A look at some of the journalism from 2021 that inspired us, made us feel seen, and, sometimes, even made us cry.
Wildlife
Posted inArticles
Where are Alaska’s snowy owls?
The birds serve as an alarm bell for the repercussions of environmental change.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
The emotional lives of wolves
Biologist Rick McIntyre uses anthropomorphism to tell the story of his subjects.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
An owl army, a tire-less elk and a minor coup attempt
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
What would a healthy Klamath River look like?
An illustration of a complex ecosystem that could exist again.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Wild horses, buffalo and the politics of belonging
On the Wind River Indian Reservation, two animals slip between the cracks of what is wild and what isn’t.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Sharing the slopes
Will skiers compromise to help a dwindling herd of bighorn sheep?
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
How heat waves warp ecosystems
After the Northwest ‘heat dome’ this summer, scientists look for signs of ecological ruin — or resilience.
Posted inArticles
After more than 50 years in captivity, will Tokitae ever get justice from Seaquarium?
A new USDA report finds further mistreatment of the exploited Washington orca.
Posted inArticles
The Westiest programs in Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The act is the New Deal redux, with a splash of ecosystem restoration.
Posted inArticles
‘A ticking time bomb for a mass die-off’
Recent grazing decisions continue to risk Southwest Colorado’s bighorns.
Posted inArticles
Pueblos in New Mexico turn to goats for fire management
As climate change exposes wildfire risks, tribes by the Rio Grande experiment with a four-legged technique to nibble away fuels.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
Wiggling ice worms; historical matchmaking; bizarre Utah politics
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire smoke pushes migrating birds hundreds of miles out of their way
‘I was glued to my computer for days, trying to figure out what these birds were doing, because it was so clearly, obviously, not normal.’
Posted inArticles
California oil spill contaminates restored wetland
The Talbert Marsh is refuge to at least 90 species of shorebirds, and now it’s slicked with oil.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Collecting seeds to restore prairie grasslands
‘These youth are going to be able to take ownership of healing the land at Fort Belknap.’
Posted inArticles
Just how fat are the fat bears?
Katmai National Park and Preserve’s famous bears from Fat Bear Week are helping provide some answers.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Behind the wire with a fence ecologist
How researchers are using science and data to help wildlife.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
How wildlife sightings create community
What we share and what we keep quiet in small mountain towns.