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Prescribed fires and mechanical thinning efforts are increasingly common land management tools intended to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. But research into their long term effectiveness is somewhat limited. A recent study looked at the effects of such interventions over more than 20 years on a dry, low-elevation research forest in Montana, and found that the combination of thinning and burning was the most likely to reduce fire risk.
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A recent paper explored the challenges exacerbated by climate change faced by Latino farmworkers in Idaho, which are comparable to the issues faced by such workers across the West.
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The Western Governors' Association has been looking for ways for its member states to reduce their carbon footprint. One thing they're exploring is how government buildings are built and whether carbon can be stored in concrete.
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The federal government says this is the nation’s warmest winter on record. And a new study shows human-caused climate change was the driver in many cities, including parts of the Mountain West region.
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The Gila River Indian Tribe (GRIC) in Arizona said it does not support the Lower Basin's proposal for post-2026 river management, adding a new layer to complicated negotiations.
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More than 100 years ago, a professor in the Mountain West invented a tool and technique to measure the amount of water in a snowpack — a discovery that still lives on to this day.
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The seven states that use water from the Colorado River have proposed competing plans for how it should be managed after 2026. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming have one plan in mind. California, Arizona and Nevada have a different idea. The states primarily disagree about the how to account for climate change and how to release water from Lake Powell.
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The Environmental Voter Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that surveyed at voters in 18 states to see which ones prioritize climate change or environmental issues. The report found that voters 65 and older are the second-most concerned group when it comes to the environment.
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Many farmers across the Mountain West grow alfalfa, which is dried into hay and fed to beef and dairy cattle. But it requires a lot more water than most crops. Now, researchers are working on new technologies to reduce the amount farmers use. Still, some say allowing them to grow such a thirsty crop in the arid West is the problem.
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The Forest Service’s recently released “Strategy to Expand Prescribed Fire Training in the West” document is blunt: “The prescribed fire implementation environment continues to grow in complexity, IT READS, whereas the ability of practitioners to practice and hone their expertise has lagged, particularly in the Western United States.” The newly established Western Prescribed Fire Training Center is a major effort to address that workforce issue.