Tycoons, turrets and the hidden history of a tiny desert town.
Nevada
Posted inMarch 1, 2020: Predator (Mis)perceptions
The Elon Musk dilemma
When big thinkers think badly.
Posted inMarch 1, 2020: Predator (Mis)perceptions
The residual power of Ammon Bundy
What’s it like when the West’s most notorious anti-government figure comes to your town?
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 inNovember 11, 2019: Storied Landscapes
Friendship and disappearance in the desert
A debut novel highlights the strength of women, even as they face trouble.
Posted inArticles
In the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, investigators try to heal
At the coroner’s office, mental health issues arise in the wake of tragedy.
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
For sage grouse, science can be fatal
Is the value of data worth the death of individual animals?
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
Outdoor underachievers; mission massage; photo nots
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
The fallout of uncertainty in nuclear test communities
For downwinders of bomb testing, plans for compensation to redress past harms makes for tricky politics.
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River needs a long-term plan for drought
Western states bought some time with a historic agreement but still face a hotter, drier future.
Posted inArticles
Nevada teens find community as they navigate homelessness and adulthood together
Clark County has one of the largest unaccompanied homeless youth populations in the nation.
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
The West’s worst fires aren’t burning in forests
Range fires get bigger every year, threatening sagebrush habitat and rural towns.
Posted inArticles
Western states work to shore up abortion access
‘State laws might become the law of the land.’
Posted inMay 13, 2019: Atomic Tourists
A road trip through New Mexico’s atomic past
As nuclear tourism booms in the Land of Enchantment, histories of violence are packaged, sold and consumed.
Posted inArticles
See the captivating flux of Western alkaline waters
Salt lakes fade from chartreuse to rust into pale wastelands in photos taken by Aya Okawa.
Posted inArticles
The ecosexual movement is attracting new people to environmentalism
‘Pollen-amorous’ leaders host marriages to the Earth in Sin City.
Posted inApril 15, 2019: Scene of the Crime
How a tiny endangered species put a man in prison
The Devils Hole pupfish is nothing to mess with.
Posted inArticles
Russian investors are keen on Nevada’s copper
Demand for clean cars is causing an uptick in copper mining in the West, but at what cost?
Posted inArticles
Will Congress leave the Colorado River high and dry?
After months of negotiations, seven basin states wait for Congressional approval.
Posted inArticles
A silver lining to sage grouse rollbacks?
While there’s less protection overall, a few Western states restore regulations that match or surpass original plans.