‘Use it or lose it’ rules can bias public-land management in favor of extraction.
Conservation groups should be able to lease land to protect it
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
Electric vehicles drive up demand for ‘green metals’
The need for energy-transition metals breathes life into new mines in the West.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
Tribes call out Oregon’s reckless gaming regulation
Using horse-racing laws, a shadowy state agency and a billionaire push for a private casino that threatens tribes’ self-sufficiency.
Posted inArticles
A history of pollution pervades a California neighborhood
As new soil tests reveal remaining lead contamination, the people in the Logan barrio continue their long struggle for justice.
Posted inArticles
Interior devotes billions to plugging old oil wells. Is it enough?
The agency under-counted abandoned wells by more than half, which means the effort covers only a fraction of the cost.
Posted inArticles
Biden’s ‘herky-jerky’ first year on Western issues
The new president sacrificed bold executive action to try to win over Congress.
Posted inArticles
‘The clinic, it’s going to be the heart of it all’
Members of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the newest federally recognized tribe, will have guaranteed access to health care when their new medical center opens.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
Cultural extraction at the edge of the abyss
Butte, Montana, doesn’t have a major art museum. Instead, it has a gigantic toxic pit.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
EPA prohibits White Mesa Mill from receiving Superfund waste
Energy Fuels Resources was found in violation for improper handling of radioactive waste storage.
Posted inArticles
Offshore oil rigs are a surprising safe haven
Marine life finds a home on the artificial reefs. What happens when the platforms are decommissioned?
Posted inArticles
Building equity into the renewable energy transition
Community and labor organizers shape New Mexico’s changing economy.
Posted inArticles
Wyoming sage grouse numbers ‘alarming’
According to biologists, the decline is caused by habitat loss and drought.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
Meet the influencer of the California condor world
During the pandemic, a chick named Iniko became an ambassador for conservation from her redwood nest.
Posted inArticles
The stories that resonated with readers in 2021
From climate change to the West’s housing crisis, see the most-read stories from the past year.
Posted inArticles
The nuance and beauty of the West in 2021
From the Salton Sea to the Wind River Reservation, here are some of our most memorable photos of the year.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Gold country: A precious metal, a mining mega-corp and a captive workforce
In 2019, two gold-mining giants joined forces, with huge consequences for the Northern Nevada community and economy.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
‘Cultural resources are not a renewable thing for us.’
The West’s largest green energy storage project would destroy a Yakama sacred site. Now, the nation is fighting back.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Letter: White Sands discovery
I read your article — “The White Sands discovery only confirms what Indigenous people have said all along” (November 2021) — and thought about a conversation I had with my 16-year-old daughter. She was livid and outraged about her American history class, because she wasn’t satisfied with what she’s being taught. She told me, “Native […]
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Letter: What you can’t see can hurt
Jonathan Thompson’s graphic report on methane is excellent and should be widely shared (“What you can’t see can hurt,” November 2021). One subtext of his reporting is that cattle production produces more methane than the oil and gas industry — 36% (digestion plus manure) versus 30%. When you consider livestock industry methane pollution, along with […]
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Letter: The wealth abyss
Thank you for the amazing analysis of income disparity by Jonathan Thompson (“The wealth abyss,” December 2021). More unequal countries tend to have more teenage pregnancy, mental illness, drug use, obesity, prisoners, school dropouts, lower life expectancy and lower status for women. The more unequal a country is, the more likely the biodiversity of its […]