It is no secret that some state legislators in the West want to boot federal land management agencies from their states. They argue that agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service cost too much and are too detached from local values, and that states could make money by running our vast open […]
New Mexico
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Dry January means more drought across West
After a rainy December, many states now have lower-than-normal snowpacks.
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New snarl for proposed transmission line in the Southwest
In less than a week, SunZia had solved one problem just in time to encounter another.
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Wildlife-shooting contests are unjustified
On the first day of 2015, a photo appeared on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal, showing a solemn-looking man standing in the desert near Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was looking at dozens of dead coyotes spread out on the ground around him. The man in the photo was me, and the 39 […]
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When the atmosphere ‘goes bananas,’ wildfires do too
2011’s huge wildfires and what they portend. Spoiler: More dead trees.
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Will endangered species status help the Mexican gray wolf?
Rare subspecies barely hangs on in the Southwest.
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Is altitude causing suicide in the West?
Researchers find that high elevations may affect our emotions in both good and bad ways
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The state of the ‘radical center’
Courtney White talks about innovative ranching and his new book.
Posted inDecember 22, 2014: The Dust Detectives
A question of fluency on the Navajo Nation
A cultural debate leaves the presidency in limbo.
Posted inDecember 22, 2014: The Dust Detectives
Photographs of New Mexicans spanning 20 years
Review of “Taos Portraits: Photos by Paul O’Connor.”
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The oil boom hasn’t busted, but it’s straining at the seams
Oil patch communities and states are starting to feel the impacts of sliding prices.
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Killings by cops are much more common in Western states
Arrest-related death rates are highest in New Mexico, with Nevada and Oregon close behind.
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The linchpin to a national supergrid
Clovis, New Mexico, may link three grids and become a renewable energy hub.
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New Mexico commission votes to divert Gila River
Decision greenlights contentious multi-million dollar diversion project.
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Commission to decide on Gila River’s fate
Approval for a diversion expected Monday despite broad criticism.
Posted inNovember 10, 2014: Fallout
The desert-friendly cow
A rancher and a researcher search for a better bovine — and think they’ve found one.
Posted inOctober 27, 2014: Defuse the West
An expedition along the imperiled Rio Grande
The river’s future may include longer droughts, larger floods and shrinking snowpack.
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NASA finds methane hot spot over Four Corners
The culprit is the extensive fossil fuel industry infrastructure, not just fracking or coal mines.
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Navajo ranching in the Chuska Mountains
Keeping a tradition alive in western New Mexico.
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Navajo language threatens candidate’s presidential bid
Chris Deschene faces disqualification over lack of fluency.