Environment

The U.S. Supreme Court recently sided with a couple battling federal officials over plans to build a house on a wetland in northern Idaho. Some call the ruling a victory for property rights, but its consequences extend to wetlands and waterways nationwide.

Late last week, Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva and New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich introduced the Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act. It would make a number of changes to the Mining Law of 1872, including the collection of royalties from hardrock mining.

The Bureau of Land Management is proposing a new Public Lands Rule that would - among other things - clarify that "conservation is a use on par with other uses of federal public lands."

The Center for Western Priorities' most recent annual spills report logged nearly 2,500 spills in the three important oil- and gas-producing Western states.

In two weeks, hundreds of journalists, scientists and government representatives will gather in Boise to talk about everything from climate change, wildfires, biology and the natural environment.

About 60 meteorologists from across the country gathered in Boise for a training on how to help first responders fight wildfires safely.

Asha Muhingi’s and Jayden Rehwalt’s pasts are dramatically different. Rehwalt was born and raised in Boise. Muhingi was a refugee from Congo, before coming to Boise at the age of 9. But their passion for change and their hopes for treating the planet with greater respect are one-and-the same.

Idaho state officials are encouraging the public to leave feedback about suggestions on where electric vehicle stations should be placed.

More than 2,000 Wyoming oil and gas leases will be reconsidered for their impacts to the climate, as part of a settlement approved in federal court last week.

With the bulk of wildfire season on the horizon, officials in the Mountain West region are working to minimize risks. And sometimes they’re getting help from four-legged friends.