As the West burns, a bill aiming to prevent fires, bump firefighter’s pay and protect water resources passes the House.
Drought
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The monsoon can’t save us
An unusually rainy Southwest summer is welcome — but much more is needed to end the water crisis.
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Scientists unravel the origins of the Southwest’s monsoon
But just as their understanding of the phenomena becomes mores clear, it’s starting to disappear.
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The most destructive forest pest in North America is now in Oregon
The invasive emerald ash borer threatens the state’s salmon habitat, urban forests and agency budgets.
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Alaska’s fire season is off to a blazing start
Drought, heat and thunderstorms have started fires across the state.
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New Mexico’s landmark coal transition law faces an uncertain timeline
Despite momentum in 2017, drought and supply chain problems are complicating the shift from fossil fuels.
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A heat wave is about to hit the Southwest
Consider sharing your experience with us.
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Unprecedented fire, wind and snowmelt in the Southwest
This may not be the driest winter, the worst fire season or even the warmest spring on record, but taken together the conditions truly are superlative.
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Yes, the drought really is that bad
The Western U.S. is experiencing its worst drought since 800 A.D.
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Utah wants to build an oil railway through a wilderness area
Questions surround the fiscal viability of the project and how this aligns with Biden’s climate agenda.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Powell’s looming power problem
Drought and demand threaten a critical component of the Western grid.
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Arizona faces a reckoning over water
The state’s powerful will to grow is challenged by extreme heat, deep drought and serious water-related stress.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
There are millions of acres of ‘failing’ rangelands, data shows
54 million acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management aren’t meeting the agency’s own land-health standards.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Tribes negotiate for a fairer future along the Colorado River
The Colorado River Interim Guidelines will expire in 2025, and Indigenous officials like Daryl Vigil are pushing to replace them with a more inclusive framework.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Will we share the same dismal fate as glaciers and forests?
Two recent books look at the parallels between human, ecological and societal illness.
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Wyoming sage grouse numbers ‘alarming’
According to biologists, the decline is caused by habitat loss and drought.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
2021’s climate was one of contrasts, contradictions and extremes
There was one constant: Heat.
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At the Colorado River conference, ‘It’s really no longer a drill’
Water managers announce new measures to deal with dwindling water supply.
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Corporations are consolidating water and land rights in the West
With farms, ranches and rural communities facing unprecedented threats, a worrying trend leads to a critical question: Who owns the water?
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Winter without snow is coming
Parts of the Mountain West could be nearly snowless for years at a time in just a few decades.