Prosecutor says missteps were inadvertent.
Ranching
Posted inMarch 18, 2019: Arizona's Wild Horse Paradox
An outsider endures violence and redemption in the Wild West
A familiar trope of storytelling puts women and people of color on center stage.
Posted inMarch 18, 2019: Arizona's Wild Horse Paradox
Development plans test a decade-old conservation deal
Were concessions to protect undeveloped land in California worth it?
Posted inArticles
Farmers and ranchers lose vital support during shutdown
The funding stalemate has halted Department of Agriculture programs that the rural West relies on.
Posted inArticles
Wyoming’s data trespass laws remain defeated
The state did not appeal a ruling striking down portions of the laws over free speech.
Posted inArticles
How the Indigenous bison bar was appropriated
Epic Provisions took credit for Native-owned Tanka’s idea and built an empire on a foundation of misleading claims.
Posted inNovember 12, 2018: Old Wests, and new
When the health of your land is beyond your control
An excerpt from Rebecca Clarren’s new novel explores the effects of fossil fuel development on a Western ranch.
Posted inArticles
Factory farms can lead to industrial-sized problems
A ‘livestock-friendly’ industry has massive problems, from groundwater contamination to greenhouse gas emissions.
Posted inAugust 31, 2018: The Big Threat to Bighorns
See the influences behind Colorado’s wildlife commission
A powerful governing board gives agricultural interests the loudest voice.
Posted inAugust 31, 2018: The Big Threat to Bighorns
Agricultural interests steer Colorado’s wildlife management
Sheep grazing in the state’s largest wilderness area could endanger a dwindling bighorn sheep herd.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
The arresting quiet of a crane migration in Washington
Sandhill cranes, cattle and the surprising benefits of their coexistence in the West.
Posted inArticles
This farm bill deregulates the rich and polices the poor
A former farmer calls the legislation an attack on family farms and the environment.
Posted inJuly 23, 2018: Pay for Prey
When cattle go missing in wolf territory, who should pay the price?
A program to reimburse Oregon ranchers for livestock killed by wolves is in trouble.
Posted inArticles
Trump pardons Oregon ranchers, symbols of anti-federal movement
The move is the latest win for sagebrush rebels, anti-government extremists.
Posted inJune 25, 2018: Little Weed, Big Problem
‘Little House’ and the identity of the prairie struggle
The gritty reality behind Laura Ingalls Wilder’s writings.
Posted inJuly 23, 2018: Pay for Prey
After Malheur, side effects of the Bundys’ extremism linger
But in Harney County, Oregon, collaboration around public lands grows.
Posted inApril 30, 2018: Celebrity Scofflaw
How the feds helped make Cliven Bundy a celebrity
The creation of an anti-public-lands hero.
Posted inMay 28, 2018: The River of Lost Souls
At a range rights gathering, the press was in the crosshairs
In the era of social media, far-right activists aim to subvert mainstream journalists.
Posted inArticles
All (climate) politics is local
During a dry spring, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet visits rural Colorado to talk economics and agriculture.
Posted inArticles
Natural gas wells make poor neighbors
Without a rule to prevent waste, living close to industry is difficult and dangerous.