Feature

Good policy and good intentions won't stop big wildfires

Federal agencies have made strides in reducing fire danger in the West's forests, but many factors hinder their efforts

Lack of medical care on the firelines endangers firefighters

Firefighter Rob Palmer crusades for better emergency medical care in memory of his brother, Andy.

Life as a fire lookout

It's a long way from Lower Manhattan to a remote fire lookout's perch in New Mexico.

Editor's Note

Management by mega-fire

It’s a basic fact of Western life that fire rarely behaves the way we want it to.

Dear Friends

A lovely and restless autumn

Art Director Cindy Wehling takes a break, and Kris Scott and Shaun Gibson take over the reins; visitors; corrections and clarifications.

Book Reviews

Chronicles of the 'Cowboy Candidate,' a review of Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands

In his thorough history, Roger Di Silvestro delves deep into the early life of the future president, particularly his discovery of the West.

Essays

Killing for conservation in national parks

Getting weeds out of the national parks is an endless war that can never be won, but many Park Service employees are willing - and happy - warriors.

Letters

Praise for Brad Tyer's "Lost Opportunity"

It's a feral, feral world

Missing in action: top dogs

Phoenix remembered

Where have all the Hatfields gone?

The Hatfield legacy: "deep and wide and wonderful"

The violence of the open road

Current

Obama message control blocks journalists covering the environment

The Obama administration makes it harder for its environmental message to be heard when it sets up roadblocks to information and blocks media access.

Washington's Hanford Reservation and nuclear plant may lie on faults

Brian Sherrod, a government paleoseismologist, believes cities and infrastructure in eastern Washington may be far more earthquake-prone than previously realized.

Cruising the ocean, counting seabirds

What an unconventional journey on a cruise ship can reveal about seabirds' enigmatic lives.

In national parks, where are all the fossils?

The National Park Service is surveying its holdings to find out which parks have fossils in order to manage them better.