& the West
Published since 2016, ‘& the West’ offers reporting, research, interviews, and analysis on the environmental future of California and western North America. It is produced by the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. More about us »
A fixture of the West for millennia, the storms are becoming more frequent as the byproduct of water diversions and climate change.
What we’re reading elsewhere.
The difficulty in collecting data on heat deaths; Utah’s legal attack on federal ownership of public lands in the state; Canadian wildfires last year released more carbon than all but three countries; new challenges as the Wilderness Act turns 60; trucking grizzly pairs around the mountain West; and other environmental stories from around the region.
Why heat deaths are so hard to track. In 2023, the federal Center for Disease Control, reported that 2,300 Americans died from heat-related causes. But some scientists are sure this is an undercount; one study of deaths in the late 1990s and early 2000s estimated 10,000 annual heat-related fatalities. The CDC relies on death certificate information and there are no systematic protocols for local officials to follow in deciding what role heat played in a person’s death.. NEW YORK TIMES
What tribes are doing to get salmon back with Klamath River dam removal almost done. After more than a year and $500 million in expenditures, the last of the four Klamath River dams is almost gone, allowing the water to flow freely for more than 40 miles. Members of the Karuck tribe, who fought for dam removal for decades, are now working to restore the salmon runs that were an integral part of their ancestors’ lives. They are seeding new plants and tagging the few chinook salmon they find to see if they will follow their ancestors’ path up the river. LOS ANGELES TIMES California details plans for reintroducing fish in the Klamath River. COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
Utah has sued the federal government for control over public lands. What are its prospects? In the decades since the Sagebrush rebellion of the Reagan area, Utah officials have argued that the federal government is overreaching when it asserts control over state lands that were never distributed. Legal precedent supports the argument that Congress has authority over public lands, but the Supreme Court has recently shown a willingness to overturn precedent. HIGH COUNTRY NEWS In a podcast, John Leshy, a law professor and expert on public lands discusses the underpinnings of the lawsuit and its prospects. CENTER FOR WESTERN PRIORITIES
The Canadian wildfires of 2023 released more carbon emissions than all but three countries: China, the United States and India, according to a new paper in the journal Nature. Large boreal forests like Canada’s have long been considered carbon sinks; but when they burn extensively, the remaining trees may not absorb the fire’s emissions. AXIOS
Disappearing snowpack in the West. Is the end of western mountain snowpacks in sight? San Francisco Chronicle Washington Post
Disappearing water in the West. Does groundwater have a future in California, or is its depletion inevitable? Stanford Earth Matters
Disappearing water, Part II. Water agencies serving 27 million Californians are on their own next year, getting nothing from state water projects. Los Angeles Times
Disappearing water, Part III. Small farmers in the Central Valley wonder: where is Kings County water going? SJV Water
Oregon’s proposed Jordan Cove liquified natural gas project abandoned. It was designed to include a liquified natural gas terminal and a 229-mile natural gas pipeline and send liquified natural gas to Asian markets. Oregon Public Broadcasting
Interior Secretary Haaland works to eliminate racist place names, like those using the word “squaw.” How names like “Chinaman Gulch” affected one Asian American. Grist KSUT
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Associate editor
Geoff McGhee specializes in interactive data visualization and multimedia storytelling. He is a veteran of the multimedia and infographics staffs at The New York Times, Le Monde and ABCNews.com. MORE »
Editorial Assistant
Xavier graduated from Stanford in 2023 with a degree in economics and is currently a master’s student in Stanford’s journalism program. He has written about the high phone call costs faced by U.S. inmates, temporary Mexican workers’ interactions with the labor market and the efficacy of government healthcare assistance programs. A lifelong lover of charts and maps, he enjoys combining data journalism with narrative-style reporting.
‘& the West’ is published by the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University, which is dedicated to research, teaching, and journalism about the past, present, and future of the North American West.
Faculty Director
Associate Director
