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Big Sky, Montana: A New West Mountain Town Primed For Its Own 'Big Burn'?

April 19, 2023

Where there's smoke there's a big fire brewing
This high-profile resort community is at 'very high risk to wildfire' and an emblem for the dangers of building in the Wildland-Urban Interface. Part 3 in MoJo's ongoing series
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Montana, In The Wake Of 'Yellowstone' and 'A River Runs Through It'

February 27, 2023

Is all the attention destroying last, best places?
Thirty years after Norman Maclean's novella was brought to big screen, many are lamenting how it, and the TV melodrama 'Yellowstone' have fueled an inundation of western Montana
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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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Climate Scientist says Water, Wildfire Greatest Concerns in GYE

February 14, 2023

The 2013 Alder Fire burned 4,240 acres in Yellowstone National Park
Dr. Cathy Whitlock: scientist, professor and lead climate assessment author talks climate future
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When Humans Assert Their Oversized Egos On The Land

February 6, 2023

In St. George, Utah, homeowners play king of the mountain
As trophy homes invade beloved public viewsheds, Richard Knight says the West has become an exploiter's paradise
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Should Enviro Groups Be Promoting More Human Recreation Use Of Still-Unspoiled Places?

January 10, 2023

Two's company, but crowds can destroy the magic of wild places
A longtime Montana conservationist calls out a group for promoting its 'Trail of the Week' at a time when natural areas are being overwhelmed at the expense of wildlife
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Win Or Lose, Liz Cheney's Legacy In American History Will Be Non Sibi Sed Patriae

August 16, 2022

Not so long ago, prior to Jan. 6, 2021, Liz Cheney defended Trump
In this op-ed, Tom Sadler reflects on Wyoming's Republican primary and what Lincoln, Roosevelt, Ike and Reagan would make of Harriet Hageman
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Juggernaut: Industrial Recreation Deepens Its Tear Across America's Wildlands

April 27, 2022

At what point is nature conquered?
Is outdoor recreation Manifest Destiny 2.0?  Get ready, the West is about to experience a rush to expand the outdoor recreation infrastructure like never before. Is that a good thing for nature?
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Another Colorado Mountain Town Copes With Impacts Of Growing Recreation Pressure On Wildlife

April 9, 2022

A bull elk in the mountains near Steamboat
Outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, expanding trails and intensity of use are impacting how elk use the landscape and may be causing their numbers to fall. 
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How Serious Are We, Really, About Protecting The Yellowstone Ecosystem?

February 9, 2022

What's good for grizzlies is good for all Greater Yellowstone wildlife
If the answer is saving America's greatest wildlife region, Catherine Semcer writes, then a more valiant and courageous effort aimed at conserving private lands needs to begin right now
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A Winterkeeper's Reflections On Yellowstone's State Of Ambient Beings

January 29, 2022

For half a century winter has been Steve Fuller's muse
In a stirring presentation of fantastical imagery, Steve Fuller shows why—and how—Yellowstone becomes wonderland when temperatures fall, the snow flies and water turns to ice
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'Gunfight' Is One Of The Most Important Books You May Ever Read About Guns In America

December 22, 2021

What Ryan Busse loves to do when he's not writing
Ryan Busse, a Montana hunter, was once a gun industry executive who helped create the uncivil war over firearms in America. Now he's trying to change the discourse before it's too late
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Surrendering Nature To Politics: Are US National Parks In Retreat?

November 3, 2021

Wapiti vs. cattle: In this range war, who should win?
The triumph of cattle and farmers over elk in Point Reyes echoes the same public outrage involving wapiti, wolves and bison in Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Grand Canyon
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Forest Service "Debacle" In Black Hills Must Not Be Repeated Elsewhere

September 22, 2021 // Forest Service, Logging

What thinning the forest to save it looks like in South Dakota
Former second in command of US Forest Service questions agency's accelerated push to thin forests and log big trees in response to fire, insects and climate change. Felling forests, Jim Furnish says, is not a strategy to save them
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