‘I’m always looking for ways to keep water here, and the beaver do it for free.’
Wildlife
Posted inAugust 31, 2018: The Big Threat to Bighorns
See the influences behind Colorado’s wildlife commission
A powerful governing board gives agricultural interests the loudest voice.
Posted inSeptember 17, 2018: The Pioneer of Ruin
We should all be more like ‘the bluebird man’
Meet Al Larsen, a citizen scientist with decades of meticulous records of the West’s bluebirds.
Posted inArticles
Orcas need more than sympathy and prayers
Will our citizens muster the political will needed to save killer whales and the chinook that sustain them?
Posted inAugust 20, 2018: Where the West is Moving - and Why
In southwestern Utah, unceasing growth means increased tension
Access to public lands has caused St. George to become one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country.
Posted inAugust 20, 2018: Where the West is Moving - and Why
Flying fish; grizzly bear hunts; cougar telepathy
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inAugust 20, 2018: Where the West is Moving - and Why
Immigrants aren’t the real threat to public lands
Population growth isn’t the problem. Look to the American lifestyle and economy instead.
Posted inAugust 20, 2018: Where the West is Moving - and Why
The long, strange trip of Deer 255
The 242-mile migration underscores the need to protect wide tracts of land that sustain migrating wildlife.
Posted inAugust 20, 2018: Where the West is Moving - and Why
Conservationists give assisted migration a second look
The West’s climate is changing too quickly for some species to keep up. Should people intervene?
Posted inArticles
Mixed-ancestry wolves are recolonizing the Pacific Northwest
Their combination of coastal and inland DNA could help them survive a changing climate.
Posted inArticles
Latest: The Forest Service’s use of fire retardant has doubled since 2014
Despite environmental harms, the agency continues to rely on aerial drops to battle blazes.
Posted inAugust 6, 2018: What Are We Doing Here?
Fleeing wolves; coal and water; California crash
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inAugust 6, 2018: What Are We Doing Here?
After the mountain yellow-legged frog disappeared
A wildlife biologist returns to a childhood stomping ground, devoid of its once-plentiful amphibians.
Posted inArticles
Imperiled wildlife are caught in a political tug-of-war
The proposed bills and rule changes that would reshape the Endangered Species Act.
Posted inArticles
A bird’s eye view of wildfire
Ecologically important blazes are a crucial part of Western landscapes.
Posted inArticles
Hunters and anglers need to get the lead out
Lead ammunition and fishing gear poison ecosystems — and dinner tables.
Posted inArticles
Most Americans support the Endangered Species Act
It’s politicians — not citizens — who want to gut protections for threatened species.
Posted inJuly 23, 2018: Pay for Prey
When cattle go missing in wolf territory, who should pay the price?
A program to reimburse Oregon ranchers for livestock killed by wolves is in trouble.
Posted inJuly 23, 2018: Pay for Prey
Latest: Park Service to remove problematic mountain goats
The rapidly multiplying population in Olympic National Park threatens visitors.
Posted inArticles
Keep your tunes to yourself on the trail
A writer decries wilderness-destroying graffiti, litter, drones and booming speakers.