The remaining Tiehm’s buckwheat inhabits less than 20 acres near a proposed mine for lithium and boron.
Mining
Posted inArticles
Will a new copper mine risk Montana’s Smith River?
A group of conservation organizations have challenged the mine’s operating permit in court.
Posted inArticles
Questions surround Pebble Mine’s environmental review
As a decision on the open-pit mine nears, documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act unveil agency critiques.
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Fallout: First cancer, now delayed compensation for Indigenous downwinder communities
Bureaucratic roadblocks mean ‘apology’ payouts are hard to access for Indigenous communities exposed to nuclear tests.
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Uranium mining threatens our home, the Grand Canyon
Since time immemorial, the Havasupai have lived inside the natural wonder. We face yet another peril.
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How Mormon history helps explain today’s public-land fights
Betsy Gaines Quammen’s new book looks at the Bundy family and religion’s connection to the Western landscape.
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What are the Trump administration’s new plans for Utah monuments?
Tribal nations and conservation groups hope to dismantle the policies in court.
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Forest Service delays copper mine planned on sacred land
‘Oak Flat is still on death row.’
Posted inMarch 1, 2020: Predator (Mis)perceptions
Trump targets a bedrock environmental law
Three years of rollbacks have taken a toll, without delivering real benefits.
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Interior finalizes plans to welcome industry into Utah monuments
The plans for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante provide ‘certainty’ to business owners and communities, officials said.
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
In rural Colorado, the kids of coal miners learn to install solar panels
Where the mines once provided steady employment, solar energy now offers jobs for the next generation.
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
Feds give Navajo uranium contract to firm with sketchy past
A High Country News investigation finds the EPA awarded Tetra Tech a contract despite knowing its subsidiary had likely engaged in data manipulation, false reporting and profiteering.
Posted inArticles
What are wild burros doing to Death Valley?
New research suggests that the introduced wild donkeys may benefit native species, but the National Park Service wants to remove them.
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
The prospect of more Airbnbs tempts a struggling New Mexico town
Vacation rentals have gutted the culture of nearby communities, but a new project in Questa flips the narrative.
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
The feds tried to make an example of a small Washington coal mine. It didn’t work.
The John Henry Mine last produced coal in 1999 and has yet to be fully reclaimed.
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
While ‘zombie’ mines idle, cleanup and workers suffer in limbo
Instead of paying to clean up the mess left by mining, companies are warehousing their operations indefinitely.
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
With coal in free fall, Wyoming faces an uncertain future
As demand shrinks and the industry retracts, counties and the state are in an untenable situation.
Posted inArticles
The Pebble Mine saga enters a new chapter
The close of public comments is marked by familiar dividing lines and surprising feedback from an EPA official.
Posted inArticles
Federal and tribal coalitions challenge Canadian mining
‘It’s about British Columbia being a really bad actor as an upstream neighbor that pollutes our water.’
Posted inArticles
New Mexico’s oil boom has made rural roads deadly
As oil wells multiply in the Permian Basin, the influx of heavy vehicles exacerbates risks for those living in the area.