The Shoshone power plant is the cornerstone for water rights in the upper river.
Endangered Species
Posted inDecember 25, 2017: Bear Essentials
Latest: Final Mexican wolf plan released
Feds intend to fix inbreeding but enviro groups call plan inadequate
Posted inArticles
Comment period ending for sage grouse review
An Interior Department overhaul of collaborative protection plans could sacrifice birds for development.
Posted inNovember 27, 2017: Profit and Politics
Threatened plants on state lands have few protections
Politics, land ownership and imperiled plants collide in New Mexico.
Posted inArticles
The disappearance of Washington’s killer whales
The endangered whales are at a 30-year low, tied to depressed chinook salmon runs.
Posted inArticles
Six bills that weaken species protections move in Congress
Lawmakers shift the focus to politics, not science, as a deciding factor of designation.
Posted inArticles
19 Western species won’t receive federal protections
The animals range from minuscule Nevada mollusks to dwindling Pacific walruses.
Posted inArticles
A national monument that saves the last of the last
The monument that brought us the ‘super bloom’ also supports rural economies and threatened wildlife.
Posted inOctober 2, 2017: Following Ancient Footsteps
Latest: Park Service to cull part of Grand Canyon’s bison herd
The burgeoning North Rim population threatens vegetation, water and cultural sites.
Posted inArticles
The end of an epic butterfly journey?
As the Western monarch population declines, survivors may become stranded in a growing sea of houses and farm fields.
Posted inSeptember 18, 2017: No Hoax
A salmon festival portends struggles on the Klamath River
The Yurok Tribe has again halted fishing during the chinook’s fall run.
Posted inSeptember 4, 2017: The Elwha, Unleashed
Interior overhauls sage grouse conservation
How big a role do industry concerns play in potential rewrite of management plans?
Posted inArticles
Will only the flexible survive?
Researchers are identifying the West’s wildlife that can best cope with climate change.
Posted inArticles
West Obsessed: On finding our way in the Anthropocene
How to confront hard truths about climate change and ecocide.
Posted inArticles
Under new Interior Department plan, sage grouse will suffer
New policies will prioritize oil and gas leasing over habitat.
Posted inArticles
The West’s iconic bird is caught up in Trump’s energy plans
The Interior Department considers trimming back sage grouse conservation.
Posted inArticles
What caused mass die-offs of sea lion pups?
The effects of warming ocean waters are rippling through marine ecosystems.
Posted inArticles
How a ruling on gray wolves could impact grizzlies
A precedent-setting decision on endangered species recovery echoes East to West.
Posted inArticles
Congress seeks to weaken the Marine Mammal Protection Act
House Republicans hope killing sea lions will restore waning salmon populations.
Posted inArticles
Recently discovered toad species already face threats
Meet three new toads that make a home in parts of the West’s harshest desert.