After one record-setting wildfire, a Washington county prepares for more.
U.S. Forest Service
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Is aerial firefighting worth it?
Aerial firefighting is dangerous, expensive and environmentally damaging. So why do we do it?
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
When the wildfire season never ends
As fire season gets longer, fire managers scramble to keep up.
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Wilderness vs. mining, Roundup research and Western prisons
Hcn.org news in brief.
Posted inJuly 20, 2015: Shredded
Illegal bike trails and a Forest Service crackdown divide a town
A biking boom in Sedona, Arizona, forces locals to ask: Is there room for all these people?
Posted inArticles
The counties that actively oppose a federal lands transfer
Commissioners fear states could reduce county power and remove public access.
Posted inArticles
New data released on violent threats to federal employees
Documents show 15 incidents in 2014, but don’t account for the Cliven Bundy standoff.
Posted inJune 22, 2015: Dust to Dust
Latest: A controversial ski resort proposal gets approval
A Colorado land swap with the Forest Service gives developers a green light.
Posted inArticles
Courts force feds to consider climate impacts of mining coal
A Colorado mine sees the latest in a string of rulings that may threaten the industry.
Posted inArticles
More Alaskan forests are burning, not just due to climate change
Populated areas are seeing a large increase in wildfire, despite suppression efforts.
Posted inArticles
Congress considers treating wildfire like other natural disasters
The proposal to use emergency funding faces a key obstacle: Sen. Murkowski.
Posted inArticles
Hundreds of lapsed permits found on Forest Service land
Expired water permit for Nestlé draws attention to flawed federal supervision.
Posted inArticles
For rural Oregonians, protections from herbicides come up short
Aerial spray regs remain the West Coast’s weakest after the death of a key law.
Posted inApril 27, 2015: Lost frontier
Wyoming coal, Cliven Bundy and megadrought
HCN.org news in brief.
Posted inApril 27, 2015: Lost frontier
The Latest: Feds consider uplisting northern spotted owl to endangered
Only about 4,000 owls remain, despite logging cutbacks.
Posted inApril 10, 2015: Strangers in a Strange Land
A wanderer’s guide to Western public lands
Cow patties, extraterrestrials and binoculars can help you figure out where you are.
Posted inArticles
Rural counties to lose the most from defunded lands programs
What happens to local budgets when Congress stops these federal payments.
Posted inArticles
Forest Service sticks up for coal mining on roadless lands
The agency will calculate climate impacts of mine expansions in western Colorado.
Posted inArticles
Will the Northwest Forest Plan come undone?
The Forest Service and BLM embark on revising the iconic plan and may allow more logging.
Posted inArticles
Federal public land transfers get a Congressional boost
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and a majority of her colleagues signal support for the pro-transfer movement.