
In bison recovery, scientists start small
A new approach to bison conservation focuses on many small herds on a patchwork of public and private land.
Posted inApril 4, 2016: A Land Divided
A photographer turns his lens on small-town bliss
A new exhibit in Denver, Colorado, looks at happiness in the rural West, focusing on Bliss, Idaho.
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How Colorado is trying to get beyond zero-sum water wars
The new water plan represents an evolving moral algebra that transcends more primitive water law.
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Are Clean Power Plan targets out of reach for Western states?
Experts say emissions targets are attainable, but uncertainty over how to get there remains.
Posted inMarch 7, 2016: The Parks You Don't Know
How not to forget the West’s past atrocities
The national park system does more than celebrate beauty. It also commemorates the ugliest parts of our past.
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Tiny houses won’t solve our affordable housing problem
In Salida, Colorado, little homes come with a big price tag.
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Wolves are already headed for Colorado. Let’s make it official.
The official reintroduction of a breeding pair could help ecosystems and prevent conflict.
Posted inFebruary 22, 2016: Fractured
Far from home, the West’s foreign sheepherders get a pay raise
Since the ’50s, Western states have brought in international workers but offer them few of the benefits given other workers.
Posted inFebruary 22, 2016: Fractured
Colorado activists set their sights on a ballot measure to limit drilling
Previous attempts have been blocked and current regulations disappoint.
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Should this national monument become a national park?
An Idaho town hopes changing Craters of the Moon to park status will boost its economy.
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Did Colorado leave residents of the Raton Basin with bad water?
Regulators don’t link industry to contamination — but testing shows the pollution came after drilling.
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How some Western cities are leading on climate action
Despite faltering national policy, some communities are forging ahead.
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PZP: Where hope, science and mustangs meet
The longtime mustang advocate, TJ Holmes, and I head into southwestern Colorado’s Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, searching for mustangs. We do this regularly. TJ has documented these mustangs for eight years, working in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management. A big part of her work is administering PZP, the fertility-control vaccine (porcine […]