Tribal scientists and community members are testing wells, solving plumbing problems and delivering clean water to their neighbors.
Communities
Posted inArticles
How yellowcake shaped the West
The ghosts of the uranium boom continue to haunt the land, water and people.
Posted inAugust 1, 2021: A Mega-Dairy Comes to the Desert
Is there really freedom in the outdoors?
After a year indoors, a writer remembers the joy — and pressures — of a childhood spent in Utah.
Posted inAugust 1, 2021: A Mega-Dairy Comes to the Desert
Could casitas help prevent displacement in the West’s cities?
As the housing crisis worsens, advocates sound off on how to bring homes to the people.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
Reclaiming LA
Communities in Los Angeles are turning industrial sites into pockets of green.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Film: After wildfire, a motel becomes a temporary refuge
Nearly 8,000 people lost their housing in Oregon’s Labor Day fires. Some are finally finding a home, for now.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Hotels for those left unhoused by wildfires
As climate change ratchets up wildfire intensity, an Oregon program provides a step toward home.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Rapid growth in Arizona’s suburbs bets against an uncertain water supply
‘The alternative is something they don’t want to think about.’
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Facing future wildfires, a community fights for its forest
Conflicting visions in central Idaho force tough decisions over logging and prescribed burning.
Posted inArticles
The Central California town that keeps sinking
The very ground upon which Corcoran was built is steadily collapsing, a situation caused primarily by agriculture.
Posted inArticles
Petroglyph vandalism is not a victimless crime
Indigenous archaeologists say more protective measures and education are needed to prevent future vandalism.
Posted inArticles
Five shots in Denver
In 2013, anti-gang activist Terrance Roberts shot a man in the Holly, a historically Black neighborhood in Denver. What really happened that night?
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
The West’s Asian Americans arm up for self-defense
Once denied their Second Amendment rights, Asian Americans are heading to gun shops in droves.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
‘I’m scared of getting sick from the water’
Some rural California communities have waited nearly a decade for state regulators to repair their tainted drinking-water systems.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Tribes unveil landmark missing and murdered Indigenous person response
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes worked with federal agencies to complete a first of its kind plan to address the crisis.
Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands
The Los Angeles River’s overlooked anglers
Unhoused Angelenos use the urban river as a source of sustenance, but a proposal to revitalize the waterway could push them out.
Posted inArticles
The health hazards of California’s neighborhood drilling
Much of the state’s oil extraction takes place in residential areas, often in Spanish-speaking communities, but there’s a lack of research detailing its impact.
Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands
Can a wildlife refuge help a community’s fight for environmental justice?
In Albuquerque’s South Valley, activists are happy for more green space but worry about gentrification.
Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands
Montana counties band together to reinvigorate passenger rail
The newly formed Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority aims to connect a rural and divided state.
Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast
The ‘slow-motion genocide’ of the Chinook Indian Nation
Federal recognition provides tribes with critical healthcare and education. What happens to the tribal nations that the U.S. refuses to recognize?