Rachel Cohen

Interior Department announces restructuring led by DOGE official Secretary Doug Burgum’s order grants that DOGE official oversight over the department's consolidation process, including control over funding, policy and personnel decisions.

The order grants the official placed by DOGE oversight over the consolidation process, including control over funding, policy and personnel decisions.

www.kunc.org/regional-new...

Tariff hikes could hit outdoor recreation brands hard, industry warns An uncertain future of new tariffs has the Colorado outdoor industry concerned. New and longtime brands are now preparing for what's next.

Outdoor recreation is a big industry in the Mountain West, but most gear and clothes for outdoor activities is made overseas. Here's what some outdoor brands say about the impacts of tariffs on their business (w/ Alex Murphy): www.kunc.org/regional-new...

Federal layoffs shut down registry that studied links between firefighters and cancer ‘indefinitely’ The move comes in the wake of massive Trump administration layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for O...

A federal effort to understand and reduce the risk of cancer among firefighters has been shut down. By @murphywoodhouse.bsky.social: www.boisestatepublicradio.org/health/2025-...

Appeals court says corner-crossing is legal. What does it mean for the West? The judges said the ranch could not deny access to federal public lands for lawful purposes and affirmed that corner crossing is not trespassing, as long as private land is not physically touched.

Hunters and other recreationalists argue that “corner crossing” private properties is sometimes necessary to access public lands. A judge, looking at a Wyoming case, agreed. From the Mountain West News Bureau's @racheldcohen.bsky.social - www.kunc.org/regional-new...

Locals feel a loss as the U.S. limits Canadian access to cross-border library Canadians will no longer be allowed to freely use the American entrance to the cultural building that sits on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

Canadians will no longer be allowed to freely use the American entrance to the cultural building that sits on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

Black-footed ferret recovery could face setbacks amid staff cuts The concern comes after Tina Jackson, who led the species’ recovery across 12 states–including Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona–was fired as part of the Trump Administration’s ...

Black-footed ferret recovery could face setbacks amid staff cuts. From the Mountain West News Bureau's @racheldcohen.bsky.social (w/ KUNC) - www.kunc.org/regional-new...

Why a tiny town wants to buy its neighboring ski resort Amid changes in the ski industry, the tiny town of Nederland, Colo., is considering a bid to buy a beloved resort.

Nederland will Nederland.

Why a tiny Colorado town wants to buy a ski resort. From the Mountain West News Bureau's Rachel Cohen (w/ KUNC and @npr.org): www.kunc.org/regional-new...

Protestors rally at national parks against firing of federal employees More than 150 gatherings took place Saturday at National Park Service sites nationwide. They were organized by a group of off-duty or former park service staff and seasonal employees.

Hundreds gathered at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado to protest cuts over the weekend. Some fired workers touched on services that could be lost. From the Mountain West News Bureau's Rachel Cohen (w/KUNC): www.kunc.org/regional-new...

Protestors rally at national parks against firing of federal employees More than 150 gatherings took place Saturday at National Park Service sites nationwide. They were organized by a group of off-duty or former park service staff and seasonal employees.

I was at Rocky Mountain National Park this weekend where ~800 protestors lined an entrance road to push back on the firing of federal employees. It was one of more than 150 demonstrations at park sites. www.kunc.org/regional-new...

In an Idaho mountain town, mass firings provoke a community backlash Massive federal layoffs are hitting communities across the West, including rural, recreation hotspots like McCall, Idaho. Here's how that town is responding.

I’m really glad I went up to McCall for this. In towns like that across the West, the Forest Service and other public land agencies are a major presence. That means these layoffs hit hard. www.boisestatepublicradio.org/politics-gov...

After Glaring Gaps In Protection, Female Wildland Firefighters Now Covered For Reproductive Cancers And Others. Breast, uterine, basal cell carcinoma, and ovarian cancers now covered.

Big news on presumptive coverage for wildland firefighters. Many women - 16 percent of the federal wildland force - raised issues about the notable absence of cancers like breast and uterine from the original list or presumptively covered cancers for workers' compensation claims.