Our world may look very different after the current crisis. Agricultural landscapes, especially, will potentially be affected. The underlying structural challenges facing the farming community are well known. The  World Rural Landscape Principles  identified them as the aging farmer population, critical seasonal labor shortages, global market forces, urbanization, and, of course, the overarching threat of climate change. But will Covid-19 amplify these trends? Let's look more closely.

While You Were Not Watching, Part II

Across the world, daily life has been completely upended. Millions and millions of individuals are living under quarantine and limiting social interaction whenever possible. Unemployment has reached levels not seen since the Great Depression. And yet, despite these unprecedented conditions, the U.S. Department of the Interior is continuing to make significant decisions on land use across the American West. Land use plans, oil and gas leases, and other actions continue apace, despite public pleas to alter the schedule in areas hard hit by the pandemic.