Conflicting county and state proposals would provide various levels of protection.
Efforts to save Utah’s Cedar Mesa reach a crescendo
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The last ski-bum house
When I first set foot in the rambling, drafty, hunched-over house perched above Telluride, it never crossed my mind that I might live there one day. Ski boots and snowboard bindings lay scattered around the living room. Dogs roamed from room to room, and it was impossible to determine which ones belonged there and which […]
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Lake Mead watch: As the Colorado dries up, will tourism?
What dropping water levels could mean for the region’s recreation economy.
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Finding my way back to me
I lived on Padre Island, Texas, during my formative years. I knew the names of all the plants, animals — vertebrates and non — the weather and best fishing and surfing spots. I surfed, ate and lived from the sea. I served as an Air Force Munitions Specialist Staff Sergeant, with two deployments in service […]
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Court sides with industry on power plant emissions
Supreme Court decision is a setback to one of the biggest environmental actions of the Obama administration.
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The U.S.’s only rare-earth mine files for bankruptcy
How plain old economics could end Molycorp’s Mountain Pass Mine in the Mojave Desert.
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Arctic off-shore drilling hits home in Barrow, Alaska
Dispatch from the nation’s northernmost town, a community divided.
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An Alaska wildlife refuge deserves our protection
I grew up in Oakland, California, and was blessed to live close to wide-open spaces and enjoy acres of land on my parent’s woodland ranch. It’s these experiences that inspired my desire to help people, especially fellow African-Americans, discover the outdoors. It’s also why I treasure the American concept of “wilderness,” a word that signifies […]
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Ranch Diaries: Wildlife encounters in a life on the range
When herding cattle means meeting black bears, angry turkeys and tame elk.
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Dam bill for Green River revives industrialist dream
Boosters want Fontenelle Dam to divert more water in southwest Wyoming.
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New data released on violent threats to federal employees
Documents show 15 incidents in 2014, but don’t account for the Cliven Bundy standoff.
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Methane leaks from oil and gas production on federal lands
New proposals from EPA and BLM to curtail leaks are due out this summer.
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In Arizona, the people move ahead of the politicians
Arizona, once dubbed “the meth lab of democracy” by political comedian Jon Stewart, continues its sad ways. To wit, when unveiling his first “no-new-taxes” budget, ex-ice-cream salesman and new Republican Gov. Doug Ducey tried to sneak through a provision that would have taken money away from veterans’ programs for the living in order to pay […]
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Grouseonomics: The imperiled greater sage grouse, by the numbers
Economic and ecological impacts of the bird in Western states.
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Lake Mead watch: As levels fall, hydropower dips
Why Southwest utilities are starting to sweat.
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The pain thief of Spokane
Spokane, Washington, the little city that has a knack for weirdness, is back in the limelight again. Not so long ago it was all about the outing of our anti-gay mayor, who’d been discovered trolling for young men. This time it’s all about Rachel Dolezal. Everyone knew her as the dynamic black president of the […]
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Wild Science: Netting mule deer in western Colorado
Go behind the scenes with scientists investigating declining populations.
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A door squeaks open for rural energy independence
A Colorado co-op just won some freedom from its giant power supplier. Now what?
Posted inJune 22, 2015: Dust to Dust
Where industry makes earthquakes
Fracking has caused quakes in several states, but more research is needed.
Posted inJune 22, 2015: Dust to Dust
We’re letting another predator go down
In New Mexico, some wildlife outranks others, with mountain lions landing near the bottom of the pack. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that the solitary Puma concolor enjoys the status of rats or “trash fish” — which is how New Mexico’s wildlife department characterizes carp. Late last month, the New Mexico Game and […]