Architects of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act tried to forestall conflict between state regulators and local groundwater users. But judging plans “inadequate” creates hard-to-reconcile differences.Continue readingEfforts to preserve California’s groundwater enter a new phase: a season of judgement
Author: Felicity Barringer
A fixture of the West for millennia, the storms are becoming more frequent as the byproduct of water diversions and climate change.Continue readingRising from dead and dying lakes, western dust storms menace species, drivers, and public health
New technologies and spiking power demand are drawing attention to the Ring of Fire beneath us.Continue readingIn the shadow of wind and solar, geothermal energy gets a fresh look
A federal push to return American Bison herds to tribal control raises hopes that the once-abundant species can regenerate landscapes and restore native traditions. Continue readingDo buffalo still roam the American West with Native tribes? And if so, where?
“We have to provide a way for firefighters to enter and exit the career in a healthy manner,” says an advocate for improved working conditions.Continue readingFor wildland firefighters, another battle looms: for pay and mental health care to match their growing workload
The data-driven insurance business is in trouble as climate-change-driven disasters arrive with greater fury and frequency. Continue readingFor beleaguered homeowners and their insurers, the fire next time could be a flood
Experts believe the Chinese balloon downed over the Atlantic coast this month was snooping on U.S. missile defenses. Part of the landscape for a half-century, they are headed for a costly refresh in an era of rising global tensions.Continue readingSpy balloon controversy draws attention to western nuclear missile facilities
New agencies find making sustainability plans is hard, but easier than persuading growers to accept them.Continue readingA simmering revolt against groundwater cutbacks in California
The “poster child” for dispossession The Lakota Sioux were given control of land including Mount Rushmore, above, in an 1868 treaty, but lost it after gold was discovered in the South Dakota’s Black Hills. In 1980 the Supreme Court recognized Congress took the land without payment and awarded the Tribe $100 million. Tribal leaders are…Continue readingNative American land return movement makes gains, faces obstacles
The emerging science of road ecology has been tallying the cost of collisions to animal populations and vehicle owners. Now western states are mitigating the danger, a process that new Federal money could accelerate.Continue readingWildlife crossings seek to reconnect the animal West