Kirk Siegler

Growing crowds at America's national parks have prompted some of them to allow entry by reserved tickets only. Arches National Park in Utah may be next, and there's renewed controversy over that step.

Federal fire managers warn the U.S.'s firefighting resources are near full deployment, a declaration rarely made this early in the summer as Western states bake in record heat and drought.

Federal officials warn of a long, potentially dangerous summer of fire. Since January, more than a million acres have burned from more than 28,000 wildfires.

States with the lowest vaccination rates are clustered in the South and the Southwest. But there's one standout, New Mexico, where health officials now say some counties are close to 90% vaccinated.

Excessive heat warnings are in effect across the West, where temperatures will hit the triple digits — a signal that climate change and lengthening summers pose serious problems for the region.

President Biden's nominee to be the country's next public lands chief appeared before a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday where she was grilled over Biden's controversial freeze on new oil and gas leasing.

If confirmed, environmental leader Tracy Stone-Manning would be the first permanent director of the Bureau of Land Management in four years.

People in "the UFO capital of the world" are eagerly anticipating the release of a Defense Department report on its investigations into Unexplained Aerial Phenomena. As always, some see a cover-up.

People in "the UFO capitol of the world," Roswell, N.M., are eagerly anticipating the release of a Defense Department report on their investigations into UFOs.

The pandemic has made the housing market even tighter in the mountain West, where first-time buyers are trying to decide whether this is just the future or a bubble headed eventually for a bust.