Cogongrass is the latest of a fast-growing number of invasive plants threatening Idaho’s fire-prone rangelands.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Posted inArticles
Was Yellowstone’s deadliest wolf hunt in 100 years an inside job?
Veteran park service employees were involved in last year’s hunt, but one says he’s a victim of a federal ‘witch hunt.’
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Wildlife in the West: The good, the bad, the in-between
Conservation and wildlife corridors can help, but is it enough?
Posted inArticles
Yes, the drought really is that bad
The Western U.S. is experiencing its worst drought since 800 A.D.
Posted inArticles
Why rural communities struggle to bring in much-needed federal grants
A new analysis suggests that over half of communities in the West lack the capacity to take advantage of infrastructure bill funding. Now what?
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Cows, coal and climate change: A Q&A with the new BLM director
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses how the federal agency sees conservation, the climate crisis and the Indigenous history of public lands.
Posted inArticles
Corporations are consolidating water and land rights in the West
With farms, ranches and rural communities facing unprecedented threats, a worrying trend leads to a critical question: Who owns the water?
Posted inArticles
Where is central California’s water going?
Small farmers struggle as ag titans wheel water for profit.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Wild horses, buffalo and the politics of belonging
On the Wind River Indian Reservation, two animals slip between the cracks of what is wild and what isn’t.
Posted inArticles
After more than 50 years in captivity, will Tokitae ever get justice from Seaquarium?
A new USDA report finds further mistreatment of the exploited Washington orca.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
Hmong Americans in Northern California fight wildfire — and distrust
Wary of local authorities, a community forms an ad-hoc firefighting force to defend its property.
Posted inArticles
Klamath River issues explained
Confused about what’s happening on the Klamath? Dams, salmon, irrigation and more.
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The ‘ecological hate speech’ developed around wildfire
A new book examines the myths that help fuel forest management.
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Alaska bumblebees are thriving
Extreme environments offer them an unexpected paradise, and now researchers are working to get a head count.
Posted inArticles
A reality check on Biden’s ‘30 by 30’ conservation plan
The plan has lofty ambitions, but what’s happening on the ground tells a different story of how it might play out.
Posted inArticles
Will history repeat in a dry Klamath Basin this summer?
This year’s drought is worse than in 2001, when political and environmental tensions exploded into the national spotlight.
Posted inArticles
On the Klamath River, agricultural interests are pitted against the needs of tribes and endangered species
Due to severe drought, irrigation allotments were decreased to lowest amounts in history.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Despite discrimination and drought, Punjabi Americans farm on
As America’s food basket dries out, Punjabi American growers fear the loss of their hard-earned farmlands.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Why Utah’s wild mink COVID-19 case matters
‘Vet-virologist’ Anna Fagre discusses the first positive case detected in the wild — and how ‘spillover’ could impact the West.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line
Meet the gun-toting ‘Tenacious Unicorns’ in rural Colorado
How a transgender-owned alpaca ranch in Colorado foretells the future of the rural queer West.