Utah grapples with its future of industry around its dying inland sea.
Mining
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New Mexico’s displaced coal miners have gotten the shaft on severance pay
The state’s just transition plans promised by the Energy Transition Act haven’t panned out for many workers.
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Outrage, disinformation and threats rise up in Wyoming around a BLM land plan
Is there a new Sagebrush Rebellion flaring in the Cowboy State?
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Could the 151-year-old mining law finally be reformed?
A working group calls for reforms in advance of a green metals boom.
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The state of tribal co-management of public lands
As National Public Lands Day approaches, Indigenous leaders discuss working with agencies to manage dispossessed lands.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2023: Food Justice
Revisiting the Rock Springs Massacre
In 1885, white coal miners in Wyoming Territory, murdered at least 28 Chinese men and ran the rest of the Chinese out of town at gunpoint. These artworks bring that history back to the present.
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Public lands had a roller coaster month
Rounding up the Biden administration’s ups and downs on land policy.
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See inside the Grand Canyon region’s new monument
A weeklong journey through the under-documented region, which now has new protections.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire
An antiquated law rules mining in the West
Can the U.S. finally vanquish one of the most enduring Lords of Yesterday?
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
How private interests benefit from tribal water settlements
When power players like mining and agriculture are involved, tribal nations, usually the senior-most water-rights holders, often must fight obstruction.
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Oak Flat development is on pause. What that means for tribal nations
The U.S. Forest Service has told a federal court it is not sure when it will move ahead with the review process.
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San Carlos Apache call for international intervention over copper mine at Oak Flat
At the U.N., leaders describe the destruction of Indigenous sacred sites as a ‘major human rights violation.’
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Free, prior and informed consent ‘is more than just a checklist’
Avoiding a new wave of green colonialism is an urgent concern among attendees of the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous peoples.
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A ‘seismic shift’ for public lands?
The new Public Lands Rule would put conservation on par with other uses.
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Will the new U.N. High Seas Treaty help protect Pacific salmon?
In March, conservationists worldwide celebrated the historic agreement, which governs the ocean waters where salmon spend most of their lives.
Posted inApril 1, 2023: The Path Forward
How do you keep migrating birds off a giant toxic lake?
Engineers struggled to keep snow geese away from Montana’s deadly Superfund site, but ecologists have a new plan.
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After a controversial merger, Nevada Gold Mines union is back
In 2019, management abruptly stopped recognizing a union. This week, the company and the union negotiated a new contract.
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EPA and Montana mining company promise action after revelations of cozy relationship
Previous reporting showed how regulators and the mine teamed up to rebut independent researchers.
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The EV mining rush could come to Montana’s mountains
A company announced it found the country’s highest-grade rare earth deposit in Montana.
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Construction starts on Nevada’s Thacker Pass lithium mine
The controversial mine, located on the site of an 1865 massacre of Paiute people, is opposed by tribes and environmental groups.