In an uncommon move, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum intervened in a case that involved the former legal clients of Karen Budd-Falen, one of his top deputies.
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The billionaires’ club at the center of America’s public lands fight
A controversial land swap orchestrated by the mega rich could be ‘a harbinger of what’s to come’ for public lands under Trump.
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Ted Turner owned vast swaths of Western land. What happens to them now?
The media mogul had a lifelong commitment to endangered species, ecotourism and supporting rural agriculture.
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Emails show Interior delivered new drilling permits for Burgum’s billionaire ally
Oil and gas giant Continental Resources wanted the BLM to sign off on new wells in Wyoming, despite a court injunction there. The agency obliged.
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Controversial gas pipeline across Navajo Nation to begin
The pipeline would eventually cross 234 miles of tribal land. The hearing initiating the project caught community members off guard.
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Nukes and AI require 1.4 million gallons of water a day at New Mexico lab
In a state that’s already short on the resource, Los Alamos National Laboratory expects to double water use.
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Wildfires are torching state budgets
Oregon allocated $10 million for the 2024 wildfire season. It cost more than $350 million.
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As Roadless Rule rollback looms, grassroots hearings take root
In absence of federal meetings, nonprofits step up to hold public comment on Forest Service plan to lift protections from roadless areas.
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Emergency plans for the Colorado River buy time, not solutions
The federal government ordered Flaming Gorge water released and cuts to Lake Powell releases, to prevent collapse.
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The ramifications of record-shattering heat on the West’s ecosystems
‘It was the worst possible way to end the winter that was already worse than normal.’
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How New Mexico is ‘building a forest’ by solving a seedling shortage
A Q&A with the New Mexico Reforestation Center director about what it takes to replant a burn scar post-wildfire.
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War, climate change and AI are at stake at the 2026 UN Indigenous forum
Delegates are arriving in New York for the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous peoples, despite the U.S. presenting challenges for attendees to secure visas.
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Why mycorrhizal fungi networks need more protection
Scientists say the West’s hidden biodiversity warrants more attention.
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Interior Department crafted talking points for public lands sell-off agenda
The agency’s leadership distanced itself from the controversial proposal even though staff helped research public-land sales.
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Tribal leaders reflect on a year of uncertainty — and possibility
Federal turnover and policy shifts have forced Indigenous communities to adapt.
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A new era of industrial logging looms
Mapping the possible impacts of the Roadless Rule overhaul
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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.
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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.
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Forest Service overhaul sows confusion, concern
In the Trump administration’s reorganization of the struggling agency, painful echoes of BLM’s past moves.
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New nuclear safety rules reduce protections for workers, the public
‘They’re pulling away from what’s kept us safe all these years.’