Natural Resources & Energy

Three conservation groups are suing the U.S. Forest Service to reverse the 2020 amendment to the Thunder Basin Management Plan. The amendment was announced in December. Western Watersheds Project, Rocky Mountain Wild, and WildEarth Guardians say it will have devastating effects on prairie dogs.

Drought in the Colorado River basin continues into its second decade. Scientists say it's driven high temperatures, low precipitation, and dry soil and streams. Climate change means they're likely to get worse.

The infrastructure bill President Biden signed last week contains potentially big boosts in pay for wildland firefighters as well as expanded mental health services and more opportunities for permanent, year-round work.

"It's the most gratifying job I'll ever have," says a former hotshot. "But it's also a job that made me contemplate suicide and think that my family was better off with a life insurance check than being around what turned into seasonal depression."

Daniel Tom was the target of racism and bullying growing up in Mesa, Ariz. Decades later here in the small mountain town of Buena Vista in south-central Colorado, life is easier, quieter. Still, there are at least a few signs that make him feel unwelcome – actual signs that read “Chinaman Gulch.”

The crossing is designed to lessen the number of animal-vehicle collisions on a stretch of I-25 between Kaycee and Buffalo.

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear population is the largest it has ever been. It's estimated that almost 1,070 grizzly bears are in northwest Wyoming and parts of Montana and Idaho. That number is much higher than the previous estimates which put the grizzly's population estimate at around 750 bears.

A new report from Advanced Resources International gives an update on enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon dioxide supplies for CO2 EOR projects for the end of year 2020. Wyoming currently has six CO2 EOR projects.

Senate President Dan Dockstader of Afton has had an interesting couple of years. Managing through COVID-19 and numerous budget challenges were interesting enough, but he's also been working to either stop the shut down of coal-fired power plants in the state or at least slow the process down.

Jackson Hole is in a unique position in Wyoming. While it's a cornerstone of the state's economy, it's often considered separate from the equality state. Energy and natural resources reporter Cooper McKim recently visited the western Wyoming town to gauge how locals felt about the state and the area's future. He spoke with news director Bob Beck about the visit.