Sage grouse concerns have pitted fossil fuels against wind
Infographic
Posted inNovember 9, 2009: Roadless-less
Metalpalooza ’09
Just a year ago, copper, molybdenum and platinum prices plummeted, taking mining jobs and production levels across the West down with them. Now, metal prices are climbing back, which could breathe new life into shuttered mines and shelved expansion plans. Copper behemoth Freeport-McMoRan plans to resume operations at its dormant mine in Miami, Ariz. Idaho-based […]
Posted inOctober 12, 2009: Silenced Springs?
Empty nest
Making a case for the California condor’s return to the Northwest
Posted inOctober 26, 2009: The newest Westerners
The good seats don’t come cheap
More proof that if you’ve got power, you probably have money that helped you get it. Sixteen Westerners are among the 50 richest Congressfolk, according to Roll Call’s annual ranking. The math, however, amounts to lowball estimates: On financial disclosure forms, lawmakers report in ranges ($1 million to $5 million, for example), so the totals […]
Posted inSeptember 14, 2009: Home
Peril in the parks
Early August: A woman and her young son are stranded for five days in a remote corner of Death Valley National Park in 117 degree-average heat; the boy doesn’t survive. Late August: Two climbers fall in Grand Teton; one is airlifted from a ledge by helicopter. The National Park Service is involved in thousands of […]
Posted inAugust 31, 2009: The dark side of dairies
Dairy injuries and deaths 2003-2009
At least 18 people died working in Western dairies between 2003 and 2009; many more were injured. This list of deaths and injuries, compiled from state and federal safety agency reports, is certainly incomplete, thanks to loopholes and differences in state and federal reporting requirements as well as underreporting by workers. When possible, supplementary information […]
Posted inAugust 31, 2009: The dark side of dairies
Extinguished
Wildfires have intensified in the last 10 years, says Michelle Ryerson, chair of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s Safety and Health Working Team. More extreme fires require more complex methods of firefighting, leading not only to higher costs but a change over time in the risks that firefighters face. In 1987, Ryerson’s team began keeping […]
Posted inAugust 17, 2009: From Corn to Cabernet
Chilling forecast
We might have to say goodbye to California apples, walnuts, pistachios, cherries and other stone fruit over the next century, according to a recent report from scientists at the University of California-Davis. Between 1950 and 2000, the winter chill hours essential for fruit and nut tree growth — defined by temperatures between 32 and 45 […]
Posted inJuly 27, 2009: The Most Cooked-Up Catch
2,000 miles of controversy
A 15-foot-high, rust-colored steel wall snakes across the scrubby desert landscape, dividing the twin border cities of Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora. On the Arizona side, Border Patrol agents sit at the ready while reconnaissance airplanes drone overhead. On the Mexican side, border crossers driven by poverty lie in wait for nightfall. Then they will […]
Posted inJune 15, 2009: Let's Get Small
The Renewable Energy Landscape
A look at renewable energy in the West
Posted inNovember 10, 2008: Still Howling Wolf
The Doc is in
Rural folks find common ground at the vet’s office
Posted inPolitics map 2008
Battleground: an interactive map
No matter who wins in November, one thing is certain: the West has arrived.
Posted inAugust 4, 2008: Hostile Takeover
Know your owl
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “Hostile takeover.” There are minor differences, but the two species are similar. Both are large owls with dark eyes and round heads lacking ear tufts. The easiest way to tell them apart: The barred owl is larger and paler in color. This article appeared […]
Posted inJuly 21, 2008: A fractured party
Power of the picture
International photographers hit the Wyoming Range to document the effects of energy development — and find that beauty and ugliness walk hand in hand
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
Battleground!
No matter who wins in November, one thing is certain about this year’s election: the Interior West has finally arrived. For the last 40 years, campaigns generally flew right over the eight states in the interior. Their sparse populations, relative handful of electoral votes and status as Republican strongholds meant they just weren’t worth fighting […]
Posted inAugust 6, 2007: Guns R Us
Pony up
When it comes to fund raising, Mitt Romney is the West’s presidential candidate
Posted inFebruary 5, 2007: The Efficiency Paradox
The West’s public lands are open for business
The 2003 EPCA report considered five Western regions. The 2006 report looked at 11, including Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and southern Florida. The difference in scope skews comparison of the reports, especially considering that ANWR’s 19 million acres are (still) off-limits to drilling. But a look at the five Western regions included in both […]
Posted inSeptember 18, 2006: Going Big
A little wild
Percentage of land in each Western state that is federally owned, versus what is designated as wilderness. 47.2 | 6.2 Arizona 45.1 | 14 California 36.2 | 4.8 Colorado 61.6 | 7.5 Idaho 27.9 | 3.6 Montana 83 | 4 Nevada 33.8 | 2.3 New Mexico 52.4 | 3.7 Oregon 62.2 | 1.5 Utah 28.3 […]