MWNB

Republican lawmakers are increasingly turning to the Congressional Review Act to overturn federal agency decisions, including public lands management plans in Montana and Wyoming last year. But it has never before been used to target a national monument.

Researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno, have received a $9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study an unlikely candidate for future fuels: cactus pear.

Modern drones map farmland, inspect power lines and help fight wildfires across the Mountain West. Nationwide, the drone industry now employs more than 100,000 people — and demand for trained pilots continues to grow.

The discovery in the Nevada desert could make a big difference to consumers in the future.

The team, led by a Boise State University civil engineering researcher, looked at half a million wildfire starts, and hundreds of attributes about them. Beyond the obvious weather variables like wind speed, temperature and humidity, they also considered human factors like density of development.

The legislature is looking at stopping SLAPPs, lawsuits meant to silence people who speak out, like journalists or whistleblowers.

A new report finds 2025 brought widespread drought, massive wildfires and destructive windstorms across several Mountain West states — and underscores how closely connected those disasters have become.

Steve Pearce, Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management, said he would not propose large-scale sales of public lands.

Wildfires are a top concern across the region. But certain parts also fall within "hail alley" — the part of the country that sees the most hailstorms. It's driving up insurance costs in unexpected places.

President Trump’s nominee, Steve Pearce, is a former New Mexico congressman and Vietnam War pilot. The opposition feels he could sell off public land.