Fifty years after the passage of the Endangered Species Act, the Mexican wolf recovery plan walks a fine line between human meddling and trusting mother nature.
Ranching
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In the Northern Rockies, grizzly bears are on the move
As grizzlies recover, they’re no longer content to roam within the boundaries contrived for them.
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Hay – yes, hay – is sucking the Colorado River dry
Desert farming, wasteful irrigation and the profoundly thirsty crop is bringing the critical river to the brink.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen
The many legacies of Letitia Carson
An effort to memorialize the homestead of one of Oregon’s first Black farmers illuminates the land’s complicated history.
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A ‘seismic shift’ for public lands?
The new Public Lands Rule would put conservation on par with other uses.
Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation
Post-Trump, wildlife passages along the border wall keep narrowing
As construction continues, U.S. and Mexican conservationists work together to preserve remaining corridors.
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A new mental health hotline for farmers and ranchers
Wyoming is one of five states piloting a resource for agricultural producers.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
Your ears will perk up at these new Western podcasts
Four new podcasts envision change in juvenile justice, energy and ranching.
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Wyoming jury finds corner crossers not guilty
The hunters escaped criminal trespass charges, but still face a civil suit.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Cows, coal and climate change: A Q&A with the new BLM director
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses how the federal agency sees conservation, the climate crisis and the Indigenous history of public lands.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
There are millions of acres of ‘failing’ rangelands, data shows
54 million acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management aren’t meeting the agency’s own land-health standards.
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What is California’s ‘War on Breakfast’ really about?
Years after animal cruelty legislation passes, the pork industry tries one last time to stop it.
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What’s getting more expensive? Everything but grazing fees.
Fees to ranch on public lands will remain the same despite dizzying inflation felt by consumers.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Wolf hazing legalized in Colorado
Colorado wildlife officials are planning for reintroduction. A wolf pack is complicating their efforts.
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Conservation groups should be able to lease land to protect it
‘Use it or lose it’ rules can bias public-land management in favor of extraction.
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Corporations are consolidating water and land rights in the West
With farms, ranches and rural communities facing unprecedented threats, a worrying trend leads to a critical question: Who owns the water?
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Utah has a water dilemma
Record-breaking drought along the Wasatch Front forces tough decisions about water supply.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Wild horses, buffalo and the politics of belonging
On the Wind River Indian Reservation, two animals slip between the cracks of what is wild and what isn’t.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Betting the ranch
Cody Easterday wagered hundreds of millions of dollars on the price of beef. He lost.
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‘A ticking time bomb for a mass die-off’
Recent grazing decisions continue to risk Southwest Colorado’s bighorns.