Mapping the possible impacts of the Roadless Rule overhaul
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Posted inApril 2026: Inside the Attack on Public Lands
The Trump administration sent Greater Yellowstone into chaos. What’s next?
The region survived a year of deep cuts and layoffs. Here’s who is picking up the pieces.
Posted inArticles
Forest Service overhaul sows confusion, concern
In the Trump administration’s reorganization of the struggling agency, painful echoes of BLM’s past moves.
Posted inArticles
Bureau of Indian Affairs could face reorganization, deeper staff cuts
Tribal leaders say previous cuts have already impacted the government’s ability to carry out programs in Indian Country.
Posted inFebruary 2026: The Recording Artists
What’s needed to protect sage grouse?
The Burns Paiute and Shoshone-Bannock tribes are proving that reducing grazing may be the key to saving the iconic bird.
Posted inArticles
Would you pay 1% more for wildlife?
A bill in the Oregon Legislature would tax tourists for conservation.
Posted inArticles
Alaska’s public lands are a political battleground
The first year of the second Trump administration saw a bewildering array of federal actions in the 49th state. Here’s your guide to where things now stand.
Posted inArticles
6 takeaways from our public-lands grazing investigation
Subsidies prop up ranching, grazing degrades the land and politics underpin the system.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
How ranchers accused of breaking the rules dodge oversight
Elected officials interfere with agency efforts to protect the land.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
Congress made it easier to ignore grazing’s harm to public lands
Federal law requires agencies to review the environmental impacts of grazing, but government employees allege the system is riddled with loopholes.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
How we reported Free Range, our grazing investigation
Data and analyses used in the stories.
Posted inArticles
Sen. Mike Lee’s new bill permits ‘tactical infrastructure’ in wilderness areas
The Border Lands Conservation Act gives the Department of Homeland Security the power to waive myriad federal laws, including the Wilderness Act, under the pretense of border security.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
Loopy lagomorphs, warning off wolves, the best of Buddys and diminutive dinosaurs
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
The dismantling of the Forest Service
The Trump administration’s plans would remake the agency and public lands. The deadline to comment is Sept. 30.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
What old growth forests have to do with your food
More than you might think.
Posted inArticles
How to comment on the planned roadless rule rollback
The deadline to weigh in on the change is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 19.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
The Rio Grande’s pecan problem
How Big Ag is threatening New Mexico’s water supply.
Posted inArticles
Court delays land transfer that would enable copper mine at Oak Flat
The Western Apache and a coalition of environmental groups have fought for years against the Resolution Copper mine, which would become one of the country’s largest at the cost of a site revered by the tribe.
Posted inArticles
‘Help is not on the way’
As fire season ramps up, thousands of Forest Service firefighting positions are vacant.
Posted inArticles
Trump administration budget cuts wreak havoc on trail maintenance
As tourism season begins, trail crews are facing disruptions in key trail maintenance projects.