The West has a plethora of land and a shortage of houses. Some are wondering if a solution lies within.
Bureau of Land Management
Posted inMarch 2024: Fertile Ground
Underground seed banks hold promise for ecological restoration
Indigenous science is using natural regeneration to restore Western
ecosystems.
Posted inArticles
Oil industry profits don’t pay for cleanup
A failure of regulation has allowed industry to avoid the true cost of cleaning up its unplugged wells.
Posted inArticles
How a small town with limited resources is planning for climate change
Oregon’s Grants Pass is known for its climate, and its sustainability plan aims to keep it that way.
Posted inArticles
What happened to the Great American Outdoors Act?
A historic public lands act passed in 2020. Here’s what it’s done so far.
Posted inArticles
Biden plan will earmark millions of acres of public land for solar development
Proposed updates to the Western Solar Plan would also close sensitive areas to utility-scale solar projects.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2024: January 2024
Big-eared bats, badass boulders and very determined hikers
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
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.
Posted inArticles
Outrage, disinformation and threats rise up in Wyoming around a BLM land plan
Is there a new Sagebrush Rebellion flaring in the Cowboy State?
Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry
The dangerous consequences of wildland fire dispatcher burnout
An internal Forest Service survey shows a critical link in the wildfire fighting apparatus is struggling.
Posted inArticles
Public-land recreation management near Moab gets an overhaul
BLM releases new high-profile travel plan for Labyrinth Canyon area.
Posted inArticles
Myth and mending in the true West
People in the region are willing to take time for self-reflection, support and tolerance of differences.
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.
Posted inArticles
Conservation groups sue BLM for rangeland degradation
The lawsuit alleges the agency isn’t conducting environmental assessments before renewing grazing permits.
Posted inArticles
What are the real impacts on Burning Man’s playa?
Viral attention on Black Rock City’s annual festival highlight environmental consequences.
Posted inArticles
BLM has a plan to tackle booming recreation — at least in theory
The agency is taking a hard look at how to protect land and wildlife while welcoming ever more visitors.
Posted inArticles
Public lands had a roller coaster month
Rounding up the Biden administration’s ups and downs on land policy.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire
An antiquated law rules mining in the West
Can the U.S. finally vanquish one of the most enduring Lords of Yesterday?
Posted inArticles
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.
Posted inArticles
Public Lands Rule rhetoric gets wacky
Conservatives aren’t so keen on conservation.