Benjamin James Waddell is a legal advocate for immigrants in Colorado who has seen ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, become increasingly aggressive. Since President Trump took office, ICE has arrested nearly 33,000 people, though only half of them were convicted criminals.

It’s such a wonderful concept—thousands of homeowners selling power back to the electric company, while also reducing their vulnerability to natural disasters such as wildfire, writes Andrew Carpenter. What’s even better: Residential solar power mimics a stand-alone power plant, one that need never be built.

In 1947, the Utah-born writer and historian Bernard DeVoto summed up the West's attitude toward the federal government: "Get out and send us more money." Now, says the Utah writer and photographer Stephen Trimble, federal offices are being closed and staffers fired, but no additional money is coming. The federal presence is crucial to the region, Trimble says, and the economic crisis caused by the new administration might just open the region's eyes to a necessary and beneficial partnership.

Writer Karen Mockler was thrilled when her city of Tucson, Arizona, announced it was starting a pilot program to deal with hard-to-recycle plastics, turning it into building blocks. Then things got complicated as the plastic waste piled up, and Dow Chemical and Hefty bags got involved. Burning the plastic turned into the new solution, and Mockler now concludes: “Instead of recycling plastic, we need to focus on phasing out its use—everywhere we can.”

Last week, writes Dave Marston, fierce winds fanned multiple wildland fires that roared out of steep canyons, joining other fires that ringed Los Angeles. More than 12,000 homes and businesses burned to the ground, 24 or more residents have died, and thousands of people are now homeless. What's happening in southern California is cataclysmic, and it's also a wakeup call for towns all over the West. In particular—Durango, in southwestern Colorado.

Northern Lights, silence, calm and the brilliant stars of dark nights—these are just a few of the benefits of winter darkness in Alaska, writes Tim Lydon. And now, researchers have found that just as climate change increases the heat and length of summer, dark winters are vital for the health of trees, wildlife and even us.

The death of a famous grizzly and the possibility of Lake Powell facing dead pool, wolves and a 460-foot tower proposed for Bears Ears National Monument—they were just some of the opinion columns sent out by Writers on the Range this year. The common denominator: Every writer cared passionately about the West—its wildlife, its public lands, and the people who live in this unique region.

From May to September in southern Colorado, Rick Freimuth's searches the Four Corners area from a fire tower perched at 9,624 feet, his day not the official 8 hours but more like 12 when the sun shines. He and his wife Linda love the job and miss it when winter closes in.

Let's end the stigma about talking about and dealing with mental illness, writes David Marston. For a long time, he thought counseling could help his issues with anxiety. Finally, he consulted a psychiatrist only to find he was bipolar and needed medication. Getting the help he required changed his life, Marston says. He hopes his story will help open the door to more people grappling with mental health issues that blight their lives.

Salt Lake, which flows into the dwindling Great Salt Lake, is being saved from an invasion of deep-rooted phragmites, which grew so thick that wildlife and people couldn't get near the lake. Starting in 2009, the state's agriculture department has been aerial spraying Utah Lake with the herbicide glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup, which critics say can cause cancer in human beings. But now, thanks to the treatment, 70% of the lake is free from the invasives, and 100% phragmite-free is the goal. Ted Williams recounts how controversial glyphosate is, but says in the case of Utah Lake, glyphosate is safe and the only alternative.