Publication: High Country News

Broad support for public lands in the West is forcing some Republicans to break with the White House.

The focus on fossil fuels once again trumps economics and common sense. The US domestic coal mining industry peaked in 2007, and it has been in a free fall ever since. This is due not to regulations, but to market forces that clearly prefer other generation sources.

As lawmakers push back, the kids aren’t giving up.

Western states were using funds from the Infrastructure Act to clean up pollution left behind by industry.

The research co-ops funded by Congress each year since 1960 provide substantial returns for taxpayers.

Our work was physically challenging and never lucrative, but we did it because we believe in the importance of access to public lands. The day-to-day reality of our jobs only reinforced that belief. Spending time in wild spaces is what makes us feel at once more human and also more connected to the world outside … Read more

Farmers, tribes and rural advocates in rural Oregon raise alarms about the empty promises of biofuels.

Forest Service employees generally tackle arduous, unglamorous work that, if done correctly, is invisible to most of those who benefit from it. The loss of these key environmental stewards—due to the terminations by the ad hoc Department of Government Efficiency—will be keenly felt across the West, home to most of the nation’s public lands.

In Alaska, a biologist and her family learn how quickly these iconic predators can change the menu — and bend the rules.

An annual poll included residents of eight Western states, the majority of whom identified as politically conservative or moderate. Westerners recognized the importance of public lands for recreational opportunities, mental health benefits, and providing habitat for wildlife.