Our feature story in this issue tells the harrowing story of two Peruvian brothers who came to Wyoming to be sheepherders, only to find themselves virtual prisoners, forced to labor under abusive conditions. In an excerpt from a new book, we learn how California’s Coachella Valley reinvented itself as an Arabian Nights fantasy to market the delicious dates it grew. Wildland fire dispatchers’ jobs are exhausting, stressful and woefully underpaid; invasive smallmouth bass threaten the Grand Canyon’s native fishes, and new legislation is bringing clean energy jobs to the West. You have to locate native bumblebees before you can protect them. A good snow year doesn’t mean a good snowpack if sublimation steals away the snow’s moisture, and renting in gentrified San Francisco is never easy. A writer consider Justice Scalia’s thoughts on waterways as she enjoys them; and digging around outdoor — whether for roly-poly bugs or dinosaur fossils — will open your eyes to wonder.
New legislation is creating a clean-energy project pulse
Will the manufacturing renaissance finally displace fossil fuels?
Short-lived or shallow, it’s still water
Notes on what is fluid and flowing, even if ephemeral.
Staving off a bass invasion
As Lake Powell shrinks, smallmouth bass threaten the Grand Canyon’s native fishes.
Backscratching bears, seismic singers and happy birthday to Herman the Sturgeon
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
‘This is when I feel the most alive — the most me’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Los peligros del pastoreo
Trabajadores con visas H-2A sufren en su mayoría precariedad laboral mientras sostienen a la industria ovina del Oeste de EE.UU.
The dark side of America’s sheep industry
Sheepherders face wage theft, isolation, hunger and alleged abuse.
Letters to the editor, October 2023
Comments from readers.
Statement of Purpose
A poem by Erin Marie Lynch.
Thanks for reading
Our summer reading challenge has come to a close.
The dangerous consequences of wildland fire dispatcher burnout
An internal Forest Service survey shows a critical link in the wildfire fighting apparatus is struggling.
A Hxstory of Renting
Using art to preserve what gets lost when a community gentrifies.
How the Coachella Valley became known for its dates
Bringing the desert fruit to California created a Middle Eastern mirage.
Too much too fast
Life has speeded up; have you noticed?
Slowing down the pace of childhood
How can you teach kids to appreciate slowness in a speeded-up world?
To protect wild bumblebees, people have to find them first
For six years, hundreds of volunteers have counted bumblebees across the Northwest. Their data is shaping pollinator conservation nationwide.
The case of the Colorado River’s missing water
Researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of snow that falls but never shows up in the river.