We think we’ve saved the Grand Canyon. We established a national park that is supposed to remain “forever unimpaired,” as the Park Service’s enabling legislation put it. But the Grand Canyon is so deeply enmeshed in a spider web of connections to its watershed that a lot of work needs to be done to keep […]
Politics
Posted inArticles
Arizona Rep. Grijalva targets extremism on public lands
Dozens of high-profile former federal employees sign a letter urging Congress to address Sagebrush Insurgency threats.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
How a Utah county silenced Native American voters — and how Navajos are fighting back
A series of lawsuits could help counteract decades of racist practices.
Posted inArticles
Are Hillary Clinton’s clean energy goals achievable?
Before clinching the nomination, she outlined her ambitions for public lands and renewables.
Posted inArticles
Chemical safety law that gives EPA more power passes Congress
The bipartisan measure represents the most sweeping environmental law to pass in decades.
Posted inArticles
Trump’s contradictory promise: Bring back coal and boost natural gas
Experts say low natural gas prices are the biggest cause of coal’s downturn.
Posted inArticles
Are we smarter than the hummingbirds?
We produce abundance. Are we smart enough to share and sustain it?
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
How the BLM is overhauling land-use planning
The agency is aiming to increase public involvement and collaboration.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
On the road with a transient immigrant rights lawyer
Lawyer Melanie Gleason is traveling the West, offering legal advice pro bono.
Posted inArticles
How the buffalo survived to become our new national mammal
He was one of Nature’s biggest gifts, and the country owes him thanks. Charles M. Russell, 1925 The bald eagle has been the national symbol since 1782, but the Western artist Charlie Russell was right: The buffalo was far more important to the story of the American West. The story of the buffalo, once roaming in […]
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
It’s time for our legislators to stop ignoring science
How public policy-making ought to work: Get the facts, make the policy.
Posted inArticles
Note to politicians: Don’t mess with fishing access in Montana
A candidate for governor is drawing heat over revelations that he sued to close river access on the Gallatin River.
Posted inMay 16, 2016: Grizzly Face-Off
As delisting looms, grizzly advocates prepare for a final face-off
The Yellowstone grizzly population is poised to lose its endangered status, leaving protection in the hands of the states.
Posted inArticles
In Utah, the fight for a Bears Ears monument heats up
In a place where history, culture and geography intermingle, ‘local’ can be hard to define.
Posted inArticles
As Lake Mead sinks, states agree to more drastic water cuts
California, Arizona and Nevada are back in negotiations about the dwindling Colorado River water supply.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
Will the ouster of California green leaders imperil clean air?
High-profile turnover at state agencies reflect a culture split between grassroots demands and developer interests.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
National Park Service centennial shares limelight with scandals
Chief Jon Jarvis faces ethical challenges and questions about the agency’s approach to sexual harassment.
Posted inArticles
Why Rep. Rob Bishop’s promises of wilderness ring false
Famed forester Bob Marshall foreshadowed the loss of untouched lands in Utah.
Posted inArticles
Solar gardens grow slowly out West
Legislative barriers to more widespread community solar remain, although some states are taking action.