A series of lawsuits could help counteract decades of racist practices.
Social justice
Posted inArticles
Why the EPA fails to enforce the Civil Rights Act
Despite a new environmental justice action plan, the EPA has a poor record of protecting communities of color from toxic environments.
Posted inArticles
Big funds for Native American farmers and ranchers on the way
The largest ever philanthropic fund for Indian Country stems from a 1999 class-action lawsuit.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
“A history of subversion”: An excerpt from Terry Tempest Williams’ latest book
“César E. Chávez National Monument” from The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
Trial by fire
Women in the male-dominated world of wildland firefighting still face harassment, abuse and sexism.
Posted inArticles
Grand Canyon superintendent retires after harassment investigation
Park Service says change in leadership will move agency forward in addressing sexual harassment.
Posted inArticles
How to remember a century of National Parks, for people of color
When I was 7, or maybe 8, I read a book called The Hundred Penny Box. It told the story of an African-American woman who was 100 years old. She’d put a penny in that box for every year of her life, and whenever she pulled a penny out, she told her great-great-nephew a story. […]
Posted inMay 16, 2016: Grizzly Face-Off
What the U.S. can learn from European coal miners’ second act
Europe and the U.S. have taken different paths in response to climate concerns and coal declines.
Posted inMay 16, 2016: Grizzly Face-Off
West Coast cities sue Monsanto to pay for chemical cleanup
Cities take a new tack to fight pollutants: targeting companies who make them.
Posted inMay 30, 2016: Trial by Fire
It’s still dangerous to be gay in Wyoming
Anti-gay violence in Wyoming is real, and it deserves a real response.
Posted inArticles
Why doesn’t the West report its lead data?
Lead poisoning in children is underreported nationwide, and the West’s lack of data is particularly glaring.
Posted inArticles
The outdoors gender gap needs to be closed
Women’s tax dollars help fund public land – yet that public asset isn’t seen as safe for all people to enjoy.
Posted inArticles
Investigations show extensive harassment history in Park Service
The agency made a plan to protect female employees in 2000, but it appears no meaningful action was taken.
Posted inArticles
In Utah, the fight for a Bears Ears monument heats up
In a place where history, culture and geography intermingle, ‘local’ can be hard to define.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
Want to build the second century of American conservation? Look to César Chávez.
On the eve of the National Parks centennial, Chávez’s son praises a monument to his father.
Posted inMay 2, 2016: The Gold King Reckoning
National Park Service centennial shares limelight with scandals
Chief Jon Jarvis faces ethical challenges and questions about the agency’s approach to sexual harassment.
Posted inArticles
National Park Week fails to change the game
Last week’s celebration showed how close we are to natural beauty, yet so far from diversifying our national parks.
Posted inArticles
Remembering the Buffalo Soldiers
New highway designation will commemorate Yosemite’s first black rangers.
Posted inArticles
How bigotry is woven in with our Western roots
Rock Springs, Wyoming, has a largely unrecognized history of racial violence.
Posted inArticles
How the FLDS church consolidated power on the Utah-Arizona border
A recent lawsuit sheds new light on how the polygamist church and municipal leadership are deeply intertwined.