Some scientists are equating the recent phenomenon to a mega blaze, spurred by human mismanagement.
Scientific research
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
How a hidden cave can help scientists understand the climate
Sometimes learning about the past to figure out the future requires crawling beneath tons of rock.
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More shrubs means way more moose in western Alaska
Climate change is causing ecosystem shifts, and the cascading effects impact animals and hunters.
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Scientists unravel the origins of the Southwest’s monsoon
But just as their understanding of the phenomena becomes mores clear, it’s starting to disappear.
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As waters warm, Alaska experiences salmon booms and busts
Chaotic salmon returns leave some Alaskans with an abundance of salmon, and others with none.
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The most destructive forest pest in North America is now in Oregon
The invasive emerald ash borer threatens the state’s salmon habitat, urban forests and agency budgets.
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Alaska’s fire season is off to a blazing start
Drought, heat and thunderstorms have started fires across the state.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
Landslide risk is on the rise thanks to climate change, and states are looking to identify hazards
Washington — home to deadliest landslide in U.S. history — is working to prevent future loss of life by scanning the state for new threats.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
The beauty buried in the data
Art created using laser data reveals the history and geological wonder of Washington’s landscape and rivers.
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
A community poisoned by oil
People living in Wilmington, California, experience higher levels of illness and ailing mental health.
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New study finds DDT in California condors
Chemicals dumped in the 1970s are still seeping into the food chain. But the Yurok Tribe is confident their birds will be OK.
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Snail scars provide insight into crab population changes
Small chips in snail shells provide a 100,000-year record on California’s crustaceans.
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Yes, the drought really is that bad
The Western U.S. is experiencing its worst drought since 800 A.D.
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When the quietest of all Hawaiian honeycreepers went silent
Despite conservation efforts to save the po’ouli, the species was declared extinct in 2019.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
The lion king of Los Angeles
After Miguel Ordeñana discovered mountain lion P-22 in urban LA, he became a key advocate for habitat connectivity, which is essential for the species’ survival in Southern California.
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‘This is what reconciliation work can look like’
A researcher explains why she’s using settler-colonial methods to interrogate settler-colonialism in national parks.
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National parks center colonizer histories through place names
A recent study analyzes the impacts of appropriated and derogatory place names in the nation’s national parks.
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Air quality report card flunks the West
Western states dominate lists of where short-term particulate and ozone pollution are the worst.
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Redlined neighborhoods have double the oil and gas wells
A new study shows how fossil fuels and structural racism collide.