Extreme weather, exacerbated by human-caused climate change, is a fact of life in the West today. This month, we look at how two Latino farm families fought to recover physically, economically and emotionally after record-breaking storms hit California in 2023. In Washington, the Yakama people are determined to restore ancestral lands polluted by nuclear weapons production at the Hanford Site. How do birds cope with wildfire smoke? Low-income, marginalized and unhoused urban residents are uniquely vulnerable to extreme heat. Eagle Mountain, Utah, tries to reconcile rapid development with wildlife migration, and the West says goodbye to a legendary mule deer. Is there enough water in the arid West to satisfy the microchip industry’s thirst? New Mexico takes a surprising lead in early childhood education. The remarkable Native leader who fought colonization and gave his name to the Little Shell Chippewa people is remembered. How do we find the right words to discuss climate change? Romance novels are for Indigenous readers, too, and blueberry-picking is an Alaska family tradition.
After historic floods, the safety net failed small farmers
Climate disasters are killing the largest subset of California farms. Government programs are too.
The vision of Little Shell
How Ayabe-way-we-tung guided his tribe in the midst of colonization.
Indigenous celebration of Hanford remembers the site before nuclear contamination
At the fourth annual Hanford Journey, Yakama Nation youth, elders and scientists share stories about a land that is a part of them.
The inequity of heat
Extreme heat doesn’t discriminate; the ability to escape it does.
How do you protect wildlife from sprawl?
A fast-growing Utah exurb gets serious about migration corridors.
A silicon revival in the West
Is the region ready to produce the world’s most advanced technology?
How New Mexico made child care free for most families
The state, long known for its challenges with child wellbeing, is now a leader in early childhood education.
What the tundra provides
Picking blueberries fills more than just a bucket.
Can words help us out of climate despair and toward repair?
How naming the climate struggle matters.
‘There are no rules when it comes to art’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
Morning Mist
A poem by Arthur Sze.
Tear it down
Turning retired industrial landscapes into open space.
Fur-class travel, wonderful whippets, delinquent donkeys and a white buffalo
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Memories of summer road trips
Did you get out there yet?
Letters to the Editor, August 2024
Comments from readers.
Indigenous people deserve gushy romance novels
‘The Truth According to Ember’ is a summer rom-com about Native people learning to be their authentic selves.
What happens to birds when it’s smoky outside?
A community science initiative along the West Coast is using volunteer observations to study the effect of wildfire smoke on birds.
Deer 255 reaches the end of her journey
The ungulate migrated farther than any deer known to science.