Former National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis says the Trump administration is violating the park’s stewardship mandate.
Politics
Posted inJanuary 21, 2019: What Killed Washington's Carbon Tax?
Cutting carbon requires both innovation and regulation
Where coal-state Sen. John Barrasso got it wrong in a recent New York Times op-ed.
Posted inArticles
The stories that defined the West in 2018
The year in essays, analysis and investigations from across the Western U.S.
Posted inArticles
Update: New law makes it easier to kill salmon-eating sea lions
In the Columbia River, up to 920 sea lions can be removed each year to protect fish.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
Under Trumpism, truth is under relentless attack
Two books warn against the rise of alternative realities.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
What you lose when you lose local news
People are less likely to vote, and politics become more polarized.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
Podcasts that fill the gap
A roundup of our favorite podcasts on stories and analysis of the West.
Posted inArticles
How best to share the disappearing Colorado River
Seven Western states must rewrite the rules of the river and cut water use — before they bleed the critical artery dry.
Posted inArticles
Fact check: the Goldwater Institute’s statements about the Indian Child Welfare Act
The Institute’s claim that ICWA harms Indian children relies on dubious assertions and dog whistles.
Posted inArticles
New rules limiting clean water protections ignore stream science
What happens to part of a river network affects all of it.
Posted inArticles
Former Bureau of Indian Affairs director engaged in abusive behavior, no action taken
Bryan Rice’s behavior at the BIA highlights a culture of harassment and inaction.
Posted inArticles
Ryan Zinke to step down as Interior secretary
Zinke shrunk national monuments, rolled back sage grouse protections and ramped up drilling.
Posted inArticles
Senate hears stories of Indian Country’s missing and murdered
Data gaps, understaffing and lax investigations have deepened the crisis.
Posted inMarch 18, 2019: Arizona's Wild Horse Paradox
Arizona’s wild horse paradox
Activists and agencies try to balance the West’s horse mythology against herd impacts.
Posted inArticles
What the 2018 farm bill means for the West
Lawmakers see hemp legalization and conservation funding as the big wins.
Posted inArticles
New Trump administration proposal weakens water protections
Dramatic changes to the Clean Water Rule will likely affect drinking water for more than one-third of Americans.
Posted inArticles
What the Violence Against Women Act could do in Indian Country — and one major flaw
Women from 228 tribes in Alaska and four in Maine still aren’t protected by the act.
Posted inArticles
Trump’s policies aren’t actually fueling a fracking boom
Current drilling remains a shadow of the frenzy that occurred under Obama.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
Rep. Raúl Grijalva intends to force a reckoning with climate change
A Democratic spitfire takes the helm of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Posted inNovember 26, 2018: Follow the fish
Reproachful roommate; a deceased politician is victorious; helpful hiker
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.