A last-minute deal is another bet on the town’s unlikely survival.
Growth & Sustainability
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
Canelo Hills ladies’-tresses grow only in the Southwest’s vanishing ciénegas. Can they be rooted there again?
Scientists restore an endangered orchid to Arizona’s desert wetland.
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
Let’s go in on the American dream, together
Samantha Paige Rosen’s anthology offers communal living as affordability solution.
Posted inArticles
Meet the students graduating from Montana’s smallest classes
The people graduating from classes of 3, 2 and 1 have big ambitions.
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 inJune 2026: River Revival
How socialism built the reddest states in the West
The history of labor in the region gets shouted down by corporations.
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
Dredging the Columbia River at the expense of tribal and aquatic communities
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has transformed the estuary and robbed the river of sediment over the last century.
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 inArticles
Migrating wildlife need lots of space between houses, research shows
Sometimes a mile or more. Clustered rather than scattered rural homes could help.
Posted inArticles
Ted Turner owned vast swaths of Western land. What happens to them now?
The media mogul had a lifelong commitment to endangered species, ecotourism and supporting rural agriculture.
Posted inArticles
Why Western states are pushing for plug-in solar
State laws and product standards could make or break the nascent portable solar market.
Posted inArticles
The AI Age perpetuates fossil fuel burning
Ancient energy sources power the future.
Posted inArticles
Washington approves over 99% of archaeological permits, records show
As tribes struggle to protect their heritage, the nation’s leading state archaeologist says she lacks the authority to stop development projects.
Posted inArticles
Why Colorado River negotiations are so difficult
Basin states have had 2 years to figure out how to share the shrinking river. Will they get there before the feds step in?
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
The dried-out subdivisions of Phoenix
A groundwater crisis halted the construction of thousands of homes and pitted affordability against environmental concerns.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
What eating bitterness has to do with Chinese food
The Chinese immigrants who built the Transcontinental Railroad quietly endured racism and violence, fostering a complicated legacy for Chinese-Americans.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
The Rio Grande’s pecan problem
How Big Ag is threatening New Mexico’s water supply.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
Who controls food in the West?
Consolidation, shifting politics, water rights and the myth of the cowboy all play into the region’s ability to feed itself.
Posted inArticles
Why isn’t agrivoltaics taking off in Arizona?
Logistical hurdles and a lack of solar incentives keep panels and plants apart.
Posted inMay 2025: The Art of the Cruise
The toll of Bozeman’s housing crisis
At the small city’s only emergency shelter, demand is higher and the work is harder than ever.