The Mountain West News Bureau is a collaboration between KUER and NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
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Flagstaff, Arizona, became the first ever DarkSky Community in 2001. Central Idaho is home to the only DarkSky Reserve in the U.S. and Utah has the highest concentration of places globally. More towns in Colorado want to join the ranks.
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There's more going on in trees than what most of us may know. Experts explain the science of trees.
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The call from Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz may sound prudent, but many fire policy experts worry it may signal a return to aggressive suppression that has been linked to growing wildfire severity.
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A doctor's office on wheels has helped the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe ease a rural health care shortage. Mobile clinics are also being used by the Navajo Nation, the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona and the Fort Peck Tribes in Montana.
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Climate change is driving more dangerous summer heat across the U.S. Las Vegas, which reached 120 degrees last summer, is planting thousands of trees to help cool its hottest neighborhoods.
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Wyoming state Sen. Bob Ide backs a niche argument that Congress is constitutionally obligated to hand over ownership of its land. In neighboring Utah, state leaders firmly believe they should have more control of federal land.
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Nationwide, tens of thousands of Indigenous households use firewood to help heat their homes. That's why the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is making sure their elders have the chopped wood they need.