News
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Retirees join environmentalists in fighting Arizona copper mine
The conservative, golf-playing retirees of Queen Valley, Ariz., are determined to stop a giant copper mine.
by Kari Lydersen, May 18, 2012 -
Western legislatures grab for control of public lands
Some Western states are rekindling the Sagebrush Rebellion and demanding ownership of federal lands -- but it's not just about local control.
by Jodi Peterson, May 15, 2012 -
Bark beetle kill leads to more severe fires, right? Well, maybe
The connection between bark beetle outbreaks and Western forest fires is more complicated than it might appear.
by Gail Wells, May 13, 2012 -
Balancing fish and farms on a Washington estuary
A restoration effort at Fisher Slough in Washington's Skagit River Delta has encouraged cooperation between farmers and environmentalists - and might even help endangered chinook salmon.
by Eric Wagner, May 08, 2012 -
A literary organization tackles California gang violence
The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Calif., is honoring the Nobel Prize-winning author by helping at-risk youth in the community he wrote about.
by Taylor Wiles, May 01, 2012 -
Arizona's clean-election law is pruned, but not uprooted
Clean-elections laws have a way of withering away, especially since the Supreme Court's controversial Citizens United ruling, but Arizona is still struggling to keep political campaigns fair.
by Danielle Venton, Apr 29, 2012 -
Low snowpack means a dry summer for the West
A map shows Western snowpacks as of April 1, 2012, and notes record-breaking heat and dry weather in the Southwest.
by Neil LaRubbio, Apr 29, 2012 -
When Peter Gleick fell, California's water world lost big
After he impersonated a Heartland Institute board member, gadfly scientist and Pacific Institute head Peter Gleick has been persona non grata. But California water bosses may miss his fierce intellect.
by Matt Jenkins, Apr 24, 2012 -
Librotraficantes smuggle controversial books to Arizona
After Tucson, Ariz., scrapped its acclaimed but controversial Mexican American Studies program, novelist Tony Diaz decided to fight back.
by Neil LaRubbio, Apr 20, 2012 -
Braving landfills, dodging avalanches, all for the sake of geoscience
The intrepid scientific grunts behind the Plate Boundary Observatory roam the West keeping tabs on weird-looking far-flung GPS stations.
by Marian Lyman Kirst, Apr 17, 2012 -
Redefining "renewable" to get a clean energy bill through Congress
As his retirement looms, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., pushes a "clean energy" bill, one that broadens the energy mix beyond traditional "renewable" sources.
by Judith Lewis Mernit, Apr 15, 2012 -
Big game tag auctions raise big bucks for Western states
Hunting tag auctions may get too pricey for a lot of Western hunters, but they also raise significant money for conservation projects.
by Marian Lyman Kirst, Apr 15, 2012 -
The itch that riles Frontera author Denise Chavez
The author and Border Book Festival maven recounts her childhood, her upcoming book, a "mystery love story" and what it's like to run an independent bookstore in the navel of the world.
by Neil LaRubbio, Apr 10, 2012 -
Following the Old Spanish Trail across the Southwest
Archaeologist Jack Pfertsh looks for marks on the landscape and artifact fragments to retrace the historic route near Delta, Colo.
by Jeremy Miller, Apr 05, 2012 -
Margaret Hiza Redsteer uses Navajo memories to track climate change
A scientist taps the recollections of tribal elders as part of her work to piece together the story of landscape change on the Navajo Nation.
by Danielle Venton, Apr 03, 2012 -
Loggers give unique Oregon ponderosa pine a lifeline
In the Willamette Valley, a rare tree makes a comeback. But is it really a victory for restoration?
by Catherine Ryan, Mar 27, 2012 -
Street artist Jetsonorama tries a new kind of healing in Navajoland
A black physician wheatpastes gigantic photographs outdoors to celebrate the tribe and human experience.
by Sarah Gilman, Mar 23, 2012 -
A scrappy community ski hill hangs on in Colorado
In Lake City, Colo., the state's oldest ski lift is still hauling skiers up modest slopes at even more modest prices.
by Nathan Rice, Mar 20, 2012 -
Scars of an unfinished ski area
The proposed Bitterroot ski resort in Montana remains unfinished, entangled in financial and environmental problems.
by Neil LaRubbio, Mar 18, 2012 -
Sodbusting farmers plow up the Northern Plains prairie
The biofuels "corn bubble" and other financial incentives encourage farmers to plow up native grassland in the sensitive Northern Plains prairie potholes ecosystem; government policies don't help.
by Stephanie Paige Ogburn, Mar 19, 2012
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