The administration makes the biggest land-management moves in a half century.
Politics
Tribes turn to the U.N. for help intervening in gigantic Arizona wind project
The SunZia transmission line will cut through Indigenous lands in the Southwest.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is still a bipartisan unicorn
As a competing bill emerges, supporters defend RAWA as the ’gold standard.’
Indigenous people rush to stop ‘false climate solutions’ ahead of COP29
The next international climate meeting could make carbon markets permanent. Indigenous leaders call for a moratorium before it’s too late.
At UN, Interior says it’s starting to include consent in tribal policy
The Indigenous-led department is a ’shining star’ when it comes to tribal consultation, but it still has a long ways to go.
Drilling for oil on public land is about to cost a lot more
Long-awaited Interior Department policy will raise financial assurance and royalty rates.
Your guide to the 2024 UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
This year’s gathering of global Indigenous leaders, activists and policymakers puts a spotlight on youth.
Washington’s controversial cap-and-trade program, explained. Really.
It’s hailed as the strongest in the nation, but will it reduce carbon pollution equitably?
A new law seeks to tame mineral extraction at the Great Salt Lake
The new limits may represent a shift in Utah’s cozy relationship with industry.
The good, the bad and the ugly of the state legislative season
While Congress does nothing, Western state lawmakers pass a flurry of consequential and/or crazy — bills.
Oil industry profits don’t pay for cleanup
A failure of regulation has allowed industry to avoid the true cost of cleaning up its unplugged wells.
How a small town with limited resources is planning for climate change
Oregon’s Grants Pass is known for its climate, and its sustainability plan aims to keep it that way.
What happened to the Great American Outdoors Act?
A historic public lands act passed in 2020. Here’s what it’s done so far.
Learning to live with musk oxen
The species were introduced to Alaska’s Seward Peninsula decades ago, without local consent. Now they pose danger to life and property.
Gov. Newsom releases new plan to save California salmon
A wave of dam removals is planned, but salmon strategy relies on voluntary water cuts.
New Mexico pushes back on Big Oil
New bills in the legislature could curb industry excesses.
Will the Supreme Court allow agencies to continue interpreting ambiguity in laws?
If the ‘Chevron deference’ is overturned, federal enforcement of key environmental and health care regulations will be sharply curbed.
Washington’s solar permitting leaves tribal resources vulnerable to corporations
Tribal officials say the process threatens cultural resources and what remains of healthy Indigenous foodways.
The culling of Alaska’s bears and wolves
As the state’s wildlife numbers decline, predators are getting the blame. The true threat is much more complex.
As migration routes shift toward New Mexico, so does death
Migrant deaths in the state have jumped from 2 to 109 in a few years.