Small-scale processing is on the rise, but ranchers still need buyers’ buy-in.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Posted inArticles
The state of tribal co-management of public lands
As National Public Lands Day approaches, Indigenous leaders discuss working with agencies to manage dispossessed lands.
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Meet the beetle threatening Washington’s cherries, hops and other crops
Invasive Japanese beetles are drawn to flowers and fruit. Washington officials are trying to eradicate them from the state.
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The miller moth is hard to love, but it deserves our respect
Every summer, the migration of the small insect plays a role in the food web. Don’t be annoyed when they show up in your bedroom.
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The recipe for restoring damaged lands is missing one key ingredient: seeds
A new report highlights recovery solutions to fires, droughts and other climate catastrophes.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal
What does the nation’s commitment to tribal co-stewardship mean for public lands?
The Biden administration’s policies signal a shift in lands management, but a sea change is yet to come.
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Interior’s plan won’t solve the Colorado River crisis. Here’s what will.
What if farmers competed with one another to cut water consumption?
Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge
Not-murder hornets, sentient chatbots and an AirBearNBear
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
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New bird flu strain threatens North American wildlife
Thousands of seabirds, geese, eagles and vultures are dead, as wildlife health experts recommend a revolution in disease management.
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Local priorities and USDA funding strategies meet up in Southeast Alaska
The Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy shifts how the federal government finances the region’s rural development projects.
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The Colorado River’s alfalfa problem
Growing less hay is the only way to keep the river’s water system from collapsing
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Botanists find one of ‘the world’s worst weeds’ spreading in the Boise foothills
Cogongrass is the latest of a fast-growing number of invasive plants threatening Idaho’s fire-prone rangelands.
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Was Yellowstone’s deadliest wolf hunt in 100 years an inside job?
Veteran park service employees were involved in last year’s hunt, but one says he’s a victim of a federal ‘witch hunt.’
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Wildlife in the West: The good, the bad, the in-between
Conservation and wildlife corridors can help, but is it enough?
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Yes, the drought really is that bad
The Western U.S. is experiencing its worst drought since 800 A.D.
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Why rural communities struggle to bring in much-needed federal grants
A new analysis suggests that over half of communities in the West lack the capacity to take advantage of infrastructure bill funding. Now what?
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Cows, coal and climate change: A Q&A with the new BLM director
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses how the federal agency sees conservation, the climate crisis and the Indigenous history of public lands.
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Corporations are consolidating water and land rights in the West
With farms, ranches and rural communities facing unprecedented threats, a worrying trend leads to a critical question: Who owns the water?
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Where is central California’s water going?
Small farmers struggle as ag titans wheel water for profit.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Wild horses, buffalo and the politics of belonging
On the Wind River Indian Reservation, two animals slip between the cracks of what is wild and what isn’t.