Avangrid Renewables said they plan to review comments from tribal nations and private landowners.
State Government
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Is your community ready for a wildfire?
Local governments throughout the West are investing in wildfire defense. Here’s how to know if yours is one of them.
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Wildlife habitat and tribal cultures threatened by Washington’s largest wind farm
The newly approved renewable energy project is planned across an eco-corridor and ceremonial sites.
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Wenatchi-P’squosa people demonstrate against proposed solar project
The Badger Mountain development in eastern Washington threatens heritage foodways on sacred lands.
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Washington’s controversial cap-and-trade program, explained. Really.
It’s hailed as the strongest in the nation, but will it reduce carbon pollution equitably?
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Could building on public land address the housing crisis?
The West has a plethora of land and a shortage of houses. Some are wondering if a solution lies within.
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The good, the bad and the ugly of the state legislative season
While Congress does nothing, Western state lawmakers pass a flurry of consequential and/or crazy — bills.
Posted inApril 2024: Epic Journeys
How states make money off tribal lands
Ten states own 1.6 million acres of land within 83 tribal nations’ reservations. How did they get there?
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A proposed bottle-deposit bill in Washington would help the environment — and low-income communities
The legislation would add a premium for bottles returned by organizations supporting people who rely on deposit refunds.
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Stolen Indigenous land is the foundation of the land-grant university system. Climate change is its legacy.
Extractive industries are filling public university coffers on stolen land.
Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst
Learning to live with musk oxen
The species were introduced to Alaska’s Seward Peninsula decades ago, without local consent. Now they pose danger to life and property.
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Gov. Newsom releases new plan to save California salmon
A wave of dam removals is planned, but salmon strategy relies on voluntary water cuts.
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New Mexico pushes back on Big Oil
New bills in the legislature could curb industry excesses.
Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst
Washington’s solar permitting leaves tribal resources vulnerable to corporations
Tribal officials say the process threatens cultural resources and what remains of healthy Indigenous foodways.
Posted inDecember 1, 2023: December 2023
Has Montana solved its housing crisis?
A spate of new state laws will spur housing development. Will anyone be able to afford what’s getting built?
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New Mexico’s displaced coal miners have gotten the shaft on severance pay
The state’s just transition plans promised by the Energy Transition Act haven’t panned out for many workers.
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California will need $21.5 billion to clean up its oil sites. Who’s going to pay for it?
As industry transitions away from fossil fuels, its profits will fall behind remediation costs.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen
How the tiny brine shrimp can help protect the Great Salt Lake
A conversation with the sixth-grade activists behind Utah’s new state crustacean.
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What hazardous cargo moves on Colorado railroads? It’s a ‘black box’, even to state regulators
In many Western states, 19th-century laws and deregulation allow chemical- laden trains to roll in obscurity — leaving hazmat teams guessing.
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Western legislatures take on foreign land ownership
Six bills in six states propose limits on who can own land, homes and natural resources in the region.