As the dry-spell continues, a radio forum on water security in Western states.
Are we in a megadrought?
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As drought pervades, can markets make us water-wiser?
Proponents say market tools can better move water where it’s needed.
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Permafrost’s ticking “carbon bomb” may never truly detonate
New research suggests that carbon stored in frozen soil will be released gradually.
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Rural counties to lose the most from defunded lands programs
What happens to local budgets when Congress stops these federal payments.
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Forest Service sticks up for coal mining on roadless lands
The agency will calculate climate impacts of mine expansions in western Colorado.
Posted inApril 10, 2015: Strangers in a Strange Land
On the road with America’s sightseers
A photographer looks at three decades of tourism.
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At Hart Mountain, the land came back
Cattle are hard on streams. There’s no getting around it. They’re large creatures, they travel in big herds unlike native ungulates such as mule deer and pronghorn, and they love to hang out in streambeds where the living is easy, with plentiful water to drink and delicate plants to munch on. The damage they do […]
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Will the Northwest Forest Plan come undone?
The Forest Service and BLM embark on revising the iconic plan and may allow more logging.
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Ranch Diaries: Tiny living, 23 miles from town
After a chicken coop, a tipi and no electricity, this four-season camper is our most modern home yet.
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Rants from the Hill: Scaling Lone Tree
Learning to see a one-tree forest in the Great Basin Desert.
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A battle for America’s trust
The war between the fossil fuel industry and Big Green may boil down to who can tell the best story.
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A rural utility bucks against its power supplier
In a coal-producing region, this western Colorado co-op fights for renewables.
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Fowl play: California’s drought fingered in bird deaths
Native pigeons and waterfowl fall victim to avian disease.
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Cloud seeding is still a work in progress
Wyoming just spent $14 million and the better part of 10 years on a rigorous scientific experiment to evaluate whether it’s possible to get extra snow from winter storm clouds through cloud seeding. The conclusion? The final results were thin: There was a 3 percent increase in precipitation, but a 28 percent probability that the […]
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Who should manage Grand Teton’s private inholdings?
A dead wolf and jurisdictional confusion in an iconic national park.
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Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid announces retirement
The Nevada senator is a formidable leader and champion of progressive issues.
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Wyoming’s coal industry faces uncertain future
New study examines threats to state’s coal-dependent economy.
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Land-based foods won’t float polar bears through ice declines
As climate change sends bears searching for calories, new research suggests there’s no substitute for seals.
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Business parks: Feds sell naming rights to iconic public lands
Agencies seek corporate revenues in the face of fiscal woes.
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Change in the air
I didn’t expect change to come from the air — not the kind of change that transforms the essence of a quiet place. I assumed the biggest risk of life-altering change would most likely come from wildfire. I watch smoke plumes erupt every year from this high ridge in central Colorado, overlooking the southwest flank […]