Colorado does not have enough money to fix more than 50 unsafe and potentially deadly dams. But keeping reservoir levels low to prevent disastrous failure deprives the state of water it badly needs right now.

"Yellowstone National Park's iconic bison herds are suffering their worst winter in several years with almost 400 of the animals being held for possible slaughter — and a much-heralded initiative to expand where they can roam on the verge of failure."

"A small environmental miracle has occurred in Beatty, Nev., a former mining town that sits on the eastern edge of Death Valley between Jackass Flats and Sober Up Gulch. The people of Beatty have helped revive the Amargosa toad, a warty, speckled, palm-sized creature that's unique to the area and, just a few years ago, seemed headed for extinction."

"The 2.5 million cubic yards of fine-grained sediment dredged from the former reservoir east of Missoula has been spread 2 feet thick over more than 600 acres of wasteland between Anaconda and its satellite community of Opportunity. But it won’t grow grass."

"A roundup of wild horses began Monday in northwestern Colorado over the objections of animal advocacy groups."

"The need for rare-earth minerals like neodymium could define the relationship between the United States and China and elevate Idaho into a critical role in the nation’s industrial future."