Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Utah
Posted inArticles
Can cloud seeding help the West’s drought?
States consider weather modification to make it rain.
Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast
This year’s deadly avalanche season
Low snowfall has led to catastrophic conditions around the West.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Will the climate crisis tap out the Colorado River?
Water availability is going from bad to worse in the seven states that rely on the drought-stricken river.
Posted inArticles
Western lawmakers lead a movement to protect natural hair
A recent wave of legislation fights for Black women’s right to wear natural styles and have safe hair products.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
The alternatives to Instagram-ready desert art
Popular installations often frame the desert as austere and inhospitable. But there are artists who look at the land differently.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line
Bears Ears is just the beginning
As the Biden administration begins, tribal nations with ties to Utah assert their relationships to the land.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Why Utah’s wild mink COVID-19 case matters
‘Vet-virologist’ Anna Fagre discusses the first positive case detected in the wild — and how ‘spillover’ could impact the West.
Posted inArticles
Pikas are adapting to climate change
The resilient species is altering its behaviors in response to changing conditions.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line
The Washington, D.C., siege has Western roots and consequences
History and the growing power of right-wing extremism point to a volatile future for the West during the Biden presidency.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
How the Zoom boom is changing the West
Remote workers are flocking to Western towns.
Posted inArticles
Lawsuit over proposed fossil fuel railway in Utah moves forward
The plaintiff says funding earmarked for the project was meant for communities ‘to alleviate the boom and bust cycle of energy production.’
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
20 signs that the climate crisis has come home to roost
From Alaska to Wyoming, evidence shows the climate is off-kilter in the West.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
Elections in the West highlight divisions and diversity
Justice, power and environment: The 2020 elections were defined by grassroots organizing and deep partisanship.
Posted inArticles
Wilderness rescuers brace for a busy winter
Snow is on the way — and amid COVID-19, recovery missions are on the rise.
Posted inArticles
Bracing for unlawful militias and vigilantes at the ballot box
Emboldened by Trump’s rhetoric, armed groups plan to post up near poll sites.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
Killing the Vegas Pipeline
Nevada’s attitude toward water is changing.
Posted inArticles
Six states threaten lawsuits if feds fast-track the Lake Powell Pipeline
The Trump Administration’s plan to expedite review of Utah’s diversion project undoes decades of collaborative agreements between the states that rely on the Colorado River.
Posted inArticles
Wildish Podcast: Why helicopter gathers are so controversial
Episode Four: The risks inherent in the Bureau of Land Management’s ‘most humane’ method of wild horse removal.
Posted inArticles
The Navajo Nation and White Mountain Apache Tribe chase down a virus
Contact-tracing programs in two areas hit hardest by COVID-19 are working.