Environment
Archive
For decades, park leaders have predicted that swarms of tourists could ruin public lands. Is anyone heeding their advice?
Like many beautiful, accessible natural attractions, Arizona's Horseshoe Bend has become too popular for its own good. Is it too late to protect it from hordes of Instagram obsessives?
Pet waste has become a major pollutant, both outdoors and at home
'Of The West' from Orvis features silversmith Jillian Lukiwski sharing how her work is influenced by a life outside.
Measures in the federal government's new spending bill should help the Forest Service manage fires, but there's still more to be done.
Lawmakers didn't listen to the president’s call for less spending on land management and the environment—and put their foot down when it came to interior secretary Ryan Zinke’s reorganization plan, too
Ryan Zinke is using parts of an Obama administration–era idea that would've drastically changed the DOI. Now it's causing him trouble.
While dams are being decommissioned throughout the developed world, activists are descending on Albania to fight for the Vjosa River.
Because of drought and rising temperatures, wildfires in the West will grow so large and regular they could reshape entire forests
This trailer for In The Starlight from filmmaker Mathieu Le Lay profiles astrophotographer Paul Zizka as he explores night skies from Greenland to Namibia.
Internal documents suggest Utah and federal officials failed to take into account Native concerns and input as they downsized the national monument
Study finds that high-elevation areas in the Himalaya are seeing wetter, more frequent slides
New "vision cards" issued by the department charged with overseeing public lands for recreation and extraction are heavy on the latter
And global warming could bring more of it to the surface
Devon O’Neil watched from a distance as Irma—one of the strongest storms to ever hit land—battered the Caribbean island of St. John with 200-mile-per-hour winds. Two months later, he returned to the place where he grew up to help clear the wreckage and process the destruction of his former home.
Record low snowfalls have made national news, but it came as no surprise for the characters in the End of Snow, from Day’s Edge Productions.
On March 21, the Department of Interior will hold the largest auction of offshore leases in U.S. history, including all unleased areas on the Gulf of Mexico’s outer continental shelf. But do energy extractors actually want such land and waters?
A legal complaint says the three leaders are in violation of a 20-year-old law and casts doubt on whether they have any authority at all
After nine years and two presidents, it's not big environmental groups with the best shot at defeating the pipeline—it's a bunch of well-organized locals.
A new report suggests that the answer is no, which could impact hunted species across the U.S. and Canada
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation works with local property owners and agencies to buy land and turn it over to the public
Temperatures were brutally low at this year’s running of the 300-mile competition, and one frostbitten competitor may lose his hands and feet. Is this just the price of playing a risky game, or does something need to change?
She was a pioneer for women in the industry
In seasons with little snow, people make fewer trips to the mountains, which has a huge impact on local economies
Efforts to manage human waste in national parks have failed miserably. Now a creative scientist may have found an elegant remedy.
As sea levels rise and megastorms become more frequent and intense, answering that question might be the key to preserving coastal life as we know it
Lies, damned lies, and "fantasy" White House budget proposals
As rescuers worked to save seven climbers, television crews live-streamed everything. The question is: should they?
That’s 2 percent of overall GDP—putting it on par with other major economy-drivers (and larger than oil and mining).
Navajo climber Len Necefer is using social media to remind us of our wild places' indigenous histories
From Tyax Adventures, Switchback Entertainment, and MBTA, and Norco Bicylces, Respect takes a critical look at backcountry mountain biking.
From filmmaker Justin Clifton and Chris Cresci, A Line In The Sand is an animated video which illustrates the value and power of public lands.
A very serious look at the most fatal critters in the country
The future of the West depends on whether we can keep it in check
The Alaska senator is gambling with America's most pristine lands—and winning
Shrinking the national monuments was just the tip of the iceberg
Companies focused on resource extraction now have access to huge chunks of the former national monument
His fishing boat washed ashore Tuesday morning in France. A massive search is underway.
The résumé of P. Daniel Smith, including a troubling work history
Would you a take a year of your life to get outside, work hard on public lands, and learn some skills, for a minimal stipend? Some members of Congress—from both parties—are betting you might.
Brands, activists, and politicians gathered at the start of the Outdoor Retailer trade show to rally around public lands
A new poll of eight Western states reveals that most people are actually on the same page about public lands, renewable energy, and the importance of outdoor recreation
Cliven Bundy's claim to federal land has only whiffs of legal merit. This lawsuit is all about politics.
