‘Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.’
Department of Interior
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States opposed tribes’ access to the Colorado River 70 years ago. History is repeating itself.
Records shed new light on states’ vocal opposition in the 1950s to tribes claiming their share of the river.
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An Indigenous slur persists in Fresno County despite renaming efforts
When the feds remove offensive names, local jurisdictions don’t have to follow along.
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The state of tribal co-management of public lands
As National Public Lands Day approaches, Indigenous leaders discuss working with agencies to manage dispossessed lands.
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Conservation groups sue BLM for rangeland degradation
The lawsuit alleges the agency isn’t conducting environmental assessments before renewing grazing permits.
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BLM has a plan to tackle booming recreation — at least in theory
The agency is taking a hard look at how to protect land and wildlife while welcoming ever more visitors.
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Public lands had a roller coaster month
Rounding up the Biden administration’s ups and downs on land policy.
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New public-land drilling rules would overhaul the Western oil industry
The potential new rules would hike the amount companies must pay in order to drill, in addition to other changes.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
Decades after the Colorado River flooded the Chemehuevi’s land, the tribe still doesn’t have its share
Nearly all of the tribe’s water remains in the river and ends up being used by Southern California cities.
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Public Lands Rule rhetoric gets wacky
Conservatives aren’t so keen on conservation.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
As Newtok, Alaska, crumbles, residents are left in a dangerous limbo
The town is supposed to move, but federal funding and complex logistics mean most residents are stuck.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
How Arizona squeezes tribes for water
A High Country News/ProPublica investigation shows that Arizona goes to unusual lengths in water negotiations to extract restrictive concessions from tribes.
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James Watt, Ted Kaczynski and power over lands
The legacies of the two recently departed men are intertwined.
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San Carlos Apache call for international intervention over copper mine at Oak Flat
At the U.N., leaders describe the destruction of Indigenous sacred sites as a ‘major human rights violation.’
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A ‘seismic shift’ for public lands?
The new Public Lands Rule would put conservation on par with other uses.
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The Biden administration just approved a huge oil project in Alaska
The Willow project threatens local lifeways and wildlife in Nuiqsut, Alaska.
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Bringing co-stewardship to Wyoming’s Red Desert
A Q&A with the Indigenous Land Alliance of Wyoming’s Yufna Soldier Wolf.
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The state of the land: Biden’s mixed conservation record
The president has riled up just about everyone with his public-land policies. Maybe that’s a good thing.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal
What does the nation’s commitment to tribal co-stewardship mean for public lands?
The Biden administration’s policies signal a shift in lands management, but a sea change is yet to come.