Basin states have had 2 years to figure out how to share the shrinking river. Will they get there before the feds step in?
Drought
Posted inArticles
Phoenix subdivision builds move ahead, despite water concerns
The first crack in the area’s suspension on new housing that relies on groundwater appears.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
The dried-out subdivisions of Phoenix
A groundwater crisis halted the construction of thousands of homes and pitted affordability against environmental concerns.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire is a growing threat to the West’s water systems
How fire and water managers can prepare.
Posted inArticles
Counting flowers to read the saguaro’s future
Saguaros are struggling to cope with extreme weather, monitoring studies reveal.
Posted inAugust 2025: Fire Culture
The West’s data centers suck (water and power)
From simple searches to chatGPT, the big digital buildup threatens the grid and water supplies.
Posted inArticles
In stressful times, what do the plants and animals have to say?
The time-honored tradition of humans looking to the natural world can help us survive difficult times.
Posted inJuly 2025: Seeds as Sustenance
First came the record-setting fire. Then came the record-setting floods.
‘I don’t trust the water:’ How post-fire flooding has destabilized a rural community’s drinking water.
Posted inArticles
The Eastern Shoshone are reclassifying buffalo as wildlife instead of livestock
The intent is to restore buffalo on the land and challenge the link between animal and product.
Posted inArticles
Farmers face frozen jobs and heavier workloads under DOGE ‘efficiency’ budget
Billions in halted or canceled grants, gutted local offices, market turmoil and broken trust are at stake across the West.
Posted inArticles
NOAA issues critical drought warnings during cuts to agency
The embattled agency continues to disseminate crucial updates in a hostile political environment.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire … in winter?
Expect more fires like the fast-moving one in Malibu, scientists say.
Posted inArticles
The Biden administration weighs in on Colorado River management
Amid mounting drought, changing federal leadership and stalled state negotiations, new federal proposals aim to chart a forward path.
Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations
2024 was a year of wacky Western weather
When assessing the region, not much was normal but climate change.
Posted inIssues
Fish camp in Alaska – without the fish
Yukon River communities fight to maintain their salmon fishing traditions.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie
After half a century, the Apache trout swims off the threatened species list
Arizona’s state fish is doing well but faces a daunting future.
Posted inArticles
Wolverines may return to Colorado
But can they survive in the warming southern Rockies?
Posted inArticles
When grasshoppers attack
Is the cure for grasshopper outbreaks worse than the disease?
Posted inArticles
Fireworks trigger wildfires. Climate change may increase the risk.
Research found that twice as many wildfires were recorded on July 4 as almost any other day in the West.
Posted inJuly 2024
Wilson’s phalarope to the rescue
A new Endangered Species Act petition could trigger major conservation actions to save the West’s saline lakes.