Return of the Grizzly
No longer federally protected, is the great bear ready to strike out on its own?
In the early 20th century, tourists gathered around dump pits in Yellowstone National Park to watch grizzlies devour trash.
New Neighbors
Wyoming ranchers are key to black-footed ferret recovery
Lenox Baker’s hands gripped the steering wheel, and the large silver ring on his finger glinted, revealing an outline of a black-footed ferret.
Collaborate or Litigate
Local collaboration faces off against outsider litigation in the long, slow process to help a threatened species
From his Chevy Silverado, Phil Fine watched heavy rain fill up an irrigation ditch on his family farm in central Oregon.
Modernizing the Act
As calls for ESA reform have conservationists on high alert, western governors offer a way forward
“Here’s the problem. The Endangered Species Act isn’t working today,”
Gone
A meditation on extinction
No more northern white rhinos live in the wild, and the three in captivity are too old to reproduce.
Wyoming’s Only Endangered Plant
A tale of re-discovery
In the 1850s, the geologist Ferdinand Hayden crossed the Nebraska Sandhills on an expedition to map uncharted territory and chronicle its natural resources.
A Win-Win Situation
What’s good for sage grouse is good for landowners
I met Peter John Camino in the lobby of the Johnson County Public Library in Buffalo, Wyoming.
To the Bat Cave!
Conservationists turn to tourism to protect endangered bats
In the 1980s, more than 50,000 visitors toured Colossal Cave annually.
Lesson from a Tortoise
The Endangered Species Act works best when it’s never invoked
A first encounter with a gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) may not leave a lasting impression in one’s mind;
A “Just Transition” for Fossil Fuel Workers
The search for a jobs-positive shift to clean energy
Nearly 500 Wyoming coal miners were laid off last spring, and in the past two years roughly 5,400 oilfield workers lost their jobs in the state.
Energy Transition
Our world needs more energy and less CO2
The world needs more energy. More than 1.4 billion people live without access to electricity.
Amphibious Citizen Scientists
Wildlife managers turn to volunteers for help collecting hard-to-get data
I swished my dipnet through water and vegetation at the edge of the beaver pond, creating swirls of mud that obscured the bottom.
Conservation Easements
An open spaces protection tool worth reforming
In 2002, when Robert Hicks, owner of the Buffalo Bulletin newspaper in Buffalo, Wyoming, learned that the Johnson County commissioners canceled a conservation easement
Measuring Rain, Snow, and Hail
An international volunteer network bests the fanciest technologies
The second week of September 2013, rain pummeled Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Wyoming Stickers
Three lifelong ranchers reflect on private lands values
“For somehow, against probability, some sort of indigenous, recognizable culture has been growing on Western ranches and in Western towns
Tribes Tackle Drought
New and old approaches help the Wind River Reservation prepare for a changing climate
During the record-setting hot and dry years of 2012 and 2013, severe water shortages on the Wind River Indian Reservation turned fields to dust and forced cattle ranchers to sell their herds.
The Dinosaur Keepers
An unlikely crew helps a private land fossil find a good home
“They tend to die like an old cow in a draw,” Row Manuel says from the back seat.
Home Away from Home
How does conservation happen when the landowner lives elsewhere?
In Texas, authorities are dealing with a rash of timber thieves sneaking onto far-flung parcels of absentee-owned lands
“When Land Does Well for Its Owner, and the Owner Does Well by His Land”
An interview with the Sand County Foundation about the state of private lands conservation
Among the writings of forester and conservationist Aldo Leopold
Selling Conservation
UW research reveals landowners’ surprising attitudes about conservation easements
Chris Bastian grew up working on his grandparents’ ranches in southeastern Wyoming every summer and thought he’d spend his life as a rancher.