Some hikers leave plenty of traces

Part of my job as a Grand Canyon educator is picking up stuff a hiker drops or leaves behind next…
MoreThe push is on to strip big trees from our national forests

It didn’t get much notice, but President Trump has turbocharged logging on public lands in ways that are likely to…
MoreThe slippery slope of e-bike access

When I visited Bryce Canyon National Park recently, the shared paths were crowded with electric motorcycles. They say they are…
MorePublic land goes back on the chopping block

The radical notion of selling off public lands is back. And this time it seems that only the Congress can…
T. A. Barron
MoreErasing history, one park at a time

As the philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It’s true that…
MoreProtect the firefighters who protect our homes and forests

You probably don’t see wildland firefighters on the job because they usually work in remote areas. But with wildfires moving…
Federal firefighters digging a fire line, photo courtesy National Interagency Fire Center
MoreBeware the Trojan Horse targeting public land

Sometimes when I drive past the little house my wife and I bought when we first married, 30 years ago,…
MoreWhat westerners cared about in 2024

Writers on the Range, an independent opinion service based in western Colorado, sent out close to 50 weekly opinion columns…
MoreObservations of a fire lookout

The writers Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder and Norman McLean all staffed high-elevation fire lookouts in the West—their experiences rich fuel for their work. But Jack Kerouac’s reaction makes…
MoreOld fire lookout towers find renewed purpose

There’s a small wooden cabin at the top of Northwest Peak, a few miles from Montana’s borders with Idaho and…
MorePublic land protectors are ready for a fight

President Donald Trump’s first term was a disaster for America’s public lands. While the prospects for his second term are…
The Citadel, Bears Ears National Monument, Dave Marston photo
MoreHow a controversial poison saved Utah Lake

Ninety-five-thousand-acre Utah Lake is a major water source for the Great Salt Lake. If it dries up or sickens, so…
More