Climate change will hurt the economy if not addressed, but evidence on how environmental regulations affect unemployment is mixed.
Scientific research
Posted inArticles
Congress sends bill bolstering earthquake program to Trump
A quake near Anchorage highlights the importance of preparation and monitoring.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
Latest: BLM abandons plan to surgically sterilize wild horses
The agency will focus on increasing adoption of horses and research other methods.
Posted inArticles
Offshore oil drilling could hamper Arctic aurora research
The risk of rocket parts falling on rigs and workers may limit launches.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
Latest: Top National Park Service climate official resigns
Marcy Rockman cites pressure from agency.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire recovery is possible — for some Westerners
Resilience depends on economics and history as much as fuel.
Posted inArticles
California wildfires weren’t always this destructive
Indigenous residents say traditional practices and careful burns could temper blazes.
Posted inArticles
Can big data help save endangered species?
A new tool could improve rare species recovery — or justify letting some species perish.
Posted inNovember 12, 2018: Old Wests, and new
What’s special about a good-for-nothing sunflower?
In an age of extinction, a sunny, endangered flower serves as a beacon of arid lands.
Posted inArticles
What does wilderness sound like?
A photographer and audio researchers document the soundscapes of remote national parks in Alaska.
Posted inNovember 26, 2018: Follow the fish
Tossing salmon for science
A decades-long experiment demonstrates how the iconic fish help trees grow.
Posted inArticles
How politics could impact future counts of Yellowstone grizzlies
A ruling restoring federal protections cited a concession to states on census estimates.
Posted inOctober 29, 2018: When your neighborhood goes BOOM
Volunteer scientists study flowers to battle climate dread
The data they’re collecting is helping researchers evaluate how ecosystems change.
Posted inOctober 15, 2018: Nature Retreat
Latest: Wildfire smoke deaths could double by century’s end
New research shows fire-polluted air could kill up to 44,000 people per year by 2100.
Posted inArticles
Judge to U.S. Fish and Wildlife: Don’t ‘cherry pick’ science
Now the agency must reconsider protections for the rare Pacific fisher.
Posted inArticles
National Parks are warming twice as fast as the U.S. overall
Climate change poses the greatest threat to some of the country’s most prized areas.
Posted inNovember 26, 2018: Follow the fish
Tiny bits of plastic permeate our world
From alpine headwaters to city water supplies, the West is awash in microscopic pollutants.
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 inSeptember 17, 2018: The Pioneer of Ruin
We should all be more like ‘the bluebird man’
Meet Al Larsen, a citizen scientist with decades of meticulous records of the West’s bluebirds.
Posted inAugust 20, 2018: Where the West is Moving - and Why
Conservationists give assisted migration a second look
The West’s climate is changing too quickly for some species to keep up. Should people intervene?