No one wants to collide with a deer

A deer stands paralyzed in the middle of a mountain highway, stunned by the lights and deafening roar of an…
Moose crossing on highway animal wildlife overpass. On the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park.
MoreWhen giants fall, we need to listen

“God has cared for these trees …but he cannot save them from fools.”— John Muir In just two years, wildfire…
MoreLet’s tell the truth about those big, bad wolves

The return of wolves to the West has always been contentious, and the deaths last fall of more than 40…
Hans Veth via Unsplash
MoreChronicle of an abandoned oil and gas well — one of millions

Even from a distance it’s clear that an oil and gas well called “State Senate #2” in New Mexico has…
Abandoned well, Jonathan Thompson image
MoreColorado is conflicted about cutting its water use

In Colorado, farmers must enroll in a four-state program by March 1, if they want to get paid for fallowing…
Tom Kay in front of his John Deere tractor, image: Dave Marston
MoreIt’s do or die for the Great Salt Lake

Last November, the Great Salt Lake, iconic landmark of the Great Basin Desert, fell to its lowest surface elevation ever…
Antelope Island Looking Over Great Salt Lake, photo courtesy of Michael Shoemaker
MoreBackcountry adventurers know they’re taking chances

Six people have died in avalanches in the United States since the snow started to fly this fall. Every year,…
Five backcountry skiers cross a avalanche path while hiking outside of Jackson Hole Resort, Wyoming.
MoreThe West is an exploiter’s paradise

High on a mesa where everyone can see it, a trophy house is going up in the northern Colorado valley…
Outside Capitol Reef, photo courtesy of Michael Shoemaker
MoreThe housing crisis is harming my town

In Girdwood, Alaska, we’ll long remember the snowstorm of Dec. 6, just three months ago. But it won’t be for…
Girdwood Valley courtesy of Nathan Searles
MoreAtmospheric rivers endanger the West

Moab, Utah, gets just eight inches of rain per year, yet rainwater flooded John Weisheit’s basement last summer. Extremes are…
Glen Canyon Dam under construction 1960-63, courtesy USBR
MoreWhat also counts is where the snow falls

This week Writers on the Range explores the possibility of dangerous flooding in the Colorado River Basin. But there’s something…
A girl and her dog sledding at Durango’s off-leash dog park Jan. 20, photo courtesy Dave Marston
MoreBanning books is for bullies

By Crista V. Worthy Some people have become so alarmed by what children might read in school or in libraries…
Image courtesy of Rediscovered Books, Caldwell, Idaho
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