Western States Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Epic Drought Means Water Crisis For Parts Of The West Coast, Though Much Of Northwest Is OK

By NWPB News April 15, 2021

File photo, March 2, 2020: Farmer Ben DuVal with his wife, Erika, and their daughters, Hannah, third from left, and Helena, fourth from left, stand near a canal for collecting run-off water near their property in Tulelake, Calif. Federal officials announced in April 2021 that farmers who rely on a massive irrigation project spanning the Oregon-California border will get 8% of the deliveries they need amid a severe drought. CREDIT: Gillian Flaccus/AP

Hundreds of farmers who rely on a massive irrigation project that spans the Oregon-California border learned Wednesday they will get a tiny fraction of the water they need amid the worst drought in decades, as federal regulators attempt to balance the needs of agriculture against federally threatened and endangered fish species that are central to the heritage of several tribes.Read More

BLM Director Defends Agency’s Controversial Move From D.C. To Western U.S.

By NPR News February 22, 2020

Acting BLM Director William Perry Pendley stands in the mostly empty suite of offices at the agency's new planned headquarters in Grand Junction, Colo. Kirk Siegler/NPR

The Bureau of Land Management decides who gets to do what on some 250 million acres of public land in the country, or to put it another way roughly one-tenth of all the land in the U.S. Relocating its headquarters to the West, where most of its actual land is, has been floated for years. But now the Trump administration is actually making it happen.Read More

Welcome To … Greater Idaho? Oregonians Could Be Asked To Join Proposal For Shifting State Lines

By NWPB News February 18, 2020

Proponents of the "Greater Idaho" proposal want to add eastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as northern California, to the existing boundaries of Idaho.

The “Greater Idaho Movement” is the latest separatist initiative to have some regions leave Oregon. If successful, the movement would rope in some parts of Northern California as well.Read More

In New Book, Reflecting On A Political Power Couple Who Promoted Westward Expansion

By NPR News January 17, 2020

Imperfect Union: How Jessie and John Frémont Mapped the West, Invented Celebrity, and Helped Cause the Civil War, by Steve Inskeep

NPR's Steve Inskeep, discussing his book Imperfect Union: How Jessie and John Fremont Mapped the West, Invented Celebrity and Helped Cause the Civil War, touches on parallels to U.S. politics in 2020.Read More

In Erika Ryan’s Voice Come The Moody Sounds Of The West

By PBS Newshour July 3, 2019

Erika Ryann performing in Carbondale, Colorado, in 2017. She opened up for Band of Heathens. Courtesy of the artist

The PBS NewsHour recently spoke to Erika Ryann, who is based in Larskpur, Colorado, while on a solo tour. She has been performing and writing for the last 15 years, currently plays both solo and in five other bands, and is releasing her first solo album this coming winter.Read More

Federal Action Removes Grazing Restrictions Meant To Protect Sage Grouse In Western States

By Courtney Flatt March 15, 2019

A male greater sage grouse struts its stuff on Bureau of Land Management land in this April 21, 2012, photo. Bureau of Land Management

The Trump administration is lifting restrictions meant to protect greater sage grouse across seven western states. In Oregon grazing restrictions are being removed in 13 locations that provide habitat for the imperiled birds.Read More

As Western U.S. Grows, Water Use Declines Thanks To Better Toilets

By NPR News September 22, 2018

Resource Central employees Max Hartmann (left) and Neka Sunlin haul the MacFarland family's vintage toilet out of their Longmont, Colorado home. CREDIT: LUKE RUNYON/FOR NPR

Despite the growth of population in the western U.S., water use in cities such as Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix is going down. The reason? High-tech, low-flow toilets.Read More