Without the private sector, neither the mine nor its toxic legacy would exist.
Rivers & Lakes
Posted inFebruary 6, 2017: River of Healing
Latest: Future mining blocked around the Kalmiopsis
The moratorium will extend for 20 years.
Posted inArticles
Peace River flood survivors live with a dam’s disruptive legacy
Tensions remain between residents and the hydropower company responsible for the event.
Posted inDecember 26, 2016: Obama and the West
Latest: Invasive zebra mussels have reached Montana
Their arrival could have drastic economic effects.
Posted inArticles
Feds to send conciliators amid tensions over Dakota Access
In Bismarck, officials describe a chaotic mix of law enforcement and protesters.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
See photos of a journey down the Old Rio Grande
Through the lens of the people who lived near and were shaped by the river.
Posted inNovember 14, 2016: The Long View
15 books every well-versed Westerner should read
A reading list for understanding the region.
Posted inNovember 14, 2016: The Long View
Terry Tempest Williams and the refuge of change
One of the West’s most beloved authors revisits Great Salt Lake.
Posted inArticles
Will a dam save the pallid sturgeon, or doom it?
On the Yellowstone River, farmers and conservationists clash over controversial infrastructure.
Posted inOctober 31, 2016: A Monumental Divide
The fading grandeur of the Glen Canyon Dam
Silt and erosion threaten to clog up the enduring structure.
Posted inOctober 31, 2016: A Monumental Divide
War and peace on the Colorado River
A new book makes a case for optimism in the basin, but the threat of water battles will always be around.
Posted inArticles
After thousands of fish die in the Yellowstone River, officials lift boating bans
Stretches of the river remain closed as officials scramble to save the iconic fishery.
Posted inArticles
Photos of the North Dakota pipeline protest
Background on the Standing Rock Sioux pipeline protests and how social media and climate activism raised their profile.
Posted inAugust 22, 2016: 100
A visit to the Grand Canyon, without handrails
A wild river is “a necessity of the human spirit.”
Posted inAugust 22, 2016: 100
Latest: Officials open a criminal investigation of EPA’s role in the Animas river spill
Agency contractors were excavating debris at the old mining site when the river flooded with wastewater.
Posted inArticles
How to share a dammed river
Boaters are joining wildlife advocates, farmers and power companies to parcel out each cubic foot of Western rivers.
Posted inAugust 8, 2016: Line of Descent
Will a Colorado compromise end a water tug-of-war?
A controversial deal for diverting water across the Rockies faces scrutiny.
Posted inAugust 8, 2016: Line of Descent
Latest: California moves ahead on Bay Delta tunnels plan
Governor Jerry Brown wants to secure water for the drought, but will it leave enough for wildlife?
Posted inJuly 25, 2016: Salmon Power
Salmon power
A historic legal victory could give Alaska tribes more control over their fish, wildlife and homelands.