Local governments throughout the West are investing in wildfire defense. Here’s how to know if yours is one of them.
Forests
Posted inArticles
Will the Northwest Forest Plan finally respect tribal rights?
Tribal representatives are pushing the U.S. Forest Service to respect treaty rights and bring cultural fire back to the region’s forests.
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Project 2025’s extreme vision for the West
The demolition of public lands, water and wildlife protections are part of conservatives’ plan for a second Trump term.
Posted inJune 2024: The Idea of Wilderness
What if the future is the past?
Degrowth offers a path for dealing with our serious environmental issues.
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The West’s wetlands are struggling. Some have been overlooked altogether.
Wetlands are carbon-storage powerhouses — and many are unmapped.
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Killing one owl to save another
Is it ever the right thing to do? Two ethicists weigh in.
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Meet the tree-sitters who occupied a ponderosa pine
The Oregon activists call attention to ongoing clearcuts in old-growth forests.
Posted inApril 2024: Epic Journeys
Reflections on Barry Lopez
Terry Tempest Williams contemplates her friendship with the late author and what he left behind.
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Remove dams to fight the climate crisis
Ten reasons bringing down these barriers are key for mitigation and adaptation.
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What’s on your Christmas tree? Hint: Not just ornaments
A lack of data obscures the possible polluted legacy of a holiday tradition.
Posted inDecember 1, 2023: December 2023
Horrible holly: A festive plant runs amok
Meet the scientists and conservationists fighting to save the Northwest’s forests from an invasive plant.
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Recover the redwoods landscape
Not only do the great trees offer resilience to climate change and shelter abundant biodiversity, but they are magic.
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What the past’s extreme wildfires can tell us about the West’s wildfire future
The fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 – and 2,500 years of forest history – offer both hopeful and concerning lessons.
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The West’s overlooked rainforests can address climate change
A new book advances the idea that protecting old-growth forests is better for the climate than planting new trees.
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In logging country, a community protects its woods as an act of resilience
The Butte Falls Community Forest can bring in tourists and protect the community from wildfire.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen
Sugaring the Pacific Northwest
How climate and cost cramp bigleaf maple syrup production.
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Fire retardant kills fish. Is it worth the risk?
A lawsuit could change how the Forest Service fights fires.
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The EV mining rush could come to Montana’s mountains
A company announced it found the country’s highest-grade rare earth deposit in Montana.
Posted inMarch 1, 2023: Moving Parts
Get to know the whitebark pine
This threatened tree feeds and shelters the high country.
Posted inArticles
In the once-cool forests of the Pacific Northwest, heat poses a new threat
Drought can stress trees to death, but heat’s effects are less known. New research could hold the keys to protecting conifer forests.