Ditch “inefficiencies” give us wetlands
Imagine Westerners waking up one morning only to discover that many of their most cherished wetlands have dried up, gone….
Since 1917, five generations have lived along the Animas Consolidated Ditch outside of Durango, CO, Patty Zink pictured, courtesy Dave Marston
MoreAn invitation to play the climate-change game
Let’s play a game, the climate-change game that every living thing on Earth has no choice but to play, starting…
Dead Horse State Park, Moab, Utah, Andres Haro, Unsplash
MorePepper Trail: There’s so much worth saving
For a long time, climate change was largely perceived as a distant threat. But Oregon biologist Pepper Trail, 70, who…
MoreWe need to know avalanches inside and out
There’s a fine line between learning from the mistakes of others and shaming people for their ignorance. Twelve people have…
Image by Will Turner, via Unsplash
MoreGlen Canyon Dam has created a world of mud
When the San Juan River flows out of the San Juan Mountains in Southwestern Colorado, it contributes 15% of Lake…
Calving sediment below Clay Hills, UT San Juan River, courtesy Chad Niehaus
MoreA terrible dilemma faces the Great Basin
The long drive between Salt Lake City, Utah and Reno, Nevada on Interstate 80 feels endless, the landscape timeless. But…
Toquima Range from Monitor Valley, Nevada, Steve Trimble photo
MoreWhat did Westerners care about in 2023?
This past year, Writers on the Range, an independent opinion service based in western Colorado, sent out 52 weekly opinion…
Arches National Park, image courtesy Writers on the Range
MoreWhat really affects hunting in the West
A disgruntled hunter wrote a Writers on the Range opinion recently about Westerners getting fed up with the many out-of-staters…
MoreLive rough and know the real world
Guides in the outdoor industry inevitably come up with collective nicknames for customers. On horseback they’re “dudes,” on the river…
MorePulling thistles, sowing hope
For the past few years I’ve participated in “Thistle Thursdays,” targeting a popular trail near Jackson, Wyoming. The weekly weed…
musk-thistle-bloom
MoreFarewell to two radicals with a common goal – changing the West
The West lost two larger-than-life conservationists this year, and while I considered both friends, they couldn’t have been more different….
Sid Goodloe and wife Cheryl
MoreAre beavers always the answer? Not really
Beavers, through their assiduous dam building, can recharge groundwater and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. In the Pacific Northwest,…
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