Natural Resources & Energy

President Joe Biden flew into Idaho today as the first of several stops around the West to talk wildfires, climate change and his infrastructure plan. In Boise, he visited the National Interagency Fire Center, a hub for agencies managing wildfires. He heard about the need for resources to fight and prepare for fires, and talked about bipartisan support for wildland firefighters. He’ll also be visiting California and Colorado during this visit.

When you think of Chihuahua, Mexico, it's probably a dry desert with little plant life. But it hasn't always been so arid. Now, ranchers there are trying to bring back the tall grasses, wildlife and rain using a holistic approach to land management, a method that could be used in the American West in the face of droughts and climate change. Wyoming Public Radio's Melodie Edwards spoke with Alejandro Carrillo who runs the family's Las Damas Ranch and started the advocacy group Pasticultores del Desierto.

Governor Mark Gordon said the Colorado River shortage focuses attention on water storage concerns in Wyoming.

The Biden Administration is starting the process of re-opening federal lands to oil and gas leasing. That comes after a federal judge ruled Biden’s across-the-board moratorium on the leases was an executive overreach.

This past month, the Bighorn Climber's Coalition held a meeting updating area residents and climbers on the upcoming Ten Sleep climbing plan. The management plan is the first of its kind for the U.S. Forest Service. It's needed because the Ten Sleep Canyon has exploded in popularity for rock climbing, but that popularity has also caused stress on the area's natural resources.

The U.S. Interior Department is expanding access to hunting and fishing on about 2.1 million acres of Fish and Wildlife Service land. That’s nearly the size of Yellowstone National Park. While hunters and anglers applaud the efforts, other conservation groups believe that refuges shouldn’t have hunting or angling at all.

Five members of a Wyoming state engineer's advisory board recommended rejecting eight permits to drill high capacity water wells in Laramie County. The case has driven a wedge between neighbors since 2019.

Chronic Wasting Disease is a deadly neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose. It's caused by infectious proteins known as prions and spreads from animal to animal through bodily fluids and tissues. It's been detected in much of Wyoming. And new research from the University of Wyoming has found that this widespread disease is actually changing the genetics of the state's mule deer.

Jackson Hole has a large and growing Latinx population. Local advocate organizations are starting to focus on gaps in opportunities for this community. This summer the community identified the need for paid jobs with career and college training for high school students. So, a program sprouted up to do just that. Wyoming Public Radio's Kamila Kudelska reports.

A recent University of Wyoming undergraduate is already making a name for herself. Megan Anderson published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Ecology and Evolution. It shed light on the value of badger burrows, among other findings. Wyoming Public Radio's Cooper McKim talks with Anderson about the project.