The Border Lands Conservation Act gives the Department of Homeland Security the power to waive myriad federal laws, including the Wilderness Act, under the pretense of border security.
Wilderness
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What we stand to lose if national monuments fall
Can one of the nation’s best conservation tools survive?
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Trump asks Congress to cut at the heart of the West
The White House wants to alter life for U.S. hunters, anglers, RVers, off-road-vehicle drivers, backpackers, birdwatchers and hikers.
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The horses and mules that moved mountains and hearts
Forest Service stock animals are indispensable to trail work on public lands in the West. Trump’s radical upheaval is accelerating the death of a dying art.
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How DOGE threatens the Forest Service and public lands
Workers describe projects on wildfire prevention, environmental restoration and trail repair halted by Trump administration terminations.
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How a dwindling helium supply is impacting public land management
A new BLM plan for western Colorado makes a priority of helium production, worrying environmentalists.
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Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking
Climate, public lands and tribal law regulations are now likely to face legal challenges.
Posted inJune 2024: The Idea of Wilderness
As the Gila Wilderness turns 100, the Wilderness Act is still a living law
Wilderness areas are changing in profound ways — and so are our ideas about them.
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What’s next for the Owyhee Canyonlands?
Supporters call it ’the largest conservation opportunity in the West.’
Posted inSeptember 1, 2023: Food Justice
Wildlife and the inescapable impact of road noise
The ‘blab of the pave’ disrupts animals’ lives everywhere, even in national parks.
Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation
Do bedrock conservation laws need a makeover?
Experts suggest needed upgrades in the face of modern crises.
Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge
A family works together to fill the freezer for another year
In Alaska, a fall moose hunt is a collective effort.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
The EPA has more options to rein in climate change than you think
There are still many ways to shut down major polluters — including some options the agency isn’t using.
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Oregonians of color are building relationships in the outdoors
‘We’re actually here for each other.’
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The funky politics of wildfire right now
After New Mexico’s record-breaking fires, the politics of wildfire are morphing into weird configurations.
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Wildfire and detours on the Pacific Crest Trail
A hiker is caught in smoke and decision-making when the Carr Fire broke out in 2018.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Seeing Mars on Earth
Kim Stanley Robinson on how the High Sierra has influenced his science fiction.
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Utah wants to build an oil railway through a wilderness area
Questions surround the fiscal viability of the project and how this aligns with Biden’s climate agenda.
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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The forgotten history of wilderness, and a possible future
Mexican American lands were taken upon annexation into the U.S., part of a history that is too often ignored.