News
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Montana court defends law defying Citizens United
As elections of state judges become increasingly contentious, the Montana Supreme Court defends the state's Corrupt Practices Act against the Citizens United decision.
by Rebecca Stanfel, Feb 14, 2012 -
Greenhouse gas sources, emitters and effects
Although the West supplies most of the nation’s coal, the effects of coal-fired plant emissions are felt much further afield.
by Danielle Venton, Feb 05, 2012 -
Fearful of Agenda 21, an alleged U.N. plot, activists derail land-use planning
A two-year planning process in La Plata County, Colorado gets hijacked by activists suspicious of United Nations influence. And in the West and nationwide, they're not alone.
by Jonathan Thompson, Feb 06, 2012 -
A mom-and-pop oil company prospects for gas in central Wyoming
Wold Oil Properties is a wildcatter - a small company that explores for oil and gas in areas where the fuels aren't known to exist in valuable quantities.
by Emilene Ostlind, Jan 31, 2012 -
The logging town of Darrington, Wash., fights to save a fire lookout
A lawsuit raises questions about how far environmentalists should go to keep wilderness 'untrammeled.'
by Nathan Rice, Jan 24, 2012 -
How much time does Congress spend discussing the issues you care about?
Capitol Words, a visualization tool, tracks the contents of the Congressional Record, storing frequently used words as searchable data.
by Danielle Venton , Jan 22, 2012 -
Shadow Wolves track down smugglers on the Arizona-Mexico border
An elite team of Native American customs agents, the Shadow Wolves use their tracking skills to find drug smugglers on the U.S.-Mexico border.
by Stephanie Paige Ogburn, Jan 22, 2012 -
Detente in the rancher v. environmentalist grazing wars?
Buying out grazing permits from willing ranchers could help solve conflicts over grazing on public lands.
by Jodi Peterson, Jan 22, 2012 -
On Keystone XL route, states allow different risks, reap different benefits
An InsideClimate News comparison shows that, of the six states the proposed pipeline moves through, only Montana has authority to re-route the pipeline, and Kansas has given TransCanada a 10-year tax exemption.
by Lisa Song, InsideClimate News, Jan 09, 2012 -
A Q&A with former Colorado National Monument head Joan Anzelmo
The retired Park Service superintendent stands by her controversial decision not to allow a major bike race in the monument, and continues to be passionate about preserving landscapes.
by Emilene Ostline, Jan 08, 2012 -
Boulder, Colo., votes for energy independence -- from its utility
After a hard-fought political campaign the town of Boulder passed a ballot initiative allowing it to create its own municipal utility in order to help reach its ambitious environmental goals.
by Nathan Rice, Dec 27, 2011 -
Jon Huntsman Jr. -- a pragmatic Westerner for the White House
Despite poor poll showings, the worldly Jon Huntsman Jr. is the most qualified candidate in the Republican primary, especially when it comes to environmental issues.
by Ray Ring, Dec 25, 2011 -
The year 2011, in apocalyptic weather events
Fire and flood, snowstorms and droughts, downburst winds and desert haboobs -- 2011 brought incredibly wacky weather to the West.
by Jonathan Thompson, Dec 25, 2011 -
Water-quality standards unfairly burden rural communities
The plight of a small water and sewer association in rural Mora, N.M -- caught in a tangle of federal and state clean water rules it can’t afford to meet -- echoes experienced by other rural communities around the West.
by Judith Lewis Mernit, Dec 20, 2011 -
Tribes try selective fishing to boost catch without harming wild salmon
Washington's Colville Tribes experiment with selective fishing techniques and bring home more salmon than before.
by Dawn Stover, Dec 15, 2011 -
Land trusts thrive despite, and because of, the Great Recession
The recession has afforded a unique opportunity for land trusts to protect more of the West’s private open land through direct acquisitions and, increasingly, conservation easements.
by Jon Christensen, Jenny Rempel and Judee Burr , Dec 13, 2011 -
The man beneath the hat: Ken Salazar's search for middle ground
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a twelfth-generation Latino-American, works politely and quietly but stubbornly to protect the West’s environment in polarized times.
by Kate Sheppard, Dec 11, 2011 -
Did the Park Service bow to pressure from Coca Cola on its bottle ban?
A former Grand Canyon National Park superintendent believes that corporate pressure may have undermined a proposed ban on disposable water bottles in the park.
by Nathan Rice, Dec 11, 2011 -
How private efforts and economic troubles have combined to support conservation
by Geoff McGhee, Dec 11, 2011 -
Feds Link Water Contamination to Fracking for the First Time
The Environmental Protection Agency finds a connection between fracking and water pollution
by Abrahm Lustgarten and Nicholas Kusnetz, ProPublica, Dec 09, 2011
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