Key takeaways from our investigation revealing how expensive properties use a system meant to help farmers and ranchers.
Law
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The EXPLORE Act is a blueprint for bipartisan conservation legislation
Bipartisan support for the act highlights the outdoor industry’s growing political clout, but questions remain about its cultural and environmental impact.
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Montana’s ag tax slashes bills for thousands of million-dollar homes
Properties classified ‘agricultural’ get a tax break despite no bona fide operations. Can lawmakers’ new proposals tighten qualifications?
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Tribes sue after massive wind farm in Washington gets green light
The Yakama Nation contends that the project, which threatens ceremonial sites and wildlife habitat, is unlawful.
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The Supreme Court decisions that gutted environmental protections in 2024
Several major cases destroyed federal agencies’ ability to address climate change and pollution.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
Legal weed entrepreneurs promised a windfall from tribal lands. Then it fell apart.
The Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone are still picking up the pieces from the failed cannabis cultivation venture.
Posted inDecember 2024: Land as Reparations
Is your pension fund liquidating Oregon’s forests?
Lax state regulations create a timber bonanza for institutional investors.
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Beautiful Bears Ears is at risk, again
What are the consequences for the land if the incoming president shrinks the national monument?
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In rural Washington, a ‘constitutional sheriff’ and his growing volunteer posse provoke controversy
Where some see a ‘rural neighborhood watch’ that saves money, others worry about liability and ties to extremism.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
States own lands on reservations. To use them, tribes must pay.
How schools, hospitals, prisons and other institutions in 15 states profit from land and resources on 79 tribal nations.
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5 takeaways from our investigation into state trust lands on reservations
An investigation by High Country News and Grist reveals how public institutions benefit from extractive industries on Indian reservations.
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As cities enact camping bans, where will California’s unhoused population go?
The number of people experiencing homelessness vastly exceeds the number of available shelter beds in the state.
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Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking
Climate, public lands and tribal law regulations are now likely to face legal challenges.
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Supreme Court curtails agencies’ ability to enforce regulations
The repeal of the bedrock Chevron doctrine throws climate and conservation laws into doubt.
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Supreme Court gives cities and towns power to criminalize homelessness
The Oregon case has been closely watched by Western cities and states.
Posted inApril 2024: Epic Journeys
Youth are leading the way on climate action
Start thinking like young people to secure our future.
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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What happened to the Great American Outdoors Act?
A historic public lands act passed in 2020. Here’s what it’s done so far.
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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.