The federal government is charging full-speed into a fossil-fueled future—reviving dam projects, gutting environmental protections, and turning independent agencies like FERC into puppets of political agendas. From Sites Reservoir to the McCloud River, a growing movement of Tribes and environmental advocates is pushing back to defend clean water, native species, and democratic oversight.

I grew up spending summers in the Sequoia National Forest, in the Tule River watershed, at the family cabin my parents bought before I was born. Once school let out, my mom, my siblings, and I would head to the cabin, staying until the day before school started again. Along Highway 190, as you travel up the Middle Fork of the Tule River, we had several favorite spots to check out. My favorite—the one that still brings back the deep sense of home the mountains give me—is Stevenson’s Fall…