Murphy Woodhouse
Mountain West News Bureau Boise ReporterExpertise: Audio production, field reporting, photography, wildfire policy
Education: University of Montana + University of Arizona
Highlights
- I’m fluent in Spanish and love putting Spanish on the air
- I’m an all-conditions bike commuter and e-bike evangelist – EVERY day is a good day to ride
- I’ve seen two total solar eclipses, and intend to see many more before I die
Experience
I joined Boise State Public Radio and the Mountain West News Bureau (MWNB) in April 2023 after about a decade working as a print and radio reporter on both sides of the Arizona-Sonora border. Most recently I was based in the Sonoran capital Hermosillo working for the Phoenix NPR affiliate KJZZ. At the MWNB, I’ve tried to leverage my past experience as a wildland firefighter to provide listeners with informed coverage of a number of key issues in wildland fire. I’m especially interested in efforts to improve the famously challenging and dangerous working conditions on the fireline.
I’ve been a news photographer for a number of years now, but have more recently decided to really hone my skills. As a part of that, I try to have a camera on me whenever I’m out and about. I love sharing images that capture something essential about wherever I’m shooting, like young folks flinging themselves off the Greenbelt truss bridge last summer or car lights stretching along Highway 28 as meteors streak overhead in the lonely Lemhi Valley.
Email: Trail tips? Story tips? Know a secret the public ought to hear? Drop me a line!
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Wildfire has numerous consequences for the West and, with many statehouses now in session, lawmakers across the region are trying to respond. Now there’s a new tool to track reform efforts. -
When the conditions are right, land managers sometimes allow naturally ignited fires to burn. And new research shows that there can be significant ecological benefits when they do so. -
President Trump’s selection of Pearce has provoked a backlash from many environmental groups and local Western officials, who point to his record of supporting public land sales and the oil and gas industry. -
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has formally announced the establishment of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), a development that came the same week that the U.S. Congress declined to fund it. -
Idaho homeowners are seeing insurance premiums rise and policies canceled as fears of catastrophic urban wildfires grow, prompting bipartisan concern at the state capitol. -
Report: State legislators should learn from counterparts across the region as insurance crisis growsAs many homeowners face a growing insurance crisis, state leaders across the region are considering reforms. Two groups have recommendations for them as state legislatures begin convening again. -
Local elected officials across the region are worried that changes in federal policy are putting their communities at risk from wildfire. But public land agencies say some of the concerns are overstated.
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New data also points to major insurance impacts in places surprising to many, including the Snake River Plain. -
The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act was introduced by Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar in January, but has received substantial bipartisan support. -
As wildfires get more intense, there are questions about how effective prescribed fire and other fuel treatments can be. New research suggests that they can still have real impacts.
