Sometimes learning about the past to figure out the future requires crawling beneath tons of rock.
Features
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
How to rebuild in a time of endless fire
Okanogan County, Washington, had hardly recovered from the last devastating wildfire when the next one struck.
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
The fires below
The world’s least understood ignition source is causing devastating wildfires across Montana’s Powder River Basin.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
How a salmon farm disaster changed Northwest aquaculture forever
Thousands of salmon escaped into the Puget Sound. Then the controversy began.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
Who does the state of Wyoming consider a poacher?
Three years ago, the Supreme Court upheld the Crow Tribe’s off-reservation hunting rights. But treaty hunters in Wyoming still risk prosecution, even as non-Natives poach wildlife on tribal land with impunity.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
When the heat is unbearable but there’s nowhere to go
How last year’s record-breaking heat wave caused misery and chaos for Washington’s incarcerated population — and why it’s set to happen all over again.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Witness to the Cold War in the desert
Terry Tempest Williams on Emmet Gowin’s unflinching photos of the Nevada Test Site.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Don’t judge the negative
The weird wonderful world of the negative image.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
The lion king of Los Angeles
After Miguel Ordeñana discovered mountain lion P-22 in urban LA, he became a key advocate for habitat connectivity, which is essential for the species’ survival in Southern California.
Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue
What’s wrong with the Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum and Preserve?
Archival documents reveal the true origins of a popular Colorado tourist attraction.
Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue
How a California archive reconnected a New Mexico family with its Chinese roots
Aimee Towi Mae Tang’s Chinese American family never talked about the past. She decided to change that.
Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue
Images from the first-known Native American female photographer
Jennie Ross Cobb put her subjects at ease for uniquely candid photos from early 1900s Indian Territory.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Should we clone the black-footed ferret?
From petri dish to prairie with North America’s most endangered species.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Colorado River, stolen by law
Indigenous nations have been an afterthought in U.S. water policy for over a century. That was all part of the plan.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
The beauty and complexity of farm work in Washington
Artwork created by farmworkers and their communities paints an authentic picture of farm labor in Washington.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
A just transition for farmworkers
As agricultural laborers continue to bear the brunt of climate change, activists in Washington chart a new path for climate justice.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Indigenous feminism flows through the fight for water rights on the Rio Grande
An intergenerational group of Pueblo women lead the way on water policy along the Middle Rio Grande Valley.
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 inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Wild horses, buffalo and the politics of belonging
On the Wind River Indian Reservation, two animals slip between the cracks of what is wild and what isn’t.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Betting the ranch
Cody Easterday wagered hundreds of millions of dollars on the price of beef. He lost.