In his debut collection, poet Jake Skeets summons beauty through darkness.
New Mexico
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
How Big Rec chooses its public-lands battles
Outdoor industry giants stood up for Bears Ears. Why won’t they stand up for the Borderlands?
Posted inArticles
Ancestral remains to be returned to Navajo and Hopi nations
Finland will repatriate more than 600 items to 26 tribes.
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 inArticles
Border wall construction in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a travesty
The barrier divides the monument and nearby wildlife refuges.
Posted inArticles
In New Mexico, schools struggle to address a teen suicide crisis
Sixteen-year-old Aurra Gardner ended her life after her mother repeatedly asked school counselors for help.
Posted inArticles
I used to raise cattle for slaughter. Now I refuse to eat meat.
Once a holistic rancher, Laura Jean Schneider reflects on her decision to abandon the industry.
Posted inSeptember 2, 2019: In Bad Faith
The desert gets a biocrust skin graft
Without its cover of living microorganisms, the desert is eroding.
Posted inSeptember 2, 2019: In Bad Faith
Can Western states afford to break the boom-and-bust cycle?
Climate action on public lands would force a reckoning for fossil fuel dependent states and communities.
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
Who pays for infrastructure in Borderland colonias?
In places like Vado, New Mexico, good roads are hard to find.
Posted inArticles
The fallout of uncertainty in nuclear test communities
For downwinders of bomb testing, plans for compensation to redress past harms makes for tricky politics.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
Staffers allege misconduct at BLM’s busiest oil and gas office
Complaints to Interior’s Office of Inspector General reveal concerns that the Carlsbad Field Office broke laws to favor industry.
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River needs a long-term plan for drought
Western states bought some time with a historic agreement but still face a hotter, drier future.
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.
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It’s time to move the Bureau of Land Management out of D.C.
(Most) of those living in the West have the public lands’ best interest at heart.
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Court throws book at BLM over fracking Chaco
The agency failed to consider water use.
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Western states work to shore up abortion access
‘State laws might become the law of the land.’
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
See where PFAS pollution has been confirmed in the West
Western states lag behind in both monitoring and regulating the class of ‘forever chemicals.’
Posted inMay 27, 2019: Public Pushback
Plumbing the Gila for solace and hope
A new book contemplates nature, solitude, grief and grace.
Posted inArticles
Public lands top Rep. Debra Haaland’s agenda
One of the first Native American women elected to Congress is fighting fossil fuel development on ‘the most pristine and beautiful places in our country.’