Rural America

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

Toward a World Without Roadkill: Appalachians Make the Case for Wildlife Crossings

In Appalachia, highways fracture the habitat of bears, elk, deer and other wildlife. Locals are pushing to make roads safer for animals and drivers.

Frances Figart