A recent lawsuit sheds new light on how the polygamist church and municipal leadership are deeply intertwined.
Communities
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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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In Washington, the Nooksack 306 fight to stay in their tribe
An internecine battle rages over tribal membership and identity.
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Will states find other revenue streams to weather the fossil fuel bust?
Powerhouses like Wyoming and Alaska are shrinking budgets, not looking for new sources of income.
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Photos: The costs of air pollution in Bakersfield, California
In the Central Valley, oil and agriculture both support and harm communities, making air pollution a complex problem.
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This is what an oil bust looks like
Low prices have energy companies and communities reeling as rig counts plummet and unemployment climbs.
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In southern Utah, a ranger is jailed under questionable circumstances
The region has a history of sheriffs butting heads with federal land agencies.
Posted inMarch 21, 2016: Making Sense of Malheur
Meet the caribou hunter of Arctic Village, Alaska
Photos of this winter’s hunt and a community’s subsistence way of life.
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Recent criminal justice reforms by state
California has led the way for other states to reduce prison populations.
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Forest Service rejects Grand Canyon luxury village
The setback is just the latest in a 30-year push to develop the rim.
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Can food hubs make small farms economically feasible?
A new effort near Tahoe, California, brings farmers and food buyers together to buck the system.
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Will this desert community survive its water overdraft problem?
Borrego Springs, California, was founded on the promise of endless water. Now they must conserve — or else.
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Dispatch from Nevada’s cowboy poets confab
An older generation of artists looks for a younger set to take over the tradition.
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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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Four charts that show how public land is good for rural areas
A study finds that personal income is rising faster in counties with more public land.
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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.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2016: Sagebrush Insurgency
Sugar Pine Mine, the other standoff
How a small-time mining dispute in Oregon readied a network of militias for the Malheur occupation.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2016: Sagebrush Insurgency
In ‘Gold Fame Citrus,’ the nascent genre of cli-fi looks to California
A new climate change novel predicts a dystopian West of sand and refugees.
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Forest Service leaves control of water rights to ski resorts
How does industry control of water affect public land management?
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How do we define climate pollution’s cost to society?
Every year, the government recalculates how much money a metric ton of carbon costs us.