The Borderlands may be militarized, but for writer Alberto Ríos, it’s still home.
Essays
Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line
The lessons on storytelling that William Kittredge taught
The beloved teacher and writer was preoccupied with the particular.
Posted inArticles
Studying seabirds, the sentinels of the ocean
Perspective from one of the longest, largest and most comprehensive seabird monitoring efforts in the world.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
Through wildland firefighting, finding a space to heal
A grieving daughter encounters solace in an unexpected place.
Posted inArticles
Of hawks and hope
In a climate collapse, a wildlife biologist turns from sadness to action.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
How an intimate burial can make death human-sized
In burying a stranger, a writer learns that dying can be as small and personal as life.
Posted inNovember 1, 2020: When the Smoke Clears
Hunting for myself in the high Montana sagebrush
A hunter celebrates a new vision of queerness and rural culture.
Posted inArticles
Inhospitable, remote and compelling: The island swallowed by nowhere
Alaska’s St. Matthew Island has had its share of human visitors, but none can remain long.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
COVID-era lessons from homeschool
Don’t be terrified. Be ready.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
When home is next to an oil refinery
All I knew about Wilmington, California, was poverty, so I long hid my connection to it.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
Now that you’ve gone West, young man
Toward unlearning Manifest Destiny.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
The physics of connection and solitude
In the middle of a pandemic, a lifetime of lessons from a parent.
Posted inArticles
Who’s looking out for elders on the Navajo Nation?
A reporter documents lack of food and harsh conditions for many Diné elderly, and few willing to take responsibility.
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
Am I an invasive species?
How COVID-19 and ‘murder hornets’ compelled a writer to rethink invasions.
Posted inArticles
Heartache, compounded
After her son’s death, a writer searches for a path forward through personal and climate grief.
Posted inMay 1, 2020: Lives on Lockdown
Safe at home in Los Angeles
Even under restrictions, the city shines for all to see.
Posted inMay 1, 2020: Lives on Lockdown
During the pandemic, how do you ethically get outdoors?
Sheltering responsibly doesn’t mean you have to stay inside.
Posted inMarch 16, 2020: Wiring the Wild
Searching for winter in Palm Springs
As the West warms, hunting for snow becomes part of the adventure.
Posted inMarch 16, 2020: Wiring the Wild
The wildness is in me, too
People were excluded from the wild, historically, and in today’s rapidly digitizing West.
Posted inMarch 16, 2020: Wiring the Wild
Overcoming winter’s alienation
I long felt shut out of the season. Snowshoeing changed that.