The first year of the second Trump administration saw a bewildering array of federal actions in the 49th state. Here’s your guide to where things now stand.
Forests
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
Inside California’s wild Christmas tree harvest
Each winter, migrant crews climb into the Sierra to cut wild silvertip firs, a fragile tradition now imperiled by wildfire, climate change, and tightening immigration laws.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
‘It is quite difficult to maintain a Colorado Christmas tree farm’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Posted inArticles
The West’s vanishing porcupines
Scientists are racing to figure out why porcupines are disappearing from their former stomping grounds.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
In Mendocino, river restoration pays off for salmon
Coho love the newly ‘messy’ streams.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
Aspen ‘eyes’ keep us accountable to the natural world
In times of crisis, their gaze is a summon from nature to take action.
Posted inArticles
Fix Our Forests Act divides environmental community
But it’s a rare instance of bipartisan lawmaking and the biggest wildfire legislation in recent history.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
Watching the Oregon ash vanish
The emerald ash borer is killing the native tree. How do we make the most of the time while it’s still here?
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
He makes bows — and bow makers
Joshua Hood is decolonizing traditional bow-making and archery education from his Portland backyard.
Posted inArticles
Shutdown causes ‘confusion’ across the Forest Service
Prescribed burns are on hold during shutdown while logging continues.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
What do fens do? Make peat, store water and help combat climate change
Meet the researchers restoring these unique wetlands high in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.
Posted inArticles
The dismantling of the Forest Service
The Trump administration’s plans would remake the agency and public lands. The deadline to comment is Sept. 30.
Posted inArticles
Washington moves to conserve its state forests
The proposal would protect 77,000 acres of ‘structurally complex’ forests.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
What old growth forests have to do with your food
More than you might think.
Posted inArticles
How to comment on the planned roadless rule rollback
The deadline to weigh in on the change is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 19.
Posted inArticles
Firefighters question leaders’ role in ICE raid near Bear Gulch Fire
Firefighting veterans believe the management team overseeing fire crews played a key role in handing team members over to immigration authorities.
Posted inArticles
‘Help is not on the way’
As fire season ramps up, thousands of Forest Service firefighting positions are vacant.
Posted inArticles
In Washington, ‘collaboration’ gives way to timber interests
Forest collaboratives have become major power players operating largely out of the public eye.
Posted inArticles
The Trump administration’s repeal of the roadless rule could threaten wildlife
A 2001 policy restricts road construction on Forest Service land. What happens to at-risk species if it’s removed?
Posted inArticles
In Wyoming, forestry work is female
In the wake of DOGE cuts, an all-female ‘Forest Corps’ is filling federal agency gaps for Wyoming trail projects.