The EPA approved Montana’s weaker standards for nutrient pollution during the government shutdown.
Water
Posted inArticles
Skimpy snow makes life worse for skiers — and everyone else
The sport may seem selfish, but it reminds us why good snowpack matters.
Posted inArticles
Top Interior Department official has ties to Thacker Pass lithium mine
Karen Budd-Falen’s family ranching operation agreed to sell water rights to the company developing the controversial Nevada lithium project.
Posted inArticles
Water across the West at risk as Trump targets national monuments
A new study found that about 83% of water passing through public lands uses monument designation for its only protection.
Posted inArticles
The big data center buildup
An AI server farm tsunami threatens to overwhelm the West’s power grid and water supplies.
Posted inArticles
Will this threatened frog stop drilling near Denver?
Northern leopard frogs were found near the site of what would be one of state’s largest fossil fuel operations.
Posted inArticles
Why Colorado River negotiations are so difficult
Basin states have had 2 years to figure out how to share the shrinking river. Will they get there before the feds step in?
Posted inArticles
‘It’s a story of hope’: Reflections on undamming the Klamath
A Q&A with Amy Bowers Cordalis about her new book on the multigenerational effort towards dam removal.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
Inventing habitats
Reconciliation means meeting a landscape on its own terms.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
Inventando hábitats
La reconciliación significa encontrarse con un paisaje en sus propios términos
Posted inArticles
Phoenix subdivision builds move ahead, despite water concerns
The first crack in the area’s suspension on new housing that relies on groundwater appears.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
Want fluoride in the water? Too bad.
Across the West, lawmakers are skipping over the will of voters and yanking fluoride.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
The dried-out subdivisions of Phoenix
A groundwater crisis halted the construction of thousands of homes and pitted affordability against environmental concerns.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
What do fens do? Make peat, store water and help combat climate change
Meet the researchers restoring these unique wetlands high in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
The joyful responsibility of cutting fish
My favorite job reminds me that working together is everything.
Posted inArticles
Resistance to data centers rises on the border
In Doña Ana County, New Mexico, residents have long struggled to access clean water. Now, developers plan to spend $165 billion on a massive data center complex.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
The Rio Grande’s pecan problem
How Big Ag is threatening New Mexico’s water supply.
Posted inSeptember 2025: Who Controls Our Food?
Who controls food in the West?
Consolidation, shifting politics, water rights and the myth of the cowboy all play into the region’s ability to feed itself.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire is a growing threat to the West’s water systems
How fire and water managers can prepare.
Posted inAugust 2025: Fire Culture
The West’s data centers suck (water and power)
From simple searches to chatGPT, the big digital buildup threatens the grid and water supplies.