Climate change and the urban heat islands take their toll from Phoenix to Portland.
The West sizzles — even at midnight
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire
Finding a fix for ‘forever chemicals’
Tests found PFAS in nearly all the public drinking water in Vancouver, Washington. The city is testing a solution that could take years — and more than $170 million — to build.
Posted inArticles
Building queer visibility in rural Utah
A Q&A with barber and filmmaker, Kylee Howell.
Posted inArticles
Water quality research helps bring healing and sovereignty to the Apsáalooke
‘I know it is my responsibility to care for this land that has always taken care of me.’
Posted inArticles
New public-land drilling rules would overhaul the Western oil industry
The potential new rules would hike the amount companies must pay in order to drill, in addition to other changes.
Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry
The case of the Colorado River’s missing water
Researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of snow that falls but never shows up in the river.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire
Mexican wolf recovery hinges on maternal instincts
Fifty years after the passage of the Endangered Species Act, the Mexican wolf recovery plan walks a fine line between human meddling and trusting mother nature.
Posted inArticles
A quarter of rural water systems likely contain ‘forever chemicals’
USGS research confirms widespread PFAS contamination in drinking water — including in rural communities and private wells that are almost never tested.
Posted inArticles
In logging country, a community protects its woods as an act of resilience
The Butte Falls Community Forest can bring in tourists and protect the community from wildfire.
Posted inArticles
In the Northern Rockies, grizzly bears are on the move
As grizzlies recover, they’re no longer content to roam within the boundaries contrived for them.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
‘The fight for our lives’: Arizona’s water regime limits the Hopi Tribe’s future
A 45-year legal saga leaves the tribe fighting for their economic ambitions through water access.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
How private interests benefit from tribal water settlements
When power players like mining and agriculture are involved, tribal nations, usually the senior-most water-rights holders, often must fight obstruction.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
Decades after the Colorado River flooded the Chemehuevi’s land, the tribe still doesn’t have its share
Nearly all of the tribe’s water remains in the river and ends up being used by Southern California cities.
Posted inArticles
When the woods get noisy, the animals get nervous
New study uses trail cameras and speakers to isolate what human sounds do to animals.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
How northern Mexico became a climate migration destination
U.S. and Central American immigrants are converging in Baja California after disasters.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
Elk calls have regional dialects
Whales, bats and birds sound different depending on where they live. So do elk, according to new research.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
Public education in the West is running short of funds
Is the ‘grand foundation’ crumbling?
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
Treaty rights, bison and the country’s most controversial hunt
Last winter’s harvest in the Yellowstone region illustrates the complexity of bison restoration.