The Mountain West News Bureau is a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KANW in New Mexico, KUNC in Colorado, KUNR in Nevada, Nevada Public Radio, and Wyoming Public Media, with support from affiliate stations across the region.
Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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Across the region, goatheads - or puncturevine - are a scourge to cyclists, walkers and our four-legged friends: they pop tires and embed themselves in shoes and sensitive paws. There are many efforts to halt their spread, and new research could help to better target that work.
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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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Weather is one of the most important and dynamic factors at play on wildfires, and it is the job of incident meteorologists to provide up to date forecasts so that the crews and managers can stay safe and accomplish their management goals. This week these meteorologists and trainees from across the country are in Boise for a weeklong training to get ready for the upcoming season, which is already off to a rollicking start with the grass fires in Texas.
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Nevada has the second-highest grocery prices in the nation, with Colorado and New Mexico also placing in the top 10. High prices mean local food banks are having to help fill in the gaps for many working families.
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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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Nationwide, nearly 17,000 homes on tribal lands didn’t have electricity in 2022, according to federal data. The Biden administration is making new investments to address the issue.
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New research shows cattle grazing can coexist with one of the most iconic and threatened birds in the West.
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A national center for Native radio and TV broadcasters is leading an effort to establish a national alert code for missing and endangered adults.