The West’s snow drought meant record dryness — but also record flooding
From the Cascades to the San Juans, the nearly snowless winter wasn’t the same everywhere.
Opting out could be the thing that sets you free
How a bison inspired me to set boundaries and just say no.
Tribal leaders reflect on a year of uncertainty — and possibility
Federal turnover and policy shifts have forced Indigenous communities to adapt.
Trotting tortoises, juggling unicyclists, ancient clothing and beer poop beer
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
A new era of industrial logging looms
Mapping the possible impacts of the Roadless Rule overhaul
The Trump administration sent Greater Yellowstone into chaos. What’s next?
The region survived a year of deep cuts and layoffs. Here’s who is picking up the pieces.
The public got one week to comment on Chaco Canyon drilling. It’s almost over
Indigenous leaders, New Mexico political leaders accuse feds of rushing a decision about the sacred site.
Border wall blasting hits a treasured New Mexico mountain
A planned 1.3-mile wall across Mount Cristo Rey has drawn opposition from environmentalists and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces.
What a bombing in Nevada reveals about the nation’s appetite for violence
The rise of domestic terrorism in the West.
The government-funded coverup under our noses
History will judge the Trump administration harshly for elevating oil and gas at the expense of everything else.
How HCN is helping fill a growing need for local news
The Western Environmental Reporting Collaborative ramps up in July.
Forest Service overhaul sows confusion, concern
In the Trump administration’s reorganization of the struggling agency, painful echoes of BLM’s past moves.
A DNA archive critical to identifying missing migrants has itself gone missing
The database is no longer accessible after the organization that started it shut down.
New nuclear safety rules reduce protections for workers, the public
‘They’re pulling away from what’s kept us safe all these years.’
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In This Issue
April 2026: Inside the Attack on Public Lands
In this issue we take a hard look at the on-the-ground impacts of the Trump administration’s slash-and-burn staffing and budget cuts, particularly as they affect the beloved, irreplaceable Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We also ask what “domestic terrorism” really means and why so many notorious bombers…
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Water
Public lands need less extraction and more rewilding
The BLM wants to ramp up logging. Oregonians aren’t so sure.
What can we learn from salt lakes?
Wildlife
Utah’s new study aims to kill ‘as many cougars as possible’
Wildlife loves Wyoming’s ‘Golden Triangle.’ So do oil companies
How federal cuts are reshaping Alaska’s communities, research and species management
Public Lands
How I found trans joy in backcountry splitboarding
War exposes the energy dominance lie
In major reversal, Interior allows top official with close industry ties to work on grazing policy
Indigenous Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs could face reorganization, deeper staff cuts
Congress contemplates sweeping investigation of Native boarding schools
Heavily contested pumped hydro-storage project gets federal go-ahead
Communities
Black riders have always held the reins
How Montana tribes are using sovereignty to restore their waterways
A champion Iditarod musher proved that caring and trust win races
Books
Badger signs: An essay from Terry Tempest Williams’ new book ‘The Glorians’
Three books explore deep time and help us look forward
We need to talk about the pretendians in our midst
In the News
Why Colorado River negotiations are so difficult
Basin states have had 2 years to figure out how to share the shrinking river. Will they get there before the feds step in?