President Biden’s leasing pause signals a major shift in federal land policy.
Public lands
Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line
Reclaiming the National Bison Range
After decades of battling misinformation, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes recover their lands and the herd.
Posted inArticles
Oil lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge draws few bidders
The Trump administration succeeded in opening the refuge for drilling. The highest bidder? The state of Alaska itself.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line
The Washington, D.C., siege has Western roots and consequences
History and the growing power of right-wing extremism point to a volatile future for the West during the Biden presidency.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
When COVID hit, a Colorado county kicked out second-home owners. They hit back.
How a group of nonresident homeowners tried to influence a rural Colorado election.
Posted inArticles
Lawsuit over proposed fossil fuel railway in Utah moves forward
The plaintiff says funding earmarked for the project was meant for communities ‘to alleviate the boom and bust cycle of energy production.’
Posted inArticles
Interior denies all of New Mexico’s proposed LWCF projects
The rejection is considered political retribution for criticism of the Trump administration.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
Invocation perseverance; prolific Griz 399; errant GPS
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
The dust-up over California’s off-road beach
COVID highlights conflicts over air pollution, crime and accidents on California’s Central Coast.
Posted inArticles
Biden needs to go beyond a Trump reset
The president-elect has an opportunity to rebuild better than before.
Posted inArticles
Where the Great American Outdoors Act stands now
After passing with bipartisan support in August, the conservation law hits stumbling blocks. Here’s what may happen next.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
How fossil-fueled politics undermined a backcountry compromise
William Perry Pendley’s illegal stint as agency head undoes a first-of-its-kind land designation in Montana.
Posted inArticles
Montana’s new governor scares conservationists
Republican Greg Gianforte has a history of support for rolling back protections for public lands and waters.
Posted inNovember 1, 2020: When the Smoke Clears
Infographic: A patchwork of lands fragments wildlife migration
New legislation helps connect private and public parcels for wildlife flow.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
How conservation groups confront distrust from communities of color
In order to attract a broader constituency, organizations must first address a history of missteps and exclusion.
Posted inArticles
Bullock, Daines and Montana’s growing pains
In a critical Senate race, the two Steves lay claim to the “Montana way of life.”
Posted inNovember 1, 2020: When the Smoke Clears
Hunting for myself in the high Montana sagebrush
A hunter celebrates a new vision of queerness and rural culture.
Posted inArticles
We need to ‘see’ buffalo before we can restore them
Buffalo were originally decimated to starve Indigenous peoples; now, their absence is starving out the land.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
Energy dominance or climate action: Trump, Biden and the fate of public lands
In Grand Junction, Colorado, the presidential election is a choice between two distinct energy futures.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
Killing the Vegas Pipeline
Nevada’s attitude toward water is changing.