Rachel Cohen
Mountain West News Bureau reporterRachel Cohen is the Mountain West News Bureau reporter for KUNC. She covers topics most important to the Western region. She spent five years at Boise State Public Radio, where she reported from Twin Falls and the Sun Valley area, and shared stories about the environment and public health.
As a National Science Health and Environment Reporting Fellow (SHERF), she studied the intersection of these topics and examined how climate change affects human health.
Her favorite part of working in public radio is getting to meet interesting people and talk about what matters to them. When not working, she enjoys hiking, skiing, checking out coffee shops and watching women’s soccer.
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In addition to a lack of snow, warmer temperatures have thwarted snowmaking. -
The narrowed pool of waters receiving federal protection under the rule could be severe for critical wetlands and streams in the arid West, many of which are seasonal or fed by groundwater. -
During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, evaluations for federal research grants ground to a halt and thousands of federal scientists at agencies were sent home without pay. Many are still catching up after the 43-day pause, and some fear the ripple effects could last much longer. -
During the lapse in federal funding, Utah and Colorado, along with several nonprofit partner organizations, stepped in to keep key visitor services running. -
Union leaders for federal employees said they're glad the shutdown is over, but morale remains low. -
Trust lands are not the same as most public lands. Public access to them can be restricted, and they're managed primarily to make money, usually for public schools. -
The Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule put conservation on equal footing with grazing and energy production. The Trump administration is trying to roll it back. -
Few states require building with fire-resistant materials, but some in the Mountain West are in the process of changing that. -
After the U.S. State Department increased social media vetting for international student visa applicants, some ski resorts worried about shortages of lift operators or food servers. -
As predators like grizzly bears and gray wolves expand their ranges or are being recovered to more habitats, wildlife managers in the Mountain West are increasingly tasked with preventing conflicts between the animals and people. Some are turning to new strategies and technologies, including drones.
