Rural America

Dear Congress: Say No to Water Privatization in the Infrastructure Bill
Water costs have soared in recent years as federal funding for water infrastructure has shrunk. Privatization is the last thing we need.
Rural America In These Times
While Meatpacking Companies Reap Big Profits, Cattle Ranchers Struggle
Grocery store beef prices are rising. The rancher’s share is falling. And the companies that dominate the highly-concentrated meatpacking industry are making a killing.
Mary Hennigan
The Unopen Range: How Fences Hurt Wild Animals
In the Western United States alone, 620,000 miles of fence carve up the land. These barriers threaten the migrations of pronghorn, mule deer and other species.
Tara Lohan
Yellowstone Is Losing Its Snow, with Repercussions for Everyone Downstream
A climate assessment found that snowfall is declining in Greater Yellowstone — and likely to keep declining. The problems trickle down to impact everyone from trout to grizzly bears to people.
Bryan Shuman
What Can the Biden Admin Do to Make Our Food System More Resilient? Make it More Local.
Our food supply chains are vulnerable because they’re highly concentrated, corporatized and unaccountable to the public.
Ben Lilliston
For Farmworkers, the Fight for the 8-Hour Day Isn’t Over
Federal labor laws exclude farmworkers from overtime pay and other protections. After years of advocacy by farm labor groups, lawmakers in Oregon, Washington and Colorado are working to change that.
Alex Brown
Firefighters Are Worth More than $13.45/Hour
Federal wildland firefighters are leaving the workforce because the risks of the job outweigh the poor pay. It couldn't happen at a worse time.
Jonathon Golden
How the Covid Land Rush Is Hurting New Farmers
The pandemic has inspired city dwellers and investors to buy land in rural areas. That’s driving up farmland prices and pushing some beginning farmers out of the market.
Sadie Morris
How Cuts to Unemployment Benefits Will Hurt Rural People
Republican governors in at least 22 states are ending federal unemployment assistance. The cuts will hit hard in rural areas and communities of color.
Aallyah Wright
In the Southeast, Climate Change Finds a Landscape Already Ravaged by Inequality
Meet the groups demanding climate justice that fits the region's unique needs.
Paul Gordon
Why Climate Plans Must Include Farmers of Color
Proposed legislation would give farms resources to fight climate change. Will farmers of color get equal access?
Hadassah Patterson
When Wildfire Prevention Destroys Wildlife Habitat
As Western towns cut back nearby forest fuels to deter wildfires, new houses continue to sprawl relentlessly into the surrounding wildlands.
Pepper Trail
For the Nez Perce, a Proposed Gold Mine Is a Symbol of Broken Promises
The U.S. government stole Nez Perce treaty land to make way for gold miners in the 1860s. A century and a half later, gold mining again threatens the tribe’s homeland.
Marcie Carter
"It's a Nightmare": Inside America's Rural Housing Crisis
Across Wisconsin, low-income people are struggling to find quality, affordable housing.
Jack Kelly
In Dairy Country, a Network of Hmong and Latino Workers Fight Covid-19
Dairy production in Wisconsin relies on immigrant labor, a contradiction in a state that has seen the rise of nativist, anti-immigrant politics.
Esther Honig
As Meatpackers Stoked Fears of a Shortage, U.S. Meat Exports Increased
Citing imminent shortages, the meat industry lobbied to keep packing plants open as Covid-19 tore through workers’ ranks. At the same time, U.S. meat exports increased.
Madison McVan
Why 40 Years on the Superfund List Hasn’t Saved Tar Creek
Residents of northeastern Oklahoma continue to be poisoned by toxic mine runoff from one of the nation’s first Superfund sites.
Tara Lohan
Caught in the Drain: How a Plan to Reuse Wastewater Could Strangle the Santa Fe River
As climate change tightens its grip on the arid West, water managers are focusing on wastewater as a source of “new” water for cities.
Denise Fort
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