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Are Western Mountain Towns Ready For The Coming Flames?

March 21, 2023

Can't happen here? The Bridger Foothills Fire was Bozeman's WUI wake-up call
Rural sprawl is expanding the "wildland-urban interface." It is elevating the costs and perils of dealing with wildfire, and taxpayers are footing the bill. Part 2 in our ongoing series


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Kissing The 'Quieter Side' Of The Tetons Goodbye?

February 27, 2023

Sunset, amid moonrise, brings alpenglow to the west side of the Tetons above Teton Valley, Idaho
Will Grand Targhee Resort expansion put Teton Valley, Idaho on course to become a doppelgänger of Big Sky? A county commissioner voices her concerns
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Yellowstone: Icon of Infamy or Convenient Scapegoat?

December 5, 2022

A family of Sheepeaters (Tukudika) photographed west of Yellowstone in 1871
Montana writer Todd Burritt pens a scathing review of Megan Kate Nelson's portrayal of America's first national park in her book 'Saving Yellowstone'
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Public Land: It's What Sets The American West Apart

November 30, 2022

"Wind River Mountains, Nebraska Territory," 1862, an oil painting by Albert Bierstadt
Writer Dave Marston discusses what he's thankful for as we move from one year to the next Answer: public lands and the wonder they inspire
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How Do We Prevent Wild Greater Yellowstone from Unraveling?

November 29, 2022

Pronghorn migration in Greater Yellowstone
Special report: What can be done to save the Yellowstone ecosystem? If we're serious and want to have a reason for hope, here are several big ideas for how to do it
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Is Gallatin County Willing To Sacrifice Its Namesake Elk To Rural Sprawl?

March 24, 2021

Will viable ag or elk disappear from Bozeman first?
The amazing images of Holly Pippel, a nature photographer from Gallatin Gateway, Montana, remind us what's at stake as Bozeman's boom threatens the persistence of wildlife
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When Wild Nature Enters Our Dreams

February 28, 2021

What are your dreams telling you?
From visions to daydreams to the imagery that visits us in slumber, dreamscapes can reveal much about ourselves and how we're navigating the world
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Waiting For Elk To Disappear From 'The Last Hundred Acres'

February 23, 2021

The imperiled southwest corner of Montana's Gallatin Valley
Greater Yellowstone resident Rob Sisson pens an essay about his sorrow in watching a wapiti migration route vanish on the outskirts of Bozeman, Montana
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What Does River Conservation Really Mean?

February 16, 2021

"In the Stillness of Dawn," a painting by Brent Cotton
The Week That Is: If you ask river protectors you're likely to get different answers. Is growing recreation pressure a problem?
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"Public Trust" Is A Film About America's Natural Heritage That Will Rile You

October 16, 2020

The Sheenjek River flows from ANWR
Patagonia made a film about America's great natural asset—our public lands—and it is raising a ruckus. We interview the Montana journalist who appears in it.  You can also see the film here, now.
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Experts Say The Magna Carta Of American Environmental Law Is Under Siege

January 12, 2020 // Conservation, Ecosystem Protection, EPA, Public Lands

A natural gas field in Wyoming
Special Report: The National Environmental Policy Act benefits the lives of all Americans every day. So why is the Trump Administration weakening It?
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Up North There's Concern About Skinny Grizzlies And Declining Salmon

November 11, 2019

A coastal grizzly feasts on salmon
Another reminder that all grizzly foods aren't equal. When you lose one, as has been shown in Greater Yellowstone, it can disorder things at an ecosystem level
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A Doctor Plumbs The Depths Of Ivan Doig's Illness And Asks: 'Did He Have An Epiphany?'

October 5, 2019

Ivan Doig taking notes at Fort Peck
Robert Patrick, a Doig fan and end-of-life-physician, writes of what he found in the famous author's journals
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Terminal Diagnosis: How Montana Writer Ivan Doig Coped With His Own End

October 5, 2019

Ivan Doig
Doig's spirit springs to life in the MSU Library Archives, revealing his literary triumphs, fears and what lay in his heart 
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