Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University

The potential economic impact of wildfire smoke in the West may be quite large, AP reports: https://stanford.io/3aKDupf

Do rural Westerners trust state and local officials' COVID health orders as governments try to slow the spread of this pandemic? Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. PT, we talk with the Sheriff-Coroner of Tulare County, the head of Mesa County Public Health, and the County Commissioner for Teton County, Idaho for our event, "COVID-19 and Trust in Governments in the Rural West." Join us: https://stanford.io/3jvDDRB

Felicia Marcus, water expert and Landreth Visiting Fellow at our partner program, Water in the West, visited us today for a talk about California's water challenges. "We've made a lot of progress, but there's a lot more to be done," she told a group of researchers focused on the American West.

Another great Western news roundup from the editors of our "...& the West" blog: Hurdles facing the Biden Administration as it seeks to reverse certain Trump policies; new research into migratory bird activity in the West; municipalities and lumber companies clash over responsibility for safe drinking water in Oregon; a virologist discusses the COVID-19 outbreak among Utah’s minks; and more. https://stanford.io/2OahL2u

If you missed Steve Inskeep talking American history at the Bill Lane Center this week, check out the video here. In addition to discussing his book, he gave some cool insight into how being a historian informs his journalism, and vice versa. Watch: https://stanford.io/2YII7KK