The three-part series headed by Kamb reveals that Boy Scout councils across America–whose mandate is to preserve and protect the environment–have logged or sold forestland, some of it bequeathed to them for recreational purposes, to raise cash. The national investigation by Hearst Newspapers was published simultaneously in five newspapers in early 2009. It involved four years of reporting, 100 interviews and 200 public records requests.

• Read the archived series at the Internet Archive
• Download a PDF of the story: 2010_SeattlePI_Chainsaw.pdf
• 2010 Knight-Risser Prize Symposium: "The Crisis in Environmental Watchdog Journalism"

Special Recognition
“Troubled Teens”
Dawn Stover, Conservation Magazine

Stover examines the decline and the demographics of the West’s cougar population, which is increasingly running into conflict with human populations. Heavy hunting has unbalanced the age structure of cougar “societies,” reducing the number of elder males and increasing the number of young males more likely to cause trouble.

Special Recognition
“Wind Resistance”
Jonathan Thompson, High Country News
Wind Resistance
The Messy Mix of Energy and Sage Grouse
Battle for the Core of Wyoming

Thompson explores the political upheaval aroused by a rush to wind power in Wyoming, a big producer of gas and oil and nearly half the coal used in the United States. Energy producers have lined up with traditional foes to stop the spread of wind turbines. They’re worried about property values, environmentalists about a possibly endangered bird. And they’re at odds with longtime allies: cash-strapped ranchers sitting on windswept lands.