As freshwater supplies shrink, interest in recycling water leftover from fracking is growing. Others aren’t so sure.
Drought
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
Montana’s water rights fractured by new development
As subdivisions spread, it’s becoming harder to manage one of the state’s most valuable resources.
Posted inArticles
A remote island sees just a third of its pelicans return for breeding season
Low Great Salt Lake levels mean coyotes can get onto the island.
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
The tyranny of lawns and landlords
Renting culture puts dreams of cultivating wildness out of reach.
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River needs a long-term plan for drought
Western states bought some time with a historic agreement but still face a hotter, drier future.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
Paranoia and a ‘preposterously’ oversized water tank
An affluent Utah community spent millions to extinguish its fear of fire. Decades later, they’re still trying to buy their way out of a bottomless pit.
Posted inArticles
After a wet winter, will Colorado forest managers increase prescribed burns?
The heavy snowpack could hinder this underused wildfire control tactic.
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
The West’s worst fires aren’t burning in forests
Range fires get bigger every year, threatening sagebrush habitat and rural towns.
Posted inMarch 4, 2019: El Nuevo Movimiento
One family makes sense of losing its Colorado River water
Pinal County farmers suffer more drastic cuts than cities in Arizona’s tenuous drought plan.
Posted inJanuary 21, 2019: What Killed Washington's Carbon Tax?
Update: The decline of Western snowpack is real
Data confirms climate model predictions of less snow that melts earlier in the season.
Posted inArticles
How best to share the disappearing Colorado River
Seven Western states must rewrite the rules of the river and cut water use — before they bleed the critical artery dry.
Posted inArticles
How to prepare for a wildfire
Some basic steps to stay safe if you live near Western wildlands.
Posted inArticles
Why Jon Kyl was chosen to replace John McCain
Amid a reshuffling of Arizona’s political deck, the state’s governor makes a water-driven decision.
Posted inSeptember 17, 2018: The Pioneer of Ruin
As the West burns, a town fields its own amateur firefighters
The community of Dufur, Oregon, bands together to douse the flames.
Posted inArticles
To protect a forest, a town agreed to leave it alone
With wildfires looming, Flagstaff came together to support national forest closures.
Posted inAugust 6, 2018: What Are We Doing Here?
In this rapaciously dry year, a quiet question grows louder: What are we doing here?
Drought, dread and family in the American Southwest.
Posted inAugust 6, 2018: What Are We Doing Here?
When climate change hits home
Northern New Mexicans weigh their future in a drying climate.
Posted inArticles
Wildfires hit the West: ‘We’re stretched to our limits’
Fires this year have covered 1 million more acres than the 10-year average from January to July.
Posted inArticles
This year’s burn bans are crucial in parched Colorado
Another dry summer sparks memories of past wildfires — and worries for the future.
Posted inArticles
A fiery Fourth of July threatens Southwest economies
Wildfire, forest closures and canceled fireworks displays keep tourists at bay.