Scientists are using crowdsourced data to help firefighters flee dangerous flames.
Scientific research
Posted inJune 10, 2019: 'None of this happened the way you think it did'
The hidden consequences of New Mexico’s latest oil boom
Carlsbad residents are experiencing health impacts, but the science behind their woes lags behind the pace of drilling.
Posted inMay 27, 2019: Public Pushback
Can small-scale farmers grow a healthier California?
Where industrial monocrops dominate, small farms form an agricultural resistance in the Central Valley.
Posted inMay 13, 2019: Atomic Tourists
Should we be thinking about last ascents, instead of first ones?
Mountaineers confront disappearing glaciers.
Posted inArticles
Western forests have a ‘fire debt’ problem
Planned burns can reduce wildfire risks, but expanding use of ‘good fire’ isn’t easy.
Posted inArticles
Growing urban coyote populations are feasting on pets
A study of coyote scat found the animals are attracted to fruit in gardens, where they are also finding cats and dogs.
Posted inArticles
The disease devastating deer herds may also threaten human health
Scientists are exploring the origins of chronic wasting disease before it becomes truly catastrophic.
Posted inArticles
The true vulnerability of coastal California, revealed
A new study suggests flooding could surpass some of the state’s worst natural disasters.
Posted inMarch 18, 2019: Arizona's Wild Horse Paradox
Commercial honeybees threaten to displace Utah’s native bees
Federal lands could offer hives a respite from pesticides.
Posted inArticles
The greenback cutthroat trout needs saving, again
After a case of mistaken identity, scientists double down on their efforts to save a fabled fish.
Posted inFebruary 18, 2019: Barriers to Entry
The West’s monarch migration is disappearing
Fall counts show a 99 percent decline in the butterfly population since the ‘80s.
Posted inArticles
See the West’s overlooked pollinators — like never before
As native bees sink in the shadow of honeybees, one artist creates a vivid showcase.
Posted inJanuary 21, 2019: What Killed Washington's Carbon Tax?
The plight of the ‘snow oxen’
A biologist draws on his fieldwork to consider the world of muskoxen during climate change.
Posted inFebruary 4, 2019: Nizhoni Girls
Elizabeth Warren’s claim to Cherokee ancestry is a form of violence
Be it by the barrel of a carbine or a mail-order DNA test, the American spirit demands the disappearance of Indigenous people.
Posted inArticles
Marine mammals and turtles rebound after endangered species protections
A new study shows broad recovery but doesn’t dive into the problems that remain.
Posted inJanuary 21, 2019: What Killed Washington's Carbon Tax?
Update: The decline of Western snowpack is real
Data confirms climate model predictions of less snow that melts earlier in the season.
Posted inFebruary 4, 2019: Nizhoni Girls
The shutdown has halted important scientific research
Disrupted funding for federal science hurts Western lands and economies.
Posted inJanuary 21, 2019: What Killed Washington's Carbon Tax?
The howl and death of Yellowstone wolf 926F
A researcher’s mission to document the wild records the song of a famous Yellowstone canine.
Posted inDecember 24, 2018: Good news, bad news
What you lose when you lose local news
People are less likely to vote, and politics become more polarized.
Posted inArticles
New rules limiting clean water protections ignore stream science
What happens to part of a river network affects all of it.