Western United States

As some communities in far northwest Colorado discuss hosting a temporary nuclear waste storage facility, western leaders are reaffirming they want a say.

Though often on opposite sides of the political debate, both conservative and liberal voices have criticized a proposal that would sell millions of acres of federal public lands in the West.

Cooke is the former manager of the Central Arizona Project. The region's water experts regard him as a qualified expert.

Explore environmental law, Indigenous leadership, media lawsuits, Craig Childs’ new book, and rodeo culture in this week’s Regional Roundup.

This week on Regional Roundup: A new study questions the push to build housing on public lands, Western Colorado groups tackle water conservation and horse rescue, and a Navajo community gains running water for the first time.

The majority of voters in Rocky Mountain states, including Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, would rather see the government focus more on conservation of public lands rather than extractive activities like mining and oil and gas.

The pandemic has made the housing market even tighter in the mountain West, where first-time buyers are trying to decide whether this is just the future or a bubble headed eventually for a bust.