"A fracking boomtown, a spike in stillborn deaths and a gusher of unanswered questions"

"DENVER — When Jason Story bought an old soy sauce barrel to collect the rain dripping from his downspout, he figured he had found an environmentally friendly way to water his garden’s beets and spinach. But under the quirks of Western water rules, where raindrops are claimed even as they tumble from the sky, he became a water outlaw."

"SALMON, Idaho -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed on Tuesday actions needed to support imperiled bull trout, an iconic native fish that is still found in pristine, cold-water streams and some lakes in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington."

"Native American tribes said on Friday they oppose U.S. government plans to strip grizzly bears in the Yellowstone National Park area of federal safeguards, ultimately opening the way for sport hunting of them in northern Rocky Mountain states."

"Nevada's Lake Mead, the largest capacity reservoir in the United States, is on track to drop to its lowest water level in recorded history on Sunday as its source, the Colorado River, suffers from 14 years of severe drought, experts said on Friday."

"Montana has closed the hunting season on a wild herd of bighorn sheep, with pneumonia suspected of killing dozens of the animals whose seasonal mating rituals attract scores of wildlife watchers."

"The Bureau of Land Management has not asked the Justice Department to prosecute Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy or anyone else involved in an armed standoff last year with BLM officials who were attempting to round up cattle that were illegally grazing on federal lands, according to documents a government watchdog group sued to obtain."

"Wildlife advocates are suing the Obama administration to prevent the killing of protected grizzly bears that come into conflict with sportsmen over elk they kill or wound during annual hunts in northwest Wyoming."

"Fort Collins, Colo., led by a Republican mayor, approves targets to reduce emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050, but hurdles remain."