What will areas administered by the National Park Service become (HCN, 8/22/16)? Will the enormous shortage of congressional appropriations undermine a century of relative stability? Fifty years ago, massive infrastructure improvements were made under a program called Mission 66, but no such program has existed since. Congress got in the habit of not fulfilling appropriations […]
Dangers of privatizing parks
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Burning questions
I feel that Jane Braxton Little told a very incomplete story of how fire danger relates to beetle-killed trees (“Forest fatalities,” HCN, 8/8/16). Granted, after the needles have fallen off beetle-killed trees, they are less susceptible to forest fires than live trees, but the process of needles falling off takes about four years. Then, about […]
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Bunny times at the state fair, dumpster-diving bears and parasitic springs
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Alaska’s emergency wildfire crews are burning out
The state is grappling with more fires and fewer fighters where they need them.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
A cure for the ‘catch-all’ emergency room
In Colorado, a new movement aims to provide an alternative for people experiencing mental health crises. But does it work?
Posted inArticles
After thousands of fish die in the Yellowstone River, officials lift boating bans
Stretches of the river remain closed as officials scramble to save the iconic fishery.
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California nixes funding for coal export terminals
Governor’s bill blocks transport to markets in Asia.
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American pika disappearing from Western regions
The pika is fading from historical habitat and a new study points to climate change.
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What every hiker should know (by now)
In the Grand Canyon, pack in some common sense.
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Legislation revives Grand Canyon development question
Escalade bill leaves opponents scrambling for support, and tribal members divided.
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The new Malheur occupants: Grazing cattle
The Bundy clan may be in jail, but ranchers continue to take advantage of the refuge.
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How British Columbia’s coastal people fertilized the forest
Indigenous people’s castoff clamshells made the forest grow bigger.
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Western monarch butterflies get a closer look
A recent study documents the butterfly’s decline, while a new project looks at how to improve its population.
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Tribes band together to fight an oil pipeline
The Standing Sioux protest in North Dakota reverberates around the world.
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Photos of the North Dakota pipeline protest
Background on the Standing Rock Sioux pipeline protests and how social media and climate activism raised their profile.
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The NASA scientist keeping an eye on California’s drought
Senior scientist Jay Famiglietti’s research looks at the West and the world’s dwindling water resources.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
Latest: Feds warn states against letting mining companies self-bond
Three major coal companies have filed for bankruptcy this year.
Posted inArticles
New documentary offers a sharp look at the West’s water crisis
In ‘Killing the Colorado,’ people, not nature, are responsible for shortages.
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Ranch Diaries: Late summer rain brings new wild foods
How to use wild purslane and algerita berries, and how to not mistake death camas for wild onions.
Posted inAugust 22, 2016: 100
Inside a park succeeding at recruiting diverse employees
Antonio Solorio helps national park reach L.A.’s Latino majority.