Cash-strapped agencies use private contractors to the detriment of local communities.
Essays
Posted inOctober 2, 2017: Following Ancient Footsteps
Public land is the essence of freedom
A hunter reflects on the gut-level connection she has to the public land she traverses.
Posted inArticles
Close encounters with a scary fire season
As wildfires have ripped through the West, take stock of what climate change has wrought.
Posted inSeptember 4, 2017: The Elwha, Unleashed
Awake at night and listening to coyotes
Man-made sounds elicit a wild ruckus in the Bitterroot Valley.
Posted inSeptember 4, 2017: The Elwha, Unleashed
A return to the Snake River
Taking a trip down the undammed section of Hells Canyon.
Posted inArticles
Lessons in the moon’s shadow
How the eclipse makes you understand space, and why we should pay attention to lesser wonders.
Posted inAugust 21, 2017: Rooftop Revolution
Hunting for feral figs
The gem-like fruit are best when found free in the urban wilds.
Posted inJuly 24, 2017: Down the Dark Mountain
So what if we’re doomed?
Climate chaos, mass extinction, the collapse of civilization: A guide to facing the ecocide.
Posted inArticles
Grand Staircase-Escalante was set up to fail
How budget cuts, a divided staff and state politics hamstrung Utah’s biggest monument.
Posted inJune 26, 2017: Personal Pilgrimage
The making of a motorhead
Ex-skiers, ex-climbers, ex-hikers take on long-distance travel with motorbikes.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Big Dan, a couple of beers and thousands of honeybees
A tale of removing a bee infestation.
Posted inMay 29, 2017: The Cost of a Comeback
Anticipating the next ‘Big One’ in Anchorage
Can an imminent disaster draw tourists to Alaska’s largest city?
Posted inMay 15, 2017: Prison Town
Meet Ruth, who makes a home for the houseless
After her husband’s death, a woman collects a new family.
Posted inMay 1, 2017: Change Comes to Short Creek
How stargazing connects us
And how growing light pollution threatens that connection.
Posted inApril 3, 2017: Firestorm
A roadmap for nomadic love
One couple’s story of a long-distance relationship across the landscape.
Posted inMarch 20, 2017: The Tree Ring
‘Look for something white’
Discovering the North through its most iconic birds.
Posted inMarch 6, 2017: Uncomfortable Corners
Raptors in flight
Enduring relationships begin with encounters.
Posted inMarch 6, 2017: Uncomfortable Corners
The Yaak Valley’s ‘Dirty Shame’
In the infamous Montana saloon, a lesson about home in harsh places.
Posted inMarch 6, 2017: Uncomfortable Corners
Together we pause
Sometimes we need to stop — to think about the ways we wreak havoc in the world.
Posted inMarch 6, 2017: Uncomfortable Corners
An expedition through the Edgelands
This landscape isn’t always beautiful — but that’s what makes it loveable.