One acre inside Grand Teton National Park is for sale for $5 million. Its future says a lot about our national parks, Jackson Hole, and the tension between preserving history and budding tourism.
With his office's insult-laden response to the resignation of the NPS Advisory Board, the secretary proves that, like his boss, he's not above mudslinging
The big cat might be officially extinct—but it’s also making a comeback
In Arizona, the Verde River was running dry, so Kim Schonek devised a plan to save it with the help of everyone's favorite malted beverage.
A semi-detailed list of everything we know (and we still have plenty of questions) about possible public land closures starting tomorrow if the lights go out for the feds
We care about public lands, and that's why we're joining a discussion about how to preserve them at the Outdoor Retailer show
Upon arriving in northeast Oregon, conservationist Brian Kelly was given two job offers; cook or sheep herder. He took the obvious choice and spent the next year shepherding a herd of sheep through the landscapes surrounding Hells Canyon.
10 tips from a Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalist on how to nail the perfect shot
A plan to bring some 200 bears to Washington's North Cascades was reportedly stopped by the Department of the Interior, jeopardizing the species' recovery.
EnergyNet, an online auction company from Amarillo, Texas, is set to make a fortune from oil and gas leases under the Trump administration. And good luck finding a way to protest.
As governor, Mitt Romney was an environmental champion. Presidential candidate Romney, however, fell in line with the GOP. What kind of Utah senator would he be if he succeeds Orrin Hatch?
To close out 2017, the president chipped away at protections meant to keep public lands, waters, and wildlife safe
Within the understaffed offices of the DOI, is any work actually getting done?
As the Thomas Fire scorched hundreds of thousands of acres and forced communities to evacuate, Stuart Palley and other fire photographers rushed to the front lines
Part of the former monument could be designated Wilderness—and you have a say
Probably not this time. Eva Holland looks at how a disturbing wildlife image went viral—generating anguish, anger, and confusion about the undeniably warming Arctic.
Though gear company Millican travels across the globe seeking inspiration for their products, they know adventure lies right out the back door in the Lake District.
The family has long argued that the government was willing to bend the rules to put the family away—now a judge seems to be listening
The Story of Place from The Grand Canyon Trust follows filmmaker Ace Kvale, writer Craig Childs, and Zuni tribe member Jim Enote. They’re on a journey to help elucidate this region’s cultural significance in order to protect it from resource extraction.
In a world where our time and attention are fractured into smaller and smaller bits, legendary biologist and runner Bernd Heinrich is a throwback, a man who has carved a deep groove in his patch of Maine woods
From filmmaker and storm chaser Dustin Farrell, Transient is a collection of shots taken over the summer of 2017.
The GOP tax-reform package will save companies billions. But it likely came at the cost of Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and ANWR.
On a 5 month residency with the Native land's advocacy ground Utah Dine Bikeyah near Bears Ears National Monument, filmmaker Alisha Anderson had the opportunity to make a series of films about the tribal connection to nature.
Did Donald Trump "steal" public land when he shrunk two Utah national monuments on Monday? Depends on who you ask.
On a good day, driving down I-405 here in Los Angeles is considered the commute from hell. Yesterday, things got a little more literal.
In the last 18 months, long-simmering disputes have boiled over amid claims of trespassing, political meddling, government bullying, and retaliation. Some worry that what’s happening there may harbinger what’s to come on public land across the nation. It’s enough to call the situation, well, you know.
REI and the North Face have joined the Ventura-based gear maker in standing up for our public lands
The fight over Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments is just getting started
An in-depth look at the GOP's full-scale assault on our 640 million acres of public land
Two bipartisan bills show how the left and the right can converge on public land policy
Early in his political career, the interior secretary irked fellow Republicans with his willingness to stand up for conservation. Things have changed, and whether you love or hate his ideas, know this: he’s one of the few Trump-era cabinet secretaries with the juice to make things happen, and he’s got the boss’s back.
Donald Trump just reduced Bears Ears by nearly 85 percent. Here's what you're saying.
Get ready for lawsuits. The five tribal nations that supported the formation of the monument say they will respond with legal action and continued collaboration.
Researchers at the University of Montana found that nearby towns dependent on tourist dollars stand to lose millions
New documents suggest that President Trump's Monday announcement will involve downsizing the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by nearly a million acres each
Filmmaker Adrien Mauduit will always remember October 2017. For three consecutive mornings, from October 17 to 19, he captured the sun rising over France's Jura Mountains to create this film Rise.