Federal turnover and policy shifts have forced Indigenous communities to adapt.
History
Posted inIssues
Trotting tortoises, juggling unicyclists, ancient clothing and bear poop beer
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
The public got one week to comment on Chaco Canyon drilling. It’s almost over
Indigenous leaders, New Mexico political leaders accuse feds of rushing a decision about the sacred site.
Posted inArticles
War exposes the energy dominance lie
True energy independence comes from weaning ourselves from fossil fuels.
Posted inArticles
Congress contemplates sweeping investigation of Native boarding schools
What the Truth and Healing Commission Bill would — and would not — do.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
What can we learn from salt lakes?
A Q&A with Caroline Tracey about her new book, which documents the plight of one of our most unusual ecosystems.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
Black riders have always held the reins
What ‘High Horse’ gets right about Black cowboys and the West.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
How Montana tribes are using sovereignty to restore their waterways
‘We live at the backbone of the world, where the water begins.’
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River rift abides
States’ stalemate persists as Lake Powell races toward de facto deadpool.
Posted inFebruary 2026: The Recording Artists
The little-known photographer who documented a changing Okanogan, Washington
A century later, Frank Matsura’s images are still at the heart of families’ memories.
Posted inArticles
New Mexico demands fix for federal nuclear waste management
The state will also fine the Department of Energy millions for violating groundwater standards.
Posted inArticles
See the West’s rich geologic past
An illustrated timescale of Earth focuses on the region’s landscapes, flora and fauna.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
How to find deep time in Seattle
A geologist connects Earth’s history to the amazing stones that clad the city’s buildings.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
The Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater have a surprising link
Mysterious driftwood high in Grand Canyon caves hints at the legacy of Arizona’s huge impact crater.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
Three books explore deep time and help us look forward
The future has already happened.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
What does ‘time immemorial’ really mean?
An overused phrase goes under the microscope.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
Meet the oldest rock in the West
Wyoming’s 3.5 billion-year-old geologic history reminds us that Earth is ever-changing.
Posted inArticles
Colorado cannot heal until it confronts Sand Creek honestly
To move forward, Coloradans must face the massacre’s trauma and begin to repair trust.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
Reno’s Gay Rodeo is back
Nearly 40 years after an armed sheriff, anti-LGBTQ activists and a judge’s order shut down the Gay Rodeo Finals, this year the riders came home.