Due to severe drought, irrigation allotments were decreased to lowest amounts in history.
Fish
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Invasive mussels in aquarium supplies alarm wildlife managers
Potentially devastating zebra mussels found in Northwest pet stores.
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Alaskans pursue permanent protections for Bristol Bay
‘It’s time to put Pebble to rest.’
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Idaho Congressman proposes bold dam removal project on Snake River
The $33.5 billion plan seeks to restore salmon while funding new energy projects and compensating farmers.
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Indigenous fishers on the Columbia River confront new challenges
Beyond depleted salmon runs, the pandemic has created occupational hazards and a depressed salmon market.
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Diverted, drained and dwindling: What’s the fate of New Mexico’s Rio Grande?
Century-old water rights and climate change means the river may never flow through many communities year-round again.
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Pebble Mine permit denied by Trump administration
The Army Corps of Engineers “concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest.”
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
A little fish that’s mighty as a mountain
Pupfish Peak in Nevada’s Amargosa Valley is named for the endangered Devils Hole pupfish.
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Alaska’s salmon are getting smaller
New research finds some species diminished by as much as 10% and that the climate crisis may be a driving factor.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
Gone bitten; Target moms; celery phones
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'
The only catfish native to the Western U.S. is running out of water
The Yaqui catfish was going extinct. Then came the border wall.
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Video: Idaho’s public lands transcend partisan divides
Despite political affiliation, Idaho hunters and anglers agree public lands need protection.
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Questions surround Pebble Mine’s environmental review
As a decision on the open-pit mine nears, documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act unveil agency critiques.
Posted inJune 1, 2020: Dissent at a Distance
Climate change has setnetters worried about Alaska’s sockeye
Last year, the state’s Ugashik River was so warm salmon wouldn’t swim up it to spawn.
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Hunting and fishing provide food security in the time of COVID-19
But virus fears and travel restrictions could impact big game season in the fall.
Posted inMarch 1, 2020: Predator (Mis)perceptions
The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe reintroduces bighorn sheep on tribal lands
For the first time in roughly 100 years, the species returns to historic habitat.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2020: How One Woman Took a Stand Against Tribal Disenrollment and Paid For It
We went to jail for our great-granddaughters
Protesting the Jordan Cove natural gas facility and its pipeline brings an environmental writer and a rancher together.
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
Montana’s water rights fractured by new development
As subdivisions spread, it’s becoming harder to manage one of the state’s most valuable resources.
Posted inNovember 11, 2019: Storied Landscapes
From Russia with love — and salmon
A new book explores the borderlands of ‘Salmon Nation,’ from the American West to Russia’s Far East.
Posted inOctober 28, 2019: Where Hunting Still Has Meaning
Environmental study of Shasta Dam height halted
Stakeholders disagree over whether raising the dam would offer benefits or detriments.