A slew of research points to rapidly rising oceans. How will the West Coast adapt?
Five sea level rise studies that could help cities plan for climate change
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In southern Utah, a ranger is jailed under questionable circumstances
The region has a history of sheriffs butting heads with federal land agencies.
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West Obsessed: What’s the deal with Wildlife Services?
For an agency that researches non-lethal predator control, they sure kill a lot of critters. HCN writers discuss an agency trying to rethink its role.
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Western states struggle to reform recreational streambed mining
Recent bills to change suction dredging regulations faltered in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
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Oil bust puts tribes, towns over a barrel
The Bakken bust has stranded schools and communities that hoped for revenue from a boom.
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I inherited an oil field. Now what do I do with it?
A writer faces a moral dilemma: fight the bureaucracy to end oil extraction on family land or give in?
Posted inMarch 21, 2016: Making Sense of Malheur
Meet the caribou hunter of Arctic Village, Alaska
Photos of this winter’s hunt and a community’s subsistence way of life.
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Fairy tales about the West are fueling public lands conflict
Last month, a federal court indicted the armed extremists who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon on multiple counts of felony conspiracy, making threats and other serious charges. The property damage they caused, which is still being assessed, will likely be charged to the American taxpayers on whose behalf they claimed […]
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The Colorado caucus system works — sort of
The minuteae of the political process matter and are sometimes based on outdated systems.
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Podcast: Why won’t white West Coast progressives talk about racism?
Conversations about race need to happen regularly, not just every once in a while.
Posted inMarch 21, 2016: Making Sense of Malheur
Stop trying to make biking in wilderness happen. It’s not going to happen.
I shouldn’t be writing this, and you shouldn’t be reading it. Far more pressing issues face our public lands. But a vocal minority is drudging up the long-resolved question of mountain biking in wilderness. They have even drafted a bill for somebody to introduce in Congress — the Human-Powered Wildlands Travel Management Act — that […]
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How progressives are taking a page from ALEC’s playbook
Conservatives push agendas through a centralized state network; progressives are building one of their own.
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Utah senator blocks emergency bill for Flint, Michigan
Lee’s opposition helps build his brand as a hardcore conservative.
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At Malheur, Sally Jewell was missing in action
The secretary of the Interior instead took a trip to Africa to combat wildlife poaching.
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Recent criminal justice reforms by state
California has led the way for other states to reduce prison populations.
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Forest Service rejects Grand Canyon luxury village
The setback is just the latest in a 30-year push to develop the rim.
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The Bundy bust-up
Charges rain down on militant leaders of Bundy family standoffs in Nevada and Oregon.
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Ranch Diaries: The era of the landless agrarian
I’m part of a generation of young farmers and ranchers who will struggle to ever own the land they work.
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Are Clean Power Plan targets out of reach for Western states?
Experts say emissions targets are attainable, but uncertainty over how to get there remains.
Posted inMarch 7, 2016: The Parks You Don't Know
Whiteness reigns in a new film celebrating national parks
The new film National Parks Adventure aims to inspire its viewers, as producer Shaun MacGillivray puts it, “to get off their couches and get outdoors.” Its destination of choice is our national parks, which are celebrating 100 years of management by the National Park Service in 2016. MacGillivray and his crew used every IMAX 3-D […]