Proposed updates to the Western Solar Plan would also close sensitive areas to utility-scale solar projects.
Joe Biden
Is Biden waging a war on energy? Or on the climate?
A year-end review of the administration’s policy on fossil fuels and public lands.
2023 in Native environmental news
The beat’s biggest news that you might have missed.
Lower Snake River dams closer to coming down with new agreement
After decades of litigation, the historic initiative among states, tribes and the federal government signals a dramatic change for the region.
Pondering public lands and the energy transition conundrum
Fighting the climate crisis will require difficult choices.
Western states saw increasing poverty and lower incomes in 2022
From Alaska to Wyoming, cash assistance can pull families out of income hardships.
Public lands had a roller coaster month
Rounding up the Biden administration’s ups and downs on land policy.
Extreme heat hits the rural Southwest
How community members keep one another safe.
An antiquated law rules mining in the West
Can the U.S. finally vanquish one of the most enduring Lords of Yesterday?
New public-land drilling rules would overhaul the Western oil industry
The potential new rules would hike the amount companies must pay in order to drill, in addition to other changes.
Public Lands Rule rhetoric gets wacky
Conservatives aren’t so keen on conservation.
BLM aims to grow wind and solar development on public lands
A proposed rule decreases the fee for renewable power production that experts say currently bolsters fossil fuel extraction.
Biden’s push for power lines
Can a flurry of new power lines tame California’s solar conundrum?
Avi Kwa Ame is now a national monument
Biden’s proclamation protects parts of the Mojave Desert in southern Nevada and includes tribal co-stewardship.
The Biden administration just approved a huge oil project in Alaska
The Willow project threatens local lifeways and wildlife in Nuiqsut, Alaska.
The state of the land: Biden’s mixed conservation record
The president has riled up just about everyone with his public-land policies. Maybe that’s a good thing.
‘Roadless rule’ protections for the Tongass National Forest are back
The Biden administration has reinstated pre-Trump protections in the Tongass. See what’s at stake.
A year in the Borderlands: The biggest stories from 2022
With a little help from our friends, HCN untangles the complexities of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Western voters favor public lands
Trumpism and extremism didn’t fly during the 2022 midterms.
Post-Trump, wildlife passages along the border wall keep narrowing
As construction continues, U.S. and Mexican conservationists work together to preserve remaining corridors.