It takes year-round planning to host 70,000 people in one of the planet’s harshest environments.
Growth & Sustainability
Posted inSeptember 19, 2016: Frontera Incognita
Sometimes a place
A family’s journey from the San Luis Valley to Denver, in illustrations.
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Washington state implements rule to combat climate change
State Department of Ecology unveils initiative to cap and reduce the carbon pollution.
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Can a Montana community run its own forest?
Local citizens collaborate to restore, protect, and utilize Alvord Lake.
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New Mexican farmers struggle to stay on the land
Can a tax break keep New Mexico’s struggling farmers from selling out?
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How to feed the masses in small-town America
New business models bring food to towns too small for big box stores.
Posted inSeptember 5, 2016: When the Doctor is Out
What hospital closures mean for rural California
The very economic decline that contributed to their closure is likely to be worsened by their disappearance.
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The NASA scientist keeping an eye on California’s drought
Senior scientist Jay Famiglietti’s research looks at the West and the world’s dwindling water resources.
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Wildfire rips through California’s windy Cajon Pass
Under potentially ‘new normal’ fire conditions, 80,000 people have been evacuated.
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How to share a dammed river
Boaters are joining wildlife advocates, farmers and power companies to parcel out each cubic foot of Western rivers.
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BLM partners with mountain bikers to combat illegal trails
The agency is increasingly looking to locals to help deal with high demand for recreation access.
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Partisan politics are pulling my town apart
Can lessons from ecology offer a way to find common ground in our polarized nation?
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Don’t let Bears Ears go the way of Moab
Industrial tourism has transformed the town. Bears Ears doesn’t have to suffer the same fate.
Posted inAugust 8, 2016: Line of Descent
Will a Colorado compromise end a water tug-of-war?
A controversial deal for diverting water across the Rockies faces scrutiny.
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Have farmers markets been spoiled by their own success?
People go to farmers markets for many reasons. The jovial, wholesome atmosphere makes people feel good about their communities and the hard work put in by area farmers. Sometimes, we even want to buy something. But actually purchasing food is becoming an increasingly rare act, according to a recent Washington Post article. As one grower […]
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Will a bigger energy grid make way for renewables?
Utilities are embracing California’s bid to expand its grid, but states aren’t so sure.
Posted inJuly 25, 2016: Salmon Power
BLM moves away from landmark Northwest Forest Plan
Court showdown may force the agency to reconsider its Pacific Northwest logging goals.
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Dispatch from coal country: Advocates and adversaries duel over leasing reform
In western Colorado, two visions for the future of fossil fuels collide at a BLM listening session.
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By the numbers: Western coal mine layoffs
Coal mines are scaling back and shutting down — and jobs are disappearing.
Posted inJune 13, 2016: Water to Dust
Arizona fends off threats to water supplies
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey is sticking by regulations and negotiating deals.