Our feature story in this issue tells the harrowing story of two Peruvian brothers who came to Wyoming to be sheepherders, only to find themselves virtual prisoners, forced to labor under abusive conditions. In an excerpt from a new book, we learn how California’s Coachella Valley reinvented itself as an Arabian Nights fantasy to market the delicious dates it grew. Wildland fire dispatchers’ jobs are exhausting, stressful and woefully underpaid; invasive smallmouth bass threaten the Grand Canyon’s native fishes, and new legislation is bringing clean energy jobs to the West. You have to locate native bumblebees before you can protect them. A good snow year doesn’t mean a good snowpack if sublimation steals away the snow’s moisture, and renting in gentrified San Francisco is never easy. A writer consider Justice Scalia’s thoughts on waterways as she enjoys them; and digging around outdoor whether for roly-poly bugs or dinosaur fossils will open your eyes to wonder.