The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is spending $60 million to help tribal farmers in the Mountain West use less water amid drought – and still grow their crops.

Wyoming could be the second state to pass a law limiting utilities liability — if they agree to help mitigate fires.

The U.S. Forest Service is spending another $20 million to remove flammable underbrush and logs from forests to reduce wildfire risk. Some of the funding will be used to turn that chopped timber into firewood for Indigenous families in parts of the Mountain West to heat their homes.

Nationwide, the sector accounted for some 2.3% of GDP, or the value of final sales of goods and services. That figure is even higher for every Mountain West state, and about twice that in Montana and Wyoming.

Federal wildland firefighters have enjoyed substantial temporary raises for several years. But they’ve only been kept in place by a series of stopgap measures from Congress, and now advocates are hoping to get a permanent fix before President-elect Trump takes office.

The decision hinges almost entirely on a constitutional right Republicans fought for in the wake of the passage of the federal Affordable Care Act, allowing residents to make their own healthcare decisions.

Thousands of people are expected to visit Las Vegas this week for the Formula One Grand Prix. Ahead of the race, a low-flying helicopter conducted radiation tests for “national security.”

A new study shows that wildlife migration routes in the West will likely shift because of climate change. That’s why researchers worked with a tribe in the Mountain West to find out how to tackle the problem.

Wildland fire has a diversity problem: in 2022, the Government Accountability Office reported that the federal firefighting force was 84 percent men and 72 percent white. This inequitable situation has been identified as one of the key barriers to recruiting and retaining a workforce capable of confronting the wildfire crisis.

Conservationists and tribes in the Mountain West say they intend to sue the federal government if it doesn’t take steps to protect a rare snail that is threatened by a proposed lithium mine.