A century-old Oregon water law lets one wealthy region turn the desert green while water-starved ag fallows commercial crops.
Communities
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
‘What we have to do is come together and stick together’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Posted inArticles
White Salmon has been fighting for free mail for decades
The small Washington town exemplifies a broader problem across the West, where some pay for a service others get for free.
Posted inArticles
If you can’t find a Utah peach this year, climate change may be to blame
Record-breaking spring heat followed by freezes led to 95% crop losses.
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
Billions in border wall contracts are going to a Montana firm run by a Trump donor
Barnard Construction’s leadership donated over $1 million to the president’s campaign. They’re among the administration’s top wall contractors.
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
Managed retreat in Ruidoso could mean more public lands
Facing fires and floods, homeowners in Lincoln County, New Mexico, are considering buyouts designed to move them out of harm’s way.
Posted inArticles
O’Keeffe Country was never O’Keeffe’s to begin with
Indigenous Tewa artists reassert their relationship with the land in a new exhibition at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The Death Valley opera house that’s sinking back into the earth
The people trying to save a singular arts landmark face scarce funding, extreme flooding and aging adobe.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The facade of the Red Wind commune
There’s ongoing harm from Indigenous identity fraud.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The dark legacy of the atomic age is still playing out in New Mexico
‘We were a sacrifice zone.’
Posted inArticles
As Roadless Rule rollback looms, grassroots hearings take root
In absence of federal meetings, nonprofits step up to hold public comment on Forest Service plan to lift protections from roadless areas.
Posted inArticles
Emergency plans for the Colorado River buy time, not solutions
The federal government ordered Flaming Gorge water released and cuts to Lake Powell releases, to prevent collapse.
Posted inApril 2026: Inside the Attack on Public Lands
‘Just noticing birds improves your health’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Posted inArticles
The public got one week to comment on Chaco Canyon drilling. It’s almost over
Indigenous leaders, New Mexico political leaders accuse feds of rushing a decision about the sacred site.
Posted inArticles
Border wall blasting hits a treasured New Mexico mountain
A planned 1.3-mile wall across Mount Cristo Rey has drawn opposition from environmentalists and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces.
Posted inArticles
New nuclear safety rules reduce protections for workers, the public
‘They’re pulling away from what’s kept us safe all these years.’
Posted inArticles
Congress contemplates sweeping investigation of Native boarding schools
What the Truth and Healing Commission Bill would — and would not — do.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
Black riders have always held the reins
What ‘High Horse’ gets right about Black cowboys and the West.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
How Montana tribes are using sovereignty to restore their waterways
‘We live at the backbone of the world, where the water begins.’
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
A champion Iditarod musher proved that caring and trust win races
As the 2026 sled dog race kicks off, the lessons of Susan Butcher still resonate.