Two decades into the 21st Century, broadband internet access still falls short of reaching tens of millions of Americans — especially in hilly and remote parts of the rural West. But local initiatives and creative uses of technology are slowly helping close the divide.Continue readingBy Land or Sky, Rural Western Communities Seek an Elusive Good: Broadband Internet Access
Author: Felicity Barringer
If other figures in American law are celebrated for what they changed, the late Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas has been celebrated for what he kept unchanged. Continue readingJustice Douglas’ Real Roots Were in the Wilderness: Q&A with Judge M. Margaret McKeown
With outdoor recreation in its east and fossil-fuel resources on the west, can Garfield County develop an economy that serves both ends?Continue readingAstride Two Wests, Colorado County Faces a Tricky Economic Balance
In 1919, a difficult cross-country trek made the case for better roads in the West. The roads came, but a hundred years later, Central Nevada may be as isolated as ever.Continue readingU.S. Route 50 Was the Best Way to the Pacific; Now, It’s a Road to the Past
As was true a half century ago, forces in Washington, D.C. want to loosen emission requirements and strip California of its ability to impose tough standards for vehicle emissions, and once again, California officials are fighting back.Continue readingCalifornia’s Vehicle Emissions Fight Continues a 50-Year Struggle
An academic study supports the notion that one way to mitigate wildfires is clearing out trees, brush and brambles in the forest understory, often with prescribed burns. But proponents face a slew of obstacles, from pollution concerns and shrinking seasonal windows, to the vast scale of undertreated western forestland.Continue readingGaining in Public Acceptance, Can Prescribed Fires Head Off Devastating Wildfires?
With new rules coming into effect, farmers and municipalities using groundwater must either find more water to support the aquifers or take cropland out of use. To ease the pain, engineers are looking to harness an unconventional and unwieldy source of water: the torrential storms that sometimes blast across the Pacific Ocean and soak California. Continue readingPutting a Tempest into a Teapot: Can California Better Use Winter Storms to Refill its Aquifers?
In Utah, outdoor recreation is more and more of a booming business. Its impact on the land is still being understood, but there are few limits in sight.Continue readingCattle or Tourists? Utahns Debate Which Is Harder on Public Lands
Green power source or fish killer? As older dams around the West come up for relicensing, their owners know that they’ll have to spend heavily to fix problems, while new energy sources are getting cheaper.Continue readingAs Relicensing Looms, Aging Dams Face a Reckoning
New rules and new technology are giving farmers and managers a better look at groundwater supplies.Continue readingAs California’s Groundwater Free-for-All Ends, Gauging What’s Left